Showing posts with label Cabinets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cabinets. Show all posts

Friday, December 4, 2015

Tips For Making Cabinets Square With A Circular Saw

Reader question on how to get square cabinets when cutting plywood with a circular saw and what to do when your cabinets aren't square. A lot of good information on how to buy a circular saw for cutting plywood too.

A couple of days ago I received the following email from Catherine regarding cabinets that aren't square.
Hi,

I just found your site and love it. I'm new to woodworking and want to know what tools you use keep boxes square? I see a lot of 90 degree clamps out there and wonder if you recommend any of them? Also, what do you do if your project isn't square? How can you adjust it? Say a cabinet or bookcase for example.

Thank you, Catherine
In a follow up email I found out she's cutting her plywood with a circular saw and guide with pocket screw joinery. Since this is how I also cut my plywood I'm very familiar with the problems. There are four main problems that can cause your cabinets to not be square. In this article I'll discuss what causes cabinets to not be square as well as how to prevent them. At the end  I'll discuss what to do when things don't line up square.

I had planned to write a separate guide on how to buy a circular saw but Catherine's question brings up a lot of the points I wanted to address so I'm including that here.
Read more »
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

DIY Wall Mount Rack For Patch Panels

Free woodworking plans to build your own 19" wall mount rack for patch panels for your home structured wiring project.

Having the patch panels of your structured wiring installed in a rack instead is a little neater and in my opinion looks better than using smaller standoffs like wall mounts. The patch panels that have a little plastic bracket that attaches to the wall are not full 19" width. At least the one's I've seen anyway like this Intellinet 12-Port Cat6 Wall-mount Patch Panel . If you need more than 12 ports that means you're going to have to mount more than 1 of them and they're not much cheaper than getting a single 1U 24 port patch panel. I'm considering these Cable Matters 1U 24-Port Cat6 Unshielded Patch Panels because they have the plastic arm in the back that can support the cables.

You just need some way to mount the patch panels to your plywood structured media panel. In this article I'll provide plans for building a simple 7U wall mount rack for patch panels and as a bonus a simple 2U hinged bracket.
Read more »
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

How To Build Drawer Boxes

Everything you need to know to build drawer boxes for your woodworking projects in this drawer building tutorial.

Drawer box construction can seem daunting but there are only a few simple measurements you need to take to get the right drawer box dimensions. Using pocket holes joinery, plywood and the right hardware makes building drawer boxes easy.

When I first tried to learn how to build drawers for one of my projects I had a difficult time finding all the information I needed. After researching the topic and now having had some experience I thought it would be nice to outline everything you'll need to know in one place.

What You'll Need

Materials

  • 1/2" or 5/8" plywood for sides
  • 1/4" plywood or tempered hardwood for bottoms
  • (8) Pocket Hole Screws per box

Tools

Step 1: Drawer Box Construction Overview

Before we get into the details let's take a look at a typical drawer box construction. There are many different ways to build drawer boxes, some require special tools and skill while others are are very simple but not very strong or attractive. I think that using pocket hole joinery for drawers achieves a great balance between strength, appearance, cost and ease to build. That is the method I'll be describing.

Below is an image of an assembled drawer box minus the drawer slide hardware.


Using a separate drawer box and drawer front makes it easier to construct the drawer and provides more flexibility when aligning the drawer front on the cabinet.

The drawer consists of 6 main components. The drawer box sides, front and back, the drawer box bottom, the exposed drawer front and the drawer pull. 2 wood screws are used to secure the drawer front to the drawer box, 2 machine screws hold the drawer pull in place. Not visible are 8 pocket holes and screws that attach the back and front to the sides. The bottom sits in a dado (groove) cut into the sides, front and back.

Here is an exploded view of the drawer to give you a better sense of how it is constructed.


Step 2: Choosing Wood For Your Drawer Box

Before anything else, we need to determine the type of wood we'll use for the drawer sides and bottoms.

For the drawer sides your options in order of best to worst are: solid wood boards, veneered hardwood plywood, MDF and melamine coated particle board. Because drawers tend to get abused a bit I prefer to use plywood for drawer construction as it's more durable than MDF or particleboard. Solid wood boards are nice but usually overkill and much more expensive. I like PureBond 1/2" Maple Plywood because maple has a tight, closed grain and the light color is good for drawer boxes. PureBond is also formaldehyde free.

Drawer box side thickness should be at least 1/2" but if you can find 5/8" plywood your boxes will be stronger. Unless you're building large drawer boxes for very heavy items or large file drawers 3/4" sides won't be necessary.

For the drawer bottoms solid wood boards haven't been commonly used for many years for most drawer construction because of cost. 1/4" thick plywood is good enough for most drawers. PureBond 1/4" Maple Plywood is great for drawer bottoms. Another good choice that is about 1/2 the cost is 1/4" Tempered Hardboard. Tempered hardboard is dark brown and not as attractive as plywood but is strong enough for drawer bottoms, easy to find and cheaper than plywood. From what I remember it was used for the drawer bottoms at labs in scool.

