CKen Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I am building a variation of the wall hanging cabinet. The changes where necessary due to space,and the influence of my wife. The changes I am planing on are to make the over all height about 6" taller, 6" deep, and the total width about 12"keep the drawr about the same. I am building two cabinets, one for each side of the mirror. I have never really designed anything before, and I am concerned about a couple of things. First is the size of rails and styles. Should I make them smaller? I am a little worried that they will look funny with the narrower cabinet. The plan calls for a fixed shelf, I am planning on adding another. Would it be better to have both fixed, or can I get away with a movable shelf? I am just starting to mill lumber, so I have a little time before I am committed to anything. Any suggestions will be helpful! Thanks Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Hey Chad. This is where SketchUp is worth its weight in gold. You can play around with the proportions until you get something that looks satisfactory. It also helps when soliciting advice since people can give you a quick opinion on what might need to change. But if you are bringing your cabinet to 12" in width, I would say you definitely need to make some changes to the door configuration. Before changing the width of the rails and stiles, I would consider making a single door instead. That would be much more appropriate for a cabinet that's half the width of the original. Start there, make a few sketches, and see what you come up with. As for the shelf, its always nice to have at least one fixed shelf if you can. Fixed shelves generally make the cabinet stronger. But in this case, the divider between the drawer and the main compartment is already acting as a fixed shelf. So if you wanted to go with two adjustable shelves, there is no reason you can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Chad, to answer your 2nd question first, the second shelf can be fixed or adjustable, whichever you prefer. It shouldn't have any impact on the strength of the overall cabinet. As for the rail & style width, as you're no making you cabinet dramaticly smaller, they can probably be left the same. To be sure try a sketchup mock up or a full size drawing of the cabinet face. Then you can adjust them without wasting wood. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Well you know as soon as somebody says "SketchUp" that I'm going to jump on it like a fat kid on cotton candy. Here's what you proposed, Chad. Definitely one door - it isn't even wide enough for two. The standard 2 1/4" wide rails and stiles look fine to me. Any uncertainty I have about it comes from the overall height, though you have a nice 3 to 1 ratio set up with the height/width. If this is specifically what your wife has asked for, my advice is to go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Proportions look good to my eye......that's fo sho! Thanks Aaron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKen Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 THANKS AARON!! I have downloaded Sketch Up, and I think I can open it, but that is where my skills fail! The single door is defiantly where I wanna be! I am still not sold on the height, but it is rather striking. The milling is finished, and I start assembly this week! I will include some pictures soon! Thanks again for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 My pleasure. Just took a few minutes. Looking forward to seeing some pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverael Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Slightly OT: How did you guys get so good at Sketch-up? I've struggled a little with the program - I admit; I haven't spend a large amount of time learning it. What's the best way to become proficient? Merci Beaucoup, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Slightly OT: How did you guys get so good at Sketch-up? I've struggled a little with the program - I admit; I haven't spend a large amount of time learning it. What's the best way to become proficient? Merci Beaucoup, Steve Speaking for myself, it helps to be a little nuts. I like to use SketchUp when planning my shop and house projects so I've just picked it up over time. Just like anything, you get better the more time you spend with it. Here are some tips: - Try starting with an existing model from the 3D warehouse. It's easier to modify somebody else's work than to start from scratch. - Bob Lang (of Popular Woodworking Magazine) has a couple tutorials that seem to be the market leader for woodworkers. He has an e-book and a couple CD's also. Finally, if you have any specific questions, you can always post them in the SketchUp area of the forum. You'll usually get a few replies pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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