Thank you

I am overwhelmed when I consider how many of you have visited in the last 7 months. Its been a great pleasure sharing the development of this years' projects with you. I will end this blog now that my year at the Inside Passage School is done. My plans are to work for the next month on a movie entitled "Gunless": a western set in 1890's Canada. I play the town's barber, a nice role in a well written script. Afterwards, my girlfriend and I will move to the east coast of Canada where I will set up shop and continue to work in wood.  To see the final outcome of the cabinet please visit my newly launched website. http://www.jodyracicot.com

Final touches

The final task in assembling the cabinet is mounting the door pulls. The twin screw clamps are great at holding at odd angles and can be controlled to apply very little pressure as is required for this delicate work. If you enlarge the photo (click on it) you can make out the evenly spaced brass nail heads on the inside of the glass. Possibly colouring the heads with nail polish would make them blend better with the wood. I'm going to wait to see how the brass patinas in the next few months as I expect it to darken considerably.

Scale

Something that surprised me was how small Krenovian cabinets were in person. One friend calls them "toy cabinets". Although limiting the functionality, I chose to keep the dimensions of my own cabinet quite small for a very big reason. I believe that the demands for exactness, precision and generally high workmanship would be greater on such a delicate piece.  Its amazing how a gap of 1/64" seems to be enormous when working at this scale. I encourage any woodworkers reading this to try working smaller and lighter with dimensions. I've found 1/4" wide drawer sides is really all that is necessary - every 1/16" thicker makes a huge difference. I shamefully pull open the first drawer I ever built - 3/4" thick!  Hey, I didn't know! Well, now I do.

Flipper floppers

Here's a feature unique to Krenov style cabinets. Flipper Floppers. Their function is to give the doors a positive "stop" when closed. Above: The right door is closed fully while the flipper flopper softens the last 1/8" of travel.

Below: Thin shaped wedges of Jatoba (same as my pulls) are mortised into the inside top of the cabinet. A spring is salvaged from a ball point pen which allows the flipper flopper to compress slightly into the recess when the door slides over it. Pressure on the door can be adjusted by raising or lowering the mounting screw. Just how much pressure is a matter of "feel". I want the closure to be smooth and the door to be held securely but not too tight.

Door pulls

There are an endless number of variations that one could make when carving pulls. I think that a pull should feel nice and encourage use. Not much point in designing something that looks nice but feels awkward - or vice versa. These two are spaced just far enough apart to allow unobstructed use. They feel nice between the thumb and index finger and the use of Jatoba end grain makes them quite attractive. The inside curl tightens in radius right at the end which allows for a good grip in spite of its small size. "Touch me!" it seems to say. 

All about wall hangers

The process of making and installing wall hangers is condensed into these 3 photos. Brass bar stock is marked, drilled, slot mortised, countersunk, cut, ground, squared, sanded, polished and finally, mounted. 5 hours = 5 pairs of wall hangers. 2 of my classmates also needed a pair of hangers each so I made extras for them. Making these in batches takes little more effort than making a single pair.

Above: Left of photo is a finished brass wall hanger. 2 small holes are drilled and countersunk sized for a #3 screw. The middle hole is large enough to accommodate a #6 screw head (which will be driven into the wall) and a slot extension is milled on the mortiser.  The slot "captures" the screw head thereby acting as a hanger.

Above: slots are cut freehand using a horizontal mortiser fitted with an end-mill bit. Never use router bits in a mortiser! (I learned this the hard way). Double stick tape is used to secure the brass upright against a big squared piece of lumber which acts as a backer and keeps my hands well away from this hungry devil of a machine.

Above: Drilling into a completed cabinet is a nerve wracking experience. Pilot holes for the 2 screws that secure the brass wall hanger are drilled into the cabinet side on the drill press. Once the hangers are located, the wood under the big hole in the middle of the brass has to be relieved to allow clearance for a wall mounted screw head. A carving gouge was used to scoop out about a 3/16" divot out of my poor back panel. Butchery.

Mounting glass

Below: While the door is held steady in the bench vise the glass is clamped in place by applying slight inward pressure with my hand made twin screw clamps. The nail holes are drilled at about a 5 degree angle which pulls the glass toward the front of the panel, ensuring it will stay tight and rattle free. Brass nails are pressed into the pilot holes which are only a tiny bit smaller in diameter than the nail- remember they may have to be removed in future to replace the glass so the nail must not be too tight.

