Need some advice on knobs

[Mike Henderson]

I've posted a build thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?205024-A-Case-for-the-Party-Stands-(A-Work-in-Progress-Thread)) in the "projects" portion of the forum. I'm just about finished but I'm stuck on one thing - what to do about knobs for the lower doors. Here's a picture of the cabinet.
271351

I will probably put an ebony handle on the top door, outside (above and centered) the marquetry. My problem is what to do on the lower two doors. I don't really want to put knobs in the marquetry but the only alternatives I see are knobs below the marquetry, or a flat (but decorative) piece of black metal attached to the top of each door when sticks out forward.

I cannot put one of those "push to close, push to open" type closers on the doors. There's no where to mount them on the inside, and I need to have the doors flush when closed. Those push type closers require some space behind the door to allow the "push to open".

Any ideas or suggestions?

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

Knobs on art ...not easy . A lattice type thing ,going all the way accross at bottom and perhaps even lapping over base ? Or knobs resembling old console tv controls accompanied by by some inlay controls ? That's all I got......

[Larry Browning]

What are the dimensions of the cabinet? At first I thought it was maybe a jewelry chest that was maybe 12-14" tall, but maybe it's bigger. Hard to tell from the picture. How about pulls that are inset in the door so that they are flush? I am thinking of something with a brass or ebony ring on a hinge. Maybe centered at the top of each door so that it won't cover the flowers. You could put matching pulls at the top instead of a single pull.
However I do kinda like the simple flat metal piece. Kinda falls in to the less is more category.

[Brian Kent]

Good question. If you have any more good questions, please feel free to ask, and I will let you know that you asked another good question.

[Mike Henderson]

What are the dimensions of the cabinet?
The cabinet is about 31" high and the top is about 35" wide.

It's a TV cabinet, designed to have the TV on top of it, or placed below a wall mounted TV. The top door opens to space to put the set top box and other TV related electronics. The bottom doors open to storage for five TV stands. You can see more detail on the build thread. A link to the build thread is in the opening post.

Mike

[Sam Murdoch]

Mike here is a very inconspicuous pull that you might be able to add to the top or center edge of one of the base doors - painted artfully to be the same color of the flower it might "disappear". Perhaps cut it in half and only use a piece of it or add the other half to the other door.
http://www.shophafele.com/hafele-handle-anodized-silver-5.html

There's a lesson here isn't there? :rolleyes: No matter, you have built a thing of beauty and worthy of a satisfied gloat.

Oh - and if this isn't too weird - I have once added a metal plate recessed into the back of a door and then my "pull" was a separate block with a rare earth magnet set into the back. When the client wanted to open his cabinet he would pick up the "pull" from his desk and set it over the area of the plate. Didn't work all that great but got the door started which he could then reach in and pull open. Kind of a good thing that the "pull" didn't stick to hard because I think in time it would have marred the piece. There was a felt face but nonetheless, might have been an issue. You'll need to work with some mock ups to get the right combo of magnet and depth of the metal plate relative to the thickness of the wood.

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks, Sam. That pull is exactly what I had in mind but couldn't find it on the web.

That's a good idea about the magnet. I though about something like that but didn't like the idea of a separate piece that might get lost.

Mike

[I've been worried about how to open the bottom doors since I started the design. But I kept putting it off assuming I'd come up with some idea.]

[Peter Quinn]

I would copy a single petal or piece of petal on a flower on each side, make it of a piece maybe 3/32" thick? Just enough not to break easily, make a standoff similarly shaped but slightly smaller in scale, so one petal appears to project from the canvass, but only slightly, and only really visible when viewed in profile. Or if you could somehow route out a single petal and recess a push to open button into the door behind it, affix the petal to that, so essentially you push the petal, it pops up a bit, becomes the hidden pull. Or a hinge of the same sort. Otherwise, I'm stumped. Perhaps something down low, in the mahogany area near the apron where it is less visually distracting? Beautiful work there, have to get creative with the opener. Perhaps a disguised key hole of sorts, so the knob doesn't live on the piece but must be inserted into a disguised opening?

