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Cabinet/Bookshelves

16K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  Bermuda_Les 
#1 ·
In the beginning there was darkness...

So after many years of promising the good woman I would build her some cabinet/bookshelves, I have finally begun that daunting task. I have never tackled a furniture project before, but having spent many years making custom presentation case for firearms, I thought I'd give it a try.

Here is a Stetchup drawing of kinda what I'm trying to achieve. The drawing lacks the doors that will be on the bottom cabinets and any molding trim top and bottom. But hopefully it will give you an idea. Material will be 3/4" Mahogany ply, and solid Mahogany for doors, trim, faceframe and moldings.

Furniture Table Rectangle Cabinetry Shelving


It's tricky to say the least to even get the wood I need for the project into the shop, much less build the project. So I have decided to split the project into two parts, the base including top, and the shelves. The units will be modular to allow for easy moving around the shop and transportation from my shop to my home (about 8 miles). The drawing above is of one cabinet/bookcase unit. Another make up the set to stand either side of the fire place. The overall dimensions will be Base (h=30", d=24", w=48") and shelves (h=60", d=12",w=45").
 

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#2 ·
And so it begins...

Here is the first half case of the base for one of the cabinet/bookshelves…

Vehicle Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Gas


And a little while later, along came another…

Computer desk Wood Floor Flooring Gas


Seeing as how I haven't totally screwed the entire project yet, I tried to get faceframes on the cases…

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


Well, so far so good… now we need to make the top. That should tax my limited skill set!! (pictures when the top is done)
 

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#3 ·
And so it begins...

Here is the first half case of the base for one of the cabinet/bookshelves…

Vehicle Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Gas


And a little while later, along came another…

Computer desk Wood Floor Flooring Gas


Seeing as how I haven't totally screwed the entire project yet, I tried to get faceframes on the cases…

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


Well, so far so good… now we need to make the top. That should tax my limited skill set!! (pictures when the top is done)
I'm about to embark on a VERY similar project for our home office. I hope mine looks half as good as yours. So far so good - keep posting - I'd really like to see how this turned out and what challenges you ran into.
 

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#5 ·
Can it be? I'm actually back on this project?

Well it's been almost two years since I stopped work on this project. A number of things combined to get in the way, not the least of which was a sale of the property where my workshop was. This really threw me for a loop, as for well over six months I had no workshop facility at all, until I finally built a vinyl 10' X 15' shed (see build blog elsewhere on this site).

Then there was a pergola to build and multiple chicken coops (also on this site), and now at long last I'm back on track. Any wonder why this project has taken over six years??? Anyway, this weekend I used a pony clamp to screw the two face frames together and bolted the two base units together. Once together, I gave them a good sanding, and then stained the insides of the base units. Because the units are mahogany, I have chosen a very dark stain called Java, which looks like the commercially applied stain used in mahogany furniture. In the pictures it appears black.

Wood Rectangle Plant Hardwood Wood stain


Once the insides were complete, I then stained the outsides…

Wood Floor Flooring Comfort Hardwood


I will likely tackle the doors next. Planning on doing rail and stile, tongue and groove doors. Hopefully pics of that progress next week.
 

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#6 ·
Can it be? I'm actually back on this project?

Well it's been almost two years since I stopped work on this project. A number of things combined to get in the way, not the least of which was a sale of the property where my workshop was. This really threw me for a loop, as for well over six months I had no workshop facility at all, until I finally built a vinyl 10' X 15' shed (see build blog elsewhere on this site).

Then there was a pergola to build and multiple chicken coops (also on this site), and now at long last I'm back on track. Any wonder why this project has taken over six years??? Anyway, this weekend I used a pony clamp to screw the two face frames together and bolted the two base units together. Once together, I gave them a good sanding, and then stained the insides of the base units. Because the units are mahogany, I have chosen a very dark stain called Java, which looks like the commercially applied stain used in mahogany furniture. In the pictures it appears black.

Wood Rectangle Plant Hardwood Wood stain


Once the insides were complete, I then stained the outsides…

Wood Floor Flooring Comfort Hardwood


I will likely tackle the doors next. Planning on doing rail and stile, tongue and groove doors. Hopefully pics of that progress next week.
Hello Les,

Good to see you are up and into it again.
Now with all of the number of things getting in the way the hurricane didn't rate a mention?

