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Top Cupboards (completed)

This is where we don't want anything but evidence of your finest wood butchering in all its glorious, and photograph laden glory. Bring your finished products or WIP's, we love them all, so long as there's pictures, and plenty of 'em!

Re: Top Cupboards

Postby sammy.se » 22 Dec 2020, 19:56

Mike G wrote:
sammy.se wrote:......I do like a stop chamfer.
In that configuration, would you glue the panel in, or leave floating? Seems like gluing would be ok?


That can all be glued. The outer frame will shrink from the outside, so the panel can be fixed all round.


My next project is going to be similar top cupboards, but in the kitchen. I wanted to use solid pine/redwood for the beaded frames, instead of MRMDF (just for some variety and learning). I expect some movement, but will go with a 2mm gap around the doors to prevent binding. The doors will be made with MRMDF.
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Re: Top Cupboards

Postby Mike G » 22 Dec 2020, 21:05

I think you might find 2mm a tad too much, particularly if there is then some additional shrinkage. I go for 2 thicknesses of Cornflakes packet cardboard if I'm painting.
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Re: Top Cupboards

Postby sammy.se » 24 Dec 2020, 16:44

With everything primed, I re-tested the layout, with shims to check for gaps. Everything looked good so far. Even with a lot of checking-for-square as I built the frame and doors, there were some tiny variances (by tiny I reckon under 0.5mm at the worst). By the time the top coats were on, I would end up with a gap between 1mm~1.25mm. My over-sanding did expose some corners that I had accidently rounded over slightly (argh!).

I shuffled the doors around until I found a configuration that made the gaps as even as possible, and marked everything so that I remembered where they go.

Gaps 1.jpg
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Gaps 2.jpg
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Now I can cut the hinge mortices in the door.
I was a bit nervous, but a simple jig worked a treat.

Hinge Jig 1.jpg
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I used some small offcuts of birch ply, stuck to an MDF board with super glue. I held the ply firmly against the edges of a hinge, to get a nice tight outline. I then added more pieces of ply to provide support for the router base. Next time I’ll use slightly bigger pieces.

The screws with washers go through an 8mm oversized hole in the MDF board, into the softwood fence. The oversized holes allow me to micro adjust the jig, and vary the hinge position. Once I was happy with the test cuts, a couple of woodscrews through the board into the fence prevents further movement.

The softwood fence is clamped to the door either side, and the palm router with guided trim cutter does it’s thing.


With the hinges in, I re-tested the fit and all looked good.

Hinge fit 1.jpg
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Hinge fit 2.jpg
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Hinge fit 4.jpg
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At this point, I reckon I should have screwed the hinges to the frame and doors. I didn’t do that, I just relied on friction fitting and shims.
I think I should have done this because when the hinges are pulled in tightly with the screws, you see what the gaps will really look like once installed without shims, and I would have the chance to correct/trim the doors.

Before I start painting the top coats, I re-visited the carcass and installed some simple 6mm MDF edging to cover up the gaps. PVA and a small nail gun did the job nicely.

Carcass 2.jpg
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Not very pretty, but good enough for this particular cupboard.

You’ll also see the 5mm shelf pin holes I drilled before installing the carcass. Just drilled free hand, no jig since it’s only a handful of holes on each panel.

Inside the cupboard, I decided to use some white Dulux gloss I’ve had lying around. Might as well use that up. A quick stir and it still seems good (and whiffy). This over two coats of primer.

I also made a shelf for each side. 18mm MRMDF wouldn't sag in this case, since the span was small. I rounded over the edge using a palm router and roundover bit, and it gave a nice bullnose. Again, no issue with the MRMDF taking the shape, or with fluffy grain.

Shelf 1.jpg
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The gloss was applied with brush and a foam roller. Some slight orange peel, but that’s ok with me - as long as the texture was even throughout, I’m happy.

The shelf pin holes needed re-drilling after painting. A slight pain, but not a big deal.



Onto the frame and door top coats.

I wanted an eggshell finish, and initially just thought of doing an off-white colour. I visited the local Crown decorating centre, and with lots of umming and ahing I bought a tin of trade acrylic eggshell, in white. I decided I was going to mix up the colour I wanted myself!!

It was a risk - chemically speaking - so I just went ahead and hoped for the best.
I used a small amount of Little Greene Absolute Matt Emulsion dark teal, Bedec MSP “Dark Grey” satin, and Bedec MSP “Soft Thyme” satin.

