Simple Liquor Cabinet

The idea for this came from a friend who built one of these for his office. This is a simple liquor cabinet, made of pine with a plywood back and teak frames for the doors and a drop down shelf. I say simple as this uses simple woodworking joints and dowels, no box or dovetail joints, no dado joints for the shelves, however I am going to mill rabbets for the plywood back panel as well for the acrylic door panels in the frames.

Cabinet frame will use butt joints with dowels, and the frame for the doors and shelf will be butt joints and the classic stile and rail fabrication, also using dowels.

To support the cabinet I am going to use keyhole brackets on the back each side frame, at the top and the middle. Hinges will be brass.

This cabinet will hold 10-13 liquor bottles, several glasses, etc.

The overall dimension of the cabinet is 55cm wide x 110 cm tall x 16.5cm depth (21 5/8" wide x 43 1/4" tall x 6 1/2" depth).

For this project, I am going to provide measurements in cm and mm, and some basic measurements in inches, and is made with the wood I have available without the need for a table saw to rip pieces or jointer. Feel free to tailor this to your liking or change the types of joints, as this is a guide only. You will need basic woodworking skills, how to measure accurately, how to drill squarely at right angles, have knowledge of using dowels is helpful, use proper safety precautions with what tools you are using, and most important, have patience and care for the craft.

The wood I state is the sizes I can get, they will be trimmed and cut to length needed as explained in the Steps below.

Materials:

Pine lumber, 2.3 x 14.5 x 150cm, 2 pieces. (Shorter pieces were not available to me plus I like to trim the ends, the extra cutoff will make some nice pot holders later on.)

Pine lumber, 2.3 x 14.5 x 60cm, 6 pieces. (I am using AAA grade pine with no knots, 2.3cm is right about 7/8" so this is a fairly thick frame for a cabinet. 14.5cm is just under 5 3/4" wide.)

Teak lumber, 2 x 4.5cm x 120cm, 2 pieces.

Teak lumber, 2 x 4.5cm x 100cm, 2 pieces.

Teak lumber, 2 x 4.5cm x 60cm, 2 pieces. (2cm is just over 3/4", 4.5cm is right about 1 3/4").

Wood dowels, 8 x 40mm, 30 pieces, plus extra if needed.

Plywood, 3 x 60 x 120cm, 1 piece. (This is used for the back of the cabinet, 3mm is about 1/8").

Acrylic sheet, 3 x 60 x 120cm, (This is used in the door frames, 3mm is 1/8").

Felt.

Tools:

Miter saw. (You can certainly use a table saw if that is what you have).

Cordless drill. (Drilling holes for dowels and pilot holes, NOT used for screws - no need to strip any holes.)

Jigsaw. (With a fine tooth blade for acrylic, and medium blade for wood, you can certainly use a table saw if that is what you have).

Sander, plus 80, 120, and 240 grit paper.

Dowel points, 8mm size, three is what you need for this.

8mm pointed wood bit. (I use exclusively Star-M wood bits for dowel holes as they are extremely sharp and cut very clean and accurate holes.)

Various wood drill bits. (Used for pilot holes for various hardware, self centering bits is a bonus but not required.)

Router. (With a table is preferred but not needed, plus assorted bits.)

Screwdriver handle and PH2 bit.

Pliers. (May be needed to pull dowel points or dowels from holes.)

Wood mallet.

Hammer and 3/4" nails (for fastening the back panel.)

Square.

Tape measure, or steel rule.

Corner clamps, 8, or as needed.

Right angle braces, as needed, I used 2.

Bar clamps, I used 6, any clamps 30" or longer will work for this.

Wood chisel, 1/2", or as desired as well as a stone.

Center punch.

Wood glue, good quality, I always use Titebond II Premium, which is water resistant for interior/exterior use but also shorter assembly time. If you want a longer assembly time, Titebond III Ultimate is water-proof for interior/exterior use and allows longer assembly time.

Wood filler & putty knife as needed.

Pencil.

