Custom Cabinet for 90g Reef (Build Thread)

[cannarella]

Looks great. Remember that on the sides and bottom you can have more overlap on your trim if you wanted. How are you going to make that piece thay goes back to hole the hinges to the cabinet? I also see that you got some nicer plywood on one of your trips to the home center. (the one with more plys) You may need more hinges if you want them to hold the panel open.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

Yep, the 3/4" American ply came from Home Depot; the 18mm Japanese plywood came from Lowe's. Same price. However, the Americans were smart enough to use easy-peel glue on their barcode stickers. I had to sand the barcode sticker off the Japanese ply with a power sander.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

I had to make a support to attach the hinges to inside the cabinet, at 90° to the front panel. Here's what I came up with, using 1x3 oak from Lowe's.

With the hinges installed.

I had to make a cutout in the light panel, as it was blocking the hinge travel range. I did this using a rotary saw & straightedge, and a jigsaw at the corners/ends.

I clamped the support bar in place, then checked the alignment of each hinge the ensure they were in the right position. I needed to adjust the hinges for the right gap, as well as ensure that the access panel door would close flush with the cabinet, etc. The hinges are attached with 3 screws, and are adjustable, so getting them aligned was pretty straight forward. Once satisfied, I screwed/glued the support bar in place.

 

[cannarella]

Perfect.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

My girlfriend is brilliant. Check out my anniversary present, complete with Marine Depot gift wrap.

Vortech pump, 18w UV sterilizer, and a 3-day SCUBA diving course to get started on my diving certificate. I think I'll hold on to her for a while.

I highly, highly recommend girlfriends/wives who support our never-ending hobby/mental illness.

Tonight I will mount the access panel to the hinges and trim it out. Also, I still need to find a cabinet shop willing to bore holes for my euro hinges, since the door manufacturer forgot to (even though I paid for it!). Once those are on, that will officially complete the build....then its time for the really boring part, sanding/priming/painting.

What do you guys know about paint? I was thinking 2 coats acrylic primer, sanded in between, and 2 coats acrylic semi-gloss paint.....probably pure white, to match the fireplace millwork in our living room.

 

[cannarella]

Yep hold on to her for a while. My wife could care less, she just wants the project complete...

I hate finishing, especially paint. That is why I like stain. The building is the fun part. It sounds like you have a good plan.

Predictions for this weekend? If Groves is back we have a chance.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

Ehh...I don't know. Auburn is such a rollercoaster that it's almost pointless to do any pregame thinking. That's really the case for the entire Top 25 this season, especially with USC getting beat by Stanford and then LSU to Kentucky. It's almost like the rankings mean nothing this year.

I will say this, like probably everyone else...we need a playoff system.

 

[cannarella]

I totally agree. It woud be so much more fun and give them more playing time

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

cannarella I owe you big time for introducing me to Rockler!

Looking at their website, I found some hinges for face frame cabinets that will work perfectly for my cabinet doors. Item #31592, no bore holes needed, and only $7/pair.

I'm about to leave work for my lunch break and head out to Rockler's Roswell Rd location to pick up the hinges. Now that I don't have to get the doors bored for euro hinges, I should be able to get all the doors hung tonight, as well as the access panel, and the cabinet build will be complete.

What a trip it's been...I've learned a lot and taught myself a lot. Just guessing, I'd say I've spent 50 hours building the cabinet so far. Of course, time flies when you're having fun and enjoying what you're doing.

I think I could do this for a living!

 

[kyle1284]

this is awesome .... i want to build something just like this

 

[cannarella]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10999148#post10999148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RedEDGE2k1
cannarella I owe you big time for introducing me to Rockler!

No problem. That is what we are all here for, to help out. Now you just need to let me come and see it when complete. Now I have one more store I want you to go to. Highland Hardware. You will thank me later.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...557552,81.738281&ie=UTF8&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=1

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10999148#post10999148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RedEDGE2k1

I think I could do this for a living!