Step 3: Drawer Box Width

There are two main factors that will determine the outside width for your drawer box, the width of the opening the drawer will be installed in and the side clearance required by the drawer slides you are using. 

I like to measure the opening width after I construct and finish the cabinet carcass. Sometimes things don't always go as planned and plywood thickness can vary. By doing this I get a more accurate measurement. I measure not only the front but also at a point in the back and use the smallest measurement if they differ. This is important because with many drawer slides there is very little tolerance.


Standard epoxy coated drawer slides (like the Blum 230M Epoxy Coated 3/4 Extension Self Closing Slides pictured right) need a 1/2" clearance on each side of the drawer box. The clearance requirements should be available through the slide manufacturer.

To determine the outside dimension of the drawer box take the inside opening measurement and subtract 2 times the side clearance.

In our example the opening width is 12", 2 times 1/2" equals 1" so our final outside drawer width will be 12" - 1/2" - 1/2" or 11".

Some people like to also remove an additional 1/16" from the outside width because the drawer slides do have some tolerance and it's easier to shim the slide if necessary than to remove material but I do not do that. The reason is that plywood tends to be a little bit thinner than advertised and the way I measure and build my drawer boxes already makes them come  out a little bit narrower than the actual measurements. I'll explain it more further down.

Step 4: Drawer Box Height

There are two situations you might run into when trying to determine the height for your drawer boxes. One is where there is a constrained height for the opening where the drawer will be installed such as the top drawer of a european style cabinet or drawers installed into face-frame cabinets.

Constrained Height

When the height of the drawer opening is constrained it is important to measure the actual opening dimensions. I do this after the cabinet carcass has been assembled and finished. I also measure both sides and in the case of any slight discrepancy I use the smallest measurement. Next it is a matter of allowing for proper top and bottom clearance as detailed in the specifications for the drawer slide.


Standard epoxy coated slides need a 1/4" bottom clearance and some top clearance to allow them to be more easily removed. I subtract 1" from the opening height to allow for the 1/4" bottom clearance and 3/4" top clearance.

In our example the opening is 5-1/2" so our drawer box height will be 5-1/2" minus 1/4" bottom clearance minus 3/4" top clearance equals 4-1/2" height for the drawer box.

Non Constrained Height

In some cases you may install drawers into a cabinet where there is not a separate opening for each individual drawer, such as the bottom portion of a european style cabinet. 


In this situation the drawer front height should already be known and I make the drawer box height 1-1/4" shorter than the drawer front. In the case of a 10" drawer front height, the drawer box height will be 8-3/4".

Step 5: Drawer Box Depth

Determining the appropriate drawer box depth is a little more complicated than determining the other drawer box dimensions. To get the best use out of the drawer the main driver for the depth of the drawer box will be the size of the drawer glides you use. For example, if you're using these Knape & Voigt 22" Economical Full Extension Drawer Slides you'll want to make your drawer boxes 22" to get full advantage of the full extension feature. Figuring out what size drawer slides to buy will be determined by your cabinets construction and size.

First you need to measure the inside depth of your cabinet where you'll be installing your drawer. Measure from the back of the cabinet to the front of the cabinet as shown.


If you're cabinets will have overlay drawers, where the drawer front sits in front of the cabinet body as pictured above, take the measured depth of the cabinet and look for a drawer slide that is 1 to 2 inches shorter than that measurement. The size of the drawer slide you selected will determine the length of your outside drawer depth.


If you're cabinet design calls for inset drawers, where the drawer fronts will be installed flush with the front of the cabinet, then you need to account for the thickness of the drawer front. In the above example we'll have a 3/4" thick inset drawer front installed in a cabinet with a depth of 16". That means we'll be looking for a drawer slide that is an inch or two less than 15.25" and build our drawer box depth so it matches the size of the drawer slide we'll select.

Step 6: Length of Drawer Box Sides, Front and Back

Now that we've determined what the outside dimensions of our drawer box should be, we'll need to figure out the length of each piece that makes up the outside perimeter of the drawer box. In the example we've been using we've determined our drawer box dimensions are 11" wide, 15" deep and 4-1/2" high.

Before we continue let's have another look at an assembled drawer box for reference.

Drawer Box Sides

As you can see from the illustration the length of each drawer box side is simply the overall outside dimension of the drawer box. In our case, 15".

Drawer Box Front and Back

Because the drawer box front and back fit between the sides it needs to be shorter than the outside width of the drawer box.

To determine the length of the front and back pieces take the overall outside width of your drawer box and subtract 2 times the thickness of the side pieces.

In our case we're using 1/2" plywood and our desired outside width is 11" so the length of our front and back pieces will be 10".

I mentioned earlier that the side clearance for the epoxy drawer slides are not actually 1/2" but 1/2" + 1/32" (17/32"). I don't account for the extra 1/16" (1/32" for each side) because plywood tends to be thinner than marked by about 1/32".

