Big mahogany cabinet complete

[DaveD]

This is a 10' wide X 9' high mahogany cabinet I did for my daughter. There is about $1500 in material in it, 100 hours, and about $400 of low voltage lighting. Lights are on wall dimmers.

All power and stereo wiring is hidden in the walls and stubbed out into the respective boxes/walls.I let the reader figure what it is worth 'dollar wise'. I will say I did get paid very well for my labor.

Basically its a bunch of different sized boxes made out of 3/4 mahogany plywood with 1/4" mahogany ply backs. Then the solid mahogany face frame is put on 'piecemeal' once the boxes were stacked and fastened to the wall. Everything was pre finished before it got to the house. All I had to do was trim the face frame pieces to length on site.

The whole thing is 16" deep with 2 of the boxes for stereo components 3" deeper. The wall was cut open and reframed to allow the additional depth. The shelves within each 'box' are sitting on shelf pins in drilled holes. So unless she wants the heights of the shelves changed there are no shelf pin holes showing.

The second picture shows the 'detailed' design work. :lol:

Then a bunch of hours calculating actual sizes on some regular paper and I was off cutting. 8 sheets of 3/4 and 6 of 1/4 plywood. About 45 bd feet of solid mahogany for all the trim (front/sides). The 3/4 ply shelves have 1-1/4" mahogany strips on the front of them to give them some 'meat' and additional strength (although they really don't need it.

It was somewhat challenging since I only do things anywhere near this big about every 5 years or so. It also had to fit in and complement the rest of the house since its (the house) all done in stained mahogany trim and doors.

The daughter and her husband were very happy with it.

She is already planning the next project for me.:roll:

 

[michaelgarner]

that is some serious work bro,,great job.

 

[NZAPP1]

WOW that is BEAUTIFUL:eusa_danc :icon_thum . Great job. What is the finish?

 

[cskipper]

:eusa_clap Awesome!!! :icon_thum

 

[Ray Martin]

Dave,

Holy Smokes, brother... That is one fantastic piece of fine furniture.

You said you put the faceframe on piecemeal. How did you attach the pieces? And what was the the finish on all that mahogany?

Your daughter and SIL must be loving that project.

Ray

 

[McRabbet]

Nice job. It is simple, but elegant and will be a focal point for that room. The accent lighting adds just the right touch.

Rob

 

[jeff...]

Good God, that's nice!!!

 

[D L Ames]

Very nicely done Dave.:icon_thum

D L

 

[nelsone]

Very nice!

 

[sapwood]

Heck, I'm at a loss for words to define work quality that good :eusa_clap

Thanks for sharing,
Roger

 

[Splinter]

Vey impressive work. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap You should be very proud of this.

 

[Tar Heel]

Very nice Dave. :eusa_clap I'm sure you got a big hug and kiss from your daughter for that.

 

[Joe Scharle]

Very nice and where did you get the wood?

 

[Monty]

Nicely done! I also like the idea of laying it all out on the wall with tape like that.

 

[rolly1]

Very nice work. I am sure your daughter is excited about getting such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.:icon_thum

 

[woodguy1975]

Very nice work!

 

[skeeter]

Great job. Very good work. You said you only do big jobs every 5 years or so, man, it would take me 5 years to get a job like that done!!

 

[DavidF]

Thats a very interesting way of doing this - separate boxes then face framed to meld them al together. The tape on the wall is a great idea too - like CAD on a giant monitor:lol:

 

[toolferone]

Well is anybody going to say they don't like.

Well it won't be me!

It is a great looking piece. The mahogany is such a beautiful wood. In the end that is what we are "box builders" Of course some of us build really nice boxes like yours. Thanks for posting picture to humble us with:eusa_danc !

 

[DaveD]

Thanks for all the praise. Most of you folks humble me with your work. Bowls, pen turning, custom furniture, elegant trim, etc. I can't visualize much beyond 'boxes' I actually do much more general carpentry and interior trim work then 'woodworking'. I like it all though. Its just whatever comes along.

To answer the questions:
The plywood and mahogany came from the Hardwood Store of NC in Gibsonville. Great folks and a really great place to deal with. They let you wander the BIG warehouse, answer all questions, give you a cart to load up lumber on and let you sort through the various stacks of hardwoods to find what you want. I highly recommend to let them plane the lumber and rip one side straight. Well worth the small additional cost.

The horizontal parts of the face frame were biscuit joined to the boxes to align the top edges. Two or three biscuits/box. Titebond III glue for the biscuited edge and liquid nails :roll: for lower portion of each horizontal piece. A few pneumatic nails to hold it all in place. Liquid nails 8-O glued on the vertical pieces. Again a few nails to hold it all in place. The side corner verticals were made as part of the finished side assemblies in the shop. The side assemblies were again put on with liquid nails and a few pneumatic nails.

The stain is General Finishes Cherry stain thinned 50%. It was sprayed on wet and immediately wiped off. The finish is General Finishes Polyacrylic Satin (water based). 3 coats with 320 grit sand in between coats. Brushed on (was scared to try to spray it). I really like that stuff. Drys quick and by the time you do the 3rd coat (even the 2nd) its as smooth as a baby's butt. The plywood wasn't pre sanded and the hardwood was finished to 180 grit. Finished really great. The box pieces completely finished before they were put together. I masked off everywhere glue would go prior to stain/poly.

I know you guys like to see shops too so here are two shots of my shop. Neatness isn't one of my strong suits. :-D Sometimes I work with wood, other times its welding stuff and then I work on cars too. Then when all else fails its just sit in the garage and drink beer. :lol: The wife's car is typically in the garage every night too.