How To Build a Spinning Bar Cabinet

Figure A: Cabinet Unit

Overall Dimensions: 24-1/8-in. W x 24-1/8-in. D x 31-in. H

Figure B: Shelf Unit

Overall Dimensions: 21-9/16-in. W x 21-9/16-in. D x 23-3/4-in. H

Cutting List

KEY	QTY.	DIMENSIONS	PART
A	3	1/2″ x 11-5/8″ radius	Cabinet inner disc
B	2	1/2″ x 12-3/16″ radius	Cabinet top/bottom disc
C	3	1/2″ x 10-3/8″ radius	Shelf inner disc
D	2	1/2″ x 10-11/16″ radius	Shelf top/bottom disc
E	3	3/4″ x 5-1/2″ x 23-1/2″	Cabinet form spacer (Photo 5)
F	3	3/4″ x 5-1/2″ x 21-3/4″	Shelf form spacer (Photo 5)
G	2	1/4″ x 25″ x cut to fit	Cabinet shell
H	1	1/4″ x 22-3/4″ x cut to fit	Shelf shell
J	2	3/4″ x 3/4″ x 23-1/2″	Cabinet stiffener
K	2	3/4″ x 3/4″ x 21-3/4″	Shelf stiffener
L	Build layers to fit	1/8″ x cut to fit	Bent wood strips
M	2	1/4″ x 1-1/4″ x 23-1/2″	Cabinet edge banding
N	2	1/4″ x 1-1/4″ x 21-3/4″	Shelf edge banding
P	1	10-3/8″ radius	Shelf (halve the disc and shape to your preference)
Q	2	1/8″ x 1″ x cut to fit	Shelf edge banding

Those That Bend Together Stay Together

Bendable plywood comes in different thicknesses, with the thinnest version flexible enough to bend into a circle as small as 15-in.- dia. The 1/4-in. sheets I used easily formed a 21-in. circle. The sheets bend in one direction. An 8- x 4-ft. sheet will make a 4-ft.-tall column, a 4- x 8-ft. sheet will make an 8-ft.-tall column.

Paper-backed veneer is easy to cut with a utility knife. You adhere it with contact cement, which bonds two coated surfaces instantly. I was concerned that activating adhesive on pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA, also known as peel-and-stick) veneer would require more force than the thin bendable plywood could handle. I went with paper-backed quarter-sawn curly maple veneer.

Trace All the Circles

The first phase of this project is to build the forms. The bendable plywood needs a structure to hold its shape. In steps 1-5 I’m building two forms, one for the inner shelf unit and one for the cabinet unit. I’m using pairs of plywood discs at the top and bottom of each cylinder.

This cabinet consists of 10 plywood discs in four sizes. To draw perfect circles on plywood, I made a compass with a 1/4-in. plywood scrap. I drove a finish nail through one end and then measured from the nail to mark the radius of each of the four circles.

I drilled holes at each mark to fit a pencil, then drove the nail into the plywood and pivoted the pencil around the nail. Then I roughly cut out all the circles with a jigsaw.