Small reclaimed oak shelf

[ear3]

After a bunch of reclaimed oak projects over the summer, I had built up a decent off-cut pile of 2x6 and 2x8 offcuts, so I decided to consecrate those pieces for a cabinet my wife requested for her (growing) collection of supplements and tea mugs, which were starting to take over the kitchen counter.

To hit the projected linear feet, and to especially to make the planned bookmatched panels for the doors, I resawed a few of the beams using the Roubo Frame saw I got from Bad Axe tool works last month.  Kerfed each piece on the table saw to assist in blade tracking:

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Then clamped them up one by one in the leg vise and sawed them in half:

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The sawing went relatively quickly, and after planing them all to an equal size, I ended up with boards a bit thicker than 5/8.  The frame saw has been a great addition to my arsenal, since my shop will not accommodate a serious resaw capable bandsaw.

For the verticals and door frame members, I simply planed down the remaining boards on the thicknesser to 1"+.  You can see I was really scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point, and had to use planks as short as 12" to make sure I had enough wood.  Even so, I ended up having to mix red and white oak to get all the wood I needed.

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I selected the boards for the bookmatched panels first, choosing those that had a good combination of grain patterns and nails holes.  I straightened one edge with the tracksaw, and then joined them with 4mm dominoes.  I jointed one side flat with a no. 8, but left them thick until I had an exact size for the door panel slot in the frame members:

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The boards for the case were then ripped to width, and I dominoed the verticals as a pair to ensure level alignment (those boards on either end are just scrap pinned with a 23 gauge nailer to keep the boards aligned):

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Clamped up the case, and then moved on to the doors:

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For a while I've been visualizing this image in my head of a curved door panel, so I decided to try to realize it on this project (I've subsequently figured out after my wife pointed it out that I was imaging, albeit poorly, an art nouveau design technique).

I made a template out of 1/4 MDF (I think now the curve should have been more exaggerated, but I was limited by the scrap I had to work with):

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Traced it onto one of the offcuts, and did a rough cut out of 4 pieces with the Carvex -- you'll see I had to take care to avoid crossing the prominent split that went down the center of that board, representing the point where the grain dipped back up (whatever you call the diameter line of the rings on a tree):

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Then I reapplied the template to each piece with double sided tape, and routed the pattern flush on the router table:

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I decided only to do a curve on two pieces for each frame, rather than make another template to curve the smaller pieces, which, in my opinion, would have detracted from the natural beauty of the bookmatched panel by obscuring more of it, and so I just cut some regular shaped rails for the horizontal pieces:

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I dominoed the frame members and dry fit them with clamps so I could cut the slot for the panel on the router table:

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Knowing now the thickness I needed, I planed the panels down to size, taking care to remove an equal amount of material from both sides so I didn't expose the dominoes on the edge joint:

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To size the panels to account for the curves, I traced and cut a template on plywood:

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Which I then attached to the panels with double sided tape, and cut them out with a template guide bushing on the OF1400 that added slightly less than the depth of the slot:

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[EDIT: Continued in next post after images didn't post]

 

[ear3]

I knocked off the corners to account for the difference in the radii between the slot cutter bearing and the template guide:

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Then glued up the entire door:

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I applied two coats of Surfix one-step to all the cabinet pieces, and then set about getting the doors hung and squared away.

I opted for a more classic hardware option of butt hinges on the doors, and so cut the mortises with a router plane: 

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I made the doors slightly oversize so that they could be trimmed with the tracksaw to provide a matched reveal relative to the case.  Even after 3 years of using a tracksaw, I'm still giddy when I get to do something like trimming a door that is still attached to a cabinet.

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Here's the final product:

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I left the bottom open for the mugs, and I didn't think it necessary to put on a back, as it will just be hanging on the wall.

I still have to turn some door knobs, but in the meantime I was able to hang it in place, and it has already been almost completely filled:

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A lot of work went into such a small, basic project, but I'm pretty happy with how the bookmatched panels turned out.  In particular, I like how the nails holes and splits don't create a perfect mirror image:

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I had hoped to include knots in one of the panels, but that part of the board ended up being too unstable even when glued up, so I broke it off and made a hot plate/emergency Xmas gift out of it (sanding it up to 1200 and applying Surfix heavy oil):

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Next time I do some cabinet doors for home, I'm going to experiment with more exaggerated curves to achieve a more organic effect.  My wife likes the cabinet, but it still feels a bit rustic and country-kitchen like.

 

[Svar]

Why didn't you cut a deeper kerf on the table saw? Wanted re-sawing workout?

 

[ear3]

Lol.  I certainly got my workout, but it was more that because the faces were still rough and uneven, I was worried about plunging the blade in too deep and experiencing a major kickback event if the board face wobbled along the fence. 

Why didn't you cut a deeper kerf on the table saw? Wanted re-sawing workout?

 

[peter halle]

You are the EverReady Bunny of projects.  Mind boggling to me.

I have to admit it isn't a style I would have in my home, BUT I could see this being passed on the family members.

Great job in my mind!  [thumbs up]

Peter

 

[mike_aa]

[member=37411]ear3[/member]  Edward, so you're going Woodright on us with the frame saw?  I was reading this thread at the same time The Woodwright's Shop was on and Roy was busy resawing some pine with the same kind of saw.  What a coincidence!

The cabinet looks great and it's hard to believe it came from the scrap pile.  I do agree that it looks a bit rustic with all the defects of the reclaimed wood, but they add some interest. 

I really like how you've been incorporating a mix of hand tools in your repertoire.  How long did it take to do the overall build?

Thanks for sharing!

Mike A.

 

[deepcreek]

Edward,

Great work as always. Another heirloom quality piece and this one gets to stay in your family!

Joe

 

[ear3]

Thanks Mike!  I'm really digging the frame saw, and it is enabling me to become a lot more miserly about saving and using all the offcuts that build up in my shop.  I think my friends and family are all going to get bookmatched hotplates/trivets/platters for Xmas this year.

The total build probably filled up around 5 full days, though some of that obviously represents a few hours spread over a few days, especially at the finishing stage.

[member=37411]ear3[/member]  Edward, so you're going Woodright on us with the frame saw?  I was reading this thread at the same time The Woodwright's Shop was on and Roy was busy resawing some pine with the same kind of saw.  What a coincidence!

The cabinet looks great and it's hard to believe it came from the scrap pile.  I do agree that it looks a bit rustic with all the defects of the reclaimed wood, but they add some interest. 

I really like how you've been incorporating a mix of hand tools in your repertoire.  How long did it take to do the overall build?

Thanks for sharing!

Mike A.

 

[bkharman]

Nice work Ed!  I have looked at that saw in the past as I sorted out which bandsaw to get into. I might have a look at it again.

Cheers. Bryan.

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