A Ming-Inspired Cabinet (98)

Thought I should put out an update as it has been a while since the last one and some readers may be wondering what’s up. Well, all is good with the project. Things have been progressing smoothly and the client’s cabinet is within a day or two of completion. It will be shipped the middle of next week.

I’m planning to do an assembly video, but in the meantime, a few pictures will hopefully suffice.

Drawer stops were fabricated using the milling machine:

And installed:

These stops fit only the upper two tiers of drawers, while the lowest drawer stops in view were fitted earlier and are detailed differently in how they attach to the carcase.

A dab of hide glue on the front dovetail cheeks ensures that they will stay put, though the joints were quite snug so the glue is only a security measure really:

Here are some of the drawers reaching the finish line, so to speak:

Legs for the stands with wax applied, and the bronze feet are done (except for finish) after further shaping, chamfering and smoothing:

Pillow blocks - these are finished and in wax, however, this view is showing faces which do not have finish applied so it is slightly misleading:

Frame elements for the two stands are done, just letting the wax harden for a few days before the steel wool can be worked:

At that juncture, I left off working on both cabinets and placed my focus on the client’s piece. A few teaser pics follow….

The top of the stand’s sill after finishing:

Assembly of the stand took a full day, and went well. Here’s a look at the outside of one corner:

The view of the inside of a leg with the pegged connections of both stretchers:

A view of the inside of a corner of the stand, showing some of the joinery detailing between post, support beams, pillow block assembly and cornice:

At this juncture, I have the stand completed, the carcase is attached to the stand, the drawers are in, as are the shelves. The bonnet is complete and will be attached today. That leave just the final fitting of the doors. Once it’s done I’ll have a few days to obsess over any remaining touch-ups, and will commence assembling the second cabinet. It’s a solid week or two of work to finish, with the drawer finishing and glue up taking most of the time.

All for this round. Next time, I should have an assembly video to post up - hopefully it will be worth the wait.

via Tumblr https://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/161355873034