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Old 05-06-2018, 16:38   #16
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

Hey thanks guys for the suggestions. Some good tips. Most of the ideas suggested have been playing in my mind. To be bluntly honest, my boat is not worth fitting out in teak so I've gone with Meranti ("Phillipine Mahogany") for the ply and minor trimmings and a whiter wood (Tasmanian Oak) for the rails. The ply is only 9mm thick because that was what was used for the original shelving and I want to keep weight to a minimum.



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Originally Posted by ayates View Post
I used marine mahogany plywood edged in mahogany; glued with epoxy. Overlay, vs inset. Standard hidden hinges and Southco stainless steel latches. These are fairly quick to make, look quite classy, and the overlay aspect gives some fudge room. The joint between the edging and the plywood uses biscuits for alignment (and strength).


Allan.

That looks fantastic and is in the same style as the rest of my boat's joinery, sans the contrasting colour. This style was my first preference because it is relatively easy to fabricate (I have a reasonable collection of wood working tools including a table saw). Two things that have dissuaded me a little is that; Firstly, I want to use the cutout as the door itself if I can so this means that slightly less than the width of the trimming would be the "overlap". Do you think this would work? Secondly I'm having a difficult time finding suitable hinges that don't cost an arm and a leg.


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Originally Posted by ayates View Post
Here are a couple of "under construction" photos.




Allan.

Very nice. I guess the other thing that scares me is trimming the edging. I live in fear of scalloping the surface of the ply if the router accidentally tilts while being guided along the thin edge. What was your experience with this?


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Originally Posted by capt jgw View Post
"Neatly cutting" the holes would be way harder than you think. I wouldn't consider even trying it. (But then I know the limits of my craftsmanship). You need some kind of trim to cover the edges.

I did some practice on some ply last weekend and determined that using a multi-tool to plunge cut followed by hand cutting with a Japanese pull saw using angle iron as a straight edge produces some impressive results. However, One slip - especially during the plunge cutting phase - could be deal breaking so a plan B would definitely be needed.


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Originally Posted by FionaJC View Post
I cut the hole in the panel. I then framed the hole with hardwood L shaped. I used a mitre saw and trimmed till it fitted. I then glued in the frame to the hole.

I then made another frame with a small gap to fit inside the framed hole, glued it and cut the removed panel to fit.

The knobs are the push in to lock and push again to unlock. Iused a polyurethane glue as its easty to trip with a chisel edge and it fills gaps.

Good suggestions. What you have there is what I considered a plan B. My concern with the amount of trim, the smallness of the doors and the adjacent rails has me concerned the finished effect may be too "fussy" looking.


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Originally Posted by Mike Banks View Post
Mark your opening on the plywood and cut it out neatly using a clean-cut thin blade in your jig-saw.

Take the piece you have removed, and lay it on a sheet of plywood. Using a ruler and square, mark a rectangle so that it is about one centimetre, or half to three quarters of an inch, larger than the piece you removed on three sides only. The flush side will carry the marine grade stainless steel or tuffnel hinges. On the inside of the plywood where the hinges and catches are to be fitted, you will need to glue and clamp a piece of rot-resistant timber to carry the hinges and catch.

For such purposes I often buy mahogany garden stakes--they are cheap as chips and make great small pieces when sized and shaped. I have used them to make frames of cupboards and lockers--they take glue reasonably well and they accept screws without splitting if one drills them correctly.

Glue the cover piece to the part removed, at least around the perimeter, using epoxy glue or polyurethane glue. Dress and sand any edges. One door--in about forty minutes or less.

Good advice. Although, I like Meranti as it has a lot of good properties, but it's ply is really susceptible to break away at the cut edge on the top face when cut with a jigsaw, so I try and avoid it.


