A Case for the Party Stands (A Work-in-Progress Thread)

[Augusto Orosco]

Mike,

Your builds are always so well documented. I, for one appreciate them, and learn a lot from them. Can't wait for the marquetry part!

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Mike, I wish I could document a build process half as well. Your construction is top notch, looking great!!

[Mike Henderson]

A lot of other projects have gotten in the way of working on this chest so I don't have a lot to report. I did veneer the back of the drawer front (see later pictures) and I put the sides on the drawer. I used Dominos to attach everything.
TrayBox067.jpg

And here's a picture of one side in clamps.
TrayBox068.jpg

If you're really observant, you'll have noticed a real "oopsy" in this picture - I haven't put the plywood in the center of the drawer bottom and once I put the sides on, there's not room to get the router in to route the rabbet on the sides. I guess I just got accustom to seeing the drawer bottom without the center filled in. Anyway, I was able to route the front and back rabbets, but I had to cut the side rabbets by hand. I really couldn't get any rabbet planes in that area, nor a router plane. So I just chopped out those rabbets by hand.
TrayBox069.jpg

Here's the drawer put together with the plywood in the center and the drawer front attached. Note the veneer on the back of the drawer front. [Side note: the reason for no back on the drawer is that this drawer is intended for electronics associated with the TV. The back is open for ventilation and to run cables.]
TrayBox070.jpg

And here's the drawer in the cabinet. It's a bit too tight so I'll have to take a small amount off the sides. Shouldn't be a problem. [Side note: The drawer front still hasn't been cut to size yet.]
TrayBox071.jpg

Next, I'll install the drawer glides, then start on the doors.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

I'm just about finished with the drawer. I installed the glides, trimmed the drawer front (although it still needs a bit more trimming), and installed the lid supports.

Here's a picture of the drawer front, with the drawer front down.
TrayBox072.jpg

And a picture of the drawer pulled out all the way, with the drawer front down.
TrayBox073.jpg

And one with the drawer front up.
TrayBox074.jpg

A picture of the drawer fully retracted, and the drawer front up.
TrayBox075.jpg

And finally, a view from the rear, with the rear panel in place.
TrayBox076.jpg

[Added 7/23/2013] I roughed out the front doors today. They still need to be fitted and other things (veneer back, hinges, etc.), but I can finally see basically what the box will look like.

Here's a view from the front.

TrayBox077.jpg

And from the side.
TrayBox078.jpg


Mike

[Mike Henderson]

I made the doors today and rough fitted them. They still need some trimming to fit properly. I also need to put veneer on the backs and set the hinges. But here's what it looks like now.
TrayBox077.jpg

And from the side. It's starting to look like I imagined it.
TrayBox078.jpg

My wife encouraged me to make the inside veneer a bit more fancy so I re-veneered the inside of the drawer front. It's rough now but you can see that it's a half radial. I'll do a 16 piece radial match on the inside of the doors.
TrayBox079.jpg

Next is more work on the doors.

Mike

[Gary Muto]

...My wife encouraged me to make the inside veneer a bit more fancy so I re-veneered the inside of the drawer front. It's rough now but you can see that it's a half radial. I'll do a 16 piece radial match on the inside of the doors...

Nice touch! It will make you and/or her smile every time you open it. Your progress is blistering compared to my typical rate of progress. Thanks for sharing too!

[Mike Henderson]

I veneered the inside of the doors in a 16 piece radial match. Work on the cabinet is going to slow down for a while while I tackle another project that has to be done before mid-August.
TrayBox080.jpg

I'll try to get some work in on the cabinet between steps on the other project.

Next is more work on the doors, especially to fit them better and to install the hinges.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

(1 of 3 posts) I got a few things done since the last time I posted. The first thing I worked on was putting in the figure eight fasteners to attach the back. I used six figure 8 fasteners, three at the top and three at the bottom.
TrayBox081.jpg

In case anyone doesn't know what a figure 8 fastener is, here's a close-up picture. Note that the fastener is inset into the wood. This allows it to pull the back tight against the upper blade and the bottom.
TrayBox082.jpg

But there's a problem. The space between the blades is only about 2 1/4", a bit tight for me to get my hand in with a screwdriver. To screw the screws in the lower part of the figure 8 fastener, I'm going to use a drill extension I got from Lee Valley some time back on a whim. Just figured I'd need it one day. The extension gives me the length and the tool in the chuck is magnetic to hold the screw.
TrayBox084.jpg

But even with that, I want to make things easy so I put the back on and used a pencil to draw the inside circle of the lower part of the figure 8 fasteners.
TrayBox083.jpg

I then drilled a pilot hole in the center of each circle.

