One of the first items my lovely bride and I purchased on our staycation honeymoon was a beat-up Hoosier cabinet. It was a shadow of the fine specimen you see here. But it was fitting for the apartment we had in the old, leafy part of town we lived in.
Those apartments (and homes) of that era had very modest kitchens, and were the reason Hoosier cabinets thrived from around 1900 to 1940. There were several manufacturers that made these ubiquitous beauties.
GOOD WOOD. Hickory was used for the base and upper case of this project. (We’ve split the material list between the two.) As you see in the lower photo, hard maple was the wood of choice for the tray, as well as the drawer boxes.
This version has a design feature that its predecessors lacked — heavy duty drawer slides that mount to the underside of the tray and drawers. Another subtle touch is how the layered sides and center divider of the base eliminate the need for cleats to attach the drawer slides. Lastly, the reeded glass that’s shown off in the doors adds a vintage look to the upper portion of the project.
THE HOOSIER YOU SAY. On a related note — research reveals several origin stories for the Indiana moniker “Hoosier,” my favorite being someone yelling out “whose ear?” at the end of a knife fight in a bar. Just something to think about as you head to the shop.
NOTE: Legs are glued up from 1"-thick hardwood
NOTE: Taper inside faces after grooves and mortises
NOTE: Roundover on front outside edge of legs
NOTE: The configuration of the grooves and mortises on the back legs are mirror images. The mortises in the front inside faces are different
Getting a leg up on the SIDES
The legs of this cabinet are the cornerstones of the project. Their thickness provides stable support for the base (and the upper case). Also, as you’ll see on the next page, they hold not only the rails and their panels, but the cleats and interior panels.
GLUE UP. The legs are glued up from 5 ⁄ 4 material. In the spirit of putting your best face forward, take a little time to orient the best-looking grain patterns to the front of the legs.
As of late, using epoxy to glue up projects is on the rise in the shop here. Epoxy has a longer open time and is easy to clean up with lacquer thinner. It’s worth considering on those merits.
Once the clamps are tucked away, trim the leg blanks to their final size and head to the workbench to