With my sophisticated mixing tool (pencil and cable ties) I whipped up a lovely Farrow & Ball looking colour, which I was happy with. It was a bolder choice than my initial off-white idea, but it would go very nicely with brass.

A quick experiment on some offcuts, and the paint seemed to take well. It also didn’t separate in the pot, another good sign.


Paint Test 2.jpg
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Paint Test.jpg
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With that, I started painting the frame and doors.

I’ve tried a lot of paintbrushes (and am still trying new ones), but this one has been particularly impressive at giving a smooth finish. I painted my uPVC windows with them and they gave a very nice finish. I was skeptical given the price (£3.99) but it was very good indeed:

https://leylandsdm.co.uk/seagull-handy- ... e-2in.html


I wanted an even finish, and settled on having a foam rollered finish, rather than brushstrokes. I wouldn’t quite call it ‘orange peel’... it’s a finer grained texture.

The brush was great for getting into the corners, beading and moulding, and the foam roller was used for all the flat surfaces.
(For future projects, I will be trying brush and spray finishes).

Painting 2.jpg
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Painting 3.jpg
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I was careful to brush and roll out the paint very evenly, and without overloading, to make sure it was an even texture. I started with corners and moulding, then rolled the flat surfaces to blend everything in.

The end panel was deliberately not sanded to a fine finish, and I brushed it to match the ‘patina’ of the existing end-panel finish. (and you can see my sophisticated mixing device here too)

Painting 1.jpg
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I denibbed by hand between coats, with a well used 240 grit disc, vacuuming all dust before the next coat.

In case it’s of interest to anyone, my hand sanding tools of choice were a sanding block made with sanding belts, double sided tape and block of MDF; Mirka sanding discs for the higher grits; and these rather good Festool foam 120 grit sanding blocks - which I had bought for £4 on Prime day (normal price is £5). They are also made in the UK.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Festool-201084 ... 01F4RPWBA/

Sanding blocks.jpg
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Attachments
Hinge fit 3.jpg
(193.99 KiB)
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Re: Top Cupboards

Postby Mike G » 24 Dec 2020, 19:53

:eusa-clap: :eusa-clap: Very good Sam. And finished for christmas, too.
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Re: Top Cupboards

Postby sammy.se » 30 Dec 2020, 17:14

The Install (final part)

With the inside of the cupboard painted, as well as the doors and face frame, it was time for the install.

First thing was to scribe the end panel and face frame to the walls.

I initially used a compass on the end panel, it didn’t go too well, but filler hides a multitude of sins.

I decided to make a quick scribe block. Super quick and easy to make, with a few different widths and a pencil sized hole, it worked really well on the face frame.

Scribe block.jpg
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With the frame levelled up, I scribed it nice and snug to the wall on the right.

Install 1.jpg
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Next came attaching the frame to the carcass. I debated using biscuits, dominos and in the end I decided I was overcomplicating it. I could just drive a couple screws through the horizontal batons of the carcass! So that, with lots of glue, is what I did.

Install 3.jpg
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Now I can hang the doors. I had previously marked up the screw holes for the hinges in the face frame, and drilled a 2mm pilot hole. The screws are 3x30mm MDF screws. Not the prettiest, but would do very well for this cupboard.

Install 10.jpg
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Install 4.jpg
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With the hinges attached to the door, I offered it up to the frame and screwed them in place.
I’m aware that using screws into MDF ‘end grain’ could end in tears, but in the spirit of finding out for myself I proceeded, but prepared to repair with dowel inserts into the doors and frames should it go bad in future.

And so on, until all four doors were hung:

Install 11.jpg
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Next came the door knobs.

I used these 30mm brass knobs from Toolstation, which I think are excellent value for simple, solid brass knobs, at £1.17 each:

https://www.toolstation.com/victorian-brass-knob/p73544

They come in two parts.

Door Knob 1.jpg
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To fit, simply a hole in the door, using a simple drill guide to keep everything straight, with a countersink for the screwhead. A dab of paint to make it less conspicuous.

Drill Guide.jpg
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Door Knob 2.jpg
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I did find that one knob did not have a perfectly straight screw hole, which meant that the knob was a bit wonky when screwed in. A little bit of force straightened that out.

The brass goes really well with this colour, in my opinion.

Door Knob 3.jpg
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Next, the door stops and magnetic catches.

