heirloom collector’s cabinet · heirloom collector’s cabinet set aside a weekend and a few feet...

• Step by Step constructioninstruction.

• A complete bill of materials.

• Exploded view and elevationdrawings.

• How-to photos with instructivecaptions.

• Tips to help you complete theproject and become a betterwoodworker.

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WJ020

“America’s leading woodworking authority”™

Heirloom Collector’s Cabinet

Published in Woodworker’s Journal “From Shop to Home: EssentialProjects, Tips and Techniques for Today’s Home Woodworker”

WOODWORKER'S JOURNAL ©2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Among the many possible uses for this cabi-net, it’s ideal for storing small collectibles. If

you like the country look you’ll appreciate themullioned door and the traditional choice ofmaple for the cabinet’s construction. Maple wasoften used in early American country furniture(for tips on working with maple, see page 148),and glass paned doors were a common feature. Ifyou don’t have a supply of maple on hand, you’llget equally handsome results from pine, oak orcherry. This cabinet is such an eye-catcher thatyou’ll probably end up building more than one.

Getting StartedTo begin, select maple stock for the cabinet

sides, top and bottom (pieces 1 and 2) and rip it towidth. Now crosscut the pieces to length bystacking each pair and cutting them at the sametime (see Figure 1). This practice helps to guaran-tee matching part sizes.

Next, using a combination square and a pencil,layout the dowel locations on the sides, as shownin the Carcass Elevation on the TechnicalDrawings, pages 146 and 147. To drill the dowelholes we recommend using a drilling jig or a drill

142 Essential Projects, Tips and Techniques

HeirloomCollector’sCabinetSet aside a weekendand a few feet of clear maple lumber for building this old-fashionedcollector’s cabinet.


press. The Dowl-it jig (shown inFigure 2 and in the tint boxbelow) is really helpful,because it’s accurate and sim-ple to use if you don’t have adrill press. Before drilling holesin your actual project pieces,however, drill some 3⁄8" holes inscrap wood to make sure thedowels (pieces 3) fit properly.Then drill the four holes in theends of each side piece withthe help of the jig, as shown inFigure 2.

Transferring the hole loca-tions from the sides to the topand bottom is extremely easywith the help of steel dowelcenters (see Figure 3). To helpposition the sides, clamp afence 11⁄2" from each end of thetop and bottom, slide the sidesnext to the outside edge of eachfence and press down on thesides to form imprints with thedowel centers. Now use yourdrill press or drilling jig and the3⁄8" bit to bore the holes. Aftercompleting this step, chamferthe rim of each hole with acountersink bit.

Prior to assembling the box,there are four small steps tocomplete. First, drill the 1⁄4"holes in each side for the shelfsupports (pieces 4), as shownin the Carcass Elevation (seeTechnical Drawings). Second,layout the mortises for the

hinges (pieces 5) and use achisel to clean out the waste(see “Chopping Hinge Mortises”technique on page 145). Third,drill the hole in the bottom, asshown in the Carcass Elevation,for the bullet catch (piece 6).And fourth, rout the ends andfront edge of the top and bot-tom with a 1⁄2" roundover bit.

Now join the top and bottomto the sides with glue and dow-els. Tap the dowels into place,then close the joints slowlywith clamps. Clamping tooquickly, or hitting the dowelssharply with a hammer, couldcause the wood to split as pres-sure builds in the holes. Checkthe box for squareness severaltimes before letting the glue dryovernight by measuring diago-nally from corner to corner.Adjust the clamps if necessary,until the diagonal measure-ments are the same.

Making the Back and DoorWhile the carcass sits in the

clamps rip some 3⁄4" thick maplefor the back and door frames(pieces 7 through 10). Cut thestock to length, once againstacking the pieces so you endup with identically sized parts.Next, lay out and drill the dowelholes, as shown in the Door andBack Elevation Drawings. Dry-fitthe frames to check the joints

Collector’s Cabinet 143

Figure 1: Stack any pieces that needto match and crosscut them tolength at the same time. This willensure a square cabinet assembly.

Figure 2: Lay out the dowel locationson the cabinet sides, then positionyour doweling jig. Slipping a stopcollar onto the drill bit will limit thedepth of the holes.

Figure 3: To transfer the dowel holelocations, insert steel dowel centers inthe sides and press them into positionon the top and bottom pieces.

