Krenov style Cabinet

[ROb McGilp]

Hi all,
I have been in the process of making a cabinet in the style of one that James Krenov designed and made in the 70's. It is made of Sydney Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blackwood, American Beech and Black Bean. I still have to put shelves and drawers into it and attach the doors. But I thought you'd like to see how its going.

Regards,

Rob

 

[nickao]

Looking good!

I remember seeing that piece in one of my books.

Nickao

 

[Fred West]

Rob, that is going to be a beautiful piece. Thank you for sharing. Fred

 

[Eli]

Nice Rob. ;D

 

[johne]

Very nice looking Rob, with the contrasting wood and grain

 

[Michael Kellough]

Very nice Rob!
Now, could you explain why your woods get at least two names ("It is made of Sydney Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blackwood, American Beech and Black Bean.") and our woods only get one?  Ash, Bass, Cherry, Locust, Oak, Walnut.

 

[nickao]

Michael thats not true! We have many names too!

Shingle Oak, Black Oak, Red Oak

Honey Locust, White Locust

American Cherry, Black Cherry, etc.

I have some Woodstock Festool  Green Oak - Its moldy Oak sitting in my backyard in Woodstock IL  ;D

I hate all the different names here in Australia and everywhere you go its called something else. I guess the "book" is the only way to go. scientific names.

I have some great names for the woods I use.  I have some Charcoal Fire White Oak(The staircase wood from my home that burned down) and many others. Those names mean about as much as the names I make up.

Nickao

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi all,
Thanks for the kind comments.

Michael, the reason we have two names is because on many occasions, we have access to regular supplies of timbers from different countries or areas. So Tassie Blackwood should be distinct from Victorian Blackwood. While they are both the same species, the Victorian has a different appearance to its Tasmanian cousin. Similarly, we can access New Zealand Beech, European Beech (dominoes on the hoof ;D) and American Beech. All have different qualities. Black Bean could be spelt "Blackbean" I guess.
In the case of Blue Gum, there are two varieties I am aware of. Sydney and Tasmanian. Interestingly, the Tassie variety is plantation grown in Asia, Sth. Africa, Brazil and New Zealand as a structural timber. I don't think this has met with much success though, as the timber grows too fast in these environments and thus loses some structural integrity.

Hope that answers the question.

Nick, you will find the original cabinet pictured in "The Impractical Cabinet Maker". I have made some minor changes to suit my own design foibles.

Regards,

Rob

 

[Michael Kellough]

Rob, you probably guessed that my question was meant to disguise my jealousy of your ready access to woods I consider exotic.

I bought the "The Impractical Cabinet Maker" at Garrett Wade in NYC nearly 30 years ago. It was a huge inspiration then and still informs my sensibility.

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi Michael,
Only when you try to make one of Krenov's pieces do you get an full awareness of the importance of detail and also of how simple things can change the character of a piece markedly. I certainly found making this piece allowed me to explore options I hadn't previously considered and it has changed what I considered previously as the norm.

Regards,

Rob

 

[rich1]

Nice Rob very nice!  I am in the planning stages of a Krenov style cabinet too, but mine will be more of a display piece. I am still deciding if it will have doors or not. What are the dims of your piece? Mine will be about 67" high over all  about 40" of that will be leg. I am using Jotaba and Pecan or for two names ( Brazilian Cherry and Pecan/Hickory). I will be sure to post pictures when I make some progress. I hope mine looks half as good as yours.

Regards,

Ric

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi Ric,
My cabinet is as follows
height of cabinet: 26"
overall height: 40"
height of stand: 29.5"
depth: 7.5"
width: 20"
all approx. after conversion from metric.

Your choice of timbers sounds great, I look forward to seeing it.

Here's some more photos. I am going to make a removable box to sit on the RHS under the small shelf, but its not a priority. The only thing left to do is put the hinges onto the doors.

Regards,

Rob

 

[robtonya]

nice job Rob !

 

[Bob Swenson]

Nice Rob, Very nice.
Is that glass door waiting to go some were ?
Bob

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the kind comment. The door is actually attached to the house and separates the hall from the dining room. There are two more of them separating the lounge from the dining room.

Regards,

Rob

 

[Dave Rudy]

Rob,

I always look forward to your posts and love to view your work.  Thanks.

Dave

 

[rich1]

Thanks for the dims and the additional pictures

Ric

 

[ROb McGilp]

Just to show the completed cabinet. I redid the door frames in Blue Gum and added the Macassar Ebony handles along with some hinges.

Regards,

Rob

 

[Anthony]

That's come along nicely Rob. You gotta be happy with that.

 

[nickao]

This project is in contention for the contest this month in my eyes.

It has a lot of different things going on showing different skills. A couple different joinery methods.
Not an exact copy, but keeping the flavor of a Krenov piece. Finishing is nice, nice wood selection, etc.

Rob any more pics of any Festools in action or early pics of any of the wood getting sized, etc?

Got to get back to the shop guys, but I have not seen any discussions on this contest lately, unless I missed the posts. I thought I would get a discussion started about this piece.

Any comments on this particular piece?

Nickao