New Kitchen for Wife

[seafurymike]

Well I thought i'd start a thread on my build.
This is a huge project for me as I'm not a woodie, but love the craft.

We have just got floor boards laid in our house and we were inspired to change our kitchen to something newer which was more practical to use.

I convinced the wife that hiring a tradie to make us a kitchen is too expensive and that we could build our own, put in better quality material and fittings and still save money.
I could also buy the tools i lacked and thus keep them for other projects.

So we chose to use American Maple for the carcasses, hoop pine for the fascias and the bench top will be a light granite. The fascias would be painted at the end.

So far I have managed to build the carcasses and I have added the beading around the fascias. A few pictures of where we are at in the build ....

The sink is being trial fitted to confirm the height of the wood required underneath.

[JMB]

That is all looking great. I especially like the beading that you are putting around the fascias. Looking forward to seeing how the job develops. Just out of interest what tools are you using to make the cabinets?

[seafurymike]

I have the following equipment:

1. 10" table saw with CMT dado set
2. 6" jointer
3. 6" Thicknesser
4. Host of drills and sanders and routers (1/4" and 1/2" unit).
5. I also bought a Leigh D1600 dovetail jig for the drawers.

I didn't have a router table, which was a concern. My grandfather bought a B&D combo table which is made out of cheap particle board years ago (Over 15 atleast, cause he has been deceased for at least that long) and I used it as the base for my table to make the beading.

I found that once i put the router on this unit, the plate flexed so much that I had to add some sheeting to the top and pass the router bit through that. We finally found to make the beading (which uses a CMT 1/8" beading bit) that if we pre-ripped the stock, then passed it through the table it produced a cleaner bead. I raised the bit just enough that it produces the round and a small flat at the bottom in one pass. I am quite pleased with the result.

Thats it i think
Michael

[namtrak]

Darn, I read the thread title and thought you offering me a new kitchen in exchange for my wife.

Sink looks btw, loking forward to following this thread

[Wongo]

Mike,

What do you mean you are not a woodie?? You work looks fantastic.

I too have the same ambition to build my own kitchen one day when I have the time and money. It is a huge project so good luck to you.

[seafurymike]

Thanks guys for the positive feedback. I was a bit worried about comments as some of the work produced on the forum is terrific.

I'll post my progress as soon as i can get back into my house. The floor polishing keeps getting pushed out, but only because he wants to get a good finish on the floor for me. Kind of the opposite of the post that is running about bad tradies.

/M

[Doc0055]

That looks like it will be a great kitchen.

What doors and draw fronts are you going to use?

[Just George]

Please post photos of the drawers when they are done.

[whitewood]

"So we chose to use American Maple for the carcasses, hoop pine for the fascias and the bench top will be a light granite. The fascias would be painted at the end."

Mike it really looks great so far. Now that I know that you are going to paint the facias I don't feel so bad letting you down with the Paulownia. Holidays closures are a bummer for customers but unavoidable in a one person business.

In hindsight it is possible that you are better off with the hoop pine for fascias as Paulownia is fairly soft and would have dented more easily had it got any bad bumps.

I will watch for the finished job with interest.

Whitewood

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Mike,

Great work on the cabinets so far!! I, too, look forward to seeing how the whole project goes for you. Do you have a floor plan of the kitchen design?

One day I aim to rebuild my own kitchen too, so your thread is very interesting. Are the carcass sides/back maple plywood or solid maple?

cheers
Wendy

[seafurymike]

Wow, lots of replies, i need to look at this thread more often.

The top drawers will be plain and just inset to the carcasses. The bottom drawers will have a recessed panel with some trim detail around the recessed area. I have to work out what type of detail i want to use for this, so a trip to the hardware store is in order to look at various router bit options.

Hey Whitewood, as i mentioned on the phone, you have take holidays when you can get it. I was happy enough to wait, but i found some hoop pine and decided to use this. As i mentioned, i will keep you in mind for future projects.

The floor plan is simple, all of the cabinets will be up against my kitchen window as a single row. I have one other alcove which needs addressing and the wife has the idea to make a cabinet that has two cupboards doors at the bottom and a see through window cabinet on top of this. I have yet to draw it up, but will post the drawing when i get to it.

I will take a picture of the area for people to see where things will go. Now that the floor is complete and we are back int the house i need to make some progress as washing up in the laundry will not go down well for too long.

/M

[big_gumbo]

Looks like you're building it the old fashioned way - with the frame.

Have you worked out how much is it going to cost you by having a carcass out of solid wood? It's going to be a pain in the ass to waterproof aswell

[seafurymike]

Hey big gumbo,

The carcasses are veneered not solid.
I bought the sheets from BRIMS before they closed down and were really cheap (50% off), so i nearly bought all that was left.

I am going to either use tongue oil or Polyurethane. I will test each out and select the one that gives me the result i want. The veneer is supposed to be water resistant but as they are no longer in business if it isn't i can't claim on it.

/M

[boban]

Mate, it looks good so far but I have to question why you would use a veneered board in lieu of the standard melamine. You could face either type of board.

The reason I would not use a veneer unless it was exposed or behind a glass door are pretty obvious. Firstly, it is not as durable as the melamine and secondly, it needs to be finished. I would use the poly if you want some wear resistance in the finish.

That said, it will look better in the veneered board when you open the door. Just get the finish right on the areas where it will wear most, that is, the shelves. Another more expensive option is glass sitting on top of the shelves.