# Display Cabinet



## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Back in March while confined I decided to go down to the shop and do something different. It has always been on my bucket list to seek out the American Flyer 300 Atlantic set I was given in the mid-50s. To my surprise, I did locate a 300 Atlantic engine and tender and the same cars I had as well. After reading the fascinating history of American Flyer I decided to acquire the companion steam engines built during the post-war period until 1966 when Mr. Gilbert decided to pull the plug. It was interesting also to find the single chrome AF 660 passenger car my parents gave me the following Christmas. That was the extent of my AF collection and as I grew away from model railroading and entered the control line model airplane world of stunt I'm still actively involved the railroad set was long lost. I found it interesting how the early model trains initially were so detailed and later were cheapened down because Gilbert felt kids were not collectors and the detail was too costly. This comparison can be seen when viewing the 1947 332 4-8-4 steam engine on the bottom right to the later 21165 4-4 set along the top shelf.
I enjoyed getting back to doing some woodworking again and accomplishing something of value during the pandemic.

Old Smokey 47


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

WOW !!! You sure made good use of your time. That is a beautiful cabinet. Lighted and with glass front.
That is a very nice collection of trains also. Congrats. Thanks for showing.


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## kvlazer22 (Jan 27, 2020)

That case is amazing! Great work and great trains!


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Very nice looking display.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Very nice, and you have room for several more locomotives!


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Hi folks,

I appreciate your compliments on the display case and trains. 

Several of my friends have wondered why I have not built a train layout which would be the natural progression at this point. I must admit, however, even though I have some desire to build a railroad layout I must hold off primarily because of the commitment. If I decided to get into it, it would require considerable planning to have everything I wanted to be incorporated from the onset. I think what would interest me most would be to create the buildings, bridge elevations, concrete works, topography, and landscaping and bringing my shop into play to build the structures and finding unique materials using detailed airbrushing to simulate aging for the exterior facades. After seeing what others have created I think this aspect of model railroading would be very enjoyable but a significant undertaking.

Old Smokey 47


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Gunrunnerjohn,

It might be a little tight for another engine or two, but more importantly, the windfall funds from the Stimulus Check have all been depleted so I better settle with what I have for now.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Fantastic work on the display cabinet! Even to the extent of routing grooves in the shelves for the wheel flanges. The best part though is it displays Gilbert trains, but that is just my opinion!


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

It was a fun project and my first time using LED lighting. The recessed LED light tracks with the white lens give a soft touch to the lighting and helps to reflect light off the painted blue plywood background. Positioning the trains on the 5" deep shelf (front to rear) relative to the position of the LED light above was a concern, I wanted the exposed surface of the train to be well lit and no shadows.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

That's a good start, but I think you can do better. I'll take that one off your hands so it doesn't go to waste when version 2.0 is finished.... 😁

Seriously though, that's a beautiful cabinet. I'm going to have to manufacture something similar someday when I have the space. I too don't currently have a permanent layout and my floor layout only has minimal room for running things on the track at once. It'd be nice to have a display cabinet so I can store things out of the way but be able to view them also instead of the current situation where most of my collection is boxed up.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

A very nice display shelf. 
Have you calculated how much you spent on the materials?
It is a labor of love so you can't add that in.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Out standing cabinet and very good collection of AF trains! I have 2 display cabinets with sliding glass doors with a dark furniture finish that forget the name of. However, mine are not lighted as yours is and not nearly as big nor did I put in wheel slots. Nice touch. 

Kenny


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## alaft61ri (Oct 11, 2019)

Very nice job. Like it alot.


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## AmFlyerFan (Jan 27, 2019)

Very nice! I wish I was that good with wood working tools.


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## JMedwick (Feb 11, 2017)

That is an awesome cabinet.


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Big Ed,
The cabinet ended up costing $863.69 for all materials. It was a little more than I planned but adding the lighting and door tracks jumped it up. The wood and finishing from Lowes was $322.00 with my military discount, 1/4" plate glass $58.00. EPCO aluminum door rolling tracks and extrusions $174.79 and the LEDWholesale lighting strips, dimmer, transformer and recessed LED extrusions $308.08. The cabinet is 71" wide by 35.5" high and 7.5" deep. 

I have added a few more shots of the construction. I saved a bit by making the supports.

I probably have 40 hours total time invested not including chasing around for the materials and on line time.

Old Smokey 47


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I knew it was not cheap, I got some cedar wood from Oklahoma last week to build a cedar bench. 2 weeks before I bought a solid 6' x 4"x4" cedar mailbox post from the same seller to mount my new cedar mailbox that the Amish made. It is nothing like the cheap cedar posts that stick in the ground with the metal stakes you find at HD or Lowes.
I am glad I spent the bucks, everyone in the neighborhood is asking where I got it. 
Is that Oak? Nothing is cheap now a days.
But it sure looks nice, and well built.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That's a very nice cabinet. It shows a lot of woodworking skill and patients.


