Not much more to do now! We are using a new-to-us finish for this piece of furniture, namely Rubio Monocoat. It's all the rage on youtube right now, so we thought we should get with the program. It's based on linseed oil and smells very similar. The last time I used linseed oil was to preserve my cricket bat in about 1978. After tests with a couple of pieces of scrap plywood we decided to go for it on the underside of the cabinet first - the rest of the piece is not quite ready for finishing.
After final sanding to 400 grit:
After Rubio Monocoat has been applied:
It takes a couple of weeks for the finish to cure. While that process was ongoing, I righted the cabinet - with some help - and started marking out for the hinges:
This cabinet has fully inset doors, which I've never made before. I'm using appropriate euro-style full-inset hinges from Rockler/Blum. It is very important to install the hinges in exactly the right place. To make this job easier I used an off-cut from one of the doors to make a mockup - the off-cut is by nature the exact same height as the actual door (29 15/16" if you're interested). After attaching a pair of hinges to the mock door, it can be clamped in the precise position the actual door will occupy. There is a 1/16 inch gap (reveal) between the door and the cabinet at the perimeter.
This temporary setup enables access to the hinges while the "door" is closed, and makes accurate installation much easier:
Each hinge consists of two pieces which clip together. Therefore, after mounting, the parts can be unclipped, and the mock door removed. The "cabinet" part of the hinge remains in situ. I can then clip a second pair of "cabinet" parts onto the mock door and move to the next cabinet....and then do it all twice more.
The next step is to transfer the measurements from the mock door onto the actual doors. The four doors have been constructed with a specific arrangement of the grain pattern, so it is super important to install the hinges on the inside of each door and at the correct side! I used tape to mark the precise locations and then double and triple checked:
Like all European style hinges, a 1 3/8 (or 35mm) hole must be bored 1/2" (13 mm) deep at a distance of 7/8" (22.5 mm) from the edge of the door to the center of the hole. Too far from the edge of the door or too close and the hinges will not align. There is also a serious risk of drilling through the door if the depth is not accurate. I practiced getting this perfect while I was making the mockup door; the hole just brushes against the solid walnut at the perimeter of the door when located correctly:
The "door" part of each hinge is installed into the door with two screws:
The door can then be mounted at the cabinet by clipping the hinges back together:
Doors of this type require stops to prevent them from over-closing. I'm using some adjustable plastic stops which can be attached directly to the base of the cabinet. I manufactured some walnut blocks for the upper stops to mount on such that they protrude below the face frame:
The upper stops were glued into the cabinet and clamped for a couple of hours:
All four doors were hung and micro adjusted, and then I marked out for the knobs:
I drilled 5/32" holes for the doorknobs, although I will not actually be installing them until the doors have been finished.
A few "finishing in progress" photos:
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