Curio Cabinet, Part 5: Finishing Up

Next up was hinging the door.  I purchased some nice Brusso hinges.  They were damned expensive, but I wanted some good hinges to take the weight of the glass and wood door so that it wouldn't sag and scrape the bottom as it opens and closes.  So far, these hinges have performed perfectly.

I worked on the door first, marking the hinge recess carefully with the hinge in place, then mortising with chisel and router plane.

One hinge mortise chopped in the door

When the two hinges were on the door, I placed the door on the carcase to allow an even reveal at top and bottom.  Then marked the hinge recesses and chopped and chiseled them out.

Marking the carcase for the hinge mortises

And here is the door hanging on the carcase

With all the glass in this project, I thought I should pre-finish the components before gluing up.  So I planed, scraped and/or sanded all surfaces, gave 3-4 coats of shellac, and added a coat of paste wax.

Areas not to receive finish were taped off or avoided with the brush strokes

Having finished the sides and the thin strips that would hold in the glass, I could nail the strips in place.  I pre-drilled the nail holes in the strips so that these thin pieces would not split.  The 3/4" nails were just a bit smaller in diameter than my smallest drill bit, so I used a nail with its head cut off and point sharpened like an awl as my drill bit.

Nailing on a strip - thin plywood used to protect the glass

After installing the glass and the holding strips in both sides and the door, I could glue up the carcase.  It didn't want to be perfectly square, so I had to angle the clamps slightly to bring it into square.

Testing one inside diagonal ...

... and the other diagonal

I made this inside diagonal gauge to check for square.  Due to the overhang of the top and bottom, I couldn't measure accurately enough with a tape measure and these sticks worked great.  I'll write about them in a separate post later.

After that, I added the door pull.  Sometimes a task that seems so simple can have complications.  I had to recess the screw head on the back of the door (3/8" hole to a specific depth).  I needed a 3/16" through hole to accept the screw threads.  I ended up starting with a 1/16" pilot hole, drilled as square as I could drill it.

Marked the location and then drilled from both sides to get a square through pilot hole

On the back, used the pilot hole to guide a 3/8" auger bit

I then drilled a 3/16" hole from the front to take the screw and wound up being a bit off-center, but I rectified that with a small round rasp.  In retrospect, I could have used a 3/16" auger bit that probably would have followed the pilot hole better than the drill bit I used.

The door will be kept closed by a magnet inset into the front edge of the right side.  The magnet attracts the screw head of the door pull and this seems to be working nicely.

And here she is, with shelves in place.

Very happy how it turned out

Full frontal view

With door open

Left side showing hinges

And finally, in place on the wall, filled with the wife's collection of unicorns and other curios.

Tada !!!

The wood for this project was recycled - it had been a someone's shop-made cabinet and I got it for free on Craigslist.  They said it was mahogany, but I think it's sapele.  Rob Porcaro of the Heartwood Blog recently did a series of posts on mahogany and its impostors.  Sapele is not a true mahogany,  but it was a joy to work!  It sawed and chiseled like butter, but it dulled my plane irons quickly.  I wonder if it's a wood that has silica in it - something known to dull irons quickly.

There were several "firsts" for me in this project.  The ones I can think of at the moment (and there were probably more) were:

1. First project incorporating glass
2. First project from sapele
3. First time using the mitered bridle joint (for the door)
4. First time using h&r planes (rounds only) to mold the top on three sides
5. First time using Brusso hinges - they work as advertised

Wishing all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.