Elm Cabinet II

[woodbloke]

The cabinet has been finished today and here's a few pics of the completed piece. It's quite difficult to 'fotograph straight on as you'll see a reflection of my ugly mug in the glass so the first one's at a slight angle:

The legs on the stand are parallel but splayed very subtly which is only apparent from a front view. The second shot shows the side a bit more clearly:

and this shot shows the top of the stand and the bottom of the cabinet:

Here's a pic of the detail at the foot of the stand, centre rail is curved in two panes, ie it's thinner in the middle in both directions to add lightness:

with a final shot of the handle detail:

All detailing is in ebony, m/t joints are exposed, wedged and rounded over as is the bridle at the base, front rail on the stand is jointed with 'birds mouth' m/t tenons as well. Uprights on door frame are bookmatched which looks quite good I think. Finnish is two coats of matt Osmo-PolyX and then some wax over the top. You can also see a couple of SWIMBO's fossils on one of the shelves.
As ever, comments positive and negative are welcome...hope you enjoy looking at this piece - Rob

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Lovely design and the workmanships not bad either :wink: =D> ccasion5:

 

[Waka]

I think thats an excellent cabinet, the stand works well with it but myself I'm not so sure of the design.

 

[Paul Chapman]

The workmanship is superb, Rob (I know because I saw it a few weeks ago). However, I'm still not 100% sure what I feel about the stand.

When I saw it, the cabinet and stand looked quite a bit different (and better) in real life than it does in pictures, so I'll wait until I see it again. However, in the meantime, I think what's bothering me is that the cabinet is rectangular and that seems to jar with the numerous curves in the top part of the stand and the sloping tops of the legs.

What I do really like is those wedged mortice and tenons. You do them so well and they (together with the Elm) must tie in very nicely with the Elm chest on the other side of the room.

I look forward to seeing it in the flesh.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[seanybaby]

Superb Rob =D>
How many hours did it take you?

 

[newt]

Having seen the piece in the flesh I now like the contrast between the softer more rounded stand and the sharper profile of the cabinet, at first I did not think this would work. Fine workmanship and I feel the Elm is just the right wood for this project.

 

[gidon]

Really lovely work Rob - well done.
Great choice of wood too.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[wizer]

Stunning, a master piece!

 

[Chris Knight]

Lovely work Rob.

 

[Rich]

Hi Rob, the workmanship and attention to detail are second to none, however, I cant relax with the stand as it is, perhaps a shelf halfway down to break the "hardness" of it would do for me? I hope I have'nt offended you.

Regards,

Rich.

 

[motownmartin]

Nice project with fantastic attention to detail, well done Rob =D> =D> =D>

 

[dennis]

Excellent workmanship.One thing being picky could possibly have had ebony inserts in the tenons of the bridle joints to match the wedges in the other tenons.Also what are the feet made of.


Dennis

 

[bobscarle]

Rob

Firstly can I say that the cabinet and stand look absolutely stunning and the workmanship is of a standard I can only dream about. Fantastic work. =D> =D>

To my eye, however, the stand does not sit well with the cabinet. I am not sure of the reason for this, I just feel uneasy with the two together.

Finally, can I ask the stupid question? "Birds Mouth" tenon? Does that simply mean that the mortice or the tenon are cut at an angle other than 90 degrees or am I missing something?

Bob

 

[p111dom]

Love this project very well done. I'd love to know what process you used to machine the top rail of the stand. I presume a template and a router? What finish did you use?

 

[BradNaylor]

Very nice Rob, and beautifully crafted.

I will ask you the obvious question though, and would ask Mr Krenov the same...


...why put a cupboard on such long legs?

:lol:

Dan

 

[woodbloke]

Thanks for all the interesting comments to date... it's very enlightening to be able to discuss a project like this.

seanbaby wrote:

How many hours did it take you?

Lots :lol:

Rich wrote:

I cant relax with the stand as it is, perhaps a shelf halfway down to break the "hardness" of it would do for me? I hope I have'nt offended you.

Rich - interesting comment, no offence taken what-so-ever. The space occupied by the stand is pretty much that of the 'Golden Section' and to put a shelf in half way down would interfere with that proportion

dennis wrote:

One thing being picky could possibly have had ebony inserts in the tenons of the bridle joints to match the wedges in the other tenons.Also what are the feet made of.

dennis - I had thought about doing that but there's no support at the bottom of the leg so wedging that joint would have no effect as it would just displace the centre part of the bridle

bobscarle wrote:

can I ask the stupid question? "Birds Mouth" tenon? Does that simply mean that the mortice or the tenon are cut at an angle other than 90 degrees or am I missing something?

bob - there are never any stupid questions, just interesting ones. 'Birds mouth' refers to the shoulder of the tenon on the main cross rail where each corner (on the leg and rail) is offset by 45deg so the little bit left on the tenon looks a birds mouth...or so I'm told. Tricky to cut though and I've not seen any pieces in F&C that use the technique. The reason it's done is to avoid the short grain somewhat when shaping is needed on the rail and leg.

p111dom wrote:

I'd love to know what process you used to machine the top rail of the stand. I presume a template and a router? What finish did you use?

The top rail was cut on the bandsaw and shaped with files and rasps. The corner detail where it meets the leg was done by carefully sanding a cork block to the right profile and then using sandpaper once the filing had been finished with. Applied finish is two coats of matt Osmo-PolyX with some Alna teak wax over the top, put on with a grey Webrax.

Dan T wrote:

I will ask you the obvious question though, and would ask Mr Krenov the same...


...why put a cupboard on such long legs?

It's all to do with the quality of the hinges.... :wink: :lol:

Waka wrote:

the stand works well with it but myself I'm not so sure of the design.

Why? - Rob

 

[DaveL]

Rob,

I think I like the stand more than the cabinet, the curves are very nice on the eye.

...why put a cupboard on such long legs?

Its ideal if your in rented accommodation and must not drill holes in the walls. :roll: :wink:

 

[dennis]

Rob

I realise that wedges in the bridle would have nothing to work against,that is why I said ebony inserts to match the other wedges. Also what are the feet made of.Excellent project, and one thing that you have proved is that any design that moves away from the norm certainly attracts criticism, as everyone has their own ideas as to what is or is not right.The main thing is that you and your wife are happy with the design,and it is a bonus if the majority of others are.

Dennis

 

[Karl]

Beautiful work Rob - some fine skills on show in that piece.

The only thing which drew my eye was the hinge mounting of the door. Is the piece intended to sit on that side of the chimney breast? If so, I would have hinged the doors the other side. I appreciate the piece is portable, so it really isn't any sort of criticism.

May we expect to see it in some future publication?????

Cheers

Karl

 

[woodbloke]

May we expect to see it in some future publication?????

Cheers

Karl

Karl - Michael Huntley, the editor of F&C was in the workshop on Friday and had a close and 'up personal' look at it, so to answer your question...yes, except I've just got to write the piece now - Rob