Wednesday, January 18, 2012

PART TWO, KITCHEN CABINETS FROM MAT BOARD


*Keep your pencil sharp for better marking of measurements.  Keep a sharp blade in your craft knife.



Glue a piece of card stock to a piece of mat board.  Use yellow glue through out this tutorial.








Cut 2 pieces of this sandwich 1/4" x 2-7/8".  Measure and mark 3 lines, evenly spaced onto the card stock side.

*2-7/8"?  That's because the counter top will measure 1/8" or as close as we can get with 2 pieces of mat board, together that's going to be 3" or 3 foot in full-size.





Use a small ball stylus to press into the card stock side on the lines.


*I glued card stock to the mat board because when the ball stylus was used it would cause the mat board to separate.  The lines are close together here, on the doors we won't need to do that, the lines are farther apart.









To build the post you need to cut from 1/4" wide mat board 2 pieces each: 1/4" x 1/2"; 1/4" x 7/16", (top pieces); 1/4" x 3/8" and 1/4" x 5/16, (bottom pieces).





Round with sand paper, (120 grit) of 1 short side of each of these pieces.

*When I say round I want you to make a "quarter round" edge, you are only rounding off the top edge or corner.  You are not rounding off the whole side or both edges.

Glue the 1/2" and 7/16" pieces together matching 2 long sides and the un-sanded short end.  Glue the 3/8" and 5/16" pieces together matching the same way as before.





Glue these assemblies to the 1/4" x 2-7/8" long piece with the lines.  One set on top and one on the bottom.  Match your sides evenly.





Now, we need to cut a "shoe mould".

*That's the piece of quarter round that goes at the bottom of the post.  (This should also be at the bottom of base boards.)  Quarter round is called quarter round because only one of the 4 corners is sanded round.

Round by sanding an end of a 1/4" wide strip of mat board.





Cut the end off, I cut mine at 3/32" wide.

I rounded with the bigger piece first because it is easier that trying to round this little piece after it's cut to width.










Glue your shoe mould onto the bottom of the posts.











Cut the front of the base cabinet, 2-7/8" x 6"










Set the posts onto each side of the cabinet base front.  I set the posts 1/16" from the ends.  Mark 1/16" from the inner edge of each post.











Mark and draw a center line on the front.
Measure up from the bottom a 1/4" and draw a line.









We are making the toe kick at the bottom front of the cabinet base.

I used a circle template to make the curved ends of the toe kick.










Cut the mat board out on the lines you drew.













You can glue the posts onto the front of your cabinet base.









Door and drawer faces are 1-3/16" wide with a 1/8" space between.

Cut a strip or strips of mat board 1-3/16" wide.
The doors are 1-1/2" long, cut 4.
The drawers are 11/16" long, cut 2.
This is the first layer of your doors and drawers
Don't glue them on, yet.




Cut another strip 1-1/16" wide.
For doors cut 4 pieces 1-3/8" long.
For drawers cut 2 pieces 9/16" long.
This is the second layer.  We are going to make an ogee edge on the doors and drawers.
Make the drawer fronts first.  Round off all for edges.
Center the small piece on the large piece and glue together.  Make 2.

*Note:  I've written before about the ogee reveal.  I try by best to keep measurements from getting into the 32nds and 64ths.  Sometimes I have to, though.  Make a sample, if you want less of a reveal, the space between the edge of the top layer and the edge of the bottom layer, make you top layer a little larger.  Not quite the whole 1/8" I have all around.  This is your design, make them the way you would like to have them.



The door faces are decorative, something like the kitchen dresser from an earlier blog, (May, 2011).
On the smaller pieces for the door I measured in from all sides 3/16".

Again, you can change these measurements to suit your tastes.  This is about technique, really.
 
Sand all for edges of these 8 pieces.








I used an oval template to make the curve at the top of the door.  This is optional.









With a sharp blade in your craft knife cut the inside shape out of the top layer of your door faces.

Remember, several light cuts are better than 1 deep cut.









Center the top layer of the door faces onto the bottom layer.

Draw around the opening.









I measured and drew evenly space lines on the bottom layer of the door faces.

I used a small ball stylus to press into the mat board.











Center the top layer onto the bottom layer and glue the layers together.

Cool doors, huh?





Can you see it, yet?

Lay your drawers and doors on the front of the base cabinet.  The doors should be about 1/8" from the bottom and the drawers should be about 3/16" from the top.
The space above the 2 center doors is where the farm house sink will go.  We need to measure and cut out the space.







Measure 7/8" down from the top.  If you have the drawers and doors where you want them, spaces between even to your eye, measure 1-3/4" in from each side of the front of the cabinet base.








Connect all the marks and draw lines.












Cut out the sink space.


I've got my doors and drawers just setting on the front.  Don't glue them on yet, it's more realistic if you paint them separately.