Ron Hazelton:
Right now I'm on my way to visit Gena Pardo in Lafayette, CA.
Ahh, cabinet doors.
Gena:
These are cabinets.
Ron Hazelton:
Yep, these have been around for a while, huh?
Gena:
If they have it.
Ron Hazelton:
So where did you come up with the idea of glass doors?
Gena:
I've seen this look for years in the magazines I work for, and I used to work for.
Ron Hazelton:
Now you realize that there is something wrong with the glass door.
Gena:
Yes, I know, I have to get organized. [laugh]
I must be clean and tidy.
Ron Hazelton:
[laughs] Yeah, I think you're right.
Ron Hazelton:
Here's what I think: We can do this in a couple of ways. We could drill holes in these doors and put the glass in the middle, which might sound easier. But another way is to remove the door and build a new door frame, then put the glass in the middle.
I think I'll go the second way.
Gena:
Excellent. why is it like this?
Ron Hazelton:
Because it will be a bigger challenge for you.
Gena:
[laughs] Oh oh.
Ron Hazelton:
[laughs] No, I think it's actually going to be a little easier. Very nice, Gene. I'm going to use this to remove those hinges.
Gena:
All right.
Ron Hazelton:
I usually like to start small.
Gina and I start by removing the old door.
Gena:
Oh I love how sticky it is.
[Both talking at the same time]
Ron Hazelton:
The old door will serve as a template for the new door we are going to make.
That's it for us, one less and four more.
However, the new doors are not solid but open framed from 1 x 3 poplar strips that we bought at the home improvement center. The first step is to cut the strips to the proper size.
That... looks a little scary, but it's actually a very, very safe saw. It's called an electric miter saw. More precisely, a sliding compound miter saw. It has many functions. We're basically going to use it today to cut wooden strips to length, okay?
Gena:
Bueno.
Ron Hazelton:
This is a nice feature of the saw. This is a workstation, and if you slide it in here, you'll find that you can read different measurements at any time.
Gena:
Hmm [confirmed].
Ron Hazelton:
So let's start from the side. So we need eight 34" blocks.
Gena:
All right.
Ron Hazelton:
So I set it to 34. This is done.
Using a power miter saw in this way will ensure that matching pieces end up being the exact same length, which is crucial if we want our doors to be square.
Not bad for your first cut, huh?
Gena:
Wow. I think I'm better at it than a screwdriver [laughs].
Ron Hazelton:
So what we end up with is about (how much) 4, 16 pieces of wood, 4 pieces per door.
We'll connect these pieces at the corners using something called a lap joint. At each end we will remove half of the thickness of the plank. When two pieces are placed together at right angles, the ends will overlap creating a very strong bond.
We will use a milling machine to remove material from the ends.
Well, that cylinder has two cutting heads on either side. There's one there, and there's another one. So what we're going to do is slide it onto the bottom of these boards.
We place the board on a flat surface and mill the ends four at a time. Now Gina is trying. It was a little dusty, but after a few checks with the router, I got the hang of it.
very nice, ok?
Now that we've formed the overlapping seams, we're ready to join the frame pieces together.
OK? Because the first thing we're going to do is glue them up.
Gena:
Bueno.
Ron Hazelton:
Putting the glue in a shallow pot and applying it with a brush will make it cleaner and ensure an even coating. It's yellow wood glue and we apply it to both surfaces.
We're going to put this one on top of the other, like that.
Gena:
Bueno.
Ron Hazelton:
Excellent? Then I want to make sure this is square, so we put the square frame here.
Small nails or brads will hold the seam together until the glue dries.
Now there is the first one.
Gena:
great.
[Both talking at the same time]
Ron Hazelton:
The first one, there are three more like this, right?
Gena:
excellent.
Ron Hazelton:
Well, back to your new favorite tool, the router.
Gena:
I know it is.
[Both talking at the same time]
Ron Hazelton:
Now if you look closely you can see that it has a curve and a ball bearing guide.
This bit, called a round bit, removes sharp corners from the edges of the frame, leaving a smooth surface.
Since it has ball bearings, the ball bearings will guide themselves here.
Gena:
All right.
Ron Hazelton:
Excellent? So we rounded all the edges on the front of the door.
Gena:
OK
Ron Hazelton:
Now I'm going to turn things around and we're going to do something behind the door.
Gena:
Bueno.
Ron Hazelton:
Since these will be glass doors, we need to create a small step for the glass to sit on. For this, we switch to another router bit. This is designed for making bunny cuts or notches in the edge of the wood.
Ball bearing guides keep the drill from cutting too deep into the wood edge. Since the rabbit bit is round, it leaves a small amount of material in the corner, which we remove with a chisel. The outside of the frame will also accommodate a bunny, allowing the door to fit slightly inside the cabinet opening.
Our frames are now assembled and machined to accommodate the glass. But first we apply a coat of paint. It's much easier to do this now than once the glass is in place. Once the paint dries, the glass goes inside.
Ron Hazelton:
Now that we have it, we have to leave it here. So we're going to use something called a goalie tape. At least that's what I call it. A small piece of wood is not drawn here, it remains as it is.
Gena:
great.
Ron Hazelton:
We'll use some very small nails to hold the wood in place. This is called a brad pusher. There is a magnet in there. I'll save this one for last, okay? Then if you can hold it in place, I just drive the nails straight into the wood. Four nail-fastened fixing bars hold the glass securely in place.
Well, the door is done. Now we just have to install the hinges and hang it in the cabinet.
I love the colors. They look great here.
Gena:
Oh this is exactly what I was looking for.
Ron Hazelton:
are you happy?
Gena:
I love them, definitely the way I want them to come out.
Ron Hazelton:
Interested in building them yourself?
Gena:
fun. There is a great sense of accomplishment every time I see it. It's fantastic.
Ron Hazelton:
Excellent. Do me a favor?
Gena:
safe.
Ron Hazelton:
can i have an autograph
[Both talking at the same time]
Gena:
Oh, I'm so excited, I'm so excited.