You should verify the thickness of your plywood with something like a Neiko 6-Inch Digital Caliper. Standard tape measures don't have markings down to 1/32" but if you don't have calipers you can stack 2 side pieces on top of each other and measure their combined thickness.

Step 6: Layout and Cut Drawer Box Sides, Fronts and Backs

I like to reduce waste when cutting lumber as much as possible which is why I always mock up my cut plan before hand. Buying one less sheet of plywood can be the difference between a DIY project that saves significant money and one that doesn't. I include the cut width (kerf) in the plans as well so I don't wind up with an unexpectedly short piece.

For most projects you'll be building multiple drawer boxes so the following cut plan is laid out for 2 of our 11" x 15" x 4-1/2" drawer boxes. It consists of 2 10" backs, 2 10" fronts, and 4 15" sides cut out of a 2' x 4' sheet of 1/2" plywood. 


I think the drawer boxes look nicer when the length of the piece follows the grain of the plywood which is why I layout the side pieces along the long end of the plywood. I make my rip cuts first and then trim to length with a power miter saw. I always make sure there are a few inches at the end of each ripped piece in case I need to extend the length of any of the components for some unforseen reason.

Dado

The bottom of the drawer box fits into a dado (groove) cut into the bottom of the side, front and back pieces. It does not get glued into place but rather floats in the groove to allow for expansion of the wood.

Since we're using 1/4" plywood for the drawer bottom our dado needs to be 1/4" deep and 1/4" wide. The dado should be cut a minimum of 1/4" from the bottom but if you want a stronger drawer box for storing heavier items space the dado 3/8" or even 1/2" up from the bottom.

How we plan to cut the dado will determine how we proceed cutting the drawer side components.

If You DO Have A Table Saw Or Router

A table saw is the best tool to use to get accurate, repeatable rip cuts for the drawer side components. You can also use it to cut the 1/4" dado or you can use a router table or router with guide. If you don't have a table saw but you do have a router you can rip the plywood with a circular saw and guide then cut the dado with the router. In either case the procedure is the same.
  1. Rip the long 4-1/2" strips of plywood using either your circular saw and guide or table saw.
  2. Cut the dadoes using either your table saw or router.
  3. When it's time to assemble the drawer boxes trim the pieces to the correct length using a miter saw.
If you don't have a table saw or router and don't want to buy one but you do have a Dremel rotary tool you can use it with a guide and a Dremel 654 1/4" Straight Routing Bit. Using it along with this Dremel 231 Shaper/Router Table makes it easy to make consistent daos in the drawer. The bits dull fairly quickly so you might want to pick up a spare and remember to feed the drawer side slowly and make 2 or 3 shallow passes instead of trying to cut the full depth of the dado all at once.

If You DON'T Have A Table Saw Or Router

If you don't have a table saw or router with a router table or guide don't worry. You can still cut out your drawer box components provided you have a circular saw and circular saw guide. The order of your cuts will be slightly different.
  1. Mark out all your cut lines on the plywood. This includes both edges of the dadoes and don't forget to account for the cut width (kerf) of your saw blade when measuring out multiple rip cuts. Mark the cuts so you know which lines represent the dados and which lines represent the rip cuts. Each cut should have 2 marking lines, one for each side of the cut. Using different colors might help. See picture to right for details.
  2. Set your saw blade to only cut 1/4" deep into the plywood. Test it out on a scrap piece to be sure you're not cutting too deep.
  3. Lay your saw guide along each dado and cut out the dado with your circular saw. Take your time. Depending on the kerf of your saw you may need to do 1 or 2 more passes to get the desired 1/4" width. It's easier to cut all the dadoes before ripping the strips.
  4. Set your saw blade to cut through your plywood and proceed to rip out the strips for your draw sides.
  5. Use a miter saw to cut the components to length when it's time to assemble the drawer boxes.
I've done this before but it's very important to lay out each side of the cut accurately and take your time setting up your saw and guide so you don't mess it up.

Step 7: Assemble Drawer Box Sides

With all the drawer box sides cut we can now begin assembling the drawer box.

Start by drilling 4 pocket holes on the front and back pieces using a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. The pocket holes should be drilled on the side opposite where the dado is cut. Make sure you don't drill a pocket hole over the dado. For larger drawers you may require additional pocket holes. Pocket holes should be no further than 6-8" apart.

Once the pocket holes are drilled, screw the drawer box together as shown.


Make sure that the drawer box dimensions are correct and that the box is square before proceeding. If not make any necessary adjustments.

Step 8:  Cut and Install the Drawer Bottom

With the drawer box assembled we can take final measurements so we cut the drawer bottom precisely.

Measure the inside dimensions of your finished drawer box and add 3/8" to each dimension. This allows a little room inside of the dado for expansion.

