Completed project with thanks to memebers of this forum

[Tom Bainbridge]

thank you to all of you who made suggestions for fixing my OF1400, particular thanks go to Mike Chrest

mike subsequently pm'd me and suggested i posted photos. i couldnt resist the chance to show off 

the project is in an edwardian house (1906) in dulwich village uk.

bedroom wardrobes in mdf. the rest in oak:- 3 radiator cabinets, a hi fi unit and a main cabinet with lighting and some torsion box shelving

wardrobes before painting








hi fi cabinet




main cabinet




radiator cabinets, one of which ive shown already








torsion box shelving mostly hidden by sofa unfortunatly

[iggy07]

Wow! I'm impressed!

[Daviddubya]

Nice work DD.  How long did it take you to make all of those pieces of cabinetry?

"Hi fi".  There's a term that I remember from my youth!  :)

[greg mann]

Nice work DD.  How long did it take you to make all of those pieces of cabinetry?

"Hi fi".  There's a term that I remember from my youth! 

I can barely remember my youth!!!!


That is very nice work!!!!

[Tom Bainbridge]

hi fi is an old term even here but it takes less time to say and write than "home entertainment centre" which is what it is

as to the time taken

im a carpenter, its my very first venture into mid range cabinet work so its outside my comfort zone

it took far too long but it paid the mortgage, all the bills and fed me

was it worth it?

the answer is yes. ive learned so much and more work will come out of it

[Jesse Cloud]

Beautiful work.  I'll wager it won't be outside your comfort zone for long!

[Rob McGilp]

Great work DD. Also, its great to know that the knowledge base here has helped you. Its fantastic to have such knowledge on tap.

Regards,

Rob

[chughes]

   Beautiful!!!  I love the wardrobe.  How long did these project last?  Did you build on site?  Keep up the nice work.

[Tom Bainbridge]

all the units were built in sections in my workshop then taken to site for installation. i couldnt have built on site too much mess its a living house

with agreement with the owners it was built in stages, they didnt have much choice because they varied the  job as work progressed and i had other work booked

it was quite lucky because i also had to teach myself design and learn how to draw using AutoCad

the wardrobe is nearly 250 pieces of mdf and pine taken to site as part assemblies and took two days to install
stripping out the learning curve the design, cutting and part assemblies took a week

the rad covers (again stripping out the learing curves and a couple of  ups) took about a week of solid work then another 4 days to sand and finish. two days to install all three.

the installation time sounds horrendus but the walls are brick and plaster (1906) and were finish painted before i installed...... 

scribing to the walls took the time but you cant get a "fag-paper" between the rad covers and the walls. 

id better explain that VERY quickly before you guys get the wrong idea    its a hand rolling cigarette paper



the hi fi unit and the main cabinet............. difficult to say with all the design changes but three weeks feels about correct, the time is in all the solid lipping 19x19mm (3/4inch) and other mouldings, i didnt allow any where near as much time as was needed

these were taken to site in 10 sub assemlblies

installation for these two 4 days again scribing to finish painted 100 year old walls.

i had a final learning curve. i fixed cover strips and mouldings with 23 guage pins, they hardly show on american oak but having applied a medium oak wax to them to achieve a european oak colour suddenly it looked like a cheap carpentry job. i used various coloured wax sticks to fill the holes.   

[Eli]

Very nice work. Love the wardrobes.

[Tom Bainbridge]

these are the wardrobes after painting, before anybody says it ive got to tweek the hinges

the painting was done by my mate andy, hes the best painter ive ever met, he was trained by the guy who puts the mirror finish on the door of No 10 Downing Street

[Eli]

Wow. Keeps getting better. That's what I love about finish work.

[Garry]

DD,

Your work looks great, but I'm disgusted by the A/V guy letting all the wires for the "Hi Fi" and TV's dangle all over.   

[Mike Chrest]

DD,
  Wow, Nice work!!! Glad you got the router straightened out in time.
Mike

[Dan Clark]

DD,

You have a lot of talent.  VERY nice work!

Dan.

[Tom Bainbridge]

thank you for all the votes of confidence, ive still a long way to go to get where id like to be

next time the back of the main cabinets will have ALL the grain set vertically

i need to work on my designs to reduce the number of pieces.

[Eli]

Were the doors raised out of a single piece?

[Tom Bainbridge]

no eli, the wardrobe doors were made of 18mm mdf with 6mm panels

method of construction is profile and scribe, what i think you call cope and stick

although it increases the labour cost it gives a much more traditional look, reduces the weight to be lifted and carried and wasteage is reduced.

the wastage is a factor here in the uk because it costs me 100 quid a metric tonne ($200) to dispose of it and you have to get it to a licesnsed tip. that price is increased each year well above inflation to reduce landfill

putting it into household waste is a no no as a carpentry business, it could get me an unlimited fine.

[johne]

Dirtydeeds,

I hope it is not against forum rules to react to older posts 

Great work, love the wardrobe and i have a question on the wardrobe doors.

Did you consider making the doors out of, say a single piece of 12 or 16mm MDF and the rails and stiles out of 6mm MDF and glueing these on the 16mm panel? This would still have that traditional look but would IMO be a lot faster to make. Or is this a total no no in your eyes?

I had to make a cabinet for some extra storage space above a staircase and used that method because I had very little time to get it done.

[Bill Wyko]

WOW, fantastic job.

[Tom Bainbridge]

johne

the method youve used is right for your setting and it looks good

in my case it was an edwardian house in a very expensive area, with many of the original features, panelled hallway, reeded door stops, architraves 4 inch finished size etc

using your door design wouldnt have looked right in my case

your design is traditional but in a more simple style it looks more shaker / arts and crafts

this house is traditional edwardian with more ornate styling, just what the shakers and arts and craft movements were avoiding





ive used your door design before but 6mm faux stiles and rails on 18mm, rather than your 6 on 12

16mm mdf is not a standard thickness here

[johne]

Thanks Dirtydeeds for the explanation,

I sort of thought this would be your answer, good to know that you're obviously the kind of person that feels that details make the difference.

And once again fantastic job.

[Dovetail65]

Dirtydeeds I never saw this.

SWEET WORK!

Nickao

[Tom Bainbridge]

as always you have been kind

to me its pure luck......... that time i got clients who would pay the right money for the right job in the right setting

most of my clients cant afford this type of work, hence i wont be able to post in "member projects" too often



"fitting a door" in member projects doesnt quite make it in my eyes



but the next time i get a box sash window in REALLY BAD condition i will post it because most of you guys wont have seen one or believe the amount of work involved

[Bob Swenson]

DD,
Good deal with the deal
Looks like the kind of job that is had to price.
Well done.
Bob

[Tom Bainbridge]

yes pricing this work is difficult its based on material costs plus a feel of how long it might take

i have recently been timing some bench operations to get a better feel for the outputs