#shakercabinets

I’m never using minwax gel stain again. How many bad experiences does it take to learn a lesson? First picture is after the second coat, which should have made this maple cabinet door a solid dark red chestnut as advertised. First pic is after the first coat, notice how it’s darker? All the second coat did was wipe off the first. Followed the directions to the letter and even used their recommended pre treatment product. This stuff is garbage. The only thing that is predictable about it is it’s inconsistency and inferior results. I don’t like to complain on social media, but buyer beware, this stuff is JawnShop REJECTED 👎🏻 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop #badproduct https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn3WRqRg-A4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7epzny55cuhr

Kind of a slow day recovering from some deep southern NJ fun last night at the monster truck throwdown and BBQ feast. (#teamAvenger swipe to watch him win a heat) Now I’m in the garage getting the first coat of stain on the fridge cabinet. After some testing that I won’t bore you with, I ended up using the minwax pre stain wood conditioner. It clogged the deep pores nicely on both the birch and maple and generally looked pretty even compared to untreated. Now I’m using a compatible minwax gel stain and ruining perfectly nice wood with an ugly color to match the office’s furniture selection. It’s going to need a few coats to get as dark as the sample swatch I’ve got. So far, so-ok. Anyone have any tips on how to get stain as dark as the label indicates that it will stain wood? Add black dye or something? Ugh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop (at Bridgeport Speedway) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnzkCKpgDGJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6wvpg8u1buav

The shaker style cabinet door will be coming out of the clamps today. I’ll be doing some finish sanding as well as drilling the holes for the euro hinges and adding a finger groove to the back edge. Probably a job for the router table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/Bni5YnIgo9q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ilhpx3etl4rz

Dry fit is looking sharp! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/BnhM3QEAOLt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mozw29deg85t

I took the weekend off for a quick camping getaway. The weather got a little iffy both nights and not much sleep was had, but it was still nice to get out. Today, after cleaning up and repacking all the gear, I didn’t have it in me to jump back in to dovetails or refinishing this cabinet, so I cleaned up the shop a bit and took on a small shop project which should have a great benefit in the long run. I’ve said it a million times: having a small shop forces you to be as efficient as possible. Before, when doing any finishing work, everything else had to stop and every horizontal surface became a drying table. No longer! I added the final lengths of French cleat to the far corner of the shop and made a quick 2x4 and conduit vertical rack. (Swipe for the after pic) this should greatly help the tiny shop flow. This week, my dovetail guide should arrive, so I’ll get in some final practice with that on some me 1/2” red oak that I picked up before starting the real thing. And the main job will be finishing/refinishing these cabinet panels. The new stain is in and the top coat is on the way. Hopefully that’s all it takes to beautify them, otherwise, it’ll be sanding city for me. Hope everyone had a great weekend! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop #workshopimprovements #frenchcleat https://www.instagram.com/p/BoFnIdGgveW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ayszd673z542

After prepping the wood for the hand cut dovetail challenge, I got back to the fridge cabinet. Final addition was a hidden finger groove in lieu of hardware on the front. Then I re sanded everything to 220 and softened the edges on the maple shaker door. After all that, I did some pre treatment and stain testing, trying to get this birch to match the maple, and the maple to be as dark and as even as the sample of the existing furniture I’ve got. It’s looking close, but it needs to be darker. We’ll see what a second coat does tomorrow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwyNMeFDdZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1au7j40i06btj

Edge banding is done and actually looking pretty sharp. Hopefully it takes the stain well. The tool of the day award goes to this little @officialstanleytools mini plane. I’ve been calling it an apron plane because that’s where it’s been living since I got it. It’s super handy for lots of little tasks, like trimming edge banding. The band-it edge trimmer worked great on the vinyl, but a real blade was necessary for the birch. The mini plane saved the day. . . . . , . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/BnkJEaxAv5A/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1l67nx4g01q5v

Add edge banding to my list of “not favorite” tasks. It occurred to me that the last project with edge banding was melamine with vinyl banding. This is 3/4” birch with birch banding. I’m glad I did the plastic ones to practice because working with actual wood cranked up the challenge a bit. They’re coming out ok and I think any imperfections can be covered over with a little wood putty and stain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #wood #woodwork #woodworker #woodworking #diy #doitforyourself #handmade #handcrafted #cabinet #shakercabinets #finewoodworking #maker #comission #buylocal #buysmall #nj #PA #newjersey #pennsylvania #maple #birch #woodworkingcommunity #thejawnshop https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnj2mTEANY3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=215ze6irupfv