In our case our inside dimensions are 10" x 14" so we'll need to cut a 10-3/8" x 14-3/8" rectangle out of our 1/4" plywood. I like to cut it so the direction of the grain runs from left to right when installed in the drawer but this isn't that important and will cut in either direction if it makes more efficient use of the plywood.

With the drawer bottom cut to size unscrew the pocket holes from the back of the drawer box and carefully slide the drawer bottom into the dadoes on the drawer box sides. 


Place the drawer box back in place and make sure everything still fits correctly and the drawer box is square. Screw and glue the drawer box back together and your drawer box is now complete.

Step 9: Finishing

Before going on to finishing, if you have a router you can ease the edges of the top of the drawer box sides with a round over bit or aggressively sand it to get rid of the sharp edges. 

Sand the drawer box with 80 grit, then 120 grit sand paper to smooth out any rough spots or tool marks.

Staining drawer boxes usually isn't necessary but a polyurethane coating will help protect the drawer box and keep it clean. Avoid using oil based sealers on drawer boxes because they can out gas for years and that's not something you want in an enclosed space like a drawer. For drawer boxes I like to use Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic.

All that's left to do is install the drawer slide hardware in your cabinet, position and attach your drawer front and drawer pull.
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

How To Build Frameless Base Cabinets

Free Frameless European style base cabinet plans that you can build for your kitchen, bathroom, office, home theater or other renovations. This is more than just how to build a base cabinet. It's practically everything you need to know about building frameless base cabinets before you begin. 

When I first tried to learn how to build cabinets I had a hard time finding all the information I needed. There was a little bit here, a little bit there, but nowhere did I find all the information all in one place. I did my best to combine most of what you need to know in one place to make things easier for you. It's a bit of a long read but if you're serious about building your own cabinets it to save money it's well worth the time. One book I commonly saw mentioned was Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets (Popular Woodworking) by Danny Proulx which might be worth considering. I haven't read it myself.

Frameless cabinets are easy and affordable to build. They also provide more usable storage space over face frame cabinets. Over the years I've looked into different construction techniques for frameless cabinets and have put all that information together to help you build your own frameless base cabinets. To build matching wall cabinets see my post on How To Build Frameless Wall Cabinets. Construction of the base cabinet is relatively straight forward. The most difficult aspect is planning and sizing which will make up a good bit of this post.

Frameless cabinets have a more contemporary look but can be dressed up with trim and more elaborate doors to have a more traditional look.

In this article we're going to focus on how to build a frameless base cabinet carcass. The cabinet carcass is the main box of the cabinet which does not include doors, drawer fronts or drawer boxes. The cabinet carcass can be configured in a number of different ways to allow doors, drawers, open shelving or any combination which suits your needs.

The frameless cabinet design I find easiest to build, install and provides exceptional strength is the one pictured right. It is made of 3/4" plywood throughout, including a full back. The top consists of 2 4" stretchers. Up to a 30" wide standard base cabinet carcass can be constructed out of a single sheet of 4' x 8' plywood.


This is the design we'll focus on but I'll address some other options and aspects.

Cabinet Base Options

There are 4 different ways you can configure the base of your lower frameless cabinet. Each one has it's pros and cons.

Standard Base

The standard base has the sides and back of the cabinet extend all the way down to the floor and is notched in the front to provide a toe kick. The notch is 3" deep and 4-1/2" tall. There is a "sub toe kick" that provides additional support for the bottom and makes it easy to apply your finished toe kick cover (such as a decorative baseboard) over a continual stretch of cabinets for a seamless look.

This type of base is marginally more difficult to build and uses a little more plywood but you get a single cabinet unit which has advantages. Each cabinet needs to be shimmed individually to make it level. This is what most semi-custom cabinets you buy look like.

Standard Base No Toe Kick

Sometimes you won't need a toe kick at all such as when you're building a built-in desk or library. This base has the same pros and cons as the standard base except it has no toe kick. Instead a decorative board, the same thickness of the doors, is applied over the base of all cabinets after installation for a seamless look.

Adjustable Cabinet Legs

Adjustable cabinet legs (such as these Platte River Cabinet Leveling Legs or better Blum Leg Levelers and Blum Kick Plate Clips) make installation of cabinets very easy on uneven floors and let's face it, most floors have some degree of unevenness to them.

What's more, it's easy to make changes to the cabinet height during installation (and with a little more work after installation) if the need arises.

The toe kick board gets screwed onto a plate that clips onto the legs after all cabinets have been installed and leveled. Unlike the standard base, it's easy to add a toe kick on the side of a cabinet such as the exposed end of a cabinet run. It also makes it easier to change the toe kick board to change the look of your kitchen at a later date.

Since the wood cabinet is kept off the floor these are good for spaces where dampness is an issue such as in basements, garages or other areas where cabinets are installed on a concrete slab floor.

The downside is it will add a little bit extra to the cost of each cabinet but not much and the benefts will usually outweigh the cost.

