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End of phase #1

11/28/2012

All the parts and pieces are sanded and prepaired for the finish. Now I go Into spraying mode.
I first apply a Lacquer based sealer that I have specially mixed to add a little bit of tint which gives the wood a little bit of a warm tone. (if I were doing a maple or something that required a "water clear" finish I would use a completely different product)
After the sealer is dry I hand sand with a 220 Grit sand paper, vacuum off the dust and spray with a Conversion Varnish. (a two part mix of varnish and catalyst as a hardener)

On the exposed facs and surfaces I actually apply two coats of the varnish, one right after the other while they are still in the spray booth.
The finish I prefer is a "dull sheen" which gives a nice hand rubbed look but the protection of a sprayed top coat.

After the finish has a day or two to cure I install the drawer slides and drawers and this project is ready for installation.
In this case The client wanted to hold off on the door and drawer fronts, and some of the trim details till a later date. (I'm glad that I was able to accomodate them with this, try to do that with another cabinet manufacturer)
"So we Loaded up the Truck and moved to Beverly" Jerico that is! And after a long day this was the result. Phase # 1 Complete.

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Cutting Corners

11/18/2012

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In a project like this it requires alot of mitered corners of varying degrees of angle.
Years ago I came across this simple little process that makes doing these types of joints fairly simple to achieve.
In this photo you can see that the panel section of this wall is actually wrapped around the end of the wall as well as the base kick being wrapped around.

I'll use the base kick as an example of this process.
1st pre-cut the parts in question, as you can see there are three parts that will get wrapped, each cut with a 45 degree bevel on the ends.
I place these parts face up with the points of the mitres touching, then using a clear packing tape I tape over the joint and the tape now acts as a hinge.
I flip the parts over as you see in the above picture, then apply glue to the inside of the joint and fold the whole assembly around the end of the wall, clamp in place and wait for the glue to dry.
Whala! a nice clean and solid joint, no nails , mortises, fasteners etc. Some sanding and ready for finishing.

The beauty of this system is that the tape dosen't care what angle you use.
Here you can see a 45 degree corner done in the same fashion.
A word of caution, Inside corners are a little more difficult due to the fact that the glue squeezes out of the joint as you fold it together so use minimal glue on a inside Miter.
Happy Mitering

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Let's Face It.

11/15/2012

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We've discussed all the parts involved in the fabrication of the Cabinet Boxes.
Now I start to work up the face frame and finished end panel parts. ( basically all the Cherry components that get attached to the boxes.)
The part count for the face & panels is 153 this gives us a total of 331 parts on the list.
In this shot I have taken rough cherry stock flattened it, thickness planned it, straightened one edge, ripped it to the correct width and jointed the ripped edge to remove the saw marks on pieces that will have both edges exposed.

From here these dimensioned pieces get cut to the exact length and beveled if necessary, tennons cut into the ends of some and groves or mortises into others, and the list goes on.
Pieces get assembled sanded and applied to the cabinet boxes.

this is a wall unit actually standing on it's end, sanded and ready for finishing. (you're looking at the bottom of this unit.)

Other pieces get assembled into components that are part of the kitchen design. Here is the Island back wall that will be the eating area of the kitchen. ( this space is designed to accomodate 6 guests at the bar top.)

I'm almost ready to start the finishing process, More to come:

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PARTS IS PARTS

11/12/2012

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Another project that is in progress in the shop is a custom Kitchen job.
The first step in the process once all the design work is complete is to create a parts list for the sheet stock ( plywood etc. for the cabinet boxes) transfered that to a cut list software that gives me my cutting layouts by sheet.

Then I start making sawdust, utilizing the tablesaw and edgebander I work through almost twenty sheets of maple plywood.
These odd shaped parts are easier for me to cut on the cnc router and edge band by hand.

once the assembly of these parts is complete the shop starts to fill up a bit.
To get to this stage there are 178 parts cut from my cut list. This is just for boxes and shelves.

Stay tunned more parts to come.

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Getting Primed to finish

11/12/2012

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This paricular piece is getting a clear finish on the maple cabinet carcass, and all the exposed surfaces are getting painted to match the interior trim of the house.

In order to make the transition from clear to painted I keep the face frame separate from the carcass and apply it after it is primed and painted.
These two shots are after the face and drawer fronts were sprayed with a latex primer.

Once primed I sand with fine paper, vacuum off the dust and spray two coats of the latex finish paint.
Here are the parts in the spray booth, I'll let the paint cure for a few days before I finish assembling the Cabinet, with latex the longer it sits the harder it gets.

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Ist Fall drawing class in the history books

11/9/2012

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This drawing is somewhat of a typical project we would work on in my classes, The majority of my students are Carpenters and contractors that have limited Computer Experience.

In this 1st class of the season I had some students that were seasoned computer users and not Carpenters.
We took an approach to the class from a more engineering stand, by creating parts that cold be used in a more mechanical enviroment.

When learning the techniques needed to create drawings you just need to break down your projects into individual shapes, parts and pieces. Then given the knowledge learned in class you know what tools to use to draw these components.

I try to tailor my classes to my students and the level of experience.

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Few And Far between.

11/5/2012

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I've had a few projects going in the shop and I get so involved that I loose track of the value of showing processes that aren't that exciting to me.

This is a face frame for a drawer unit I'm doing for a Interior designer www.highcountryhome.net/ for one of their clients.
This piece is going to get painted to match the trim in the house it will be installed in, The green panels are made from moisture resistant MDF ( medium density fiber board ) I use mdf in this type of application because it is a very stable product , and it takes paint very well. There is no grain to telegraph through the paint so you can achieve a very smooth finish when spraying.

This is the Carcass that the above face frame will get mounted to, The interior of this piece will be clear finished maple and the drawers will be solid maple dovetailed drawers on soft closing drawer sildes.

stay tuned fo more progress on this and other projects underway in the shop

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author

I've pretty much had my hands on wood for the most part of my Life. Started in High school, on Marthas Vineyard Mass.Worked under a Father and son Partnership that taught me the valuable foundation of what High End work really is.
I've taken those fundimentals and put my own spin on things. Today (some 36 years ago as I write this )My shop is located in Northern New Hampshire, where I have followed my philosophy of doing high quality work and delivering more than the customer expects.

End of phase #1

Cutting Corners

Let's Face It.

I'm almost ready to start the finishing process, More to come:

PARTS IS PARTS

Stay tunned more parts to come.

Getting Primed to finish

Ist Fall drawing class in the history books

Few And Far between.

author

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