[Lynda Von G]

I thought I'd share with you my photo journal of the craftsman style cabinet that my dad and I built.

The cabinet that came with my 60 gallon tank when I bought it served me well, but I wasn't particularly fond of the color, or poor construction, and more specifically, that it was made of pressed wood.

I had a project assignment for my furniture class in school where we had to build any kind of piece of furniture we wanted as long as it was in one of the styles of the periods we were studying. I chose the craftsman style. I enlisted the help of my dad because he has more power tools than I do and also because he is an architect and much more skilled in doing the math than I.

I drew my own plans based on a sideboard design by Gustav Stickley, modifying it for my particular needs. I chose to use a pre-fab, assembly-required craftsman sofa table for the "skeleton." Then I bought 3/4" mahogany veneer plywood, cut to fit for the top, sides, front and inside shelves. I used 1/4" mahogany veneer plywood for the back of the cabinet as well as to finish the internal sides. The rough edges of the plywood were finished with mahogany iron-on taping (I didn't get pictures of that application).

My old cabinet that came with the tank. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture001.jpg

Laying out the cut pieces for fit. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture003.jpg

For better disbursement of water weight, I chose to cut off the four legs so that the cabinet would lay flat on the floor on every side around.

Disassembling the sofa table.http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture004.jpg Cutting off the legs of the sofa table.http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture006.jpg

The bare working skeleton. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture007.jpg

The sofa table was about 6 inches short of the length I needed to fit my aquarium, so I chose to make false sides to extend each end of the cabinet by 3 inches.
The false sides before attaching. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture010.jpg The false sides after attaching. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture011.jpg

Marking and cutting the internal shelves. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture013.jpg Drilling holes for the doweling. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture018.jpg

The original Stickley cabinet had actual drawers, however, to save time and to simplify things, I designed a false front to simulate drawers that would be a drop-down door.
Sanding the drop down door after the pieces were glued together. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture015-1.jpg

Attaching the hardware to the doors. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture016.jpg Rough cabinet almost finished. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture017.jpg

It was at this point that the wood veneer iron taping was added to all rough edges.

Cutting the lift ledge for the european hinges. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture019.jpg Installing the lift ledge. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture020.jpg

Sanding the wood. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture023.jpg More sanding. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture024.jpg

Staining the wood with a red mahogany color. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture026.jpg Applying satin polyurethane to protect from water. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture028.jpg

Attaching the drop down door. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture030.jpg Attaching the door pulls. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture031.jpg

Attaching the side open doors. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture032.jpg

The finished cabinet. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/lynda441/Sideboard/Picture036-1.jpg

This post has been edited by lynda441: 03 August 2008 - 05:16 PM

[CountryLovah]

Lynda you always talk about how you don't need a man.. I can see why!!! What a wonderful project you and your dad did.. The new stand is a hundred times better than the one it came with.. I had NO idea you built it... I'm extremely impressed..

[SunshineGurl]

Oh my god Lynda :thud ..that one looks awesome...and everything made by your and ur dad..thts gr8 piece of work..the tank looks so much better with your creation.. :heart it just stands out...good job...Cheers to you and your Dad...wonderful...and that is a lot of hard work put in there by both of you...One stunning job... :#1

[lantern567]

That is fabulous! That's an ambitious piece of work to build, but almost more impressive that you designed it as well!

Wow! Really, really nice! As SunshineGurl said: :#1

[drkslvr]

nifty noodles! say, was your dad also your photographer?

[Lynda Von G]

Thanks everyone! I had a lot of fun making this. And it gives a sense of accomplishment to make something nice. Nope, I did all the photography.

[liz_marguerite]

i'm hoping you got an A on this project cuz WOW!

[Lynda Von G]

Not to brag.... okay, well, maybe just a little, :teehee yeah, I did get an A!

[Quasi]

Fantastic. Well done, I really like the colour :painting:

:Congrats: on the stand and the points you got for it :gcar:

[Chickey]

Fabulous!! Love the hinges! :Congrats:

[Lynda Von G]

Chickey, on Aug 5 2008, 12:34 PM, said:

Fabulous!! Love the hinges! :Congrats:

Don't you though!?! I had to look high and low for those. You'd think they'd not be that hard to find, but it's very difficult to find period appropriate craftsman hardware! And they ain't cheap either! lol!

[tangelo123]

That stand is awesome, you should be really proud of yourself, then you should make a bunch more and sell em online!!!

[liz_marguerite]

holy hannah...i've been trying to sketch up a design for a new stand for the last 24hrs. i've discovered a couple things:
1. i am not a good artist...not even a mediocre artist..
2. this is going to take forever at the rate i'm going
3. you are a genius with wood and not just joe schmo off the street can design and build a tank stand.

[Lynda Von G]

Quote

That stand is awesome, you should be really proud of yourself, then you should make a bunch more and sell em online!!!

Well, that's nice, but I'm not that good nor that dedicated! lol! It was a lot of work! phew!

liz_okerson, on Aug 6 2008, 12:09 AM, said:

holy hannah...i've been trying to sketch up a design for a new stand for the last 24hrs. i've discovered a couple things:
1. i am not a good artist...not even a mediocre artist..
2. this is going to take forever at the rate i'm going
3. you are a genius with wood and not just joe schmo off the street can design and build a tank stand.

I might be able to help with the plans. What are your tank dimensions? What style do you like? How detailed do you want? Doors, drawers (doors are easy, but drawers are pretty hard), etc. or just an open stand? You could pick a picture online and I could work something from there.....

[hi-d]

your hired !! :D ....good job Lynda!! ...I love the colour!!

[Martha]

omg, that is so gorgeous! it must have been fun working w/ your Dad! I like to do projects w/ my Dad too.

[C Cube]

My mouth open (jaw drop down) when I see the photos of u doing the work... Wow!!! Salute to you Lynda!!..

[j-pond]

Such an amazing job. That cabinet looks better than any i have ever seen in a pet store, for that matter better than any i have ever seen that we can sell (i work for a lumber yard/home center). Simply amazing!!

[koko]

*

[Meialoha]

Is your Dad for rent?

Awesome, awesome cabinet... not to mention the fond memories of doing something with your Dad?

So, how much would you charge if I rented him for a day?