Separate Base Platform

Finally you can create a separate base platform that consists of a frame made up of 2x4's with a plywood top giving you a total toe kick height of 4-1/4" (3-1/2" 2x4 + 3/4" plywood). What's nice about this arrangement is you level the platform before installing the cabinets. Then you just need to place your cabinets on the platform without having to do much if any additional leveling. The base is also sturdier than a base that is part of or attached to your cabinets.

You can even create toe kicks on the sides of cabinets where necessary such as the end of a cabinet run or a kitchen island.

Cabinet Back Options

You also have a few options on how you construct the back of the cabinet.

Full Back

You can choose to use a full back that is the same 3/4" plywood used for the rest of your cabinet. (Some people choose to use 1/2" but I find it's easier to just use one thickness throughout.) This configuration will give you an enclosed cabinet with exceptional strength which is important when installing heavy stone countertops and supporting heavy countertop appliances. It can be a little more money but not much if you plan your cuts out well. We'll be using the Full Back in the example in this article.

Nailer Back

Sometimes you don't care if a cabinet has a back or not, such as in garage storage cabinets. This option can save on material. Instead of having a full back you create 2 nailing strips out of 3/4" plywood for the top and bottom of the back so you have something to affix the cabinet to the wall with and to provide rigidity and strength to the cabinet.

1/4" Back With Nailers

In some cases you'll want to have an enclosed back but you want to save some money. You can use nailers as in the previous option but also staple a 1/4" plywood back over the nailers to provide a finished look. This is cheaper than using a full back and provides a lighter cabinet. Many semi-custom cabinet manufacturers use this technique. It doesn't add as much strength as a full back but it does give you the look and feel of one. The 1/4" plywood is more prone to warping than the 3/4" plywood and may bow out over time.

What You'll Need

Tools

Materials

3/4" hardwood veneered plywood is the best option for building your cabinets. If you're taking the time to build your own cabinets might as well make them the best you can. You're still going to save money over most semi-custom cabinets that are usually made out of 5/8" particle board and wind up with a better quality cabinet. 

Plywood comes in different apperance grades. A1 being the best. If you plan on painting your cabinets or don't care about the apperance (garage cabinets) you can use a lower appearance grade cabinet. If you must use MDF to save money make sure you glue your joints in addition to using the appropriate pocket screws . 

Step 1: Calculate Cabinet and Component Dimensions

Chances are you will want to build a different sized cabinet than what I'm going to show in this example. In most cases you'll want to build multiple cabinets of different sizes so let's go over how to calculate the dimensions of the different components that make up the carcass. 

Cabinet Height

The height of the cabinet will be determined by the application. For example the standard height for the top of a kitchen work surface is 36". If our countertop thickness will be 1-1/2" that means our cabinet needs to be 36" - 1-1/2" or 34-1/2" tall.

Cabinet Height = Desired Top Height - Top Thickness

Some common work type heights are:
  • Kitchen 36"
  • Bathroom Vanity 33" to 36"
  • Desk 30"

Cabinet Depth

The standard depth for kitchen cabinets is 24" which includes the door. This should work for most situations but you may want to check the specifications of your appliances (slide in range, dishwasher, etc) to see if they require a different size. 

For bathroom vanity cabinets the standard depth is 21". For desks and other custom cabinets you can choose whatever depth works best for you though most are 20-30" deep.

Cabinet Width

This one is easy. The cabinet width is determined by your design and your preferences.

Cabinet  Component Dimensions

In our example we're going to be constructing a 30" W x 34-1/2" H x 24" D cabinet using 3/4" plywood. We'll be making it with a standard base and a full back. In all the dimensions below the direction of the grain will follow the height.

*Note: if you're using thick edgebanding you'll need to factor that in where appropriate. Most edgebanding is less than 1/32" thick which is pretty insignificant so I don't factor it in most of the time. As long as it's used consistently and applied before assembly I consider it an acceptable margin of error. Wood expands and contracts. Not all human cuts are very accurate. Consistency is more important over precision and it makes calculating sizes and cutting components much easier.

Cabinet Side Dimensions

We will need two sides for the cabinet. The height of the side is simply the height of our cabinet minus an external base if using one. The width is the depth of the cabinet minus the thickness of the door.

Cabinet Side Height = Height of Cabinet - External Base (34-1/2" - 0 = 34-1/2")
Cabinet Side Width = Depth of Cabinet - Door Thickness (24" - 3/4" = 23-1/4")

We'll need 2 34-1/2" x 23-1/4" sides for our cabinet.

Cabinet Bottom Dimensions

The height for the bottom of our cabinet will need to be the width of our cabinet minus twice the thickness of the sides. The width will be the depth of the cabinet mins the back depth minus the door thickness. (Be careful sometimes advertised size isn't true size. A digital caliper can help you get an accurate thickness measurement. Your 3/4" plywood may sometimes be 23/32" or something else entirely.)

