Vented Pantry Doors

Last weekend I had time to fabricate four pantry doors. The doors will feature a ventilated center panel. This was a quick project to finish a custom pantry. The doors are a simple shaker style door. The doors will be painted white to match the pantry.

Before we begin any project, read and understand the instructions of the equipment you are using. Please use hearing and vision protection

The Joiner and the planer I will be using utilizing have a helical cutter head which reduces noise and in my own personal opinion provide a superior cut compared to a straight blade cutter. I have been using these machines for several years now and I couldn’t imagine being in the shop without them. For more information about helical cutters click here.

Step 1: Milling the stock

Joining

We are using Birch to fabricate our doors. This wood is common for making cabinets. I am using it for its stability rather than the aesthetics. Starting with rough stock I purchased at The Hardwood Store of North Carolina. I joined the edge on the joiner. With one edge joined I can flip the board giving me a straight edge. This edge runs straight against the fence while joining the face of the board. To make it easier to run the stock on the joiner I cut the length of the boards slightly longer than the height of the doors.

Rough Stock
Joning face
Joning face

Planing

From the joiner, the next step is planing the boards to the proper thickness. With the joined face down on the planer, we take a few small passes at a time. Our final thickness is 3/4″ thick. We run all the boards through to ensure they are identical.

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Custom cutting boards

After I made custom cutting boards for myself and family I was surprised how many people were looking for a quality wood cutting board and something different then what was available in the store. Like most woodworkers, I try to use all my scraps for something useful. These are just a small sampling of boards that I have made over the last few years.

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Dual Bathroom Vanity

Dual bathroom vanity for a beach house in Anna Marie Island Florida. Our client was looking for a vanity that would last in a home on the beach. After several attempts at big box vanities, I was contracted to build a vanity that not only would last but added storage solution for a small bathroom. Although the bathroom is small there is plenty of room for two.

Because longevity was a concern a marine grade ply was used for the cabinet. Our client wanted large open space under both sinks which she added pull outs after the vanity was installed. To provide durability the inside of the vanity was finished with laminate in a dove gray color to match the color used in the bathroom. This is not common but will last a life time.

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Custom Pirate Ship railing

Yes the title says Pirate ship. Every year in Bradenton Florida the HERNANDO DE SOTO HISTORICAL SOCIETY has a Parade which includes Pirate ships. They have events through out the year.

The pirate ships are converted buses or trucks used for parade purposes. During an inspection The FLDOT required a safety railing to be added or the ship could not be street legal.

The railings required were 14 feet long and not only curved to the shape of the bow but also had to curve upward. This is not the challenging part. These railings needed to be fabricated and installed in 14 days.

Railing installed at Bow
Upper Railing at Bow
Railing installed at Bow
1/8″ laminated strips

To make these I made a template out of 1/4″ plywood laid out on supports that were installed by the Crewe.

Due to the urgency we decided to use 2×6 lumber and ripped 1/8″ strips. We laid out 2 sheets of plywood to length and attached the template.

Clamps, clamps and more clamps were used to glue the strips together with the assistance of my brother. Large laminations require us to work fast due to the length of these railings. We glued up four pieces at first to form the basic shape and allowed the glue to dry. We had to make two templates and two different setups for this build as the ship was not symmetrical.

The railings were completed in under a week on the budget. The Crewe installed and stained them in time for the Parade. This was one of my favorite projects because it was unique and challenged my woodworking abilities.

Custom Bar Sink

Our client and friend was renovating his kitchen and was looking to add a custom sink that he had purchased for a bar he had designed. The bar sink was not going to be used very often but when entertaining would be indispensable.

I went to see what he had in mind and the location was in a wall unit style pantry cabinet giving us a depth of 15 inches to work with inside the cabinet. The idea being that it would be behind cabinet doors when not needed. The plumbing had already been installed and he was determined to make this work.

We used mahogany to match the color of his cabinets. We tried every stain imaginable to match and it turned out a simple clear coat was the way to go.

Laminating the top
Rough opening
First coat of clear
Front skirt added

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Display Case construction

The display case was designed to separate into 4 main pieces. Top, bottom and 2 halves of cabinet. This unit was made to fit into a service elevator for delivery to an eighth floor condo. Careful measurements were taken to ensure the finished dimensions were what the client wanted and to be able to deliver it.

Although this is not a deep cabinet it was visible from the sides so we had the opportunity to add raised panels giving this a more classy look. The back panel was stained black allowing the grain to show through and the cabinet was finished in a matte black as per our clients specification.

Lock miter joints were used to stiffen the end panels and eliminate the need for nails or screws. This is an extremely strong joint with a large surface area for glue. Once assembled the joint seam is at the corner. Light sanding and finished it is difficult to tell that the piece of wood is actually 2 pieces joined together.

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Farm Table Construction

Yet another rainy day here in NC. I decided to go through my pictures and share how we made our Farm table. Thanks to my brother in-law I was able to obtain the larger solid hardwood I was looking for to construct the table.

I wish I had taken pictures of the stock I used. It looked like firewood. Anyway after sizing my lumber the first pictures shows the first cuts for the tenon used to make the legs. These joints used hand cut Brazilian Cherry pins to attach the legs at the base. After making the legs for each end I set them in place to determine how long the table should be. I also wanted to maximize the lumber. It seemed a shame to have nice long beams only to cut them down.

First Joint
Holes for Cherry pins
Laying out dimensions

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2019 Project list.

New year new projects. We have created a busy schedule for this year. We still have some 2018 projects to close out but moving forward for 2019.

Rustic King bed for a Master bedroom.
Craftsman guest bathroom
Master bath remodel
Board and batten paneled guest room
Outdoor landscaping and pond renovation.
Custom built-ins for large dining room

Have not decided in what order we will be doing this but I’m sure we will overlap while waiting for glue, primer and finishes to cure.

We will have several photo galleries and possibly some how to’s during our projects.

Check back and feel free to comment

Find us on Pinterest

If you have and idea for a project but aren’t sure you can describe it we have found that Pinterest is an awesome source to find inspiration and teaming with us we can work together to create your vision.

Custom Display Case

This display case was built to display a gun collection. A custom rack system was designed to hold several different types of rifles. The rail system is fully adjustable from right to left for various length rifles. Hand turned dowels were made with an offset center mounting hole to allow adjustment to level the rifles. This cabinet is 85″ wide by 62″ tall and is mounted to the wall using a french cleat. The cabinet has L.E.D lighting with over 100 programs to enhance items on display and were installed as an added feature since this was designed to mounted behind a bar.

Custom LED lighting