Beautiful work as always. I have one of those Rockler shelf pin jigs. I'm starting to get tired of drilling hundreds of holes per project... I think its about time I get one of those 2 things you got there... I imagine a router based jig is a lot easier on the user.
Nice work. I agree with you on staining hardwood. I'm a cabinet installer in new england and its been popular over the years along with a light stain with a dark glaze, it gives a beautiful new cabinet a dirty patina. I just dont get it. The past few years I've been seeing too many painted cabinets. Country blue, cream, greys and whites of all shades. I like your shop and projects. Keep the videos coming.
I find your videos really soothing to watch! Maybe it was the dance moves?! It's always a shame when lovely wood grain is smothered with a stain that completely overpowers it, but like you say, what the customer wants... Thanks for the vids, hope to see more. Happy Christmas.
Nice work, I definitely learned using the domino machines you need the vac hooked up, easier for the machines to mortise and keeps the bits lasting longer. Can't sharpen those bits, tried it before then the tenons no longer fit. CMT has the bits a bit cheaper...
Couldn't agree more. In the next couple months I hope to build a vacuum setup specifically designed for bench tools. If it turns out cool, I'll do a build video.
Really nice end product. Serious question: Why do you go through the trouble of making veneer and attaching it to MDF? When you factor lumber price + time, would it be similar to just glue oak boards together? Admittedly I have a negative bias towards MDF.
MDF is stable, solid lumber is not. If the doors warp in the tracks they will be very hard to move. The veneered MDF is an attempt to keep the doors flat and sliding smooth.
I was able to cut some pretty nice veneers on a 1/2 hp saw. It’s was slow going but worked fine. With that said things get much quicker when the hp goes up.
Great instruction Mike. I like customers with no timeline! I'm curious, did you get the glass shelf before you built the cabinet or after it was built ? Just wondering if they cut it right or if you had them cut it after it was built.
@@MikeFarrington Thanks Mike for your answer. I see you using it quite often in your videos and you even mentioned the size in one of them but I wasn't sure if I heard it or understood well - fractions and metric don't go well together :) So 1.5mm it is. Edit: SHIT it's actually 2.3813mm
Hello Mike- I just recently watched you under stair storage video- great job and great idea. How stable is untreated (painted) MDF in a garage. Are you concerned about the effect of humidity?- Nice work
Thank you Tony. I find MDF to be stable enough. It would be better to add a finish, but I live in an ultra dry climate. If things get a little squishy I can always add a finish later.
When I clamped up, I checked square. It was pretty close. I also planned to force the cabinet into square when I mounted it on the wall. Since it didn't have a back there was a little play.
Great video. Like your process. Do you have any issues with the titebond glue with shopsawn veneers? I have used with commercial veneers (thin veneers), but have read elsewhere that it may not be strong enough for shopsawn (thicker) veneers
Thank you! I have never had any veneer, shop sawn or commercial, give me any problems when using Titebond. The only issue I have had is rippling due to using too much glue (glue pooling under veneer). Otherwise I have had good luck. I have used all types of Titebond, cold press glue, and Gorilla glue, everyone has given me good results. I think amount of glue and proper clamping pressure are the big problem areas for woodworkers.
In your later videos you appear to favour the biscuit joiner over the domino, any insight into why? At the furniture school I'm attending they drive domino pretty hard into us, we've not even seen a biscuit machine around. I understand they operate on the same principal, but would be interested to know if the domino is honestly worth the price tag it commands. Regarding shop veneer, I made an ash drop leaf table with shop veneer. Fun to make, easier to handle, glue, cut, sand, finish. I was (in my head) laughing at all the other students working with the 0.6mm dried up old veneer from the school. Of course, it won't save me every time, but it certainly opened up massive potential for maximising product and, I suppose, possibly saving a fair bit of cash.
I like using the biscuit joiner in 1/2" material when the joint is wider (more than about 2 1/2"). Dominos for 1/2" material are tiny. This is why I have used it a lot in the last few videos. Its fast and cheap to use. The biscuit joint resists twist better than a domino. I also like using it when I need a slight offset between two pieces, like when glue edging onto a shelf. My biscuit joiner has a feature where I can raise and lower the cutter by .1mm increments. So I cut the shelf, adjust the cutter by .3 or .4mm and cut the edging. Now I have a joint with a little offset and I can come back and clean that up with a router or lipping planer. I will say this, if I could only have one, it would be the small domino. Plain and simple, it is more versatile. It has its draw backs, specifically the fence can slip if you are not careful, but over all its a really useful, money making tool. Also, if you are making a living doing this stuff and want a biscuit joiner, only consider buying the Lamello (the top 21 model). I have owned a few others and while they all work OK, they have too much slop in them to be accurate. Shop sawn veneer is not for every project, but its awesome when used in the right situation. Commercial veneer can be a real pain to use, and there is very little margin for error. Though I use it upon occasion. Sounds like you are getting a good education, what school?