Cabinet Bottom Height = Cabinet Width - 2 x Side Thickness (30" - 2 x 3/4" = 28-1/2")
Cabinet Bottom Width = Cabinet Depth - Back Thickness - Door Thickness (24" - 3/4" - 3/4" = 22-1/2")

We'll need one back that is 28-1/2" x 22-1/2".

Cabinet Shelf Dimensions

If you're installing a shelf in your cabinet (as our example does) you want to size it appropriately. It's basically the same dimensions as the Bottom minus a little depth (1/2") so that it stays clear of the doors even if there is some expansion.

Cabinet Shelf Height = Cabinet Bottom Height (28-1/2")
Cabinet Shelf Width = Cabinet Bottom Width - 1/2" (22-1/2" - 1/2" = 22")

Cabinet Back Dimensions

We can use some of the previous dimensions we calculated to determine the dimensions of the back of the cabinet. The back of the cabinet will rarely be seen and even when it is it won't be lit very well. While it's nice to have a consistent grain direction for the backs you might be able to save a sheet of plywood by mixing the grain direction up for the backs if you don't mind a little inconsistency in an inconspicuous location.

Cabinet Back Height = Cabinet Bottom Height (28-1/2")
Cabinet Back Width = Cabinet Side Height - Stretcher Thickness (34-1/2" - 3/4" = 33-3/4")

Our cabinet needs one back measuring 28-1/2" x 33-3/4".

Stretcher and Sub Toe Kick Dimensions

Grain direction should be along the long side but in most cases these components will hardly be seen so feel free to change the orientation if it helps you maximize the usage on your cut plan. 

Stretchers should be 3-4" wide, the sub toe kick should match the height of the notch cut into the base (4-1/2" in our example). The height of both should be the same as the Cabinet Back Height (28-1/2").

We'll need 3 stretchers (4" x 28-1/2") and one sub toe kick (4-1/2" x 28-1/2")

Step 2: Attach Side To Back

Wow! You've read all this way and we're just starting to put the cabinet together! Careful planning makes the rest of the process easy.

Start by applying edgebanding to the front of both cabinet sides.

Drill pocket holes around the top and sides of the Cabinet Back and attach it to one of the sides as shown.


Notice that the bottom of the back is flush with the bottom of the side. There is a 3/4" space on the top of the back for the stretcher that will eventually be installed.

Step 3: Attach Bottom

Apply edgebanding to the front of the bottom, drill pocket screw holes as shown and attach the Bottom to the Side and Back previously assembled. Notice that the bottom of the Bottom is flush with the notch for the Toe Kick. Use your square to make sure everything is aligned properly.

Step 4: Attach Other Side

Attach the other side to the cabinet assembly using the previously drilled pocket holes in the Back and Bottom pieces.

Step 5: Attach Stretchers

Apply edgebanding to the front of the 2 stretchers that will be attached to the front. Drill pocket holes and attach to the cabinet making sure everything is square. The bottom stretcher on the front is for the first drawer. To minimize visibility of the pocket holes install them with the pocket holes facing up. (The drawer will hide the second front stretcher holes.)


In this example we're assuming the cabinet will have a single full width drawer and 2 lower doors. The spacing for this bottom section will be determined by the desired drawer height. The standard top drawer height is 6". We're planning for overlay drawers and doors. A 1/4" gap should be on the top to avoid any binding against the counter top. That means the second front stretcher should be 6-1/4" down from the top of the cabinet.

Step 6: Install Sub Toe Kick

The Sub Toe Kick helps support the cabinet and add rigidity. It also makes it easy to nail in the finished kick board after installation. Drill pocket screw holes and attach it between the cabinet sides as shown.

Step 7: Drill Shelf Pin Holes

Using the Kreg Shelf Pin Jig make holes in the back and front of each side of the cabinet for shelf pins. Leave at least 3-4" on the top and bottom for room to install your door hinges depending on where you drill the bores for your hinge cups on the door.

Use the short side of the jig without the fence to get the holes 37mm from the front edge of the jig. When doing the back, flip the jig around.


When you're done, apply edgebanding to the front of the shelf, insert shelf pins in the appropriate locations and install your shelf.

To learn how to make drawers see my post on How To Make Drawer Boxes. 
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, December 3, 2015

How To Build Frameless Wall Cabinets

European style frameless upper cabinets are easy to build with the right tools, are affordable and are used for a variety of projects from kitchens, to bathrooms, offices and more. When I first tried to find information on how to build my own cabinets I found it a bit confusing. In case it helps others I'm going to go over what I've learned over the years. In this post you'll find information on frameless upper cabinet construction and instructions on how to build them.

These basic wall cabinets have a very clean, contemporary look but frameless cabinets are versatile. By using nicer doors, adding some crown molding and light rail trim you can achieve a more traditional look.



You can save a lot of money if you build your own frameless cabinets. While building frameless cabinets isn't very difficult it is important that the cuts are accurate and the pieces as well as the assembly is square. Before you go crazy in your kitchen with a sledgehammer and order a large pile of plywood Try to build one small cabinet to make sure you're happy with your results.

