Beginnings of a Walnut Wall Cabinet

Knowing now, how big my cabinet is, it is shocking to see how big the planks were that I started with.  These were the black walnut planks that Byron and I came back with from Vancouver after a day of adventure.  We thought we had done well, and in some regards we did, but generally lumber yard selection is something that I still look forward to learning much more about.

As I explained in the previous post, but for those who heeded the warning and chose to skip it, I came to the decision that a wall cabinet would be my first piece.  Wood selection came full circle and I decided to use the walnut originally slotted to be my hall table.

Once those decisions were made, and knowing I only had four and a half weeks until Christmas, progress was crucial and mocking-up, templating and selection of graphics went quickly.

I moved on to doweling the carcass first, as the door was to be a frame and panel and wouldn't impose anything specific in terms of carcass shape or size.  This way basically you make a door to fit the carcass instead of vice-versa.

Next was the process of mocking-up the interior partitions and drawers as seen below.

 

 Some hinge making...  The hinges must be made early on so that the mortises that house the hinges can be cut prior to gluing up the carcass.

 Pressure buttons and leveler holes are also drilled at this time.  Much like the flipper-floppers we used on our wabi-sabis, the pressure button shown below is intended to secure the door when it is shut.  It's a cool little mechanical device made from a screw, a spring and a little wooden doughnut.

I'll continue to play catch-up over the holidays here.  I have lots more photos right up to where the cabinet left off for Christmas!