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Floor cabinet
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A plywood box forms the heart of this project, while face features add style and grace
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By Steve Maxwell, photos by Roger Yip, illustration by Len Churchill
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Veneered Top
Build the top starting with an oversized piece of cabinet-grade plywood. Cover the plywood with 1/4"-thick solid wood veneer sliced on a tablesaw. Edge glue the veneer together and apply to the plywood base with more glue. Once dry, trim the top to size and add the mitred top trim. Secure this with glue and clamps, then after the glue has dried, plunge slots for #20 biscuits across the bottom faces of the joints. Secure the top to the cabinet with more biscuits or dowels before adding the top cove moulding.
Apply the Mouldings
Mouldings add visual interest to the cabinet. Add them to the foot base, skirt, bullnose door opening trim and top cove moulding. I milled my own mouldings, with the exception of the top cove. Use a combination of moulding profiles that makes sense with your router bit collection.
Applying the mouldings is standard cabinet work; proceed around the cabinet, taking measurements as you go and cutting all the moulding pieces to size. Fasten the mouldings with glue and as few nails as possible.
Make the Door
Measure the door opening and add 1/8" to the width and length. Build the rails, stiles and panel to suit. If you plan on carving the door panel (See “Carving Your Niche,” next page), practice on some scrap first. Carve the panel before beveling the panel edges. That way, if you do mess up, you won't lose as much. Once completed, plane the oversize door to the final size for a perfect fit.
Finishing
To duplicate my blue, antiqued finish, start by applying a coat of medium-brown stain. Once dry, add two coats of blue milk paint. Simulate worn areas by rubbing through to the underlying brown. Seal the whole finish with two coats of water-based urethane, sanding lightly between each.
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