Corner cabinet design-Need help

[Jalin Key]

Greetings gang: I'm heading into the design stage of my next project. It's going to be a corner cabinet. We have one small corner that needs something in it, so I think this will do nicely. OK I'm a newbie so here come the questions. I measured from the corner to the edge and I have 22 3/8" to work with. I then measured 22 3/8" the other way. No when I measure the distance between the two marks, that is the width of the front correct?? And with the carcuss being angled how does the face frame attach? Is there a standard height? And lastly if I'm correct the front will be roughly about 30 3/4", will this small size be appealing to look at or is it to small. Any other thought suggestions or help would be most helpful to me. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Tom Stovell]

I built a cabinet with dimensions similar to that many years ago. If you look down on the top you see six different 'sides'. The back is 9" and is at a 45 degree angle to walls. The two sides are about 18" and are 45 to the back, there are two 5" pieces that are perpendicular to the walls of the room. The front is about 25". The angle there is 22 1/2, making a 45 total. My version is 7' tall. Draw the angles out on paper to get an idea of the fit, make the shelves first. I was surprised how much wood all those shelves took to make. I used solid wood for the entire piece, false-grained the front and stained the back. The inside is still waiting for a coat of a nice salmon color.

Tom

[Jalin Key]

But isn't it possible to make it with only 3 sides? And with the shelves being triangle shaped what did you use to cut them? Thanks for the reply.

[Tom Stovell]

I think 3 sides would be harder to fit into the space. The design I copied leaves room for this plus gives the piece more visual interest. I cut the shelves with a Skil-saw and trimmed them to shape with a hand plane.

Tom

[Maurice Ungaro]

Jalin,
The 3 side version is VERY do-able. It also is the more traditional design. If you are concerned about fit, perhaps you should leave a small bit of space to play with on the edges and cover them with the face frame.

Question: is this a free standing corner cabinet, or a wall unit in the kitchen?
My bride wants me to build on e in the laundry room for a broom closet. I'm goin with the traditional design. I thin the trick comes into play with the two from corner pieces of the carcass. You want to make the leading edges of them flush with the door, and angle the back side of them to accomodate the corner.

Remember, just think about it, and draw it our, then..think about it some more.

Maurice

[Jalin Key]

Yes it will be free standing in a corner by itself.

[Keith Christopher]

One of my fav corner cabinets is the one Norm has on the NY workshop site. It's an excellent shaker style but the fundamentals are solid.

[Jay Knoll]

Think about a simple face frame, angle the vertical sides to get a good "fit" with the wall. Then install the shelves to fit the space created by the face frame. Screw wood brackets on the wall to support the shelves, this is a very traditional "old time" way to make a corner cabinet, especially if you don't care about taking it with you if, and/or when you sell the house.

Of course, this isn't cabinet making, it is carpentry!

Good luck

Jay

[Ed Falis]

I've done two adaptations of the following design. I didn't do the fancy carving, just made paint-grade cabinets for a couple of bathrooms. They came out great, and it's not a difficult project.

http://www.jeffgreefwoodworking.com/pnc/corncab/

- Ed

[Mark Berenbrok]

Jalin - There's a Carlyle Lynch plan for a corner cupboard in Fine Woodworking #50. It's a free-standing unit. I made this piece a few years ago with regular raised panels and painted it to match the trim in the den. It's not an especially fancy piece but looks great.