Iron & Wood

Cast Iron Pulls: Circa 1890
Burl & Curly Redwood: Circa 0

Nine Up & Seven In

While it's true I haven't been blogging a lot lately, that doesn't mean I haven't been working on the house. The lack of blogging is largely due to my inability to both do hard-core coding at work and maintain the blog at home.

When I become immersed in a big project and I'm doing a lot of programming at work, I really find it difficult to write on the blog when I get home. It is like there is a finite amount of creative writing in me during any given week. If that is all spent at work, then there is nothing left over for the blog.

I think the solution is clear: I need to quit my job. Until that happens, though, there are going to be long periods of inactivity on the blog. It's a fact of life.

So, yes, work has been progressing on the cabinets, albeit at a much slower pace. The winter is not conducive to work, and post-season NFL can cut in to the weekends quite a bit. But the weather has turned warm again, and football season is over, so I'm starting to get some things done.



I've made and installed 9 doors and 7 drawers on the butler's pantry side. The drawers were not too difficult, but the doors were a real challenge. The upper face-frame did not go smoothly and ended up being less than square. The mortise and tenon doors themselves were a challenge because I've not made a lot of them. In fact, I think I've only made three before these. They are really a lot of work.

Also, I'm accustomed to working with loose-pin hinges and none of these were. With a loose pin hinge you can remove the pin and have two parts of the hinge to work with. It seems minor, but when you are accustomed to doing something one way, the change can be frustrating to deal with.

Shortly after the above picture was taken I dismantled the cabinet by removing all of the doors, drawers, and hinges so I could paint everything. After it is painted I will install the glass in the upper cabinets doors and then put everything back together. After that, there will be a little more trim and then it is on to the A-Side of the cabinets. That is to say, the dining room. The practice on the butler's pantry side was much needed. I hope the other side goes better.

The glass in the upper cabinets will be colored glass with alternating red and gold glass. This is inspired by the Luther Mansion in Smallville, Kansas. Each of the 4 upper doors will have 2 glass panels. Starting from the left, the first door will have red on top and gold on bottom, the next will have gold on top and red on bottom, and the pattern will continue to the right. The idea is that the dining room side will have single panes of etched, clear glass. With the lights on in the butler's pantry, the interior of the cabinet will be bathed in red and gold light from the dining room side.

Now I just need to find the glass.