Bombarde16 Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Forgive me, brethren, for I have sinned. Not only is this workroom cabinet made with high quality cabinet grade utility plywood from Home Depot; not only is it assembled with pocket screws; but I purchased the top from the Great Satan itself... This is an 8' HAMMARP birch countertop from Ikea. In truth, I'm quite pleased with it and can easily see myself going back to get another one of these in the future. As large glue-ups go, I wouldn't be able to match the price or quality of this thing. One caution for finishing: It came from the factory with an annoying coat of cheap oil already in the wood. Be prepared for lots of clogged sandpaper as you get it ready for your top coat of choice. The base is open on one side. These openings are sized to hold reams of copy paper and the office photocopier will soon be moved into this room. The opposite side faces "out" and therefore receives a face frame and doors made of quartered oak with carved linenfold panels 1x3's butt jointed and pocket screwed together with lauan panels glued into rabbets in the back. No matter how many times I swear to myself that I will never, never, never use cheap hardware again, I always seem to forget that lesson. These are cheap butt hinges, so out comes the Dremel to grind down the screw heads that prevent the hinges from fully closing. I told the church secretaries that it's their job to get this beast painted. I think they're going to live with it (and the new work room) for a while before they make any decisions on that front. In the meantime, I just need to attach the toe kicks and put on some knobs and my work will be done. All facetiousness aside, it was a good project to bridge the gap between the mentality of construction (speed, cost-conscious) and the mentality of furniture (heirloom quality, tolerances measured in angstroms). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 34 minutes ago, Bombarde16 said: It came from the factory with an annoying coat of cheap oil already in the wood. Be prepared for lots of clogged sandpaper as you get it ready for your top coat of choice. Why not just hit it with some shellac before top-coat instead of the sanding? Nice job. It's not a sin to do what you did when it's a "workroom cabinet." That's called being economical. I don't care for working with HD plywood because of its tendency to potato chip, but once you get it together, it's not like it won't last just as long as the expensive stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Should work just fine for it's intended purpose! Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 1 hour ago, Bombarde16 said: tolerances measured in angstroms LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 You're fired! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kixnbux Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 I've built a ton of doors pocket screwed like that. I usually use 1/4" maple ply for them though and run 1/4" slot cutter in the router for the panel. Eliminates the annoying step of glueing the panels in. Just set stop so slots don't run all the way through the ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Is the top solid? Or is it one of the ones that has MDF on the inside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted April 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 1 hour ago, Llama said: Is the top solid? Or is it one of the ones that has MDF on the inside? Solid, finger-jointed birch. Not sure if I just got lucky or if they're all like this, but the individual pieces were all oriented such that one side was very plain and blond while the other side had all the mineral streaks and color. As I said, I was quite pleased with it. 3 hours ago, Eric. said: Why not just hit it with some shellac before top-coat instead of the sanding? Nice job. It's not a sin to do what you did when it's a "workroom cabinet." That's called being economical. I don't care for working with HD plywood because of its tendency to potato chip, but once you get it together, it's not like it won't last just as long as the expensive stuff. Came from the factory feeling a little wooly and I felt it needed a pass with 120-grit at least. I could easily have convinced myself that it needed a pass with 150 grit after that but I restrained myself. This is what the nearby HD sells as 3/4" "project panels". 5 layers, one side slightly prettier than the other. Sanded, but not super smooth. For the record, it behaved a thousand times better than the possum snot that HD tries to sell as "cabinet grade" plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 A coat of shellac as a barrier is a wise idea before you put any other clear topcoat on it. Then you can sand to a finer grit before the topcoat as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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