Useful storage that’s functional art. A thoughtfully designed cabinet can transcend its utilitarian role to add a beautiful, functional piece of art to your home. The handsome projects recommended in Building Small Cabinets use sustainable domestic hardwoods and natural materials with low impact on the environment.

Eight wonderful small box designs. This book will inspire novice and intermediate woodworkers to create projects that showcase both your treasures and your talent. More than 300 color photos and 26 drawings complement the detailed instructions to help you hone your cabinetmaking skills. There are also creative suggestions on how to customize the eight basic projects and make them uniquely your own.

Create your own small wonder. Order your copy today!

About the Author
Doug Stowe has been a professional woodworker for over 30 years and is a popular teacher of his craft. He is an award-winning author who has also appeared in feature-length videos. Stowe resides in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Introduction

Shaker Pegboard Cabinet
Mill the stock
Rabbet the top and bottom
Make the sides
Make and fit the hanger
Make the back panel
Sand and rout the edges
Assemble the sides
Hinge the door
Assemble and finish

Key House
Build the cabinet box
Build the doors

Panel-Door Spice Cabinet
Cut the biscuit joints
Fit the back
Make the shelves
Shape the top and bottom
Assemble the carcase
Make the door components
Shape and assemble the doors
Make and install the hanger
Rout the hinge mortises
Install the stop
Finish

Cherry Display Cabinet
Make the top and bottom
Make the sides and door post
Build the doors
Make the shelves and liners
Prepare for assembly
Assemble the cabinet
Complete the doors

Mission Display Cabinet
Make the sides
Make the top and bottom
Make the doors and front panel
Shape the top and bottom
Prepare for assembly
Assemble and finish
A contemporary variation

Greene and Greene Cabinet
Build a fingerjoint jig
Build the sides and top
Build the doors
Assemble the carcase
Hinge and trim the doors
Pin the doors
Install the tie hanger
A tool-cabinet alternative

Jelly Cabinet
Build the frames
Make the carcase panels
Complete the carcase assemblies
Make the top, bottom, and shelf
Assemble the carcase
Make the moldings
Assemble and install the top
Build the doors
Prepare for the hardware and shelves

Krenov-Inspired Cabinet
Cut the dovetail joints
Complete the carcase
Build the base
Build the doors
Make the drawer
Final details

Metric Equivalents

Bigger than a breadbox, small cabinets are perfect to fine-tune skills and explore woodworking techniques. They can be as easy as a simple box or as complex as the very finest things made of wood.

My own relationship with making small cabinets began when I worked at a very small company making cabinets from recycled barn boards. I gradually developed some skill and design ideas of my own, and I began making small display cabinets for small shops and galleries. Most of those small cabinets are still in use today, either in the shops for which they were made or in our local historic museum.

One of the first things I made for my wife, a librarian, was a spice cabinet that allowed for spices to be put in alphabetical order in our kitchen. It is as beautiful today as the day it was made, so I can assure you that the small cabinets you make will become the family heirlooms that record your growth as a craftsman.

If you are a beginning woodworker, you will benefit from starting at the beginning of the book. As the chapters progress the projects are more difficult and more complex and thus more suited to intermediate and advanced skill levels. Each cabinet in this book can be easily adapted to multiple uses. Some of the techniques used can be borrowed from one project to the next to fit your own style of work or the tools in your own shop. For instance, the spice cabinet also can be made with mortise and tenon joints, or kept simple through the use of biscuit joinery or dowels. By substituting glass doors in place of panels, a small spice cabinet can become the perfect home for a small collection of interesting things.

As you build the projects in this book. use the materials lists as a guide, but measure your own assemblies as you build them. You may cut parts a little differently, which over a whole project can add up to a lot of difference. For accuracy, actual measurements are always the best.

It is said that a teacher’s job is complete when his students surpass him. I wish you every success in designing and building your own small cabinets.