Living Room Cabinet

[Howard Rosenberg]

Hi all - This is one of two cabinets I built to fit into niches in our living room.

Construction is... entirely MDF! (what did you expect?)
As always, I use only dadoes, grooves, rabbets and glue. The only mechanical fasteners are the screws used for the drawer hardware.

The first photo includes the shelves which are the "free-floating" style - they're actually 1/2" MDF skins placed onto welded square tube screwed into the studs and then shimmed for level - left-to-right and front-to-back.

The next two photos show the frame and panel doors.
The frames are 3/4" MDF. I mitred them, reenforced them with biscuits, chamfered the inside & outside edges and routed rabbets for the 1/2" MDF panels to fit into.
I also chamfered the mating frames and panels on the insides to provide something of a reveal.
I used BLUM 110-degree face-frame compatible Euro-hinges.

I took my time lining up the drawer faces and used a reversible drilling jig for the knobs' screws. I glued "false" face frames behind the cabinets' face-frames to hide the drawer hardware.

The last photo shows two of my favourite techniques:
To lighten the appearance of a tabletop, I like to chamfer the top and run an ogee on the bottom.
The second is my cheater's technique extraordinaire!
If the carcases aren't as aquare as I'd like, I chamfer the front and back of the face-frames and extend them beyond the gables. This establishes a discreet reveal, and voila! - instant square carcases!


Thanks for looking. Howard

[Steve Clardy]

Looking good Howard. Did you use white lacquer or white paint with a clear coat? Steve

[Howard Rosenberg]

reason the finish looks so good? I DIDN'T DO IT!!

We had painters in at the same time I did the cabinets.

Oil-based paint in a soft yellow my wife picked out. She likes things that blend in to each other and wanted the cabinets to look like proper built-ins at first glance.

Howard

[Todd Burch]

They look great Howard. Your painter did a good job too. I would suggest that you go ahead and actually build it in next time. Those areas on each side are now just hard-to-clean areas. And, since your favorite medium is MDF (!), it wouldn't be like you would be leaving an heirloom behind if you ever move.

Keep up the good work! Todd.

[John Preston]

I guess I'm a little stymied, you actually LIKE MDF?

If you're going to paint it anyway, I guess I can understand the desire not to cover up beautiful wood, but personally, I'm not all that fond of working with the stuff. It's beautifully flat, square, and never has a knot in the wrong place, but the dust annoys me to no end, and I always have visions of water getting on it, and the stuff swelling up ten times until it explodes all over.

[Howard Rosenberg]

As you said, it IS beautifully flat, square and never has a knot in the wrong place.

You have to learn how to work with the dust (respirator, shopvac and DC) and clean up scrupulously afterwards. And it's great if you're going to paint it.

As for the common misconception about getting it wet, seal it and forget it.

If you DRENCHED it repeatedly for extended periods of time, I imagine the barrier might break down. So I guess I'd recommend not drenching it repeatedly....,

Otherwise, it's great: it's cheap and strong. I use 3/4" for the shelves. The dadoes, grooves and face frames support them perfectly regardless of the loads placed on them.

Howard

[Matt Bridges]

Those look awesome, you did a great job and the paint job is top notch also

Matt

[Phil Phelps]

reason the finish looks so good? I DIDN'T DO IT!!

We had painters in at the same time I did the cabinets.

Oil-based paint in a soft yellow my wife picked out. She likes things that blend in to each other and wanted the cabinets to look like proper built-ins at first glance.

Howard

.....they didn't use latex enamel??? You know the alkyd yellows, smells bad, hard to clean up, and is toxic. Glad you used the pros. Great job.