Poplar Painted Cabinet

[John Morris]

A few weeks ago mama decided she wanted a cabinet to store her arts and crafts supplies that are taking up floor space in our upstairs hallway. She went shopping online and found a cabinet she liked for 230 bucks, and it was the typical particle board white surface type of stuff. So I told her I'd be happy to build it and the materials would be less as well.

 

So she and I went to our lumber store and picked up some 4/4 poplar, poplar because she wants the exterior painted white, and I want the interior natural finished. We will be using General Finishes Milk Paint for the exterior. Also, I am going to build saw tooth shelf supports as well.

 

This is our hardwood lumber dealer "Reel Lumber", about 30 miles from home, it's full of all kinds of stuff, from pine to oak to exotics and everything in between. Our Poplar was running about 2.70 a board foot. I spent about 150 bucks, and with the Milk Paint, we are going to come under budget from her online cabinet she wanted, and we are going to have a piece of furniture to pass down to our kids, and their kids.

 

 

Got the boards home and had to size and join them. Note: if you look behind my Makita CMS, you'll see a cross with a flame in a heart plaque, when I was going through some serious health issues a year ago, my friend Jess @Smallpatch, sent me this very special and inspiring gift, it lifted my spirits enormously, and when I felt I needed a little nudge from the Lord while working in the shop during that rough time, all I had to do was look at my plaque, and I felt it. To this day I cherish it, and I feel the Spirit in it.

 

Just a board on the bench, laying out dado's.

 

Glued up.

 

I built the face frame with a Kreg pocket screw jig, and then glued the frame to the case, and bored holes in the face frame for 1/4" dowels, 1 1/2" long and glued and driven in to the case, then a flush cut hand saw and cut the dowels flush and block planed them smooth. Since the case is going to be painted, I thought adding the extra strength of the dowels would be good since you won't see them below the paint. I also mixed up some two part epoxy and floated it over each dowel, let dry then sanded smooth, just so there weren't any issues with the end grain of the dowels sucking up the paint.

 

Joining boards for the raised panels.

 

Getting the rails and stiles ready for the raised panel doors, I was playing with my Stanley 45 yesterday, and after a few tweaks here and there, she purred and plowed, making some wonderful clean 1/4" wide by 3/8" deep grooves to accept the raised panel.

 

The grooves turned out very nice.

 

After running the grooves in, I used a block plane to take a whisper shaving off the top to clean up the surface.

 

Within an hour I had two rails and one stile done, and I was starting on the second stile when mama called me in for dinner last night.

 

Here is where the case is as of today. The backed boards are beveled and nailed off on the back of the cabinet.

 

Today I am gluing up the door panels. I'll keep the images coming, and thanks for looking!

My very special cup, that a friend gave me, and also a cup for mama too!

[Smallpatch]

John, just a thought, you do know if you ever decide to spray cabinets like this, it best to leave the back off until it is completely sprayed.. Its almost impossible to get paint in to the corners.

  And by the way, your work has a passing grade so far!

[John Morris]

49 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

And by the way, your work has a passing grade so far!

Well coming from you Jess, that's a great compliment! Thanks sir!

Hey Jess, regarding the spraying, I hung up my spray equipment about 4 years ago, it's either wipe on or brush these days. But, that being said, even when I sprayed I had not thought of leaving the back panel(s) off the case till after spraying, if I'd had this tip back when I was spraying, it sure would of saved me some extra work of sanding between coats and re-coating the inside corners! For anyone else reading this thread, great tip for them Jess! Thanks.

[forty_caliber]

That looks great!  Did you cut the dado's by hand all the way or just clean them up with the plane?  I've always just cut them on the table saw and have never seen them cut by hand.  The joinery is top notch! 