I think that all the time. I just can't get the numbers to work out. I guess I will have to do it on the side... once I get the other projects complete.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10999623#post10999623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cannarella
No problem. That is what we are all here for, to help out. Now you just need to let me come and see it when complete. Now I have one more store I want you to go to. Highland Hardware. You will thank me later.

I can't believe I never saw that store back when I used to frequent Limerick Junction and Moes & Joes. I'll have to check it out next time I'm down in the highlands.

 

[cannarella]

They have excellent woodworking classes if you are interested.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10999623#post10999623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cannarella
No problem. That is what we are all here for, to help out. Now you just need to let me come and see it when complete. Now I have one more store I want you to go to. Highland Hardware. You will thank me later.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...557552,81.738281&ie=UTF8&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=1



I think that all the time. I just can't get the numbers to work out. I guess I will have to do it on the side... once I get the other projects complete.

Funny things these numbers. Turns out if you did it for a living, you would end up trying to sell the $3,000.00 stand RE looked at on page one of this thread.

But, many a guy has turned his garage woodwooking skills into a nice tidy side business that can be profitable, if you don't mind spending a lot of time at the county fairground or weekend craft fair.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

I guess I'm biased, but I think my $800 cabinet blows the $3,000 inspiration piece out of the water, in terms of both appearance and functionality.

 

[cannarella]

Craft fairs and country fairs aren't for the caliber of cabinetry of furniture I would like to build. I would reserve that for something I could cheaply mass produce in a weekend.

 

[BonsaiNut]

EDIT - nevermind; I saw something wierd in the photos and then was able to figure it out after a closer look

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

What's that? I'm confused.

 

[RedEDGE2k1]

Finally mounted the access panel last night. I thought this would be a simple process, but it ended up taking almost 2 hours. I should have stuck with a single pair of hinges, becase it was difficult to line up 4 hinges with each other, and in the end, four still weren't strong enough to hold the heavy plywood door open. Also, for some unknown reason, the access panel wasn't opening straight & true, even though everything was square when in the "down" position. So...long story short, after 2 hours of fumbling around with hinge placement, I had the door on.

Access panel attached, without trim, to ensure an equal gap all around. I had to use the rotary saw and remove an additional 1/8" from the bottom of the panel, as it was too snug against the frame.

In the "up" position. I spent a lot of time adjusting the hinges to get the right motion out of the door.

The 1-1/4" pine chair rail trim going on, with the 45° corner joints mitered on the compound miter saw. I was able to get about 1/8" of overlap over the seam without binding the hinges, which covers the gap nicely. Hopefully this will block any light from the metal halides from leaving the cabinet.

Finished trim. On the sides & bottom trim, I overlapped it a full 1/2" because the overlap doesn't affect the hinge motion in these areas. Also, I wanted the trim to line up with the tank opening on the sides, which I had originally designed for a 1/2" overlay....so it ended up working out nicely. The top trim is 3/8" lower than it was designed to be, but it's not terribly noticeable. I can definitely live with it, I'm just glad the hinges work with the 1/8" overlay I was able to achieve.

Here you can see the trim completely butts up against the main front panel when open. It's not quite able to open 90° but it's close enough for me.

The access panel door and the main front panel of the cabinet are flush, with the trim covering the seam. Here's a clear perspective of this.

Even with four hinges, the door is still too heavy for them to hold it open. So, I'll just go back to Rockler and buy one of those sliding lever doo-hickeys to hold the door open.

Well that does it for the top section...it's now 100% complete and ready for final wood filler/sanding/priming/painting.

 

[cannarella]

WOW, I like. You will be happer with the 4 hinges since they will help hold the top of the door strait with the cabinet.

One thing you may want to consider is putting a stiffener piece of wood along the back side towards the bottom of the panel to keep it flat in case it decides to try and warp a little on you. A 1x3 piece of oak would work just fine. Put it on edge so it will act like an I beam and glue and screw from the font. A little insurance for the long term.