Hand Gun Cabinet

[John Blazy]

Very nice work, and great craftsmanship. Is there a reason why you did not bookmatch all the wood and panels in the doors? Not talking about bookmatch WITHIN the panel, as seen, but bookmatching the left to the right door.

[Mark Ketelsen]

Is there a reason why you did not bookmatch all the wood and panels in the doors? Not talking about bookmatch WITHIN the panel, as seen, but bookmatching the left to the right door.

I don't like the lack of symmetry between the doors either. I would have preferred book matching the two panels but I didn't have a nicely figured board 13" wide. Also I only have 12" resaw capacity. I also didn't have a nicely figured 6/4 board from which I could have made two similar book-matched panels. So I made the panels by resawing consecutive lengths of a 4/4 board. Live and learn.

[Jim Becker]

Mark, one thing you can learn to do for projects like this where your tools can't deal with the required capacity for true book matching is to work with veneering to get the same effect. Using the same species as your substrate (although it can be plainer/cheaper figure) the veneer provides the "splash". It's a best practice to veneer both sides of the panel, so you just need to calculate the thickness for your substrate panel such that the combined thickness with the veneer is what you want it to be. (You can use plainer veneer on the inside to save money, too, if you prefer)

[John Blazy]

I totally second Jim's response. The best part about veneer is the insane grain figure options that will explode off the panel when finished. Veneering supplies dot com actually shows photos of the actual veneer per species, so you can really plan your project. Before I had a veneer press, I just clamped with regular clamps with curved cauls to get center pressure. It always worked.

I totally understand your answer though - figured it had to do with some kind of limitation.

[Prashun Patel]

I find the nonmatched panels perfectly imperfect. I know what it's like to agonize over how to make the most of the stock, and work around limitations. When it comes out all matched, it's hard to appreciate the difficulty that goes into part selection. The non-matched panels say immediately "not veneered" to the trained eye. I'm not judging one better than the other, but it is a little like through-joinery that gives you an intimate x-ray of the construction and choices behind the art. That enhances my experience. Anyway, I'll put down my pipe now....

[Jim Becker]

BTW, my mention of veneering had nothing to do with the quality of your project which is OUTSTANDING. I was only mentioning veneering in response to the machine limitations expressed.