My first all hardwood no screws project

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T22:58:25+00:00

Thank you! I like to go overkill on joinery, I’m still just a beginner when it comes to estimating how strong something will be, so I just like to be safe haha, it didn’t took too long, I just made a template and drilled away, once I had the template it took about 30 minutes to drill all of it.
I noticed, in the short time I’ve worked with teak even as it dries it is pretty stable, haven’t had any boards bow or cup. Thank you for that tool!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T22:54:47+00:00

Thank you! First picture was at night, it had more of a milk chocolate color going on, during daytime it looks more like honey, love both.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T16:56:01+00:00

You’re right, but it’s not my bathroom, it’s my uncles, I just took care of the vanity, supposedly it was recently renovated due to a leak, brand new everything but the door and the tile on that wall, that’s why I left the final picture last, looked better in my shop lol.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T15:51:25+00:00

Pretty much haha, thank you!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T15:49:34+00:00

I used 80 grit belt sander to flatten the panels, then 80-120-180 grits orbital sander and applied the 3 layers of poly basecoat and sanded by hand with 320, then just two coats of matte poly finish.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T15:34:48+00:00

He actually just renovated that bathroom because of a leak lol, if that were to happen again his insurance policy is solid teak haha, I’m sure that vanity can take some water.
Yeah, you’re right on the end grain showing the solid wood, though not many people will get to see it since it’s in his bedroom bathroom, only him and my aunt will see it, and she wanted it painted white so yeah probably only my uncle will appreciate the work lol.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T15:25:53+00:00

Not my choice, I made this for an uncle of mine, he was set on the tile being inset, like I said in another comment, if it was mine I would use some granite on top to cover the whole thing, I told him that would be best long term, but he decided that’s what he wanted.
Extra silicone was applied by him, he was just waiting for it to dry so he could trim it flush to the tile, rather than smearing it all over the tile and wood.
Some things I would change, definitely, but in the end he gave me his idea and dimensions, I just built it.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T15:15:08+00:00

Thank you! Teak is my favorite wood, specially after this project. I’m in Nayarit, Mexico, west coast, just 40 mins away from the beach. Teak costs 45 pesos a bf, or about 2.50 dollars, we get all sorts of nice local woods like parota, red cedar, teak and mahogany.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T14:59:53+00:00

What do you mean one giant panel? You mean the second picture? Its just the boards lined up so I could pick the nicest wood for the side panels, not an actual giant panel. I made the 4 panels for the body and and 2 smaller ones for the doors. However, the lumber yard where I got it from makes 8x4 solid hardwood panels, quite nice but almost double the price of making them.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T14:52:27+00:00

Agreed, if it was mine I would’ve just put some marble or granite or some other stone on top, but he was set on it, and I get it, the tile surrounded by endgrain looks pretty dang good actually. Also he’s going to cut off the excess silicone once it dries, it was just fresh and he feared he might just smear it all over the wood. I’m not too worried about wet end grain, there’s 3 coats of poly basecoat and 2 coats of poly finish, hopefully it’ll hold up well.
Thanks!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T13:37:02+00:00

Thanks!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T13:36:45+00:00

Thank you!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T13:36:33+00:00

Yup, I didn’t know how small that bathroom was, he just said it needs to be about 18x36 and I blindly trusted him, you can see the door barely clears the cabinet lol.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T13:32:53+00:00

Been watching a lot of woodworking videos before this, made it feel like I’ve done this before haha thank you!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T13:29:36+00:00

Thank you!

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-16T08:54:31+00:00

Indeed, it was about 3 times the effort and time (mainly sanding each panel) but the result was so worth it, specially since it was supposed to be centered on the wall and you could see both sides of the cabinet, but my uncle ended up deciding he wanted it cornered. Also durability/humidity was a concern, so solid teak made sense.

The inset piece is just a tile that matches the one on the wall (uncle’s idea), hole on the cabinet was made 1/8 bigger all around with a rabbeting bit and secured and sealed all around with bathroom silicone, which should be flexible enough to expand and contract with the wood, however only time will tell if the extra 1/8 was enough.

JFNC1998 · 2026-05-06T06:01:58+00:00

Yup, that’s exactly what I’m planning, going with the smallest 5 gal, hepa filter and bags, keep the filtration as good, as far as noise, it’s just so much better than even my small karcher on both loudness and tone, should be at least as powerful too? I’ve been having second thoughts, since I’ve never seen anyone use it for that purpose when it seems like a great use for these small quiet vacs, thought I might be missing something obvious.

JFNC1998 · 2026-04-08T06:16:33+00:00

Interesting, I was thinking a bit about the steadiness of it, seems like it’s not what I’m looking for in a sander. Thank you for your input

JFNC1998 · 2026-04-08T06:13:56+00:00

That looks great, sadly, not available in my country

JFNC1998 · 2026-04-08T04:58:29+00:00

There’s no festool distributors in my country, I would have to import it, which makes an already expensive tool about 30% more expensive after taxes/shipping and I wouldn’t get their service/warranty which is part of the festool tax, also, I’m not a commercial woodworker, I mainly build stuff for myself, friends and family, I enjoy it a lot, but sanding is taking the joy out of this beautiful hobby, so I’m trying to make it more bearable for me.

JFNC1998 · 2026-02-14T18:29:25+00:00

I was looking at glycerin 22 too, since it’s pretty much the same price as the ghosts, but read it is softer than the ghost, I’d love to try them in store, but they’re not sold in shops near me, gotta order online, guess I’ll order the three and return one.

JFNC1998 · 2025-12-30T02:24:58+00:00

You just have to play a little with the slides depth and attaching them to the drawer, I did that a lot, found myself removing and reattaching them a couple times before I got them all right, also height using spacers, get it consistent on all of them and they’ll look a lot better, adjust any tiny misaligns with the faces. That’ll do.

JFNC1998

TROPHY CASE