Above: the task nearly complete. Note that the solid wood panel also features these holding strips however they are glued into the frame as the panel need not be removable. 

Mirror, mirror

Perhaps you were wondering what that vertical partition in the top right of the cabinet was hiding. This folding mirror was an early inspiration. In fact, one might say I built the cabinet around it. The cabinet is to be a gift to my girlfriend as a "thank you" for being so supportive of me at school this year. I pictured her using it as a place to keep her hair and makeup products. The little mirror adds function and defines the cabinet as such. The lid opens about 315 degrees making the mirror self supporting. Think of a plastic CD case in design - that's what I copied!

Detail of door

Glass, plum panel and pearwood holding strips in place. The blue tape protects the glass which will be in and out of the doors several times before final mounting.

Filling the empty door spaces

Thin strips of pear wood are used to keep the plum panel and glass panes pressed firmly into the rabbet on the inside the door. Once fitted, the strips will be held in place with small nails allowing them to be easily removed for replacement of the glass should it ever be required.

Pulls

Above: Its much easier to carve the pulls with the help of a little vise to hold the piece firmly. After roughly shaping on the bandsaw I use a #9 gouge to scoop out the center and a fine file to do the final shaping. Below: The pulls are fit through a 1/8" hole in the drawer fronts. A finger nail shape relief is carved on either side of the pull so that the finger and thumb can comfortably "pinch" it to slide the drawer open.

Rabbet

The rabbet cut in the middle rails of both doors. Here, I soften the edges with a fine file in preparation for the final mounting of the doors. Glass was ordered on Friday - very soon the cabinet will be complete.

More Door

The finished doors are lined up in preparation for mounting. Some planing and filing is done to ensure the space between door and cabinet is equal all around. Once satisfied with the spacing of the top, bottom and outsides the mating edges of the two doors are marked and rabbeted on the shaper.

Hinge Mortising - door

The hinge mortise is cut into the top of the door using a laminate trimmer to cut the majority of the waste and chisels to cut a precise fit. Next I'll hang the doors (temporarily) and mark where to cut the rabbet creating an overlap in the middle of the 2 doors.

Chopping Block

You may recall the chopping block being used while cutting dovetails earlier in the project. It is bolted through the dog holes in the bench - providing both clamping pressure on the work piece and a square reference surface to make vertical cuts with a chisel or plane iron. In this instance, the chopping block is used to cut the shoulder of rail tenons precisely. 

Tiny Tenons

Mullions (or Pins as Krenov calls them) are doweled into the frame. These are the small wood strips that separate 2 pieces of glass in a window or door. I opted to use kebob skewers as dowel which are about 3/32" in diameter. The lower photo shows the joint assembled seamlessly.

First Impression of Second doors

Here's a look at the doors with some pear panels attached temporarily.  The empty spaces will be filled with glass. The reason there haven't been any updates for the past week is that the rails and stiles had to be completely re-made. I made a critical error that rendered the first set useless. By tomorrow I hope to have the doors ready for glue up.

Rails and stiles

Using tablesaw, shaper and bandsaw the bridle joints are cut on rails and stiles and the door frames are loosely assembled.

Door design

Sketch of the door parts with measurements and cut list. My sketchbook has 9 pages detailing components of the cabinet. Also pictured: the poplar mockup of the doors .

Clamps

10 heavy duty wetzler and 3 bessey k-body clamps make sure the panel is evenly pressed all around. As a result of a good fit surprisingly little pressure is applied. I used an adhesive called Unibond which is a 2 part glue that works much like epoxy. I like that it has a long "open time" of about 45 minutes and that it has "low tack". In layman's terms this means that the glue doesn't get too sticky too soon. I wish all my glue ups could be as stress free as this one was.

Panel Fitting

A block plane is used to adjust the panel into the rebate in the back of the cabinet. The panel is first cut square and slightly oversized. Sides are planed first, followed by top and bottom. The plane is set a touch heavy toward the inner edge, thus creating a very slight inward bevel (also known as "undercutting"). This creates a "wedge effect" making for a nearly seamless fit all around the back.

Flat

The new panel took 2 days to complete. Fortunately, I had some backup veneers already cut. I flattened the panel in a matter of minutes using the Veritas low angle jack plane. It is sometimes difficult to hold down work while hand planing. Here, the panel is secured to a larger piece of medium density fiber board using double stick tape.  The MDF board is then clamped to the bench. Now the plane can be run across or with the grain alternately without risk of running into clamps.

