Category Archives: Woodworking and Furniture

Cherry Medicine Cabinet

Last fall I ended up overhauling two of the bathrooms at the house.  Both seemed to fall apart at the same time which is not surprising as they were some 40 years old.  One of the bathrooms got a shiny new vanity along with the new floor and other bathroom items.  The vanity I selected had no option for a  matching medicine cabinet.  No store bought cabinet would fit the atypical opening in the wall.  Months of staring at a gaping 2’x2′ hole in the wall  got old.  I decided that the first of the year would be well spent making a new medicine cabinet to fill the ugly hole in the wall.  It actually took the 1st and 2nd day of the year to build. I blame that on having only 3.25 hrs sleep on the first due to fun new years celebrations.

   

I chose basic construction practices for the design.  I made the entire project from a single cherry board I milled back in the summer.  The tree had been 2 years dead standing prior to my milling it into a board and the wood measured dry enough.   I used basic rabbit butt joints on the box with some 1.5″ brass screws I had on hand.  I assembled the face frame with pocket hole screws.

pocket hole screw joints  

Pocket hole screws (above left photo) are one of the best things ever for cabinetry and quick strong construction.  I bought my KREG pocket hole jig  (above right photo) when they first came into their own while still in high school.  Pocket hole screws are put in at a 15 degree angle and quickly clamp and secure wood pieces together.  The KREG jig is the greatest of all modern woodworking innovations in my opinion.  It allows you to quickly build cabinets, boxes, face frames, etc.  I’ve used it to screw in studs and braces in rough construction. I have built many cabinets with it.  I even used it when I built my regatta winning boat one summer because of it makes for quick easy joinery.  It used to be, one had to go to a woodworking store to buy the pocket hole screws and jigs but they are now sold at Lowes everywhere.

    

The cabinet came out well.  I had to invert the cabinet hinges to make them work with the mirror.  The cherry I selected matches the wood on the mirror well enough that you might think they came together.  I added shelf pins and bought some 1/4″ plate glass at Granite State Glass in Concord for the middle shelf.  I may get a second shelf, and drilled the holes for one.  Right now I think I like it with just the one shelf.  Granite State Glass is the place to go for any of your project glass or mirror needs in New Hampshire.  They are friendly, affordable, and always willing to help me when I’m not certain what grade/thickness I might need.

I’m pretty happy with how my cherry medicine cabinet came out and with how well it matched my St Pauls Chelsea vanity/sink.  Now all I have to do is come up with or select a light to put over the top of my new cabinet/mirror to complete the bathroom renovations.

Shaker inspired dining table – finished

Cherry Shaker inspired dining table

Here are some pictures of the stained and polyurethane finished table.  The stain is an old masters rich mahogany. I could say a lot about the old masters stain but I’ll just say this, I won’t be using it again.   The table came out well and I’m quite proud of it.  It took considerably more coats of urethane on the top to seal all of the wood grain then I expected resulting in a bit of a delay in being able to deliver this table to it’s  happy new home.  I’ll be delivering it tomorrow and it should provide many years of lasting service as the family dining table.

Cherry Shaker inspired dining table     Cherry Shaker inspired dining table

The top finish is a satin non gloss, but the depth of the 8 coats of urethane goes a long way to have that deep reflection in spite of the lack of gloss.  I’m pretty happy with the final product and I know my customer will be happy when she sees her new table.

A hallway mirror, in well figured Tiger Maple

Figured Maple Hallway Mirror

 

This beauty is a hallway mirror I made from some gorgeously figured tiger maple I picked up.  Sometimes you have to buy wood at the lumberyard when you see it.  I was shopping for some mahogany one day and saw this pile of recently pulled from the kiln maple at my local sawmill,  Goosebay sawmill and lumber.  I simply had to have it so I bought a couple pieces for a future project.  This mirror is one such future project.  It uses 100% solid brass hardware and has a nice little storage area for wallets and phones so they do not get lost.  The pegs hold the car and house keys.

Figured Maple Hallway Mirror      Tiger Maple Hallway Mirror

My only real issue with this mirror is that it’s too skinny and looks a bit odd in the hallway.  I have just enough of the tiger maple left to make a wider version.  When I do I will likely put this one up for sale on Etsy or at some local craftsman shows.

A Shaker Inspired Dining Table

A shaker inspired dining table

 

A friends wife contacted me one afternoon back in September, inquiring as to my availability to build a new dining table for them.   After some discussion and lengthy decision making process on the design, style, and type of wood I began construction.  This is the dry fit assembly of the table.  I used mortise and tenon joints on the lower part for this table.  Originally we discussed simpler and cheaper pocket hole joinery but I felt that a table shouldn’t need to be tightened up with time and get all wiggly like my current store bought kitchen table has a tendency to do periodically.  More on this project as it progresses.

 

A shaker inspired dining table
A shaker inspired dining table