Your videos are incredibly helpful and informative and thanks to you and the way you break projects down I took on a few of my own. I started making skateboards by using a 3d printed mold that I designed. I have done a few other projects as well but that has been the best by far because it has helped taken my skateboard business to the next level and it’s an incredible opportunity to learn and use a 3d printer! Thank you and keep up the great videos!
Unless you only use a tool for one project it seems unreasonable to apply the entire cost to that project. Maybe the most reasonable is to use the rental cost of those tools if it's not a tool you'll be able to use for a lot of projects.
@@JeffDM Yeah, in my case I completely renovated a house and built all furniture myself, then went on to the in-laws; if I would divide it per usage, I would say my cost for building a cabinet like that is material + $12 & time
I think with the plans available I could build several in the time it takes to drive to the nearest IKEA and have time left over that I wouldn't also spend on the way back.
@BenCos2018 not that I drive that way just for IKEA. I went once, but that was during a vacation to that city. There was 1 thing that I really wanted, and we were basically right there, i.e. Lack table 3d printer enclosure. This was in 2017/8. I don't remember exactly when, so it has been a while.
A couple tips for cleanly cutting and drilling melamine; for cutting on a table saw, use a high tooth count, sharp blade and make a short pass into the bottom side of the material before cutting all the way through. For cutting on a miter saw, I've found that using a knife to cut through the melamine layer first pretty much eliminates the chipout. For drilling, I start a little slower, mostly letting the drill do the work until i'm through the melamine. You can also use masking tape or zero-clearance jigs to help with any of these issues as well.
Painter's tape is also an option. It is so weird that the little bit of adhesive and paper is enough to help with most chipout, but a sharp blade is a must.
The way you integrate your ad while continuing your build video is great. I wish more people did that instead of cutting into their video. And love the cabinet, of course.
Personally I prefer it being a separate thing since if I want to see what he's doing then I'm forced to listen to an ad I don't want to listen to. If it's separate I can just skip forward.
@@AntiViGames I guess you could mute it and just watch the build. That way Bob gets the watch time and the sponsor is happier, and you don't have to listen to the ad... win-win? Although Bob's ads are about the least obnoxious on RUclips, so I don't mind watching them.
@@AntiViGamesThe add is where I remember to take the time to like the video and usually make an early impression comment. If viewers want to watch great content, tolerating a few minutes of adds from the creator during a video is a small price to pay.
melamin chips way less if you do a scoring pass first. many tracksaws have a feature for that. basically, set your saw to a very shallow cut, so the top side of the melamin gets cut at a steeper angle, making it less likely to tear out. professional saws for melamin have a scoring blade on it, that cuts in the opposite direction, to pretty much get rid of tearout. Festool very recently even released a tracksaw that has a scoring blade that works lovely. it is pricy, but if you do a lot of melamin work, its worth it.
Sharpie doesn't really look like black. It has more of a dark purple tint to it. We used Mohawk stain pens at the furniture retailer I worked for. They cost a lot more but are worth it if you are doing a lot of projects.
True, plus Sharpies are dye-based. They'll fade in all sorts of weird ways. Stain, paint, or a bunch of little black plastic pegs to hide the unused holes are the way to go.
I agree with your comments about the tools. I made quite a bit of furniture with a handsaw, nails, hammer and sandpaper. I was married probably 5 years before I could afford a circular saw and a hammer. We still have every piece of furniture that I made and it held up 40+ years.
As a programmer that predominately writes things in C, I completely agree about the cost of tools. Over time you build up your collection of tools until you have a complete workshop and over that period of time you'll do more and more projects. The cost is very much distributed across every project you do. In my case I write a lot of my own tools and the cost is my time, which has some value to me and a significant amount more to my clients. The one complaint I have with this project is the materials. Melamine coated MDF is basically glue and saw dust wrapped in plastic. All the stores around me show a price of around $40-ish per 4'x8' sheet, and for a few bucks more per sheet you can get hardwood plywood in a 1/2 inch thickness. While it would push the cost over the melamine coated MDF, I would also splurge for the glass. And stain instead of black paint would also look better.
Just did almost the same thing here, in fact today is final sanding and paint day. 3 "billy-bobs" (that's what I will call the home made ones). MUCH better materials (cabinet grade birch ply, poplar face frames). Not cheaper than normal Billy's but definitely much better! Thanks for sharing Bob!
Awesome build, another good thing to keep in mind with melamine is it's edges are super sharp.i used to work at a lumber yard and we always made sure to wear gloves when moving big sheets around since its slippery and the edges are like razor blades when freshly cut
If you exclude the doors, you can build this with a drill and and a tape meassure. Most hardware stores (at least in germany) will cut you your wood to the asked dimensions. For the doors you could use a router. Tablesaws are expensive (and scary) for beginners.
If you're doing something like this you should check with a local glass supplier (not a big box store), or even on-line glass companies. When I made my 3D printer cabinet I bought large (something like 24x34, might be larger) custom cut panes of tempered glass for way less (like less than half) than plexiglass. Maybe the market is different where Bob is but I've always found that plexiglass is considerably more expensive when compared to real glass (at least if you look in the right places). Plus, plexi scratches if you look at it wrong... glass is way more robust, especially for something like a display cabinet where you want a clear view.
Bob, this was a really good project video. Being a professional cabinetmaker this a great way for a DIYer to get all the benefits without the added costs. Great job!
Some people never understand that there's not only the satisfaction of building something yourself, but there's also the option of changing it exactly to your liking. Especially in those edge case situations, that's worth all your tools' weight in gold, because you just can't get what you need from a store, and having it custom made is probably more expensive than all your tools combined. Sure, if you build _exactly_ the same as what you can buy, you have to start wondering if it's worth it. If you enjoy it though, that's enough reason to do it. Other people pay to do the things they like, creators can actually save money doing what they like.