Hardware:

Keyhole hangers, 4 pieces plus long screws, size 44mm x 16mm, screws used are M3.5x50 (#6 2 inch)

Brass hinges, 7 pieces, plus brass screws, 2"

Knobs, 3, of your choice.

Chain. I actually used the chain from a fruit basket I had hanging in the kitchen.

Glass hold down brackets, as needed.

Cutting the pine to length for the cabinet frame. This is really easy to do, I wanted the frame to be 110cm long, so I squared one end on each two long pieces, then measured out 110cm, marked, and used my miter saw to cut exactly at 110cm.

Next is the top, bottom, and three shelves, since this is all butt joints, all the horizontal pieces are exactly the same length, they all fit between the side pieces. I wanted this to be 55cm wide, so I subtracted 2.3cm x 2 = 4.6mm, then subtracted 4.6 from 55, equaling 50.4cm. Then I squared each end of the 5 shorter boards (when I say squared, I mean a finish cut, cut about 1/2" off the end of each board). Then I used my steel rule to measure 50.4cm on each board, used a square to make a line (easier to line that line up with the saw blade than a simple tick mark).

When using a miter saw to cut these, I put the finished piece to the left of the blade, then position the very left side of the blade to the right of the line you drew, with the left edge of the blade just touching the line you drew.

Here, all 7 boards needed for the frame are cut. I used my Stanly 10" saw with an 80 tooth carbide blade.

First Photo: Shows the complete layout after every shelf was measured. Layout the side pieces of the frame on your workbench or assembly stand, with the front edges down on the work surface. Reason for front edges down is to keep them square with the shelves, some of the back is going to get routered off in rabbets, and the rest can be sanded. Place short boards between the side boards as shown. Use corner clamps to hold each one in place. If your work surface is not long enough, start on one end and as you place clamps, move the frame over the work surface.

Second Photo: Now measure out the spacing for the first and second shelves, from the top down, as this is where the liquor bottles will be stored. Use your tallest bottle as a guide (NOT Galliano). First I was going to use a bottle of J&B Scotch, but then I had received a bottle of Chacha (Russian grape vodka) from a friend, and that was a bit taller than the scotch, so I used that as a guide. Keep in mind you are looking at the cabinet on its front, not standing up.

The distance I used from the bottom side of the top board to the top side of the 1st shelf was 33cm (13"). Place a board there and hold in place with corner clamps.

The distance from the bottom of the 1st shelf to the top of the 2nd shelf was also marked at 33cm. Place a board there and hold in place with corner clamps. This left 35cm from the bottom of the 2nd shelf to the top of the bottom board, I just roughly divided that in half and added another board, for glasses and such.

Use the pencil and mark the pieces on the top edge of the boards as you see fit, such as back, left side, right side, top, bottom, shelf numbers, measurements, etc. Remember, the top edge is going to be the back of the cabinet. Next is doweling.

When it comes to doweling, I have used various jigs, which I did not care for, some you cannot use near the end of a board. So the easiest way that I have found, is dowel points, and has been my preferred method for several years now.

This is the start of the doweling on one side of the cabinet, the rest of the doweling will happen as you progress from board to board, then repeat for the other side.

Remove one long side piece.

1st Photo: Use a pencil, make 3 marks on the end grain of the top, no need to measure anything here, just make 3 marks down the center of the board, 1 roughly in the center and 2 more marks on either side, towards the top and bottom, then drill the holes, keeping the drill bit at a 90 degree angle to the board to a straight hole, with the same size bit as your dowels, I used 8mm. The depth of the hole will be more than half the length of dowel, as the holes that go in the side board, will be less than half the length of the dowel (plus to account for glue).

Insert a dowel, if it is a really tight fit, remove it, with pliers if needed, and use the drill again and with the drill inserted in the hole and slowly turning, give it a slight, and I mean slight, wiggle, then test a couple of more dowels, you are looking for an easy fit without using a mallet. Now when you drill more holes, you will have a better feel as to how much to wiggle the bit after the hole is drilled.

2nd Photo: Insert the dowel points into the holes you drilled.