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

You are right Ed, lumber materials are not cheap. Last year I bought some grey elm that has a beautiful grain appearance for a hutch cabinet. I had to have it sent from Ohio because the elm tree was killed off in the northeast years ago by a disease. I decided on the elmwood because we had bought a table made by the Amish in Ohio and liked its appearance. When my boys were in the scouts a hundred years ago I held some sessions at our house in the shop and discussed various samples of exotic woods from around the world. The prices of some of these woods are way beyond anything I could afford. 
Old Smokey 47


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

I know of a lumber yard in Union City, Ind. that specializes in exotic wood. When I am there visiting relatives, I always drive by because there are 2 open air drying/curing buildings and you can stop and walk through them. Most of the wood varieties I never knew existed. Many from South American countries. There is one in particular that is really exotic. It has a Mahogany like color to it with blends of a light to med dark purple running through it. That may sound strange but there is a cabinet in the owners office you have to see to believe. The wood is a very smooth, tight grained, hard wood. If you want a good amount, better bring your banker with you. That's why I built mine cases out of oak. Old Smoky 47, mine are not on par with yours, even though they have a furniture finish, but I used what I already had on hand.

Kenny


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

After reading the last few posts, I guess 1 X 4 pine will not make a great cabinet.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

mopac said:


> After reading the last few posts, I guess 1 X 4 pine will not make a great cabinet.


Some very nice cabinets/furniture can be made with pine, especially if you use clear pine such as Radiata which can be had at your local big box for around $10 for a 1X4X8’. I have made a cabinet for my workshop and a blanket chest for my wife from pine that came out very nice.

That said, if you are going to put the effort into making a work of art like Smokey did, why not spend a few bucks on the oak at about twice the price of the Radiata pine.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

You right. I mentioned the pine because I have a supply of it in the garage. I am going to use it for a layout,
then see what I have left.

I got the 1 X 4s from a ceiling of a large room that was semi cheaply finished off in the basement.
it was not done (not by me) correctly and I am tearing it all off. The 1 x 4s were used on the
ceiling to hold the ceiling tiles. Some are at least 12 foot long. They look fine. Straight and
no cracks. Actually they look new but are over 40 years old. Room is 15 X 26. I have been
burning the cheap paneling that was up. My trash does not want any building materials so
I burn what I can. I can still burn here. Not many places still allow that. Its just a small area
around me that still allows burning. Can't burn leaves though. As a kid I looked forward to the smell of burning leaves in the fall. My, how things have changed.


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Kenny,
After I retired I worked as an estimator briefly for a millwork company. They fabricated mall decorations, entrance counters for law offices, and the front desks for the hotel industry, the stuff was absolutely beautiful. Architects would specify woods and veneers I could hardly pronounce. We had a sample box of all the world's species of exotic woods. 

What I like about the Elmwood I used was exactly what you described as tight-grained, high density, and mills well with no splitting. It wasn't always I could work hardwoods, early on I was limited to pine because of its softness. Over the years my equipment has improved. 

OS47


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Mopac,

Don't give up on using pine for a cabinet. It's true most hardwoods like oak, maple and poplar come from the mill and the store or lumber yard with very little surface blemish while pine is less forgiving to handling and is often marked up and damaged. You have to be selective when you pick out pine for your projects. 
When I was young I made our furniture out of clear pine, most of the pieces are now scattered to the kids and backs of garages, it served its purpose. Clear stain finished pine is beautiful. If you hunt around for a mill that will cut and plane to the thickness you want you can build just about anything with it. If you decide to paint the cabinet then you don't have to be as selective in the quality of the surface since you will be using filler and a prime coat to finish it. 
So go for it with the pine for the cabinet and have some fun, building the cabinet will add a new dimension to your time spent with your passion for model railroading. Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Be sure to post some photos. 

OS47


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I had not thought much about it but if I would use pine I would paint white. Till you mentioned painting.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

You may not even need to paint it or find someplace that does millwork. The frame of this piece was made from Radiata pine purchased from Home Depot.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Nice piece. Good work.
LOL, you are giving me too many choices.


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## Old smokey 47 (Apr 10, 2020)

Nice work Lehigh74 did you use a shaper to make the raised panel fronts? It may be the stain or poly you used but the pine looks like Southern Yellow and not White Pine.

OS47


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Old smokey 47 said:


> Nice work Lehigh74 did you use a shaper to make the raised panel fronts? It may be the stain or poly you used but the pine looks like Southern Yellow and not White Pine.
> 
> OS47


Thanks OS47 and mo-pac. I used a router table with an 18 degree bit for the raised panels. The frame is Radiata pine from New Zealand by way of Home Depot. The top is pine with a cherry border. Not sure of exact species of pine for the top. That came from an amazing old piece of solid wood that was 1 ¼” X 18 ¼” X 16’. The finish is 3 coats of MinWax Helmsman followed by 3 coats of wipe on poly. It’s built to a Norm Abram plan.


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