Finishing the cabinet...

I'm getting close to assembly for the cabinet, so it is time to start planning the finish. I know since the cabinet is poplar I want a dark finish to hide the green hues. I decided to finish the inside of the cabinet before assembly. I read an article in Fine Woodworking (membership required) about seal coating particular woods so they wouldn't blotch. Woods like, pine, poplar and cherry are notorious for blotching when stained. So, I used a 2lb cut of Zinsser Seal Coat (de-waxed shellac) for the inside of the cabinet. I got the first coat on, and it is ready for a light sanding before the second coat.

I also seal coated a piece of scrap poplar for testing stains. I applied 2 coats of the seal coat, with a light sanding after each coat. I then applied 3 different stains in 3 different sections of the board. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died. When I get batteries I'll post the test piece and let you know which one I chose.

Cold... too cold.

The past 2 or 3 days it's been 15-25F. Too cold for me to be in the garage with power tools. Hopefully, tomorrow will be warmer.

RIGID drill press review...

I wrote my review of the RIGID DP-1550 15" 1/2 hp drill press. You can find a link under the "Reviews" section on the right.

I'm not necessarily a RIGID "fanboy". It's not that I like the color orange so much. Here are some reasons I like RIGID tools:

1. They a good quality tool for the money.
2. They repeatedly get good reviews from magazines and really good from users.
3. The RIGID warranty is pretty good.
4. I can take it back to Home Depot if I have an issue. (There's a "good" Home Depot in my area).
   
5. Home Depot usually has a 6 month to 1 year no interest deal going on. That's hard to beat.

So it's not just being a "fanboy". Although, I do hope to get the RIGID 13" planer with the 3 cutter head soon.

Rabbet...

I spent part of yesterday, and most of today getting the rabbets in the top, bottom and sides. I used my router and router fence attachment to make the rabbets. I also learned how my joining sucks. There were a few peaks and valleys where I had edge joined the boards. I need to do a better job of making sure the boards are joined and faced properly.

I glued up the back panel and let it dry, while I went to Lowe's to get some finishing supplies. When I got back I used my Random Orbital Sander (ROS) to sand all the pieces. I think it's finally ready to glue-up. My only question now is, do I finish it before glueing or after? I don't know either. Time to hit the forums.