I took a bit of break after new year's to catch up on other work, but have been finishing up the plans for the bar and finally actually got started. I'm probably waaaaay over engineering this, but considering how much stuff I'm attempting to incorporate into the bar, it needed to be sketched up pretty accurately. It's also my first shot doing any type of cabinet work, so I wanted to make sure I had all my dimensions and clearance correct. Here's the updated sketch (just the base cabinet pieces, face frames & doors not show for clarity):
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It'll be a 7' long walk up bar with the following components:
- 2 under counter mini-refrigerators - one for soda/water/beer bottles and one for home brew kegs
- Full length tile counter top with small sink at one end
- Dual tap keg tower and recessed drip tray (drains to sink)
- Chip display cabinets for ~84 racks of chips / 14 sets
- Overhead liquor display / storage cabinet, cabinets for bar ware & other storage
- Built in custom humidor with Avallo Accumonitor humidification system
- Drawer for cards / dealer buttons
- Cabinet under sink for storage of kegerator CO2 cylinder and temperature control unit
For the base and overhead cabinets, I'm using a pretty simple pocket screw & dado/rabbet approach; while I do enjoy woodworking as a hobby, I'm not experienced to the point where I'm comfortable with the more advanced cabinet making techniques (and I don't have all the tools). The design I'm working with should
just fit (vertically) in the space I have, it'll be really tight in a couple of spots. This area has the lowest clearance in my basement as it's furthest from the floor drain (highest floor spots). To make sure everything fits correctly, I'm building everything from the ground up - so I started with the base cabinets. I'm using cabinet grade plywood (oak veneered for the exposed sheets) and facing the frames with solid oak.
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My Kreg pocket hole jig got a workout
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Dry run for all the base cabinet fit ups. There are cabinets at both ends, with the framing for the counter top between them.
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So far so good, everything is measuring spot on to the plan. With a little shimming here and there, the counter top was just about perfectly level, which is important as I'll be cover the counter top tile with a clear epoxy resin.
Gluing on the solid wood frames to the cabinets (didn't have enough long clamps for the job so I had to improvise
)
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