I built this wall cabinet for my work shop, it's mounted just inside the front door. It based on an Arts and Crafts design that you might find in a kitchen. In fact, I got the idea from a magazine article on kitchen cabinets. It's a basic plywood case. The face frame, doors and side panels are mahogany. The door panels are curly birch. I built a 3 door unit because it fit nicely on a wall between the front door and a window. Each door also has a glass panel, not all that useful for shop cabinets, but I like the look.

I used a wiping varnish oil for the mahogany. I prefinished the curly birch panels with an initial coat of linseed oil and sealed with 2 coat of garnet shellac. The linseed oil darkened the birch and really popped the curly figure. The wiping varnish darken the mahogany a bit more that I wanted (or expected), but I believe it will lighten a bit over time since my shop get a lot of natural sun light.

The case is 34 inches tall, 12 inches deep and 54 inches wide. Each door is 16 inches wide. The glass panels are 12 by 9 inches. It hangs on the wall about 4 feet off the floor. The top shelf is within easy reach even for a short guy like me.

I did not spend much time planning this cabinet, I desparately needed more storage space in my shop - something I figured I would get around to someday. However, an opportunity knocked on the door (or called on the phone actually!). I got all the mahogany from a friend that was replacing the deck off the back of their house. Rather that see all that mahogany end up in a landfill, she called and offered it to me for free. I called a woodworking friend, who met me at her house. We loaded up my pickup truck with 50 boards (8 foot long, 3 1/2 inches wide). I planed off the old finish, picked the best boards and built this cabinet. The plywood case and curly birch were leftover from previous projects. Except for the glass panels and hardware (hinges, door pulls), this piece didn't cost me a thing! I even have enough of the lumber to build another one - something I'll get around to someday.

As always if you have any questions or comments, you can send me email from the Contact page.