Accurate Holes Without a Drill PressDon’t have a drill press? This Dowl-it jig can be aninexpensive substitute, and it’s sold through manywoodworking suppliers. Spread the plates of thejig far apart to create a wide, stable base, andchuck your bit in your portable drill. Slip the bit intothe appropriate hole in the jig and position the set-up precisely over your drilling location. Now youcan bore accurate, straight holes that are perfectlysquare to the surfaces of part edges or faces.


and, with your router and a rab-beting bit, rout 5⁄16" x 5⁄16" rab-bets on the back of the doorframe for holding the glass(piece 11). Square the cornersof the rabbets with a chisel,then take the frames apart.

Now chuck a 1⁄4" straight bitin your router table and pre-pare to rout grooves in the backframe pieces for holding thebattens (pieces 12 and 13). Draw starting and stopping

locations on the router fencefor routing the stiles, then plowall the grooves.

The stock for the battens andmullions is 7⁄16" thick. If youhave a planer, mill some 3⁄4"material to the right thickness.If you don’t have a planer, youcan resaw thicker stock using abandsaw or table saw, as shownin Figure 4, at left. Once thepieces are properly sized,install a 1⁄4" dado blade in your

table saw and form the 1⁄4" x 1⁄4"tongues on one edge and bothends of four battens, as shownin the Back Assembly Detail(see Technical Drawings). Onebatten (piece 13) is slightlywider than the others and fea-

T x W x L1 Sides (2) 3⁄4" x 51⁄4" x 24"

2 Top and Bottom (2) 3⁄4" x 63⁄4" x 18"

3 Dowels (32) 3⁄8" x 11⁄2"

4 Shelf Supports (8) 1⁄4" pegs (brass)

5 Hinges (2) 11⁄2" x 11⁄2" (brass)

6 Bullet Catch (1) 1⁄4" diameter (brass)

7 Back Rails (2) 3⁄4" x 2" x 11"

8 Back Stiles (2) 3⁄4" x 2" x 24"

9 Door Rails (2) 3⁄4" x 2" x 121⁄2"

10 Door Stiles (2) 3⁄4" x 2" x 237⁄8"

11 Glass (1) 1⁄8" x 131⁄8" x 201⁄2"

12 Battens (4) 7⁄16" x 27⁄16" x 201⁄2"

13 Batten (1) 7⁄16" x 211⁄16" x 201⁄2"

14 Screws (6) #8-11⁄2" (brass)

15 Mullions (4) 7⁄16" x 3⁄4" x 22"

16 Shelves (2) 1⁄2" x 41⁄4" x 147⁄8"

17 Retaining Strips (4) 1⁄4" x 5⁄16" x 22"

18 Brads (16) #17 wire gauge

19 Flush Mounts (2) 11⁄2" x 17⁄8" (steel)

20 Bumpers (2) 1⁄2" dia. x 1⁄8" thick

21 Knob (1) 3⁄4" x 11⁄4" oval (brass)

MATERIAL LIST


Figure 4: To resaw 3⁄4" stock, use apushstick and make a number of 1⁄2"-deep passes until the blade pokesthrough the top edge of the stock.

Figure 5: After cutting the mullions tolength for your door, cut exactly half waythrough your stock with a 5⁄16" dadoblade to form the tenons.

10

9

11

15

17

18

21

15

15

15

9

10

17

6

3

Half LapDetail


Step 2: Chamfer the mortise outlineto relieve the edges and define themortise depth.

Step 3: Chop the mortise with a malletand chisel, then pare off the waste.

Step 1: Make several passes around thehinge with a knife to cut deep lines.

A sharp chisel and a steady hand canmake short work of chopping out a mor-tise for a hinge, and it’s more efficientthan setting up a router and jig if youonly have a few mortises to do. Begin byholding the hinge in position and outlin-ing the mortise with a utility knife (Step1). Next, use a chisel to make chamfer-ing cuts around the outline that definethe depth of the mortise (Step 2). Wrapup the procedure by making a numberof vertical chopping cuts to loosen thewaste, and cleaning out the mortise tothe depth of the chamfers (Step 3).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

19

20

13

12

3

2

14

8

12

12

1212

1

14

7

16

13

BattenDetail

Chopping Hinge Mortises by Hand

tures a tongue on both edges.After forming the tongues, resetyour blade and fence to plow agroove in the second edge ofthe appropriate battens.