Perfect opportunity to use the pocket hole jig to drill dowel holes with a normal/long drill bit. Also I loved your RBF without your mask during the Factor ad. Glad you mentioned it.
Instead of using a Sharpie that can leave a sort of iridescence, use an india ink art marker. We used those in a frame shop I worked at to touch up black frames. It dries fairly matte and without that purple tint.
2:24 You’re absolutely right about not needing the best tools to complete the job. I honestly believe starting with mostly hand tools and only using that for a while can make a better carpenter than someone who has thousands of dollars of tools but doesn’t know how to use them properly. I’ve built a lot of furniture back in the day with just a hand saw and a cheap drill.
100%. i renovated the first room in my house with a cheap circular saw i got on sale at HD, a hand me down cordless drill and a drywall square w/utility knife.
I usually start inexpensive, something rated pretty decently for the price category. sometimes the second cheapest tool I find. If I use it enough to wear it out then it's probably worth upgrading.
Perhaps you could paint the holes for the shelves black as well, so they're not as noticeable. I guess one way you could do that is to put down some butcher block paper, and secure it down with strips of masking tape. The masking tape should be in lines where the dowel jig is going to go. Then you cut the dowel holes through the masking tape, spray black paint, and voila.
Going by your face during the tablesaw cuts, not only in this video, you should build a boom arm with a bladeguard including dust collection. Mask or not, this should help a lot.
For people who complain about the tools, you can make money-saving projects from just a few cheap tools in invest your saved money on more tools and work your way up. I did and express version of this by saving over $2,000 installing my own kitchen cabinets with a few very basic tools. That paid for all the tools I use on projects after that.
Hey! Love you videos! Instead of using a Sharpie to cover up small spaces of blow out, (it tends to have a purple-ish sheen) use a black whiteboard marker. It works a charm for all those little blowouts. :)
And if your black whiteboard marker turns out purple too, like mine, just mix some rubbing alcohol into the charred bones of your enemies. Wipe it into the cracks with your fingers while chanting "kali maa shakti de", repeatedly until poof, the gaping hole in your captive's chest cavity bursts into flames and those pesky chips in your Billy shelf clone's melamine vanish along with his still beating heart.
Have you tried putting masking/painters tape on top of the melamine before cutting or drilling? I've used it with worktop surfaces that are similar and it avoids the chipout. For doors that lack substantial bulk I'd be tempted to add a couple of small magnets on the handle side to keep them in place. That way they close more firmly, useful if you don't expect to open it that often since it will help avoid gaps at the top/sides where dust can get in.
Building furniture may occur at a far lower frequency than cooking but one could make the same argument that you can always almost order a single meal (or maybe even a few ) at a restaurant for less than it would cost you to buy all the kitchen equipment and ingredients and make it yourself. Most of us however think it is perfectly reasonable to invest in kitchen equipment where the cost is distributed across a long time. Making things is really no different. If you think you're only going to do it once then sure, the cost might not make sense but if it's going to become a lifelong pursuit, even if only a few times a year then it's totally worth it. Plus you have to decide how you want to value the feeling of accomplishment and the fact that when you need something, you now have choices that extend beyond choosing which pre-manufactured retailer you want to purchase from.
Pocket dowels. Use a regular drill bit in your pocket hole jig. Pound in dowels with glue. Cut flush. The different color wood from the dowel adds a little style.
When drilling into the melamine have you tried reverse drilling? I use it to drill into tile. Start by reverse drilling to create a punch, then forward drill to pass. It’s helped me out a few times.
2:12 Honestly, as someone who's used a circular saw in an apartment a few times, almost more important than the tools is having a shop. But yeah, tools are an investment, but even without all the tools or the space it's still possible to make stuff, just might take longer or not look as perfect
I noticed you used a laundry style iron for your stripping. Might I suggest you invest in a hobbyists' iron. It's used to put radio control planes outer wing covering on. It's smaller (so it's more maneuverable, to get into tight corners) and has an adjustable heat setting system so you won't burn the stripping material. Get a good one with a wooden handle, not plastic, and it should last for decades being used for projects like this.
I love that the algorithm-focused titles of these types of videos assume that your time isn't valuable at all and that the tools are free. I wish the creators didn't have to do that to maintain relevancy within youtube. The expertise and knowledge in this video is fantastic sans clickbait.
Three tricks I learned from a cabinet maker for pocket holes in particle board is to dowel it as well, for the alignment mostly in that case but still for strength, set your drill depth a heavy 1/32” or 1/16” shallow, and use a drill driver to drive the screws. It’s a better way to ensure you don’t blowout the hole and impacts tend to over tighten pocket holes
FYI the black stuff on the board that likes to chip out _is_ the melamine. The boards you're using are properly called "melamine faced particle board".
Wanted a storage unit for my new office (wardrobe sized) - drew it in SketchUp and priced up the materials. Ikea version was exactly the same price, without needing to finish it with a durable paint. Melamine version would have been way more money. Saved hours of work so that's what I went for. Every time I look at it however, I know mine would have been better quality.....
I'm a soon-to-be homeowner for the first time, so the timing on this video is spot on! Haha. (Although, I've been watching your channel for years now). Nice one
Built two book shelves the same way. Came out great and saved about $270. Plus, I like to build stuff too! Love the look of the black with the big doors.
