THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3804, 8 February 1927, Page 10

THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

A FITTED HANGING CUPBOARD.

(Special.—Fob the Witness.)

Nowadays the wardrobe is giving place I to the fitted cupboard, and in the article it 'is proposed to deal with the construction of one measuring 4ft high, 3ft 6in wide, and about 2ft deep. The appearance of the completed article is shown in Fig. 1, and is suitable for a large number of garments suspended from hangers attached to the usual extending wardrobe arms. The handyman Will not find anything very difficult in the constructional work. There are no difficult joints, and nothing in the way of intricate fitting to undertake. Stated briefly, the work consists of first making a light skeleton or framework, and attaching to it a series of panels- or sheets of plywood, finished at all edges with a commercial moulding of appropriate design. The doors are formed from single pieces of plywood, thus avoiding all the trouble of making framed doors which usually present a difficulty, for the novice. The materials needed are, 60ft of lin square wood, three sheets of plywood about 3/16in thick and 50in square, and two pieces of plywood at least fin thick and 48in long by 21in wide. About 40ft of iin quarter round carved moulding is required for the edges,- a pair of suitable door handles, two cabinet bolts, two pairs of butt hinges, and a few ounces of fine nails known as veneer pins. The first business is to make the framework by cutting the lin square wood to the appropriate lengths as shown in the diagram, Fig. 2, and then nailing or screwing them together to form the skeleton of the cupboard. Take care to make and keep this frame quite square at all joints and corners. The wood for the frame 'should be planed smooth on all faces—inside as well as outside. Make the front corner uprights run the full length from top to bottom, and nail the cross pieces to them. The side pieces should be fastened to the front uprights by cross nailing, that is, the nails or screws should be driven diagonally through the wood so as not to show on the outside of the front part of the frame. At all other points the fastenings mav be driven straight through, as the heads will be covered by the plywood.

Now cut the plywood sheets to correct size, which will normally be the exact outside size of the frames they are to cover. Clean up the edges of the plywood with a small plane, and glue and pin them to the frame, using veneer pins, as these,

when driven home, are practically invisible. Commence by fitting the back piece, the top, and the side nieces in turn. Then fix a piece to the inside of the bottom. Do not bring this sheet flush with the front edge of the lower

cross piece of the front frame, but stop it at a distance of gin from the front edge to allow for the thickness of the doors. Note also that the top and side pieces are to terminate as shown in Fig. 3, at a distance of {in from the front edge of the front frame pieces to allow room for the moulding. All other pieces are to finish flush with the frames. Now fill in the angular spaces between adjacent plywood panels with {in round moulding, as shown in Fig. 4. This moulding can be purchased at small cost carved with various designs, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. The moulding is fitted by glueing and pinning witli very fine pins, ordinary domestic pins cut short and used without- the heads are quite suitable, and need only be driven here and there as needed, to hold the moulding in place. Now cut the two pieces of thicker plywood to exact size for the doors, plane the edges quite smooth, and han? them to the frame' with butt hinges in the usual way. Fit bolts to one of the doors, and the handles to both, providing one with a turnbuckle or lock as desired.

The cupboard will be found very light, but remarkably stiff and rigid, for when the plywood has been glued and pinned to the framework it makes the whole thing as strong as if it had been framed iin and constructed on regulation cabinet lines.

Interior fittings may be added to suit individual requirements, but a pair of extending wardrobe hangers or arms, screwed to the top framework, will be found the most practical. Drawers or trays can be made with the plywood, and fitted in, if desired. Give the whole a rub down with a fine sandpaper, stain with a pleasant dark brown water stain, and finish with a dull polish. Add the diamond ornaments by cutting strips of moulding to length, stain them to match, and glue and pin them in place. Give the whole a final polish. The result is a practical and durable piece of furniture, worth many times the cost expended on materials.

CUT THIS OUTSubject of Next Week’s ArticleCURING LEAKY TAPS.”