Greetings all. I am a new member here and a fairly inexperienced cabinet-maker. I recently finished my first large project, a cherry base cabinet with a top drawer and two doors below and a 5 shelf enclosed book case unit that sits on top of the base cabinet. Now I am getting ready to make some cherry base cabinets for a new countertop for my office. Naturally, I would like the new base cabinetry to match my bookcase.
I want to create one new base cabinet for the left side of the counter that will include a quarter round shaped open bookshelf unit on the left end of the base cabinet. The base cabinet itself will be designed to match the base unit I made for the bookcase. A granite countertop will extend from the new base cabinet to an adjoining base cabinet. My problem is, the bottom molding I created for the original bookcase was made from 2″ thick x 4″ high solid piece of cherry. Any thoughts on how I can create a quarter round shaped base molding (24″ radius) from material that thick for the quarter-round bookshelf portion of the left base cabinet? Any suggestions on specialty shops that could take a flat molding I make and bend it to fit my application? I really can’t change the molding on the bookcase unit because the heavy floor molding is an essential part of the design.
Also, I will be trying my hand at using plywood and cherry veneer to create a quarter-round shaped insert to fit between the desk top (counter top) and the top of the quarter-round shaped section of the new base cabinet. I understand that you can bend veneered plywood to form a rounded shape by cutting parallel slits in the back of the plywood and then bending the plywood to create the rounded form. Any suggestions on how deep these cuts should be or how many cuts per lineal foot should be made to create a uniform quarter-round shape? The footprint of the attached shelving unit is a two foot radius running from the front of the base cabinet to the wall.
Any thoughts on these aspects of my new project would be greatly appreciated.
John Huheey, Dayton, OH
Replies
Hi John,
For the bent veneered ply, skip the kerfs. Just get some bendable plywood. It works well, and is fairly easy to get. I'd recommend a vacuum press for the forming and veneering.
The bent molding requires a lamination tecnique. Rewsaw the molding stock into 1/8" or so sheets on your bandsaw. Experiment with the thickness, but I bet 1/8" will work fine. Keep in mind you will loose wood to the kerf, so start with stock wider then you intend the finished project to be. Make a form to match the profile of the molding to be, then glue the strips back together to form a bent piece of wood. A vacuum press will work excellent here too. You can then use your shaper or router to cut the profile. There are also shops out there who do this sort of thing, but in my area, they are quite pricey, especially with small orders.
I agree with everything Steve said, with one additional suggestion. Make sure you use glue for your laminations that will minimize springback. Based on my experience, I highly recommend Unibond 800, which is sold by Vacupress.
Craig
Good point Craig. I've also had good luck with Better Bond cold press glue. The Unibond is good stuff too.
Steve
Thanks for the excellent suggestions. Here we go:)
Best of luck, I bet you won't need it though. Let me know how it comes out.
Steve
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