Thread: Tender Cabinet - Tasmanian Myrtle

Most tenders don't deserve a house like that. Very nice.

Tex

Lovely lines to it, should look great when finished!


Cheers

Love the lines, what finish are you thinking of using?

Cheers
Steve

Scally,

The cabinet is looking great - I really like the combination you have chosen. I have to try some Tas Myrtle one of these days.

Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Will

The lines come from a few cabinets I have seen.
I think it is a good shape.

I have made a few of Neil Scobie's projects. The legs are common on his blanket boxes and coffee table. He has a wine cabinet that is similar to this Tender Cabinet.

The sides and back are straight forward but the front has been a bit tricky.

I put the side rails flush with the inside of the legs. This gave maximum depth to the legs on the outside.

But it limits my option for dowelling the front rails into the legs.
I think I have it sorted now.

The finish is an Oil/estapol mix.
It is easy to apply and gives a harder finish than oil on its own.

I might add more estapol to the top as my colleagues in the office will probably end up putting a pot plant on it!!!
We'll see.

The front board on the top has a good burl effect so I want to show it off as best I can.

I would have preferred a better veneer for the panels or raised timber panels. But it would have made it too expensive.
I am not sure about the contrast between the panels and the legs. It might have looked better with a darker panel.

Tasmanian myrtle is a good timber to work with and I like the colour.

Tex B, maybe a tender box that isn't made out a chipboard might attract some better tenders??

Finally got back to this cabinet.

It has been steady work, fitting the hinges and locks.
Unfortunately the loacks came without strike plates so I need to wait for them to come.

I picked up a thin piece of Huon pine that has a little birdseye. By time that the board was cleaned up, it was 6mm thick.
I glued it to a sheet of the cabinet ply. The ply will fit into the grooves in the door frame but now it has a raised huon panel.

The front looks much different now.

That huon finishes it off nicely, nice work Scally

Thanks Harry
The front looks better. I am just a bit worried that it looks a bit funny with the different panels on the sides?

I am fitting half-mortice locks to the door and the flap. I don't normally put locks on my projects so it is a steady process.

Attached are escutcheons, similar to what I have.
I am looking for a good way to install them.
The collar is about 20mm in diameter, 2mm thick and 6mm long.

I have to cut a 2mm wide circle with a 20mm diameter, 6mm into the door fronts.

I don't have a router bit that small.
It is a bit deep for a carving chisel.
So far I have used a diamond bit in a dremel and cut one of them freehand. A very slow process and not particularly neat.
It would be quicker to drill a series of holes with a drill and then clean them up with the dremel.

Does anyone have a better way?

Beautiful work Scally. The huon looks amazing.

Thanks Wongo.

Your big cabinet looks great.
I bought a few blackwood boards off Mal at the Newcastle wood show last week and have ordered more from a guy in Tassie.

THe TV cabinet like yours, is getting closer to the top of the list of 'To Do" projects.

Those Tasmanians do have some lovely timber. I cant decide between blackwood, myrtle or huon for the cabinet.

It was fiddly fitting the escutcheon.

I ended up using a forstner bit to mark the small circle. Then used a carving chisel with a similar radius to deepen the ring and removed the waste with a dremel bit.

I used a small chisel to cut out the leg for the key.

The half mortice lock has three recesses and the centre keyhole to make. I marked them out with a marking knife - removed most of the waste with a router to get a flat and level seat. Finished it off with a chisel.

They fit nice and snug.

The huon panel still looks good. I ended up glueing a veneer sheet on the back of the panel to stop the panel from warping.

Now I still need to wait for the strike plates for the lock to arrive.

That is one beautiful cabinet, Scally. And you've made fantastic use of that piece of huon pine - it will be admired for generations, I'm sure! Love the design, too, btw.

Cheers,

Jill

Hi Jill

Have you moved yet?

Thanks for the compliments. I like the leg shape too. I use it often.
It is solid and elegant.

Huon with some figure does look good and it polishes up so well.

I started work on the top, It has a few cracks and knots but really nice burl-type figure in the front boards.Last night I filled the holes and cracks with black stained epoxy. I'll give it a couple of days to harden fully then sand it up.

The glue up will be tricky with all the front and back bits to go together at the same time. I have been putting a couple of coats of oil on the parts before I get to the glue up.

My next worry is the front flat door.
It will need clearance so it can swing in so it will need some tuning. But I can't really do that until I have the cabinet assembled.
The flap needs to swing back to the closed position after it is opened. The hinges might need some tuning. Plus it should close flush with the cabinet.
I thought about using magnets but am not convinced that they will be strong enough.
Maybe a strip of myrtle along the back of the flat so it closes against the front rail.
I'll do some experimenting.

Hi Scally,

What Jill said. Superb !!!

Cheers
Pops