3rd Photo: Now take that side board you removed and place it back where it belongs, making sure it is correctly oriented, meaning the back side is upwards. Hold both pieces with one hand, check that the 'top' board is vertical and the side board is vertical, and the side board is against the other shelf boards and is flush with the top board. Hold the boards tight and use your free hand to smack the side board against where the dowel points are.

4th Photo: The side board with the marks from the dowel points. Dowel points transfer the center of holes to the board for the next holes.

5th Photo: Using the same drill bit, 8mm is what I used, drill the holes for the dowel in the side board, slowly drill, check the depths, to just about 1.5cm (the board is 2.3cm thick). I use a shop vac to clean up the drill cuttings and clean the holes as well.

6th Photo: Insert the dowels in the top board.

7th Photo: Align the side board up with the top board, and along the other shelf boards, give it a gentle tap with the heal of your hand, and you should have tight joint, as indicated by the squares in the photo. First joint on one side is complete.

The doweling probably takes the most time on this project, certainly take your time making sure the boards are square and the drill at a 90 degree angle to what you are drilling.

Continuing on, from the first joint you made, go ahead and remove the side board and remove the center dowel.

Now place 3 pencil marks on the end of the next board over, same as you did for the first board. Drill the 3 holes like you did on the first board.

1st Photo: Insert the dowel points, place the side board into its place, and fit the previous dowels into their holes, use a square and make sure the shelf board is vertical, hold the 2 boards tightly, and give the side a smack with heal of your hand where the dowel points are located. Remove the side board by tapping to get the dowels out from the first board. The reason for using the 2 dowels in the first board is maintain a square shape and keeps the boards more at right angles.

2nd Photo: You can see two sets of indents from the points, the very faint ones are just from positioning the board and getting the dowels seated in the previous board. The well defined indents are from when you smacked the board, use a pencil and mark the correct indents. Now carefully drill the holes for the dowels on the side board, watching your depth. Clean the holes on the sideboard and the shelf board and insert the dowels.

3rd Photo: Place the side board back in place and gently tap the side piece to seat the dowels, and you have completed another joint. If the board does not seat tightly against the side board, remove the side, remove the dowels, and drill just a bit deeper in the shelf board, then reassemble to check for tightness in the joint.

Continuing on... Remove the side board, leave 2 dowels in the shelf board you just did, and remove the dowels in first board you drilled, then repeat with the marking the holes in another shelf, dowel points, marking the side board again, drilling, dowels, and checking for tightness of the joint. Continue this for the rest of this side. Once this side is complete, remove the clamps, one at a time and place on the completed side, then start the doweling process again to complete the doweling of the cabinet frame as shown in the 4th Photo.

5th Photo: Take the frame apart and insert all the dowels and reassemble the frame, this is to verify all joints are tight and there is sufficient space to accommodate the dowels. You do not want to find a shallow hole when gluing later on.

Since you made a jigsaw puzzle from the pieces, use your pencil and mark the shelves as to their location, mark this on the end grain of each shelf because the end grain is not going to be sanded on the shelves. The sides will be easy to figure out once you mill them since there is more holes towards the bottom of each of those.

There is several approaches to milling the rabbets for the back panel, one way is with a handheld router and a rabbeting bit with bearings requiring chiseling out the corners, a handheld router with a straight bit and a guide board clamped as a router guide which takes more time to setup each board, or, the way I am going to use is my homemade router table with a fence and a 1/2" straight bit. This method does leave a little cut (top and bottom of the cabinet sides) that is filled with wood filler (I will show that later on in Step 9).

The plywood back I am going to use is 3mm thick. The plywood is 2 layers of hardwood and a layer of teak veneer, the teak will face the inside of the cabinet.

I am going to mill each piece with the widest part of the board down on the table. Setup the router with the bit adjusted to 10mm height from the table to top of the carbide blade, to recess the panel from the outside edge of the frame, I set the fence to cut 4mm in depth.

When you mill the shelves 2,3, and 4, you mill the rabbet on two sides of the board, which leaves a narrow strip of wood in the middle, now use a straight bit with a bearing, then you can mill that center strip off and have a perfect edge.

