getting there

I haven't been getting as much coverage on this build as I would like. I've been working the other job more and and at inconvenient times, the deadline (show) is quickly approaching, and I've managed to catch a cold in the spring. None of which are helping me out :/
Anywho! Back panel glue ups can be simple and can be pretty tricky. It depends on what your cabinet has going on heh. Only one partition to worry about on this one but the angled sides beg for some problem solving. It took about an hour & and half to get all the cauls good to go and a dry-run in. Under 10 min to perform the actual glue-up.


After the back panel was stuck I finally turned back to the doors. The doors have been sitting untouched for a month! Using my new 1-3/4" coopering plane to address the inside and my trusty smoother for the outside. I'm planning on sanding out the facets on the outside of the doors like the rest of the cabinet. The inside I will touch with 1000 grit paper but plan to leave the impression of the radius plane. It wont really be seen, but the "dips" can be felt. :)


Skip the brass bracket making ha. Not too interesting or difficult but takes time.
On to mortise making for said brackets! There's that mock-up back-panel again! I cut notches out where I've marked the brackets to go and lay the hardboard back in place to get an even surface to use the router on. Handy!


The little brass brackets fit and the #4 screws going into the cabinet sides. Though the back is glued in the sides are really the load-bearing components in a wall hung cabinet.
I probably could have gotten away with just one pair of brackets but decided to put another pair towards the bottom of the cabinet. I figure the drawers are at the bottom and that there will be stress from drawer use there. I'm trying to be safe rather than sorry and not letting the cabinet become a lever to pry at the top brackets by adding another pair of brackets. That hanging the cabinet on a stud in a wall can't be counted on.
Thanks goes out to Craig for letting me use his D&W boring machine fitted with a massive x-y table for the little grooves in the brackets.


Back to mocking up... pulls this time. The doors are basically hung. Not 100% done but I just wanted to switch focus for a bit. I'm shooting for a pair of post and bail pulls that will work with the subtle curves of the cabinet and grain. The Poplar mock-up is on the bulky side and not positive EXACTLY where they will go yet. But keeping in mind the height the cabinet will be hung the pulls work most comfortably towards the bottom.

Getting into the real pulls... as long as I don't screw them up ha. These little things are tricky particularly in a brittle wood such as Jatoba. The Jatoba starts out pretty light in color. After a couple months it get significantly darker. The plank I took these little pieces from had oxidized to a rich maroon-rust color that should work well with the Pear.
These things one should be mindful of when making objects to last many many years. How does a species behave or change over time? How long does it take? Can I use that to my advantage? Should I use a different species due to such changes?
Often I see people going crazy with Purple Heart, African Pauduk, Red Heart... but all of those dull and brown over time. Some end up being the color of cardboard! Not even close to the original intention.
Above putting to use a nice little carving knife I was lucky enough to receive from Jaun Carlos Fernandez... I bet he misses it ;)