Wanna build a curio

Need some ideas about how to build doors in a tall curio. The whole idea of a curio is show off the contents not the curio. So I have been thinking about how to hinge a side with out adding to the bulk of the cabinet. Kind of think of hinging one or maybe both sides of the cabinet. So the hinged side has to support the glass (with the clips) and seemlessly blend into a narrow frame. Also about the choice of wood. Bought a couple pieces of maple, but been thnking about doing it in mahogany. So, what do you guy think?

Cliff

Reply to
BCOdom
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Before you get too involved, price out glass. My wife even picked out plans for a curio she wants. 14 bd. ft. of oak and one sheet of plywood. Not bad, a few bucks for hardware. The 7 pieces of glass will be well over $200 ! It will wait for right now.

This 36" wide curio called for two front doors, each with two glass panels. The sides each have two glass panels also. The door frames are 2" wide. The sides are framed with 2" also, but the 3/4" dimension is what is on the front and the 2" door panel is hinged to it. IOW, the side is covered with

2 3/4" of wood and the center of the doors is 4" of wood, the rest class. Ed
Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

After the third bottom heavy invoice from a local glass shop, I introduced myself to the owner, explained I was a furnituremaker, bought glass from him in the past, wanted to do so in the future, and how could I qualify for a discount? No problem ...immediate $50 off a $89 invoice. I now get a +/- 60% discount on all my furniture glass.

Most of these places are used to dealing with insurance companies and some will give the individual repeat customer a break if asked.

Between the lawyers, insurance companies, and property tax appraisal districts, life in this USA won't be livable before long.

Reply to
Swingman

...not to mention 4 or 5 glass shelves and one or two specialty light fixtures. The corner curio kit I built 20 years ago also has mirrors in the back panels. Counting everything, there's 14 hunks of glass.

Doug

Reply to
Doug Winterburn

I didn't exactly build a curio, but I did make tall narrow doors for an armoire that sounds similar to your situation. I used Soss hinges in the edges of the door and then into the frame.

I've also seen knife hinges used for this purpose.

Reply to
Lazarus Long

Are you trying to imply there's no good reason why my $75,000 house became a $143,000 house just weeks before the taxes came due?

Reply to
Silvan

Here was my take on that kind of thing. I built a "hutch thing" to go on top of a un-needed dresser I didn't really want to get rid of.

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(scroll down a bit... yes, it's a really bad picture...)

You'll want taller doors of course, but I like the way the doors worked out WRT viewing area. The dolls in this thing don't work out that well, because SMWBO has too many of them to spread them out so that none of them are straddling the middle. There's a lot of open space though, and the eye is drawn to the contents, rather than the bad routing job on the frames.

The frames are ~1" wide M&T, glazed with plexiglass to cut down both on cost and weight. The hinges are garden variety brass leaf, and I have three per door.

When I do the walnut corner curio that's on my honey do list, I'll probably make it narrow enough to have only one door, and no seam down the middle. I'll also very likely put in at least one cross-member for strength. The big doors on my dresser-top hutch are somewhat flimsy, and I wouldn't want to do anything bigger than this with no support in the middle.

Not sure of the dimensions, and my tape measure is out in the shop. It comes within a foot of the ceiling, so substract the standard height of a dresser to get an idea.

Reply to
Silvan

Silvan asks:

Yes. Your medical insurance company's handling of costs is one reason health care is so expensive. Homeowner's insurance companies handling of coss is another reason prices are rising: piecing out restoration costs on a damaged building supposedly worth $100,000 (replacement value as an entity) finds that a total restore done by the same contractor would run maybe $190,000, maybe $220,000, I guess depending on his mood.

Given, there are some difficulties in fitting the old into the new, but there are also some difficulties that are contractor-created in an effort to shave costs, all of which add to the hours racked up.

Charlie Self

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas J. Watson

Reply to
Charlie Self

Good prices on glass are available from WGB Glass. 1-800-288-6854. They probably have a web site. I found their ad years ago in one on the wood working magazines.

Reply to
Frank J. Vitale

I was just filing some articles I cut out. The Sept. 2003 copy of Wood Magazine has a curio cabinet.

Reply to
Frank J. Vitale

You might want to check your local library for a book called "Display Cabinets You Can Customize". It's probably available to buy from Amazon. Author's name is Jeff Greef. Has some good basic designs for Curio Cabinets, ideas for modifying those as desired. Found it quite helpful when I built a 36" wide Cherry Curio for my wife several years ago. As commented on earlier, the glass panels and shelves can come close to the cost of the lumber - shop around for prices.

Ron

Reply to
Rkola

I built 4 curio cabinets 4-5 years ago. The outside measures 30"h X

18"w X 6"deep. Have plexiglass and door is not divided, allows clear vision to whole cabinets.

If interested, I can upload pic. Since retiring, cabinets now used in shop, no room in house.

Reply to
Boogey Man

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