Walnut library/ breakfront Completed

[Edward Turkel]

Hi everybody,
I don't post very much in general, but I just completed a rather complex project and I thought it might give other woodworkers some ideas. The bookcases extend across two walls with a glass door curio cabinet at the corner junction. Construction is walnut veneer plywood cabinetry with solid walnut raised panel doors and moldings. Everything was shop made except the ceiling crown molding which was purchased at HD and stained to match. The glass shelves in the curio cabinet and mirrors lining the curio back walls were fabricated at a local glass shop. The walnut was stained with Crystalac warm walnut water based stain, given a coat of Zinser Sealcoat, and 3 layers of sprayed General Water Base Poly. The project was built in the shop as separate 30" base cabinets and top bookcases and assembled on site. The counter top was made in three pieces. Since I do this as a hobby and only get to woodwork on weekends, the whole project took about 10 months. Here are some pictures.

[Bruce Page]

Very well done. I love the warm classic look.
What is behind the grill?

[Randy Red Bemont]

You did a fantastic job Ed on this project. It looks awesome.

Red

[Edward Turkel]

There is a large HVAC return cut into the floor at that corner. I didn't want to restrict the air flow, hence the grill.

[Joe Jensen]

Fantastic work, great job. Finishing large pieces is a bear in my garage shop. I spray on the driveway. what did you do?

[Yonak Hawkins]

Spectacular, Ed. I agree with Bruce about the warm look.

I'm trying to figure out the stiles. Are those square wells in there ? If so, they couldn't have been easy to do, unless they were built up instead of cut out. The transitions in the corner look like they may have been tricky. When I built cabinets for my parent's kitchen, my mom wanted the stove set diagonally in the corner and, of course, the cabinets followed. I remember there was a lot to consider with the angles and then more issued on installation.

Those nice, wide cornices really balance out the look. Fine work.

[mreza Salav]

very nice work.
Is the crown not walnut? if it isn't how did you match it with the rest? the color looks very very close.

[Jim German]

Wow, that looks awesome.

Do you have any pictures of it in progress? I'd love to see how you did it.

[Edward Turkel]

The stiles were done on the router table. Two passes with a wide rabbeting bit cut the slot. (I first tried a dado stack but it left too many marks which showed in the finish, and the bottom corners are cut deeper with a dado stack so the two passes left two lines down the middle.) The two side walls of the groove were then routed with an astrigal bit to make pattern in the corners. The ends are flat pieces of walnut glued on.(It doesn't have to be a strong joint, just well fitting.) The whole finished style is then pinned to the cabinet along with a liberal amount of construction adhesive which when dry keeps it rock solid. Btw, there is a strip of plywood between the two cabinets alligned with the edges, so the molding is supported by 2 1/4' of wood thickness.

[Edward Turkel]

I do have some. I will try to post the tomorrow if I can find them.

[Edward Turkel]

I usually spray in my garage with the door half-way down onto a piece of plywood with a big fan cut into it. However, this project was mostly done during a very cold winter and the garage was just to cold for water base. I wound up covering everything in my basement shop with plastic drop cloths, the thin cheap kind, and spraying piece by piece, carrying them out of the shop as they were done, and leaving them to dry in another part of the basement. There were a lot of pieces and this process went on for many weekends. My sprayer is a fuji mini-mite 3.

[Edward Turkel]

Yes I was worried about the crown not being walnut. Home depot in my area sells hardwood moldings made out of some soft very white wood, maybe aspen? Anyway, I gave it two coats of shellac first, then sanded with 220 paper and foam blocks and then coated with the Crystalac stain, brushed on and not wiped off. I used it like paint and when it dried, I sealed with the Zinser and then sprayed the poly. Only one coat was needed, and the whole thing matched pretty good.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

This looks amazing!! Puts the built-ins I just completed to shame.

[Yonak Hawkins]

This looks amazing!! Puts the built-ins I just completed to shame.

Let's see 'em, Hoang, in a dedicated thread. I'm always interested in seeing fellow Atlantans' woodworking.

[John TenEyck]

Very nice work Ed, and a beautiful job finishing it. It looks like it belongs there and has always been there.

John