04-30-2020, 08:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-12-2020, 02:36 PM by Hank Knight.)
(04-29-2020, 05:41 PM)Philip1231 Wrote: Hank:
Beautiful! You just became my go-to consultant on this project!
I assumed the front of the bottom would be glued to the front rail: I am not clear why he used a spline in this joint when it could have been a tongue/groove joint ? As far as the back to rear apron joint, to allow for expansion, I assumed the bottom panel just floated in the groove in the rear apron?
Seeing your version of the cabinet, I am re-thinking the all door approach. I like making drawers and I may revert back to the original design. Did you use pine for the interior parts: I was going to use cherry, but I see how your cabinet shows a very nice contrast between the cherry exterior and light colored interior: Once again, Beautiful!
I have the article from FWW on the GH Hunt Board, but honestly, its complicated, and I was thrown a little when I first looked at it. As I study it more, its starting to make sense, but the assembly sequence is somewhat intimidating.
So far I have the blanks for the legs roughed out as well as the side rails and panels.
Assistance much appreciated.
Best
Phil
Phil,
It has been ten years since I built this piece and my memory is a little foggy. I don't know the "why" regarding the spline joint. My guess is that it helps with alignment during the glue-up. As for the rear bottom/rail joint, I simply don't recall. I will dig up the plans and review them. Then I should be able to answer your questions.
Yes, I used some very old wide white pine a friend gave me years ago for the interior parts. It has a nice aged color that I thought went well with the cherry and the dark stained maple. Soft maple is the basic construction wood. I stained it Burgundy color with TransTint. Then I painted it with black milk paint and rubbed it off to reveal just a little of the dark red color. I have seen some recent articles that present a red milk paint undercoat with a black milk paint top coat that produces the same result. If I were to do this over again, I would probably choose this recipe. The top and the drawer fronts are figured cherry. I like the contrast between the light rich cherry and the dark stained/painted maple.
Hack's theory of this design relies on a very stout top and bottom to provide rigidity to the whole assembly. The interior dividers are joined to the bottom with tapered sliding dovetails. If I recall correctly, they are not permanently affixed to the top, but float in shallow grooves (I might be wrong about this; I'll check). The edges of the top are deeply beveled to thin edges. This gives a very light appearance to the top and belies its 1 1/4" thickness. The bottom is hidden by the front and back rails.
I like the drawer case flanked by two small cabinets. My wife likes the drawers. She uses them as our silver chest to keep the silver flatware. To be honest, the piece doesn't provide a wealth of storage space, but it's perfect for our needs.
Give me a day or so to dig out the plans, and I'll be happy to answer your questions more definitely.
Hank