Popular Woodworking 2005-10 № 150, страница 60

for a second to mention that after determining the type of case construction you intend to use, you'll need to take the door and drawer look and construction into consideration at the same time. Doors and drawers can be built as inset, full overlay, partial overlay and lipped (again something we'll discuss in depth later in the series). How the doors and drawers will look and fit will affect the way you build your cases and what dividers (and what divider dimensions) will be required for the project.

Beyond how the drawers and doors will look, they play an important part in making sure the storage needs are being adequately met by the functional design of your casework. For example, make sure your silverware drawer will actually hold all the silverware. Almost as bad, don't make the drawers so large that they become dumping places that can't be easily sorted or divided.

How the boxes are arranged is also dictated by function. Casework encompasses chests, cupboards, cabinets, wardrobes, secretaries and more. In addition, the basic chest can be arranged to suit specific needs. And a chest can be a chest of drawers, a chest-on-chest design, a chest on frame, or a chest on stand. All of these permutations allow the casework to match the storage needs. Whether drawers (large, small, deep or shallow), shelving (open or closed) or large undivided space as with a wardrobe, it's all in how you break up the space.

As a last concept in casework function, stop a minute to consider how the piece you're planning will be installed.

If it's an entertainment center headed for the second floor, make sure you can get it there. By designing case pieces in, well, pieces, you'll make it easier to move (physically, considering both weight and negotiating corners) and install. And the beauty of building with boxes is that once the pieces are put together, no one will know how many pieces there are!

■ Form

Beyond function, casework style can be varied and eclectic to match every taste. The style can be as elaborate as a Louis XIV bombe chest of drawers or as simple as the clean, Scandinavian lines of IKEA furniture.

No matter what your preference in style, remember the adage that form follows function. That's an adage you must keep in mind. It's important first to make sure the cabinetry meets your storage needs. Then you can make it look like anything you'd wish.

As you might imagine, this is a huge topic and one that's too big to discuss in an overview. In fact there are some very good books covering design in depth. I've listed some of our favorites (on the last page of this chapter) that will help you develop your own sense of style.

Dealing with Stress

As mentioned already, some of the decisions as to what style of casework to use for a particular project depend on the use of the case. Weight, stresses and even what will be stored will help define what construction techniques best fit the needs.

A bookcase is a perfect example. There are the concerns of the physi

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cal size of the books to be stored. The shelves have to be deep enough to adequately support your largest book. But you have to worry about weight as well. Books get heavy quickly and you need to make sure the shelves are not too long or they will sag under the weight.

The construction of the bookcase and of the shelves comes into the equation here. If you're building a bookcase with a substantial back you can help support the shelves from the center of the span. But if it's a M-'-thick plywood back, or there's no back at all, the shelves need to provide all the support.

You can beef-up the shelves by adding a brace underneath the shelf, but that will also reduce the storage space, so there's a balance to be met.

And if you've opted for no back, there's the concern of racking (twisting the case out of square from side-to-side) once weight is added. Without proper structural bracing, or attaching the bookcase to the wall, the whole thing can collapse like a deck of cards.

Another way to rack a cabinet is by attaching it to a wall that isn't square. The case can take on the shape of the wall when attached. Also, a case piece can rack because of an uneven floor. Levelling the cabinet upon installation can correct this, but anticipating the problem in your design will make it possible to shim the cabinet to adjust for level without being visible.

Racking not only changes the look of the cabinet, but will also affect the way doors and drawers fit, open and close. So we're back to making sure the case piece is built in a manner that will support the weight and adapt to the location without affecting the function.

One more stress to consider briefly here: wood movement. When wood reacts to changes in humidity, it shrinks or contracts. If you're using solid wood in your case piece, these changes need to be considered. This is mostly a concern with doors and drawers, but we'll get into that in detail later.

On the Move

The stresses mentioned above are mostly concerns of built-in case pieces. But if

Inset Full overlay Half overlay Lipped

The style of door or drawer front you choose for your casework will affect the way the case is designed and built. It will also impact the hardware you use (European or traditional) and you'll need to consider the hardware installation in the process as well.

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