Shaker Wall Cabinet

A simple shaker style wall cabinet with hanging pegs.

 

 

Design

Wood Selection, Milling Wood

Carcase Assembly

Sanding, Finish Application

Hanging the Final Product

 

Design

This desigm is something of a variant of the Byrdcliffe cabinet reproduction that I made in poplar...

 

The design is meant to hang on the wall in Silas' room...in particular, the top of the cabinet will hold a Lego creation that is too large to go on the corner shelf.

 

Image of the cabinet without the oversized top plate.

 

Sides will have cross grooves for the shelf, top and bottom...with a back rebate for the back boards.
Back boards will be start on a ledge that is the bottom back plate and extend to the top.

Wood Selection, Milling

 

 

I purchased some 4/4 poplar stock from Larry at Heartwood in Star, MS.

Boards were 7+ inches wide and 10 feet long.

They surface planed both sides of the boards to 7/8 inch thick and jointed an edge.

Cindy and I cut the boards into 6 foot and 4 foot sections in the garage...

In the shop, further rough milling was done at the MFT3 table and the P66...
Oversized blanks are still fat...wood is ready to be planed to 3/4 and worked to final dimensions.
All stock was then planed to 3/4.
All boards were squared and then cut square to length using the crosscut sled.

Then I set up the Freud stack dado set to cut a 3/4" wide dado at 3/8" depth.

The crosscut was made with Incra mitre gauge with a stop.

I used no sacrificial fence.

 

These crosscut dado stack runs were made for the shelf groove and the carcase bottom groove.

The back edge of the side boards has a 1/2 inch rebate that is 3/8 inch deep.

To look at a new tool I looked at putting in a stopped rebate.

Played with it a bit to try out settings but due to time constraints I moved to another option.

I created the stopped rebate at the router table.

I dropped the left side board onto the router bit into the space of the bottom groove and then through routed out through the top edge.

The opposite was performed on the other board...routed the groove and then lifted out at the stopped rebate.

Here are the mirrored inner surfaces of the two side boards.

Each board has 3 cross grooves plus the back edge rebate.

The 5 slats for the back boards were ripped to ~6 inches...these boards were planed to a hair less than 1/2 inch...

I used a MLCS v-cut tongue and groove router bit set...

Carcase Assembly

The inside surfaces of the carcase elements were sanded and finished with shellac prior to glue up.

James and I started the glue up and clamped the carcase.

The lower compartment back panel went missing...we had to rip another panel...

 

...then we laid out and drilled the five 1/2 inch holes for the Shaker pegs...

...the panel was glued into the location...a piece of chamfered moulding was created that will cover screw holes when the cabinet is attached to the wall studs.

Then, to further secure the carcase, 1/4 inch holes were laid out and drilled for the oak dowels.

 

There are eight dowels per side...here glued up...
...flush cut...
...then planed...
...and sanded.

Four of the back boards go in as full units...the final back board will be trimmed.

I used some thin wood pieces as spacers...

Countersunk #6 x 1" square drive screws are put into the three cross pieces...the scres are centered in each back board to allow side to side expansion...

...the tongue and groove spacing will accomodate the expansion and contraction of the slats.

The last piece had to be planed to fit...
...some work was also required on the side rebate...used the LN medium shoulder plane.
Each side has a cutout relief at the bottom...marked this out two inches out and two inches down...
The cut was made a bit fat with the Carvex...
...then sanded to the line.
Quick look at the show side...had to clamp to hold upgright...exterior surfaces of the carcase are ready for sanding and a coat of shellac.
The top had a chamfer routed on three edges...
...some small strips were pinned onto the top to prevent the models from falling off the top...the top was attached to the cabinet with countersunk #6 x 1 inch square drive screws.
Sanding, Finish Application

Prior to carcase assembly, the interior surfaces were sanded with Rotex 150mm with a grit progression of 120x-220x

 

I padded on one coat of shellac...shop made with BT&C Amber flakes and Everclear 190 proof alcohol.

The Shaker pegs were also coated with shellac...here they are propped in their holes as they dry.

The outside carcase was sanded at 220x.

All of the front edges were sanded by hand and then coated with amber shellac...padded on.

Carcase surfaces all got one coat of amber shellac.
Hanging the Final Product

Screw holes were put through the 7/8 stock on the bottom back panel...these were 16 inches apart to go into the studs...the holes were countersunk and prepped for #8 x 3 inch square drive screws.

After the screws were in we double checked that the top would effectively hold "Destiny's Bounty", a Lego® Model.

 

After the lower screws went in...a top screw was angle driven...then the chamfer moulding was tacked in with 23g pins to cover the screw heads...
...and the shaker pegs were installed.
A very small dab of glue was put into the holes and Silas hammered in the Shaker pegs...
The finished, installed cabinet...
...in use.

 

 

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