In the interest of creating a home for some Japanese kannas that protects them from fluctuations in humidity, I decided to build a small cabinet to fit about 6 kannas for finish planing in the space between the bigger hanging tool chest and a side wall. To tie in the design with the larger cabinet, I used leftover veneer of flame “white” mahogany for the door. The big tool cabinet was one of the first pieces I made (ca 2004) where the “white” mahogany was on sale at MacBeath’s hardwoods.
As a first attempt to attach hand sawn veneers to a substrate, I used yellow glue. In the intervening years, yellow glue wasn’t strong enough such that cracks appeared. The mahogany has interlocked grain, which presents challenges in planing and non-uniform movement. In this go-round, I decided to use urethane glue on a plywood substrate with solid maple baked in on the edges. The solid wood edges helps with better purchase of the knife hinge screws. Veneers were glued up using a vacuum bag.
I cut some leftover soft maple into veneers to used for the inside of the door, which would help lighten the inside of the cabinet.
Hand pull is cocobolo mortised and screwed into the door. Finish was shellac, which hopefully shouldn’t yellow as much as the oiled maple on the big cabinet. Hung using a French cleat built into the back of the cabinet.
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