Barber Shop Hanging Cupboard

Dave Richards

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SE Minnesota
This is based on a little wall cabinet from about 1900. The original was made for a barber shop in SE Wisconsin. It is 18" tall and made out of white oak which was fumed and then filled with hard black wax. The case corners are simply glued and nailed together. I have a nice piece of white oak in my shop that has been waiting for just the right project. This might be it. First task will be to find a flush catch of the appropriate size for the bottom door.





The original cabinet has a hole in the back which aligned with a hole in the wall. It was the place where you dropped your used disposable razor blades. Thinking about that reminded me of the medicine cabinet in the house where I grew up. There was a slot in the back of the cabinet marked "Razor Blades". I always wondered how many blades were in the wall from all those years ago.
 
Bizarre... just drop them in the wall!?!?

Nice looking piece, otherwise. What would you use the bottom section for? I'm not sure why I'd want a door to swing down like that.
 
I suppose it was thought that was a safe way to dispose of the blades. I guess it would be until the wall had to be opened up. Coincidentally, the house was razed yesterday. The people who bought it after my dad died had a fire. A laptop left sitting on the couch ignited the upholstery. Fortunately the lady of the house, her new baby and the dogs got out safely. I got to thinking about the potential of finding all those razor blades in the wreckage.

As for the lower door, I don't know. I was thinking this cabinet might replace the key cabinet I built a few years ago. Maybe my wife would get in the habit of sticking her wallet in there so she doesn't have to wonder where she left it last every time she wants to go someplace.:rolleyes::D
 
Cool little cabinet with a great story Dave.

Bizarre... just drop them in the wall!?!?

Yep, I have lived in a few houses back in my renting days that had that little slot in the medicine cabinet. I guess that dates the houses I was renting as the double edge "Safety Razor" was well out of fashion by the time I moved in. ;-)
 
In the event of fire, those thin rusted blades will probably be gone.

My dad in our old family home kept coins in the wall, same idea, a slot and drop a new or old coin and someday maybe recover them. Well the house burnt. He had a couple areas between the studs with coins, became a huge glob of metal and coins sticking out all over. Insurance would only pay $50.00 per glob. I used to do this until this happened.
 
Nice little cabinet, Dave. :thumb:

I've lived in several houses with the razor blade slot in the medicine cabinet. At one place I used to rent, I found a nice assortment of used blades in the crawlspace under the house while I was down there working on the furnace.
 
Looks like a nice little projects, Dave.

True story about dropping razor blades in the wall cavity: An electronics instructor way back in school told of his grandparents/parents house that had the medicine cabinet slot. Used blades had been dropped in there for a few decades. They started hearing sounds coming from the wall during the day. Thankfully, the sounds went away at night. The sounds kept getting stronger over time and they realized it was the local AM radio station. The blades became an RF detector much like a cat's whisker/crystal detector.

Edit: The reason the sounds went away at night is that back in those days, many AM radio stations could only broadcast during the daylight hours.
 
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Looks like a nice little projects, Dave.

True story about dropping razor blades in the wall cavity: An electronics instructor way back in school told of his grandparents/parents house that had the medicine cabinet slot. Used blades had been dropped in there for a few decades. They started hearing sounds coming from the wall during the day. Thankfully, the sounds went away at night. The sounds kept getting stronger over time and they realized it was the local AM radio station. The blades became an RF detector much like a cat's whisker/crystal detector.

They should have thrown a few pins and needles in there too, and tried to get it to pick up TV<--Just kidding--LOL:)


That's actuly very interesting.
 
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