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Thread: Suspended cabinet
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31st October 2005, 10:03 AM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Suspended cabinet
Hi. After initially thinking they were wierd, I have become quite fond of this style of long legged cabinet. Made from red cedar (legs and carcase) oak (drawers) and mahogany (dividers), all recycled.
I started it as an all-darkside job, but because I wanted the timbers to be thin and light I found hand planing them down to the 14mm, 10mm and 4mm required imflamed my RSI so I fired up the thicknesser to finish. This was fortuitous in a sense because I found it to be very much my preferred style of work - and it finally answered the dark side/light side/twilight side question for me. Prepare the rough recycled timbers with a scrub plane and handsaw, then do the heavy and repetitive work with machines by ripping to width with the table saw and thickness with the thicknesser, then do by hand the real joinery - crosscutting, dovetails, rebates, dadoes, freeform shaping, surface planing and scraping etc etc. I may invest in some real good rip saws to move the rip sawing stage from machine to hand as tablesaws make me nervous.
I am pleased with the result although there are still noticeable mistakes. Foremost is the choice of timber. Oak just doesnt look right with cedar. Also, because I dont like seeing secondary timber I used oak for all parts of the drawers, which means the dovetails are almost invisible - because the drawers are fairly bland the dovetails should have been made a feature, which could have been achieved with contrasting timber.
Also, a question. The edge banding on top and bottom is there solely for appearance sake - to stop the top looking too boxy. What is the preferred way for these to be attached ? Obviously there is an issue with expansion contraction on the side of the box.
Arron
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31st October 2005, 11:25 AM #2
Beautiful work Arron, a true heirloom.
As for the edge banding, I would have thought glue would be fine for something that small, but there is are many more informed people than me on the forum!
Anyway, well doneGreatest Movie Quote Ever: "Its good to be the king!"____________________________
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31st October 2005, 11:33 AM #3
I like it a lot. I was impressed by the taper and turn you have on the legs. Tell us how you did that.
You might be critical of your work saying it isn't perfect but most jobs are like that. You make something learn more as you go along realise you could do it better or differently. Thats all part of the learning process. Greenies from me
StudleyAussie Hardwood Number One
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31st October 2005, 11:40 AM #4
Nice work Aaron
Like the choice of timbers
Keep up the good work
JamiePerhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.
Winston Churchill
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31st October 2005, 11:55 AM #5What is the preferred way for these to be attached ?"I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
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31st October 2005, 11:58 AM #6
Wow, Arron that is one gorgeous cabinet. Mate you've done it again.
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31st October 2005, 12:01 PM #7.
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Beautifull work Arron, well done... Especially like the tapered legs they are terrific
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31st October 2005, 12:02 PM #8
Hi Arron,
Lovely piece of furniture! I especially like the assymetrical drawer layout, and the working of oak with the cedar is a visual treat!
Welld one,Andy Mac
Change is inevitable, growth is optional.
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31st October 2005, 12:33 PM #9Registered
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Very nice cabinet.
Al
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31st October 2005, 12:59 PM #10
Nice work Arron. I love the curve at the bottom of the legs.
TravSome days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreen
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31st October 2005, 03:27 PM #11
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31st October 2005, 03:42 PM #12
Really nice Arron. I think that you are being too hard on yourself about the cabinet. The oak does contrast the red of the mahogany and cedar quite nicely.
Well Done!!Have a nice day - Cheers
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31st October 2005, 03:57 PM #13
looks very nice, it must have taken a while!
You can never have enough planes, that is why Mr Stanley invented the 1/2s
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31st October 2005, 04:25 PM #14
Very elegant piece of work, Arron. Congratulations and well done! Something for the rest of us to aspire to.
Interesting comment about the dovetails in the drawers. Whilst you can choose to make a feature of them when the drawer face and carcase are in different timbers, in this case where you have used the same timber, there is a subtlety about the lack of visual contrast that is attractive in itself. If there is an obvious reason for the drawer fronts to be a different timber from the drawer carcase, then there is a reason for the visual contrast. However, if you use different timber simply in order to emphasise the dovetail joints and for no other reason then you might be over-emphasising them.
ColDriver of the Forums
Lord of the Manor of Upper Legover
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31st October 2005, 04:32 PM #15
Arron,
This is a lovely piece. The overall proportions give it a light and airy feel, and the contrasting drawers and dark handles give it just the right amount of visual interest. I think the oak drawer sides are fine visually: understated dovetails show a confident mastery of technique. The curve of the legs is nicely proportioned too. A very nice design.
One question: the piece being quite tall, does it tend to be tilted forwards when you open the doors or pull out a drawer? What kind of catch did you use on the doors?
About the edge banding: if it is true banding, you could inlay it with the grain aligned with the substrate so that movement is not a problem, and you still get the visual definition of the band. If it's a moulding, then the sliding dovetails mentioned by SilentC would be the ideal solution. Or you could cheat a bit by using a couple of countersink screws set into slots, then cover the screw heads with a second layer of moulding. Over time (many years I would think), such a joint would show more of a gap than the sliding dovetail because of the wear of the screw head on the wood.
Your description of the dark/light balance of technique sounds very satisfying.Those are my principles, and if you don't like them . . . well, I have others.
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