The stock for the battens and mullions is 7/16" thick. If you have a planer, you can easily mill some ¾" material to the right thickness; if you don’t have access to a planer, you can accomplish the same results by resawing thicker stock on a band saw or table saw, as shown in Figure 4 on page 4. Once the pieces are properly sized, install a ¼" dado blade in your table saw, and form the ¼" x ¼" tongues on one edge and both ends of four of the battens, as shown in the back assembly detail drawing on page 7. One batten (piece 13) is slightly wider than the others and features a tongue on both edges. After forming the tongues, reset your blade height and fence, and plow a groove in the second edge of the appropriate battens.
For decoration, chamfer the edge shoulders of each batten, as shown in the batten detail drawing on page 2. Cut the chamfers with a standard table saw blade tilted 45° and set low enough to avoid nipping the tongues. When the back frame is assembled, the chamfers will form V-grooves—a feature seen on many old cabinets.
Figure 3: To transfer the dowel hole locations, insert steel dowel centers in the sides, and press them into position on the top and bottom pieces.
Figure 4: To resaw 3 4" stock, use a push stick to make a number of 1 2"-deep passes until the blade breaks through the top edge of the stock.
Figure 5: After cutting the mullions to length for your door, cut exactly halfway through your stock with a 5/16" dado blade to form the tenons.
Now, glue the back frame around the battens, leaving the battens unglued to allow for wood expansion. While you’re at it, glue up the door frame, as well. After the glue has dried, trim the back frame to fit into the cabinet, drill three countersunk pilot holes through the top and bottom into the frame, and drive brass screws (pieces 14) into the pilot holes.
Making the Mullion Frame
Use the rest of your 7/16"-thick material for the mullions (pieces 15). Rip the stock a little wider than the Material List calls for, and then hand plane the edges down to the ¾" dimension. Check your planing progress often to make sure the edges remain square.
Since your door is bound to be a little different from mine, be sure to measure the door opening before cutting your mullions to length. After crosscutting the strips, install a ¾" dado blade, raise it 7/32", and cut the half-lap joints (see the half-lap detail drawing on page 3). Make test cuts in scrap stock, and adjust the blade height until the joint is right on the money. Then, lay out and cut the half laps in your mullion stock, as shown in the door elevation drawings on page 7. Next, use a 5/16" dado blade, the table saw’s miter gauge, and a setup block clamped to the fence to cut the tenons on the half laps (see Figure 5).
Assemble the mullion frame, and use it to mark the mortise locations in the door. Trace around each tenon with a utility knife, and clean out the mortises with a chisel, just as you did earlier when you formed the hinge mortises.
Test the fit of the mullion frame in the door, make any corrections, and then glue the frames together. A drop of glue in each mortise and half-lap joint is all it takes.
Carrying Out the Final Fitting
Fitting an overlay door is much easier than fitting an inset door, which is one reason this project is so cabinetmaker friendly. Plane the edges of the door flush with the sides of the cabinet, and trim the door’s ends using the table saw to get 1/16" gaps. Using the table saw works only if the doors and cabinet are square; if your project is out of square, you’ll have to hand plane all four door edges to fit.
Now, use a square and knife to transfer the hinge mortise locations directly from the cabinet to the door. Remove the waste using the technique described in Chopping Hinge Mortises by Hand. Then, mark and drill the pilot holes for the hinge screws. Mount the door in the cabinet to check its swing and fit, and then remove it for installing the glass.
Cut shelves (pieces 16) for your cabinet, and rip retaining strips (pieces 17) for holding the glass in the door. Miter the retaining strips to length, and drill pilot holes for the brads (pieces 18). Don’t fool yourself into thinking the pilot holes are unnecessary—without them, you’re bound to split the strips or bend the nails.
Sand the cabinet to 150 grit, and then select your stain and topcoat. To make the cabinet look old, I colored the wood with medium-amber-maple aniline dye stain. Mix the water-based stain full strength, and apply it with a sponge. After allowing it to soak in for several minutes, wipe off the excess. If the color isn’t dark enough for you, apply more stain; if the color is too dark, wipe the cabinet with a damp rag to remove some of the stain. Wiping on four coats of an oil finish after staining will create a pleasant sheen and a fitting topcoat for this cabinet.
Completing the Final Details
Secure the back assembly in the carcass, and install the flush-mount fasteners (pieces 19), as shown in the back elevation drawings. To keep the cabinet hanging plumb after installing the flush-mount fasteners, stick small adhesive bumpers (pieces 20) to the bottom back corners. Next, drill a pilot hole in the door for the knob (piece 21), and install the glass with the retaining strips and brads. Hinge the door to the cabinet, and tap the bullet catch into its hole. Drill a corresponding hole in the bottom edge of the door, and install the strike plate for the catch.
As you can see, this is a simple cabinet, but to really do it justice, you must still take care with the building process. Learning a few tricks of the trade on projects like this will make it easy to step up to more complicated designs later on.
Chopping Hinge Mortises by Hand
Step 1: Make several passes around the hinge with a knife to cut deep lines.
Step 2: Chamfer the mortise outline to relieve the edges and define the depth.
Step 3: Chop the mortise with a mallet and chisel, and then pare off the waste.
A sharp chisel and a steady hand can make short work of chopping out a mortise for a hinge, and it’s more efficient than setting up a router and jig if you only have a few mortises to do. Begin by holding the hinge in position and outlining the mortise with a utility knife (Step 1). Next, use a chisel to make chamfering cuts around the outline that define the depth of the mortise (Step 2). Wrap up the procedure by making a number of vertical chopping cuts to loosen