Mudroom storage cabinets
#16
Looking good.  I assume you are going to use a WB finish for the inside of the drawers?  Don't use OB or they will stink for months - or longer, and anything stored inside will stink the same. 

It sounds like your situation with the EAB is about the same as NYS, although it may have progressed more here.  Sadly, I think every ash tree in the US and maybe even further North is going to succumb to it.  You can see wide swaths of dead trees now around where I live that showed no signs of problems just 2 years ago.  The tree cutters are going to be busy for the next few years and ash is going to be cheap for awhile.  The only good news is the EAB doesn't hurt the heart wood, so any lumber milled from those trees looks no different than from an uninfested tree.  

John
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#17
I'll be using the same laquer on everything. I picked up some Watco Clear Lacquer at Menards for the project. I'm sure there are much better products out there but I was trying to keep costs down. I expect to waste plenty of lacquer doing test pieces and getting the gun dialed in.


EAB isn't as well established yet in the far Western Great Lakes. Here in Minnesota there have been come confirmed cases in the Twin Cities but nothing widespread like Michigan or the Eastern Great Lakes. Although right next door in Superior WI there was a confirmed case and the city cut down every ash tree on public land. The majority of which were on boulevards. Its a tough situation and ones like it will continue to happen with the prevelance of worldwide travel and commerce. Invasive species and habitat managment are a couple topics that I'm well versed in but I will refrain from the Ecology lesson today. We'll stick to the cabinet build. I will be heading to the shop shortly to start spraying laquer on the drawer fronts, bench seat, and lower box. Look for an update of my sparying adventure soon.
How do you know you're learning anything if you don't screw up once in awhile?

My blog: http://birdsandboards.blogspot.com/
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#18
Yesterday in the shop was a big day for me. After taking quite awhile to get my "paint booth" arranged, I sprayed some lacquer on the drawer fronts and the bench seat. I'm satisfied with the results so far. I'm having some trouble getting the spray gun to do exactly what I want though. I've got the material flow and air set way low with the intention that I'll be doing 3 or 4 coats. I spent lots of time in the finish shop while working at a cabinet shop and the one error that plagued me most was sags or drips in the finish. I'd much rather put the material on light and do an extra coat or two than have to sand out drips. I'll probably start a thread over in the finishing forum seeking some advice with my spray system. 

The "spray booth" consisted of a tarp hung up from the celing in my shop that kept overspray off all the tools. There was an old laminate table top on some saw horses to set things and a really handy trick of the trade, a lazy susan to set your pieces on. You just give a little push on the corner and you can spray all sides so easy. It's a real help when spraying drawers. I also had every portable light in my posession spread aound to get as much light as possible. I was lucky enought this time to be in the shop during the day so having the door open give the best light, and ventilation. For the first coat I hung everything on hooks and wire. Its kind of a pain but saves time in the long run. After the first coat or 2 I sand with 320 and lay them flat to spray a final coat on the front. 

   

   

   
How do you know you're learning anything if you don't screw up once in awhile?

My blog: http://birdsandboards.blogspot.com/
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#19
Got after some more lacquer today. Once I got the base coats sanded with 320 I took off the wires and laid the door panels flat. That way I could really build up a finish on the fronts without the worry of runs. Same for the bench seat. I also sprayed the first two drawers. These big deep drawers are a pain to spray with my setup. The material cup on the gun really gets in the way trying to get the inside of the box. Drawers are one of the few things that I could do a good job spraying at the cabinet shop but that gun ran straight from the pump and 5 gallon pail of material. No material can hanging off the gun. You could flip the gun upside down to get the inside of boxes this big.  Next up is to get the locker part sprayed and start getting the base set in the house. 

   


   


   


Here's a picture of my HVLP setup. I got it for $100 off craigslist. I know its old but its in fine working order and was top of the line when new. I just need to get it dialed in nicely. 

   

   
How do you know you're learning anything if you don't screw up once in awhile?

My blog: http://birdsandboards.blogspot.com/
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#20
The last thing to spray is was the upper locker section and appearently I saved the best for last... This piece is heavy and ackward. the setup I had to spray everything else wouldn't work so I had to improvise but I got it taken care of. In hindsight I wish I would have done something a little different with the insides of the lockers. Not exactly sure what but the cheap plywood doesn't look very nice. I think the plan will be to paint them.  

   


With all the fun of spraying lacquer over, it's time to start installation. That means installing drawer slides, setting and leveling the toe kick, attaching the bench seat, and attaching the drawer fronts. These can all be challenging steps but thankfully I've done it dozens of times when I worked in the cabinet shop. However it wasn't always easy, I remember when I built my kitchen cabinets. It was before I knew much of anything about woodworking, let alone cabinetry. I had such a hard time install slides and hinges. It took me as long to install some of doors and drawers as it did to build them. Thankfully it went much smoother this time around. The cabinet you see in the second pic still needs to be cleaned out and removed. It will be in the way of the lockers. I really like how its coming together. The ash seems like a really good choice of wood for the location. Last step is to mount the lockers. 


   

   
How do you know you're learning anything if you don't screw up once in awhile?

My blog: http://birdsandboards.blogspot.com/
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