Serendipity Cabinet

comments (3) October 13th, 2009 in Reader's Gallery

thumbs up 10 users recommend

Serendipity foot and corner detail. Purpleheart and maple
Birdseye face, purpleheart drawer side
Purpleheart face, maple drawer side
Maple face shows the fit of the drawers to the case.
Birdseye maple front detail
Serendipity foot and corner detail. Purpleheart and maple - CLICK TO ENLARGE

Serendipity foot and corner detail. Purpleheart and maple


Made with birdseye, maple, and purpleheart, 28"h x 25"w x17"d.

I named this cabinet because it began as a picture frame...after cutting some stepped strips for the frame I realized that they interlocked and slid with very little friction. I immediately thought 'drawer guides'. A few sketches showed the potential of a 4 sided  piece that could be different and functional. The drawers would work in a similar fashion to a stick matchbox. The drawers could also pull out and be reversed in the cabinet frame for multiple contrasts of wood and detail.

The function drove the design...columns are necessary to support the entire case structure which is through dovetailed and tenoned into the column mortise. Both the case and the drawers themselves become drawer guides. The case is a hollow beam structure untill the inserted drawers become sides. The effect is that nothing is wasted, each part of the whole is decorative as well as useful. the basic design took only an hour or two. Small details like the pulls and curved feet seemed to just pop onto the paper...serendipity!

Of course, during construction I was never sure if the work would actually function. The tricky parts were wood selection, tight tolerances, and the drawer dovetails where a normal side evolves into a drawer guide. It was also necessary to invent a reversible stop system so that drawers will close flush and not fall out, if desired. Carving the feet and pulls also had some challenges.

Thanks for looking!


Design or Plan used: My own design - Scott Stewart
posted in: Reader's Gallery, cabinet, chest of drawers


Comments (3)

DovetailGuy DovetailGuy writes: Nice Work.
Posted: 12:38 pm on October 20th

Jerbo Jerbo writes: Very nice. This design and craftsmanship is museum quality.

I am sure this will be copied... If I don't copy the exact design I will definitely copy the concept.

Good job.
Posted: 7:28 pm on October 15th

Ronbo442 Ronbo442 writes: Great piece. Excellent work.
Posted: 10:30 pm on October 14th

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