Here are the display cabinet plans and blueprints for creating a compact wall showcase that will look great in any home or shop.
It’s an easy-to-build DIY project that can be completed in one weekend with a minimum of carpentry tools.
The basic case of this display cabinet is quite simple — just a pair of sides that trap a top, bottom and a single, fixed shelf, as you can see in Fig.1.
Later, you’ll add a vertical divider to build the openings for drawers, and also create a cleat that will be used to hang the case along with a backside made of plywood.
But for now, you can focus on the basic case pieces.
Step 1 – Building The Sides, Top, Bottom & Shelf
The first thing to do is cut the sides (A) and the top, bottom and shelf (B) to size from 3/4″-thick stock.
Note that the top and bottom shelves are about 1/8 inches bigger than the sides as shown in the diagram.
The sides require the most work, so we started with them.
First, we cut a chamfer on both ends, as shown in Fig. 2.
This is a fairly deep chamfer, so instead of cutting it in multiple passes with a router bit, we cut it on the table saw using an auxiliary miter gauge fence to support the piece.
You can leave the auxiliary fence in place while you cut the dadoes to hold the top, bottom, and shelf, as shown in Figs. 1a and 3.
And to make sure the dadoes line up across from each other, you’ll want to either add a stop to the end of the auxiliary fence or use the rip fence as a stop, as we did in Fig. 3.
You can do this because the cuts don’t go all the way through, so there are no waste pieces to kick back at you.
The last thing to do on the side pieces is drill the series of 3/8″-deep holes for the L-shaped shelf supports that will hold the glass shelves.
Before the case can be assembled, you’ll need to do a little work on the top, bottom and shelf.
First, the front edge of each needs a 1/16″ chamfer, as indicated in Fig. 1b.
Then in the shelf and bottom pieces, you’ll want to drill the two counterbored shank holes that will hold the drawer divider.
Gluing this case together isn’t hard.
Just remember the top, bottom and shelf stand proud in front of the case and are flush in back.
After the glue on the case is dry, the next thing to do is route the rabbet for the 1/4″ plywood back panel with a hand-held router while utilizing scrap timber to brace the base of the router.
Then we came back and cleaned up the corners with a chisel (Fig. 4b).
Step 2 – Drawer Divider
Before you cut the back to size, there are two other pieces to make.
First we cut a drawer divider (C) to fit between the shelf and bottom, as shown in Fig. 5.
But note that the front of the divider sets back 1/8″, just like the sides (Fig. 5a).
After screwing the divider in place (Fig. 5a), the screws can be covered with 3/8″-dia. wood plugs.
HANGING CLEAT
The next piece we added was a hanging cleat (D), as you can see in Fig. 5.
This way, when hanging the cabinet on the wall later, we had a 3/4″-thick solid-wood piece to screw through, instead of the 1/4″ plywood back.
Making the cleat is a two-step process.
It’s cut to fit between the rabbets for the back, but to get it to fit flush with the back, you’ll need to cut a rabbet around three edges of its front face, as shown in Figs. 5b and 6.
The second step is just cutting another rabbet — this time, to match the rabbets in the case for the back, as you can see in Fig. 7.
When the cleat has been glued in place, you can cut the plywood back (E) to size and glue it into the rabbet (Fig. 5b).
Step 3 – Glass Shelves
You really don’t need to order the glass for the shelves until you order the glass for the doors later.
But I’ll just mention here that we used 1/4″-thick glass that had polished, “pencil-style” edges.
Doors At this point, the case is ready for the doors, and whether you build them with glass or wood panels, the procedure starts out the same.
The door frames are built with a grooved bridle joint.
But more on that in a minute.
CUT TO SIZE
Before cutting the door stiles (F) and rails (G) to size (Fig. 8), measure your case so the door pieces can be cut to fit its opening.
The stiles are sized so there will be a 1/16″ gap at the top and bottom of each door.
The rails are a bit more work, but at least with a bridle joint, they’re the full width of the door.
Here, we allowed for a 1/16″ gap on the sides of the case but no gap between the two doors.
BRIDLE JOINT
After you have cut the sections then you can cut the bridle joint as shown in the diagram.
We came up with a quick jig (shown in the margin photo) that eliminates one of the setups.
And we’ve described the jig (and how to cut the bridle joint) on page 8 and 9.