Set Back

There are bumps in the back panel that shouldn't be there.  Looks like I put insufficient glue in the center portion of the veneer and it bubbled up once installed into the cabinet.  Luckily the panel was fairly easy to "punch out" of the carcass - too little glue all around I guess! I'm going to put a new panel together and this time I won't be skimpy on the glue. Lesson learned.

Better

Fits my hand much better now. I am pleased just to have removed that awful lacquer finish. Maybe I'll do the same to the front knob. I no longer hesitate when it comes to customizing or tuning up a tool - something I would not have been comfortable to do a year ago.

Bubinga Tote

The tote is made of bubinga. I'm careful not to cut too deeply as the mounting bolt holes are drilled all the way through. I'd hate to leave too little material to support the force that will be put on the handle.

Veritas Low Angle Jack

Just picked up a Veritas low angle jack plane. Very pleased with it. I wanted to customize the shape of the tote or handle. It was very "square" and too large for my hand. I wanted to reduce it in volume and add some roundness to it. While I am at it let's cant it forward a little.

Tan Lines

I am lucky to get great morning sun at my workbench. After 3 coats of shellac and 2 coats of wax the masking is removed in preparation for the back panel to be glued into the cabinet.

Masking back panel

Painter's tape is used to mask the perimeter and the interior partitions where the back panel will be glued. Once masked, the panel is prefinished in shellac and wax. When finishing is complete the tape will be removed and a good, unfinished surface will be exposed for the glue-up.

How Fitting

Spent the day fitting the drawers to their pockets. No rails or grooves or sliding mechanisms are used here - just ol' fashion friction.  The drawer is built a tiny bit wider than the opening so a few well placed plane strokes puts it right.  Too little and the drawer sticks, too much and the friction fit is lost and "slop" pervades. The pocket is intentionally built a touch wider in the back than in front while the drawer is built square. The result of which is that the drawer begins to get snug near the end of its run preventing it from pulling out completely, thereby spilling its contents. Its a really satisfying feel - as though a little brake is applied softening the final 1/2" of travel. I'm not sure if Krenov pioneered the technique but he certainly spread the word - for all of us who've studied his methods have come to know his drawer fitting magic called "let go".

Bottoms Up

Above: the solid drawer bottom of Port Orford cedar slides into place with a few plane strokes of adjustment.  The panel floats in the groove secured only to the underside of the back with a small brass screw.  Note how a rebate is cut on 3 sides providing a nice reveal should anyone ever choose to pull the drawer out and flip it over.  Below: a view from the back of the drawer showing how the back panel is left shorter than the sides to accommodate the drawer bottom. "Wouldn't a floating panel captured on all 4 sides be easier?" one might ask.  Probably.

Drawer dovetails complete

The 2 little drawers are now dovetailed to my satisfaction.  You might have noticed that I chose to use "through" dovetails in the fronts instead of the more traditional "half blind".  I did this for several reasons - A: Krenov's books are full of pictures of drawers done this way and if they're good enough for him...  B: I thought "throughs" would be easier to fit than "half blind" which I'm not so sure of anymore.  C: I feel it is in keeping with the utilitarian look.  

Next I will cut the slot along the inside to capture the drawer bottoms which I plan to make out of Port Orford Cedar - a local, citrus smelling softwood.   

Do-Over

One of the great luxuries of attending this school is that we are encouraged to do the best work possible even if it means doing something over and over again. While taking a walk on Sunday I realized I could do a better job of the dovetails on the front side on the larger drawer. It meant re-cutting both sets of tails over again which took the better part of the day. I am happy I did it - and hope to continue with this uncompromising approach to my work.

Chopping pins and tails

Above: the dovetails (drawer sides) are secured to the bench with a block, bolts and sacrificial bottom to chop the waste from between the saw cuts. Below: closeup of the pins (drawer front) similarly secured for chopping. My steel ruler acts as a shim to rest the chisel but also gives you a sense of the scale of the work. The pins are just over 1/16" wide at the narrowest points.

Dovetails

The drawer front pins and side tails have been cut and pared to fit. This is done by hand with detail chisels, knives and a small square.

