Frame Within the Frame

The guide assumes basic woodworking knowledge, so the given dimensions are only guidelines. They are necessary to understand the solutions used. They do not include the types and construction parameters of the internal hardware used (sliding door, drawer, wardrobe lift, etc.).

In most cases, when we solve one problem, we create another one. This happened to me too. I recently made a bookshelf in our living room, where my wife's much-loved books and other small memories and decorative objects accumulated during our, life were placed. (You can read about the bookshelf here.) Before that, in place of the bookshelf, there was a row of cabinets with shelves, a wardrobe with a television stand and everything else that is usual in such a system. The clothes stored in the living room had to be placed elsewhere. Our bedroom had a large store-bought wardrobe, but unfortunately it didn't fit everything that used to be in the living room. We needed a new wardrobe.

Materials:

The size of the built-in area is 2530×2600×540 millimeters (width×height×depth). Thus, the size and quantity of materials used:

1. 1170×506×17 4 pieces side
2. 1170×503×17 2 pieces partitions
3. 848×506×17 2 pieces of outer bottom
4. 848×482×17 2 pieces outer fixed shelves
5. 848×484×17 2 pieces of outer roof
6. 748×506×17 1 piece middle bottom
7. 748×484×17 1 piece middle roof
8. 748×482×17 5 pieces middle shelves
9. 506×84×44 2 pieces of bottom breadboard ends (external leg)
10. 506×65×17 2 pieces side middle breadboard ends
11. 506×65×44 2 pieces side top breadboard ends
12. 503×84×17 2 pieces partitions bottom breadboard ends (middle leg)
13. 503×65×17 2 pieces partitions middle breadboard ends
14. 503×48×17 2 pieces partitions top breadboard ends
15. 503×72×17 2 pieces of partitions top nailing strip
16. 470×44×44 4 pieces partitions (middle) legs
17. 503×58×17 20 pieces nailing strips

Tools:

1. table saw
2. table router
3. combined planer
4. hand router
5. screw driver
6. Festool Domino (You can use a hand router.)
7. flush trim bit with insert knives
8. countersink drill bit
9. sanding machine and sanding net
10. brush
11. epoxy resin
12. linseed oil
13. many candles
14. glue
15. clamps
16. cauls
17. flat iron (is not steamer)
18. hot air gun

The primary aspects of designing a wardrobe are where to place it and what will be stored in it. Our bedroom has a floor area of 4100×2530 millimeters, its entrance door is on the longer wall, 540 millimeters from the short wall. When the door is open, it extends 885 millimeters into the room. To ensure the smooth operation of the entrance door and the closet door, I designed 3 surface sliding doors. The width of the central sliding door is 885 millimeters, the same as the room door. First, I determined the dimensions of the sliding doors with Tinkercad, and then I designed the carcass.

Our bedroom and the old wardrobe were in daily use. That's why I chose the carcass or eurostyle solution. On-site installation of the front frame solution takes longer, the carcass can be completely prepared in the workshop. It is true that it requires more materials than a front-frame cabinet, but a front-frame cabinet can cost more overall because the increased installation costs can outweigh the unit savings. Front frame units have no back and sides inward. You can see the bare walls, ceiling and sometimes the floor. These should all be fixed before installation. Precise holes must be made in the walls, ceiling and floor to fix the fittings used and the frame. We live in a concrete house, and anyone who has ever drilled concrete knows that because of the rebar and gravel, this is almost impossible. Therefore, the eurostyle solution is cheaper for me, and I could further reduce our costs if I chose a material that was available to me. For the above-mentioned bookshelf, I used pine lumber made for the production of pallets. There was still enough of it left. Their size is 1200×85×22 millimeters. Neither the size nor the pine wood is ideal for making furniture of this size, so I resorted to a trick. This trick also solves the transportability problem. We live on the eighth floor of a block of flats and the size of the lift is very small.

