This cabinet was actually a 8″ deep extension jamb for a window. A pair of them had been tossed in the trash on one of the jobs I was working at as they did not fit the application they were intended for. They were poplar with grooves milled on the outer sides, typical of door jambs to prevent cupping. Bondo and milk paint were used on the case. Other woods are Yellow heart, curly birch, ebony veneer, south American[nogal] walnut, and some lightly quilted maple, basically whatever was laying around the shop. Turned out to be a fun quirky looking project.
Tom
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Tom,
Interesting project. The ones that I find most interesting are ones inspired by a certain piece of wood or hardware. In you case, the jambs. I especially liked the little detail of how you set the shelf in a sliding dovetail and cut out the front 1" or so, revealing the contrasting shelf wood in the cabinet sides, as seen in DSC00251.jpg.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Hey Chris, I must confess, the shelf is let into the sides using a sliding dovetail with no glue. The dovetail end that you see is slipped in after the case is painted and glued as well. This lets the yellow heart shelf expand and contract at its own rate ,independent of the poplar. Gluing only the front dovetail plug in ,forces the expansion to the rear of the cabinet against the 1/4 " back which is let into the case with a rabbit and held with screws. I put the screws through the 1/4" into the case and back edges of shelves staying clear of the dovetail way. My thinking is that the movement will push on the 1/4 back and be kept in check. Hope that makes sense.
I must mention that treasure chest on your site is nicely done , I love stuff like that. Keep up the good work and thanks for posting.
Tom.
I understand your technique gluing the front of the shelf in. With the back screwed to the bck of the shelves, are you expecting even expansion of the shelves and flexibility of the back so that there is never any gap between the back and shelves?Glad you liked my treasure chest and my site. I am nearing the final stages of my new site which is for my business. I hope to maintain both sites.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
The dovetail end that you see from the front essentially is a plug , not part of the shelf at all . The shelf has no glue at all , just a snug fit . As far as even expansion of the shelves, my concern and reason for this method has more to do with the dissimilar rate of expansion/contraction between the yellowheart an the poplar.
Tom.
Aha! The secret is exposed!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Tom.. I just LOVED the top you saved!
However the base and legs are not fitting... in my opinion only.
I do things like this all the time and really no hate here or dislike of your work which I feel is GREAT!
First picture tells me it should be as it is in that picture, nothing more. Maybe set into a old matching window opening that looks inside OR maybe even outside and folks that walk by wonder about how to open the door!
I hope I have not offended your beautiful work. Really nice!
None taken Will. As I stated it is a bit quirky to me as well. I tend to enjoy the process more than the actual finished piece most times, it is from the process that new ideas are spawned.
Anyhow, thanks for posting and hope those china dolls are keeping you busy.
Tom.
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