Blood, Sweat, and Sawdust

No tool cabinet is complete without doors.  The doors on this cabinet are shallow boxes.  As a result, they effectively double the storage capacity of the cabinet.  So, with the main cabinet complete, it was time to move on to the doors.

The doors consist of a box and face.  The box is dovetailed, while the face is frame and panel.

I started with the boxes.  First, I cut the dovetails much like I did for the main cabinet.  Then, I pre-finished the parts with a few wash coats of shellac.  Finally, I glued the boxes together and moved on to the face panels.

The joinery for the frame and panel faces is simple.  The rails and stiles get grooves along their interior length.  Additionally, the stiles get a tenon that fits into the groove on the stiles.  Then, I cut a rabbet on the panels.  This allows the panel to fit into the grooves in the frame parts.Since the panel is made from plywood, I glued everything together with little worry of wood movement.  The panels sit flush with the frame on the interior side of the door.  This makes mounting tool holders much easier.

Finally, I finished the doors be installing them to the main cabinet.  I sourced my hinges from http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com.  They have loose pins for easy installation.  Additionally, the hinge mortises helped a lot with alignment and installation.  I used a centering vix bit to drill the screw holes.  Then, I mounted the hinges and inserted the pins.  Then, I hung the cabinet on the wall with the help of my lovely wife.  Everything went together fairly easily.

Next, I will make interior doors to further increase storage potential.  Additionally, I need to make a plane gallery and tool holders.  Stay tuned.

Check out my previous post here: The Case

Additionally, you can check out the new post here: Interior Doors.