DIY Project – Upcycling our Cabinet Doors – The Trial Run – The Panels
This phase of the project created the urgency to complete the project ASAP. I am not a big fan of unfinished projects on display in our house. I hate waiting to apply that second coat of paint. Do you really have to wait 2-3 hours? I want projects done NOW. That is why I get a little sloppy at the end of a project, I just want to finish it.
I needed to take off the doors of the master bathroom cabinet. Taking off the doors now exposes, not only all our stuff in the cabinet, but also that there is a project in our house. Now I understand it is in our master bathroom. Nevertheless, I see this unfinished project every day.
I took off the panels with the hinges attached. Downstairs I went to remove the hardware. I was going to keep the hinges, because I am cheap. If I was going to buy new hinges, I wanted the hidden type. However, I would need to fill all the screw holes and refinish the frames. The painter that finished the cabinets decided to poly over the hinges leaving an outline of the hinge on the frame.
I decided to spray paint the hinges satin nickel and replace the door pulls with obviously something in satin nickel. Efiwym and I had not decided yet what style. I put the hardware in a sandwich bag to save for painting later.
I checked and rechecked the measurements for the frames for the panel size. Fortunately, I checked the size off the frames and not my drawing. I forgot to add back the 3/8” rabbet on my drawing’s measurement. Additionally, the panel measurements were different for each door. The difference was small, but really, I could not make the frames the same size???
Before I cut the panels, I marked the hinge side of the panel to make sure I had a template to drill the screw holes on the new doors in the same spot as the old doors. (That would wind up being a waste of time.) For this job, I was going to use my table saw with the new blade. Setting up the rip guide was exasperating. (1) Measure from the saw blade, (2) lock rip guide into place, (3) check for squareness and (4) recheck the measurement. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat one more time. Run a test board. Tweak if necessary and repeat the steps again. Thanks to a new blade, the actual cutting part was calming.
Before I could put the panels in the frames, I needed to round off the corners. (Remember I decided not to square up the rabbet for the panel.) I found an architecture drawing template to mark the corners. I used the 2’-8” door template as a good size. The next just-okay DIYer decision to make was how to round the corners. Should I use a file or sandpaper? Using a file or sandpaper seemed too long. I do not have a work bench sander, but I have a work bench grinder. The grinder was the solution. A typical bad choice for a just-okay DIYer. Surprisingly, it worked (okay).
Time for some math. I knew that the panels were 3/4” thick. So, when I placed the panels in the frame, the panels protruded 1/4” from the frame on the backside of the door. (1/4” reveal plus 3/4“ panel equal 1”. The frames are 3/4” thick, resulting in 1/4” difference. According to the Kreg® jig video, you need some wood molding to hold the panels in place. Was there any molding with a 1/4” rabbet that I could buy, or do I need to make a molding with a 1/4” rabbet? After researching home improvement store websites, I found a 1/4” x 3/4” oak screen molding. But how will I make this molding work? If I would rout a 1/4” rabbet on the back side of the panels, that would give me a 3/8” wide flush surface around the panel. That actually was a good idea, not a typical bad choice for a just-okay DIYer.
Once that was completed, I was ready for finishing…