by Bill Hylton
Here’s the perfect project for expanding your routing skills. It combines cope-and-stick joints with sliding dovetails and raised panels.
by Tim Johnson
To learn furniture design, reproduce an antique. The original of this piece was built entirely with hand tools, so for a real trip back in time, try doing the same.
by Rick White
If you love to fish, you’re sure to have a closet full of fishing gear to contend with. This handsome pine angler’s cabinet provides plenty of storage for rods, tackle boxes, and waders.
by Stuart Barron
Walk a mile in the shoes of a colonial cabinetmaker, and you’ll learn a lot about how an heirloom is made. This piece even has a not-so-secret drawer.
by Rick White
A short base and a broad, low cabinet define a sideboard. This one has flush-fit drawers and doors and a beveled top for that Scandinavian flavor.
by Rick White
Bending wood can be challenging, but these graceful curves can be managed with simple jigs and bendable plywood.
by David Larson
You can wheel this sturdy, Corian-topped cart around on the deck or patio, and it’s roomy enough to store all your outdoor cooking utensils plus a couple of bags of charcoal.
by Bruce Kieffer
Building an exquisite piece like this is a labor of love. This hutch is not a reproduction, but a totally new design based on traditional mission-era furniture.
by Rick White
This china cabinet features classic clean lines, gentle arches, and hidden hardware. It’s amply sized to store all your table finery, with glass upper doors for displaying your treasures.
Greene and Greene–Inspired Dresser
by Mike McGlynn
This chest of drawers has an extraordinary number of parts, and putting them together requires logic and care—but the results will be well worth the trouble.
by Mike McGlynn
Safe and sturdy, stylish and practical, this weekend project is easy to build, and it will remain useful as a keepsake chest or a bench long after the kids have left home.
by Mike McGlynn
Here’s a modern cabinet with a tricky motorized lift for your flat-screen TV set. It’s a slick way to make that dead-black box go away when you aren’t watching it.
by Mike McGlynn
This entertainment center is likely to be the trickiest project you’ll ever tackle, but it’s also likely to be one of the most rewarding.
Heirloom Collector’s Cabinet
Set aside a weekend and a few feet of clear maple lumber for building this old-fashioned collector’s cabinet. The mullioned door and batten-style back lend an aged authenticity to the project. Follow up with an amber-toned, faux shellac finish.
by Dean Holzman
Most of my woodworking is for the theater—things such as stage sets, chairs made at unusual angles, and cabinets painted in outlandish colors. But every once in a while, I get to build a project that will last a lot longer than the run of the latest play in town.
The woman who had me build this small cabinet needed a place for displaying her collection of figurines, although it could be used for many other purposes, as well. If you like the country look, you’ll appreciate the mullioned door and the traditional choice of maple for the cabinet’s construction. Maple was often used in American country furniture, and glass-paned doors were a common feature.
Getting Started
To begin, select maple stock for the cabinet sides, top, and bottom (pieces 1 and 2), and rip it to width (see the Material List on page 2). Then, crosscut the pieces to length by stacking each pair and cutting them at the same time (see Figure 1). This is a practice that helps to guarantee square assemblies.
Next, using a combination square and a pencil, lay out the dowel locations on the sides, as indicated in the exploded view drawing on page 2. To drill the dowel holes, I recommend using a drilling jig and drill press. The Dowl-it jig is particularly effective because it’s accurate and simple to use. Before drilling holes in your actual project pieces, however, drill some ⅜" holes in scrap wood to make sure the dowels (pieces 3) fit properly. You may have to try several bits before you get a good fit. Once you settle on a bit, drill the four holes in the ends of each side piece with the help of the jig, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Stack any pieces that need to match, and crosscut them to