In my last entry I mortised Brusso knife hinges into the case. The next step is glueing up the case and then fitting/hanging the doors. Here are a few photos of that process.
First I cleaned off the bench and layed the back and two sides out in sequence. The sides were already glued up in my last entry. The back has a center stile so it needed to be glued in place. That is why the back is dissasembled.
Glue on the back stile tenons, rail tenons and left side mortise. Push it together.
Glue the dust panel and bottom on. This includes the two stretchers which are attached as an assembly.
Glue for the left side, clamp it up and wait about 45 minutes.
Something to note here. I put the knife hinges in place for this glue up so the little sliver on the tenon side would have something to hold it tight against the leg.
Here is what it looked like after the clamps came off and the glue was all cleaned up.
I used pieces of laminate to shim the doors in place. I used my jointer to fit the doors taking very small amounts off (~1/64”) in a pass.
I clamped each door to the front of the bench so the router would have plenty of surface to rest on and routed out the hinge mortises. Then I fit them with a chisel.
This is what the doors look like closed.
And open.
I am extremely happy with the way this turned out. The knife hinges were a little intimidating but they turned out not to be much harder than butt hinges. I would recommend them to anyone wanting a nice clean look. I couldn’t really find any good instructions for installing them on the internet except on some premium sites. Maybe I will blog a real how to after this project is complete.
Off to the shop again. I have one more set of doors to fit.
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
13 comments so far
Joe Lyddon
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140 posts in 503 days
posted 69 days ago
That’s really NICE!
Very good pics & description.
Those hinges look good too… yes, a How To would be nice. It’s good your bench allows you to clamp right up to the top like that!
Thanks for keeping us updated…
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1389"
Bob #2
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1822 posts in 472 days
posted 69 days ago
Very nice out come Chico.
I like the way you addressed the grain as well. Many forget this step and it spoils the effect.
Makes me want to go out to the shop and keep finishing the place.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
GMman
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266 posts in 148 days
posted 69 days ago
Very good job….. I would like to make a comment but since you are finish I will not but have a good look at your doors and the bottom rail
-- - - Tools are nice to have but you need someone to work them - -
ChicoWoodnut
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596 posts in 266 days
posted 69 days ago
You’r freakin me out man! I am looking for something obviously wrong but I don’t see it (getting out measuring tools and heading out to shop)
SPILL IT! LOL
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
bfd
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197 posts in 258 days
posted 69 days ago
Scott,
I just finished reading through this entire series and man this project is amazing! The blog is very very detailed which I love but even more is your work and craftsmanship. I cannot wait to see the next installment. These night stands are going to be beautiful.
-- Brian, Folsom, CA
Greg Wurst
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411 posts in 283 days
posted 69 days ago
Looks very nice. I’ve looked at those hinges before and also felt intimidated, so I’d like to see a blog on their install myself.
Todd A. Clippinger
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2533 posts in 550 days
posted 69 days ago
Ah, finally got my new issue of “Chico Woodnut” featuring Greene & Greene projects.
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Davesfunwoodworking
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213 posts in 326 days
posted 69 days ago
Looks good!!! I cant wait to see it all done. Great job so far. Keep up the good job.
-- Davesfunwoodworking
Grant Davis
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282 posts in 359 days
posted 68 days ago
Chico,
That is a very nice piece and a nice tutorial of your work progress. thanks for posting.
-- Grant...."GO BUCKEYES"
Dorje
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1738 posts in 448 days
posted 68 days ago
Looks great to me!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
John Fry
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71 posts in 151 days
posted 68 days ago
Great job Chico,
I must admit that the first set of knife hinges I did were on a Krenov style cabinet. I mortised the doors and case prior to construction and felt I had everything “nailed” as far as accuracy goes. But Oh no! Once it was all assembled, I was gluing tooth picks into the screw holes so I could re-drill and tweak the positions until I got them perfect. And I did that several times too.
My second set went much better and I don’t know why.
Your cabinet looks great!
-- John, Chisel and Bit Custom Crafted Furniture, www.chiselandbit.com
Karson
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12736 posts in 851 days
posted 68 days ago
Great looking cabinet. The doors look fantastic.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
jeanmarc
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1691 posts in 167 days
posted 39 days ago
Very good job.Very good pics and description.
-- jeanmarc manosque france