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The old way of making a cedar cabinet ?

Sperry

I've deconstructed an old 40"-wide cedar clothes cabinet - pre-WWII, maybe, but definitely pre-1950s - with the goal of making one 19" wide. Lots of pieces which all fit together in jabbits, mortises, grooves. And notice very little glue was used. Many joints are nailed.


Was there a reason for the lack of glue? To keep it flexible as humidity changes?

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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • Don McManus

    Not an expert by any stretch, but adhesives then were not what they are now.


    Cedar, particularly Western Red Cedar, is very absorbent, and I would think would soak up a lot of glue.

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  • asop

    Don-Right on. Cedar just doesn't take glue very well.

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  • BobJudy

    If you are going to be using glue in the reassembly, try polyurethane. Bob

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  • chme

    Would think that the aromatic oil in cedar would make it hard for a glue to "grab" and hold cedar.

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  • Sperry

    Thanks! I may use brass screws where I can. Plus the original nails I saved. Yes, it is Western red cedar.

    There is a perfume stink I’ll have to sand out, and exterior glopped urethane to sand off. All parts will be sanded before reassembly. I’m assuming that the cedar smell will come back? I’ll use a newer cedar chipboard back.

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  • Butchdog2

    Western red cedar is not the same animal as aromatic or eastern cedar.

    Western will "glue". Eastern not too good.


    Eastern is what is supposed to keep moths out you your stored clothes.

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  • Sperry

    Ok, it still has a bit of smell in pieces that splinter. And the base seems unperfumed. Very red base but generally lots of white and red together. Regardless, I have a 19.5” wide cubby, unusable, and want more storage space. This cabinet will beat milk crates or wine crate shelving unit.

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  • Sperry

    Ok, I guess this is white cedar. If all else fails, I can get 100 sq ft of 1.25” boards 8’ in length, random width, for $100. Guy in NJ cuts it, says it only needs two weeks to dry a little before it is okay to use to build a closet.

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  • Wild Turkey

    cedar closet lining - Bing

    These boards are what my family used for cedar closets/chests

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  • Sperry

    Here's the porch-pick, and the space it has to fit. 🤣 I even sawed and planed an inch off the winder-sill to get a little extra width. Darn, now that I'm looking at it, rebuilding the closet with a bump-out might have been easier.



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