# Making cabinet - help with housings please



## Ed Turtle (19 Jun 2020)

I'm fairly inexperienced with making stuff, but i have made a few bits and i'm learning slowly. I'm making a wall cabinet for my bathroom, to cover a hole in the wall (or niche) with shelves on already. I want it to look like a cabinet (so hiding the shelves behind), but instead of a door opening to reveal shelves, the whole cabinet will open, to reveal the shelves behind, but also incorporate shelves in the cabinet. Make sense?!







This is what i have so far. This will be the shelves, then i'll attach the "door" to the front. The whole cabinet will be the door to the shelves behind. I'm using housing joints for the shelves, except at the top which i think is a rebate, since its on the edge? How should i do the bottom shelf? I've been thinking either:
Put the shelf slightly up from the bottom so the housing can support the shelf - if so how much do i need to leave to support? This method might look odd when i attach the door though, would the door go right to the bottom, or would i leave the sides to be longer, and perhaps shape them to loo fancy?

Or, put the shelf right at the bottom, but include some dowels to help support the shelf? Its not going to take a huge weight, its 4x1 pse wood, about 40cm wide, so probably just a few shampoo bottles or something. 

Thanks, hope i've been clear in my explanation?!


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## MikeG. (19 Jun 2020)

Dovetails. Seriously, they are the utilitarian casing joint for end grain-to-endgrain joins. And believe it or not, they're 10 times easier than you'd think.


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## AndyT (19 Jun 2020)

Mike's right. 
Through dovetails will hold the ends to the sides nicely.


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## Ed Turtle (19 Jun 2020)

I have practiced with a couple of dovetails on some other projects, thats not a bad idea as i definitely need more practice. To clarify, you mean just the bottom shelf? And, just a normal dovetail, nothing fancy?

One problem (potentially). I have cut all four shelves already, wont the dovetailed shelf need to be slightly longer than the housing joints?

Thanks


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## AndyT (19 Jun 2020)

Top and bottom would be the conventional construction. You will need to shorten the middle shelves a little.


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## Ed Turtle (20 Jun 2020)

Can't see that being a problem, they are slightly wider than the drawings i made anyway. Is it worth doing the top as a dovetail, only i've already cut the housing joint?

Thanks


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## AndyT (20 Jun 2020)

It's your call - it might well be strong enough with just housings and glue. Dovetails would be stronger, but if it's only going to hold a few ornaments you could be fine, especially if you add a back.


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## Graham Orm (20 Jun 2020)

I'd have said a housing 1" up with maybe a couple of screws from the outside as no one will see them. However as others have suggested DT's would be better


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## D_W (25 Jun 2020)

Ed Turtle":3g85yeub said:


> I'm fairly inexperienced with making stuff, but i have made a few bits and i'm learning slowly. I'm making a wall cabinet for my bathroom, to cover a hole in the wall (or niche) with shelves on already. I want it to look like a cabinet (so hiding the shelves behind), but instead of a door opening to reveal shelves, the whole cabinet will open, to reveal the shelves behind, but also incorporate shelves in the cabinet. Make sense?!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Dovetails as mentioned above. If you're worried about how they look (exposed joinery is hideous to begin with, no matter how well it's executed), wrap the top and bottom of the cabinet with a moulding. It's the civilized look in the first place.


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