[Project 41] Curly Maple Home Bar

[mattbyington]

Well team. This is going to be a big one. I got 100 b.f. of curly maple in. I've spent a month or so designing this in Fusion 360.

It features:

1) Better grain direction - I've learned from all of you. I'll be orienting shelves and dividers and the carcass itself so that everything expands and contracts front to back, together
2) No end grain will show! (also related to the first one)
3) 7 liquor pull out trays, box jointed, Blum slides
4) Large doors, with glassware storage - glass on the front - brass rod accents
5) Solid brass hardware

Should be a really fun build ... this will take months. Please forgive the delays, it'll be a work in progress.

I'll try to post pictures every week or so as I go.

Started by getting lots of the wood broken down.

Matt

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[Cheese]

Take your time Matt, you always have interesting projects.

Interestingly enough, those maple blanks look exactly like my shop. So many parts but so little space.

The only difference is that all of mine are 8-10 feet long.

 

[tallgrass]

what, you're not done? Come on, it has been days, what is the hold up? Looking forward to your work. Just out of curiosity, are you acclimatizing the wood? Moisture content. Just curious.

 

[Thompmd]

Looking forward to it, had a guy in Indiana(bundyducks) make a couple ducks and the wood is gorgeous, looks 3D.

Can’t wait to watch it progress, you might wanna clean that workshop up a little first though.

Looks like a neat project

 

[RustE]

I’m curious to see where this project goes; it’s something I would like to do in a year or two.

What’s your plan for the glass panes on the doors? Make a rabbet and fasten them with clips? I’m thinking about the (future) ability to replace a damaged glass pane and if the clips might interfere with the glassware.

 

[shanegrilah]

If it's going to be freestanding, it looks like it might be a bit tippy. Depending on how the weight is loaded and what combination of doors, drawers or pull out trays are open. Hard to tell from just pictures of plans.

Regards,
Shane

 

[derekcohen]

Matt, I don’t recall you building drawers before now. What do you have in mind by way of construction?

The dimensions of the drawers? Thickness of front, back and sides? Joinery?

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[nclemmons]

Nice design Matt.  On the doors, I'd worry about sagging since you are doing glass fronts, brass rails and miter joints.  Not a lot of structural cross-members to support what could be doors loaded with liquor bottles.  Unless they're empty

Additional stress when the doors are open on the hinges if you are using maybe 5/8" screws on 2-3 hinges on each door.  Piano hinges might be an option but you mentioned solid brass, and I'm sure you are thinking more upscale.

Take a look at reeded glass as a potential accent on those front doors.  They would show outlines of bottles without the clutter of what might be inside.

 

[mattbyington]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] nice! Gorgeous boards. Some are 14+" wide and super clear. I usually request 7ft maximum when I order boards because any longer than that is hard to maneuver in my garage.

[member=2242]tallgrass[/member] yes! I am! They are kiln dried, and they were in my shop about 4 weeks before I milled them.

[member=72021]Thompmd[/member] thanks! I'll clean it up, promise.

[member=63201]RustE[/member] thanks man. haven't even gotten that far yet to be honest. I think a rabbet with clips is a good idea. Or - maybe just do a dado as if it were a sheet of MDF on a raised panel door, but have the dado go all the way out the bottom with some sort of retaining screw. That way I can replace them If needed, but the inside of the doors will still look good.

[member=5578]shanegrilah[/member] I think you're totally right. I was talking about your comment with my wife and we were thinking to address it, we'd make the front legs curve out towards the front somehow - they'd still be under the doors when the doors are closed, but would provide more stability when the doors are open. Good call. thank you for your comment.

[member=4358]derekcohen[/member] I've built lots of drawers! On a few of my projects. For the drawers on this one, I'm going to use box joints - curly maple for the fronts and sides, and either maple veneer plywood for the bottom, or re-sawed maple, floating with some room to spare (not glued in). In terms of the thickness, I'm going to go 5/8" since that's the maximum allowed by the Blum undercount slides. Both my wife and I really like those Blum undermount slides. I just ordered 7 of them from Rockler, 12".

[member=167]neilc[/member] Thanks so much! I know, the doors are what I've been worried about the most to be honest. I really worry about not only sagging, but the fact that they're only connected at the sides which are only 4/4. Maple is strong, but the doors are going to be heavy. One note is that liquor bottles won't go in the doors - the glassware will.  But I do think it'll still be really heavy. I just ordered 8 of the SOSS 204 hinges ... I'm thinking 4 per door... anyone worked with those before and think it'll be strong enough?

Cheers everyone thank you for the comments.

I took Friday off work yesterday, and made a ton of progress in the shop. I laid and milled a ton of boards (emptied my 35 gallon dust bin twice already this weekend!) and have the following pieces milled, joined (used domino for the longer ones to help with flatness and alignment) and scraped (after the glue dried).

Today, it's all about trimming to final size and then drum sanding!

2x sides
6x shelves
2x vertical dividers
2x horizontal dividers
Top
Bottom

Thanks so much everyone!

Matt

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

 

[Cheese]

Take a look at reeded glass as a potential accent on those front doors.  They would show outlines of bottles without the clutter of what might be inside.

That's some beautiful maple Matt... [big grin]

Per Neil's suggestion here's some shots on reeded glass. Delightful to look at from the outside while the internal clutter remains unseen. [smile]  Smooth side facing out, reeded side facing in for easier cleaning.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[nclemmons]

Matt - check the Shaper forum and Hub for Soss hinge SVG's. 

Since you have a Shaper, you might consider 'skeletonizing' the door top/bottom and shelves and even the front panels to remove some weight and add some interest to the piece.  Could be as simple as 1/2" grooves every 1/2", which would cut the weight in half.  Or something more elaborate or even organic.

Here's an example of a foot stool that Brian Elkins shared this past week.  This is more elaborate, but you and your wife might explore some ideas given she seems to have the creative eye based on your past mentions.

[attachimg=1]

If all you are storing is barware on the doors, I'd even consider the shelves being the same 1/4" brass rods for the bottoms.  BTW, I'd definitely spray the brass with lacquer after polishing it to keep it bright. 

Miters in the corners will be a weak spot, so you might consider butt joints with dominoes, keeping the sides full length so no end-grain us visible from the sides.

 

[mattbyington]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] thank you sir! I need to explore the glass more. Discussing it with the wife on what we want. We are thinking maybe a tint like a green tint or something, to go with the maple and the brass hardware.

[member=167]neilc[/member] that is my plan is to use the Shaper for the Soss hinges! A little nervous about it but I'll run some test pieces through first of course! Super interesting stool. Thanks for sending. Appreciate the pictures. I actually want the weight I think ... so that when the doors are open it doesn't fall forward.

But I am planning on doing some inlay work ... something to spice it up a bit. TBD at this point.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

 

[mattbyington]

The main carcass is glued up now except for the top, and I put a couple coats of finish on it.

This weekend - onto the drawers.

Matt

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

 

[notenoughcash]

looking very nice.

what finish are you using?