Tool Cabinet – deep door construction
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24 May 2017 at 8:53 am #312210
Hiya all,
I’m in the planning stage of wanting to build a tool cabinet similar to the one Paul has done, but I would like to have 2 deep doors that when open can house my saws in one side and maybe chisels in the other door.
I was thinking to make the frame/sides using dovetail joints and the front of the door as a floating raised panel in a stile and rail frame. (I hope I’m explaining this so you understand what I’m trying to do!!!!)
My question is do any of you have any clever ideas how to join these 2 components together? as this should be long grain to long grain except for the top of the stiles I’m hoping there should be not much problem with wood movement at different rates so I was wondering if just glueing the 2 pieces together would be good enough. Or Can you think of any better joints/methods that can be used?
Cheers David
Which two components? Are you referring to the rails and stiles? If so, mortise and tenon is traditional, straightforward and maybe best given you’re going to load the door by hanging tools in it. Paul has produced episodes on door making which illustrate the process in great detail.
24 May 2017 at 8:18 pm #312264Hi Ed,
Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear, I knew I wouldn’t!!!
I was talking about joining the frame and panel door (as you say made with mortice and tenons) to the frame/side piece, I wonder if there is a joint I could use that I’ve not thought of.
Cheers David
24 May 2017 at 8:51 pm #312265If i understand you right you want to fit the frame of the Doors side to the frame of the Panel front? if that is the case then the simplest method is just to mortise and Tenon everything together either by leaving the tennons short so they fit or cutting a Miter on them to get them to fit into the same piece of the Frame, or you can mortise and tenon the side frame as normal and “dovetail” the crossrails into the endgrain of the sideframe stiles, with a singe tail cut at the ends of the Crossrails inset into a recess in the endgrain of the stiles(im only familiar with the German names for the specific Joints sorry).
If your Side is only a board then you can either just go with a simple tounge and groove, provided the board is thick enough also dovetail the crossrails into the board again. You could also Fingerjoint it or if you feel mad enough dovetail it along its length or just use a simple Rabbet.
There are some quite complicated joints with multiple (mitered) dovetails , rabbets and grooves in the same joint, but thats probably a bit overkill for what you’re trying to do.
24 May 2017 at 9:43 pm #312266I done a very quick sketchup (Read Rubbish) of what I am trying to achieve, which is probably a lot better than my ramblings of trying to explain it! It may be that just gluing one to the other will do.
I first thought of using dowels to help support the weight, then started wondering if there was a traditional joint that I’m not thinking of.
Cheers David
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You must be logged in to view attached files.24 May 2017 at 9:56 pm #312268Hi kamikazekrieger, thanks for your suggestions.
I think dovetailing 5 boards together is way beyond my skill level hehe, I’m pushing my luck trying to get the 4 sides dovetailed!
Thanks for the suggestion of the rabbet, sometimes I totally miss the blooming obvious. If I rabbet the sides and the door that will gives the extra support/glue surface I am wanting. Perfect.
Thanks again.
Cheers David24 May 2017 at 10:30 pm #312271Oh that clears things up, well traditionally you make it either like a Drawer, groove in the dovetailed box all way around then slide the bottom in so to speak only that its a door and you slide the front panel in not a bottom. Or just with a Rabbet i guess and nail Moulding in place to make it look nice.
If you want the look of the frame construction then my all means do it with a rabbet, traditionally at least around here those kinda pieces seem to often only have been nailed in place give or take glue.
Another method that not only is strong but also looks good is you could use a rabbet to locate it in place and besides glue use Wooden nails, if you cut them a bit longer you can shape the heads for decoration too. wooden nails are quite easy to make and you can use them for basically everything. An old book says Birch, Willow and Linden/Basswood are ideal for nails but techically you can just the same one you use for the rest of the Project, just make sure to twist the Nail diagonally to the Woodgrain so the Sides of the Nail dont run parallel to the grain direction or it could split.
25 May 2017 at 8:23 am #312278Hi Kamikazekrieger.
The more I think about it, a rabbet would be ideal. When the door are shut I’m hoping the tool cabinet will have a look of a piece of furniture about it. So I would like a clean looking frame and panel doors. As I am guessing there will be quite a bit a weight from the door, the rabbet will give me the extra strength and support I am after.
I’ve started looking up the use of wooden nails, and really like the look of them, I will certainly keep them in mind and see if I can use them.
Thank you very much for your advise, much appreciated.
Cheers David
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