The only time I used pocket holes on particle board it was edge banded with the thick, 2mm ABS stuff. I had no problems with it. It was also the only time I chose particle board deliberately. I had it cut and banded at the local Hobby woodworking place, so I didn't have to deal with the dust. The visible edge needed to be durable, and I just had them band it all-around to keep the formaldehyde smell in as well.
You can also rent most tools and get large pieces of wood precut if buying isn’t an option for you at the moment or if you’re not sure if projects like these are your cup of tea
Any tips on how you'd color the inside of the (empty) pin holes, so they're not as visible against the dark color of the material? Some sort of light sanding of the exposed particle + regular paint?
I'm thinking cover the area with masking tape before drilling the holes, and then use a little brush with paint to colour inside of them before removing the tape
Nice remake, Bob~! I don't work with melamine much, but was wondering... When drilling your shelf pin holes, would running a strip of tape along the line of where the holes are going minimize chip-out? I've used tape when using my Skilsaw the few times I've cut down melamine pieces, but have never tried it when drilling holes. Thanks for the project~!
Edge banding before assembly is easier to clean all ends and edges. I personally prefer billy doors because opening them does not require much space. I have a double wide and a single wide billy bookcases, both with glass doors. Billy book case is kinda expensive mostly due to the glass doors. Case only is not a lot. Liatorp bookcase with glass doors is so much nicer. I have a pair of white and a pair of grey ones.
use tape, do scoring cuts, use a proper blade for melamine, or at least set the height correctly, this will prevent most of the chipping, it is a bit finicky, but it's worth it in the end.
as wonderful as it is you could have also made to bench like cupboards and sit them on top of each other by adding 1 extra sheet of wood that way in the future you could split to two to ground level which then would great a long bench top for more display items
glass and acrylic have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. acrylic is better in some areas, actual glass (tempered or not) is better in other areas. for example, glass is more scratch resistant but it is rigid and brittle while acrylic is more crack and shatter resistant but it can be scratched easier than glass.
Beautiful project I need to buy the Alex drawer set from IKEA and they don't ship that specific item to my area. If you could do that one next I'd buy those plans for sure!
I'm pretty sure the back panel is not cardboard, but masonite. Has been in all my furniture. It even says in the Billy product description that the back is painted HDF. And, the black boards you have there, as you said, are particle boards, with melamine coating. (Melamine is a plastic) It's the thin black melamine coating that's chipping off when you cut the board. ;)
He is definitely pronouncing it cardboard with a very hard K. And masonite is not compressed cardboard. It's wood pulp and water, heated up and pressed together so the lignin glues everything together. No extra glue or any other additives.
@@madmoddersNo, he's saying hardboard (just went back and checked!). He also introduces it by saying "this stuff is called hardboard", which he would be unlikely to do if it was cardboard because everyone has heard of that! Hardboard and Masonite are the same thing, in fact Masonite is a word I only recognise because of RUclips, hardboard is the normal name where I live. I'm guessing Masonite is a brand name. Anyway you're right that it's not just sheets of compressed cardboard, it's basically a denser version of MDF.
@@cooperisedof course he says hardboard when he shows the hardboard. In the beginning where he talks about the blue Ikea one, he says the back is made of blue cardboard. 0:55
There's one aspect is that I can bring the Ikea version home in a small Toyota Corolla or similar "commuter car", as there's no 4x8 sheets that go on my roof that you hope don't rip off on the drive home
Was the hard board strong enough to support the batwing or did you need to add more ? I use modified garage shelves for my displays and have been thinking about mounting my batwing instead of using the stand.
Can I ask you how long this took in total? I'm not planning to do it right now and I imagine I'd take at least 50% longer given my inexperience, but it'd be nice to know if this would take a weekend or take a month or evenings when deciding whether to try it. Also, on the tools thing, I really appreciate that you often point out where your more expensive tools like the Miter and table saws can be replaced by less expensive options like a circular saw, provided you're more careful and take your time. There's also plenty of places for renting the more expensive tools, at least in the places I've been in in the US. The local library has cordless drills and a laser cutter to use, there's a maker space that has tools included with a $75 a month subscription near me, and Home Depot will let you rent a Miter saw for $25 a day. I know that some or all of those options aren't available to everyone for a variety of reasons, but it's nice that there are ways to do one off projects without needing to make your own workshop
Talking about the cost of tools. I know a lot of people bash it, but the best thing I've found is buy the cheap version of the tool at harbor freight, if you use it often enough that it breaks or shows signs of wear, buy the expensive version, if not the cheap version will do just fine for what you need. Don't need $20,000 worth of tools if you only use them once every 6 months and only spent $100 on it.
In many cases a dowel joints are stronger then just screws but that won’t be the case using melamine. A dowel joint is strong because the dowel increases the gluing service area. In melamine the glue will not hold so your only gluing area is the dowel itself. Dowels alone are not strong it’s the combination of the dowel and the entire joint being glued.
There is really no way that the savings in material offset the non-chargeable cost of doing the work, but what is factual is that you got exactly what you want at no reduction in quality, and that's worth something for sure. In fact, it's the major advantage of DIY. Design is almost always a compromise. Ikea limits what you can have to what they designed. You don't have that limitation. Any complaints I may have about your final product are a reflection of my bias, not of your accomplishments. Justifying the project on the basis of cost is a non-starter. You did a lot of non-recurring effort ( procurement, prep, repair, transportation of materials at a nominal $1/mile,, etc.) that by rights should be costed for comparison of these alternatives, and there are other costs.). However, you got exactly what you wanted and the VALUE of that exceeds having to settle for something that isn't quite what you want. I recently did a large picture window for a Victorian house and used acrylic, too, which has dozens of times the impact resistance, fractions of the weight, a ton more safety, better clarity, and no tendency to yellow over time. It's superior to glass in every way, and to boot, makes installation vastly easier due to reduced weight and the zero danger of having it fall during the process due to the weight being so much less. Great material for these apps. There's a tendency to scratch and some restrictions on cleaning fluids, but it's a great alternative. Good job on the cabinet and great job on your video. Was enjoyable to watch.
