Welcome back to the past commissions series.

You can see the first two here:

#1 Batman Plaque
#2 Oak French Armoire

Today's post is #3 Painted Alcove Cabinets

This was a commission by a new client.

Background.

I do a lot of work for a local builder who occasionally needs something making up.

This could be one metre of skirting to match an original. or a piece of oak made to size.

He will need the job doing asap.

I always get the job done.

In return he recommends me to his clients when they need Furniture or specialist woodwork.

He refers me without commission and I then have a new customer on my books.

The Commission.

I met the client and we discussed the project.

They required alcove cabinets with floating shelves.

The house was circa 1920 and the design needed to be in keeping but contemporary at the same time.

We decided the cabinets should be painted so that they blended with the rest of the room.

I picked out mouldings from the existing woodwork to use in the design.

The Design.

The cabinets themselves were made from poplar and MDF.

I used poplar because you can get an exceptionally crisp finish with painted furniture.

I used MDF for the carcase and panels to keep within budget (MDF is also very good for stability and gives a great surface to paint).

The front frames and door frames were mortised and tenoned for strength.

The panels were set within a groove.

I used an ovolo moulding on the doors and a thumbnail moulding on the worktop edge.

The floating shelves were 2" thick. These were made up from two 18mm pieces of MDF with a 14mm gap inbetween.

Within this 14mm gap I used shelf supports which were screwed to the wall.

This hid any visible supports and gave the floating effect.

Installation.

I started off by fitting the base cabinets, which was fairly straight forward.

The worktops had to be scribed in to fit perfectly.

I also had to make allowance for wires etc.

I had made the skirting board to match the existing skirting board. This then flowed seamlessly to the original.

The position of the floating shelves was set out, and the 14mm supports were attached to the walls.

The shelves were then scribed in.

I had primed and undercoated the cabinets and shelves ready for the client to top coat.

If you have any questions about woodwork, furniture or being self employed as a craftsperson let me know.

I know my wood and I have spent years teaching myself furniture making , furniture history as well as living it as a self employed cabinet maker .

I am also in the process of writing a

'How to series: Setting up a Woodworking Business'

Which you can read here;
Part 1: Workshop
Part 2: Tools and machinery
Part 3: Finding a good timber yard
Part 4: Deciding what type of woodwork you are going to do.

Still I am learning every day and the journey is the point.

Many thanks for reading,
Until next time,
@jist