A Krenov-inspired cocktail cabinet

[gasman]

Got back from work tonight a bit earlier than usual and very keen to carry on
So I cut a rebate in the rails of the doors to leave 4 mm which will be the thickness of the lip holding the glass (JK says apparently that the glass should be at the front of the doors to make them 'lighter' in appearance)
Then wondered how to rebate the curved stiles and hit upon this - a rebate cutting router bit from Axi which I bought years ago - and by playing around with the bearing - I cut it back to leave 6mm.

So here are the four stiles before trimming the corners with a chisel

Halfway along each of these stiles will be the muntin - then the rebate will need to be straight so that the glass sits on them flush eventually but I think this will work and it got me quite excited!
The door roughly assembled and not glued yet, with the corners sorted out

Then I suddenly remembered England vs Pakistan in the T20 - so went in to watch England lose by 8 miserable runs when they were coasting with Bopara and Bairstow at the crease. Always hard being an England cricket fan!
More at the weekend
Mark

 

[Benchwayze]

Well Gasman,
I like Krenov's work (or most of it.)
I like your cabinet, thus far, and I admire your skills, because when it comes to Krenov inspired pieces, the talent isn't in my fingers I fear!

So 9.5 out of 10 because nothing is perfect! 8)

 

[mtr1]

Good progress on the doors, did you consider off setting the shoulders for the tenons? This would get rid of the awkward corners, and would of enabled you to run the rebates through. If I've done it like that in the past, I have cut the corners after the door is glued up, as little errors creep in on glue up and sometimes the finished corner needs re-cutting slightly.
This thread has made me pick up the Krenov books I have, and made me look through my timber stock for suitable timbers for my builds, nice job.

 

[Modernist]

And sorry to Mark mtr1 - missed your question completely. I made the doors first as that is what JK seems to do - it is an interesting concept and I agree not what I have ever done before - but he apparently says that any slight 'twists' in the doors can be taken out in the frame. Not sure really but it seemed a bit logical
Mark

I think the idea behind making the doors first is that if you have a prized, selected piece of timber then you are going to show it in the doors. You can make the doors to make best use of that piece then size and adjust the cabinet to suit from less exotic timber. So really it is designing to the timber, not the plan.

 

[Benchwayze]

And sorry to Mark mtr1 - missed your question completely. I made the doors first as that is what JK seems to do - it is an interesting concept and I agree not what I have ever done before - but he apparently says that any slight 'twists' in the doors can be taken out in the frame. Not sure really but it seemed a bit logical
Mark

I think the idea behind making the doors first is that if you have a prized, selected piece of timber then you are going to show it in the doors. You can make the doors to make best use of that piece then size and adjust the cabinet to suit from less exotic timber. So really it is designing to the timber, not the plan.

I think too, that's why Krenov called himself 'The Impractical Cabinetmaker'. Maybe?

 

[RickCarpenter]

Back to the stiles... I don't know how fixed you are on your project as is, but making the inner stiles and the muntins out of some darker wood might really set off your piece nicely.

 

[gasman]

Didn't get much done this weekend due to 'more important jobs' as they were described to me
However, I carried on with the doors of my cabinet and decided on 6mm dowels joints between stiles and muntins

I used a short 6mm Festool bit which was excellent to drill the dowel holes - plus finally got to use my father's old 6mm copper centre point which was extremely sharp and accurate

Then glued up the doors

Before tidying up the edges and inside corners

I think I am happy with these doors - by the time they are sitting in a nice cabinet with contrasting ebony handles, a burr-fronted drawer below and on my cherry base I think they will be suitable - however what would I know I hear you say. Good point! Also I have to cut 4 pieces of glass 530x95mm which will be a huge challenge for me. I never understand why I am so poor at glass cutting - anyone got some good tips?
Now I need to have a longer think about the carcass - matching some grain and thinking about the overall dimensions of the piece
Thanks for looking - ALL comments good or bad gratefully received
Cheers Mark

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Mark,

I am really enjoying following your build and thought processes.

This is a glazing tip for you.

Thanks,
Neil (who is getting his coat)

 

[mtr1]

Looks great, with regard to cutting glass...

Dip cutter in oil first, score once, then a little tap on the underside to break the joint, followed by lifting centrally where the join is .

 

[TheTiddles]

Here's a tip... Go to glass cutter for cut glass!

I have the same issue, I always end up making a mess too.

Aidan

 

[Benchwayze]

I have been told, shown, and had the directions for cutting glass written down; many times. But I still can't cut glass. Not even with a diamond tip cutter. I think it's like lifting one eyebrow at a time. You can either do it, or you can't.

