Project Information
I just completed this shoe cabinet last night, and to be honest I couldn't wait to post it here. I got the idea for it from IKEA, but unlike the one they sell this one is made entirely out of solid wood. Also, I sized it to fit in a nook in the kitchen. Every component in my cabinet is made out of poplar for a few reason:
1) This is only the third project I've made out of solid wood (no plywood), so if i messed up no problem poplar is cheap.
2) I wanted to experiment with new joinery, the top and bottom of the case are blind dovetailed to the sides.
3) I was going to paint it, so there is no reason to use a more expensive hardwood
Like I mentioned before, the top and bottom of the case are blind dovetailed to the sides. I used the band saw to cut the tails, and the pins were cut by hand. There were some gaps (this is only the second time I've used dovetails), but who cares. I was painting this project and was more concerned about learning new techniques.
I used 1/4" steel pins to make the drawers pivot down. There is a 3/8" radius on the top and bottom of the drawer fronts for clearance. The drawers where rabbeted and dado-ed together and reinforced with dowels. The top portion of the back of the drawer sides were cut off to allow clearance for the drawers to open. I glued two small wood blocks to the top left and top right of the drawer openings to act as stops. These stops serve a dual purpose, 1) they keep the drawers flush with the front of the case and 2) they prevent the drawers from opening all the way out. I inserted rare earth magnets on the stops to keep the drawers shut, but that was largely unnecessary. The drawers are extremely well balanced and when closed they stay shut even when they are loaded with shoes.
The table top is about 7/8" thick and has a small hand cut under bevel.
The feet are my own design. They were shaker inspired from an article on Popular Woodworking. I rough them out on the band saw and template routed at the routing table. They're also mitered and reinforced with bisquits and screwed to the bottom of the case.
The back of the case is ship lapped and screwed to the back of the case. The ship lapped slats are approximately ~3" wide by 3/8" thick. I left them unfinished.
I finished the piece with two coats of red milk paint, sanding in between coats with 400 grit paper. To make the red pop and to protect it, I put three coats of wiping poly and once again i sanded with 400 grit paper in between coats. I also applied a top coat of paste wax with #0000 steel wool. These sounds like a lot of work, but the payoff is amazing. The whole piece is really soft to the touch and looks great.
Now, I won't lie and say the piece is perfect. I made several mistakes along the way. Some mistakes were fixed and others were ignore. But, overall this was a great project and I'm very happy it's over. Now on to the next one….
PS. If anyone is interested, the Google Sketchup drawing can be found at (updated September 2018):
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/47432182-cacb-4ab2-b3fb-405b3a6ffd57/Shoe-Cabinet-Shaker-Style
1) This is only the third project I've made out of solid wood (no plywood), so if i messed up no problem poplar is cheap.
2) I wanted to experiment with new joinery, the top and bottom of the case are blind dovetailed to the sides.
3) I was going to paint it, so there is no reason to use a more expensive hardwood
Like I mentioned before, the top and bottom of the case are blind dovetailed to the sides. I used the band saw to cut the tails, and the pins were cut by hand. There were some gaps (this is only the second time I've used dovetails), but who cares. I was painting this project and was more concerned about learning new techniques.
I used 1/4" steel pins to make the drawers pivot down. There is a 3/8" radius on the top and bottom of the drawer fronts for clearance. The drawers where rabbeted and dado-ed together and reinforced with dowels. The top portion of the back of the drawer sides were cut off to allow clearance for the drawers to open. I glued two small wood blocks to the top left and top right of the drawer openings to act as stops. These stops serve a dual purpose, 1) they keep the drawers flush with the front of the case and 2) they prevent the drawers from opening all the way out. I inserted rare earth magnets on the stops to keep the drawers shut, but that was largely unnecessary. The drawers are extremely well balanced and when closed they stay shut even when they are loaded with shoes.
The table top is about 7/8" thick and has a small hand cut under bevel.
The feet are my own design. They were shaker inspired from an article on Popular Woodworking. I rough them out on the band saw and template routed at the routing table. They're also mitered and reinforced with bisquits and screwed to the bottom of the case.
The back of the case is ship lapped and screwed to the back of the case. The ship lapped slats are approximately ~3" wide by 3/8" thick. I left them unfinished.
I finished the piece with two coats of red milk paint, sanding in between coats with 400 grit paper. To make the red pop and to protect it, I put three coats of wiping poly and once again i sanded with 400 grit paper in between coats. I also applied a top coat of paste wax with #0000 steel wool. These sounds like a lot of work, but the payoff is amazing. The whole piece is really soft to the touch and looks great.
Now, I won't lie and say the piece is perfect. I made several mistakes along the way. Some mistakes were fixed and others were ignore. But, overall this was a great project and I'm very happy it's over. Now on to the next one….
PS. If anyone is interested, the Google Sketchup drawing can be found at (updated September 2018):
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/47432182-cacb-4ab2-b3fb-405b3a6ffd57/Shoe-Cabinet-Shaker-Style