At this point, just sand the interior surfaces of the wood. I used 120 grit then after a good surface, I switched to 240 grit. It is easier to sand these now rather than after it is assembled. More sanding will happen after the frame is assembled.

No step by step photos for this as time is essential. Read through this first before attempting so you get an idea of what you are going to be doing. First, get clean sponge and get it damp and wring it out slightly, set this aside. Get out your bar clamps. I laid down 1 side board with the dowel holes facing up, laid out all the shelf boards in order. And I started from the top board, then shelf 1, shelf 2, etc.

(1) Put some wood glue in a small container, dip about 1/4" of a dowel into glue and insert into a hole for 1 board only, I started with the top board, repeat until all three dowels are in place, they should insert easily with the glue, or may need a bit of help with a tap from a mallet.

(2) Get the board for that position, apply glue to the end of the board that is for that side board, spread the glue evenly and inside each of the three dowel holes, hold the shelf vertically and place it onto the dowels on the side board, tap down onto the dowels to make a tight fit, now use the sponge and clean up any excess glue. Rinse the sponge as needed. I attached a right angle brace to the side board and the top at this point.

(3) Repeat the steps for shelf 1, shelf 2, etc., until you place the bottom board. I attached a right angle brace on shelf 3.

(4) Now lay down the other side board, holes upwards, and aligned the same as the first side board.

(5) Now you are going to glue in all the dowels, all holes. Tap them in when needed.

(6) Apply glue to the ends of all the upright boards, spread out evenly including into each dowel hole.

(7) Hold up the side board, turn it over and set onto the vertical boards, do this a bit at an angle, with the top end of the board lower than the other end, position dowels into the holes for the top board, lower the side board and position the shelf 1 dowels, repeat until you get to the bottom board, inserting the correct dowels in the holes as you go. Once the dowels are all in position, tap with heal of your hand or a mallet to seat all the dowels into the side board.

(8) Carefully lay the frame on its side, attach bar clamps at each shelf and top and bottom to snug up the joints.

(9) Measure diagonally from corner to corner, the frame is square when the numbers are the same for each measurement. My frame was 1mm out of square so I went with that - you are not going to see that. If yours is out by 3-4 mm, then loosen one or two of the bar clamps and put them at just a bit of an angle and retighten, then measure again. Once you are satisfied with the frame being square, use the sponge and clean up any excess glue.

Let the glue cure overnight before removing clamps.

Time to sand the exterior. Sides are the easiest so get them out of the way, 120 grit first and 240 grit after. For the top and the bottom, depending on how well your dowelling was, you should a flush joint, on some of the joints, you may need to take a little off the top or bottom board, or take a little off the end grain of a side board, so use 80 grit for that when you start.

Next comes sanding the front of the frame. If your frame pieces were square when you doweled them, the top and bottom, and shelves should be flush with the side frames, but if they are a little bit out of whack, meaning a shelf is higher than the side board, you just need to do more sanding, keeping in mind, you sand the half or the the entire front of a shelf the is higher than the side. For joints that were not flush, check with a straight edge across the face of the shelf, with sunlight behind the straight edge to make it easier to see, mark the high area with a pencil mark, and sand off that area with the pencil mark, then check again, repeat until a straight edge across the shelf to the sides is straight.

If you have any joints with a shallow glue line or where the pieces were not quite tight, use some filler to fill those in, after the filler cures, go ahead and sand those areas smooth.

Lay the cabinet face down, measure between the rabbets at the top of the cabinet, middle, and bottom, they should all be nearly the same. Take your plywood sheet for the back panel and place that finish side down, and measure out the width, use a straight edge and draw a line. Measure on the frame lengthwise between the rabbets on each side, they should be nearly the same. Measure out on the plywood and mark the length at at both sides, use a straight edge and draw a line.

I used a jig saw with a fine tooth blade and make the two cuts, using clamps as needed to hold the plywood in position for each cut.

