Dinette table and storage cabinet

When you are really short of living space, for example if you have a very cramped kitchen, or a living room that has to be a dining room too, multipurpose furniture can go a long way towards giving you enough room. This versatile unit doubles as a wall-hanging storage unit and a table that folds away when not in use. It has one particularly valuable feature-when there are objects
on the table and you want to fold it up without removing them, all you have to do is push them to the back and the cutaway top can be swung up clear of them.

This unit has been designed as a kitchen storage cabinet that also provides a table top for breakfast, odd snacks, and an occasional work surface, but it can easily be adapted for other
rooms. For example, in a small flat it could save the space taken by a dining table or, with doors fitted to the cabinet, it could make a useful occasional writing desk in a lounge orstudy.

The design

The table and cabinet consist mainly of 7 panels of 18mm (roughly Qin.) birch plywood, all cut from one standard-sized 5ft x 5ft (1.53m x 1.53m) sheet as shown in Fig.1. Parts A and B are shaped to fit together and joined with strap hinges, then screwed to the wall to form the table when A is dropped down, as shown in Fig.5. Panel A drops down to rest on battening fixed to the front or sides of the cabinet; an exploded view of this arrangement is shown in Fig.2. The cabinet, in turn, is screwed firmly to panel B.
A small ball catch is fitted in the top edge of panel B, and the cup for this at the point where panel A butts against it. This holds panel A, in position when it is folded against the wall out All the cabinet joints are simply butted, glued and screwed. If the unit is to be painted, the screw heads are countersunk flush with the surface and filled over with a proprietary cellulose filler, which is then sanded down to give a perfectly smooth finish. But if you want to stain or varnish the unit, the screw heads must be sunk deeper and the holes filled with matching plugs of timber cut from dowelling of a suitable size and sanded flat when in place.

Materials and tools

The unit will require one 5ft x 5ft (1.53 x 1.53m) sheet of 18mm birch plywood; one length of 3ft x 1 Zin. (914mm x 38mm x 13mm) hardwood; two large 12in. (305mm) strap hinges with mounting screws; one ball catch no wider than 15mm; two dozen 12in. (38mm) No.8 countersunk head screws; and some woodworking adhesive. You will also need paint or varnish ; in the case of the latter you will need some dowelling to make plugs.
For tools, you will need a power jigsaw for
separating panels A and B-so you might as well use this for cutting all the pieces; a power drill; bench plane; screwdriver; spokeshave; rule; try square; and an ordinary school compass.

Cutting out

Mark out the large sheet of ply, using the dimensions in Fig.1 as a guide. To ensure that the table top will fit properly over the top of the cabinet when dropped down, it is essential that you commence marking in a particular order.
First mark out panel C. This panel has two square corners, and two with 3in. or 75mm radiuses. The method of marking these is shown in Fig.3. Mark two points, 3in. or 75mm along each edge, from the corner. Link these two points with lines drawn at right angles to the edges to make a 3in. square. The inner corner of this square will be the centre for the curve, which should be drawn with the compass.
Using the same radius method where rounded corners are required, mark out the rest of the ply sheet, but not the dividing line that will separate panels Aand B.
With the jigsaw, carefully cut round the outline of panel C. When this has been done, finish the cut edges of the panel with the bench plane (fine set) along the straight edges, and the spokeshave at the radiused corners.
Mark out the dividing line between panels A and B, using panel C as a template for the central piece. This is done to ensure that when the table top is dropped down, it will fit exactly over the top of the cabinet, which will be panel C.
All the remaining panels can now be cut out of the large sheet of ply. Finish off all the cut edges of panels A and B, but leave the remainder of the panels, which will form the cabinet, until you assemble them.

Making the cabinet

This is constructed from panels C, D, E, F and G, fastened together with glued and screwed butt joints.
Trial assemble the cabinet panels as shown in Fig.2 to check that all the edges butt neatly. Where they don't, plane the high spots down. Then finish off all the edges that will be visible at the front of the unit. Trial assemble agairl to ensure that the cabinet is square, and that all parts fit correctly.
Drill screw holes at 2in. or 50mm intervals down through the ends of panels C and F. Spread adhesive along the top and bottom of the side panels (D and E), then erect the carcase in the shape shown in Fig.2, and drive the screws home into the side panels.
Before the glue has set, lightly mark a horizontal line with a try square halfway down the outside of each side panel and drill screw holes along the lines at 2in. intervals. Trim panel G to fit in between the side panels, spread adhesive along each of its end edges, place it in position and drive the screws home.
Check that the cabinet is square, then leave it while the glue sets.

Assembling the unit

This is relatively simple except that care is required to make the table flap drop accurately over the cabinet top.
Lay panels A and B down on a flat surface and fit the strap hinges to link them as shown in Fig.5.
Lay the cabinet on its back, on top of panel B, in the approximate position where it will eventually be fixed. Lift the table flap up to a vertical position and adjust the position of the cabinet until the top fits neatly into the recess at the base of the flap. When the cabinet is in the right position, lightly mark a line round its top, base and sides onto the surface of panel B.

Take the cabinet off, then drill screw holes at 2in. intervals round the inside of the marked line. Each hole should be drilled inside the line at a distance equal to half the thickness of the plywood used for the cabinet carcase. Lay sections A and B on a table, place the cabinet in position again, ease part of panel B over the edge of the table to expose some of the screw holes underneath, then drive several screws in. Repeat this until the cabinet has been screwed all round and is securely fixed to panel B.

Finally, fit the flap-stop. This is the 3ft length of hardwood. Place it in position underneath panel C so that one third of its width protrudes beyond the front of the panel. Mark a line along the front edge of C on to the flap-stop. Remove the stop and drill holes at 2in. or 50mm intervals at a point halfway between this marked line and the back of the stop. Replace the stop and screw it in position.
There is an alternative to this method. The battening can be cut in two and fixed along the sides of the cabinet with its top surface level with the bottom surface of panel C. Either method will support the table top equally well, so choose the one that looks best in your room.

Fixing and finishing

Fill any cracks or holes with filler, allow it to dry, then rub the surface down.
To avoid getting any paint on the walls, it is best to paint the unit before fixing it to the wall. HOME DECORATOR 1 tells you how to obtain a professional finish on your paintwork.
When the paint is dry, all that remains is to fix the unit to the wall with screws and wall plugsHOME DECORATOR 1 2 will help you here-and you will have an original, versatile piece of spacesaving furniture.

Dinette table and storage cabinet