Labor cost can only be a factor when you’re making it for someone else. If you enjoy making things then don’t try to figure out your hourly rate on things you make for yourself
If I were to make a shelving unit this size, I would make a 1x2 frame and skin it with hardboard inside and out and paint the whole thing. It would give the solid appearance and not hold as much weight, but it would be vastly cheaper, and for just a display case, it should work just fine as long as you don't overload it.
I like how you do ads for your sponsors. Most of the RUclips content I consume is similar to yours. I wish others would keep the content going during the ad.
Honestly, if you want to take tools into account. The materials and some of the tools you'll need are about the same price altogether. Around 550. With 200 to spare of the 350 you can easily get a cheap circular saw and a router. Taking into account that you have at least a drill. Maybe some of the jigs would make things over the 550 price range, but they're always good to have.
Hey, I love your channel so take it as a feed back only. You havent added cost of labour, how long it took to plan it on pc, build it etc, also space - you have to have sopace for all tools, if you live in flat like me and my family, it is impossible to keep all this tools. but I love what you do and keep up great work, I use masking tape to prevent chiipping. it helps a bit. Cheers
If you include time, IKEA will always be cheaper, 100% of the time, and by a wide margin. But if you enjoy it as a hobby, or if you live somewhere where you don't have many opportunities to turn spare time into money, I think it makes sense to ignore that part of the cost.
I don't know if this will work for melamine but when I used to cut wood with a veneer if I put down masking tape first over where I was going to cut it would stop chip out.
IKEA seems to be in a race to the bottom on the quality of the panels they make their stuff from - thinner, less dense, generally crappier. It - used - to be quite good quality, in some parts of Europe people rent bare apartments and are expected to provide even the kitchen cupboards and fixed appliances - IKEA kitchens used to be able to be dis assembled and moved to a new place at least 3-4 times without needing to replace major parts. Now you are lucky to get the things together, out of the box without some panels having failures around the fastening holes, corners and grooves, let alone being able to take them apart and re assemble them. Look at the descriptions - the panel coverings are now listed as 'foil', not Melamine, and there is a definite difference. Of course, this was when IKEA made their stuff largely in Europe rather than 'off shoring' it to some small Asian country where labour and environmental standards don't apply. I still buy stuff from IKEA, but its increasingly metal and plastic items, not wood related products.
Hi Bob. Great project. I love the AR stuff with your 3d models youve been doing. Are you able to share how thats done. Thanks. Keep up the awesome content.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Use code MAKESTUFF50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box at bit.ly/47nrvdM #sponsored
Love you vids, I have been a long subscriber, I have a suggestion for the next video anyway you can make an ice chest like those Yeti ones❤❤❤❤❤
Your videos are incredibly helpful and informative and thanks to you and the way you break projects down I took on a few of my own.
I started making skateboards by using a 3d printed mold that I designed. I have done a few other projects as well but that has been the best by far because it has helped taken my skateboard business to the next level and it’s an incredible opportunity to learn and use a 3d printer! Thank you and keep up the great videos!
I like to make stuff 😏 I love making technique and one day you can show me.
Wouldn't they add another 80 bucks or so for delivery? Otherwise you'd have to get it in store yourself...
I invested about 4000 in tools and built most of my furniture (and the extended family) myself; it's channels like yours that inspire, thank you!
Unless you only use a tool for one project it seems unreasonable to apply the entire cost to that project. Maybe the most reasonable is to use the rental cost of those tools if it's not a tool you'll be able to use for a lot of projects.
@@JeffDM Yeah, in my case I completely renovated a house and built all furniture myself, then went on to the in-laws; if I would divide it per usage, I would say my cost for building a cabinet like that is material + $12 & time
Considering that the nearest Ikea is about 4 hours away... and shipping on these things is outrageous... I like the DIY approach. :)
I think the closest Ikea to me is 6 hours away.
about 2 hours 30 minutes ish for me if there was no traffic
I think with the plans available I could build several in the time it takes to drive to the nearest IKEA and have time left over that I wouldn't also spend on the way back.
@@tiffanysandmeier4753 most likely haha
@BenCos2018 not that I drive that way just for IKEA. I went once, but that was during a vacation to that city. There was 1 thing that I really wanted, and we were basically right there, i.e. Lack table 3d printer enclosure. This was in 2017/8. I don't remember exactly when, so it has been a while.
A couple tips for cleanly cutting and drilling melamine; for cutting on a table saw, use a high tooth count, sharp blade and make a short pass into the bottom side of the material before cutting all the way through. For cutting on a miter saw, I've found that using a knife to cut through the melamine layer first pretty much eliminates the chipout. For drilling, I start a little slower, mostly letting the drill do the work until i'm through the melamine. You can also use masking tape or zero-clearance jigs to help with any of these issues as well.
Painter's tape is also an option. It is so weird that the little bit of adhesive and paper is enough to help with most chipout, but a sharp blade is a must.
@@tiffanysandmeier4753 It really is kinda crazy. The first time someone suggested it I thought they were messing with me
The way you integrate your ad while continuing your build video is great. I wish more people did that instead of cutting into their video. And love the cabinet, of course.
Great point. I agree completely.
Personally I prefer it being a separate thing since if I want to see what he's doing then I'm forced to listen to an ad I don't want to listen to.
If it's separate I can just skip forward.