Do a test fit of the back panel in the rabbets in the back of the frame, snug is ok, a tight fit where you cannot set the board in the rabbit is too tight, mark that area with a pencil and trim that with your jig saw. Once you are happy with the fit, pull the back to one side to show the shelves, use a pencil, mark the center of each shelf on the plywood, then switch sides and mark the shelves on that side. Use your straight edge and connect two marks and draw a line, repeat with the other marks, now you should have 3 lines going across the width of the back panel.

The only part we are going to glue is the shelves, not the outside edge of the frame, reason for this is to minimize the excess glue. Place a thin bead of glue down the center of each shelf, place the back panel on, make sure it is seated in the rabbet all the way around. Using a hammer and 3/4" nails, nail the center of each shelf first, then nail each shelf about halfway to the side, do this on both sides of the center nail, then place a nail at edge, angling just slightly to prevent tearing out on the inside of the cabinet. The reason for this is to keep the plywood from buckling or having a raised area in it. Now you nail the sides, top, and bottom of the back panel. Turn the cabinet over and remove any excess glue with a damp sponge. There be little to no excess glue.

On the second photo you can see the rabbet from when you milled the side boards, this is the small area you can leave either as is or fill with wood putty then sand. These appear only on the top and bottom, not the sides, so basically they are not visible.

The third photo shows the rabbet filled and sanded, again, not visible unless looking down at the top or up from the bottom, but gives a nice clean overall appearance.

The cabinet will be hung using 4 keyhole hangers (44mm x 16mm) attached to the cabinet with two stainless steel screws, M3.5x50 (#6 2 inch) each. The 4 hangers will hang on 4 stainless steel screws attached to the wall. All my walls are cement with stucco and I will be using 2 inch screws in that as well.

For recessing the hangers I used my 1/2 inch chisel and sharpened it after each recess was cut.

I decided to use 4 hangers due to the weight of the cabinet and liquor bottles. Placement of the hangers is not crucial but you want two near the top of the frame and two half way down the frame or a little more. I measured 6 cm down from the top of the frame and marked that, that is the top of the hanger, then measured down 65 cm from the top of the frame and marked that, also for the top of the hanger. Then I made marks to show what had to be chiseled out for the hangers.

Use a very sharp chisel (sharpen often as well) and cut the recesses for the hangers, you want the tallest point of the hanger to be flush with the back of the cabinet frame.

Drill pilot holes for the screws and attach the hangers.

Turn the cabinet over so the hangers are now on the bottom and the front of the cabinet is facing upwards.

Hinges for the door frames can be mounted two ways, exterior to the cabinet and doors or hidden with only the edge visible when the doors are closed. I am going to mount them hidden which involves more chiseling. 6 hinges will be used, 2 for each cabinet door and 2 for the drop down shelf.

I am going to use 2 1/2 inch solid brass hinges and screws.

Layout the position of each hinge, I went with 8 cm from the top for each door hinge, 8 cm up from the bottom of the door frames, measured from the center of 2nd shelf down from the top. The drop down shelf hinges are 8 cm from the outside of the cabinet frame. Keep in mind, the rolled part of the hinge will be visible on the outside when the door is closed, you only mark out the flat area to chisel.

When chiseling, first, you need a sharp chisel, and sharpen often, second, you need patience, as it takes a little time for each hinge recess. Chisel each recess so the flat part of a hinge is even with the wood, as shown in the second photo

Once the cabinet chiseling is completed, time to apply the finish. I used exterior water based polyurethane.

Use a vacuum and clean cloth and make sure there is no dust, wood chips, etc. left on the cabinet. I start with the back first and just apply 3 coats, allowing time to dry in between. After the back is complete, turn the cabinet over, and using a clean cloth, make sure the sides and inside is free of dust.

Apply 1 coat to the sides and inside of the cabinet, allow to dry overnight. Next day, lightly sand the exterior sides with 240 grit paper. Clean the outside and inside with a clean cloth. Apply 2 more coats inside and outside, then apply 1 more coat to the outside.