The cabinet is progressing well !!.
 

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#8 ·
Don't wanna come "un-hinged"...

So I've decided to tackle the doors for the cabinets next in this project. And while I'm at it, I'll do both doors necessary for this cabinet/bookcase.

I took down a nice piece of mahogany, and it's big enough that I can get two doors out of it. But before I start ripping the stiles and rails, I gave some thought to the type of hinges I would be using. After some consideration, I think European concealed hinges will work better in this application than the standard butt hinges.

European cup hinges are a breeze to install, once you have made all the fiddly measurements in half millimeters. It's a real nuisance to set out all the marks where to drill the cup and screw holes, but once you've done that the rest is easy. So based on that, I decided to make jig to make the placement of the hinge as easy as the installation.

I decided that a good placement for the hinges would be 4" from the top and bottom (there's seems to be no consensus on the best placement of cabinet hinges), so I"ll make my jig 8" long, with the holes at 4", so I can align the jig with the top or bottom of the door, and the placement will be spot on in both cases.

So I cut a small piece of mahogany 1/2" x 3/4" x 8", along with a small piece of yellow hard foam 2" x 8", I have kicking around for just these purposes. Could have used 1/4" ply, but yellow is so easy for my old eyes to see!!!

Wood Road surface Tool Automotive tire Asphalt


I then laid out the screw spacing to secure the yellow foam to the mahogany, and attached with small brass screws.

Rectangle Yellow Road surface Line Audio equipment


Yellow Wood Line Road surface Rectangle


I marked the jig at the 4" line, and carefully laid out the 20.5mm point for the center of the hinge cup.

Wood Wood stain Gas Tints and shades Hardwood


Next I cut a piece of scrap to test my jig cup hole placement.

Rectangle Wood Ruler Flooring Office ruler


Then I cut the scrap to make a "door" piece and a "frame" piece, and placed the jig on the door piece and marked the cup position.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Wood stain Font


Wood Nail Gas Tints and shades Rectangle


Rectangle Wood Office ruler Wood stain Tints and shades


I then drilled the cup using the point laid out by the jig. Put the hinge in the cup, squared it up and marked the screw holes on the door piece. I then measured these and then transferred the measurements to the jig.

Wood Machine Metal Tool Auto part


Wood Wood stain Rectangle Plank Tints and shades


I then drilled the screw holes in the door piece using the jig, and screwed the hinge in place. A perfect fit!

Wood Gas Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Metal


I then marked the frame piece where the hinge would go (in practice this won't be necessary as the door placement will determine this), and attached the door to the frame. It worked perfectly.

Motor vehicle Wood Line Font Automotive exterior


Wood Metalworking hand tool Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Wood Bumper Gas Automotive exterior Auto part


Now that the jig is set up it will be simple to just align the jig with the top or bottom of my doors and mark the hinge placement. Easy peasy! I'll sand the mahogany next in preparation for cutting the stiles and rails this weekend. See you then.
 

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#9 ·
Don't wanna come "un-hinged"...

So I've decided to tackle the doors for the cabinets next in this project. And while I'm at it, I'll do both doors necessary for this cabinet/bookcase.

I took down a nice piece of mahogany, and it's big enough that I can get two doors out of it. But before I start ripping the stiles and rails, I gave some thought to the type of hinges I would be using. After some consideration, I think European concealed hinges will work better in this application than the standard butt hinges.

European cup hinges are a breeze to install, once you have made all the fiddly measurements in half millimeters. It's a real nuisance to set out all the marks where to drill the cup and screw holes, but once you've done that the rest is easy. So based on that, I decided to make jig to make the placement of the hinge as easy as the installation.

I decided that a good placement for the hinges would be 4" from the top and bottom (there's seems to be no consensus on the best placement of cabinet hinges), so I"ll make my jig 8" long, with the holes at 4", so I can align the jig with the top or bottom of the door, and the placement will be spot on in both cases.