What You'll Need

Tools

Materials

You'll need 2 sides, one top, one bottom, one back, one or more shelves and one or more doors. 

Unlike my other posts, there is no cut list or cut plan because these are general instructions and the size of the cabinet will vary based on your needs. Instead I'll provide information on how to calculate the dimensions of the components you'll need to build your own cabinets to your specifications.

The type of material you choose will depend on where you will be installing the cabinets. In your kitchen you'll want to use nicer material than in your garage.

Material for Cabinet Carcasses

The cabinet box is also called the carcass. The thicker the material you use, the stronger the cabinet will be and the longer you can make your cabinets. 3/4" material is recommended but in some situations 5/8" or 1/2" can also work. Some woodworkers use different thicknesses for different parts of the carcass such as 1/4" backs inserted into a groove with 1/2" nailing strips, or 1/2" for the back and sides and 3/4" for the top and bottom. This is mainly done to save money. If you're only building a few cabinets for yourself you can simplify the process and wind up with stronger cabinets if you just use the same thickness material (3/4") for all the components.

Plywood is better than MDF is better than particle board. If you're using plywood it's important to note that plywood comes in different grades. One grade for the good side and one grade for the back side. A1 is the best appearance grade of plywood you can get. If you want to save some money you can choose to build the carcasses out of a lower appearance grade plywood such as B2 and use the A1 plywood for exposed ends and doors. Some even like to use melamine coated particle board for the carcasses with better plywood for doors and end panels. If you plan on painting your cabinets the grade of the plywood isn't as important. 

For shop cabinets in the basement or garage you might be able to find "shop grade" plywood at your local lumber mill. This plywood would have more defects in the veneer but still have a strong core. Many people even build shop cabinets out of CDX plywood. It's not very pretty but the X in the name indicates the glues used can handle a bit of exposure to weather which could be good in a garage.

If you're going through the trouble of building your own cabinets you're already saving a considerable amount of money and it makes sense to go with plywood in most instances. For the purpose of these instructions I'm going to assume the cabinet will be built with 3/4" plywood.

Material for Cabinet Doors

You can make plain slab doors out of the same material you use for your cabinet carcasses. In our case plywood. This will be the cheapest option and the one I'll be using in this guide because there are too many options and methods to construct cabinet doors to discuss here.

If you're not happy with a plain slab cabinet door a number of companies will make custom doors for you in a variety of styles at reasonable costs.

Step 1: Calculate Cabinet Component Dimensions

Before we begin cutting and assembling our cabinet we first need to determine what size cabinet we need. If you've ever gone to a kitchen showroom you've probably noticed that the semi-custom cabinets they offer come in some standard sizes. Since we're building our cabinets we can choose any custom dimensions we want to suit our needs. There are some limitations however. The material and thickness chosen will decide how wide a cabinet we can build. In most cases with 3/4" plywood about 42" should be the maximum width but narrower cabinets will have more stability.

Standard upper cabinet depth is 12" (including door) when over a counter. Deeper when over a refrigerator and has more support. The 12" upper cabinet depth leaves a 10-1/2" interior depth. Dinner plates are usually 10" in diameter but can up to 12". If you have larger plates, or want to leave room for larger plates in the future, make your cabinets deeper. In our tutorial we'll build a frameless upper cabinet that is 18" W x 30" H x 12-1/2" D. This will leave an 11" interior cabinet depth.

Our cabinet will be made up of 6 pieces of plywood. 2 Sides, a top and bottom, a back and a door. All will be cut from 3/4" plywood. To determine the size of each component we'll use the following formulas.

(For consistency the "height" is also the direction of the grain.)

Cabinet Side Dimensions

There are 2 sides and in most case the dimension runs vertically. The height of the side is the same as our desired cabinet height. Because we're using overlay* doors the width of the side is our desired cabinet depth minus the thickness of the door.  In our case we have:

Side height = 30" (height of cabinet)
Side width = 12-1/2" - 3/4" (depth of cabinet - width of door) = 11-3/4"

We'll need 2 11-3/4" x 30" pieces of 3/4" plywood.

(Overlay doors sit in front of the cabinet. Inset doors sit within the cabinet. For inset doors the width of the sides will be the same as the width of the cabinet.

Cabinet Top/Bottom Dimensions

The top and bottom pieces have the same dimensions. The width of the top/bottom is equal to the depth of the cabinet minus the thickness of the door. The height of the top/bottom is the width of the cabinet minus the thickness of each side.

Top/Bottom height = 18" (cab width) - 2 x 3/4" (side thickness) = 16-1/2"
Top/Bottom width = 12-1/2" (cab depth) - 3/4" (door thickness) = 11-3/4"

We'll need 2 16-1/2" x 11-3/4" pieces of 3/4" plywood.