Now install the hinges. Place a hinge in a recess and using a center punch, mark the center of each hole, no need for pilot holes as the screws are small. Now use a manual screwdriver and set the center screw first, I used brass screws so do not overly tighten or you may snap off a screw head, then set the screws on either side. Reason for this is to get the center in place and tight first, then each side, prevents deforming of the hinge.

The style of the frames I am going to make are classic stile and rail with butt joints and dowels, meaning the sides of each frame (stiles) runs the full length top to bottom, and the top and bottom (rails) go in between the stiles, as shown in the 1st photo.

We are going to do some milling on the frame pieces as well but we need to get all the parts cut first.

First thing you need to do is make some center marks on the cabinet frame, some of your measurements will come from these marks, other measurement you need to do some math.

For the drop down shelf. On the 2nd shelf down from the top, mark the center of the width and center of the width of the shelf. Now measure up from the bottom edge of the bottom of the cabinet to the center of the 2nd shelf, reduce that measurement by 1 mm and that is the length of the stiles needed. The reason you reduce by 1 mm allows free movement of the shelf to open and close. Now take the width of the frame material you are using and double that (for 2 stiles) and subtract that from the width of the cabinet, I used 4.5cm wide x 2cm thick teak, that measurement is your rail length. Now setup your miter saw, flush cut the ends of your frame material, then make your measurements for 2 stiles and 2 rails and make the cuts, accuracy is key here. 1st photo shows the frame after cutting.

For the doors. On that second shelf mark you made, now measure up to the top edge of the top of the cabinet, that is the length of the stiles you need, and you need 4 stiles for 2 doors. To determine the rail length, take the width of the cabinet and reduce that number by 1 mm, this is your new width to allow free movement between the two doors, then take the frame material width and multiply by 4, subtract that number from the new width of the cabinet, then take that number and divide by 2 (since you have 2 doors), the result is the length of the rails, you need 4 rails for 2 doors. Now setup your miter saw, flush cut the ends of your frame material, then make your measurements for 4 stiles and 4 rails and make the cuts, again, accuracy is key here.

Put each frame together and with a pencil, label left door, right door, and number the joints, with the best sides up and to the outside edges, so when the doors are closed, the the best sides are facing out. Also mark with a pencil where the rabbets go. Keep each door frame in a bundle as each is a set now, no mixing the parts.

Next thing to do is mill the rabbets. The depth of the rabbit is determined by the thickness of the acrylic panel for the doors, and the thickness of the plywood for the drop down shelf. For the width of the rabbets, I used 1cm.

For the drop down shelf I used 4mm plywood plus 3mm teak plywood like I used on the back panel, so I milled those pieces 7mm deep so the plywood will sit flush to the back of the frame.

For the doors, I used 3mm acrylic then added another 2 mm for the panel hold down clips, so I milled those 5mm deep.

Set up your router (you can also use a table saw if you prefer) and mill the rabbets on all pieces. Now just like the cabinet frame, you will have exposed rabbets at the top and bottom of each frame, fill those with filler of appropriate color to your material.

Just like doweling the cabinet frame, we are going to use dowel points. The method is the same.

I will be using 8mm dowels and a 8mm Star-M drill bit. Lay out a frame, making sure it is the material from 1 bundle, and the joint numbers match.

The photos show and explain the steps for 1 joint, repeat for all the joints.

This is straight forward. First thing is to dry fit all the joints on a frame and verify all the joints are tight. Disassemble the frame.

Set up two bar clamps, the rails will be clamped between the stiles. Place the stiles on the clamps and the rails in the positions they go, near the clamps.

Hold up rail so the holes are facing upwards, add some wood glue to the face and in each hole. Use a small brush or cotton swab and coat the surface of the face and inside each hole. Insert the dowels, brush or swab on glue to each dowel, insert in the correct joint on the stile. Repeat with the other rail.

Now position that piece with the 2 rails facing upwards, repeat the gluing process, add the second stile on top and tap into position. Lay the frame on the clamps and just snug up the clamps, check for square, and tighten the clamps a little more, check for square.

Repeat with the remaining frames, let the glue dry overnight. Remove the clamps.