So I cut a small piece of mahogany 1/2" x 3/4" x 8", along with a small piece of yellow hard foam 2" x 8", I have kicking around for just these purposes. Could have used 1/4" ply, but yellow is so easy for my old eyes to see!!!

Wood Road surface Tool Automotive tire Asphalt


I then laid out the screw spacing to secure the yellow foam to the mahogany, and attached with small brass screws.

Rectangle Yellow Road surface Line Audio equipment


Yellow Wood Line Road surface Rectangle


I marked the jig at the 4" line, and carefully laid out the 20.5mm point for the center of the hinge cup.

Wood Wood stain Gas Tints and shades Hardwood


Next I cut a piece of scrap to test my jig cup hole placement.

Rectangle Wood Ruler Flooring Office ruler


Then I cut the scrap to make a "door" piece and a "frame" piece, and placed the jig on the door piece and marked the cup position.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Wood stain Font


Wood Nail Gas Tints and shades Rectangle


Rectangle Wood Office ruler Wood stain Tints and shades


I then drilled the cup using the point laid out by the jig. Put the hinge in the cup, squared it up and marked the screw holes on the door piece. I then measured these and then transferred the measurements to the jig.

Wood Machine Metal Tool Auto part


Wood Wood stain Rectangle Plank Tints and shades


I then drilled the screw holes in the door piece using the jig, and screwed the hinge in place. A perfect fit!

Wood Gas Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Metal


I then marked the frame piece where the hinge would go (in practice this won't be necessary as the door placement will determine this), and attached the door to the frame. It worked perfectly.

Motor vehicle Wood Line Font Automotive exterior


Wood Metalworking hand tool Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Wood Bumper Gas Automotive exterior Auto part


Now that the jig is set up it will be simple to just align the jig with the top or bottom of my doors and mark the hinge placement. Easy peasy! I'll sand the mahogany next in preparation for cutting the stiles and rails this weekend. See you then.
Looking good Les,

The hinges are quite flexible and can be used outside the "box" as well.

Some time ago I wanted a Low Japanese Desk with no visible hinges and used them there in a modified form.
The table itself got dumped due to me no being able to produce a "Henry Ford" finish I wanted but the hinges worked OK.
 

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#11 ·
The Doors... (no not the group!)

So this weekend saw me putting together the doors for the Cabinet Base. Made from 3/4" mahogany ripped to 2-1/2" wide.

Table Wood Workbench Tool Wood stain


Having cut all the stiles and rails to length, I sanded all the edges…

Wood Wood stain Flooring Hardwood Shelving


Cut and tested the groove on the ply panel before doing grooves in all the stock.

Wood Floor Flooring Bumper Hardwood


Wood Rectangle Handwriting Material property Wood stain


Saw Wood Table saws Machine tool Automotive exterior


Then I cut the tongues in the rails…

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Wood stain Plank


Wood Rectangle Flooring Bumper Floor


Then a quick dry fit to make sure everything was in order, followed by a glue up and clamp overnight. That's it for today!

Tire Wheel Wood Table Rectangle


Wood Wood stain Floor Flooring Rectangle


Wood Flooring Rectangle Floor Wood stain
 

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#12 ·
The devil is in the details... for real!

So Sunday I had planned to put some moulding details on the doors, so they wouldn't look so plain. I wanted to put a 1/4" quarter round around the inside of the door panel, and 1/2" half round set about 2" inside of that on the panel to give a little detail to break up the plain-ness of the doors.

I soon discovered that they don't make 1/4" quarter round, so I had to buy 1/2" quarter round, which I cut down to meet my needs. Last year I had purchased a chop saw specifically for cutting all the miters on this project. I had taken the time to set it up and zero it in, but then never got to use it. So here we are ready to use the chop saw for the first time…

Wood Automotive tire Bumper Gas Bicycle part


So I put my 1/4" quarter round in the saw, and my initial cut went fine, but my second cut (cutting the moulding to final length), shattered the end of the piece. Thinking I had not been paying attention, I proceeded to cut a second piece. When exactly the same thing happened, I needed to step back and evaluate what was happening.