 

[gasman]

So it serves me right for not planning anything at all about this project.... I have reached my first major cock-up. Somehow the width of both doors together is 590mm whereas the width of the base (not glued up yet) is 570mm. So, even if the doors are sitting in front of the carcass (rather than inside) they are still too wide. Actually I quite like the idea of the doors being the whole front of the cabinet rather than sitting inside a frame - I think it will look cleaner and there are certainly JK cabinets made like this.
So I just need - either to reduce the width of the doors by about 1/2 an inch each - or remake the curved portion of the base - which would give me a chance to rectify Woodbloke's totally correctly pointed out (but at the time controversial!) observation about the grain direction. Also, the 2 inner rails of the doors are grain matched so I cannot make them narrower. Having said that, 600mm would be quite i big cabinet
More to ponder before my next trip down the garden
Thanks to everyone for the glass-cutting advice. I have made a radical discovery that practice does wonders - and now - using oil, a single stroke of the glass cutter, a single tap and gradual pressure has resulted in a few successful cuts on scrap pieces.
Mark

 

[Modernist]

Doors in front - much better

 

[Gerard Scanlan]

I reckon this cabinet is all about the doors and what you can see is sitting inside the cabinet so I would be happier if you did not alter the size of doors. I think that wood blokes accurate (and of course at the time, very annoying remark, yes I was annoyed on your behalf too) was bang on so remaking the curved stretcher is a better idea for two reasons. If you don't it will eat away at you everytime you look at the cabinet. Are you going to use glass shelves too? You won't have to cut them yourself as they need to be toughened glass which can only be cut before it is heat treatment toughened.

 

[gasman]

Thanks Gerard - I agree that is what I have decided to do
I have sketched the cabinet and have some lovely sycamore which will book-match for the sides - but I think I need some more for the back - not certain yet
I have not quite decided about the drawer(s) below. The 600mm width makes one drawer too big so I am thinking instead of 2 side-by-side drawers 100mm or 125mm high cut with a book matched piece of burr. WIll think some more
The shelves will be sycamore too as then it gives the contrast to the vertical mullion (I think they are mullions not muntins)
I agree about the curved cherry front - but actually I was not at all pissed off at Rob;s comments -it was others who took offence!
Thanks again
Mark

 

[woodbloke]

I agree about the curved cherry front - but actually I was not at all pineappled off at Rob;s comments -it was others who took offence!
Thanks again
Mark

Mark, apologies for being a bit blunt about my comment, but it's the first thing that hit me like a 'bolt from the blue', so I thought it was worth mentioning.
Fwiw, I would leave the doors as they are and remake the stand. As you say, it will give you the opportunity to select a decent bit of stuff for that front apron so that the grain orientation is spot on. When you look at the final finished piece I'm convinced it's going to be very tasty but if that front rail isn't correct you'll always look at it and say..."if only"... but by then course, it's far too late. Better to do it now and get it right - Rob

 

[gasman]

No problem Rob thanks - really - I valued the advice
I have another query - sorry. I have never made drawer fronts using a burr before - I was thinking of cutting and glueing a 3 or 4 mm thick 'veneer' of burr onto a similarly-coloured substrate wood for the curved fronts of the drawers - that way I can book-match the 2 pieces of burr with no problem. Then I was going to cut half-blind dovetails with the end of the dovetail exactly in line with the join-line between the burr and substrate of the front inboard - does that make sense?
UNfortunately I do not think I have a big enough burr to be able to utilise one piece all the way across both drawers
DOes that sound OK?
Thanks
Mark

 

[woodbloke]

No problem Rob thanks - really - I valued the advice
I have another query - sorry. I have never made drawer fronts using a burr before - I was thinking of cutting and glueing a 3 or 4 mm thick 'veneer' of burr onto a similarly-coloured substrate wood for the curved fronts of the drawers - that way I can book-match the 2 pieces of burr with no problem. Then I was going to cut half-blind dovetails with the end of the dovetail exactly in line with the join-line between the burr and substrate of the front inboard - does that make sense?
UNfortunately I do not think I have a big enough burr to be able to utilise one piece all the way across both drawers
DOes that sound OK?
Thanks
Mark

That sounds like a reasonable plan to me Mark and with the ends of the dovetails meeting the join 'twixt burr and substrate, I think that would work. However, when you chop the sockets for the tails, you'll be working right at the junction of the burr and substrate, so if you're not really careful, you may find that the 3 or 4mm of burr will crumble and break, which would be a disaster and very difficult to fix and even more so if it crumbles at gluing time. :-k Food for ponderance... - Rob

 

[gasman]

Good point - but if that happened I could just put a ?cock bead I think it is called around the whole drawer? Think I will cut the burr and see how robust it looks
THanks again

 

[Jacob]

Looks great, with regard to cutting glass...

Dip cutter in oil first, score once, then a little tap on the underside to break the joint, followed by lifting centrally where the join is .

Clean the glass first, use sharp cutter (new if in doubt), score quite lightly in one pass, snap off over the edge of the table, don't try to cut off thin bits if you can avoid it.
Re getting measurements wrong - use a rod (for the 1000th time! :roll: )
Looks good (though Krenov not for me I have to say).