I built this cabinet after reading a book by James Krenov. His writing gave me a whole new perspective on building cabinets and furniture. After building a new workbench and buying some new hand tools, it was time to build. I remembered seeing one of Krenov’s cabinets in a Fine Woodworking magazine in the” master class” section. I liked it a lot, although there where no drawings or measurements. I can’t take much credit for the design. After playing with some measurements, I made a sketch and started the stand.

Mortise and tenons were used to assemble the stand. I gave the front legs a forward sweep and taper and a small cove around the top of the stand so that the cabinet appears to float on the stand. The cabinet carcass was put together with dowels, the inner workings with sliding dovetails. After dry fitting the carcass and standing the doors in place, I realized that butt hinges didn’t work for me…they drew your eyes right to them. So it was time to try knife hinges. I had never used them before so I was a little nervous about doing so. But after some careful measuring and marking, they turned out fine and I was happy with the look and fit.

The inside of the cabinet was finished with a homemade mix of half and half varnish and thinner. On the exterior I added linseed oil to the mix to bring out the figure in the cherry. I have since started to build a second cabinet on stand that is not yet complete. About 10 years ago we had a hurricane here in Halifax that took down a lot of old growth trees in a public park. I was fortunate to get a couple of squirrely English elm boards. I re-sawed one for a pair of book matched door panels in that cabinet.

Site Upgrade

A few changes are coming to TheWoodWhisperer.com. We are almost constantly working on ways to improve the usability and appearance of the website. Much like our shops, there is always something that could be improved. So the new site will look very similar but we think you’ll find it much more pleasing to navigate. The home page will be cleaner and more succinct. The live page and all the streaming web cams will be significantly improved with iOS compatibility and a new simpler chat room. Goodbye crappy chat room! We will also be implementing a new feature that allows you to easily search our archives by specific attributes. Want to see all the Shop Tours submitted by Pros with standalone shops that are 1000+ sq. ft. with a strong focus on power tools? You’ll be able to do that. Pretty cool stuff. Look for it to arrive in your browser early 2012.

The Split-Top Roubo

The Split-Top Roubo Guild Build is about to begin and should last for at least a few months. Having this sweet bench in my shop will be a great way to start the new year as I dive into some new projects. If you are looking to get in on the build, check this out!

The Client Project (Bedroom Set)

Some of you may recall the “Summer of Wenge”. A few years ago, my favorite client commissioned a few very unique cabinets made primarily from Wenge. So I endured countless splinters as I brought the pieces to life. Well the same client is looking for some bedroom pieces, including a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. These pieces will NOT be made from Wenge, but Bubinga and African Blackwood instead. The picture here is only a starting point as the final design will have some sweet raised panels along with the angled headboard. Not sure how many of these pieces I’ll be able to do but I am thinking we might start with the bed and go from there.

The Maloof-Inspired Rocker

I have been wanting to build a Maloof-style rocker for years. Whether in a class or on my own with a set of plans, some day it will happen! And this year just may be the year. During a recent Wood Talk Online Radio, my co-host Shannon and I realized that we both own the Charles Brock plans and thought it would be cool if we both documented a build at the same time. He would cover primarily hand tool methods and I would focus a little more on power tools. Now the question is, can we both carve out the time?

The Krenov Cabinet

I have long been an admirer of Krenov’s work. And with the last few Guild projects being fairly large, I think it’s time to do something on a smaller scale. So I am thinking the next Guild project will be a small floor-standing Krenov-inspired Jewelry Armoire. I guess you could also just call it a cabinet and put whatever you want in it. Either way, it should be a fun and useful project.

The Tilt-Top Table

My buddy Bill Akins alerted me to a table he thought I could have some fun with. It’s a classic tilt-top table from Fine Woodworking. You’ll probably notice that this doesn’t look like a “marc” project. No doubt I tend to focus more on modern designs and I don’t have much personal interest in what I affectionately refer to as, “Burgundy Grandma furniture”. If you like this stuff, don’t be offended. This is no different than me saying I’m not a big fan of dark-colored walls, young kids with handlebar mustaches, and street racers that sound like souped-up lawn mowers. Its just a personal distaste for the look. But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have respect for the craftsmanship, elegance, and history that comes with some of these pieces. So with that in mind, I think its time for me to try something different, like this table. I will most likely make a few changes so that it becomes something I don’t mind looking at in my own home, but the fundamentals of the build will be inspired by the original. And yes, we’ll even do some turning.

Adirondack Chair Class

You probably remember the Adirondack Chair from this summer, right? Well this Summer, I’ll be teaching folks how to build it at the William Ng School. You can sign up for the 5-day class right now by clicking here. The class will run from June 4th – June 8th and should be a great time. June in Southern California?!?! Yes please!

Miscellaneous Videos

Of course we’ll have numerous other technique and small project videos as well as minis. Just a few things I have planned already are: The Shop-Made Drawing Bow, The Rockler Circle Cutting Jig, and Must-Have Router Bits.

All in all, it should be a great year at The Wood Whisperer. Thanks for making 2011 another record-breaking year in terms of traffic and video downloads. You guys are the best community a woodworking nerd could ask for!

This is a very nice piece submitted by Nick. All of the details look masterfully executed. Wow! Nick also wanted me to mention that this piece is for sale.

I built this cabinet on a stand a few months ago. I love the works of James Krenov and decided to pay homage to him by building a cabinet in his style. The cabinet itself is made of Beech. The doors of the cabinet were coopered and shaped with hand planes, with sides being in at a slight angle are also shaped with a hand plane. Inside there are 2 small drawers with hand-cut dovetails with curved fronts. The stand is made of Red Oak, with the rails having odd angles cut on the ends to match the angles of the cabinet, also have curves and bevels. The cabinet was finished with a light coat of shellac while the stand was finished with a few coats of oil.

The 2 handplanes inside? Well before Krenov stopped making planes/passed away i asked him for one. After receiving it, a bad crack had developed in the cross pin. I told him about it and he sent me another one, insisting I keep the first one.

To learn more and James Krenov, check out the Wikipedia page and the Krenov Website.

If you are interested in learning more about Greene & Greene history and techniques, you have to check out Darrell’s book. You can pick it up directly on his website and he’ll even autograph it for you!