For decoration, chamfer theedge shoulders of each batten,as shown in the Batten Detail,at left. Cut the chamfers with astandard table saw blade tilted45° and set low enough toavoid nipping the tongues.When the back frame is assem-bled the chamfers will form Vgrooves — a feature on manyold cabinets.

Now glue the back framearound the battens, leaving thebattens unglued to allow forwood expansion. While you’reat it, glue-up the door frame aswell. After the glue dries, trimthe back frame to fit into thecabinet, drill three countersunkpilot holes through the top andbottom into the frame anddrive brass screws (pieces 14)into the pilot holes.

Making the Mullion FrameUse the rest of your 7⁄16"-thick

material for the mullions(pieces 15), ripping the stock alittle wider than the MaterialList calls for, then hand-planingthe edges down to the 3⁄4"dimension. Check your planingprogress often so the edgesremain square.

Be sure to measure the dooropening before cutting yourmullions to length. After cross-cutting the strips, install a 3⁄4"dado blade, raise it 7⁄32" and cut



Technical Drawings Collector's Cabinet

Match door hingelocations to yourcabinet hinge mortises.

Note: Build the mullion frame first, then use it to lay out the mortises in the door frame rabbets.

Note: Be sure to measure your door frame before cutting the mullions to length.

3/4"7/16"1/4"

1/4"211/16"

3/4"

3/4"

27/16"

35/8"

13/4"21/2"

3/4"

61/8"

251/2"

67/8"

51/4"

11/4"1"

11/8"63/4"

21/2"

81/4"

12"24"

61/8"

18"

15"

2

1

1

2

2

2

1

10

9

1015

9 12

138

12 13 81212128

Rout bottom edge with 1/2" roundover bit.

1"311/16"

5/16"

5/16"21/2"

Rout top edgewith 1/2" roundover bit.

Drive in three screwsto secure back assembly.


1/4" shelf pin holes

Bullet catch location


Bullet catch strike plate location

Door knob location

Square rabbet corners with a chisel

5/16" x 5/16" rabbets

Hinge location

Hinge location

Carcass Elevations

(Front View)

(Top View)

Back Assembly (Side View)

Back Assembly






3/4"7/16"1/4"

1/4"211/16"

3/4"

3/4"

27/16"

35/8"

13/4"21/2"

3/4"

61/8"

251/2"

67/8"

51/4"

11/4"1"

11/8"63/4"

21/2"

81/4"

12"24"

61/8"

18"

15"

2

1

1

2

2

2

1

10

9

1015

9 12

138

12 13 81212128


1"311/16"

5/16"

5/16"21/2"








Door knob location


5/16" x 5/16" rabbets

Hinge location

Hinge location




3/4"7/16"1/4"

1/4"211/16"

3/4"

3/4"

27/16"

35/8"

13/4"21/2"

3/4"

61/8"

251/2"

67/8"

51/4"

11/4"1"

11/8"63/4"

21/2"

81/4"

12"24"

61/8"

18"

15"

2

1

1

2

2

2

1

10

9

1015

9 12

138

12 13 81212128


1"311/16"

5/16"

5/16"21/2"








Door knob location


5/16" x 5/16" rabbets

Hinge location

Hinge location

Mullion Frame

Door Elevations

Back Assembly Detail (Top View)

Door Frame


Maple’s durability and abun-dance made it a popular

choice among woodworkersduring colonial days. In addi-tion to furniture, it was used forfarming equipment, shoe lasts,tool handles and other itemsthat needed to withstand agreat deal of wear. True to form,

many of these items can nowbe found in antique shops — lit-tle worse for the wear and fea-turing the rich patina we’vetried to duplicate on this collec-tor’s cabinet project.

Working with maple requiresvery sharp, well-tuned tools.Nothing beats a planed maplesurface, and stain will take to iteasily. If you sand maple, werecommend stopping at 150grit. Any finer sanding and youcould polish the wood to apoint where it won’t acceptstain well, especially oil stains.Water-based aniline dye stainsare the most effective colorantsfor maple that we’ve found,because they aren’t made ofpigments like ordinary stainsthat are too large to lodge inthe wood pores.

When fitting joints made ofmaple it’s important to avoidforcing the pieces together.Because the wood is so hard

and doesn’t have muchgive, the pieces may

crack to relievethe stress of

a tight joint. This happens par-ticularly often with dovetailjoints. The problem can becompounded after spreadingglue on the joints, as yellowand white glues will swell thewood and make the joints eventighter. The solution is to cutthe joints accurately for a slipfit — with a bare minimum ofslop — before gluing them up.

