Getting Started

I am now, officially, started with my master bath renovation. I have the first set of materials - the wood for the vanity and shelves.

Like our kitchen, our bathrooms were not built with the best materials and they have started to deteriorate. So I am going to rebuild this room myself. I am going to start by making the wooden products, the vanity and a matching shelf box.

A few months ago, that would have been a daunting task. At this juncture, it is not the item that gives me the most pause. That I reserve for the demolition.

I am not going to change the shower at all, but everything else will be updated. For now, though, my task is to change a pile of wood into a couple pieces of furniture.

Closet Drawers

Finally. I got my daughter's closet drawer set done. I had half a sheet of oak plywood left over from my bench project, so I decided to make this. Drawers are still very difficult for me. Any and all adjustments are crude, at best. Doors are, for some reason, much easier for me.

My second drawer box came out nice, though. I learned to not leave as much slop in sizing the bottom and to cheat and use brad nails to square things up before pulling everything together with pocket screws.

One thing I know is that it is heavy. Three-quarter plywood all around. That seemed like it took me forever to build. I guess I'm just impatient and want things faster than they come to me.

At least now my daughter has more storage space for her clothes.

Almost Professional

My daughter's bed was merely a box spring and mattress atop a steel frame. With her newly painted walls and baseboards, I felt that her bed needed a simple headboard. I used some leftover pine plywood, made legs from a 1x2 sandwiched between 1x3s, and trimmed it out with 1x4s. I painted it with the same white Duration paint that her trim was painted with and, voila, a headboard.

Everything is held together with glue. Brad nails were used to, essentially, hold the pieces while the glue dried.

"It looks almost professional," my wife said. Almost.

Workbench

My workbench is done.

I built this workbench to learn how to build base cabinets.

I learned how to build base cabinets because I want to make new bathroom vanities.

I want to make new bathroom vanities because I can't find ones that I like for a reasonable price.

We need to remodel our bathrooms because they're old and falling apart. And that's why you should never give a mouse a cookie.

So there it is - my new workbench. It's kind of a show bench, really. A torsion box would have been a more functional design, but would not have exercised the skills I wanted to learn. My wife wants me to make our daughter a squat dresser to fit into her closet. Basically, a rectangular box with four drawers. Drawers are hard for me, so that piece will be more of a challenge than she may realize. First, I want to get her headboard made, which is what the lumber in front of my workbench is for.

One of the neat features of my bench is that the grain on the door and drawer fronts flow together. It's a little thing, but I like it.

Anyway, now I need to add a pegboard to the wall behind it, and install a front and end vise. Punch some dog holes through that beautiful top. All in due time.

First Cabinet

It might not be much, but it is the first cabinet I've ever made. Lots and lots of mistakes went into it, making me wonder if two practice cabinet will be enough for me to attempt finish carpentry. The biggest pain was the drawer, followed closely by applying a Polycrylic finish.

The drawer box was made from some scrap 1/2 plywood (outside of the oak exterior, that thing was made from scraps). Warped, delaminating plywood. Since I wanted to be able to just toss heavy tools into it, I made a full floor from the same material - resulting in a warped floor and, thus, a warped drawer box. A warped drawer box won't slide gracefully on its track wheels. Oh no. It will cock a quarter inch to the side and stay that way (reducing to maybe an eight-inch off kilter when loaded). So I put a brick in the drawer and attached the drawer face so that it would be true.

Applying Polycrylic is like trying to paint with water. It cleans up very nicely, but drips and runs were common when using a nice brush. What ended up working better for me was those fifty-cent foam brushes. My routine was 220 grit, wipe clean, apply poly, 320 grit, wipe clean, apply poly, etc. until you had 3-4 coats of poly.

My two pucker moments both involved the door. I practiced with the Forster bit on a piece of scrap plywood, making sure the door would line up. All the hardware was scavenged, and the Blum hinges I used were full-conceal frameless and my box is framed with a one-inch reveal on the sides, so I modified the hinges to work. Anyway, I had the tip punch through on my practice piece, so I was afraid of doing that to my finished door. I'd check every few revolutions with the hinge to see if it was deep enough.

Then, when I got the hinges installed on the door, I attached it to the cabinet box - and it was off by a good quarter inch! I had visions of relocating the hinges and drilling the 35mm holes again, when I remembered that I swapped hinges. Sure enough, there's a side-to-side adjustment screw that, actually, has a wide range. I was able to center the door under the drawer.

Anyway, the best advice I read when making your first couple practice cabinets is to make one, then another. That way, you don't make repeat mistakes and you get to see, twice, how certain issues manifest themselves later (or not).

Now I need to make another, then a table top to span them, creating my workbench.