Before the sanding of the frames, we are going to a chisel the recesses for the hinges.

To determine where the hinges will go on the frames, place the cabinet on its back, front facing up, on your work table. close the hinges on the cabinet frame.

Take the drop down shelf frame and place on the frame with rabbets inwards. Align it squarely on the frame with the bottom and side edges flush. Use a square and mark each end of the hinge on the frame.

Remove the frame and use a square to transfer the line to the back side of the frame. Lay a hinge, only the flat side, on the frame, between the marks and draw a line to mark the width.

Chisel the recesses for each hinge until the hinge is flush with the surface of the frame, as shown in the 1st photo.

Now we need to attach the drop down frame to the cabinet. Easiest way to do this is to stand the cabinet up and place on two pieces of wood of equal thickness of the bottom piece. Keeping the two pieces of wood away from the hinges.

Place the drop down frame, with hinge recesses up, at the bottom of the cabinet, move the frame in to align the hinges.

When both hinges are in position and seat firmly in the frame recesses, hold one hinge down firmly and mark the center hole, in the center with a center punch. Set a screw in that hinge. Repeat with the other hinge, just setting the middle screw in the hinge. Now you can test, hold the cabinet and move the drop down shelf up, the top edge should be in the middle of the 2nd shelf. Now set the remaining screws, keeping in mind, do not over tighten if using brass screws. The 2nd photo shows the completed attachment of the hinges. How to set the keeper will be shown later.

Doors. To determine where the door hinge recesses go, similar process. First, place the cabinet on its back, front facing up. With the drop down shelf in the closed position, place the doors on the cabinet frame, align them to the sides of the cabinet and along the drop down shelf, leaving a gap of 1-2mm. If you have a big gap in the center between the doors, you can cover that with a strip of wood, shown in a later step. When the frames are in position, use a square and mark a pencil line on the sides of the hinges.

Attach the doors to the hinges in the same manner as the drop down shelf, but you will lay the cabinet on its side, raised with the wood blocks. Attach both doors.

Keepers are the devices that hold a cabinet door closed. Simple spring loaded device with two ball bearings that hold a stationary part firmly. The ball bearing piece mounts under a shelf in the middle of the door frame, and the stationary part mounts on the door frame.

First photo shows the two keepers for the doors installed. Close one door, mark the edge of the frame on the shelf. Now take the part with the ball bearings and insert the stationary piece, position the piece on the underside of the shelf, where the door frame will go when closed, about 3-4mm from the line, and with the stationary part flush with the shelf, mark the two holes for the ball bearing piece. Center punch those and install the ball bearing piece, with the stationary piece removed, with screws.

Put the screws in the stationary piece and press into the ball bearing piece, move the door to just touch the screws, and give a tap with the palm of your hand to mark the screw positions. Lower the door, center punch the mark, and install the stationary part with screws. Close the door and with a little pressure, it should seat firmly, in the keeper.

Repeat the process for the other door, as well as the drop down shelf. Remove the stationary parts and remove the doors from the hinges.

Remember when we milled the rabbets, it leaves a visible rabbet on the back side of the frames after they are assembled. Use a filler of your choice, I used teak for the frames so I used a teak colored filler, and fill the rabbets on all 3 frames, be generous, it shrinks as it cures.

Allow the filler to cure completely. Now it is time for sanding. Use 80 grit to sand down the stiles if they extend slightly past the rails and to knock down the filler. Then sand with 120 on the entire frame, minus the rabbets.

Now using the filler again, as more then likely they did not fill completely, so touch up any of the rabbets. Allow the filler to cure.

Sand the filled areas with 120 grit, and any depressions visible, go ahead and fill again. I had to do most of the joints 3 times.

When you sand again, if all the rabbets are completely smooth, then go ahead and switch to 240 grit and sand the entire frames. Clean with a vacuum and clean cloth so no dust remains on the frames.

Drop Down Shelf

Now the drop down shelf I planned on having the same teak veneer plywood showing in the front, and just rubberwood plywood on the inside, which will be covered with felt as well. The rabbets were milled so the plywood on the inside flush with the back of the frame.

