Not a Square Corner

Here’s a project I completed earlier this year, which if not for CAD and the ShopBot might have had me running screaming from the customers’ house. This was for long-time clients who own an unusual home characterized by round and curved walls, many of which are made of solid stone. The challenge was to update the bar in the photo with modern cabinetry.

This bar from the 1960’s was ready for updating.

This bar from the 1960’s was ready for updating.

After an hour of head scratching and brainstorming we determined that the walls, while obviously curved, were not a true arc, and that the original builder had done a pretty good job of laying out the original cabinets along the freeform curve. We were able to mostly follow the original footprint. At this point I was prepared to make a plywood template and use the ShopBot probe to get the shape into the CAD program (I use DesignCad), but as luck would have it the countertop supplier had a digital templating system, which allowed him to take a few pictures of the existing cabinetry and e-mail the resulting .dxf file to me. What could be easier?

Part of the CAD drawing showing the cabinet and drawer construction. Dimensions and angles are but a few clicks away.

Part of the CAD drawing showing the cabinet and drawer construction. Dimensions and angles are but a few clicks away.

I convinced the clients that filling the angled cabinets with angled drawers, even though they would lose the triangular spaces between the cabinets, would provide better access to the contents of the cabinets. I’ve made angled drawers before (before I started using the computer for all my drawings), but these were more complicated. Each angle was unique due to the freehand curve of the wall. Using the computer for laying out the cabinets and drawers made it easy to determine the length and angle of each component, not to mention how and where to mount the drawer slides.

I used the ShopBot to cut out all the angled parts, namely the cabinet tops and bottoms, the drawer bottoms, and various spacers for between cabinets and around the curved paneled wall (which we kept as a backer for the new Basswood paneling, another unique feature of the rest of the home). I also used the ShopBot to make a 1/4” plywood template to lay out on the bare subfloor to verify the cabinet locations and to help the plumber determine where to rough in the new water supply and drain pipes.

The cabinets were not that unusual, except for the angled bottoms.

The cabinets were not that unusual, except for the angled bottoms.

Even with no two angles the same, the drawers fit the cabinets just right. I hated telling the customer that the computer did all the hard work.

Even with no two angles the same, the drawers fit the cabinets just right. I hated telling the customer that the computer did all the hard work.

To fit the zinc bar top to the rock wall, I used the ShopBot to cut a template of the bar top out of ¼” plywood. I fitted the plywood template to the rock with a scribe, jigsaw, utility knife, and file, then used the ShopBot to probe the scribed end of the template. I sent the bar top fabricator a .dxf file of the bar top, including the scribed end, and several weeks later a crate arrived with the already fitted zinc-covered bar top, ready to be set in place. Sweet.

The finished product. In the foreground are glass doors on each cabinet end. Wedge-shaped glass shelves utilize the space and allow the client to show his shot glass collection.

The finished product. In the foreground are glass doors on each cabinet end. Wedge-shaped glass shelves utilize the space and allow the client to show his shot glass collection.

Angled drawers take some patience and brain power, even with computer assistance, but the results are worth it. No more bending down to reach into the backs of those awkward shaped cabinets.

Angled drawers take some patience and brain power, even with computer assistance, but the results are worth it. No more bending down to reach into the backs of those awkward shaped cabinets.

June 2006 10 The most challenging part of the job was the curved wood backsplash. I built a full-sized form using pieces cut with the ShopBot from some scrap leftover from a previous job. Then using a pre-kerfed material called Timberflex and layers of 1/8” bending plywood I glued the layers together using 3” stretch wrap to secure the assembly against the form. The angled returns at each end almost had me stumped. I tried to figure out some way to hold the giant horseshoe-shaped piece of Basswood-veneered spaghetti up to the miter saw, then finally dug out an old crosscut handsaw I was given years ago by a distant relative in the tool business. I was able to handsaw the joints close enough to clean them up with a sharp handplane. Once the ends were sawn off I cut the matching miters on the short return pieces normally on the chop saw.

Bricklaying the form for the wooden splash. The sizes of the pieces are dictated by the sizes of the scraps on hand in the shop.

Bricklaying the form for the wooden splash. The sizes of the pieces are dictated by the sizes of the scraps on hand in the shop.

Building up the splash. Stretch-wrap holds the first few layers together and to the form while the glue dries. The inner layer is already veneered with Basswood. A solid Basswood cap will be added once the layers are built up.

Building up the splash. Stretch-wrap holds the first few layers together and to the form while the glue dries. The inner layer is already veneered with Basswood. A solid Basswood cap will be added once the layers are built up.

The hardest part of the whole job. It’s hard enough to get a reference from a curved workpiece, but when it’s difficult to handle as well it can be the stuff of nightmares. A handsaw saved the day.

The hardest part of the whole job. It’s hard enough to get a reference from a curved workpiece, but when it’s difficult to handle as well it can be the stuff of nightmares. A handsaw saved the day.

June 2006 11 If I implied earlier that not having the computer and the ShopBot would have made this job difficult if not impossible, I was exaggerating a little. Curves and angles have been part of construction and cabinetmaking since long before computers came on the scene. In fact, the first round room I ever built cabinets for was in this same house. One of the first jobs I did for these clients was over ten years ago, when I replaced the cabinets in their semi-circular, rock-walled kitchen – sound familiar? Except that was when I was just starting out with CAD, and of course all the parts had to be cut out by hand using full-sized templates and a fair bit of guess work.

Let’s just say I can personally attest to the fact that the new way is much easier and less prone to errors.

Here’s to a safe and happy July 4th for everyone.

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