At our June 14 regular meeting Mike Kozikowski showed us a china cabinet that he built for his daughter. The inspiration was a photograph supplied by his daughter. Owing to the size and complexity of the cabinet, the construction took some time; even spanning a house move.
The cabinet was built from walnut solids and veneers. It was built in two parts, a base cabinet and upper glass display, which sits on top without mechanical attachment. Mike used SketchUp to model the cabinet from the photograph. He started by importing the photo into SketchUp, allowing him to gauge the proportions. Then, SketchUp allowed him to work out dimensions and joinery prior to cutting the actual wood. By selectively hiding components, the software allowed him to isolated individual components for detailed cut drawings he could then use in the shop.
- Used frame and panel construction for cabinet sides
- 1/4″ walnut ply veneer for door panels and sides
- Joinery included double tenons
- Dovetails hold the front top rail into the posts
- Curved center door and drawer
- Used a template to band saw curved rails on carcass, drawers, and doors
- Glass upper door and curved rails glued up from stack of veneer with gorilla glue
- Shelves are adjustable with standard shelf pins
- Ordered his walnut for the project from Niagara Lumber and had a good experience, part of the order arrived not like he was expecting and their customer service department helped him get what he needed.
