Country Cabinet Display Shelves
A client asked for 3 sections of store display shelving, made entirely of pine. Everything, from the tops, sides, interior shelves, doors, hinges and latches.
The clamping system I used were Panel Pressure clamps that I built. I got the plans from the February 1999 issue of WOOD magazine. The only change I made was to add the black plastic handles to tighten the clamps rather than the nut and wrench combination offered by the magazine plans. A nut in the front and one in behind keeps it in place.
Here’ s another view of panels being glued up. It was a slow process since I only had three clamps. But I only gave the edge joining about an hour and a half for each panel. So I could do a couple a day. You’ll notice many pre-cuts off to one side standing up. Since the 3 units where to be identical, I made up a simple assembly line to help speed things along.
This here completed piece belongs to the bottom portion of the cabinet and hutch combo. This unit will be located on the end of the display area. The pictures towards the end of this series will provide a better overall view.
Here I am working on the double sided hutch part of the center display cabinet. I built pull out drawers for each side. The drawers are held in place with a panel of 3/4 pine above and below which are attached to the side panels with a 3/8″ x 3/4″ dado.
So, here I am about half way through my project. This here is the double sided display unit. It’s 48″ long and 36″ wide and 79″ high. The whole unit is made from 3/4 pine lumber that was edge joined, no biscuits to be found here. And no jointer either but I’ve bought one since then. The wooden sliding door latch and hinges are my own design as well. The next step for this project is a stain and polyurethane finish.
Well now here is the finished project installed at the location. This is the end display unit. The design is similiar to that of the other three display units except the bottom has an open display.
The crates on the side were also requested by the store owners that I made up afterwards. Once again, 3/4 pine for the ends and 3/4 pine ripped in half for the slates. A bit of sanding to give it an antique worn look to it along with some 2 inch wrought iron cut nails (that I purchased from Lee Valley Tools) added a nice touch to the overall display.
Here is a long shot of all the display units together. The end unit in the background with the lattice on the back is the one I built. The lattice was added as an afterthought to give the display area an “open concept” effect. Notice that the center unit has the hutch on top while the units on either side do not. But they are all built the same with pull out drawers on both sides to increase the selling display area of the whole section. As well, each unit has door access for storage underneath.
In this picture you get a better close up of the double sided center unit. In the upper left corner you can see a valance on either side. These were installed to attach the end display units to the double sided center unit to add overall stability. Afterwards I added a simple shelf to each valance to once again increase the selling display area.
Here you can see the close up shot of the door, latch and hinge mechanisms. For the hinges I simply put two short pieces of wood on either side of a longer piece of 3/4 pine. Securing them in place, I drilled a 1/4″ hole through the three pieces to secure a 1/4″ dowel to act as the pivot. I then pinned the dowel in place so it cannot fall out. For the latch, I simply took a piece of 3/4 stock material and dadoed out about half the thickness. I then cut the sliding piece to fit loosely into this dadoe. Then I drilled two holes and cut away the material in between the holes for the latch handle to slide. The latch knob is secured in place with a piece of 1/4″ dowel which is secured to the sliding piece with a 1/4″ countersunk hole and screw.
Here is a picture of the lattice I built to provide the “open concept”. Look closely and you’ll see that its no ordinary lattice. The slats are “woven” together. I cut out 1/8″ thick by 2″ wide strips. I built a frame of 3/4 pine material and run a 5/16″ dado along the edge to provide a space to fit the 1/8″ slats. Now if you do the math you’re probably thinking why a 5/16″ dado for a 1/8″ slat. I’ll leave that little piece of trivia with you. If you think you know why, post your comments below.
Thanks for viewing my project.
In summary, this project took a long time to make, approximately 6 weeks of about an hour or so a day plus almost every weekend. It wasn’t a difficult project to make but it took up a lot of space which I do not have much of. The biggest reason it took so long is that once I finished each unit it took 3-4 days for the finishing applications. Hence, I could not do anything else in the woodshop without the possibility of stirring up sawdust. I’ve since redesigned my woodshop and built a 6ft x 12 foot finishing booth.