Cover all front edges with a matching wood trim. Weldwood wood trim and Weldwood contact cement were used here.

Attach baseboard to bottom of cabinet, so that top edge is flush with top surface of cabinet bottom piece. Edge of baseboard is covered with matching wood trim.

Top cabinet is assembled next. Cut top and bottorn pieces for cabinet out of 3/4" plywood from dimensions in Figs. B and C. In this cabinet, the author used metal roller, sliding door tracks (the type used for 1/4" plate glass) to protect the top and bottom edges of the plastic (Acrylite) doors. Since this type of slide requires a groove deeper than the 3/4 thickness of the plywood, an additional plywood reinforcing strip was glued to each top and bottom piece, as shown in details A and B of Fig. C. 7/8" wide, 36" long and 1" deep grooves were cut in reinforced top and bottom pieces.

Straighten ends of grooves with chisel, and sand inside edges smooth.
 
Details A. and B. Top, bottom grooves in top cabinet doors.

Mount metal tracks into grooves, using screws supplied with tracks. It is best to do this before assembling cabinet.

In top piece, make a cutout 3 1/2" wide and 24" long, which will be opening for indirect lighting, described later. Center the cutout, as shown in Fig. A.

Attach 1/4" solid wood strips on all inside edges of lighting cutout. These strips serve as tiny shelves to hold ground glass,which will diffuse indirect light.

Cut remaining ¾”-plywood pieces of top cabinet to dimensions shown in Fig. B. Put together side sections first, with glue and 6d nails- Keep all edges flush. Cut notches in top and bottom back edges of vertical partitions to accommodate back support, which will be added later (see photo No. 30).

Mount connecting bottom shelves to both side sections, with glue and nails.

Detail C. How sliding tracks fit in bottom cabinet.

Place cabinet assembly upright on floor and attach "cabinet top with glue and nails. Square up the entire cabinet.

From 3/4" plywood, cut two back supports, 2" wide and 68 3/4" long. Fit into notches made in step No. 27 and attach with glue and nails. Square up entire cabinet and plane front edges.

Cover all front edges with matching wood trim. Mount wood trim with grain running in the same direction as that of cabinet grain.     

To add finishing touch at top, from 3/4" plywood, cut a piece 6" wide and 69 1/2" long. Cover bottom edge with matching wood trim. Then mount piece across top front of cabinet.

To prepare wall of bar housing for mounting  cabinets, cut panels of 1/4" plywood to dimensions of wall, and mount snugly against wall with 1 1/4" No. 16 brads. Now sand, stain and finish entire housing.

Both top and bottom cabinets are stained and finished to match the bar housing. The author used a Gaston Finishing Kit here.  For other finishing techniques, see chapter on paints and finishes.

While the cabinets are drying, place ground glass in cutout in top cabinet, made in step No. 25.

Mount the 24" fluorescent light fixture to the top piece of bar housing, so it will be directly over the ground glass in cutout of top cabinet. Then, mount top and bottom cabinets to wall with 2" No. 10 roundhead screws through back mounting strips into wall studs.

Door assembly for bottom cabinet is next. In  this cabinet, "T" type tracks were used for the top, and fiber sliding door shoes for the bottom. Above, a "T" track is mounted to top piece with screws.

To prepare the top of sliding doors for this track, a 1/8" saw cut in the center of their top edges will suffice to give efficient sliding action. The depth of the grooves should equal the height of the "T" sliding tracks.

To prepare bottom of sliding doors for fiber sliding door shoes, cut a separate bottom piece of 3/4" plywood, 5 1/4" wide by 36" long, which will carry the bottom sliding door tracks. Cut 1/4" deep grooves in separate bottom piece in line with top tracks of cabinet. (See Detail C)

Rabbet bottom inside edges of sliding doors; make size of rabbets to fit size of fiber sliding shoes used.

Mount each fiber sliding shoe snug against lip and flush with outside edge, using glue and 3/4"-long screws.

Finger grips, 1/2 deep and 1/2" wide, for bottom doors, are cut out with a dado saw, by pressing door carefully down on blade into marked area. If you have no dado saw, grips can be carved out with a sharp chisel and sanded smooth.

