I was able to get this project wrapped up and onto the wall.  I mounted it a bit higher than I would have normally so that in the future I can make a bracket under it to hang my drills from. It turns out a rotary sander is a really nice thing.  I have had a pad sander basically for ever and last year I asked for a rotary orbital sander.  This is the first time I have had a chance to use it and it was a very pleasant experience.  It turns out a bit of sanding can cover up all sorts of mistakes.

I ended up gluing and screwing this together.  The glue is surprisingly strong, I did not even need to put a back on it for rigidity, although I went ahead and used a piece of 1/8" plywood for the back anyway.  To cover up the screw holes I used a bit of spackle I had laying around.  It worked out better than you would have thought, although wood filler is probably the better choice.

I have been trying to work out how to finish my MDF cabinets.  I'm very intrigued by the idea of using osmo oil for a natural finish.  It is natural, has less VOC's and should be easy enough to touch up later if it gets scratched. However it is very expensive and not available at the regular hardware store.  I could use another type of oil finish, but they also are fairly expensive for MDF.  After googling around a bit I found a woodworker that uses water based latex paint to finish MDF.  He said the secret was to dry brush on the first layer very lightly to seal up the MDF and then add two thin layers on top of that.  I had a can of latex paint laying about so I decided to give it a try, and while it looks horrible at first, the end result was great.  He also suggested a very light hand sanding between the first and second coats to knock off the fibers.

The third coat really goes on nicely and it feels and looks like a professional paint job.  I put this all on with just a foam brush, but a foam roller would have worked better.  For the shelves I lightly sanded them then used a spray lacquer to seal them up. I thought the natural wood would contrast nicely with the painted cabinet.

This thing weighs in at around 50 pounds fully loaded and I really did not want it coming off the wall.  So in addition to using metal corner braces with screws through them to hold it onto the wall, I added a piece of wood under the cabinet for it to rest against with extra screws in it as well.  I figured the wood strip is stronger than the mdf and less likely to split under load.

I learned a lot in this initial project and with a bit of extra effort I think I could pull off a much larger build.  I need to force myself to finish the cabinet designs and spend a weekend in the garage coming up with new jigs to help cut wood more consistently, and then I think I'm ready for the big project.