@@AntiViGames I guess you could mute it and just watch the build. That way Bob gets the watch time and the sponsor is happier, and you don't have to listen to the ad... win-win? Although Bob's ads are about the least obnoxious on RUclips, so I don't mind watching them.
@@AntiViGamesThe add is where I remember to take the time to like the video and usually make an early impression comment. If viewers want to watch great content, tolerating a few minutes of adds from the creator during a video is a small price to pay.
melamin chips way less if you do a scoring pass first. many tracksaws have a feature for that. basically, set your saw to a very shallow cut, so the top side of the melamin gets cut at a steeper angle, making it less likely to tear out.
professional saws for melamin have a scoring blade on it, that cuts in the opposite direction, to pretty much get rid of tearout. Festool very recently even released a tracksaw that has a scoring blade that works lovely. it is pricy, but if you do a lot of melamin work, its worth it.
I was about to say the same thing!
painter's tape helps with chipping on drilling
Sharpie doesn't really look like black. It has more of a dark purple tint to it. We used Mohawk stain pens at the furniture retailer I worked for. They cost a lot more but are worth it if you are doing a lot of projects.
The inside holes aren't going to be as noticeable but I would definitely get something like the stain pens for other blemishes..
True, plus Sharpies are dye-based. They'll fade in all sorts of weird ways. Stain, paint, or a bunch of little black plastic pegs to hide the unused holes are the way to go.
I agree with your comments about the tools. I made quite a bit of furniture with a handsaw, nails, hammer and sandpaper. I was married probably 5 years before I could afford a circular saw and a hammer. We still have every piece of furniture that I made and it held up 40+ years.
As a programmer that predominately writes things in C, I completely agree about the cost of tools. Over time you build up your collection of tools until you have a complete workshop and over that period of time you'll do more and more projects. The cost is very much distributed across every project you do. In my case I write a lot of my own tools and the cost is my time, which has some value to me and a significant amount more to my clients.
The one complaint I have with this project is the materials. Melamine coated MDF is basically glue and saw dust wrapped in plastic. All the stores around me show a price of around $40-ish per 4'x8' sheet, and for a few bucks more per sheet you can get hardwood plywood in a 1/2 inch thickness. While it would push the cost over the melamine coated MDF, I would also splurge for the glass. And stain instead of black paint would also look better.
Just did almost the same thing here, in fact today is final sanding and paint day. 3 "billy-bobs" (that's what I will call the home made ones). MUCH better materials (cabinet grade birch ply, poplar face frames). Not cheaper than normal Billy's but definitely much better! Thanks for sharing Bob!
I think we need to canonize that name for diy Billy bookshelves! Lol Billy-bobs for the win!
Great idea on the 3D printed retaining clip!
Thanks! They worked really well.
Should also 3D print some small black pegs to put in all the unused shelf pin holes, looks bad as is
Awesome build, another good thing to keep in mind with melamine is it's edges are super sharp.i used to work at a lumber yard and we always made sure to wear gloves when moving big sheets around since its slippery and the edges are like razor blades when freshly cut
Can you make that fit into a flat 12x 78 box? 😂❤
If you put some masking tape over the partical board where you're cutting/drilling, it will decrease the amount of chipping
Apparently, scoring also helps.
just use a proper sawblade. i recommend festool. there is no chipping with a sharp festool blade
If you exclude the doors, you can build this with a drill and and a tape meassure. Most hardware stores (at least in germany) will cut you your wood to the asked dimensions. For the doors you could use a router. Tablesaws are expensive (and scary) for beginners.
If you're doing something like this you should check with a local glass supplier (not a big box store), or even on-line glass companies. When I made my 3D printer cabinet I bought large (something like 24x34, might be larger) custom cut panes of tempered glass for way less (like less than half) than plexiglass. Maybe the market is different where Bob is but I've always found that plexiglass is considerably more expensive when compared to real glass (at least if you look in the right places). Plus, plexi scratches if you look at it wrong... glass is way more robust, especially for something like a display cabinet where you want a clear view.
I found as well if you apply some painter tape (paper tape) over the holes you want to drill, it helps quite a lot with the chipping problem.
Bob, this was a really good project video. Being a professional cabinetmaker this a great way for a DIYer to get all the benefits without the added costs. Great job!
Some people never understand that there's not only the satisfaction of building something yourself, but there's also the option of changing it exactly to your liking. Especially in those edge case situations, that's worth all your tools' weight in gold, because you just can't get what you need from a store, and having it custom made is probably more expensive than all your tools combined.
Sure, if you build _exactly_ the same as what you can buy, you have to start wondering if it's worth it. If you enjoy it though, that's enough reason to do it. Other people pay to do the things they like, creators can actually save money doing what they like.
Perfect opportunity to use the pocket hole jig to drill dowel holes with a normal/long drill bit. Also I loved your RBF without your mask during the Factor ad. Glad you mentioned it.
Instead of using a Sharpie that can leave a sort of iridescence, use an india ink art marker. We used those in a frame shop I worked at to touch up black frames. It dries fairly matte and without that purple tint.
2:24 You’re absolutely right about not needing the best tools to complete the job. I honestly believe starting with mostly hand tools and only using that for a while can make a better carpenter than someone who has thousands of dollars of tools but doesn’t know how to use them properly. I’ve built a lot of furniture back in the day with just a hand saw and a cheap drill.
100%. i renovated the first room in my house with a cheap circular saw i got on sale at HD, a hand me down cordless drill and a drywall square w/utility knife.
I usually start inexpensive, something rated pretty decently for the price category. sometimes the second cheapest tool I find. If I use it enough to wear it out then it's probably worth upgrading.
