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The bottom board is 3" above the floor and the bottom
front corner of the lower side boards is notched 2-1/2"
x 3" to create the toe kick. [See drawing detail #6.]
The bottom board meets the side board by three blind-wedged
mortise-and-tenon joints. It has a dado 1/16" deep x
11/16" wide and its front corner is mitered. To receive
the back panel, the back of this board is also inset 3/4".
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Detail
#6: Toe Kick / Side
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Beneath
the back side of the bottom board, there is a 2" wide
horizontal crosspiece supporting it. It attaches to the bottom
board by a tongue-and-groove joint and joins the side board
by one blind-wedged mortise-and-tenon joint.
Finally, there is the back panel. Commonly, a cabinet's back
panel is made with the grain running vertically. When the
back of a cabinet is very wide, then panels are framed in
sections to control wood movement. The back panels of this
cabinet were one of my biggest concerns because they are about
30" wide. For the panels, I prepared 3/8" x 7"
quartersawn red oak joined together with a 1/8" tongue-and-groove
joint. Originally, I tried to arrange the grain vertically
without any central frame line. I did so because this open
cabinet would have glass shelves and delicate small objects
would be placed on them; I thought the frame line might become
a distraction. However, without a central frame part, the
side grooves alone were not deep enough to take care of the
panel's expansion and shrinkage.
As a consequence, I decided to run the grain horizontally.
This was the first time that I used a back panel in this way,
and I felt my sense of tradition resisting quite strongly.
However, the quartersawn grain did look rather pleasing running
parallel to the transparent green of the glass shelves and
very similar to the look of the front drawer and bottom board
grain. The upper back panel is fixed in the bottom groove
and its upper end has about 3" extra material. To allow
the panel to move, I made three 1/4" x 1-1/8" vertical
upper crosspieces. There, brass screws and washers hold the
panel firmly, but not tightly. [See full-view drawing on
next page.]
The back panel of the lower case is held stationary at its
top and has about 2-1/2" of extra material at the bottom.
Similar to the upper case, it has three vertical slots through
which screws attach it to a lower crosspiece, which also serves
as a support for the bottom board. However, this was not my
original plan. I thought at first to fix this panel at the
bottom and allow it to move behind the drawer area; I made
a groove in the bottom board and a stopped groove in the sides
for the panel [these are visible in some of the photos]. Eventually,
I changed my mind and altered the boards to allow the panel
to move at the bottom of the case.
At this point, I was finished with the exterior structure
of the cabinet.
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