Custom cabinetry, woodworking and woodturning by Keith Larrett
“It’s not a question of sitting by yourself and doing nothing, but instead asking, ‘How do you allocate the attention you have in more focused, intentional ways?’”
From an article, I read early this morning, something to think about as we close out the year.
Wishing everyone all the best for the New Year.
At the end of each year, I choose photographs from some of the projects I’ve done that year and compile a collage calendar. It’s a nice memory of the year. This year I discovered I had too many images for one calendar and had to make a second calendar. A very busy year. No wonder I’m so tired 😉
Thanks again to all my wonderful clients for trusting me with a project for their homes.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!
Fireplace surround with shiplap and stained knotty alder veneer and solid wood. 11 feet wide by ten feet tall.As is often the case, a couple of first for me.
My first project with shiplap, first time coping crown molding to existing crown, and definitely a first tiling the back of the kitchen island. It’s nice to be challenged by a project and satisfying when it comes together so nicely.
Fireplace provided by the good folk at Grill & Hearth
A pair of custom speakers built from 1″ thick baltic birch plywood veneered with book-matched flat cut European white oak.
Some detailed shots of the kitchen I posted a couple of days ago. These shots were taken both during and after the installation of the cabinets.
I recently finished a kitchen remodel, a project which has kept me busy in the workshop for quite a while.
I’ve been very fortunate to work with some wonderful clients over the years and this project was no exception. It was a joy to work with my client and help to bring her vision to reality.
The remodel completely transformed the kitchen, dining, and living room space with the removal of a wall and subsequent relocation of both plumbing and electrical. My role started with help on the design stage as well as building and installing all the cabinetry.
The large island features painted white cabinetry. The panels behind the barstools are actually doors with push-to-open hardware and hide some large storage cabinets.
The perimeter cabinets are built from book-matched wenge veneer. All the veneer was cut and joined by hand.
I’ll post some detailed shots separately but the kitchen featured the following:
This was a large and challenging project for me. I learned a lot during the build and really feel that I improved as a craftsman. My client is thrilled with her new kitchen and I’m very proud of the project.
Last week I wrapped up the installation of the cabinetry for this bathroom remodel. The cabinets were supplied by my friend, Mike at Quality Cabinet Services
I installed them and modified the drawer boxes on “her” side to fit around the plumbing and sink. Other features included a laundry hamper and a docking drawer with electric outlets.
Since I posted images of the reeded door vanities I built, I’ve received several calls and emails from builders and cabinet makers asking for details on how I built the reeded doors. I thought it might be easier to write a short article detailing the construction to refer to any future queries.
The first step was to joint and plane many 4/4 quarter-sawn white oak. They needed to be 3 1/4″ wide and a length appropriate to the height of the doors. These blanks were then resawn at the bandsaw and to yield two pieces, one 5/16″ thick and the other 1/4″ thick. I grouped the pairs and kept track of them by marking the ends.
I then prepared the 1/4″ MDF blanks that were to be the core of the lamination. They were ripped to 3 1/4″ wide and the same lengths as the QSWO (quarter sawn white oak).
The QSWO and MDF were then laminated together using my vacuum bag.
After the lamination, the blanks were ripped to exactly 3″ wide. This measurement was critical as it corresponded to the width of the molding knife pattern I planned to use later. The blanks were then laid out to form a pleasing pattern taking into account the grain and wood color. This order was then marked on the ends of the blanks. Biscuit slots were then cut on the edges of the blanks to aid in the alignment of the blanks during glue-up. All the biscuit slots were registered from the top of the 5/16″ thick QSWO face, which was the face that would be reeded.
The blanks were then run through my Williams and Hussey molding machine using their reeded casing knife 229-CP. It is 3″ wide with 3/16″ beads. I had prepared some 3″ wide MDF blanks when ripping the laminations to 3″ wide and used these to make sure the blanks were centered exactly to the molding knife to ensure the “hills and valleys” of each blank lined up nicely to the next.
The top layer of the lamination was 5/16″ thick QSWO to allow for the loss of some of that thickness when the blanks were run through the molding machine.
The blanks were then glued together. I took a lot of care to make sure they lined up perfectly and that the resulting panel was flat.
After glue up the panels were cut to the final size and a beaded molding was applied to the edges.
I can’t take too much credit for this. My client came up with the design and chose the veneer, right down to the actual leaves and where they would be positioned in the piece. Nature provided some gorgeous rosewood veneer. All I did was put it together.
Floating vanity with matching inlay in a concrete sink. Push to open drawer.
Last year, at the start of the pandemic, I wasn’t sure how it would affect my business, so I set up an Etsy store thinking I would expand my geographical reach. I’ve recently put the store on hiatus because of the amount of local work I have, but it was an interesting experience selling cabinetry with just online interaction.
I only listed one vanity and, to be honest, never actually sold that exact design. Most of the inquiries I received were in the line of “I have an inspiration image of a vanity I would like, can you build it for me?”
After much back and forth correspondence a design would be finalized and I’d start building the vanity. Once built, I had to deal with the challenges and logistics of shipping such a large item. A learning curve in itself.
If the local work slows down, as it inevitably will, I plan on reopening the Etsy store with a simple listing: “Do you have an inspiration image of a vanity you would like? Send it to me and I’ll see if I can build it for you.”
Until then I’m grateful for the amount of local work that have on my work schedule.
