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Thread: Walnut Cabinet

  1. #46
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    At thing point, since the dados are already cut they're the most practical solution. I suppose you could also do a blind tapered sliding dovetail with a housing but the dado is already fairly deep you might be making the case sides pretty thin at that area.

    Since you are this far along and adverse to visible joinery I might simply forgo any changes to the plan and just make a mental notation that in the future if it does move away you could use dowels and screws to bring it back together.

    I like tapered sliding dovetails a lot, they're especially practical in these sort of applications because they do not add to the stress of the glue up. So you glue up your dovetailed case, then after that's set you can start adding those dividers in, which allows you to fine tune them in terms of length and fit.

    My first sets of large case goods I had made them so that the caseback was integral and side joinery came together all at once, it was incredibly stressful, so after that, even for small projects I decided to start taking steps to make it much easier though admittedly more complicated in the planning stages.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    Here's the wood I'm using for the doors. Of COURSE, in my haste to get cutting, I forgot to trim the top and bottoms of the case to match the door width. I left them long by ~1", which means the opening is too wide for these doors to be fully overlaid as originally planned. So, I am now forced to make the doors inset. This is what I love about this hobby: you have to adapt to problems.

    I am uncertain where I'm going to cut the doors, but am sure that I'm going to work around the figure, not thru it. The challenge will be to make it feel organic while still being appealing.
    Suggestions welcome.
    The wood and figure is spectacular. I want to see these doors overlay mounted onto your cabinet virtually as-is. In fact, I'd love to see a cabinet that incorporated these doors as the main attraction. It might be too artsy and not so functional but my mental image is that it would be stunning. I guess what I'm saying is that it would be a shame to lose anything or distract from what you have of that material by just making a plain old inset frame and panel doors.

  3. #48
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    Finished dividers

    Finished the dividers. They're all dado'd. Against Brian's better judgment, I did not make through mortises. I should have dovetailed these into the sides, but hand cutting these dados and tongues was a first for me. Bite off only a *little* more than you can chew, I say!

    The dividers are American Beech from my back yard. It has a bad reputation for moving through the seasons, but I have not experienced that. Because of the small size, I just made the dividers full width instead of making a web frame.

    This cabinet is going to be a bit of a bumblebee. The proportions are not really appropriate for drawers; they'll be so shallow. I realize that between the drawer fronts and inset doors, I'll be losing even more usable space. So, I'm thinking about something creative if not that practical or conventional.

    I used a shooting board to tweak the depth. I recently purchased a Veritas Shooting plane. They should call it a 'cheating' plane because that's what it feels like. It takes effortless, perfect, full length shavings off the end grain. It's cheating because you don't have to cut square or to length. You just sneak up to your perfect fit. Between that the shoulder plane, joints are almost easier than with a machine. This plane has so much mass, it powers through effortlessly, even on what I'd consider thick shavings.
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    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 02-10-2016 at 8:43 AM.

  4. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    This cabinet is going to be a bit of a bumblebee. The proportions are not really appropriate for drawers; they'll be so shallow. I realize that between the drawer fronts and inset doors, I'll be losing even more usable space. So, I'm thinking about something creative if not that practical or conventional.
    What exactly did you have in mind for this cabinet? Was it all drawers? What was going to go into the drawers? It seems the purpose hasn't been all that clear, at least it doesn't come across that way. If it has now become such a bumblebee as you put it, is it time to re-think or re-start? Sometimes the first effort just has to be let go of in spite of the pain it causes to you if the end result doesn't meet expectations. Case in point, my daughter wanted a kitchen island with storage for cooking books and pots and pans and a large granite top and a towel rack and with wheels and etc, etc. Project scope creep turned a simple project into an aircraft carrier. I abandoned the effort because I didn't think it would be practical and that old carcass (hardwood plywood) still sits in my shop 3 years later as a reminder and place to set my clamps.

  5. #50
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    This is a decorative piece. If it has a good function, fine. if not, it'll be my own baby.

