I decided that my next project would be a rendition of this simple Byrdcliffe wall cabinet. After some discussions with my wife it became clear that she wanted something that would “match” the existing mission-style bed and desk in our guest room. This cabinet, with the polychromed flora wouldn’t be out of place, but it wouldn’t exactly match either.
Original Byrdcliffe Cabinet
I’ve seen this same pice done in other woods, and with the carved and painted lilly omitted. I decided to make a mission-interpretation of the same piece. I’m going to use quarter sawn white oak. I haven’t decided on the decoration on the door, but I’m thinking of doing a Stickley/Ellis style design there instead. We’ll see.
My main concern was in getting wide enough white oak. I lucked out, and was able to get a couple of boards that were almost 9″ wide at the lumberyard. It’s S2S, and a full inch thick, about $6 a board foot.
Quartersawn White Oak
This has nice ray flecks throughout
Nice Grain
The first order of business was to break it down into manageable pieces. I cross cut it to rough lengths for the top, bottom, sides, shelf, divider and back slats. I have enough pieces left for the door plus one extra board, so I think I bought a bit more than I needed.
Rough cutting parts
All of the pieces for the carcase jointed on one side and one edge. I need to change the knives in my planer tomorrow before thicknessing these.
Boards for the ship-lap back
Tomorrow I should be able to get the carcase glued up. I’m thinking of using Miller Dowels in a contrasting color (Walnut?) to pin the case together. I’m tempted to put a design like this on the door:
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