[Alan Lightstone]

I would copy a single petal or piece of petal on a flower on each side, make it of a piece maybe 3/32" thick? Just enough not to break easily, make a standoff similarly shaped but slightly smaller in scale, so one petal appears to project from the canvass, but only slightly, and only really visible when viewed in profile. Or if you could somehow route out a single petal and recess a push to open button into the door behind it, affix the petal to that, so essentially you push the petal, it pops up a bit, becomes the hidden pull. Or a hinge of the same sort. Otherwise, I'm stumped. Perhaps something down low, in the mahogany area near the apron where it is less visually distracting? Beautiful work there, have to get creative with the opener. Perhaps a disguised key hole of sorts, so the knob doesn't live on the piece but must be inserted into a disguised opening?

I was thinking of that approach too. Make a pull in the exact shape / wood of part of the marquetry, just making a portion of it 3-dimensional.

Another strange thought I did once on a piece was to add linear actuators to the inside with a remote control. Kinda kooky, but you wouldn't need any pulls.

Oh, and Mike. OMG that piece is gorgeous. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy....

[Richard Coers]

Could you use the Rev-a-shelf mag latch? Nothing on the outside, but a latch on the inside. Bring up the magnet knob to the door, and the latch opens and lets you open the door. The mag knob gets stored somewhere else till needed. https://www.rev-a-shelf.com/p-192-cabinet-lock-security-system-with-5-locks-and-2-keys-sink-and-base-accessories.aspx
Rockler sells them individually.

[Mike Henderson]

I would copy a single petal or piece of petal on a flower on each side, make it of a piece maybe 3/32" thick? Just enough not to break easily, make a standoff similarly shaped but slightly smaller in scale, so one petal appears to project from the canvass, but only slightly, and only really visible when viewed in profile. Or if you could somehow route out a single petal and recess a push to open button into the door behind it, affix the petal to that, so essentially you push the petal, it pops up a bit, becomes the hidden pull. Or a hinge of the same sort. Otherwise, I'm stumped. Perhaps something down low, in the mahogany area near the apron where it is less visually distracting? Beautiful work there, have to get creative with the opener. Perhaps a disguised key hole of sorts, so the knob doesn't live on the piece but must be inserted into a disguised opening?
Those are some good ideas. I'm going to investigate them more. Thanks!

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Could you use the Rev-a-shelf mag latch? Nothing on the outside, but a latch on the inside. Bring up the magnet knob to the door, and the latch opens and lets you open the door. The mag knob gets stored somewhere else till needed. https://www.rev-a-shelf.com/p-192-cabinet-lock-security-system-with-5-locks-and-2-keys-sink-and-base-accessories.aspx
Rockler sells them individually.
The problem is that I have NO room behind the doors. The party stands are flush with the front of the cabinet so any solution cannot require space behind the doors. But thanks for the idea.

Mike

[Bernie May]

what about "magnetic push button latch" - search on Google. they can be suspended below the shelf inside the cabinet and have a metal plate on the back side of the door. Push to open - push to close.

[Mike Henderson]

what about "magnetic push button latch" - search on Google. they can be suspended below the shelf inside the cabinet and have a metal plate on the back side of the door. Push to open - push to close.
Thanks for your response, Bernie. The problem is that I don't have any space behind the door because of the party trays stored there. I already considered the "push to close, push to open" type latches but rejected them for that reason and because they require that the door not close fully but have a small amount of space behind it to "push to open".

See my opening post where I mention that.

Mike

[Kent A Bathurst]

The problem is that I have NO room behind the doors. The party stands are flush with the front of the cabinet so any solution cannot require space behind the doors. But thanks for the idea.

Mike

From deep left field:

I did this on my wine closet. Admittedly, I had some depth in the doors because they are home entry doors with insulated glass. But - that's just a scale thing.

When I open the door[s], they swing against a bracket that extends from the wall - it has a couple mags buried in it, covered by stick-on felt pad. SInce this is in the workshop/basement, that bracket extends down, with a curve on it - perfect for hanging a couple coiled extension cords. But - for your needs:

Forstner bit, and drill a recess on the inside of the door. Super glue 1 or more rare earth magnets into the recess, staying flush with the inside of the door. Then - use a separate wooden knob with a recessed magnet, or even just a piece of metal. You'd need to experiment with the mags to get the mag attraction correct through the remaining door wood - Goldilocks style - not too much, not too little, just right.