++++++++++++++++++
The next task was to install the hinges for the doors. I bought some Vertex hinges. While they're good hinges, they have a wide spread between the two wings.
TrayBox085.jpg

This is going to be a problem because I want the doors to be flush with the front of the cabinet. I'll have to inset the hinges to a depth deeper than the thickness of the wing.
To set the hinges, I decided where I wanted to put them and then held the hinge upside down, with the knuckle tight against the side of the door.
TrayBox086.jpg

Then I used knives and made a knife mark around the hinge.
TrayBox087.jpg

I used those knife marks as guides for a chisel and made stop cuts along the knife cuts.
TrayBox088.jpg

[More in the next post]

[Mike Henderson]

(2 of 3 posts) Then I used a router plane to route out the mortise for the hinge. The Lee Valley router plane is a great tool, very easy to adjust in small increments when working the mortise down.
TrayBox089.jpg

I set the hinges flush with the surface of the door. I'm going to inset the hinges deeper on the side of the cabinet.
TrayBox090.jpg

To drill the pilot holes for the screws, I just use a knife and make a mark in the center of the holes for the hinges. You could use a Vix type bit. Then I drill the pilot holes. Make sure you don't drill all the way through.
TrayBox091.jpg

With the hinges installed on the doors, I put the doors into position on the cabinet.
TrayBox092.jpg

Using knives, I mark the top and bottom of each hinge.
TrayBox093.jpg

It's a bit hard to see here, but there are two knife marks in the arris of the side of the cabinet.
TrayBox094.jpg

I then put the hinge in place, upside down with the knuckle against the side of the cabinet and mark the position with knives, just like before.
TrayBox095.jpg

Routing out the mortise is the same as the doors. I laid the cabinet down on its back to make it easier to work on.
TrayBox096.jpg

[More in next post]

[Mike Henderson]

(3 of 3 posts) In this next picture, I've only routed out the mortise to the depth of the wing. You can see how far the door stands away from the cabinet side. I went back and routed the mortises out deeper, until the door was flat against the front of the cabinet when closed.
TrayBox097.jpg

And here's a pictures of the doors installed. The doors are still too tight but the reveal between the doors is good - not too wide and of equal width top to bottom. I was satisfied.
TrayBox098.jpg

And here's the cabinet with the doors open.
TrayBox099.jpg

Next is to work on the top, getting it cut to size and putting the profile on it.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

The top has been cut to size (1.5" overhang) and a profile put on. I always have trouble selecting a profile - I sort of don't like any of them - but this one was chosen by the client (my wife).
TrayBox100.jpg

I have some cove molding to put under the overhang but I won't apply it until I attach the top. And I won't attach the top until I apply finish to the top and cabinet - which is my next tasks. I plan to get the cabinet completed except for the drawer front and doors so I can use the cabinet (in the house) while I'm working on the marquetry.

So next stop, sanding and finishing.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

I started finishing the cabinet. I used a wood filler on the top and sides, then sprayed dewaxed shellac, then water based lacquer. Here's a picture of the carcasses where I'm finishing one side. The blue tape is on it because I'm going to glue some cove molding under the top and I want bare wood to glue to.
TrayBox101.jpg

Here's a picture of the cabinet, finished and with the top attached, but without the cove molding.
TrayBox102.jpg

Here's a picture from the side.
TrayBox103.jpg

And a picture of the top. The mahogany will darken over time and come to a darker, richer color.
TrayBox104.jpg

Tomorrow, I'll add the cove molding. Then I need to start designing the marquetry for the front of the cabinet. I have some ideas, but I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do. The design will definitely incorporate white roses to blend with the coffee table that I made earlier for my wife. Either

Also, my wife wants me to put felt on the shelves so the trays don't slide wood-to-wood. I'll probably use double stick tape to hold the felt in place in the front and either double stick tape or staples in the rear.

Once I get all that done, I'll move the cabinet into the house and start using it while I work on the marquetry.

Mike

[Trevor Howard]

Great Thread Mike and thanks for documenting it.
One question, in the pictures above it appears there are holes behind where the hinges go? if that's true what are they for?

[Mike Henderson]

Great Thread Mike and thanks for documenting it.
One question, in the pictures above it appears there are holes behind where the hinges go? if that's true what are they for?

Thanks for your kind words, Trevor. If you mean the black blob in each hinge mortise, let me explain. On brass hinges, there's often small differences between hinges. For example, one wing may be a bit narrower than another. If they get switched around, the hinge wings will not fit as precisely as they did when you made the mortises. So when I take the hinges off, I mark them. I put a piece of blue tape with a number on it on the wing that came from that mortise and I put that same number inside the mortise. But, in this instance, I used a felt tip marker, and when I sprayed the shellac, the alcohol in the shellac caused the felt tip markings to run. I can still see the numbers in the blobs, but I should have used pencil.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

I got the cove molding installed below the top and put felt on each of the shelves so that the trays would slide in without wood-to-wood contact. To install the felt, I used double stick tape in the front and back. I put the felt on the front double stick tape first, then pulled it tight to the back.

This first picture gives a decent view of the cove molding, and shows the trays on their shelves.
TrayBox105.jpg

This picture gives a better view of the felt installed on each shelf. It was difficult to install because of how tight the shelves are.
TrayBox106.jpg

Next, I'll make spacers which will go behind the trays to prevent them from being pushed in too far. After that, I'll take the cabinet into the house and start using it while I work on the marquetry.

Mike