Oriental Cabinet

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Barrel Hinges

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Exposed joinery has its own aesthetic appeal, but you can achieve an entirely different- and equally valid- effect by striving to hide all evidence of how the piece fits together.

Such is the case with this small cabinet, the design of which is intended to showcase the beauty of the wood used in its construction rather than the construction itself. The wood is California bay. The wonderful figure of this unusual wood is here accentuated by bookmatching pieces together, an aesthetic device with a practical plus; wide boards were needed and since I had to edge glue, it made sense to resaw and bookmatch.

Cut out list- Oriental Cabinet

Main Carcase
1- 1/2 x 13 x 32 top
2- 1/2 x 12-1/4 x 31-1/2 exterior sides
2- 3/8 x 11-1/2 x 29-3/8 internal top and bottom
2- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 29-7/8 internal sides
2- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 18 slider shelves
2- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 16 central shelves
2- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 12-7/8 door dividers
2- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 8-3/8 drawer dividers
1- 3/8 x 9-1/2 x 4-1/8 central shelf connector
1- 5/8 x 1 x 31-1/4 top mold-cut to length when you miter
2- 5/8 x 1 x 12-1/2 top mold-cut to length when you miter
1- 3/4 x 3 x 31-1/4 plinth-cut to length when you miter
2- 3/4 x 3 x 31-1/4 plinth-cut to length when you miter
1- 1/2 x 1-1/2 x 32-1/4 plinth mold-cut to length when you miter
2- 1/2 x 1-1/2 x 13 plinth mold- cut to length when you miter
2- 1-1/2 x 3 x 29-1/2 curve spacers
2- 1-1/8 x 1-1/8 x 29-1/2 rear spacers

Back
2- 1/2 x 2-1/2 x 31-1/2 stiles
2- 1/2 x 2 x 29 top and bottom rails
1- 1/2 x 1-1/2 x 25 midrail
4- 1/2 x 1-1/2 x 14 mullions
6- 1/2 x 7-1/4 x 13-1/2 panels

Doors (widths approx.)
4- 3/8 x 2-1/2 x 10-1/8 hinged-door stiles
4- 3/8 x 2-1/2 x 8 hinged-door rails
8- 3/8 x 2-1/2 x 9 slider rails
8- 3/8 x 2-1/2 x 7-1/2 slider stiles
6- to fit panels

Drawers
4- 3/8 x 2 x 9-1/2 sides
4- 3/8 x 2 x 7-1/2 fronts and rears
2- 3/8 x 2 x 8 veneer fronts
miscellaneous glue blocks etc.

Barrel Hinges

Resources For Building An Oriental Cabinet

Though oriental craftsmen often made their joints more complicated in order to hide the joinery involved, such is not the case here. This cabinet uses a router-made sliding dovetail to join shelves and side parts together, a simple joint to make that is very strong and mechanically secure whether glued or not. Other joints for the doors, drawers, and rear panel are easily and quickly cut out with different table saw setups. Overall, then, this project has minimal tooling requirements. But it is necessary to ensure that the shelves and sides are at a very consistent thickness in order to make the sliding dovetails work well, thus the use of a planer or a cabinet shop's wide belt sander is important.

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