I cleaned the surface of the slats with a combined planer, striving for the largest possible cross-section, because the thickness of the board decreased when working in a plane after panelling. Before gluing the slats, I determined the direction of the grains and rotated the slats in the correct direction. When you look at the end grain, you should to see alternating convex and concave growth ring patterns. This is very important because wood tends to expand and contract more actively toward the bark side of the tree than toward the heart side. I used clamping cauls for edge gluing to speed up the process.

While the glue was drying, I prepared the nailing strip and the breadboard ends. (I prepared the parts for the doors at the same time, but I will write about that below.) First, I created the shape of the bottom and top breadboard ends of the sides, because their size is different from the others. After that, I cut the rest of the slats to length, then worked one face and two edges at right angles. This is how I created the exact width. I created the thickness of the slats and the edge glued boards together on a 510 millimeter combined planer. This is important for the subsequent created of nodes. I cut the edge-glued boards and the slats to exact dimensions on a table saw (use sacrificial wood so that the grain does not splinter).

Edge-glued boards expand and shrink more in width than in length. The board bends across its width - this is called cupping. The ends of the breadboard are strictly used to control cupping. I connected two sides or two vertical dividers to the end of a breadboard end, so I also used it to join the parts in the partitions. Therefore, I made Domino tenon holes of 6×13 millimeters + drill bit diameter in the short edges of the sides and partitions. (You can use a hand router.) Accordingly, I made tenon holes of 6×13 millimeters + drill bit diameter in the longer edges of the breadboard ends, these keep the joined parts in line. The other tenon holes are 6×19 millimeters + drill bit diameter size, which ensures free movement of the board. I fitted the nailing strip to the junction of the breadboard end and the shelf and drilled holes for the screws. To fix the board, I made through holes on the nailing strip of the same size as the outer diameter of the screw. I used half-thread wood screws to fasten the nailing strip, and made a pocket hole on the edge of the edge glued board to the same size as the core of the screw. This solution is also ensures free movement of the board. I put the Domino tenons and screws into the board alternately per slat. To fix the breadboard end and the nailing strip, I made holes of the same size as the core size of the screw. My English is very poor, so I made a structural drawing in Tinkercad.

- I fixed the (middle) legs of the partitions (470×44×44 mm) to the lower breadboard end of the partitions (503×84×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I fixed the bottom edge of the partitions (503×84×17 mm) and the bottom edge (848×506×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strip (503×58×17 mm) to the lower end of the breadboard end (503×84×17 mm) of the partitions with wood screws.

- To the lower end of the breadboard end (506×84×44 mm) (outer leg), I attached the edge of the outer bottom (848×506×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strip (503×58×17 mm) to the lower end of the breadboard end (506×84×44 mm) (outer leg) with wood screws.

- I attached the edge of the outer fixed shelf (848×482×17 mm) to the central breadboard end of the partitions (503×69×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strips (503×58×17 mm) to the central breadboard end of the partitions (503×69×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I fixed the end of the middle breadboard end (506×69×17 mm) and the edge of the outermost fixed shelf (848×482×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strips (503×58×17 mm) to the end of the middle breadboard end (506×69×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I fixed the upper mounting bar of the partitions (503×72×17 mm) to the end of the breadboard end (503×48×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the edge of the outer roof (848×484×17 mm) to the upper breadboard end of the partitions (503×48×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strip (503×58×17 mm) to the upper breadboard end of the partitions (503×48×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I fixed the edge of the outer roof (848×484×17 mm) to the end of the upper breadboard end (506×80×44 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strip (503×58×17 mm) to the end of the upper breadboard end (506×80×44 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the sides (1170×506×17 mm) and the partitions (1170×503×17 mm) to the edges of the breadboard ends (503×58×17 mm) with Domino dowels (without glue).

- I fixed the nailing strips (503×58×17 mm), the sides (1170×506×17 mm) and the partitions (1170×503×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the back panel with a truss head screw.

- I repeated this process on the other side as well.

- I attached the middle bottom (748×506×17 mm) to the (middle) legs of the partitions (470×44×44 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the nailing strips (503×58×17 mm) to the lower breadboard ends (middle legs) of the partitions (503×84×17 mm) with wood screws.

