cabinetman

When LOML and I decided to get married, we had planned to rent a hall for the reception. About 3 weeks before the wedding, we decided why not just have the whole shebang right in our home. Well, we had about 50 people invited, and one friend was a notary, who would marry us. It was a really neat idea, sort of warm and fuzzy, except for the fact that our kitchen was a disaster. By the time we decided to use our home, I had about 2 weeks start to finish before the wedding. I had all the cabinets installed the day before, and was still hanging doors until 2:00 AM. All the upper cabinets are 34" high. All the drawers are 22" and on full extension slides. The pictures aren't that good, had a flourescent light hue to deal with and there were some random spots that don't belong. This was in 2001, and these were taken with a 35mm, and I'm not a good photographer.

The kitchen is on three walls. My wife likes clean looks that are easy to wipe off and she wanted laminate. She doesn't like raised panels (glory be). This is the North view, and there is a pull out trash drawer to the right of the stove.
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This is the south view, and the curved cabinet end to the right was done as a design elelent, and to give a more open traffic way. The little curved shelves at the right end of the upper cabinet was to break up some of the monotony and to match the same curved on the West wall.
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This is the West wall. The large drawer in the base cabinet in the middle is for the large dog food bags. The two drawers to the right are for tall items like cereal boxes, tall bottles, etc. The curve at the left end of the base cabinet compliments the opening to the kitchen with the adjacent wall (South) cabinets' curve. The little curved shelves in the upper matches the South cabinet also.
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woodman42

Thats cool. How did you make the rounded doors?

Mysteriouswoodsmen

My guess would be bendable plywood.

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I don't think that was suppose to happen
I love to give homemade gifts...........Which of my kids would you like

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stuart

bendable plywood.

ummmmm uh huh .. I second that.

that happens all the time including arches.

dbhost

Three items.

#1. No one else has mentioned this. But congratulations on the wedding! I just got married in December myself.

#2. Nice work.

#3. Are you out of your ever lovin' mind to tackle a project like that right before your own wedding?

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-- Trying to follow the example of the master...

stuart

I second #1, #2 and #3

joesdad

Way to plow through! Looks great considering...Congrats, and I've hung doors at 2am too, but I was just after a check.

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cabinetman

Making round doors or panels that are to be laminated with a Formica type product or veneer, is fairly easy. "Bending ply" can't be used for doors as there is no way to keep it in a curve. I use a variety of plywoods in 5/8" to 3/4" thicknesses.

You first need to have a form for the curve, such as a cabinet front or a made up form. Using a "tailors tape measure" or anything that will take the curve, like 1/8" masonite, measure for the inside length of the curve. Measure for the desired height, less the thickness of two pieces of the laminate or veneer to be used.

Orient the plywood so the face grain runs horizontally, and cut out the door. You will be cutting saw kerfs in parallel vertically. They will be of a depth just short of the face veneer of the plywood, or at least leave 1/16" or more. The grain running horizontally will help prevent cracking of the face. The spacing between kerfs will be determined by how tight the arc of the curve will be. This should be tested first. For very tight curves, the kerf will be deep and very close together. For very gradual curves, the kerfs may not be so deep, and may be further apart.

You should wind up with some flat on the two vertical ends to end the lamination. Once kerfing starts, the panel will become flimsy and you have to handle it carefully. Tack nail with small finish nails to the form (kerfs being on the outside/front), along the top and bottom edges nailing through the flats between the kerfs. Leave some nail head protruding so you can get it out easily.

Carefully fill the kerfs with a Bondo type mixture. You can't mix up too much at once as it kicks off pretty quick. With a putty knife, force the bondo into the kerfs as deep as you can get without breaking through. When the total area has been filled, and cured, remove from the form, and block sand the face smooth.

I make a block sander from using 3x21 sanding belts. I cut stock from 5/8" or 3/4" ply, MDF, or melamine, 3" wide and just long enough to force the belt over the block to stretch it tightly. I wind up with a two sided hand sander that is 3" wide and somewhere about 9" long, depending on whether you use 5/8" or 3/4".

You can then laminate with your choice of material. As for drilling hinge cup holes, make a mark on the inside of the curve where they go. Using a DP, carefully drill the hole after the door has been wedged at the correct angle, to the minimum depth needed. It's wise to laminate the outside of the door after the hinge holes have been drilled because you may break through if you've drilled too deep.

This method is for an outside curve. For inside curves, the backside of the door gets kerfed and filled as above.