Cover finger grips with matching wood trim. Stain and finish bottom doors to match rest of cabinet. Bottom doors are now ready for mounting in cabinet. Lift  doors into place and lower fiber sliding shoes onto bottom tracks.

Plastic sliding doors for top cabinet are prepared next. Metal tracks for these doors have been mounted previously  (see photos 22-24). Cover top and bottom edges of plastic doors with plastic edge protectors, which clamp on without glue. This is done to protect the doors from scratches and provide good sliding action.

Just as with the plywood doors for bottom cabinet, u finger grips for plastic doors of top cabinet are cut by slowly pressing door into a ¾” dado saw. Or, you may cut a piece of 1/8"-thick plastic to any shape you desire, and glue to door with acetone.

With water sandpaper, wet-sand finger grips until perfectly smooth. Now, mount doors of top cabinet by lifting them into top channels, and then lowering them into bottom channels.

To make side cabinet, cut sides, top, bottom and shelves from 3/4" plywood, according to dimensions shown in Fig. D. With glue and 6d finishing nails, attach sides to top and bottom pieces, driving nails from outside. Mount shelves in place, again driving nails from outside. Sink all nails, and till holes with matching putty. Place cabinet face down, and, with glue and nails, attach 2" mounting strips to inside edges of top and bottom, flush with back edges, as shown above.

To add finishing touch at top, from 3/4" plywood, cut a piece 6" wide and 21" long. Cover bottom edge and side edge (which will show after cabinet is mounted) with matching wood trim. Then, mount piece across top front of cabinet with glue and nails.

Mount doors on cabinet with piano hinges. For details on piano hinge assembly, see chapter titled Low-cost luxury kitchen, photos 15-17.

Fig. D. Front and top view of bar side cabinet.

If you wish to use touch latches, as in the model project, mount them on bottom of first shelf, following manufacturer's instructions.       

Attach the completed side cabinet to wall, snug against top of bar housing and back bar cabinet. Use 1 1/2" No. 8 roundhead screws through back mounting strips intowall studs or side partition, depending on construction of your bar housing.

The sliding unit for the bar must now be made to complete this project. From 3/4" plywood, cut 4 boards (B, C, D and E, shown in Fig. E), 8" by 28". Also from 3/4" plywood, board A, 4" by 28". As shown in Fig. E, make W'-deep by 1/4-wide rabbets in bottom edge of A, top and bottom edges of C, and top edge of E. To provide clearance, make 3/8"-deep-by-1/2'-wide rabbets in top and bottom edges of B and D, which will later be attached to side of front bar unit.

Make a base for the sliding unit out of 3/4" plywood, 28" by 35 3/4". As shown above, and noting positions in Fig. E, attach stationary boards (A, C, and E) to the base with 1 1/2" flathead screws, making sure they are lined up and square. Using 1 1/2" screws, attach 1/4"-by-l"-by-28" aluminum strips through the rabbets of stationary boards to the plywood base. Slide boards B and D into place in sliding unit to test for fit and sliding action. Then remove B and D.

Mount entire slide mechanism to right side of bar  housing, flush with front edge and perfectly square, with 2 1/2" flathead screws.

Fig. E. Cross section of front bar sliding mechanism.

Slide strips B and D about halfway into place in slide mechanism. Place front bar unit next to strips, using 1 1/2" screws, and keeping bar in position, begin mounting strips B and D to front bar unit 3/4" from front edge of bar. Then, moving bar slowly and evenly outward, add more screws, until strips are completely attached. This is the best way to keep all boards parallei and in place.

Spread paraffin on all moving edges, and move bar unit back into position several times, to test sliding mechanism. Slide bar unit out, remove screws from boards B and D. Place 1/4"-plywood shims between boards B and D and the bar unit, then screw B and D back into place. The shims prevent the bar from scraping against the sliding mechanism and allow bar unit to slide freely.

To add finishing touches to the bar, attach matching crown mouldings around all top edges with small finishing nails. Sink nails and fill holes with matching putty.

Finish top moulding by adding matching return moulding pieces to front edges.

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