# help finding plans for a dining room hutch



## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

this willl be my first piece of furniture and so I'm lost as to where I can find a set of plans for a hutch. 
My wife and I have been looking but we're unable to find a set of plans for a unit that we like. I don't think I have the skills to build a piece of furniture from just looking at a photo of it. 
Can you guys recomend a good site or sites that I can sift though for plans?
thanks in advance
Paul


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## drfixit (Oct 16, 2009)

Try this site… http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=102
or http://www.woodstore.net I really like the plans purchased from woodstore.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

Wow, a hutch is a very challenging first project. Norm built several hutches on NYW. Do you see anything you like on their site? You can get plans and a DVD to help you get through the project.


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## Taigert (Nov 20, 2007)

For a first big project a hutch will be very challenging. The is a lot to concider with wood selection wood, I would suggest 1/4 sawn, Movement, and things like grain direction. I'd suggest cracking the books, Taunton Fine Woodworking has some great books that will help you deal with these challenges. I have all of them in my office in the shop so I don;t have the name and authors in front of me at the moment I will try to remember in the moening and send you the info. Years down the road they still make great reference books. every now and then I still crack them open as a refresher on something I haven't done for a while.


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

Ok so my wife and I have decided on Norm's hutch #111
we're not sure if we're going to go with the top piece or just build the bottom and have a piece of stone installed on the top. We're not sure how we are going to change it but we think we may be doing some changes to it.
If we decide to paint it is poplar the right wood to use? we're not sure if we are going to paint yet but we do like the distressed look when done on paint.


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## Gary (Jul 24, 2006)

I highly recommend getting and reading Bill Hylton's Cabinet making book

My copy is a much used reference.

Poplar is great wood for painted furniture. However, if you're not sure you're going to paint it, you may want to consider carefully. Poplar doesn't often look that good plain although sometimes it may look nice.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

That's a good book Gary 
I would also get a copy of Charles Neils" Bases & Cases" Dvd set.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

Nice! I'm glad you went with NYW. I'm a bit confused. You say #111, but that's a bath cupboard that's 75" high. How does that jive with the stone top stuff? BTW, I poured my own concrete night stand tops. I'm just waiting to grind & polish them. Keep us posted!


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

Captian Skully on NYW there is #0111 and #111 I'm going to have a go at #111
I think I will order the Charles Neils dvd set. Thanks for the advice


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

Ah… That makes a lot more sense. Thanks. Very nice. Two pieces should be easier to build too. That'll be something you can enjoy forever. A nice piece of granite will really make it pop. Please post your project.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Paul -

If you're sure you're going to paint it, poplar is an excellent choice - it's inexpensive, easily worked, and takes paint beautifully.

OTOH, if you aren't painting, poplar would be one of my last choices. If you're very careful with the selection of your stock, poplar can look very nice with a simple clear finish, but I've never liked staining it because it can blotch as badly as pine.

Your second choice (after the style) should probably be the wood/stain/finish you want to look at in your dining room.


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

I started cutting last night. Because everyone else was closed I went to HD to buy 140 dollars in poplar. My wife and I plan to build the bottom half only and paint it. The top surface of the bottom will not be painted so we will select a nice wood or combo of woods to make the top surface of the bottom half. 
I received the plans and DVD Friday. Because it's my first time with furniture I'm reading and watching the video over and over. The video is a big help because there is text in the plans that I'm not familiar with ( like names of the certain joints or specific pieces within the project) but the video clears that up. So far this piece has not been so difficult to build. 
Last night I put in about 4 hours. I have the two inner frames framed and glued. I have all sides of the draws cut and planed to size. I have the cabinet sides cut to rough size. I still have to join them and then cut them to final size. Then there is a decorative cutout on the bottom of each that is done with the jig saw. 
I am going to post progressive photos as soon as I get a chance. I will have to buy a dovetail jig which do you guys recommend?
What I'm quickly learning is when you make your first project for your wife and let her choose the project…. She says nothing when you say you have to buy a tool for the project…..I'm thinking I'll give her the extension on the house and build a library next ….
This video is old and probably one of the first Norm did. He's using a hammer and nails and the oldest cordless drill I've ever seen. He's also using corded drills and wearing old Reebok sneakers. He makes several cuts on a radial arm saw and uses the old style dado blade (twist type) on that same saw. At one point he's using the router table and there's no dust control at all. He does have the glasses on though. Factory miter gauges and rip fences throughout. I notice these things, they interest me. I think the TM dates on the plans are 1991. One other thing I notice is he's often winded almost as if he's learning how to pace his breathing and speaking to the camera while working. There's a clear difference to him then and now.


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

Paul:

My wife and I have had this hutch since the 60's. It has been extremely useful because it's base is only 12 1/2" deep. We've never had the luxury of having a really large dining room. It originally was placed in our first small apartment and all the houses we've had since did not have a dining room large enough for the deep bases typical of most hutches. This "Hutch Spice Bookcase" was made by Bill Fentner, a small North Carolina furniture maker, now long gone.



I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I intend to make a hutch spice bookcase for my sister's lakeside cabin. I have made sketches and plan to get it down on the drawing board this winter. My wood will be Upper Peninsula white pine. Rather than a dark stain, I plan to use milk paint, which will allow the beauty of the wood to show through.


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

I just came in from the garage. it's too cold out there and the glue is frozen.
I glued the side pieces togethe this morning and then brought them in the house to dry. 
tonight I sanded and cut them to size. Then I cut into them the daddos for the inner frame and shelves. I have to cut the middle and lower plywood shelves and then the two frames and two shelves can be glued into the two side pannels. 
Biowa that's a nice hutch. it looks very tall. how tall is the base and the top. When my wife looked at the image she asked it was mounted to the wall to stop it from tipping since it looks so tall and it has a such a thin profile. What kind of wood is it?
This was the first time I used the daddo blades on the Unisaw.


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

Paul:

The camera has distorted the picture somewhat. This "hutch spice bookcase" is 4' wide, 6'high, and the shelves are 9" deep. There are eight knobs, but actually only two drawers.

The hutch sits very solidly, "tipping" has never been an issue.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

Wow Paul, you're making great progress! Thanks for posting your process. I'm glad you went the NYW route. I too watch the videos repeatedly and pore over the plans to the point of memorizing them before heading out to the shop. There's a tall case clock in my future.

I thought your observations about Norm were interesting. I've noticed the same kind of stuff. Keep in mind that there are at least two ways to do almost any of the steps in these kinds of projects, so you don't always have to do it the way Norm did. It's the end result that counts (and you may not have the same tools).

BTW, have you thought about moving this over to a blog since you're past the design phase now? A blog will let you serialize your postings as you progress.


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

http://lumberjocks.com/bugsiegel/blog/12838


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