Paul Lam Han, Maroubra, NSW

Mizuya Tansu (Kitchen Cabinet)
1760 x 430 x 885mm
Jarrah, Tas eucalypt, Australian red cedar, camphor laurel, tansu hardware bought in Japan during my last holiday in Tokyo (these need to be pre-ordered from the DIY store (Tokyu Hands in Shibuya district). The tansu hardware is supplied with the matching nails.

My wife wanted a sideboard for the kitchen. At the Sydney 2006 wood show, I came across a one piece board of Australian red cedar from Cedarworks. This had a great impact on the design of the kitchen cabinet, as it was the perfect size for the space available in the kitchen. I decided to make a Japanese tansu with a contemporary Aussie touch (incorporating a shelf to accommodate a wine rack or six pack beer).
Although the time span to complete the project was spread over 6 to 8 months, the work was done on weekends as this is only a hobby.

The Design
I did some internet research on Japanese mizuya and came across pictures of Japanese kitchen cabinets that gave me a fair idea of how my design should be. Also, I also found inspiration in the following books:
• Traditional Japanese Cabinetry Tansu by Ty and Kiyoko Heineken
• Traditional Japanese Furniture by Kazuko Koizumi
• The Japanese home stylebook by Saburo Yamagata.
I included space for a wine rack or six-packs.
Most of the wood was cut to the required size for the cabinet by hand, using a Japanese ryoba saw. The size of the carcase was determined by the size of the one piece top; and also the available space the kitchen.
All the other joints to the legs and in the frames are with mortise and tenon. The tenons are done using the circular saw table, cleaned with a Lie-Nielsen shoulder plane. The mortises are done by hand, using the Japanese chisels.
The front bottom and middle rails are grooved 12mm width for the tracks of the sliding doors.
Both the front and back base (60mm height) is fixed to the bottom panel with Festool dominos.

Photos: Paul Lam, Johnny Lam