This project was built and designed by Mike from Oregon Makers.
This build follows the classic lines of a Shaker chimney cabinet, using plywood panels combined with solid poplar for a paint-ready finish. Mike walks through breaking down sheet goods, cutting rails and stiles, and using tongue and groove joinery to hold the whole case together, all while working through the small fitting issues that come up in a real shop.
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Material Selection and Breakdown
Mike starts by breaking down the plywood needed for the case sides and panels. Stacking multiple pieces together and cutting them all at once keeps every panel identical in size, which matters a lot when the joinery has to line up on all four sides.
For the solid wood components, poplar was the choice since the entire cabinet is destined for paint. Poplar takes paint well and is easy to work, making it a practical option any time a project isn’t going to show off wood grain.
Along the way, Mike ran into an odd defect in one of the plywood sheets, a reminder that even careful material selection can turn up surprises once the sheet is cut into.
Building the Shelves
The adjustable shelves get a strip of solid edging glued to the plywood to hide the plywood edge and add a bit of visual thickness. Biscuits are used to align the edging during glue-up, and the edging is left slightly proud of the plywood on purpose so it can be planed flush afterward.
This is a simple technique that upgrades the look of plywood shelving without much extra effort, and it’s a trick that applies to plenty of other plywood-based furniture projects.
Tongue and Groove Case Joinery
The case itself relies on tongue and groove joints throughout, with plywood panels captured in grooves sized to match the plywood thickness. Rails get tenons cut on the table saw, first with cross cuts and then with a tenoning jig to define the shoulder.
Mike notes that while this same joint can be cut on a router table, he prefers the tenoning jig on the table saw because it’s easier to fine-tune the fit as he goes.
For the feet, Mike switched to hand tools, cutting simple shapes and adjusting his approach partway through once he found a cleaner method. Small keys were also added where the tongue and groove joinery meets the feet, hidden at the bottom of the case where they won’t be seen but still lock the joint together.
Fitting and Cleaning Up Joints
Even with careful cutting, Mike points out that parts rarely fit together perfectly on the first try. Saw fuzz, slight blade drift, or boards lifting off the table during a cut can all throw off a joint by a hair.
A razor and chisel handled most of the cleanup, trimming tongues down where needed and easing panel edges so everything slid into place. Working through both tenons on a joint at the same time meant the second side often fit right away once the first side was dialed in.
Glue-Up and Assembly
Before any glue went on, Mike dry-fit the case, added witness marks to keep track of which pieces belonged where, and only applied glue to the tenons rather than the plywood panels themselves. This allows the plywood to expand and contract without stressing the joint.
Because he was working solo, Mike glued up one side of the case first, let it dry overnight, then glued the second side the next day. This staged approach not only made clamping more manageable with a limited clamp count, but also gave more accurate, tighter results than trying to rush both sides at once.
Shelf pin holes were added using a shelf pin jig, with each hole given a light countersink to clean up the edges. Squeeze-out from glue-up was left to dry and simply knocked off afterward since the cabinet will be painted, saving time compared to wiping down every joint while wet.
Bringing the Build Together
This build shows how a traditional joinery approach, tongue and groove joints, hand-cut feet, and hidden keys, can be combined with plywood panels for a case that’s both strong and practical to build in a home shop. The staged glue-up process is a useful lesson for anyone working without a shop partner or a large clamp collection.
With the case now assembled, Mike is planning a separate video to cover the finishing process for this Shaker chimney cabinet.
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Matt’s Take
These are my personal thoughts and tips based on my own experience in the shop. This section is not written, reviewed, or endorsed by the original creator of this project.
There’s a lot here that translates well beyond this one cabinet. Stacking panels to cut them all at once is a habit worth building early — it’s one of the easiest ways to guarantee matching parts, and it saves you from chasing tiny discrepancies later when you’re trying to get a case square. Poplar is also a great call for anything headed for paint. It machines cleanly, takes glue well, and costs a fraction of what you’d pay for a show-grain hardwood, so there’s no reason to reach for anything fancier when the wood itself won’t be seen.
The tongue and groove approach for the case is a solid, time-tested way to build a cabinet like this. Whether you cut it on a router table or with a dado stack and tenoning jig on the table saw really comes down to what you’re comfortable with — both can get you a tight, square joint. If you’re using a tenoning jig, just make sure it’s locked down securely and keep your hands clear of the blade path, since that setup puts your fingers closer to the cut than a lot of other table saw operations.
Gluing only the tenons and leaving the plywood panels free to float is worth remembering for any panel-in-groove construction. Wood movement doesn’t stop just because it’s covered in paint, and a fully glued panel is a good way to end up with a cracked joint down the road.
Staging the glue-up over two days is a smart workaround for anyone without a pile of clamps or a second set of hands. Rushing a full case glue-up solo is one of the more common ways to end up with a racked or out-of-square cabinet.