# Neil's DIY cabinet



## NeilW (28 Jun 2010)

I've decided I'm going to make it hard for myself and make another cabinet, this time from scratch and using the lessons I learnt from my first attempt to get a better result.  I've already marked up some 12mm MDF ready for cutting.  Hopefully I'll get it glued and screwed either tomorrow or later in the week. 

My plan is to have painted finish but my question is wether I could get away with using primer in a tin with a brush as its cheaper then spray?  The actual top coat colour would still be spray.

Cheers,
Neil


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## JamesM (28 Jun 2010)

*Re: DIY cabinet- Spray vs. Brush*

Roller might be better mate  

As long as you give it a good sanding to get rid of any high spots I don't see a problem...


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## tomsteer (28 Jun 2010)

*DIY cabinet- Spray vs. Brush*

I agree with James, a roller would probably give a better finish, I would use one if the foam gloss rollers.

Cheers,

Tom


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## arty (28 Jun 2010)

*Re: DIY cabinet- Spray vs. Brush*

Roller can't use with any paint product. Consult in shop wich paint is suitable for roller. I  once bought gloss finish white and totaly not suitable for rollers - all paintwork in bubbles and after small holes.


Best Regards,


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## NeilW (28 Jun 2010)

*Re: DIY cabinet- Spray vs. Brush*

Primer with roller and a good sanding it is, cheers guys


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## NeilW (29 Jun 2010)

Thought I would expand my post into more of a 'how I did it' because I found it useful when I started to see how other people had gone about making one of these beasts.  Finished all the cutting today and hopefully I'll glue up on Thursday, weather permitting, and get some photos.  I mainly just used a standard hand saw but it was useful to have a jigsaw and a circular cutter drill bit around for the various ports.  For now I thought I'd attach my plan;







Basically its an ADA knock-off but with cut down dimensions to fit my nano that has a 12" x 10" footprint.  The actual ADA stands intended for their Mini Gardens are bigger then the tanks whilst I wanted mine to be flush with the sides of the glass so its based on their standard 'Wood Cabinet'.  In addition to the usual semi-circular filter tube ports on either side I also added one on the back so I've got lots of options to position inlets and outlets for flow in whatever scapes I do in the future.

Cheers for looking,
Neil


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## NeilW (2 Jul 2010)

As promised here are some photos.  Rather impressed with the result (even if I do say so myself   ) actually managed to be millimetre perfect for a change  .

I also found that an electric sander was invaluable.

All filled and sanded and ready to be primed.










My unusual tube port at the back.  Both the semi-circluar holes at the sides are the same dimensions as the ADA cabinet but the one at the back is slightly bigger to allow more room for manoeuvre on the pipes. 





As you can see its also off-centre















All the joints are glued and then nailed with a second-fix nailgun. (filler detail)





Hopefully it'll be primed (and sanded more  ) soon and then it can go to my girlfriends step dad whose a car sprayer.  He says it can't be baked in the oven though as it'll blow because its wood  .  I think I'll choose grey but I've got nothing to colour match to the ADA cabinet so it'll be a rough dark grey.

Cheers for looking,
Neil


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## peter1979 (2 Jul 2010)

good work   .  can i order a 3ft long one please


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## NeilW (2 Jul 2010)

peter1979 said:
			
		

> good work   .  can i order a 3ft long one please



Cheers Peter   

I'll put the 3ft in the post, I forgot to say I made one at the same time   

You should have a crack at it, just the same idea with thicker wood and a sub-frame.  It's having the right tools and the time though which can be an issue.


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## JamesM (2 Jul 2010)

Looks great Neil, I'd be well happy


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## NeilW (2 Jul 2010)

JamesM said:
			
		

> Looks great Neil, I'd be well happy



Thanks very much mate   

Just got hold of a tin of primer and a roller so I'll try and get on that tomorrow.  It should all start getting together next week.  Got your light still to come and the hinges for the doors, and I think I need to get hold of some more filter tubing just to make sure I've got enough for where I'm changing the positioning.


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## chrisfraser05 (2 Jul 2010)

Looking good buddy


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## NeilW (2 Jul 2010)

chrisfraser05 said:
			
		

> Looking good buddy



Cheers Chris.

You watch and I'll ruin the finish and pebble-dash it or something


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## NeilW (9 Jul 2010)

From the above post it looks like I jinxed myself   

I made a big mistake and bought a tin of Dulux WOOD Primer.  Over the last week I've tried applying two coats, both of which horribly peeled and teared when sanded and took 48 hours to 'dry' when the can said it would take 16  .  When it finally dried it also had a suspect gloss finish instead of the usual dusty matt finish of primer.  I took both my paint and cabinet to the shop to show them what had happened to see if I could get an exchange for something that would work and I was told that MDF is not in fact a wood and I was wrong for buying such a crazy product .  

Agreed it is not a natural wood, and is a compound of both wood AND glue, but you can see it was an easy mistake - in what department of a shop can MDF be found?  If you thought the cheese section on the deli counter you were wrong, it is indeed from the WOOD aisle   

So, a word of warning to any who want to prime their spanking-new-handmade-MDF-cabinet, go for the specfic 'MDF Primer' (which was hidden from me at the time) and DONT buy 'WOOD Primer'   

On the plus side the new primer goes on a dream and can be washed out in water.  It is from a manufacturer called 'Blackfriars' and can even be diluted to be put through a spray gun if anyone wanted to know.

Will try and post up some pictures soon!

Cheers for looking,
Neil


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## NeilW (4 Aug 2010)

Sorry, unhelpfully I didn't put any pictures up of the finished article so heres a journal link instead;
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=10577&start=140


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## GreenNeedle (5 Aug 2010)

It's great when DIY projects turn out so well.  I must admit that anyone who comes to my house gets sick of hearing 'I made that' to the point that they don't compliment any furniture in the house anymore incase they get 'I made that' 

You may find it addictive too.  You'll have your own website full of your DIY before you know it 

AC


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## NeilW (5 Aug 2010)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> It's great when DIY projects turn out so well.  I must admit that anyone who comes to my house gets sick of hearing 'I made that' to the point that they don't compliment any furniture in the house anymore incase they get 'I made that'
> 
> You may find it addictive too.  You'll have your own website full of your DIY before you know it
> 
> AC



Your cabinet was one of the ones I checked out when I was doing a bit of research.  You did a cracking job.  I agree it is a great feeling to be able to say 'I made that!'


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## GreenNeedle (6 Aug 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

> Your cabinet was one of the ones I checked out when I was doing a bit of research.  You did a cracking job.



Which cabinet?  The latest ash one or the previous dark walnut one? 

AC


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