Record Cabinet
This project started with a client approaching me with an interesting idea: He wanted a cabinet to hold his growing record collection; he liked and had some mid-century style walnut furniture already and he wanted to use the cabinet as a coffee table as well.
I designed the cabinet to hold close to 150 records while being only 20” tall. The legs were splayed in two directions and the front of the cabinet received a beveled edge.
First things first..
The project started with a shop drawing and cut list.
Lumber selection
Next I selected black walnut boards at a specialty hardwood lumber dealer for their beautiful grain pattern and to be long enough for a continuous board to be the left side, continue across the top and come down on the right side, assuring a continuous grain picture.
Biscuit joinery
The boards were cut to length and surfaced flat, then joined with oval wood discs “biscuits” to aid in alignment during glue-up.
Cutting grooves
Next a groove for the rear panel was machined in all four boards on the table saw.
Hand-cut dovetail patch
A small knot on the underside of the bottom panel was expertly repaired with an inlayed dovetail patch.
Can you spot the patch?
Finished dovetail inlay.
More biscuits
Slots for more biscuits were machined into the mitered corners for strength and alignment.
It’s coming together
The back panel is solid walnut as well, held in a groove around the perimeter and sized to allow slight seasonal wood movement. The small black rubber balls seen on top of the back panel keep the panel from rattling while allowing movement when needed.
The pressure is on
All four sides of the cabinet were glued up together
Close cuts
A special fixture was built to safely cut the double tapers on the short walnut legs.
Final steps
Sanded and ready for finish.