One last suggestion for work-ing with maple has to do withdriving screws. Due to thewood’s hardness, it’s all tooeasy to break a screw as youdrive it into a pilot hole, espe-cially if it’s a brass screw. Toreduce this possibility, alwaysfind a steel screw that matchesthe brass screw in size andthread count and drive it intothe hole first (after dragging itover a block of beeswax). Onceyou withdraw the steel screw, itcreates a threaded hole so youcan drive the brass screw easilywithout stripping or breaking it.

Following these tips willmake working with maple morepredictable and enjoyable.You’re also that much closer tobuilding projects that will rival

the antiques in durability.

How to Work with Hard Maple


Maple was used extensivelyon tool handles that

needed to withstandlots of wear. Many

of these itemsare now prized

antiques.


the half-lap joints (see the Half Lap Detail on page144). Make test cuts in scrap stock and adjust theblade height until the joint is right on the money,then lay out and cut the half laps in your mullionstock, as shown in the Door Elevation Drawings.Next, use a 5⁄16" dado blade, the table saw’s mitergauge and a set-up block clamped to the fence tocut the half-lap tenons (see Figure 5).

Assemble the mullion frame and use it to markthe mortise locations in the door. Trace aroundeach tenon with a utility knife and clean out themortises with a chisel.

Test the fit of the mullion frame in the doorand make any corrections, then glue the framestogether. A drop of glue in each mortise and half-lap joint is all it takes.

Hanging the Door and ShelvesFitting an overlay door is much easier than fit-

ting an inset door, which is one reason this proj-ect is so cabinetmaker-friendly. Plane the edges ofthe door flush with the sides of the cabinet, andtrim the door’s ends using the table saw to allowfor 1⁄16" gaps between the cabinet and door. Usingthe table saw for this step only works if the doorsand cabinet are exactly square. If your project isout of square you’ll have to hand-plane all fourdoor edges to fit.

Now use a square and a knife to transfer thehinge mortise locations directly from the cabinetto the door. Remove the waste following the tintbox technique described on page 145, then markand drill pilot holes for the hinge screws. Mountthe door in the cabinet to check its swing and fit,then remove it for installing the glass.

Cut shelves (pieces 16) for your cabinet andrip retaining strips (pieces 17) for holding theglass in the door. Miter the retaining strips tolength and drill pilot holes for the brads (pieces18). Don’t fool yourself into thinking the pilotholes are unnecessary — without them you’rebound to split the strips or bend the nails.

Finishing UpSand the cabinet to 150 grit, then select your

stain and topcoat. To make the cabinet look like anantique, we colored the wood with Medium AmberMaple aniline dye stain. Mix the water-based stainfull strength and apply it with a sponge. After allow-ing it to soak in for several minutes, wipe off theexcess. If the color isn’t dark enough for you, applymore stain. On the other hand, if the color is too

dark, wipe the cabinet with a damp rag to removesome stain. Topcoat with four coats of an oil/var-nish finish like Nordic Oil to give the project a“close to the wood” matte sheen.

Secure the back assembly in the carcase andinstall the flush-mount fasteners (pieces 19), asshown in the Back Elevation. To keep the cabinethanging plumb after installing the flush mounts,we stuck a small adhesive bumper (pieces 20) toeach bottom back corner. Now drill a pilot hole inthe door for the knob (piece 21) and install theglass with retaining strips and brads.

Finally, wrap up construction by hanging thedoor. Reinstall the door hinges on the cabinet andtap a bullet catch into its hole in the cabinet. Drilla corresponding hole in the bottom edge of thedoor and install the strike plate for the catch (seeDoor Elevations on the Technical Drawings).Another approach to a door catch would be toinstall a pair of rare earth magnets into shallowrecesses with epoxy.

As you can see, this is a simple cabinet, but toreally do it justice the building process stillrequires care and time. Learning a few tricks ofthe trade on projects like this will make it easy tostep up to more complicated projects later on.


Strategic Sandingfor a Smooth FinishStarting with acoarse grit (80 or100), work succes-sively up throughfiner grit sandpa-per. Don’t skip gritsalong the way. Use a pattern of sanding in alter-nating angles across the grain until you finishwith 180 or 220 grit. Use garnet paper for thefinal pass, working with the grain.


heirloom collector’s cabinet · heirloom collector’s cabinet set aside a weekend and a few feet...

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