Dovetailed Wall Hanging Liquor Cabinet
Last year I built a walnut dining table, and the time came to build a corresponding liquor cabinet. I came across some affordable bubinga from a fellow woodworker who was flooded out during Harvey, and started putting it to good use here. Next up will be a walnut buffet, likely with similar bubinga panel doors.
The primary wood is walnut, with bubinga panels for the doors. The bubinga should darken and mellow out over time, reducing the color contrast.
The doors are mortise and tenon, with bookmatched bubinga panels. The case construction and top are all solid walnut.
The rear panel is inserted in dados in the bottom, top, and sides. I used a number of different offcuts to create a panel, then resawed it in half to come up with the final 1/4" back panel.
Here's the original sketchup options I was considering. I changed the top significantly in the final version, and I think it was a good change.
All the dovetails were cut by hand with he aid of a wooden Katz Moses magnetic saw guide. They came together extremely well. There were just one or two gaps that I filled with Titebond liquid hide glue and sawdust.
Everything I used to cut the dovetails, sans the smoothing plan to bring everything flush.
I lightened the piece by making the top almost like wings. I simply struck a line, and used a smoothing plane to estalblish teh angle and remove teh waste. This was my first time using this technique, and I was surprised how well it worked.
Hinges are solid brass and are mortised into the case.
The middle shelf and bottom are joined using sliding dovetails cut on a router table. They were so tight that I barely needed glue.
The curve at the bottom of the case didn't quite match up after the final fitting, but the curves are only off by about 1/8" inch.
I got some good curle from the bubinga.
Two beefy french cleats are used to hold this thing to the wlal.
The bubinga was darker and more mellow before planing and finishing.
Here's a shot from after I finished fitting the doors, but before I established the curves or cut the hinge mortises. I got excited about the color, and wiped on some mineral spirits to see what it would look like.
final mock-up before applying finish, which ended up just being watco danish oil.
Fully stocked and ready to go.
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
This piece is something to really be proud of. I really like the final version of the top.
Thanks for the kind words. I'm proud of the top as well. It really lightens the look of the case.
Great work! very cool piece!!!