Wenge Bath Vanities....Master Bdrm Suite (pic heavy)

[Greg Cole]

Wow and double wow.
Put this thread in the do NOT SHOW MY LOML category.
Well done Roy.

[Walt Caza]

Congratulations Roy!

Your sweet suite improvements are a showstopper, and will enhance your daily home life, which is great.

Gorgeous details, such as the tub faucet, and open spaces leave me envious.
The overall appearance is fantastic, and there are so many points of visual interest.

But for me, your Wenge work is the big payoff. Your design and execution of the vanity
are my favourite. Such clean lines, and strong photography.
I like the close-up of the drawer fronts best. Such amazing grain and colour. I must be a wood hound.

You deserve to be proud of your work and living space.
You did not mention it, but I know it can be difficult living in the project.
Inconvenience and drywall dust for months, etc...
Any chance you will share constuction details, such as topcoat and drawer construction?

Thanks for showing us, it was well worth the wait!

So, you can't rest on your laurels forever.....
what are you building next Roy?
be well,
Walt

ps Did you get many Wenge slivers?

[Louis Bois]

My hat's off to you (and your Missus) Roy! You both did a splendid job in the design and execution of this project. Enjoy your new space!!!!

Cheers,

Louis

ps...all the best to you and your family in the new year!

[Roy Wall]

Thanks fellas for all the nice comments............ Louis, good to hear from you too!

Walt -

Since this is a 'built in' - I was not too inclinded to go with solid wood / hand planes / and DT all the drawer joints by hand. Stand alone furniture can move with me or be given away - and thus given all the care I can muster.........but these vanities are attached to the house, so I opted for a more sensible approach with reduced sweat equity (which in my case takes way too long anyway.... ).

The prefinished maple interiors were about $15 a sheet extra; no brainer for me. Once assembled - they were completley done!

I did some researching on the web for 'dovetail drawer boxes'... I got some pricing and ended up buying prefinished drawer boxes to stay with the theme. These were ordered after assembly of the base to get the right measurements. For about $150 extra over what I could have built unfinished boxes; I got them prefinished and delivered to my door in about 2 weeks. Rarely do I make such good decisions........

The wenge faceframes were milled to 3/4" square and attached with pocket scews. I used bessey clamps to hold them tight and I got virtually NO CREEP which was very pleasing. I oriented the pocket screws to fall within the drawer boxes to hide them.

The end panel and two drawer panels have 1/4" wenge veneer ply sandwiched between 5" rail/stile. I found it from a scroll saw supplier in TN........bought a five pack of 2'x2' sheets.

Finish is MinWax Wipe On Poly (satin).....I love the stuff. I tested some pieces used some plain BLO, Formbys, Tried and True, Tung oil... but came back to the Minwax. 3-5 coats in various places. Easy to apply. New coat in 3-5 hours. Put some more on here in a year or so for maintenance if needed. I need simple in the finishing department....and need to work on it too.....

-----------------------

I hand picked the wenge thru a whole stack, trying to get the best they had. I tried to envision what board would be best for doors, drawer, panels, etc... and marked them up right there at the lumberyard.

Wenge is Hard! It does leave a Wicked Splinter!! I wore gloves most all the time and only got 'knicked' a few times. I will stress that you do need to get those splinters OUT QUICKLY.....they can fester in a short amount of time. However, once sanded.....you're over the hump.
-----------------------

Drywall did infiltrate the house.....we closed it off pretty good though. But even then, you will have a 'fine powder' that blankets everything. After the drywall was finished and sanded, I'd say about 1 more month of "fallout" occured. Hey, just wipe/vacuum/dust......repeat every few days.......it does eventually go away

We have two bedrooms / extra bath upstairs so we were not disturbed too much. The main thing was stuff that was just 'piled around' the house in strange locations......when you move everything out of those rooms...they have to go somewhere!
---------

I did use some 'hand work' with the block plane to join the two 'boxes' together at a point since they are on adjoining 45* wall.

The mirror frames are wenge -- 24"x 32".

If you notice we put a 4" hole in the top at the corner. We put a small waste basket that can be removed thru the door. So now the waste is all tidy and out of site.

The End Cap on the far end is OPEN so my wife can put the hairdryer/etc away easily.

We are still waiting on a 'lighted make-up mirror'...hence the wire poking out of the wall on the right side.
----------------

Okay, that's about it. Nothing difficult but it all takes time doesn't it.

I have nothing but admiration for ALL the work (big or small) that posted by you members here at SMC. We all help each other - that's what it's all about!

[Matt Crew]

Very nice work. I can certinly understand your reservations about the built in units. Cant just pick them up and take with you.

[Don C Peterson]

Very nice Roy! I hope our house (or any part of it) looks half that good someday...

[Danny Thompson]

That is just SICK, Roy! I sure hope my wife doesn't see this.

Every last part is perfect. The design, the execution. The light, the dark. Even the photography is great!

Is there any way to block a thread?