Perhaps you could paint the holes for the shelves black as well, so they're not as noticeable. I guess one way you could do that is to put down some butcher block paper, and secure it down with strips of masking tape. The masking tape should be in lines where the dowel jig is going to go. Then you cut the dowel holes through the masking tape, spray black paint, and voila.
Going by your face during the tablesaw cuts, not only in this video, you should build a boom arm with a bladeguard including dust collection. Mask or not, this should help a lot.
For people who complain about the tools, you can make money-saving projects from just a few cheap tools in invest your saved money on more tools and work your way up.
I did and express version of this by saving over $2,000 installing my own kitchen cabinets with a few very basic tools. That paid for all the tools I use on projects after that.
Great job, I love the economics of saving $200 to store $5k in lego😂. I have similar problems😅
Same here! Now he has 200 more to buy legos
Hey! Love you videos! Instead of using a Sharpie to cover up small spaces of blow out, (it tends to have a purple-ish sheen) use a black whiteboard marker. It works a charm for all those little blowouts. :)
And if your black whiteboard marker turns out purple too, like mine, just mix some rubbing alcohol into the charred bones of your enemies. Wipe it into the cracks with your fingers while chanting "kali maa shakti de", repeatedly until poof, the gaping hole in your captive's chest cavity bursts into flames and those pesky chips in your Billy shelf clone's melamine vanish along with his still beating heart.
@sklikizos lol. Someone called this the Billy Bob. Sounds completely redneck, but it has both the original name and the creator, so I like it.
Have you tried putting masking/painters tape on top of the melamine before cutting or drilling? I've used it with worktop surfaces that are similar and it avoids the chipout. For doors that lack substantial bulk I'd be tempted to add a couple of small magnets on the handle side to keep them in place. That way they close more firmly, useful if you don't expect to open it that often since it will help avoid gaps at the top/sides where dust can get in.
Nice to see Jimmy's ghost pop in to say hi at 14:34! Great project Bob!
Building furniture may occur at a far lower frequency than cooking but one could make the same argument that you can always almost order a single meal (or maybe even a few ) at a restaurant for less than it would cost you to buy all the kitchen equipment and ingredients and make it yourself. Most of us however think it is perfectly reasonable to invest in kitchen equipment where the cost is distributed across a long time. Making things is really no different. If you think you're only going to do it once then sure, the cost might not make sense but if it's going to become a lifelong pursuit, even if only a few times a year then it's totally worth it. Plus you have to decide how you want to value the feeling of accomplishment and the fact that when you need something, you now have choices that extend beyond choosing which pre-manufactured retailer you want to purchase from.
Pocket dowels. Use a regular drill bit in your pocket hole jig. Pound in dowels with glue. Cut flush. The different color wood from the dowel adds a little style.
When drilling into the melamine have you tried reverse drilling? I use it to drill into tile. Start by reverse drilling to create a punch, then forward drill to pass. It’s helped me out a few times.
2:12 Honestly, as someone who's used a circular saw in an apartment a few times, almost more important than the tools is having a shop. But yeah, tools are an investment, but even without all the tools or the space it's still possible to make stuff, just might take longer or not look as perfect
If you have a scrap piece of peg board laying around you can make a great jig for drilling the pin holes for a shelf.
I noticed you used a laundry style iron for your stripping. Might I suggest you invest in a hobbyists' iron. It's used to put radio control planes outer wing covering on. It's smaller (so it's more maneuverable, to get into tight corners) and has an adjustable heat setting system so you won't burn the stripping material. Get a good one with a wooden handle, not plastic, and it should last for decades being used for projects like this.
oh yeah, I've seen those! Thanks for the recommendation!
I love that the algorithm-focused titles of these types of videos assume that your time isn't valuable at all and that the tools are free. I wish the creators didn't have to do that to maintain relevancy within youtube. The expertise and knowledge in this video is fantastic sans clickbait.
Good stuff! Thanks Ya'll!
Very nice, lots of good tips to create my own (in a smaller scale) for my home container! Thanks for sharing!
I have a Billy bookcase and while assembling it thought "I could make this" lol... Home Depot has pre-drilled meline shelving too
Your videos always bring enjoyment. Thanks for your creativity! 🥳👏
Three tricks I learned from a cabinet maker for pocket holes in particle board is to dowel it as well, for the alignment mostly in that case but still for strength, set your drill depth a heavy 1/32” or 1/16” shallow, and use a drill driver to drive the screws. It’s a better way to ensure you don’t blowout the hole and impacts tend to over tighten pocket holes
FYI the black stuff on the board that likes to chip out _is_ the melamine. The boards you're using are properly called "melamine faced particle board".
Hey Bob, just wanted to say good luck with the changes going on. I always enjoy your content and podcasts. Best Wishes- Pip
Wanted a storage unit for my new office (wardrobe sized) - drew it in SketchUp and priced up the materials. Ikea version was exactly the same price, without needing to finish it with a durable paint. Melamine version would have been way more money. Saved hours of work so that's what I went for. Every time I look at it however, I know mine would have been better quality.....
It is the trade-off.
Gotta love the security squint! 3:49
Particle board sawdust is specially bad for your lungs as it contains glues, use a respiratory mask when handling those cuts :)
That's really good to know. I wouldn't use particle board unless absolutely necessary.
Bob said that.
I'm a soon-to-be homeowner for the first time, so the timing on this video is spot on! Haha. (Although, I've been watching your channel for years now). Nice one
Built two book shelves the same way. Came out great and saved about $270. Plus, I like to build stuff too! Love the look of the black with the big doors.
