The Woodworking Niche

This is a Hickory Pedestal Fireplace Mantel with corbels and fluted legs. The raised panel in the center was made with shapers, while the crown mold was made by another type of shaper called a molder. The fluted legs used the same molder to apply the flute lines. The fluted board on the right leg was hinged for access to the gas valve.

Fireplace mantels like this one require expensive woodworking tools to construct. However, the crown, corbels and raised panel can be purchased from suppliers and other cabinet shops.

This red oak wine rack features the diamond box design and includes a wine glass holder on the bottom. It is set back in a niche facing a wet bar. This wine rack has fluted onlays down each side. Notice how the crown mold is cut around these fluted applications to create an appealing look.

Wine racks can be constructed using many different techniques, from a parallel board design to a diamond box design. Another method is building ladders with ¾" x ¾" material for the rungs and placed side by side so the bottles rest on two rungs.

When my father asked me to mount this antique Double Barrel Shotgun owned by his grandfather, I was honored. It is constructed using red oak plywood with a solid oak band around the edge; the fingers supporting the gun are solid oak as well. Using these techniques anything can be mounted and displayed in the home.

This alder cabinet has a very unique valance, the mini corbels were purchased from a supplier, while the arch was cut using a scrollsaw. The homeowner provided me with a picture from a magazine to go by. I think it resembles the picture exactly. When I gave her the picture back, she held it up to my work and just smiled.

This is a good example of inset doors, notice the bead around the doors. Inset doors take much longer to set in the cabinet than regular overlay doors. This technique is not popular among cabinetmakers due to the extra time involved. It takes advanced woodworking skills to construct inset doors and make them look good.

This knotty alder study is a good example of the different types of molding you can apply to cabinets. It has a large crown mold across the top, with a band of 1/2 round rope mold set below that. The arch and keystone in the middle give it an eye-catching effect. This room was an enormous project taking my workmates and I many hours to complete.

Knotty alder is considered a hardwood, although it is soft and easy to work with. Often referred to as rustic alder, it has become popular among people wanting a more rustic appearance from their cabinets.

This arch-top cabinet was placed in a family room on top of a base cabinet. It was not easy to build to say the least. The top pieces had to be cut by hand out of a solid piece of poplar. To build the doors I had to make a pattern in which the final piece was nailed allowing me to run them through a shaper.

This can be dangerous if not done properly and there is a chance it will split out during the process. The panel for each door which I made out of MDF plywood was hand cut using a jigsaw, then ran through another shaper to create the raised panel you see now.

I think it turned out to be a very nice piece of furniture. I did not get a painted picture of the final product but I saw it. It was painted yellow with flowers and vines on the door panels.