Linen Cupboard

Posted 23 September 2020

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When Paul started to think through this project, he thought about oak for the wood and then other hardwoods too, but then he thought about a light coloured retro look for a change and, so that’s what he decided on. You can of course make it from any wood you choose. Paul stayed with the pine and then applied a painted finish to be sanded through. This project has all the ingredients to learn about a wide range of cabinets we call case pieces, free-standing units for homes and offices. We hope you will enjoy making one yourself but also the video work our team put into making it. Have fun!

24 Comments

  2. Hi I might be missing something obvious but the first episode jumps right in with wood selection. is there a place I can see what the finished cupboard looks like so I can assess if this is a project that I want to pursue? You guys do a great job with the video & production, always a pleasure to watch.

    1. Hi Charles,

      Paul says:

      This is just a Jack plane with a wider iron, I grew up with the 4 ½ and 5 ½ but found that my students over two decades had difficulty handling the wider planes so I switched back to the 4 and 5, otherwise people would feel that what I would normally use, after decades of use, would be the ideal for them too. In 99% of cases, a 4 and a 5 will do everything you ever want to do.

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  7. Hi Paul,
    On wood that is cupped- (and wood that is warped in general) Once it’s been planed or other-wised machined, this will expose new wood fiber to the elements. How likely is it that the board will simply warp some more? Or is that minimized by the fact that the wood is already seasoned?

    Thanks!
    Tom

    1. Hi Tom,

      Paul says:
      It is minimised by the wood already being seasoned, but there are no guarantees that the wood will not distort more as this is the very nature of wood and it is highly influenced by atmospheric moisture levels.

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  8. I’m not sure, but I suspect the generation of the video for a finished piece as large as a linen press is most difficult considering Paul is having to do everything himself during this Corona pandemic. This probably leads to some production problems/issues, thus delaying some of the normal sequences he and his team produce. Having built a linen press before, the man-handling is definitely an issue. I would periodically have to enlist the services of my wife to help maneuver the piece during construction. I gather Paul currently has no one to help. I am most impressed (and pleased) he has chosen such a large piece to construct for this project.
    Please stay healthy, Paul!

  9. @CMatteson

    I’m clearly not sure of Paul’s precise reasoning, but I love my 5 1/2 on endgrain. The added mass, width, & length compared to a smoother are very helpful for truing up ends. I love it has a shooting plane for all the same reasons.

    I also use it in a fore plane role with a cambered iron on rough lumber. The extra heft is helpful for a variety of tasks.

  10. What’s a linen cupboard?
    Seems to take a lot of wood to make one!
    I realize that Mr Sellers is working entirely on his own, he will no doubt clarify what he is doing.
    Give him some time to fill in the blanks!
    Personally I got a lot out of his wood selection and what to look for.

  11. Should be great, if the design considers the ability of dismantling the cupboard for transport reasons in case you change your flat/house and take it with you easily. As there are many strategies to cope with the transport-ability issue, it would be great if Paul could talk us through the pros and cons of associated design options / strategies.

  12. What’s that cute new dovetail marker? First time I’ve not seen the hand made wooden version. I made myself a couple of brass ones before I retired and still had access to a machine shop. That one looks a lot lighter than mine!

    1. Hi,

      Paul says:

      I wanted to design a dovetail template based on my wooden one but from anodised aluminium. I have one made from titanium but it’s 50 times heavier than anything I anticipated. A friend of mine has a milling machine and the equipment to make these for me so I ordered half a dozen and have been testing this one out for a month now to see how it feels. I have thought about producing them for sale and feel like it would be a great dovetail template for anyone to own. Watch this space!

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  14. Hi Izzy
    The the heavy one Paul has is one I gave him when attending one of his courses in Wales it is made from Tungsten heavy alloy not Titanium, which is quite light . I made the one for Paul just to identify how heavy Tungsten was . It is actually 20 times heaver than water

    Best Regards
    David

  16. I’m curious if this contruction would be suitable for a deeper case. 24 or 30 inches instead of 17. Would the corner dovetails and shelving joinery be enough to hold everything from warping. Or would frame and panel be a better option

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