Well, I managed to finish the sides of the cabinet, for the most part. I used a circular saw and a straightedge for the long straight cuts. I had some problems keeping the cuts square, since I was using a framing square to line the cuts up, which doesn't really have any reference edges. So I had to make a trip to Home Depot to get a different square. It's more or less a drywall square, but I got one with an adjustable angle, which I guess will come in handy if I ever need to mark an angle, but I mainly got it because it can fold up when not in use.
Anyway, here the sides are partially done. I meant to take some pictures of the MDF before I started cutting it, but I guess I just got too excited. Already at this point you can see the shape of the cabinet coming through. You may notice the plethora of clamps around it. This is because I cut both sheets at the same time; this way, they would be as close to exactly the same as possible.
Here it is with the front profile cut, and setting up to cut the back diagonal. I mainly used a jigsaw for the profile. The blue foam underneath is to provide support for the material, while providing a surface that the circular saw blade can cut through. I don't recommend using the foam when using the jigsaw, because you can't control the depth of cut on the jigsaw, and you would end up pretty much destroying the foam. Also, I had a big problem with the jigsaw blade deflecting. This could possibly be the blades fault, but most likely because I was cutting through 1 1/2" of MDF.
Here it is all nice and cut. When I was first planning the cabinet out, I wasn't too crazy about the shape, but it has definitely grown on me.
I'm not sure how much I will need to clean up the edges and corners. I think definitely more than I have in this picture, but maybe not too much more since it will be covered up with T-Molding. I think I just need to make sure all the edges are smooth. I also need to decide what size molding to get. That mainly depends on whether I only paint it, or put some kind of laminate on the side. I think I will probably just paint it a solid color.
Anyway, here the sides are partially done. I meant to take some pictures of the MDF before I started cutting it, but I guess I just got too excited. Already at this point you can see the shape of the cabinet coming through. You may notice the plethora of clamps around it. This is because I cut both sheets at the same time; this way, they would be as close to exactly the same as possible.
Here it is with the front profile cut, and setting up to cut the back diagonal. I mainly used a jigsaw for the profile. The blue foam underneath is to provide support for the material, while providing a surface that the circular saw blade can cut through. I don't recommend using the foam when using the jigsaw, because you can't control the depth of cut on the jigsaw, and you would end up pretty much destroying the foam. Also, I had a big problem with the jigsaw blade deflecting. This could possibly be the blades fault, but most likely because I was cutting through 1 1/2" of MDF.
Here it is all nice and cut. When I was first planning the cabinet out, I wasn't too crazy about the shape, but it has definitely grown on me.
I'm not sure how much I will need to clean up the edges and corners. I think definitely more than I have in this picture, but maybe not too much more since it will be covered up with T-Molding. I think I just need to make sure all the edges are smooth. I also need to decide what size molding to get. That mainly depends on whether I only paint it, or put some kind of laminate on the side. I think I will probably just paint it a solid color.
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