Measure the drop down shelf between the rabbets, cut the veneer plywood and the inside piece of plywood to fit in the opening without being forced, forcing will cause the plywood to buckle, so you want a easy fit but not sloppy either.

Once your pieces fit well, first place the veneer plywood in the opening, then add glue around the 4 edges, then spread some glue over the veneer plywood, then fit the last piece of plywood on top. Clamp the edges and corners. Reason for this method is to prevent excess glue from coming out on the veneer (good side) yet provides enough glue to adhere to the back piece of plywood and the frame. After the plywood is clamped, turn the panel over and use a damp sponge to remove any glue from the veneer side, then clean up any excess glue from the back side. Allow to dry overnight.

I used water based exterior polyurethane, apply 1 coat to all surfaces, allow to fully dry.

Using just a hand held block sander, lightly sand just the frame, NOT the veneer, not the edge of the frame touching the veneer, nor the plywood back. So basically you are just sanding the front face of the frame, the back face of the frame, and the outer edge of the frame. Wipe with clean cloth.

Apply 3 more coats of polyurethane.

Attach to the hinges using 1 screw in each hinge, close, and mark out the center for a knob, drill the hole for that, attach the knob. Remove from the hinges. Mount the stationary part of the keeper, and set aside for now.

Doors

With the doors closed, check for a gap between the doors, perfect gap is 1-2mm, wider should be covered, and that is easily done!

If the door gap (space between the doors) is 3mm or more, a cover strip should be used, adding not only a decorative piece to the cabinet, but a functional piece as well.

First photo shows the gap I had (I did the math wrong when I was determining the rails, my fault there!) so I found a nice decorative strip, teak so that it matches the wood used for the frames. The strip is 1" wide. Cut the strip to the length of the doors.

The strip is attached to one door frame, using only glue. I attached the strip to the left door. Center the strip on the gap, meaning place the strip and measure each side of the strip to the door frame, top of the frame and bottom of the frame. Place a pencil mark on the bottom edge and top edge of the frame, where the edge of the strip will align.

Second photo, run a small bead of glue along the edge of the left door frame, I spread it with my finger. Place the strip on the door frames, position to the marks and clamp in place, removing excess glue with a damp sponge on the outside of the frame. Allow to dry overnight.

Remove clamps, remove the screws from the hinges, and you have a strip glued in place to cover the gap in between the doors.

Since the door frames were already sanded, just wipe them down one more time with a clean cloth and apply your first coat of finish (polyurethane in my case), allow to dry. Using a hand held block sander, lightly sand the frames except the rabbets. Wipe with a clean cloth so no dust is on the frames, and apply 3 more coats of finish. Allow to dry.

Now measure between the rabbets to determine length and width of the acrylic panels. Cut the panels to size, I use a fine tooth blade in my jig saw for this.

Place a panel in a door frame and secure with panel stays as shown in the last photo.

I jumped the gun and starting adding doors after the cabinet was mounted.

Now, there is a caveat to how I mounted this. The original plan was 4 keyhole hangers. The top two were perfect, (steel anchors and 1 1/2" stainless screws), the lower two, I had them off just a bit, and I am mounting to a concrete wall so it is not like I can move an anchor 1/4". The other flaw in my thinking was, if the cabinet is left 1/4 inch, it can fall (which would be alcohol abuse).

So the caveat was, remove the lower screws, rehang the cabinet on the top screws, position 2 stainless anchor brackets under the bottom on the left and right sides, remove the cabinet, drill holes for the anchors, insert anchors, rehang the cabinet. Install the angle brackets with 2 screws each in the wall, then 2 more screws into the bottom frame of the cabinet, essentially pulling the cabinet down on the keyhole mounts, and providing support from the bottom, problem solved. Cabinet cannot be accidently lifted now. and is secure in 4 places holding it firmly in place.

Have a person to assist you to hold one end of the frames while you attach a screw in each hinge, then set all the screws in the hinges.