This project started with my being tired of clutter on our kitchen counter and deciding I should build something that looked decent to store things in. It was both a fun design challenge, which I still have a lot to learn from, but also I threw in some new joinery — dovetails and stopped dados — to keep things interesting. This whole project took me almost a year and a half from design to completion, but in my defense I did several others in the interim + quit my job, took a sabbatical, and started a new job.
Lumber
I went with hard maple for the inside and the carcase, soft maple for the front, and some bits of walnut for highlights. It bought it and milled it down to size.
Building the carcase
I’d never really done dovetails, so after watching some youtube videos, messing up some practice cuts, I had to just go for it. The scary part was that I’d failed to plan properly for extra lumber and wanted to grain to flow all the way around, so if I messed up too badly, I’d have to start over.
Designing the front
I’d originally designed a way to attach the front that didn’t properly account for wood movement, so after consulting with a woodworking friend, I designed a second way, but after sitting down to build it, I realized it was way too complicated, so I went with the third way and cut my boards in half, planed them thinner and attached them to a plywood sheet as veneer.
Adding walnut accents
I slightly regret not doing more of this, but I do like how the accents give some contrast to the overall design.
Creating the inside
The inside shelving is probably the part I’m most happy with. The wood is really clean looking and most of the joints ended up more-or-less gap free. The layout feels pleasing to me, and it’s designed to fit specific things we had on our counter.
Finishing it up
I ended up using a wipe-on poly for the inside, as it will probably get banged up a bit, then just a shellac for the outside and front. I may try some Odie’s Oil or Wax for the outside as well to see if it doesn’t look better. The doors are attached with some standard hinges. I wonder if maybe I need to learn more about hinge options, but this was my 2nd time using them in a project and they turned out alright.
One final thing I plan to do is to add some hangers and small holders to the doors for odds-and-ends like our whisk or stirring spoons.
