Page 3, Corner Cabinet Go back to Page 2. Go back to Page 1.

Photo 16- Put the screw blocks in place, and use the holes in them to mark the location of the screws in the carcase. Put a nail in the hole and tap in with a hammer enough to leave a mark. Remove the block and nail, drill for the screw, then install the block. You need to do some tests to determine the optimum hole size and depth for your screws. A piece of masking tape on the drill bit shows you how far to bore down.

The front plate that goes above the door gets glued to two special glue blocks attached to the inside of the two front side pieces (see drawing). Cut a 45o angle into these for the front plate to contact, and glue these onto the front side pieces using the front plate itself as a guide to show where to locate the blocks. Then, let the blocks dry without the front plate in place. You'll need it to be out of the way for more clamps on the blocks. When the blocks are dry, glue in the front plate. This is a challenge because there are no good surfaces for bar clamps to contact and you can't get in from behind with screws. Band clamp to the rescue! Photo 17. Place a piece of scrap over the front plate so the pressure from the band is applied on the front plate itself and not on the inner edges of the side pieces.

Photo 17- A band clamp (also called strap or web clamp) is the ideal tool for clamping odd shapes like this. The C-clamp just held the spacer in place while the band clamp was installed. An alternative to a band clamp is nylon string. It stretches a bit, so if you wrap it tightly around the piece numerous times the combined wrappings can apply adequate pressure for a good glue bond.

Make the molding for the top, using whatever router bit pattern you choose, then cut to fit and glue in place (once the top plate is out of clamps!). To determine the exact size of the top and bottom, place the cabinet on the stock for these pieces and trace the outer edge of the cabinet onto the stock. Add 1/2" along the leading edges. Measure the sizes for the shelves and trace them too. Nest the triangles on your stock for maximum stock use. Cut out the top and bottom pieces, and the shelves, with a band saw or hand saw. Clean up this edge with a block plane. Rout an ogee or other pattern into the exposed edges of the top and bottom on the router table as in photo 18.

Photo 18- Rout a pattern in to the top edge. Make sure you make the top large enough that the pattern is beyond the top mold pieces.

Clamp the top and bottom in place, drill holes through the blocks and install screws. Make and install two small stops for the door, as in photo 19, to prevent it from closing too far in. Cut out mortises for your hinges, and note that you will have to angle the screws that hold the hinge leaves to the side piece, otherwise they will come out on the face. The angled screw heads will stick up a bit, so get hinges that have a fair distance between leaves when in closed position. Install whatever knob and catch you prefer, such as a small ball catch.

Photo 19- Two little custom fitted door stops, one at the top and one at the bottom, will prevent the door from swinging in too far.

Use a good quality finish for an ornate cabinet such as this. I used orange shellac, a one pound cut with three or four coats. The orange hue it leaves goes nicely with the cherry. Wipe-on oil, such as Watco, is a good choice here too because the cabinet will not get a lot of wear like a table top would. Be careful not to allow the finish to puddle in the carvings.

Tools and Hardware Resources

Clamps |  Plate Joiners |  Table Saws and Accessories |  Dado Sets |  Miter Gauges |  Carving Tools |  Tapered Drill Bits |  Hand Drills |  Router Tables |  Router Bits

A good source of carving tools as well as hardware is Woodcraft. Also try Whitechapel for hardware.