Cabinet and bifolding doors
Patrick’s current project is replacing the doors on a large built-in elm cabinet and bookshelf he made 15 or so years ago. Originally a row of three cupboards under the shelving, it now houses a sound system and large television screen. His dilemma was concealing the screen, while still making it easily accessible, without spoiling the symmetry of the cabinet, which is divided into three equal sections.
His solution was to create three bifolding doors with the pair covering the TV set hinged from either side of it to do away with a supporting upright midscreen. When closed, they look like three double-panelled doors. Patrick repeated the grooved detailing of the cabinet to further enhance the illusion of three doors rather than six panels.
To keep the frames uniform, he devised a jig using MDF sheets pulled out of the old kitchen.
The internal groove in the frames is made a couple of millimetres deeper than the width of the panels to allow some movement in the wood, essentially creating free-floating panels. He stained the panels before fitting them into the frames to avoid an unstained line appearing with any movement. “If you don’t stain elm, it has a very prominent grain,” he says.
Once the mortise and tenon joints have been fitted, he clamps them using minimal adhesive.
Patrick used long piano hinges on the bifolds to give the doors added strength and avoid any slumping.