Step 3 – Door Panels
If you’re building the doors with wood panels, you’ll need to make them before you glue up the frame, see bottom of page 6.
For glass doors, you can glue up the frames now.
HINGE MORTISES
With the door frames glued up, we cut the mortises for the hinges next, as shown in Fig. 9.
This can be done at the table saw, and we sized the mortises to match the full depth of the hinge barrel, minus 1/16″ for the gap.
(The hinges are simply screwed to the inside of the case.) Now you can rout the back edges of the doors to hold the glass, as in Fig. 10.
I used 1/4″ glass stop (H) to mount the glass (Fig. 10b).
And on page 8, there’s a “miter box” we used to cut the stops to length.
(But you don’t want to add the glass until the finish has been applied to the project.) HANG DOORS.
At this point, the doors can be hung in the case.
Then you can trim their inside edges to create the 1/16″ gap (Fig. 8a)and add the pulls and catches.
The double ball catches we used can’t be adjusted after they’re screwed in place, so for an accurate installation, we positioned them with carpet tape, as described in Fig.
All that’s left now is to build the two small drawers, as shown in Fig.
We sized the 1/2″-thick fronts (I) and backs (I) so the drawers would be 1/16″ smaller than the openings in height and width.
And the sides (J) are sized so the drawers would stop 1/4″ short of the back of the case.
LOCKING RABBET
To create a strong drawer without a lot of fuss, we decided to use a locking rabbet joint (Fig. 12a).
It looks more complicated than it really is.
In fact it can be cut in three quick steps on the table saw.
First, a centered groove is cut on the ends of the front and back pieces, as shown in Fig.
The key here is that the height of the blade matches the thickness of the drawer sides.
Next, we trimmed the inside face of the front and back pieces to create a 1/4″-long tongue, as shown in Fig. 14.
The last step is to cut dadoes on the sides (Fig. 15).
Just position the dadoes to line up with the tongues cut in the fronts and backs (Fig. 12a).
Now each drawer piece is ready for a groove that will hold the 1/4″ plywood bottom (K), as in Fig. 12b.
Then when the bottoms are cut to size, you can glue the drawers together and add the pulls (Fig. 12c).
All that’s left now is to cut two stops (L) for the back of the case.
They’re sized so the drawer will end up flush with the sides of the case.
(Mine were 1/4” wide.) WOOD PANEL DOOR For an elegant storage cabinet, you can build the doors with wood panels instead of glass.
(You can also add wood shelves inside.) Each panel is sized so it’ll fit in the grooves when the door is glued together.
(Be sure to allow a small gap on each side so the panel can expand and contract.) To create the tongue, all you need to do is rabbet each face, see drawing.
And when assembling the frame and panel, remember not to glue the panel into the frame.
Step 4 – Wood Panels
To make the best use of the space inside the cabinet, we decided to build the doors with solid-wood panels instead of glass.
This way, we could store tools on the doors, as well as on the shelves (and back).
But to do this, you have to make sure there will be enough clearance inside the cabinet.
This means cutting shallow recesses in the front edges of the shelves or cutting narrower shelves (and changing the locations of the holes for the shelf pins), as in the drawing above.
ORGANIZING TOOLS
In order to get the most use out of the doors, we decided to spend a little time planning which tools would work best where.
To do this, we simply laid the cabinet on its back with the doors propped open.
This lets you shuffle the tools around easily until you have the most efficient layout.
Then after you have chosen which tools will go where, you can begin making some custom tool holders.
TOOL HOLDERS
It’s not hard to design and build your own custom tool holders.
The goal is to get them to hang securely so they don’t fall (or swing) whenever the door is opened.
At the same time, you want them as easy to lift off and set back on as possible.
Plus, if there are sharp edges, like the teeth on a hand saw or the point of an awl, you want to be sure that other tools (and your hands) are protected.
There are a number of ways to accomplish this, as you can see in the photos below.
Simple kerfs are great for holding the blades of saws, squares, and rulers.
For awls, chisels, and files, we drill counter-bored holes that trap the handles and then cut slots for easy access.
And for marking gauges and block planes, you can make a small shelf platform.
Here, you’ll want to add small cleats to the edges so the tools won’t slide off as the door is opened and closed.
When you’re making these small holders, it’s best to do as much work as you can with the pieces oversized.
This keeps your hands as far away from the blade as possible.