Cabinet Back Dimensions

The back of our frameless cabinet fits in between both sides and the top and the bottom. To determine the width of the back we need to subtract the thickness of each side piece. To calculate the height we subtract the thickness of the top and bottom pieces.

Back height = 30" (cab height) - 3/4" (top thickness) - 3/4" (bottom thickness) = 28-1/2"
Back width = 18" (cab width) - 2 x 3/4" (side thickness) = 16-1/2"

We'll need 1 28-1/2" x 16-1/2" piece of 3/4" plywood.

Adjustable Shelves Dimensions

Depending on the height and purpose of the wall cabinet you may want to have one or more adjustable shelves. These are peices of 3/4" plywood that rest on shelf pins which are inserted in a series of shelf pin holes inside the cabinet.

The shelf is the width of the inside of the cabinet and extends from the back of the inside to 1/4 inch from the front.

Shelf height = 18" (cab width) - 2 x 3/4" (side thickness) = 16-1/2"
Shelf width = 12-1/2" (cab depth) - 3/4" (door) - 3/4" (back) - 1/4" (space) = 10-3/4"

Cabinet Door Dimensions

Our cabinet only has one door and we are designing the cabinets to be full-overlay. This means that the door sits in front of the cabinet and covers almost all of the cabinet. In reality the door needs a little bit of space around it to prevent it from rubbing against adjacent doors or walls. 



The minimum space with most hinges is 1/16" so we need to subtract 1/8" (2 x 1/8") from each dimension. That will also give us a nice 1/8" spacing between doors from other cabinets too. 

Door height = 30" (cab height) - 1/8" = 29-7/8"
Door width = 18" (cab width) - 1/8" = 17-7/8"

If we were building a wider cabinet that required 2 doors we would still subtract 1/8" for the height but the width of each door would be (CabHeight - 1/4")/2. There would be a 1/8" space between the two doors and 1/16" space around the perimeter.

Now that we know what size pieces of plywood we need we can begin assembly.

Step 2: Assemble Sides, Top and Bottom

Should you use glue? Pocket hole joinery is pretty strong but glueing the joints in addition to screwing will give you a stronger more rigid cabinet. If you do decide to use glue, first assemble the cabinet without glue to make sure everything fits and lines up well. Then disassemble and reassemble with glue.

Edgebanding: Apply edgebanding to the edge of each of the 4 pieces that will be on the front of the cabinet.

Start by drilling pocket holes in the Top and Bottom pieces as shown and attach the Top to one of the side pieces.

Now attach the bottom to the side. Make sure the pocket holes are on the outside of the cabinet.


Attach the last remaining side, making sure everything is aligned properly and square.

Step 3: Cabinet Back

Double check to make sure the back of the cabinet is square and make sure it fits inside the back of the cabinet. If not, make adjustments to the back.

If everything fits together properly, is the right size and is square, disassemble the cabinet and repeat Step 2 above, this time with glue before inserting the back.

Drill pocket hole screws around the perimeter of the back and attach it to the rest of the cabinet as shown using glue.

Because we're using pocket screws we've built this entire cabinet without a single clamp. Normally a lot of long, expensive bar clamps are used when building cabinets or other furniture to keep the cabinet in place while the glue dries. One of the benefits of using pocket hole joinery is the screws act like clamps to hold everything together while the glue dries.

Step 4: Drill Shelf Pin Holes

Remove the fences from your Kreg Shelf Pin Jig and place it at the bottom of the cabinet as shown. The short side should be flush with the front of the cabinet. This will position the holes 37mm away from the front.

Use the second and third holes from the bottom to drill pilot holes for the hinge mounting plate.

Slide the shelf pin jig up to the top of the cabinet, keeping it flush with the front of the cabinet and drill holes for the top hinge mounting plate in the 2nd and 3rd holes from the top as shown. 


Now place the indexing pin in the bottom hole of the jig, slide the jig down to insert the indexing pin in the 1st Shelf Pin Hole drilled previously and continue your way up the side of the cabinet drilling shelf pin holes. Stop before you get to the pilot holes for the top hinge mounting plate.


Flip the shelf pin jig around and place it in the back corner of the cabinet so the short end of the jig is closest to the back as shown. Drill the 1st shelf pin hole in the last hole from the bottom. (We don't need pilot holes for the hinge in the back.)Then continue drilling the remaining shelf pin holes along the back using the indexing pin.


Repeat this step on the other side of the cabinet.

Step 5: Mark Hinge Bore Locations

On the back, hinge side of the door, mark 2 lines 3-3/16" from the top and bottom of the door. This is the center-line for the hinge bore.

Follow the instructions that came with your hinge boring jig (such as the Rockler Jig It Concealed Hinge Jig) to drill the 35mm bores for the cup end of the hinge. 

Finally attach and adjust your hinges so the door has an even overlay all the way around the cabinet.

Insert some shelf pins, and your shelf and the cabinet is done. Paint and prime, or stain and finish.


Read more »
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)