The door was inset, so I used these cranked door stops from Hafele (233.07.600):

I bought them from Solmer, in Essex. A gem of a supplier, especially for non-trades like me. They carry the usual branded cabinet hardware and lighting setups, but also some less expensive alternatives from Eastern Europe (might not be less expensive after Jan 1st, not sure).

https://www.solmer.co.uk/hardware/metal ... crank.html

door-stop.jpg
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The crank did not provide enough inset depth, so I shimmed it out with some card until the doors stopped at the perfect position.

Door Stays 1.jpg
(158.79 KiB)


Now the magnets.

I used these countersunk neodymium ring magnets, 12mm diameter, with a 3mm hole.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-200PCS-St ... 4352864688

They are not very strong - ok for these small doors, but anything bigger and I would use purpose made cabinet magnets, or larger magnets, or I would use a north/south magnet combination for extra grab.

Using this great value 12mm drill bit from screwfix (£2.19), I experimented on the countersink required for the magnet:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/brad-point-w ... 51mm/9820V

Magnet 1.jpg
(207.63 KiB)


Once I was happy, I drilled these into the door, making sure they aligned to the door stays. Another dab of paint.

Magnet 2.jpg
(222.19 KiB)


And that was the last part of the build!!

I’m very pleased with the outcome, but I wish I had screwed in the doors during the ‘dry fit’, before the install. With the hinges screwed in and pulled up tight, it exposed some unevenness in the gaps that wasn’t apparent when I just used the shims. Going forward, I shall make the doors slightly oversize (i.e. with zero gap), and fit them so I can create/adjust the gaps as needed.

I’m most pleased with how the polished brass knobs and hinges go with the colour, and how the end panel came out - it looks like part of the original build. My aim was to make this build blend in, like it was always meant to be there.

Here are some shots of the finished article:

Finished 4.jpg
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Finished 1.jpg
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Finished 2.jpg
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Finished 3.jpg
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Finished 5.jpg
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Install 14.jpg
(215.27 KiB)
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Re: Top Cupboards

Postby sammy.se » 30 Dec 2020, 17:15

Install 8.jpg
(180.66 KiB)


Door Knob 4.jpg
(64.71 KiB)
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby Malc2098 » 30 Dec 2020, 18:47

Really nice.
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby RogerS » 30 Dec 2020, 19:02

A very enjoyable read, Sam, and some nice tips.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby sammy.se » 30 Dec 2020, 19:13

Thanks Roger and Malc!

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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby Mike G » 30 Dec 2020, 20:08

Great thread, lovely cupboards. :eusa-clap:

I love the beads, I love the paint, and the fit looks good too. I'm not 100% sure about setting the doors back behind the line of the face frames, but I am 100% certain that the lower cupboard now needs repainting to match the new upper cupboard!
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby SamQ aka Ah! Q! » 30 Dec 2020, 20:38

:eusa-clap: From one Sam to another. Well thought out, pennies looked after, execution meticulous. Top job! :eusa-clap:
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby sammy.se » 31 Dec 2020, 15:14

Mike G wrote:Great thread, lovely cupboards. :eusa-clap:

I love the beads, I love the paint, and the fit looks good too. I'm not 100% sure about setting the doors back behind the line of the face frames, but I am 100% certain that the lower cupboard now needs repainting to match the new upper cupboard!


Thanks Mike! I appreciate your feedback.
Totally agree about the bottom cupboard - it looks a bit too shabby now!
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby sammy.se » 31 Dec 2020, 15:16

SamQ aka Ah! Q! wrote::eusa-clap: From one Sam to another. Well thought out, pennies looked after, execution meticulous. Top job! :eusa-clap:


Thank you very much! :-)
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby TrimTheKing » 31 Dec 2020, 15:40

Very nice indeed mate. Great WIP, good plan, well executed and final product looks great. I'm with Mike, love the paint but you definitely need to paint the bottom to match now. Crack on good sir! ;)
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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby sammy.se » 31 Dec 2020, 15:53

TrimTheKing wrote:Very nice indeed mate. Great WIP, good plan, well executed and final product looks great. I'm with Mike, love the paint but you definitely need to paint the bottom to match now. Crack on good sir! ;)
Thank you!
And yes, I've created more work for myself. Where's that paint brush :-)

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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby Andyp » 31 Dec 2020, 16:44

The attention to detail has paid off. Great stuff.
I do not think therefore I do not am.

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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby sammy.se » 01 Jan 2021, 18:26

Andyp wrote:The attention to detail has paid off. Great stuff.
Thank you Andy!

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Re: Top Cupboards (completed)

Postby thetyreman » 03 Jan 2021, 13:25

looks great, some nice details as well, I like the brass knobs, paint job looks very professional.
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