I soon realized what was up! The gap on throat plate of the chop saw was about twice the width of my 1/4" moulding. The end of the moulding was hanging out in space during and after the cut, and at some point tear-out from the teeth of the chop saw was causing the moulding to shatter! So now I have to stop what I was doing, and make a zero clearance plate for the chop saw. The gap of the original plate can been seen in the photo above.

So I dug out my trusty yellow foam, and removed the original throat plate, and used it as a template for the zero clearance plate.

Water Wood Rectangle Yellow Font


Having cut a strip to width and checked that at the chop saw, I then used a utility knife to cut the circular end. That's the beauty of this yellow foam, you can cut it with a knife for really intricate shapes. Checked the fit after cutting the circular end, and TA-DA!!! Prefect fit. God bless yellow foam!

Bicycle part Automotive tire Carbon Rim Gas


Wood Yellow Bumper Asphalt Line


Automotive tire Bicycle part Tool Wood Auto part


So all that remained was to drill and counter sink the holes, and screw it into place. Having done that, it only remained to bring the saw down through the yellow foam.

Automotive tire Bicycle part Wood Measuring instrument Bicycle tire


Guitar accessory Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory Bumper Wood


We now have a zero clearance plate and I can finally return to the original job at hand. Unfortunately, I had ruined two pieces of my 1/4" quarter round, and while I had bought enough to door the two doors, it was not enough to make up for the loss of those two pieces, so I would only get to do one door today. The other door will need to wait until after my next trip to the big box lumber department.

The rest of the day's progress went smoothly, and the details were added to the one door, and the results were very pleasing. I was of course supervised by the ever present Alys, the workshop kitty.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Plant


Cat Table Carnivore Felidae Whiskers
 

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#13 ·
The devil is in the details... for real!

So Sunday I had planned to put some moulding details on the doors, so they wouldn't look so plain. I wanted to put a 1/4" quarter round around the inside of the door panel, and 1/2" half round set about 2" inside of that on the panel to give a little detail to break up the plain-ness of the doors.

I soon discovered that they don't make 1/4" quarter round, so I had to buy 1/2" quarter round, which I cut down to meet my needs. Last year I had purchased a chop saw specifically for cutting all the miters on this project. I had taken the time to set it up and zero it in, but then never got to use it. So here we are ready to use the chop saw for the first time…

Wood Automotive tire Bumper Gas Bicycle part


So I put my 1/4" quarter round in the saw, and my initial cut went fine, but my second cut (cutting the moulding to final length), shattered the end of the piece. Thinking I had not been paying attention, I proceeded to cut a second piece. When exactly the same thing happened, I needed to step back and evaluate what was happening.

I soon realized what was up! The gap on throat plate of the chop saw was about twice the width of my 1/4" moulding. The end of the moulding was hanging out in space during and after the cut, and at some point tear-out from the teeth of the chop saw was causing the moulding to shatter! So now I have to stop what I was doing, and make a zero clearance plate for the chop saw. The gap of the original plate can been seen in the photo above.

So I dug out my trusty yellow foam, and removed the original throat plate, and used it as a template for the zero clearance plate.

Water Wood Rectangle Yellow Font


Having cut a strip to width and checked that at the chop saw, I then used a utility knife to cut the circular end. That's the beauty of this yellow foam, you can cut it with a knife for really intricate shapes. Checked the fit after cutting the circular end, and TA-DA!!! Prefect fit. God bless yellow foam!

Bicycle part Automotive tire Carbon Rim Gas


Wood Yellow Bumper Asphalt Line


Automotive tire Bicycle part Tool Wood Auto part


So all that remained was to drill and counter sink the holes, and screw it into place. Having done that, it only remained to bring the saw down through the yellow foam.

Automotive tire Bicycle part Wood Measuring instrument Bicycle tire


Guitar accessory Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory Bumper Wood


We now have a zero clearance plate and I can finally return to the original job at hand. Unfortunately, I had ruined two pieces of my 1/4" quarter round, and while I had bought enough to door the two doors, it was not enough to make up for the loss of those two pieces, so I would only get to do one door today. The other door will need to wait until after my next trip to the big box lumber department.

