This week’s project comes from John. Let’s see what he has to say:
I can’t believe it – the shoe cabinet is done! :) It’s been a long process. With me being such a newbie, and having just a bit of free time to devote each week, it’s taken me something like 6 months to complete! This was a real learning project. Many firsts for me: loose mortise and tenons, edge joining wider boards, flush drawers with half-blind and through dovetails, routed inlays, sliding doors, staining poplar, etc. I based the design on David Marks’ tool cabinet (Woodworks #503), but much larger and with drawers on top. I used poplar throughout, and walnut for the inlays and handles. Finished with a 2lb cut of shellac followed by General Finishes American oak gel stain and 3 coats of Arm-r-Seal.
One of the big lessons from this project is covering up mistakes, of which there were MANY! :) The biggest oops came when I was routing the mortises in the top — the router bit somehow slipped loose and punched right through the top. Not a happy woodworking moment!! After wrangling with ideas about patching the holes, making a new top, etc, I took your excellent suggestion of filling the hole with epoxy, and then routing a complete perimeter inlay over the top of it. Hey, I meant to do that! :) It turned out great!
I also really struggled with the doors. Not having a band saw, and unable to find any good 1/4″ plywood locally, my “beautifully figured” sliding doors are actually just 1/4″ MDF panels. I used the same gel stain and sorta dragged the rag across to produce a fakey wood grain :) For the dovetails, I started with an old rockler jig – and just like you, I ended up wanting to drive a truck over it. I ended up investing in the Leigh Super 18 – nice! After spending so long fine-tuning the half-blind fronts, I was stunned how easy the through dovetails were in comparison! :) Took a crazy amount of time, but I just love those dovetails.
Thanks again for all your help Marc. You’ve patiently answered every one of my emails and given me numerous suggestions which you can see reflected right in the completed project. And I can’t count how many times I’ve come back to your videos for advice, design ideas, the dovetails, edge-joining with biscuits, mortise and tenons, pairing, wiping finishes, etc, etc – even how best to measure and mark when putting the door handles on. Looking forward to the next project.
11 Responses to “John’s Shoe Cabinet”
I’m super impressed with your “draggin’ the rag around” staining trick for the sliding MDF panels. Very nice. I’d also call the slipped router bit a success in two ways: the inlay looks fantastic and next time you’ll tighten it up a bit better (cuz it just sounds dangerous!!)
Great job!
Woot someone not afraid of MDF. Sounds like a cool way to hide it …I can’t tell it’s MDF. Who has the money for those expensive fancy woods anyway?? hmmm? j/k
I think you have inspired my next project. Shoes and boots on the closet floor are a constant problem. I really like your solution, especially with the drawers that will handle the sock storage issue. Great work !!
John,
Very nice work. I really like the top inlay. I think it really adds a nice touch. I have three children and have been trying to figure out a way to organize shoes (all of my children are girls – so way, way to many shoes). This looks like a really nice concept.
From the pictures I couldn’t even tell that the doors were not real wood. Well done.
Chris
LOL! Glad to see I’m not the only one who utilizes dumbbells for glue up purposes. Works well I might add. My “workshop” and “gym” share the same side of my garage so the weights are readily available when needed.
I’m also very impressed with the look of the MDF panels. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t mentioned it. I will keep that mind as I am also without a band saw…. : (
Thanks for the comments guys! The cabinet has been in full service for the past few months now. Holding up to daily use quite well.
Chris, I have two daughters (3 and 5), and the shoes overfloweth! I made another shelf and there’s still not enough room! :)
Paul, you’re right- the slipping bit was pretty scary. It’s pretty tricky – too tight and you warp the collet, and too loose and you’ve got a cannon in your hand. When I was doing the dovetails, I tightened the collet a lot more, and it held firm. Hope I didn’t mess up the collet!
And as for that top-inlay, every single person that sees the cabinet comments on it and is so so impressed. How cool is that- the biggest mistake of the project turned into its biggest feature!
John
John,
First, great cabinet…love the way you did the doors and inlay, overall I’m impressed. Now, I’d like to add maybe a little advice. I have a bench we used to store shoes in. Worked great except when my kids grew older and…well….their feet got stinkier! A LOT STINKIER! LOL The reason I say this is venting would have helped. If your going to store shoes in a common area and the shoes go in right off the feet, you may want to consider venting in the back some way to allow air in (at the bottom)and out (near the top) when the doors are closed. The heat from the shoes will cause air to flow, and will allow them to air out not knocking you out when you open the doors ;>) Again, love the cabinet, just a little experience I thought I’d share.
Jim Hallada
I like it a lot. Shoes never had it so good. Claude
Hi John
I really like your project. I have been looking for some kind of shoe rack project and your design solution is inspiring. Are you willing to share the rough dimensions? I am also a very new WW’r. I like that there are some drawers up top that could be used for hats, mittens or whatever. The inlay on the top is really sweet!
Regards,
Matt
Jim, good suggestion! I had considered using perforated hardboard for the back, but thought that might look kinda crappy. So I ended up just using solid hardboard. I guess I could use a hole cutter and drill several big holes along the rear bottom and top.
Matt, I’m happy you like it! Here’s a few details, but let me know if you have any more specific questions:
The overall dimensions are 44″W, 36″H, 14″D. The top/bottom are 1″ thick, and everywhere else is 3/4″. Drawer had 3/4″ fronts and 1/2″ sides/backs, and are about 5 1/4″H, and 10″/20″/10″W. Doors are 1/4″ MDF panels, riding in channels that are 1/4″ wide and 1/4″ deep on the bottom, 1/2″ deep on the top (so you can lift the door up and out easily). The channels are set back a 1/4″ from the edge of the sides, and have 3/16″ space between them.
The shape of the top/bottom was made with the table saw blade at 45 degrees and leaving a quarter inch straight profile. There’s a 1/4″ reveal where the top/bottom meet the sides/front.
I based many details on David Marks’ excellent tool cabinet, episode WWK-503, so take a look at his show notes here:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/.....53,00.html
It’s scheduled to show on DIY on October 18 – be sure to catch it :)
If any of you guys make something similar, I’d love to see the results!
-John
Well, not to sound like a copycat, but I am more impressed with the doors than anything else. I don’t think anybody at all could have told you those were MDF doors from the pictures, even if you told them there was MDF in the project and asked them to point it out. I likey!