Читать книгу Cabinets, Bookcases and Wall Shelves - Hot to Build All Types of Cabinets, Shelving and Storage Facilities for the Modern Home - 77 Designs with Compl - Milton Gunerman - Страница 15

Working plans for an American modern dining room group the craftsman can make at low cost

IT’S TIME for the old oak sideboard to give way to a new and cheerful piece of furniture in the form of an up-to-date china cupboard that has been styled in the modern manner. The cupboard presented here for home workshop construction is distinguished by sliding glass doors in front of the display section and a clever accordion door giving access to the linen compartment in the lower section of the cabinet. The case is supported by an interesting base decorated with parallel vanes which afford the only ornament of the entire cabinet.

The use of plywood for all parts except the shelves, vanes, handles and legs makes the construction very simple and insures the permanency of the completed piece. Tracks for the sliding glass doors are cut from a strip of ordinary channel brass which is available at most hardware stores. Standard piano hinge serves the cupboard doors, and a wood or metal pin projecting from the upper edge of one door rides in a groove on the underside of the shelf as a means of providing the accordion feature. As the handle is pulled, the left door, guided by the pin, travels across the opening.

Legs and cross-pieces are cut as shown below and the assembled vanes added.

The construction of the dining room cabinet is started with the lower unit or stand. The stand is made up of four units, the two sets of legs and the two ornamental vanes which also act as stretchers. The legs are made of four pieces of 1 3/4″ square stock, 13″ long. As shown in drawing, detail sketch and photographs the crosspiece is joined to the legs by means of end-slip joints. A groove 5/8″ wide and 1 3/4″ deep is cut in each end of the crosspiece 9/16″ in from each side. A tongue is cut on one end of each leg to fit the groove. The vanes are set in dadoes cut on the inside edge of the legs. These dadoes are 3/4″ wide and 3/4″ deep. The top one is located 3″ from the end of the tongue, while the lower one is located 1 1/4″ below the upper dado. These may be cut on the bench saw, but if such a machine is not available the work may equally well be accomplished by hand using back saw, chisel, and finishing with a hand router.

The front leg should be glued to the crosspiece and the corner checked for squareness before it is set aside. After the glue has set, the 1 3/4″ radius is scribed on the corner and this line is followed when the unit is being cut to this shape on the jig saw or band saw. It is finished by hand with a file. If a disc sander is available the work can be done on this machine. The same procedure is followed for the other front leg and crosspiece unit, but the back legs are left square on the upper corner because this part of the work will stand against the wall.

The vanes are made of four pieces of 3/4″ × 3″ stock 36″ long for the front and back members, while the side members are made of four pieces of 3/4″ stock 3″ wide and 13 5/8″ long. The ends are mitered at an angle of 45 degrees, then a groove is cut in the ends 1/4″ × 1/4″ to take a spline. The spline is made of 1/4″ stock, 1/2″ wide and long enough to extend the full length of the miter. The splines are glued in place as in Fig. 3 and the frames are ready to be clamped together. When the glue has set and the clamps have been removed, the gains in the front and back members are located as shown in the detail sketch (A). These gains should fit tightly into the dadoes that have been cut in the legs. The vanes and legs should be sandpapered thoroughly preparatory to assembling the complete bottom unit. As shown in Fig. 4 the vanes are first assembled to the front legs. Glue is used in these joints. The back legs are set in place as in Fig. 5, and last the various members of this unit are now clamped together.

The case, with the exception of the back, is made of 3/4″ plywood. The sides are made of two pieces 11 7/8″ wide and 39 7/8″ long. A 1/4″ × 5/8″ rabbet is cut along the inside back edge to take the back panel. A rabbet 5/5″ × 5/8″ is cut on the upper inside end to take the top, while a rabbet 5/8″ × 3/4″ is cut on the lower inside edge to take the bottom. A 1/4″ × 3/4″ dado is cut across the inside face for the main shelf. The location of this shelf is shown in the front view in the working drawing. Holes to take the shelf support brackets are located at the points indicated. These holes are 1/4″ in diameter and bored to a depth of 3/8″.

The accordion style of door fitted on the lower cupboard compartment is in two sections. Piano type hinges go at center and at one end, while a pin projecting from door rides in groove, on underside of shelf. Handle is in center.

The top and bottom are made of two pieces of stock 11 7/8″ × 35 3/4″. The back edge of each member has a 1/4″ × 1/4″ rabbet cut along it to take the back panel. The upper front edge of the top piece has a 1/8″ × 1/8″ rabbet cut along it. The shelf is made of a piece of stock 11 5/8″ × 35″. This shelf has a 1/4″ × 1/4″ groove cut near the front edge to take the guide pin in the lower door. This is shown in the detail cross section (F).

The cabinet is assembled by first gluing and fastening the shelf to one side using 2″ brads. The top and bottom are next applied to this same side in like manner. The other side is then set in place. The back is made of 1/4″ plywood from a panel 35 3/4″ × 39″. When cutting this panel to size make certain that it is square. The back is glued and fastened in place with 1″ brads.

After the case has been completed, it is fastened to the base by driving two 2″ No. 9 flat head wood screws through the bottom of the cabinet and into each crosspiece as shown in the drawing. The doors are made of two pieces of 3/4″ plywood stock 16″ long and 17 3/8″ wide. Care must be taken when squaring and fitting these doors in order to have them work properly. Allow extra clearance so that paint will not cause them to bind. Two piano hinges 1 1/4″ wide and 16″ long are required. The doors are cut to take these.

As shown in the sketch (F) the free end of the two door units has a 1/4″ pin located 3/8″ from the end. This pin rides in the groove in the underside of the shelf. The right-hand door is hinged to the cabinet side first. The left-hand door has the pin inserted, then is set in position, after which the hinge which connects it to the right-hand door is applied.

The door pull is made of a piece of 1 1/2″ square stock 16″ long. It is turned down in the lathe to the full diameter. One side is planed flat to produce a surface 1″ wide. This surface is fastened against the door at the point indicated in the sketch, with 1 1/4″ flat head screws.

The movable shelves are made of two pieces of 3/4″ solid stock 10″ wide and 34 3/8″ long. The front edge is finished off half-round. Two plate grooves are cut in the upper shelf. These grooves are placed 1″ apart and 1″ from the back edge. Before the brass channel in which the glass doors slide is applied the cabinet should be finished. The work should be sandpapered thoroughly and then given a coat of paste filler. This is followed by a coat of shellac. After the shellac is dry, the surfaces should be sandpapered with a No. 00 sandpaper. Two coats of lacquer are applied. The shade of lacquer used will depend on the individual’s choice of color and upon the color scheme of the room where the cabinet is to be located.

The glass doors slide in brass channels. Four pieces of channel 3/8″ × 3/8″ × 3/8″ are required. The thickness of the metal is .040 which allows slightly more than 1/4″ for the inside dimension of the channel. The channels are cut to fit inside the case and fastened in place with 1/2″ No. 4 flat head screws. Holes for these are drilled and countersunk in the channel. The upper channels are applied first. The glass is set in place, the lower channel slipped under the glass as shown in the photograph, Fig. 10, then the channel is placed in position on the shelf. The glass doors are made of 1/4″ plate glass 18″ × 21 5/8″ with finger grips at each end as shown.

Glass doors are installed in the cabinet by holding bottom strip of channel on glass while putting in place