Arched Top Whiskey Cabinet
As a furniture student at North Bennet Street School, my last assignment at was to build a case-piece, so I got my creative wheels turning, and this is what I came up with. I used several hefty chunks of cherry, and some nicely-aged figured cherry veneer for the inlay.
It’s final purpose is pretty awesome, but truthfully I designed it as a woodworking excercise to try out some new techniques: traditional ogee bracket feet, making arched moldings, and veneering and inlay using hot hide glue were some new ones for me.
(Filling it afterward with single-malt scotch whiskey just happened to be a nice perk, too…)
The solid-cherry arched top proved to be a tough challenge, but with lots of head scratching, collaboration, and planning, it came together. I also assembled the entire thing using hide glue- I wanted to really get good at working with it.
Many thanks to my mentors at NBSS Dan Faia, Lance Patterson, and Steve Brown for the wisdom provided along the way- I couldn’t have done it without you guys and your infinite knowledge of truly fine woodworking!
Now the next step is to put the finish on it- those photos will come soon. In the meantime, check it out and let me know what you think!
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Arched Top Whiskey Cabinet
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The rear feet are dovetailed together, and I cut the dovetails before cutting them apart, so they would be easy to clamp in the vise.
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A couple of half-blind dovetails later, I had some pretty tight fitting joinery!
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The solid wood top is glued back together after it was cut apart to cut out the arch and run the moldings. This is a nice view of the mortises that connect it to the case, too.
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Clamped on the base to dry, with the mortised top dry-fitted to the case to keep everything lined up.
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A close-up of the crown molding. Check out that little bead molding- It's cut from end grain to allow for wood movement, and mounted in a channel to stay there a long, long time.
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The case back is rabbetted for a laminated veneer back.
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Up-close and personal with bracket feet: corner blocks reinforce the miter joint with horizontal-grain oriented the same as the feet, so they can safely expand and contract with the seasons.
Comments
I see one serious problem: The bottle of scotch is empty!
saschafer: whether or not it's a "problem" depends upon your being a glass "half empty" or "half full" kind of guy. heh heh heh. Personally, I'd like to see a bottle of Lagavulin in this baby.
E
I'm usually a "half full" guy, but that's beside the point. Even after it's all gone, the cabinet stands steady after I'm not anymore... But seriously, folks... I've got a nice bottle on reserve and am planning a little celebration when the finish is on and it's completed. Pictures soon.
Hello Ben,
Very nice and well executed show piece!
My belief was that the bottle was empty because there is no lock on the door...!
As we wil not be with you to commission the cabinet and share its content, please do not forget to post pictures of the finished curio.
If you plan to keep your liquor in a locker,
it is wise to keep a lock upon your stock.
Or some slicker who is quicker
soon will trick you of your liquor
if you fail to keep your liquor under lock.
Tom
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