Project Medicine Cabinet

That's right, a recessed medicine cabinet. I've been working on it a hour or so a day for a while and the end is near.

There is a reason why I always scratch my head when woodworking project plans say, "one weekend," or "one day". The fact of the issue is that the majority of time is not-work time. This is time waiting for glue or finish or homemade wood putty to dry.

Sanding always takes its temporal toll too.

Biscuit Joints Beat Dowels

Joinery is one of my favorite aspects of woodworking. About two years ago I made the leap from dowels to biscuits. Wow.

What a difference in accuracy. On the medicine cabinet I used Porter Cable biscuits on the trim face and the door. All I lack now is finishing and hanging the door and cutting and installing the shelves.

Plexiglas Shelving

I ended up opting for Plexiglas shelves (actually a non-brand name version). Why? For one thing, it looks sleek. For another thing, it's a good strength vs thickness compromise. Wood just uses too much valuable real estate.



Wood. Choose Wisely.

I went with poplar for the body but red oak for the face and door frame. For the door face and the back parts, I used luan (also called lauan) plywood. Hey, it's cheap and looks good too!

Is it just me or has the price of red oak gone down at Home Depot? Maybe there's a downtick in the home remodeling market and they're trying to boost sales?

Anyway, I'll post an article when I finish the cabinet. As for the plans, I'm toying with the idea of making the plans into an ebook and offering it as a sign-up gift for subscribing to my newsletter. Any takers?