Curly Pine Pantry Cabinet

[Lee Schierer]

Here is the curly pine pantry cabinet I just completed and delivered to my daughter in law over the fourth of July weekend. The pine was in the select pine bin at the local HD. I was concerned that the grain might not take the stain evenly enough to look good, but it worked out well. The grain isn't too apparent in the photos. My daughter in law came up with the design, which turned out quite well.

The pantry is 48" wide ( actually 47-3/4 so it would fit in the back of the Explorer for delivery), 80" tall and just 12" deep. I used clear pine for all the doors and exterior surfaces and #2 pine for the shelves and interior panels to keep down the cost. The raised panels were cut on my table saw, though the initial face cuts are done with a router. All the shelves are adjustable.

It is finished with Minwax Golden Pecan stain and Deft Semi-gloss clear wood finish.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Looks great Lee! Do you find wood like this at HD often? I can't find nice boards, even in the select bin, at the one close to me. She should be very pleased with this!

[Fred LeBail]

Hey Lee,
Good to see somebody else working in Pine.
Nice job, finish looks great.
Fred

[Shelley Bolster]

Beautiful piece Lee. I agree with Fred, it's nice to see others work with pine. The finish looks great and with no pre-stain treatment. Have you stained pine before with Minwax?
I'm going to nominate you for Father-In-Law of the year award!
Shelley

[Lee Schierer]

I rarely shop either of the local big box stores for lumber. Their prices are too high. I get better wood and better prices from a local building contractor lumber supplier. They are however about the only source locally for pine and their prices are competitive with other local pine sources. I have seen some curly maple and curly oak at HD before. It pays to walk by their racks once in a while if they are your only source.

I work with pine once in a while, but prefer hard woods as they will generally last longer. Pine dents too easily.

Staining pine can be tricky. Normally I would use the Minwax prestain wood conditioner. This time, the sample pieces I stained seemed to turn out okay, so I didn't use it. I find that the pre-conditioner makes the color more uniform, but also much lighter in tone. This was two coats of stain with 48 hours dry time between coats.

[Lou Morrissette]

Real nice job Lee. Amazing how you can get lucky at HD on occaision.

[Phil Phelps]

... but I've come to expect that from you. A lot of folks are "surprised" when they stain pine. You are a good daddy 'n law.

[Jim Ketron]

Great Job Lee!
Jim

[Jim Becker]

Lee, that's a wonderful piece. I would never have guessed "pine" either without your description. Very nice work! She's a lucky gal!

[John Miliunas]

Great lookin' pantry, Lee! I'll bet your DIL is happy as can be! I know I would be. Heck, I'd be happy if I could even make something that nice! You done that Curly Pine justice, Lee!

[Jeff Skory]

Nice looking pantry Lee. That stain gave it a real nice color.

I'm curious about working with wood from HD. Do you still plane and joint it when you bring it home? And if so, what thickness do you end up working with?

[Ted Daigle]

Nice, Lee. You really did a great job on the finish, too. I use quite a bit of clear pine and it can be difficult to avoid blotching, especially on a piece that size.

[Rob Littleton]

Sweeeeeeet

[John Olson]

I IM the site to my daughter in the back room. I can here it now. Dad I love you, add that to the list of things to build me. GKar needs a new home first though.

[Terry Hatfield]

Lee,

Super job!!!! I really like it!!! I don't work much in pine either, but your cabinet makes me think that maybe I should.

Terry