The only time I used pocket holes on particle board it was edge banded with the thick, 2mm ABS stuff. I had no problems with it. It was also the only time I chose particle board deliberately. I had it cut and banded at the local Hobby woodworking place, so I didn't have to deal with the dust. The visible edge needed to be durable, and I just had them band it all-around to keep the formaldehyde smell in as well.
You can also rent most tools and get large pieces of wood precut if buying isn’t an option for you at the moment or if you’re not sure if projects like these are your cup of tea
Any tips on how you'd color the inside of the (empty) pin holes, so they're not as visible against the dark color of the material? Some sort of light sanding of the exposed particle + regular paint?
I'm thinking cover the area with masking tape before drilling the holes, and then use a little brush with paint to colour inside of them before removing the tape
Nice remake, Bob~! I don't work with melamine much, but was wondering... When drilling your shelf pin holes, would running a strip of tape along the line of where the holes are going minimize chip-out? I've used tape when using my Skilsaw the few times I've cut down melamine pieces, but have never tried it when drilling holes. Thanks for the project~!
would painter's tape on the drilling/cutting surface help prevent chipout of the chipboard?
On stuff like the melamin boards, tape the location where you drill with painters tape. that really helps with the tear out
Edge banding before assembly is easier to clean all ends and edges. I personally prefer billy doors because opening them does not require much space. I have a double wide and a single wide billy bookcases, both with glass doors. Billy book case is kinda expensive mostly due to the glass doors. Case only is not a lot.
Liatorp bookcase with glass doors is so much nicer. I have a pair of white and a pair of grey ones.
Good to see a real practical build.
When sawing or drilling into Melamine or formica use low tack tape and drill/saw through that. It cuts down on blowout and chipping dramatically.
use tape, do scoring cuts, use a proper blade for melamine, or at least set the height correctly, this will prevent most of the chipping, it is a bit finicky, but it's worth it in the end.
as wonderful as it is you could have also made to bench like cupboards and sit them on top of each other by adding 1 extra sheet of wood that way in the future you could split to two to ground level which then would great a long bench top for more display items
Bro loves inhaling saw dust and taking hearing damage fr fr 💯 😅😅👆
glass and acrylic have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. acrylic is better in some areas, actual glass (tempered or not) is better in other areas. for example, glass is more scratch resistant but it is rigid and brittle while acrylic is more crack and shatter resistant but it can be scratched easier than glass.
I want to know if the Bob cabinet still would have been cheaper if he bought tempered glass.
@@drippingwax i'm not the one to ask. i don't know anything about glass prices on the other side of the atlantic.
if you run the drill bit on the shelf pin jig backwards first it will eliminate that blowout
Love the "Gluey" glue bottle. 😂 I see that you are a man of taste!
Love the video how did you integrate the lights into the bookcase without showing wires
Beautiful project I need to buy the Alex drawer set from IKEA and they don't ship that specific item to my area. If you could do that one next I'd buy those plans for sure!
I'm pretty sure the back panel is not cardboard, but masonite. Has been in all my furniture. It even says in the Billy product description that the back is painted HDF.
And, the black boards you have there, as you said, are particle boards, with melamine coating. (Melamine is a plastic) It's the thin black melamine coating that's chipping off when you cut the board. ;)
He is definitely pronouncing it cardboard with a very hard K. And masonite is not compressed cardboard. It's wood pulp and water, heated up and pressed together so the lignin glues everything together. No extra glue or any other additives.
@@madmoddersNo, he's saying hardboard (just went back and checked!). He also introduces it by saying "this stuff is called hardboard", which he would be unlikely to do if it was cardboard because everyone has heard of that!
Hardboard and Masonite are the same thing, in fact Masonite is a word I only recognise because of RUclips, hardboard is the normal name where I live. I'm guessing Masonite is a brand name. Anyway you're right that it's not just sheets of compressed cardboard, it's basically a denser version of MDF.
@@cooperisedof course he says hardboard when he shows the hardboard. In the beginning where he talks about the blue Ikea one, he says the back is made of blue cardboard. 0:55
There's one aspect is that I can bring the Ikea version home in a small Toyota Corolla or similar "commuter car", as there's no 4x8 sheets that go on my roof that you hope don't rip off on the drive home
Was the hard board strong enough to support the batwing or did you need to add more ? I use modified garage shelves for my displays and have been thinking about mounting my batwing instead of using the stand.
Poster board behind batwing. Dark blue or something to stand it out subtly. Cloudy night sky.
Looks great Bob!
Can I ask you how long this took in total? I'm not planning to do it right now and I imagine I'd take at least 50% longer given my inexperience, but it'd be nice to know if this would take a weekend or take a month or evenings when deciding whether to try it.
Also, on the tools thing, I really appreciate that you often point out where your more expensive tools like the Miter and table saws can be replaced by less expensive options like a circular saw, provided you're more careful and take your time. There's also plenty of places for renting the more expensive tools, at least in the places I've been in in the US. The local library has cordless drills and a laser cutter to use, there's a maker space that has tools included with a $75 a month subscription near me, and Home Depot will let you rent a Miter saw for $25 a day. I know that some or all of those options aren't available to everyone for a variety of reasons, but it's nice that there are ways to do one off projects without needing to make your own workshop
I would believe that with a second person assisting with assembly, it would be a weekend project.
Great build once again! Melamine can be a pain to work with, especially for the chipout and the sharp edges that will cut your hands... well done!
You did a great job on that cabinet. Very well done.
Talking about the cost of tools. I know a lot of people bash it, but the best thing I've found is buy the cheap version of the tool at harbor freight, if you use it often enough that it breaks or shows signs of wear, buy the expensive version, if not the cheap version will do just fine for what you need. Don't need $20,000 worth of tools if you only use them once every 6 months and only spent $100 on it.
