Here is the step by step process in the creation of some Library cabinets.
I hope you enjoy the process .........

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Here is the "before" picture ..... The Library ~ Office is soon to come


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Each section of doors or panels came out of one Striated Fir Board and ALL of the Striated Fir came out of one tree.

Here all of the pieces to be resawn for the bookmatched panels

The wood is allowed to "settle down" before re-saw

Here the panels are being resawn

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Here are the layout door panels for the 4 overhead doors ..... behind the desk

Here the resawn panels are, again, allowed to relax

Then they are glued together in special forms to keep them flat

After coming out of the clamps they are again stacked with stickers to relax and stabilize .......

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They are then surface sanded before machining to raise the panels

...... again they are allowed to relax and stabilize.

All of the VG Fir ply casework is edged with solid Fir

The thick wood nosing is adhered to a ply sheet and locked in a specially cut "keyway" of our design

The edging is then clamped and allowed to cure

The joiner of all pieces is accomplished using "biscuits", glue, and screws

More shelving being edged

Even the ends of the casework of the library cabinets are edged with solid Fir !!

Some very long pieces of casework are being joined length ways using biscuits, glue, and clamping

....... long casework ...... !!

Here are some shelves, curing in clamps

laminating dual casework to add mass to the library cabinetry

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Doors and drawer fronts were cut out of only 3 ..... 16 ft pcs of beautiful hand picked Fir

Here is a "end view" of the VG Fir used in the joinery of the doors and drawer fronts

Here is all of the wood that will be used in the door and panel frames. It is cut out and allowed to "relax" before machining

Here are 2 sets of drawer fronts being glued ..... we are going to run these vertical

each piece of the rough lumber is jointed flat and the surfaced

it is surfaced ..... still slightly oversize ...... and allowed to "rest" for a couple more days

some of the VG Fir library case work is doubled up

and then edged with VG Fir

We prefer biscuits, dowels, glue, and clamps ..... rather then nails and staples !!

making pieces

All the casework is joined together with biscuits, glue, screws ....

.... and then clamped


Here is the beginning of the assembly of the casework

More casework

The door styles and rails are machined and left oversize to "relax" and then are machined to 13/16"

The pieces are laid out and matched because they have been cut out sequentially


Pieces are laid out and marked for doweling

..... after "settling down" the panels are surface sanded

Here they await machining

The bookmatched panels have been cut to size and then rebated

The panels are then finish sanded

Here the first (of 2) coats of conversion varnish are sprayed on the panels ...... before assembled in the frames

look closely ...... SPECTACULAR
this isn't your "off the shelf" VG Douglas Fir !!

After the first 2 coats of conversion varnish the panels are sanded and "scrubbed" to perfect surface ... ready for glue up



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All of the pieces are drilled for dowels

Here are all of the door and panel pieces ready for shaping.

One shaper creates the female molded edge

....... another shaper cuts the cope detail at the ends of he styles

Here are the varnished finish sanded panels .... waiting for glue-up

Here are three sets of styles and rails about to be assembled

A door at time of assembly.
I use exterior glue because it is the most durable glue I know.

The first batch of doors

A close-up of one end panel on the clients desk

One of the four upper 2-panel doors over the counter

The second batch of doors

Here are most of the drawer fronts ready for the final sanding and some conversion varnish

The drawer fronts are sealed with 2 coats of gloss conversion varnish

Here are the four overhead Striated Fir and VG Fir Doors

Thanks to a new tool we are able to sand doors and drawer fronts (flat) to 150 grit finish before they are trimmed and then hand sanded to 220 grit

The doors are cut to finish size

Then jointed

Then each door is hand sanded

Here is the panel for the desk end

And here are the panels for the desk front


Each panel is first sealed with 2 coats of gloss conversion varnish

...... more beautiful doors

Just hanging around to cure and then be fitted to the cabinetry ..... then scrubbed and coated with 2 more coats of satin conversion varnish

Here are some beautiful drawer fronts

The very large casework is assembled

.... piece after piece


the sealed doors are bored for their hinges

we use a very special hinge named Salice

Then the doors were wrapped and taken to Bobs shop to be fitted to the beautiful VG Fir casework

Here are some of the cases

and some more

Bob Coats the Library casework with several coats of catalyzed lacquer

here are the adjustable shelves after 4 coats of lacquer

..... and spray

......... and spray all surfaces

Here some of the VF Fir Drawer fronts are being attached and fitted to the completed casework

Here is the center cabinet with the doors and drawer fronts checked for a proper fit ........ only to be removed .... rewrapped and taken back to my shop to be final coated with conversion varnish

The panels are laid out to the reinforcing VG Fir ply panel

The panels are attached ........ these cabinets will set on 4" kicks

here is a bank of drawers ...... notice they run vertically and are quite stunning

The end panels are trimmed, refit, and resealed

All of the doors, panels, and drawer fronts are " scrubbed" to a fine finish

........ and prepped for the final coat

......... of satin conversion varnish.

........ here we are starting to lay up the VG Bamboo desk tops

the Bamboo has to be laid out in 3 directions

....... be able to come apart in 2 pieces. Here's the desk top .....

and here is the counter top ....... which mates with the piece to the left.

Both pieces are surface sanded ....... imagine a desk top that is truly flat !!

Then the two pieces are glued together

Here is the desk top ready for the edging

Here is the Bamboo counter top with the VG Fir edging being attached with glue and clamps

Here is the Fir edging being clamped to the statuary shelf

The statuary counter has 2 coats of varnish and is now "scrubbed" for the final 2 coats

Here is the bottom of the desk top is routed to duplicate the "thumbnail" detail of the counter top.

then finish sanded and shaped

Here we roll the counter top into the spray area ..... interesting view


The bottom is first sealed with 3 coats of catalyzed lacquer

Then the top is coated with 2 coats of conversion varnish

allowed to cure for 24hrs before it is scrubbed for a very long time to a fine finish

Then the 2 final coats of conversion varnish are spayed and it will now cure for several days to be rubbed out

...... then every single imperfection is marked with a permanent black marker and meticulously sanded out

then the entire top is rubbed down

and the polished .......... it was a 5 day process

and here is the result ...... mocked up in Bobs shop

Here is a view of the finished desk front

a view of the desk back

the drawer fronts are beautiful VG Fir that is laid up to run vertical

here is a dovetail drawer and the desk end !!

Here is the statuary counter and cabinet mocked up before installation


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