For info, here's a couple of photos of the job. It's far from finished but illustrates the actual project. One side shows the rails, and the other has the fascias sitting in location. The finished job will be a combination of both.
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Old 06-06-2018, 03:11   #17
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

Overlay is obviously the way to go and standard hinges for cupboards and standard tracks for drawers work really well, as you can adjust out a lot of small errors with these. I love Southco latches but, at $50+ each they soon put a big dint in your pocket. The time getting the holes exactly correct and the risk of spoiling the fronts of cabinets and drawers is also a pain.
My Commodore (wife) wanted the fronts of our cabinets and draws to look like a modern home, so no exposed handles or catches! (This is a boat we're talking about, possible mutiny.) Modern standard hinges and drawer tracks all include a very smooth closing soft latch that works very well in a house but not on a boat.
So Commodore's requirement: no visible catch, soft close and opening, 90 degree knockdown capable, definitely a mutiny in the making. My solution has been to use a product described as a "grandparent friendly kiddy lock". See https://www.bunnings.com.au/dreambab...-pack_p4211060
Realistically we really only spend 10% of our time at sea and when we are going to sea we just turn on the locks and use the magnetic key to open, the rest of the time we have lockers and drawers that open and close at a touch. I was worried about the strength of these locks so I contacted the manufacturer. They advised that they are designed to withstand an angry three-year-old trying to break into a laundry cupboard to drink a bottle of bleach and have the parent sue for $100 million. I mounted one on a drawer in my workshop at home using stainless screws (not just sticky) and pulled with my landcruiser; it pulled the top bar out of the cabinet before it let the drawer go. Next question was would they last in a marine environment, manufacturer's answer was they are made for kitchens and laundries and are plastic and magnets only.
So a few hundred work hours and a few thousand dollars saved we now have about 50 "kiddy" locks on the good ship Nyla. Happy wife happy life.
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Old 06-06-2018, 04:28   #18
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

I used 6mm black plastic, purchased from my Perspex supplier on the Sunshine Coast. I just cut it with a jigsaw, sanded the edges, then polished them by hand. Screwed on some hinges and all done quick as.
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Old 06-06-2018, 17:03   #19
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

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Originally Posted by Reefmagnet View Post
H


For info, here's a couple of photos of the job. It's far from finished but illustrates the actual project. One side shows the rails, and the other has the fascias sitting in location. The finished job will be a combination of both.
A nice project. For a unit that size I like a combination of closed cabinets and open book shelves.
Personally, I'm still perfecting my technique, and once the final piece of cabinetry is done, i'll probably start ripping out and re-doing the first ones. :roll eyes:
Still haven't found any latches that I really like.

One more idea that may not be directly relevant to your project: If you cut any hatch openings in a fiberglass liner, save all of the cut-out pieces! They make excellent backing plates for deck hardware and through-hulls.
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Old 06-06-2018, 18:54   #20
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

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Originally Posted by Reefmagnet View Post
Very nice. I guess the other thing that scares me is trimming the edging. I live in fear of scalloping the surface of the ply if the router accidentally tilts while being guided along the thin edge. What was your experience with this?
The trick I came up with is as follows:
  1. Mount the router in a router table with a flush trimming bit.
  2. Cut a pair of plywood squares with the corner cut out. They will look like a very fat "L".
  3. Place the door on edge on a flat surface (like a table saw) and push the edge of the square pieces of plywood against the side of the door. This will get the door exactly perpendicular to the table.
  4. Clamp the plywood squares to the door. The corner cut out ensures the square is not resting against the edging that sticks out proud from the door.
  5. Take the contraption to the router table, and holding the squares against the table, run the edge of the door around the router bit.
  6. If the corner cut outs are made large enough, then the router bit will pass through them, and you can one edge both sides before having to shift the squares to another edge.



Allan.
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Old 06-06-2018, 19:01   #21
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Re: Ideas for DIY cupboard doors?

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Originally Posted by Reefmagnet View Post
Although, I like Meranti as it has a lot of good properties, but it's ply is really susceptible to break away at the cut edge on the top face when cut with a jigsaw, so I try and avoid it.
I do (almost) all my plywood cutting on the table saw with a Forrest blade. Admittedly, that won't work for making cuts in the middle of a sheet.

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Originally Posted by Reefmagnet View Post
Secondly I'm having a difficult time finding suitable hinges that don't cost an arm and a leg.
Depending on your definition of extremities... I used:
Hinges, half overlay: 120° Face-Frame Hinges - Lee Valley Tools
Drawer Slides: https://www.blum.com/us/en/01/30/10/


Allan.
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