In many cases a dowel joints are stronger then just screws but that won’t be the case using melamine. A dowel joint is strong because the dowel increases the gluing service area. In melamine the glue will not hold so your only gluing area is the dowel itself. Dowels alone are not strong it’s the combination of the dowel and the entire joint being glued.
I would use roo glue, used it years ago when assembling cabinets in the shops I worked.
You have a knack for coming out with videos about the things I just purchased a week prior XD. Great work though!
Did something similar recently on my channel with a desk and I don’t have fancy tools! Grateful for what I do have. You can do it too 😁
There is really no way that the savings in material offset the non-chargeable cost of doing the work, but what is factual is that you got exactly what you want at no reduction in quality, and that's worth something for sure. In fact, it's the major advantage of DIY. Design is almost always a compromise. Ikea limits what you can have to what they designed. You don't have that limitation. Any complaints I may have about your final product are a reflection of my bias, not of your accomplishments. Justifying the project on the basis of cost is a non-starter. You did a lot of non-recurring effort ( procurement, prep, repair, transportation of materials at a nominal $1/mile,, etc.) that by rights should be costed for comparison of these alternatives, and there are other costs.). However, you got exactly what you wanted and the VALUE of that exceeds having to settle for something that isn't quite what you want. I recently did a large picture window for a Victorian house and used acrylic, too, which has dozens of times the impact resistance, fractions of the weight, a ton more safety, better clarity, and no tendency to yellow over time. It's superior to glass in every way, and to boot, makes installation vastly easier due to reduced weight and the zero danger of having it fall during the process due to the weight being so much less. Great material for these apps. There's a tendency to scratch and some restrictions on cleaning fluids, but it's a great alternative. Good job on the cabinet and great job on your video. Was enjoyable to watch.
Labor cost can only be a factor when you’re making it for someone else. If you enjoy making things then don’t try to figure out your hourly rate on things you make for yourself
If I were to make a shelving unit this size, I would make a 1x2 frame and skin it with hardboard inside and out and paint the whole thing. It would give the solid appearance and not hold as much weight, but it would be vastly cheaper, and for just a display case, it should work just fine as long as you don't overload it.
Using a laminate blade and some brad point bits greatly reduces the chipping when cutting melamine.
The Gluey bottle is top notch, well done
I like how you do ads for your sponsors. Most of the RUclips content I consume is similar to yours. I wish others would keep the content going during the ad.
Anything that splinters or cracks easily on the surface, always reverse drill first before drilling in the right direction.
Those are some pretty awesome Lego sets Bob! I've been thinking about making something similar for some of the sets I have built over the years!
Honestly, if you want to take tools into account. The materials and some of the tools you'll need are about the same price altogether. Around 550. With 200 to spare of the 350 you can easily get a cheap circular saw and a router. Taking into account that you have at least a drill. Maybe some of the jigs would make things over the 550 price range, but they're always good to have.
Tightbond makes a melamine glue you could have used to make the cabinet a bit stronger at the joints
That Lego Batwing in the back of the case though......💥er ❤
Hey, I love your channel so take it as a feed back only. You havent added cost of labour, how long it took to plan it on pc, build it etc, also space - you have to have sopace for all tools, if you live in flat like me and my family, it is impossible to keep all this tools. but I love what you do and keep up great work, I use masking tape to prevent chiipping. it helps a bit. Cheers
If you include time, IKEA will always be cheaper, 100% of the time, and by a wide margin. But if you enjoy it as a hobby, or if you live somewhere where you don't have many opportunities to turn spare time into money, I think it makes sense to ignore that part of the cost.
What kind of screws should I use for wood fence?
Saturday mornings with Bob - yay!!
Good job!!! like all your other jobs :)
but , why didn't you use a mdf profiles for door frames. it's cheaper than soft wood
Ikea sells the hardware to join boards very cheaply. Good alternative to pocket holes.
I don't know if this will work for melamine but when I used to cut wood with a veneer if I put down masking tape first over where I was going to cut it would stop chip out.
IKEA seems to be in a race to the bottom on the quality of the panels they make their stuff from - thinner, less dense, generally crappier. It - used - to be quite good quality, in some parts of Europe people rent bare apartments and are expected to provide even the kitchen cupboards and fixed appliances - IKEA kitchens used to be able to be dis assembled and moved to a new place at least 3-4 times without needing to replace major parts. Now you are lucky to get the things together, out of the box without some panels having failures around the fastening holes, corners and grooves, let alone being able to take them apart and re assemble them. Look at the descriptions - the panel coverings are now listed as 'foil', not Melamine, and there is a definite difference. Of course, this was when IKEA made their stuff largely in Europe rather than 'off shoring' it to some small Asian country where labour and environmental standards don't apply. I still buy stuff from IKEA, but its increasingly metal and plastic items, not wood related products.
Great video again as always. And I wish Factor was in my country...
This is exactly what I needed rn! My partner just moved and he plans to get a new bookshelf just as big! We can make it instead!
Hi Bob. Great project. I love the AR stuff with your 3d models youve been doing. Are you able to share how thats done. Thanks. Keep up the awesome content.
Thanks! Check this www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/how-to-view-your-fusion-360-designs-in-ar-with-usdz-file-format/
I would have liked to see how you got it from your shop to the final location. Thats one big cabinet to have to haul up the stairs.
During the ad segment, when cutting the mdf, you did a few passes with your chopsaw.
Is there a benefit to doing a few passes vs one?
P.S. Hi Forby!
Typically no, but I found that it chipped the black melamine worse if I did it all in one cut.