Author Topic: [Project 41] Curly Maple Home Bar (Read 7893 times)

mattbyington · « **on:** February 15, 2021, 09:01 PM »

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 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2021, 09:02 PM »

mattbyington · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2021, 09:03 PM »

Cheese · « **Reply #3 on:** February 15, 2021, 09:25 PM »

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 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2021, 01:35 AM »

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 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2021, 07:52 AM »

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 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2021, 01:33 PM »

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 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 16, 2021, 02:31 PM »

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 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 16, 2021, 06:58 PM »

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

neilc · « **Reply #9 on:** February 16, 2021, 09:43 PM »

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 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2021, 01:30 PM »

@Cheese 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.

@tallgrass yes! I am! They are kiln dried, and they were in my shop about 4 weeks before I milled them.

@Thompmd thanks! I'll clean it up, promise.

@RustE 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.

@shanegrilah 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.

@derekcohen 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".

@neilc 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 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2021, 01:32 PM »

mattbyington · « **Reply #12 on:** February 20, 2021, 01:34 PM »

Cheese · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2021, 04:23 PM »

Quote from: neilc on February 16, 2021, 09:43 PM

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...

Per Neil's suggestion here's some shots on reeded glass. Delightful to look at from the outside while the internal clutter remains unseen.

Smooth side facing out, reeded side facing in for easier cleaning.

neilc · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2021, 04:32 PM »

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.

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 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2021, 02:13 PM »

@Cheese 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.

@neilc 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.

mattbyington · « **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2021, 02:14 PM »

mattbyington · « **Reply #17 on:** March 05, 2021, 05:02 PM »

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

mattbyington · « **Reply #18 on:** March 05, 2021, 05:03 PM »

notenoughcash · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2021, 02:55 PM »

looking very nice.

what finish are you using?

mattbyington · « **Reply #20 on:** March 08, 2021, 03:00 PM »

@notenoughcash thank you! General Finishes Arm-r-seal in Satin.

Worked on the 7 drawers this past weekend. They still need bottoms.

Matt

mattbyington · « **Reply #21 on:** March 08, 2021, 03:01 PM »

notenoughcash · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2021, 03:06 PM »

smart again.

out of interest why did you use finger joints v dovetails?

and what type of slides are you using? under mount or side mount?

mattbyington · « **Reply #23 on:** March 08, 2021, 06:34 PM »

@notenoughcash good question, I don't have an answer really. I've never tried dovetails before, and it felt like a lot for 7 drawers to me. The box joints I feel will be plenty strong, and still offer an interesting visual intrigue.

I am going to use under mount slides. Blum, specifically. I have 7 of them I just received from Rockler - the under mount soft close style.

Matt

Vondawg · « **Reply #24 on:** March 09, 2021, 07:14 AM »

Great job...coming together! Box joints are perfect fit. Thanks for going to all the work of posting and building

jarbroen · « **Reply #25 on:** March 09, 2021, 03:37 PM »

Box joints look good and are a good alternative to dovetail(I like keeping things simple too).

If you haven't already glued the boxes you might want to dado the front, back and sides to receive the bottom.
I typically use 1/4" BB ply(which is actually 1/4" and can use a single pass with a router).
Or whatever material you choose.
I say that because you're doing the Blum undermount and those need 1/2"(13mm) clearance underneath the drawer bottom.
And, it's easier to make the notch in the back for the slides before you assemble the boxes.

You might have already mentioned that's your plan and I just didn't notice.

mattbyington · « **Reply #26 on:** March 09, 2021, 06:13 PM »

@Vondawg yeah man thank you for looking and commenting!

@jarbroen okay so you're totally right. i did not mention it, but that was exactly my plan. and in fact last night, I did exactly that. I spent a couple hours and milled all the dados for bottoms. I went with 3/4" maple-veneered plywood so that I could glue them in and not worry about expansion. I know 3/4" is way overkill but it's what I had on hand, and it worked OK.

I did it in 2 passes at the router table. The boxes aren't glued up yet - I just got the bottoms cut last night, and the dados in the sides cut last night as well. The plan is to sand and pre-finish the inside and then do the glue up, that way I don't have to get a sander into the tight spots after glue up.

Here's my problem. I didn't think ahead well, and the 1/4" deep dado for the 3/4" bottom is showing through on the box joints. This was an oversight on my part. Obviously there will be a drawer front, but you'll still be able to see the small gap from the sides. Maybe I glue them up as planned and then cut small end grain plugs so it looks better? or would you guys not worry? cheers.

Matt

jarbroen · « **Reply #27 on:** March 09, 2021, 09:22 PM »

I’ve had plenty of moments like that.
If you are picky like me that will bug you forever if you leave those holes.

You could do a vertical strip inlay or add some kind of decorative strap/hardware.
Sometimes those whoops turn into cool creative opportunities.
Like a wise carpenter taught me, it’s only a mistake if you can’t fix it.

tjbnwi · « **Reply #28 on:** March 09, 2021, 09:50 PM »

@mattbyington,

As always from you great project.

Don’t worry about the mistake on the drawer box, you’ll learn to adjust the spacing so this does not happen.

Hardware;

You are probably paying way to much from Rockler, check the prices sat these two suppliers. They first one I purchase from there commercials division. I buy the hardware by the pallet, so I get a better price than most.

https://woodworker.com/

I’ve heard good things about A&H.

https://ahturf.com/

Again, great project you have going.

Tom

Mike Goetzke · « **Reply #29 on:** March 09, 2021, 10:09 PM »

@mattbyington Nice seeing your projects documented. Maybe I’m completely missing something but like you said the front is covered by the drawer front and looks like you are using slides. If so couldn’t you line them up with the dado (I have done this)?

Years ago I remember a really great woodworker say that every woodworker makes mistakes on projects but the good ones are able to recover by being the only one who knows where they are.

- just saw you are using undermounts