    I think I will use it for 'male baubles', like watches, my phone, some change, cuff links, collar stays. All the little doodads that are floating around my closet in random bowls and yogurt cups.

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    This is a decorative piece. If it has a good function, fine. if not, it'll be my own baby.

    I think I will use it for 'male baubles', like watches, my phone, some change, cuff links, collar stays. All the little doodads that are floating around my closet in random bowls and yogurt cups.
    That's cool - nothing wrong with experimenting for the sake of trying and learning. One thing for you to keep in mind that I wish I would have on a cabinet with drawers and inset doors was that the darn hinges I chose forced me to fully open the door (close to a full 180 deg) so that the drawers would actually clear the doors when pulled out (oops). I should have planned my drawers to be less than the full width of the door openings to compensate.

  7. #52
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    Pat brings up a good point, if you pull the drawers in a bit from the sides it will help with that, but this needs to be done with rabbeting and so forth.

    Looking good, I think taking small steps is a good way to go as well. Especially due to the small size of the cabinet.

    In the future you may find half-dovetailed connectors just as simple to produce....well just slightly more complicated.

    The shooting board is great and is one of the ways that make hand tooling a bit quicker than machinery (at this scale of production).
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #53
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    Thanks, Pat. I have heard of this problem and am already anticipating. I think I may go back to full overlay doors. Now, this will have the unconventional effect of creating a gap at the center. I am thinking of a way to use the drawer pulls to fill that negative space creatively. Full overlay doors will solve the clearance problem.

    Also, had I stuck with inset doors, I would have been forced to use recessed pulls on the drawers, since the drawer fronts would be right up against the door backs. This gets around that issue. As it is, the door shape will already not fully conceal the upper and lower drawers.

    Anyway, I love thinking about these things; even if it means the design ends up ill-conceived. It's like playing the lottery; just much more exciting.

    Aw, who am I kidding. I design on the fly this way because I stink at Sketchup.

  9. #54
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    Nice work Pashun. I have had some good luck setting my small LN router on a couple of drill bits, pushing the blade down on a flat surface and setting the stop then raising the blade up a little if needed.
    Jim

  10. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    All the little doodads that are floating around my closet in random bowls and yogurt cups.
    Your like MacGyver with Yogurt cups. You should write a book, 101 uses for yogurt cups .........enjoying the thread!
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 02-11-2016 at 10:05 AM.

  11. #56
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    Preventing pin breakage

    I am rabbeting the backs of the case pieces. I am deathly afraid of paring too aggressively and breaking the pins near the corners of the rabbeted recess.

    Because of this, I haven't chopped a good mark at the stopped end, which is causing blowout when I pare. I would like to rectify this before doing the other 3.

    What tricks do you have?

    Tools at my disposal: chisels, small router plane, patience.
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    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 02-09-2016 at 2:54 PM.

  12. #57
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    Prashun,

    Patience is true. Sharpen your chisel, make absolutely certain that you cannot feel a burr then when you pare that make sure the pin is backed it up with something solid. Take small trimming cuts (like paper thin or less).
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  13. #58
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    I can see backing the end grain, but how to back the inside of the pin?

  14. #59
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    Talking about paring to a sharp 90 degree corner on that rabbet, I am correct?

    I wouldn't expect that you would need to. The key is sharpness, and taking small cuts. What you don't want to do is lean into the cut like you would if you are trying to pare away in a normal cutout.

    Use a thin chisel also. I tend to lean heavily into cuts with wide chisels, so in light cuts I will stick to thinner chisels which I am normally more delicate with.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 02-09-2016 at 4:25 PM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  15. #60
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    To grip the inside of the pin - can you cut a backing block with the dovetail angle on one side and flat (square) on the opposite side? Use that backing block on the angled side of the pin (clamped to the flat side of the backing block) on one side of the pin and clamped across the pin to another backing block that registers up to the outside of the pin (rabbet side). With the delicate pin gripped between backing blocks on both sides, it should allow you to carefully pare away.
    David

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