I HAVE often been asked to describe a “Cabinet for Specimens,” such as I made for minerals. It would be equally good for shells, eggs, coins, or even for a bookcase. The shelves hold the specimens protected from dust with glass doors, and from meddling fingers with a lock and key. The cupboard (or drawer if preferable) below holds duplicates useful in making exchanges, and the needful tools for the specialty which interests you.
The cabinet of course can be made of black walnut or any other hard wood, but for lightness as well as cheapness I used pine (stained) and put in a back of dark-brown cambric instead of wood, the cambric costing fifteen or twenty cents, where the wood would cost nearly a dollar and a half.
I can’t give you close estimates about lumber either as to price or lengths, because at different mills boards vary greatly in dimensions, and values at the West or in Maine are unlike those in cities. I will therefore describe my own, feeling sure that by this time if you have made all the other articles in the series you can alter the pattern I give you, or follow it accurately, according to the purpose you have in view.
My cabinet fits easily in an alcove six feet, six inches high, and four feet, six inches wide; and is large enough to hold an interesting collection. For convenience in cutting, the seven boards I used were selected according to the following dimensions:
A—12 feet by 12 inches.
B—6 feet by 10 inches.
C—8½ feet by 12 inches.
D—12 feet by 12 inches.
H—4 feet by 13 inches,
and 2 boards for shelves 8 feet long by 1 foot wide.
If possible, get three-fourths-inch board, as it is both lighter and cheaper, but inch-board is often easier to get and my measurements are for that. Get it all as clear as possible.
Besides the boards you will need two pieces of two-inch moulding six feet long, and two pieces of three-fourths-inch about eleven feet long, to hold the glass in the doors, and three pair of hinges; also lock and key if you desire all to be secure.
Take A, divide in two, plane edges and square ends for sides.
Take C, cut two boards, each four feet two inches long, and one foot wide, for top and bottom.
From B cut two pieces that shall be six feet long, and four inches (for sides of door casing), then from remainder cut strip three and one half feet by one inch, to go behind lower moulding for hinges of E.
From board H (which is four feet by thirteen inches) cut out block at each end of one edge, three inches long by one wide.
Nail CC on to top and bottom of AA, taking care to put top and bottom (CC) on and not between uprights AA.
At point nine inches from lower C, nail board H, with the projection facing outward. On each side on front nail strips BB. You will find they fit into cuts made in H.
Nail the three and one half feet strip close to bottom C between BB.
From remainder of board B cut piece three and one half feet long; with splitting-saw divide this into two boards, one eight inches, one four inches wide. Nail the four-inch piece directly under C, between the BB. This finishes the front for the doors.
Now for the mouldings: from one of the two-inch strips cut piece four feet, four inches long; cut ends at angle of forty-five degrees; cut two pieces one foot three inches long: have right-hand end of one and left-hand end of other cut at angles of forty-five degrees, i. e., one half of a right angle. Cut a second similar set of mouldings, nailing one set to top, the other to bottom of cabinet.
The piece three and one half feet by eight inches is a kind of door, which is hinged to the strip behind the moulding at the bottom. In my cabinet I have it for a cupboard, as I said before, but you can put in a drawer in its place if you prefer.
For the doors, cut from H four pieces four feet, ten inches long by three inches wide, and four pieces one foot, nine inches long by three inches wide.
The best way of putting this together is of course to mortise it. To do this, draw lines at each end of one of the long pieces on the edge one fourth inch from each side; then draw lines across the edge at points three fourths and two and one fourth inches from end.
This rectangle must now be cut out. Bore three one half inch holes one and one half inches deep: then with chisel split out the remaining wood and smooth as nicely as possible. Repeat this on all the long pieces.
To make the tenons or tongues which fit the mortises, measure one and one fourth inches from ends of short sticks, and with try-square draw line all round the stick. On sides of stick saw in one fourth inch deep; on edges saw three fourths inch deep. Then, parallel to sides, draw lines one fourth inch from sides of stick on the end, and two more lines three fourths of inch from and parallel with edges of stick. Place edge of chisel just outside of lines and chip off the little blocks, gradually shaving the tenons down to the lines.
If this is nicely done, the tenons will fit into the mortises so that the side edges and ends of the four long sticks will fit snugly on to the short ones. Put a peg through long and short pieces at the tenons to keep them from coming apart.
This can be done in another way that is also somewhat easier, by cutting from the sides at the ends of the pieces squares three inches by three inches by one half inch and screwing together.
If you have only one light of glass to each door, there will be no need of a cross-piece, so you will simply have to put the moulding round on the inside of the door frames. If you have smaller panes, you will need the crossbars.
For the four shelves you will require you must cut the two eight-foot boards into four, and make cleats to support them. These are merely narrow strips of wood nailed on inside of HH (at the height desired) on which the ends of the shelves rest. The staining is done by the rule given in a former paper, and the hinges and lock are set as in the tool cabinet.
About four yards of dark cambric tacked on the back will finish a neat, simple, but serviceable cabinet like the illustration.