How to make a display case

SDE

Well-known Member
This case will have a full body turkey mount in it. It will be 34" square. With glass in the top, front and both sides. If I make six panels, they will all need to be square, in order for them to fit together properly. How do I do that?
thank you
SDE
 
My dad was a woodworker . He said you always need a plan. I never listened to him in my metalworking hobby but he would always draw or get a plan first.
 
Depends on how fancy you want to get with it. You could do the easy way and just counter sink wood screws into each side (make sure you pre drill the holes so the wood doesn't split on you). Then you can either cut dowel rods to fit as plugs over the screw heads and glue them in.

Or another simple way is to cut small corner triangles of wood to put at the top and bottom of each panel joint. Depending on how thick your top and bottom edge of wood is, you could hide them pretty easily. predrill the holes, counter sink the heads a bit and make sure you don't buy too long of wood screws and fast from the inside out. A lot of undersides of tables are joined that way to pin the legs to the table, while squaring the underside boarder.

Doubt you do a lot of wood working, so you probably don't have a biscuit joiner to fit everything together internally that way (that's my preferred method). If you want to do the internal route you can use dowel rods to glue it up. There are corner jigs you can buy at most hardware stores to help make sure you get the holes for the dowels in the same spot on each panel. Get one of those, the appropriate size dowel rod, your saw, drill, and some wood glue, and some nice clamps and you should be set. That makes it so there won't be any holes on the outside and should be stable enough for what you need to do.

How are you going to and the glass? Are you going to build your panels like cabinet doors? 4 outside edges, routed in the inside to take the glass? Dowels to join the corners? Or are you going to cut 2 like panels for each side, router the inside each after you cut the shape of the glass out of the middle and sandwich the glass in the middle?
 
For the base - maybe a trim piece around the bottom to dress it up.

Then build 5 identical 34 inch "frames" rabbeted on the inner border to accept the pieces of glass (make sure the rabbet is deep & wide enough for you to nail a small strip of wood for holding the glass pane in place.

Before installing the glass into the frames, I'd miter cut the edges that meet-together at a 45% angle - then drill or cut grooves to accept small dowels or biscuits and glue it together (2 sides making an L... then the other 2 making and L... then glue the two L's together making a box out of the sides. Making sure it is clamped square.

I'd attached the base from the bottom side... and drill a counter-sink for those screws (so you never end up scratching a table it might be setting on).

The top, I would probably keep it removable - so if you need to dust inside the case you can do so. Probably NOT inclined to add trim pieces to the top... so as not to distract from the turkey mounting on display... unless I added small brass corner-cover pieces to dress it up a little.
 
Try an aquarium shop , I doubt you can find a fish tank the exact size you want but you may get close . Otherwise making the case as you would a fish tank using just glass and silicon is fairly straightforward . Once cured the silicon edges can be masked with timber strips .
 
Local glass shops have made panels for me pretty cheaply. I'd be surprised if one could not assemble a sturdy five sided display case for you.
 
where are you i have a large glass display case no longer have room for came out of conservation building orignally i had three shelve of large toys displayed in it. but since business start don't have room for it now because of parts inventory.
 
How I would do it:

Make two sides as stile and rail panels 34" square

Make front and back panels 34" plus twice the thickness of the sides (probably about 35 1/2" square if using 3/4" stock)

Screw or nail/glue the front and back to the sides. Interior is 34" square

Make the top to fit (about 35 1/2" square) and attach with hinge

Make base big enough to hold the cabinet

Adjust the width of the side panel upright stiles if you want them all to appear the same width after assembly (about 3/4" narrower than front/sides since the edge of the front and back stile will be seen from the side), same with all top rails
 

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