|
|
 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
| by:
John Sillaots
photos: Roger Yip
illustrations: Len Churchill |
SECOND TIME AROUND |
| John
Sillaots tweaks the design of the traditional bathroom vanity
using reclaimed lumber |
Think before you trash that wood from your latest home reno.
Lots of experienced wood can be reused as part of your next
project. By building with reclaimed materials you’ll create
unique conversation pieces with their own stories to tell and
you’ll also be easing the burden on forests.
This bathroom vanity started
at Timeless Materials (800-609-9633; www.timelessmaterials.com),
a 10-acre temporary resting place for great old stuff just outside
Kitchener, Ontario. There’s a lot of fun to be had using materials
with a history, like the pine floor boards from an old factory
and quartersawn California redwood from a wine vat that I used
for this project.
|
| Start At the Top |
 |
| The
vanity's economical elegance is achieved through
careful parts shopping and imaginative design |
|
The first
thing I needed was a moulded sink top, and I found the perfect
one for $20 at the Home Again Recycling Depot in Toronto (416-467-4663).
It measured 19" x 31" and was the starting point for the project.
My design includes what I call
extended cabriole legs on the front, creating an elegant, old-fashioned
look. I used sugar pine for these legs. It’s a little harder
than eastern white pine, but it’s still easy to work with. The
outline of the 1/4"-thick hardboard template I made for the
leg profile is on this illustration.
Creating cabriole legs is within
the reach of most woodworkers. The plans include step-by-step
directions. The technique is quite straightforward but you’ll
need access to a bandsaw and the patience to sand the inside
and outside curves that form each leg. This is where pine makes
life easier than hardwood.
Once you’ve got two front legs
and the straight back legs done, it’s time to tackle the side
panels. Although most bathroom cabinets are 32" tall, I went
with 36" to suit my height. This is reflected in the materials
list. To shorten this cabinet to a standard height, reduce the
side stiles, door stiles and upper portion of the legs by 4".
The plans show the stiles and
rails joined into a frame with #20 biscuits. The panels fit
into the inside face of this frame, within 1/4"-wide x 3/8"-deep
table-routed rabbets you make after the frames are dry and sanded
flat.
The next step is to install the
side panels, but two things must happen first. The edge of the
panels needs to be routed to fit the 3/8" rabbet you routed
in the frame. The four rounded corners of the frame rabbet must
be squared with a sharp chisel. Secure the panel with 1/2" finishing
nails or wood trim on the inside face of the side frame. This
is the same design and construction process I used to build
the face frame, door and drawer frames. Build these parts now.
Sand them flat, then rout a round-over profile on the outer
edges of the drawer face and
doors.
|
| Bring the Cabinet Together |
With
the side and face frames done, it’s time to join them to the
legs. I used screws driven into angled pocket holes. This is
fast, easy and allows me to assemble the whole cabinet without
waiting for glue to dry.
 |
| Creative
cabriole legs cut from a template refine the vanity's
stance and give it a furniture-like appeal |
 |
| Sillaot's
trademark drawer slides function beautifully but
require an eye for precise tolerances |
|
When the cabinet is assembled, including the two back support
members, you can measure the opening for your drawer box. Mechanical
slides like the kind I used require a specific drawer-to-cabinet
clearance—usually 1/2" on each side. That’s why you should measure
your drawer opening and make changes to the drawer specs if
needed. Construction variations can easily throw dimensions
off 1/8"—more than enough to make mechanical drawer slides perform
poorly. The plans show how the drawer support rails provide
a surface for the mechanical slides to fasten to.
I kept things simple with butt
joints at all four drawer box corners. The drawer bottom fits
into 1/4" x 1/4" dados in the sides, front and back. Install
the drawer in its opening on the slides, then temporarily fasten
the frame and panel drawer face to the drawer box with four
screws driven from inside the box. Take the drawer face off
for finishing.
|
| Final Steps |
Minwax
pre-stain wood conditioner was used to even out the absorption
of the Ipswich Pine stain. The stain was sealed under three
coats of oil-based urethane. Once the finish is complete, seat
the sink top on a bead of silicone applied along the top edges
of the cabinet. Screws driven through the top and bottom back
members and into wall studs will secure it to the wall. Hook
up the plumbing and you’re ready to go.
|
| Safe
Salvage |
Click
below for a detailed plan |
| Before
deciding if a recycled material is suitable for your project
you should always consider its history. If the wood is
from the floor of a machine shop, for instance, it may
be contaminated with spilled oil that'll cause finishing
difficulties or odour problems in indoor woodwork. And
be careful when working with painted wood. You've also
got to watch out for nails, grit and embedded metal in
any reclaimed lumber. Many salvage yards scan old wood
and clean it , but with benchtop planer blades running
at about $50 a pair, careful examination is worth the
trouble. |
 |
|
| You
Will Need |
| For
the Cabinet |
Material |
Size |
Qty. |
| Front
legs |
sugar
pine |
4"
x 4" x 36" |
2 |
| Back
legs |
sugar
pine |
2"
x 2" x 36" |
2 |
| Side
rails |
pine |
3/4"
x 2 1/4" x 9 3/4" |
4 |
| Side
stiles |
pine |
3/4"
x 2 1/4" x 22 1/2" |
4 |
| Side
panels |
pine |
3/4"
x 10 7/8" x 18 3/4" |
2 |
| Face
frame stiles |
pine |
3/4"
x 2 1/4" x 22 1/2" |
2 |
| Face
frame top rail |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 1/4" x 20 5/8" |
1 |
| Face
frame centre rail |
pine |
3/4"
x 2" x 20 5/8" |
1 |
| Face
frame bottom rail |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 1/2" x 20 5/8" |
1 |
| Drawer
supports |
pine |
3/4"
x 2 3/4" x 16 1/8" |
2 |
| Top
back cross member |
pine |
3/4"
x 4 1/2" x 25 1/4" |
|
| Bottom
back cross member |
pine |
3/4"
x 2" x 25 1/4" |
1 |
| Sink
top |
molded
acrylic |
19"
x 31" |
1 |
| For
the Doors |
| Door
rails |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 3/4" x 7" |
4 |
| Door
stiles |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 3/4" x 14 1/2" |
4 |
| Door
panels |
redwood |
3/4"
x 7 5/8" x 11 5/8" |
2 |
| Door
spacer |
pine |
1/4"
x 2" x 13 3/8" |
1 |
| For
the Drawers |
| Drawer
box fronts |
birch-veneer
ply |
1/2"
x 4" x 18 5/8" |
2 |
| Drawer
box sides |
birch-veneer
ply |
1/2"
x 4" x 16" |
2 |
| Drawer
bottoms |
birch-veneer
ply |
1/4"
x 15 1/2" x 19 1/4" |
1 |
| Drawer
face rails |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 3/4" x 18 1/4" |
2 |
| Drawer
face stiles |
pine |
3/4"
x 1 3/4" x 5 1/2" |
1 |
| Drawer
face panel |
redwood |
3/4"
x 2 5/8" x 19" |
1 |
| Drawer
slides |
full-extension |
16"-long |
2 |
| Drawer/door
knobs |
white
porcelain |
1
1/8" dia. |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| FREE
NEWSLETTER |
Subscribe to our newsletter. Every few weeks, you'll get a behind-the-scenes
peek at the magazine, the web site and the folks who put it all together.
CLICK HERE |
|
|
PROJECTS
