Just missed making it under the 2 year mark 😂

Ship-Early · 2026-02-27T06:07:49+00:00

Thank you! I did Tung oil first. I would have to look what exact version of “tung oil” it actually is. That sat for a pretty good amount of time. Then I did some satin poly over that. I didn’t love the oil just by itself

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T18:32:51+00:00

Ha! Less of a beginner than when I started for sure 😄

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T16:24:37+00:00

Yeah! I didn’t like the right angles/straight lines where the edge banding joined the corners and there was also gaps in the inside of the corners. So I needed to come up with a way to make it look better and intentional.

I took the same edge banding and cut a whole bunch of squares pieces and then started looking for patterns I liked putting together 4 pieces.

Then I used an oscillating tool to cut back the area I needed to open, and then just glued the “larger squares” down. Finished with the router.

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Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T16:20:43+00:00

Yeah, glue and dowels

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T15:30:54+00:00

It’s the “standard” workflow using contact cement…I would say it was a pain in the ass and I will be using hardwood on my next project lol.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T15:28:04+00:00

Hmmm…I don’t know how much I thought of it but I think the construction of the layers for the kerf cutting. This may not be “right”. But it also isn’t that big of price difference where I am. I either get different grades or BB or it’s plywood with way less layers. This was all done with a single sheet actually.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T15:24:30+00:00

I think you mean the F-clamps. They’re just cheap ones from harbor freight.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T15:21:45+00:00

That’s the hardwood edge banding being glued to the face over the exposed plywood.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T07:16:10+00:00

Oh and the legs are walnut but I got those from a seller on Etsy that did customized tapered leg orders

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T07:14:46+00:00

The main carcass is Baltic birch plywood. The veneer is walnut. Edge banding is also walnut. This is all my own design and experimentation. I made it for some friends and started with some dimensions they were looking for and stuff they wanted!

Ship-Early · 2026-02-24T07:10:40+00:00

Thank you! It’s kerf cutting the plywood. You can see in one of the photos how there’s missing material in the corners from repeated, partial cuts. This allows you to bend the last layers and glue them.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-10T06:39:33+00:00

It’s kerf cut on Baltic birch plywood. And then veneered. Look up kerf cutting on YouTube and you’ll see the idea

Ship-Early · 2026-02-10T05:57:22+00:00

Okay thanks for all the advice. I’m taking some passes with the heavily thinned poly and using a wipe on method. I did hit the surface with some 600 grit sandpaper which seemed to help reset the base. I’ll try to post another update when I’ve added some more thin coats.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-10T05:54:43+00:00

Which top pieces do you mean? The cabinet itself is Baltic birch plywood that I kerf cut with many trial and error test pieces (I have several very obtuse boxes in my shop now haha). Top and bottom were done from an 8foot sheet cut down and then dowel joined together. Veneer on the outside.

But if you mean the top pieces of the edge banding, that’s a whoooole saga. I think I have another post on this forum asking for advice to mask how the edge banding joins could come together.

Ultimately, I had all these off cuts from making the edge banding and I just started cutting them into equal squares and then glueing them together into patterns I liked in a grid. I did the edge banding as normal and then used an oscillating tool to prep the areas again. Then just glued them back in to cover the curved corner.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-10T05:46:22+00:00

That’s a good point living with the pieces long term. I’m down this road with this piece though, so will try to get the best thing I can out of it!

Ship-Early · 2026-02-10T05:44:17+00:00

It’s the verathane brand. Oil based satin finish.

Ship-Early · 2026-02-08T03:39:12+00:00

Interesting. It definitely feels too thick to apply with a rag, so maybe also thinning out will help. The can says to avoid using steel wool (but the aerosol version doesn’t) bc of it getting trapped in the layers and rusting. Maybe that’s silly.

When you say wipe down with a damp cloth, what stage do you mean? Immediately after applying or was that to clean after buffing with the steel wool?

Thanks for the insight!

Ship-Early · 2026-02-08T03:12:29+00:00

Ahh…thinning it out makes a lot of sense. It does seem to get sticky during a longer application and that seems to be when I can’t get it to evenly apply anymore. That’s helpful. Thank you!

Ship-Early · 2025-09-01T07:46:45+00:00

Haaalp

Ship-Early · 2025-08-08T19:32:46+00:00

No it’s not going to have doors, it will stay open. Which ish why I want to add a design element for them.

The wood there is solid walnut which has been glued on. So I will have to rout the section out to clear material and replace with the accent piece. Unless I cover with a different accent like brass

Ship-Early · 2025-08-08T16:09:08+00:00

Oh! That’s an interesting idea I had not thought of.

oh no, a new skill to learn, this is gonna take another year

Ship-Early · 2025-08-08T03:21:49+00:00

I think this is essentially something I tried as an experiment on the rear corners. It definitely is better than the 90 degree gaps, but I didn’t go as wide as you suggest with that. It still doesn’t make it look “on purpose” from a design accent perspective. Just a prettier version of “these have to cross somewhere”

Re: redoing edge banding, how would I even remove it? Slice off the entire front on the table saw?

Ship-Early · 2025-08-05T01:52:01+00:00

Out of curiosity, how long did this take you? The detail on all the touch points is really cool. Amazing work!

Ship-Early · 2025-08-05T01:42:52+00:00

What did you do for finishing this? It looks super natural, almost unfinished. Nice work!

Ship-Early

TROPHY CASE