Federal Style Display Cabinet

This is a display cabinet that was built for a customer that was in need for a lot of China display space. It is 109” tall. They really like the style of Duncan Phyfe with a Federal style top. By working with the customer this is what we came up with

Features:
Mahogany wood
Full extension drawer guides
Plate groove on the shelves (back side)
Glass shelves (front side)
Federal Style top
Lighting with touch dimmer.

Challenges:
I had a few challenges on this project. The customer wanted a plate groove and wanted all glass shelves. After getting a quote on cutting that groove iin the glass, we determined that it would be out of the budget. I want to say it was over $400. We chose to make a plate groove from solid wood on the back 3” of the shelf. I cut two 1/4” dados (for different positioning of the display plates) into the shelf strip. Then cut a rabbet for the glass to set in. (See picture below)

The other challenge was the trim on the federal top. I wanted to stay away from milling my own molding or stacking different routed patterns. What I ended up doing was using stock 3 1/4” crown. I made the appearance of the crown splitting off and the top half shooting up the Federial top. I accomplished this by ripping the crown on a 45 degree angle, right at a normal edge or corner of the crown. I attached the bottom half like I normally would around the top. I then added the Federal style cap, which the bottom was cut at the same angle as the angle as the tilt of the crown (this crown was a 45 degree which made it easier). I reattachedthe top half of the crown, except mitered it up when I got to the Federal cap. It may be better understood if you look at the picture and follow the crown around and see where it goes. (See picture below)

Another challenge was the finish. I was matching a customers existing piece. No matter what combination of stain I mixed, I couldn’t get it dark enough and still keep the yellowish red tone in there. I try dying the sample, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. I came across a video excerpt from FineWoodworking.com
Coloring Like a Pro from Jeff Jewitt. He used dye to cancel out and add different shades. I did the same technique by using a glaze to change the color. It worked out perfectly. Sometimes it is just easier to get close to the color and then tweak it to perfection.

This was a very satisfying project to work on. It kept me thinking ahead and just about like every project I do, it taught me something new. I may have some more pictures on my “Current Projects” link where I post daily picture and live video from my shop.

More Pictures

This is the unit in the showroom to show how massive it is 109” tall.

This is showing the plate groove and dado for the glass shelves

Attaching the crown. Notice how dark the Mahogany crown is before it is sanded. This allow you to see how it is split.

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