Drawers

Parts of the smaller of 2 drawers that I am building which measures 3" wide by 4" deep. The drawer sides will be of my favorite local wood we call Arbutus more commonly known as Madrone. The drawer fronts will be of Plum. In the background you can see the first drawer I built in Doussie - which I decided was not quite the right wood to match the cabinet.

Last Dowel joint glued

Now that the doweled carcass and center partition are in place I can move onto the splined partitions which can be seen covered by blue masking tape. The diagonal piece is a measuring stick used to ensure the cabinet remained square during the clamping/gluing proceedure.

Clamping

Ok. Maybe a little stress.

Glue-up begins

The middle partition and its adjoining shelf have now been glued into the side and bottom in 3 separate gluing operations. Next I will join the left side to the bottom corner and finish up with gluing the 2 sides into the top. It was a revelation to me that a piece should be put together in so many separate steps. I used to try to glue everything at once - the stress was unbearable. Now its almost dull.

Pre-finish

All parts are pre-finished with blonde shellac and bees wax prior to gluing the cabinet together. The shellac I use is highly diluted with methyl hydrate. Several coats are built up before a final coat of wax is applied. This finish is very light and barely changes the wood's texture or colour.

Jointing veneer

Above: Three pieces are jointed together for the exterior of the cabinet's back panel. Masking tape is stretched tight across both sides of the joint to act as a clamp until the glue is dry. After planing, I'll glue the veneer to a piece of 1/4" birch plywood together with the interior veneer pictured below to complete the back panel. Notice how the 2 pieces below are offset. This is done to make a good grain match at the joint. I was happy my pieces were cut extra long. 

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Soft not Mushy

We're encouraged to make edges "friendly" by softening them with a few plane strokes and light passes with a fine file. The crispness of the line is maintained and yet you can be assured that no one will get cut by running their finger along the edge. On the contrary, the surface becomes even more inviting to the touch. 

New photos of table

Photographer Ingeborg Suzanne shot these pictures of my little table recently.

Edge Treatment

After becoming "unhinged" so to speak I was able to do some shaping on the top and bottom of the cabinet. Here I've used a block plane and files to make a nice round where the side meets the bottom. I wanted the top and bottom to have very little overhang and a simple edge treatment. I think it keeps the look informal and even utilitarian.

Hinge Mortising

Donning my magnifying visor and wielding tiny detail chisels I spent half the day cutting mortises into the carcass for the 4 hinges. This may help explain why a even a little cabinet like this one takes several weeks to complete.

Drill Press

The majority of the hinge making process done at the drill press. Short lengths of steel drill rod are used as a hinge pin. As one door on the cabinet is longer than the other I decided to use different length hinges on each. The ones I've made are 1/4" wide with a 1/4" offset and 1" or 1 - 1/4" long. I made 4 for each door - 2 spares each. The screws pictured are 1/2"#2 brass. The scale of this work is all quite delicate.

Brass cut

Pairs of hinge leaves are cut using the bandsaw equipped with a metal cutting blade. The pairs are "crazy glued" together and then filed and sanded to final shape. Gluing the leaves together keeps them identical throughout the shaping and the drilling yet to come. They'll come apart easily later by applying a little heat.

DIY brass hinges

Pictured at the end of the ruler is a finished hinge provided to me as a sample of what I'll be making. 1/8" brass bar stock to be cut is in the background. We are encouraged to make all of our own hardware while at the school. There are good reasons to know how to build a hinge or a wall hanger, particularly when a custom size is required that is not available commercially. I am also surprised at just how easy it is - provided you have good instructions, the right machinery and a little patience.

Plane shaping

After cutting the plane body roughly to size on the bandsaw, I used files, spokeshave and chair scrape to complete the shaping. At almost 3" wide it is still too big in my hand so I will reduce the width a bit more, particularly at the rear.

A day at the beach

Last weekend, Inside Passage School alumni Dan, Kenji and Jamie invited me to join them for some chainsaw milling on Jericho beach in Vancouver. We milled a big maple into 2" thick slabs using one of Dan's 36" bar Husky chainsaws. We drew a bit of a crowd being a beautiful, sunny Sunday. In this photo Kenji and I move a freshly cut slab while Dan prepares for the next cut. Jamie is behind the camera. Thanks for the great day!

Partitions

Today I completed the splines and dowels that hold the interior partitions in place. Although work on the cabinet is proceeding slowly, the progress is satisfying.