- I attached the central roof (748×484×17 mm) to the upper nailing strips (503×58×17 mm) of the partitions with wood screws.

- I attached the back panel with a truss head screw.

- I installed the sliding door hardware and checked the dimensions specified by the manufacturer with a particleboard panel. (Of course, the hardware manufacturer's specifications were wrong.)

I used candle wax for the surface treatment of the cabinet carcass parts. You can read about this technique in step 6 of the "Parametric shelf with reciprocal frame" titled guide. Before waxing the surface, I filled the knots and cracks with a two-component water-clear epoxy resin. I taped the lower part of the passing cracks with painter's tape so that the resin does not leak out. I then treated the parts with Clorox and sanded the raised grain. I put Domino dowels in the Domino tenon holes so that the wax does not flow into them.

First, I designed the surface of the cabinet. The task was not easy, because the size and quality of the pine wood did not allow me to use traditional construction methods. Such a thin but large door will surely twist, it will be like a propeller. I had to find a solution that solves the defects of the lumber (bow, cup, twist, crook). That's why I combined the cope and stick and the cross-grain construction method. Cross-grain construction scares most woodworkers, but it is a viable construction method in many cases. There are many methods to attach breadboard ends, but only a few actually accomplish the primary goal of keeping things flat.

I chose the solution considered worst by woodworkers, gluing. I will explain why when the wood finishing. The surface of the built-in wall is 2530×2610 millimeters, which is close to the dimensions of a square. I framed a 68×68 millimeter square. The width of the frame components is 68 millimeters, and the length is an odd multiple of 68 millimeters. I also framed the resulting square, and so on until I got the desired result.

How it all works in practice. As I wrote above, the sawn planks at my disposal has a nominal size of 1200×85×22 millimeters. I planed it to 80×18 millimeters, then on a joiner's router I formed the tongues on one edge, taking into account the alternating convex and concave growth ring patterns. 6 pieces of 750×68 millimeter parts need tongues on both edges, so the tongue is 6×6 millimeters. I cut the other parts to 69+tongue, millimeters wide. I marked the dimensions according to the parts list, and then cut them with a table saw. I tried to pronounce the knots and mistakes. (Unfortunately, a little remained.) I set the circular saw blade to 45° and made a chamfer at the junction of the edge on the tongue side and the visible side. I arranged the boards for best appearance, taking into account alternating convex and concave growth ring patterns.

I adjusted the joinery router to the tongue of the semi-finished part and made a groove in the end-grain edges of the 9 pieces of 70×68 millimeter parts. In this I glued the tongue of 69+tongue×70 millimeter components, with a perpendicular grain direction. After the glue dried, the resulting part measured 206x70 millimeters As you can see, these dimensions are not 68 millimeters or multiples thereof. This is necessary so that I can correct the inaccuracies of the gluing. I glued the two extremes to the middle square so that they stand minimally back from the edge of one of them. I placed this edge next to the joiner's circular saw fence (middle protruding square), which I set to 69 millimeters. I cut the part to length, then adjusted the fence to 68 millimeters, and also cut the other long edge. I made a 45˚ chamfer on the long edges with a hand router and a groove with a milling machine. I sanded the V-shaped grooves created by the chamfers, because it is much more difficult to do this work later. I repeated this process until all the parts were used up.

1. 68 × 70 millimeters 9 pieces
2. 69+tongue × 70 millimeters 18 pieces
3. 206 × 69+tongue millimeters 36 pieces
4. 342 × 69+tongue millimeters 36 pieces
5. 478 × 69+tongue millimeters 36 pieces
6. 614 × 69+tongue millimeters 36 pieces
7. 750 × 69+tongue millimeters 24 pieces
8. 750 × 68+2 tongue millimeters 6 pieces
9. 2518 × 68+ tongue millimeters 4 pieces
10. 2518 × 22+ tongue millimeters 2 pieces

Anyone who has read the Particleboard Desk guide knows that choosing the right handle is not an easy task for me. I bought 4 handles 200×17×13 millimeters. I cut their ends as shown in the pictures. I made a 100×38×10 millimeter blind hole for the doors, using a small circular saw and a template. I created the 190 millimeter longitudinal grooves with a Festool Domino and another template. (You can use a hand router.) I sanded the pocket holes, and then attached the handles with 5x15mm countersunk head metric screws.

