Summer Joinery Entry Shaker Cabinet #3: The quest continues, Were getting close now.

Time to turn my attention to the back. The locking mortise and tenon had been designed and it was now time to cut the mortises in the sides of the back. They were marked thru the holes in the sides and tape placed on the back to give the ends of the mortises. Using the horizontal router table.

A view from the side.

All of the wedge key tenons were made long so they are now being cut to the appropriate length minus 1/8” to allow for the back to move.

And cut the wedge tenons to the correct length.

A verification that they are not too long.

Now my attention is turned to the latch to keep the door shut. No metal you say. Maybe just a little. OK. My thought had been kicking around the old clothes pin. The ones that had a metal spring and a slot for the wire.

So this was my wire. It is an Holly dowel made like I made the Blackwood one. I found while making the Thorsen Tables that Holly is a tough wood and the grain doesn’t seem to make any difference in It’s breaking. The Walnut dowel shattered because of cross grain difference.

This is drilled in the end of a shelf board at a 15 deg angle and then relief cut out in the board to allow it to flex below the surface.

Now making the mortise and tenons for the door. The slots had already been cut for the panel.

Fitting them together.

Now all 4 sides and the panel.

Gee I don’t have to disassemble it to put in the glue. The dry fit is the final fit. How easy can this be. Hay lets hang it on the sides and check for width measurement. From the back

And now the front.

Trim off an 1/8” and lets pounds the sides home. Slide is the word. Pound is the action.

A good tight fit. And from the back.

How does it look with the back sitting there?

The point of no return. Get the bin of locking key wedge parts.

The first one in. It would be tough to go back any steps from here.

And they are all in. No splits, no screaming (me or the wood) I did need some clamps the pull the back into place. It developed a slight bow. But, it went the correct way. The dado in the bottom and the cutout on the top straighten it out.

And from the side.

The door off and the back on. The sliding dovetails on the hinges allow it to be put on and taken off great. The hinge pin is below the surface of the stiles so it cannot slide out.

I drilled a ¼” square mortise hole in the ends of the 4 door styles to lock the door pieces together. I sanded some stock square to drive into the holes. Not too tight to split, but not too loose to slide out over time.

Now turning to the hinges. I made some 7/32” walnut dowel. I drilled a 7/32 hole through the hinge and the stile. I then expanded the hinge hole with a 15/64” drill bit. I didn’t want the wooden dowel to put any pressure on the hinge to cause it to split, but I wanted it tight in the stile.

The dovetail is designed to support the weight of the door opening and closing. And the pins are to keep the dovetail from moving and out. The pegs are cut off a little proud of the surface on the back, but sanded smooth on the front.

Get some Danish Oil on the cut edges and let’r age for a while before final finishing.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †