Cabinet Shop and Projects

The assignment to the Cabinet Shop in Facilities Management has been a very enjoyable and educational experience as well as one that allows for a great deal of service to the facilities and sites here in Nauvoo.

Windows for the Browning Gun Building

Dave has had an ongoing project of replacing doors and windows at the various sites here in Nauvoo. When the restoration project to locate building sites and to restore some of those buildings which now make up "Old" Nauvoo, the church history department and others who were involved in the project determined that the materials to be used should be the same as those used originally. Because of this, much of the sugar pine wood doors, windows and shutters are rotting, some are very bad. That type of wood does not last in this area of the country. As a result, these items as well as other wooden structures exposed to the the humidity here need to be replaced. The solid wood doors, windows and shutters which are being made as replacements are now being made of African Mahogany which should last for decades because it will not be affected as much by the high humidity and severe temperature changes. All of these items are made from rough cut lumber which we then mill into whatever is needed.

Glazing windows

The replacement of the above mentioned items is not the only thing we do in the cabinet shop. Those are on going projects as I have already mentioned that are done in between other required projects. We make repairs to anything that is made of wood as well as make new items that may be needed for other projects. We also make moldings, furniture, cabinets and most anything required. We also do projects for the temple.

Some of my first projects were those of windows and shutters. Since these projects are on going, they will not be completed before we finish our mission here in Nauvoo. My part in window making has been to cut and mount the glass, glaze the glass and after they are painted I install them.

Routing grooves using jig for hand made slats 

In making shutters, I cut and mill all the pieces including the slats from rough cut African Mahogany, route the grooves for the slats, assemble them and finish sanding them so that the paint shop can then paint them. After they are painted, I install them.

Assembling and gluing shutter

Finished shutter for one of the smaller windows

We have several homes in Nauvoo that have shutters. The Coolidge Home for which I have been making shutters has 23 windows. I have also made shutters for some of the windows on the Carthage Visitors Center.

The photo to the right is a view of the Coolidge Home looking at the west and south sides. You can see the number of shutters on the home. The five windows on the upstairs, west side still have to be made and installed.









The picture on the left is a rear view of the Coolidge Home looking at the east and north sides. This home is not a home for tours but is a residence for two missionary couples, one upstairs and one on the main floor.