Still on cabinets

[Travis Porter]

Still working on cabinets. Shop stays full for the most part....

Lots of carcasses. When I started, I did all the finishing before assembly. That is WAY too many parts to deal with. I switched that and put the carcasses together (minus the backs), spray them, and it is much easier going. Just have to learn to make the units small enough to handle by myself.

I think I am sick of this color. I have a bad habit of wearing flip flops or going bare footed in the shop (proves I am a native North Carolinian). Being that I do this, I have sprayed my feet quite a bit. The dye washes off of skin pretty easily, but it is much more resistant on toe nails. Need I say more?:nah:

I am about through building all the carcasses and have moved on to doors.

Here are a few.

Here are all of them. 38 to be exact. All maple, all raised panel. When I went to Steve Wall I bought some of his wide maple boards and I was lucky that I only had to glue up 4 boards to make wide panels. I put one coat of dye on all of the panels before assembly. All of the holes are drilled for euro hinges, the edges are rounded over with a 1/4" round over, and they are finish sanded. I could finish them in the shop, but I would rather lay them out accross my two sets of saw horses on 16 ft 2x4's to make it easier to handle.

Once I get through with doors, and installing the last 4 bookcase units,:swoon: I will be starting on all of the drawers. I can say I will be glad when I get finished.:roll:

 

[Bas]

The dye washes off of skin pretty easily, but it is much more resistant on toe nails. Need I say more?

Say: No. Pictures: Yes.

And good luck with the cabinets. Looks like the end is almost in sight!

 

[JimmyC]

The cabinets look good Travis, most of us have just the tablesaw as an auxilliary assembly table, but from the looks of your pictures the jointer makes a good big flat service too.:gar-La;

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Travis, looking good!! Do you have enough space for all the boxes to go with those doors????


I have friend who has a small cabinet business. He has a really neat system for volume spraying of doors.

He uses a lazy susan fitted with a small platform. The platform has three or four brads or small finish nails sticking up that support the doors while spraying. He first sprays the backs, rotating the lazy susan as needed. Then he grabs the doors by the edges and flips them. He sets them down gently, face up, on the nail points. The marks left by the points are nearly invisible and never noticed since they are on the backs of the doors. Next he sprays the edges and the front, again rotating the lazy susan as necessary. He moves the doors using two small pieces of wood held in his hands. They also also have brads sticking up that support the doors while he moves them to a drying / stacking rack, which, you guessed it, also has points that support the doors. He can shoot an entire kitchen's worth of doors, quickly, at one time. He can sand (if needed) and start spraying a second coat before the first coat is dry on the last few doors. Using waterborne lacquer or varnish he can finish spraying three coats or more on an entire kitchen's worth of doors in less than a day. I have tried it and it works!

Here is the link to my thread on my limited shop cabinet door production test. Unfortunately the lazy susan is under a door and not visible. Also, the nail strips that support the doors drying on the top of the bench are not visible either.

 

[sapwood]

Amazing, Travis!
Think you need to hire some elves

Roger

 

[Travis Porter]

I actually have a lazy susan set up like you describe. I have used it some, but unfortunately, the guy I am building these for has had a tendency to DRAG the doors off the screws instead of lifting them.

I think I am going to spray tonight or tomorrow. I am ready to be finished.

Roger, I would hire shop elves, but for what I am making they would be going quite hungry.

 

[rhett]

Looking good. Stay with it, your customer is lucky to have such a craftsman building his cabinets.

 

[junquecol]

I actually have a lazy susan set up like you describe. I have used it some, but unfortunately, the guy I am building these for has had a tendency to DRAG the doors off the screws instead of lifting them.

I think I am going to spray tonight or tomorrow. I am ready to be finished.

Roger, I would hire shop elves, but for what I am making they would be going quite hungry.

If doors are going to have 35mm hinges, Rockler sells a device that clips in hinge hole and has a hanger for holding doors when finishing.

 

[Travis Porter]

I looked at those. At $5 a pop, they aren't cheap. Thinking out loud I would want one for every door. At $53 for 12 I would need 4 sets for a little over $200.

I could charge them back to the guy I am building them for though..... I think I will.

 

[junquecol]

I always put a 5% tool allowance in every job. If I don't use it on current job, it is available for next job. Currently finishing an $11K+ job. $550+ for tool allowance. Did a little shopping yesterday and today. Of course repairs and sharpening comes from this allowance, which reduces it a small bit. Recent trip to IWF comes from this budget item also. I WAS looking at tools, so that counts. Over at SMC, under "Deals and Discounts" is a FREE shipping code, good at Rockler until Oct. 5th.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

If doors are going to have 35mm hinges, Rockler sells a device that clips in hinge hole and has a hanger for holding doors when finishing.

The advantage of the horizontal turntable painting and horizontal drying racks is that you can really load on the finish with no worries about runs.

 

[JimD]

Travis,

My daughter wants a table and chairs made of maple but stained what appears to be the color of your stain (or dye). Can you share what you are using? I will probably spray with Resisthane over the stain or dye (it is a water based product described as a pre cat lacquer).

Jim

 

[Travis Porter]

I am using transtint dyes. I don't have the specific recipe here with me at work, but I will get it this evening. It amounts to around 3 or so colors mixed into water. I spray it and have screwed up and had runs. The nice thing is you can take a rag and wipe out the runs like you would do say with Minwax oil based stains. Let it dry at minimum for an hour, hit it with 320 grit to eliminate the raised grain, and put a second coat on it. It will look kind of washed out, but once you top coat it, it looks great.