Thread: A George II Elm Corner Cupboard

I see the lamingtons have disappeared in my absence!

Great work WW. The door panel very attractive and should really catch the eye when finished.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Moulded frame components.



The door frame's joints were first drawbored and then I knocked the door together and drove oak pegs through the joints, leaving the panel free-floating in the frame.

The assembled door.

The pegs were trimmed and the door given a final tidy up in preparation for hanging on the cupboard.

Silly Question .
Was one of the tenon holes in the arched top elongated to allow for movement

Originally Posted by Peter36

Silly Question .
Was one of the tenon holes in the arched top elongated to allow for movement

No, quite the opposite; all the holes were drawbored so the pegs drew the frame up tight. The panel is uninhindered by the pegs and is relatively free to move within the frame.

My guess would be Peter 36 is asking if there might be allowance for movement in the top arched rail given its width at the sides, not so much the panel, looks to be a good 200 or so where it meets the stile


Pete

Originally Posted by pjt

My guess would be Peter 36 is asking if there might be allowance for movement in the top arched rail given its width at the sides, not so much the panel, looks to be a good 200 or so where it meets the stile


Pete

Ah, that's clearer.

One would think that might be the case, but no, no movement allowance was/is made for the deep top rail.

The temperature in the shed reached 49° C the other day and the door has remained stable. The backboards, on the other hand, developed 3/32" gaps which was expected. They have since closed up somewhat and remain at about 1/16" or less (there's paint in some of the gaps now, so they'll never fully return to where they began). The backboards are still tight to the end boards which speaks volumes about the practice of nailing these carcases together. The backboards didn't move much below where the upper shelf supports are nailed.

That's the shock treatment part of the antiquing process complete! The cupboard is unlikely to experience such extremes of humidity and temperature again once it's hanging indoors. The somewhat ill-fitting and paint dribbled backboards now have the desired attributes expected of a rustic corner cupboard.

The door is suspended on H-hinges which, because they are surface-mounted (as opposed to the more usual butt hinges whose plain leaves are concealed between the door edge and carcase), have decoratively shaped edges. The hinges are also unique in that they are attached with only two (steel) screws, located in the middle of the leaves. The ends of the leaves are secured with brass nails.

I fixed a straight cupboard lock to the interior of the door and pinned a brass escutcheon over the key hole.

The elm corner cupboard in-the-white.

The exterior of the back, top and base of the cupboard was given a minium wash and the interior was given three coats of a cream-coloured oil-based paint. The show wood was stained and polished and when dry, was given a good waxing.

The cupboard, polished.



The arched panel.



The cornice.



The base moulding.



The painted interior…



… and shaped shelf.



Ready for hanging up.

Excellent work as usual. Well done.

Col.

ps. where are the tools in each photo? (wink wink nudge nudge say no more.....)

Another antique
Is the door to have a knob or have you fitted one of the modern touch latches

Originally Posted by Peter36

Another antique
Is the door to have a knob or have you fitted one of the modern touch latches

No knob or magnetic catch; the key will live in the lock permanently and that will serve as the knob.

As usual, thank you.
Cheers,
Jim

Another excellent piece there WW.

A query if I may? In some of the finishing books they suggest finishing the panel prior to it's assembly into the door, this is done so as not to have an unfinished line of white showup if the panel happens to shrink, Are you not bothered about this? or if a line does showup it's as it would have been as per the period and was accepted that that's just what happened?

Pete

and another question... why did you use 1 screw and 2 pins per hinge leaf?

Originally Posted by pjt

In some of the finishing books they suggest finishing the panel prior to it's assembly into the door, this is done so as not to have an unfinished line of white showup if the panel happens to shrink, Are you not bothered about this? or if a line does showup it's as it would have been as per the period and was accepted that that's just what happened?

Pete

The trouble with a lot of modern finishes/finishing schedules is that they're not easily repaired or touched up in the event something goes wrong. If/when this panel shrinks, I'll give it all another waxing and it's problem solved.

Originally Posted by Clinton1

and another question... why did you use 1 screw and 2 pins per hinge leaf?

As you probably know by now, I only copy what went before. H-hinges were made with just the one countersunk hole in the middle of each leaf for a steel screw and two or more smaller holes for brass nails or pins.

All brass nails would probably have been the preferred (more decorative) arrangement, but brass nails alone would not have been as secure or reliable, hence the addition of the screws.