I also coated the doors with paraffin candle wax. Unfortunately, the technique used with the carcass is not good because the candle wax flows into the V-shaped grooves and is very difficult to remove. That's why I dissolved the wax in white spirit. (Candles made of stearin are not suitable for this because they do not dissolve in white spirit.)

The wax solution can be prepared as follows. We melt the wax. This can be done in a double-walled container (warm water bath) or with a non-steam iron, set to 70 C˚. (The use of hot air guns is prohibited!) Add the melted wax to the white spirit in a thin stream while constantly stirring. The resulting solution is not liquid, but has a pasty consistency, similar to a soaked soap. It also stinks, so use a mask with a filter.

Let's be careful!

Quote from Wikipedia: “If pure paraffin wax melted to the approximate flash point in a half open glass vessel which is then suddenly cooled down, then its vapors may autoignite as a result of reaching boiling liquid pressure.” All materials used in the rubbing process with wax are flammable, especially the white spirit! Used rags are prone to self-ignition, so always keep them in a closed metal container! The process is very dangerous, it can lead to a fire or, in the worst case, even an explosion. Neither I nor the Instructables team are responsible for any accidents. If you are unsure of your abilities, ask for the help of an expert (chemistry teacher, pharmacist, etc...).

I rubbed the wax pulp into the surface with a rag ball. I only covered a small area at a time, because the white spirit was quickly absorbed by the wood. During rubbing, the excess candle wax came together into tiny white crumbs. After I coated the entire surface, I waited 12 hours (overnight) for the white spirit to evaporate. The next day I used a hot air gun to melt the wax on the doors, so the surface wouldn't stain. The 40 C summer heat helped a lot, because the wax congeal more slowly and had the opportunity to spread evenly. After congealing, I applied another layer, rubbing gently. I waited another 12 hours and level the surface with a sanding mesh, then polished it with a densely woven soft carpet cut to size and reinforced with rubber on the back. (You can use plush or felt stretched over a sanding block. Fabric or looped carpet are not good because they leave small scratches on the surface.) The surface is suitable if the drop of water rolls off it without residue. This explains why you should not be afraid of the cross-grain construction method. The pores of the wood are hermetically sealed (like on a surfboard) so that the humidity of the air has no chance to enter and does not force the wood to expand or contract. What can cause a change in size is thermal expansion, which is minimal. In order to prevent possible errors due to thermal expansion, after 6 months I covered the V-shaped grooves and joints with a thin layer of wax film.

The photos I uploaded were manipulated. This is due to the size of the rooms. The bedroom is literally a rabbit hole on the 8th floor. I don't have access to proper lighting, and the distortion of wide lenses is confusing. So I cheated a bit and modified a few things with Gimp (false wall color, etc.). I still don't like the pictures because they don't show the design well.

Carcass parts could be transported with a car. It also easily fit into the apartment building's elevator. The challenge was the three doors with their dimensions of 2518x885 millimeters, which I transported in a friend's van and carried up the stairs to the eighth floor. Before the production of the doors, I measured the staircase and then thought about its reconstruction :). Tight, but it fit.

The cabinet does not have adjustable legs. Therefore, I drew horizontal lines on the wall with the help of a laser level. In accordance with these, I made appropriate size washer slats, thus ensuring that the cabinet stands vertically. I stuck the washers to the floor with double-sided tape. On the other side of the room, I assembled the empty body according to its position. I fixed the middle back wall last. Before I did that, two of my friends hid through the middle of the closet to the other side of it. I screwed up the back wall, locking them in the room. I left the room and they pushed the empty body into place. I installed the drawers and wardrobe lifts. The sliding doors were installed only the next day, because it was easier to pack clothes without doors.