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well someone a while back ask what we do up north in the cold winter months.this winter has been exceptionally cold.i am making cabinets with the same scheme as the floorboards ,that is trimed in epi wood.i made the job 10 times as differcult for myself buy going with flush cabinets (like new 510 bertram) everypiece has to be perfect to have that 1/16" gap around the cabinet.router table height of tool is critical when making raised panel doors.here is the glueing process;

the completed door pre sanded.wife loved me using kitchen center island to glue doors together!!!!!

here is the varnish routine i learned from buju . 5 coats of rapid coat and 5 coats of rubbed effect the draw below refrigerator is complete minus recess teak drawer pull. the door has 2 coats of rapid coat.

Beautiful work as usual Bob!

What a great job Bob, a jack of all trades!

Bob

You missed your calling. That is great.

That's great Bob......I would say get out of the house and come south....but its predicted that we will see 15 degrees Saturday.

Your interior will be beautiful, I am sure....

H

Bob,

How many router bits did you eat on that Epi? as that wood will eat saw blades and drill bits like candy. Tuff stuff

DQ

thank you for the adda boys brothers . i just can`t sit back in retirement and watch "as the world turns" on tv just gotta keep busy and i use scrap on the router table until the style and the rail match perfectly then run all the female styles and then change bit and go with matching male styles . the epi trim not only hides the end grain it also becomes a tough as steel edgeing . i will install "touch hinges" that open by pressing in on doors ,a great addition using flush cabintry.

capt.DQ i only use the chop saw on the epi with 45 degree miters all around and you are right the epi will destroy cabine 90 tooth blade with one pass so i have a worn one just for epi . incredible wood so hard it sinks in water but takes this varnish real nice --------thank you buju/capt. patrick !!!

Looking sweet capt Bob... As much as you like and use ipé, I wanted to share
a few additional tips for finishing the stuff.
The biggest problem with trying to put any finish on it is the lapachol that leeches out of the wood. Lapachol is the yellowish, brownish powder that is actually a pretty potent skin irritant to many. But, what it does is prevents a good bond between your coating and the ipé... similar to chalking on stucco, or siding not letting paint adhere to the substrate.
Now I have come up with a double solvent wash that does a fair job of removing the lapachol. I have also run it by the tech guys at Sikkens and at Epifanes, and they agree it's the best proceedure to prep ipé to take a finish.
1) Sand the ipé with 80grit w/ the grain (anything finer will close up the grain)
2) Wipe it down vigorously with acetone soaked rags (wear nitrile gloves)
The rags will quickly turn brown from all the dissolved lapachol, so you'll go thru a few rags.
3) Right before applying the varnish, wipe it down with denatured alcohol, and let it flash off. This will remove the lapachol that has reappeared after the acetone, and open up the grain more allowing the varnish to have a better bite.

What wood is the cabinet door made from Bob? Looks much lighter than ipé...

forgot to mention, don't begin doing this halfway through a project. The solvent wipe will make the ipé appear a little darker than ipé that wasn't
prepped like that. It's just the absense of lapachol on the surface which makes it look darker, but the point is, it may not match the other stuff.

my story... stickin to it.

buju look at the door glueing photo notice the ipe slightly higher that to sand off that coating then i wipe down with alcohol .i will changed to actone are your recommedation. edging is ipe ,rails and styles are mahogony and 1/4" insert is teak .incidently i when i sand ipe the color goes to a dark brown instead of the greenish brown of cut ipe directly from table saw. thank for the wash tip.i would have never thought actone on wood.

Bob, are you doing that in your kitchen?! Nect thing you'll be buying a B54 and not telling your wife!

just the glueing because the granite center island is a big flat area.i do the varnish in basement, and the sanding in the garage shop area.

Bob,
Your wife has to be as long suffering as mine. She hasn't left me yet after twenty-seven years but she can pout for days.
Guess I'll go finish painting the new kitchen and get the tools out.
Yes dear, I'm coming.
Oh, yea, absolutely beautiful work. Tried to put finish on ipe, finally decided that it looks good without any.

thats it mikey ; yes dear but since i sold the motorcycle she just about says yes to any venture. moving right along here is one of the drawers that fit under the seat in salon.

Hey Bob

Do you hire out? LOL I really like your work. First class.

nice work bob.

my whole deal is "trimless"....separates the men from the boys....look ma............it fits!!