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Bathroom wall cabinet
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Build some extra storage space in the bathroom
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By Dave Bond, photos by Tracy Cox, illustration by Len Churchill
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The cabinet's two drawers are ideal for hiding small items. The drawer fronts are joined with simple rabbet joints, and feature continuous grain across both faces
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Drawer Construction
The drawers are simple boxes with 3/4"-thick fronts and 1/2"-thick sides and backs. The bottoms can be 1/4"-thick pine or hardboard. I like to use one board for both drawer fronts so the grain pattern is continuous across them. Cut the drawer fronts, sides and back 1/16" less in height than the opening so the drawers will slide smoothly. Label all parts, then plow a 1/4" x 1/4" dado to accept the drawer bottom. Corner joinery is simple: a 1/2" x 1/2" rabbet on both ends of the drawer fronts and a 1/4" x 1/2" rabbet on both ends of the drawer backs. Cut the drawer bottoms and dry-fit all drawer parts to highlight any areas that need adjustment. Check overall drawer width, then glue and clamp the parts together. A belt sander is an excellent tool for adjusting final drawer size for a smooth-sliding fit within the openings.
Fitting the Doors
The easiest way to fit the doors is to lay the cabinet on its back, and then place the doors in position. The interior shelves will hold them up. You'll almost certainly need to make adjustments, and a sharp hand plane is the tool of choice for this job. Aim for a 1/16" gap all around, with a slight bevel along the hinge side, so the face of each door is slightly wider than the back. This allows the doors to close without binding within the sides. Once your planing work is done, install hinges and hang the doors. I chose simple, mortise-free hinges: they don't show much on the finished project, but the ball tips do add a bit of class to the overall impression of the project.
Once the doors are hung, final fitting is done with a sharp block plane to create an even gap around the doors, and to make sure the two doors don't collide with each other in the centre. Take the doors off now for final sanding.
I bought some V-groove, knotty pine panelling for the back slats, the kind that comes shrink-wrapped at building-supply outlets everywhere. Select the best pieces, then sand and finish them before nailing them in place. You'll need to take off the tongue on one back slat so it fits properly in the 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet you routed earlier in the sides.
Crown Moulding and Cap
It takes about five feet of crown moulding to cover the top of the project, and I installed it a little differently than the usual method. Start by sanding the crown by hand with 180-grit paper to get rid of the mill glaze and planer marks, then cut a triangular filler piece for behind the crown. This gives more support than with most crown installations. Cut, glue and nail the filler in place, flush with the tops of the sides, and then prepare the crown. As with the drawer fronts, cut the crown from a continuous piece of wood so grain patterns wrap around the project. You'll get the best results if you leave the side pieces of crown longer than needed for now, then get the mitre joints right before trimming to final length at the back ends. This approach allows multiple attempts to get the all-important mitres spot-on. A sharp block plane is the ideal tool for tweaking these prominent joints.
The cap starts with a 3/4"-thick piece of pine that needs 1/2"-deep rabbets milled on all four sides. The back rabbet is 1/2" x 3/8" to accept the back slats; side rabbets are 1/2" x 3 3/4" (to extend over the crown moulding, triangular fillers and sides); and the front rabbet is 1/2" x 2 3/8" (to fit over the crown and the filler). The 1/4" of cap that rises above the rabbets is best rounded over for good looks. Apply some glue, then nail the cap down into the sides.
Drill and install your drawer and door hardware, then give everything a final sanding before cleaning up the shop and getting out the finishing supplies.
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