This is a project I originally completed in 2019.

I designed a shrine to hold the ashes and paw prints of our passed cats, with room for decorations and, of course, live cats as well.

Several pieces of a pile of local cherry I bought had some highly figured crotch at the ends of the boards. The design highlights the unusual figure of those boards as a wide open shelf. I even left some of the bark on, and just strengthened it with shellac.

At the left, I attached a side board using dovetails to the bottom shelf, and then using a rabbet in the side board attached a back panel for the smaller shelves. The back is also attached to the bottom using a dowel, but that’s only near the left edge to allow for wood movement.

Figure 3. Gluing the back piece on.

Figure 4. The figured wood is brittle in places. I fixed it with glue.

The shelves were glued in mostly to the left board as well, rather than the back. I wanted to make sure the movement of the back panel would not cause issues.

I added little pegs to the perimiter of the small shelves to make sure cats couldn’t knock the boxes out of the shelves. The pegs I made from a long dowel of walnut

Lastly, I added another wider shelf at the top using another end piece, as a place for cats to sit. This final shelf is attached with a mortise and tenon through the shelf.

Thank you for reading.