The rest of the day's progress went smoothly, and the details were added to the one door, and the results were very pleasing. I was of course supervised by the ever present Alys, the workshop kitty.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Plant


Cat Table Carnivore Felidae Whiskers
Good work Les,

Looks like another natural catastrophy averted
Just out of interest where do you but materials?

You may want to close up the back as well. Its simply a matter of fixing a piece completely across the back and cuting it to suit. Make a few blanks (as they will get hacked apart with each different angle) and stash them behind the saw!

Wood Gas Engineering Automotive exterior Hardwood
 

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#15 ·
Finishing... no, not really.

Well I stained the cabinet base, the top and the doors, and this weekend started to apply the shellac. I chose shellac primarily for its incredibly fast drying time. With all my furry helpers, dry time is important!! :)

Cat Plant Vertebrate Felidae Window


Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Window


Next week I'll put on the base and top moulding, wax everything, and put on the doors.
 

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#16 ·
Finishing... no, not really.

Well I stained the cabinet base, the top and the doors, and this weekend started to apply the shellac. I chose shellac primarily for its incredibly fast drying time. With all my furry helpers, dry time is important!! :)

Cat Plant Vertebrate Felidae Window


Cat Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats Window


Next week I'll put on the base and top moulding, wax everything, and put on the doors.
 

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#18 ·
Cabinet Base Finally Finished

I got a little distracted towards the end of the year and didn't get around to updating this project at LumberJacks.

I finally finished the Base Unit, stained everything, applied the shellac, put the doors on, and voilá…

Cabinetry Wood Curtain Flooring Floor


Table Wood Flooring Living room Floor


The Base is now in place on the right of the fireplace, and already the wife has knick-knacks on it.
 

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#19 ·
Now, the bookshelves...

The bookshelves are relatively simple compared to the Cabinet Base, and they went together fairly quickly and easily.

Custom made the simple moldings that just finished of the top and bottom of the shelving unit, sanded the unit, and next weekend will be staining and applying shellac…

Here's my main lifesaver helper Dave hard at work, while I do the important job of supervising… Hahahaha!

Wood Flooring Comfort Floor Hardwood


Wood Comfort Floor Flooring Hardwood
 

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#20 ·
Now, the bookshelves...

The bookshelves are relatively simple compared to the Cabinet Base, and they went together fairly quickly and easily.

Custom made the simple moldings that just finished of the top and bottom of the shelving unit, sanded the unit, and next weekend will be staining and applying shellac…

Here's my main lifesaver helper Dave hard at work, while I do the important job of supervising… Hahahaha!

Wood Flooring Comfort Floor Hardwood


Wood Comfort Floor Flooring Hardwood
Hi - is the top molding dimensioned board that was screwed into place? My next project is a book shelf…looking for ideas. Thanks!
 

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#24 ·
Here's the details...

A comment by RobNPHX @ lumberjocks.com asked about the details, so I thought I'd post a couple of pics about the detail trim. Here are a couple of shots of the top of the bookshelves. On the very top, I placed a 2-1/2" x 3/4" strip around the top. It overhangs the sides and front face frame by 1-1/2". Under that is a strip of 3/4" material that I made into a cove molding.

Wood Grey Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood


Brown Wood Wood stain Rectangle Stairs


And at the base of the bookshelves I placed 3/4" quarter round just to finish off the bottom.

Brown Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood
 

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#25 ·
Here's the details...

A comment by RobNPHX @ lumberjocks.com asked about the details, so I thought I'd post a couple of pics about the detail trim. Here are a couple of shots of the top of the bookshelves. On the very top, I placed a 2-1/2" x 3/4" strip around the top. It overhangs the sides and front face frame by 1-1/2". Under that is a strip of 3/4" material that I made into a cove molding.

Wood Grey Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood


Brown Wood Wood stain Rectangle Stairs


And at the base of the bookshelves I placed 3/4" quarter round just to finish off the bottom.

Brown Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood
Hi teopriser,

I've now finished the first cabinet and bookshelf, but I confess I've been tardy in getting the photos uo on Lumberjocks. Your post makes me recoginise I need to do that. I'll try to get that done shortly.

Thanks for your your comments.

Les
 

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