 

.40

[Masonsailor]

Nice looking cabinet John ! I put the backs on before finishing also. For me they are the part of squaring up the carcass during the assembly process. I don’t generally do the painting so I’m not sure if that’s an issue. I’m thinking that as soon as Gunny’s drying room is finished we can all ship our stuff to him for finishing anyway 😎

[Gunny]

19 minutes ago, Masonsailor said:

I’m thinking that as soon as Gunny’s drying room is finished we can all ship our stuff to him for finishing anyway 😎

 

 

Yeah, okay.....  

[FlGatorwood]

Great job, John.  I'm really surprised that you didn't do some of that on the Shopsmith.  It needs some action.  LOL  That is a classic cabinet.  

[John Morris]

11 hours ago, forty_caliber said:

That looks great!  Did you cut the dado's by hand all the way or just clean them up with the plane?  I've always just cut them on the table saw and have never seen them cut by hand.  The joinery is top notch!

Thanks for the kind comments .40!

The dadoes I did with a router and straight edge, for the shelf and the top and bottom of the cabinet. Time constraints prohibit me from having too much fun with all hand joinery, mama wants this thing done last week!

[John Morris]

10 hours ago, Masonsailor said:

I put the backs on before finishing also. For me they are the part of squaring up the carcass during the assembly process.

Ditto! When I built a ton of cabinets many moons ago that was precisely why we did that back first, to square up the cabinet. Normally the back was a ply, we held two factory edges for squaring.

 

[John Morris]

8 hours ago, FlGatorwood said:

Great job, John.  I'm really surprised that you didn't do some of that on the Shopsmith.  It needs some action.  LOL  That is a classic cabinet.  

Steve, I did all the ripping on the Shopsmith, it got a ton of use! And still loving my Smith!

[Larry Buskirk]

4 minutes ago, John Morris said:

mama wants this thing done last week!

 

 Must be part of being in the "Sisterhood". 

[Cal]

That is looking really nice John.  And what a lumber "yard" you've got to shop at!

[Larry Buskirk]

10 hours ago, Masonsailor said:

I’m thinking that as soon as Gunny’s drying room is finished we can all ship our stuff to him for finishing anyway 😎

..So where do we send stuff since you answered...

10 hours ago, Gunny said:

 

 

Yeah, okay.....  

 

[Smallpatch]

John you might have told everyone if you've gotten over your ailments but I never heard yet so how are you now and are you clear with your doc or what?

[DuckSoup]

Looks good John. All those hand tools seem true & sharp.

[kmealy]

Looks great.  I bet you could do a side business making them.  People would probably be willing to spend $75 for one like it.  

 

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, kmealy said:

Looks great.  I bet you could do a side business making them.  People would probably be willing to spend $75 for one like it.  

 

Naw, hand made goes along way out here in Cali, I could get 900 plus for this piece.

[kmealy]

Just now, John Morris said:

Naw, hand made goes along way out here in Cali, I could get 900 plus for this piece.

I was reading today on another forum how much homeowners insurance has gone up in CA, assuming you can get it, due to the fires.   Maybe it's time to build earth-sheltered homes?   I used to go by one like that around here.  A wall in the side of a mound, somewhat under cover and the rest is subterranean.

 

 

[John Morris]

3 minutes ago, kmealy said:

I was reading today on another forum how much homeowners insurance has gone up in CA, assuming you can get it, due to the fires.   Maybe it's time to build earth-sheltered homes?   I used to go by one like that around here.  A wall in the side of a mound, somewhat under cover and the rest is subterranean.

 

 

We are in one those "Fire Zones" don't know why but we are, not a forest for miles around us. Our insurance went up 100 bucks a year.

[John Morris]

22 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

John you might have told everyone if you've gotten over your ailments but I never heard yet so how are you now and are you clear with your doc or what?

Hey Jess, been feeling really good for the past 9 months, I still go in for blood levels check and all that good stuff, I am off the prednisone (Thank God!), doc said I am in remission, and to just keep an eye out for the signs of it returning, and we'll just go through it all over again if it does, but this time since we know what it is, it won't be so stressful, we'll just roll with it. Thanks for checking Jess!