Well, I've just looked at prices and the Domino is in fact cheaper than the Top21. A lesson in not believing what other people tell you. I remember you used it to trim the edging and it made me consider the fact that I couldn't imagine using the Domino in any other way that just joinery. I'm at the Chippendale School in Scotland - no association with the male strippers or chipmunk Rescue Rangers. The syllabus is pretty open, we only have to adhere to at least one solid wood and one veneer project for the year, anything more than that is up to us. We've had guest lecturers stay with us for a week or two teaching gilding, carving, veneering, windsor chair making, perspective drawing and design - there's probably something I'm missing in there, but it's been an intense year. Just over a month to go and then I can call myself a furniture maker, so I'm told...
That really sounds awesome! Keep at it. Yes, the Top21 is not cheap. That is one of the reasons I think the small Domino is the best all around. Its a lot of usefulness for the money. Best of luck. Keep me updated on what you are up to.
Really like your style of videos. Informative, entertaining and good to see a real professional at work. Appreciate that you share considerations regarding clients wishes, material cost etc. Keep up the good work! Subscribed
Thanks for the video, Mike. What is your preferred product for staining really dark colors? I've been using Sherwin Williams BAC wiping stain with mostly good results but curious what you used here. Thanks again.
Nice finish, as usual. I know you prefer water-based spray finishes, so I can probably assume you used one here. Mind sharing the info on it? I'm getting burned out on pre- and post-catalyzed lacquers. Such a pain cleaning up afterwards.
Thank you. I like Kem Aqua for a water clear. Its certainly not as strong as post-catalyzed solvent base, but it sprays easy, its easy to clean and looks nice.
Thank you. I bought it off a guy who was liquidating his shop during the last market downturn. When I bought it, I'm guessing it didn't have much use on it. It is certainly the tool I spend the most time in front of.
I use an online glass calculator. Put in the dimensions and it spits out what thickness glass is needed for a specific weight and how much it will deflect.
Nice clean piece. Sometimes less is more. Nice job mike. Just wondering, i noticed in the background a grey looking clamping rack. Can you tell me anything about it? I.e...make/model, wether you like it or think its so so..lol thanks bud! And thanks for sharing.
Thank you. For my tastes, less is more most of the time. I think the clamp rack you are talking about is made by Plano. It is a series of clamps that put pressure in all four directions. It works very good but, its a challenge to load and there are size limitations. I got the camps as a partial trade when buying another tool. I ended up selling them because it just seemed like my glue ups were outside the size capacity of the system.
I recently subscribed to your channel and am enjoying your videos very much. You do excellent work! I have learned a lot of little tips and tricks from you that I've been able to incorporate into my work as a finish carpenter. Your voice is quite soothing and makes watching your videos relaxing as all get out. Thanks for sharing.
Great video, Mike. Thanks for the detailed veneering lesson. I was wondering if you have a particular favorite bandsaw resaw blade you would recommend for this process.
Thank you. I do not. I just use the cheap blades. If I am on my A game I will throw on a fresh blade when starting a resawing project. At some point I want to try one of the carbide tipped blades.
Another great video as usual. You mentioned, in the video, that you like your bluetooth hearing protectrion. Would you mind telling me what brand and model you use. I'm tired of earbuds and I think I would like to try the bluetooth.
Not sure I made mention of bluetooth, but I bounce between using earbuds plugged into my phone and Stanley ear muffs. The ear muffs have am/fm and a 1/8" input jack. I recommend the Stanley ear muffs, they are well built. I will say if you have a big head like I do, its a tight fit. I wear either a large or XL helmet and the muffs just barely fit my head.
Its great seeing a true professional working . Your smooth narration compliments your working very well. I think you have the best workshop in RU-vid Land !
It's worth mentioning to make sure the overlap of the sliding doors is enough to stop the finger holes going past the other door....unless you like broken fingers!
lovely i think adding gold metal around the finger hole still letting your fingers go throw of courses would of matched it really nicely too love the detail of your work
Contact cement really doesn't bond the two materials together very well. Contact cement works with paper backed veneer and laminate, but for solid wood the bond is a little to squishy for my tastes.
We have crazy weather here, but for the most part the relative humidity is low. So to answer your question, I let stuff acclimate to my shop for as long as I can afford, other then that I do little if anything to control moisture.
Yes I have, but contact cement should really only be used on paper backed veneer. This is because the finish applied over the veneer can weaken the bond.
When I was at College of The Redwoods I learned this method of veneer work. I've never gone back to commercial veneers. I have found that 3/4" wide BEIGE masking tape will stretch as you apply it at a 90° angle to the joint. Then it will pull the joint tight (assuming a well jointed edge). I use the same method to apply solid wood edge banding to sheet goods- tho I'm looking forward to trying the spring clamp/ inner tube method.
I'll have to try the 3/4" beige stuff. I have always used the blue because its what I have on hand for other projects. I used tape for edge banding for years, after making the inner tube clamps, I'm not looking back. Its totally great to hear from a College of The Redwoods grad. I would love to spend some time there.
Mike Farrington Yes C of R was a great experience. The main advantage of the regular old beige masking tape is that we felt it stretched more than the blue tape. (A point that I neglected to make clear) It prolly holds a bit better as well.
I don't know for sure. My guess is its equally important. Years ago when I was learning to veneer, I made up several test panels with both commercial and shop sawn veneer. On most of them I only veneered one side, all of them warped in differing amounts.
