Im using iron on edge banding which I like because of its simplicity. I have more cabinet building resources listed below. In these plans Ill show you two different versions of a standard upper cabinet, one 18 with a single door and one 30 with two doors. Repeat the same process to rabbet both ends of the other cabinet side piece. You can see here the number of clamps I used to make sure this was securely fastened. If you need to allow for uneven walls, make the stiles 214 " wide, and later trim the overhangs on the sides to fit the opening. Place a hinge cup in a hole with the straight hinge edge parallel to the stile edge [below], and mark the center of the mounting screw slots. A toe kick allows you to stand closer to a cabinet without bumping the front with your feet. To allow built-in cabinets a margin for unsquare walls, design the case 12 " narrower than the opening between another cabinet and a wall or between two walls. OK, first up Im going to show you the more basic form of construction which uses pocket screws. Then glue the dado on the other side panel dado and mount it on the bottom. I laid a scrap of plywood down to create the reveal I wanted at the bottom and attached the hinges to the face frame. Adjust the height of the stacked dado blade to 3/8 inch. Using an iron activates the glue and sticks the edge banding to the shelf. 1/2 thickness is also typical, but I sometimes use 3/4 (especially for frameless cabinets). Drill pilot holes and screw the door to the frame. After that, I cut everything to final length using a crosscut sled and ganging my parts together. These shelves snap into place using these plastic shelf clips that fit in the shelf pin holes and hold the shelves securely in place. To hold the upper cabinet in place while you screw it to the wall, make two 18"-tall temporary supports from scrap. If you'll stain the doors, stain the panels before assembling the frame. To calculate part sizes for a base cabinet that's wider or narrower than the one above, follow this formula: Cut the cabinet bottom to that length. This is a Castle pocket cutting machine and its changing the way I make pocket holes. A wall cabinet in its most basic form is little more than a plywood box that is securely mounted on the wall. Click here to watch a free video on how to drill shelf pin holes. For the simpler pocket screw cabinets, I dont really have a way to hide these screws from sight so Im just going right into the inside of the cabinet. Big? Shim the bottom edges to level the cabinets and make the face frame edges parallel with each other. I then slide the center panel into place making sure it sits in the groove all the way around before adding the other stile. Heres how. After I have all my blanks cut, I can move to the table saw to cut all my parts to final size. To calculate the front drawer stretcher position, add 1" to the height of the drawer boxes you'll make. The crosscut sled is my preferred way to make super accurate cuts and I think its safer too, especially for the smaller rail parts versus using the miter saw. Position the fence so that it is precisely 24 inches from the far side of the dado blade. From 12 4" blanks, cut the sides to the drawer-box length18" for the cabinet shown in the drawing at the top of this article. And just like that I have all the parts to make my cabinets. Drive a pair of 3-inch screws through the bottom nailer (from the inside of the cabinet) and into the wall studs to secure the bottom of the cabinet. Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Let Mother Nature be your co-designer as you build dazzling projects with wavy edges, bristly burrs, bark inclusions, and other flaws that give wood a look of unrefined beauty. Attach the cleat to the cabinet sides with finish nails. Keep your favorite wines, stemware, and serving accessories handy in this stylish unit. Imagine making a simple box without a top, and you're picturing most of the skills needed to make these drawers using only a tablesaw. I could then use this handy door hardware jig to drill the holes for the door pulls. Set the blade height to 14 ", then double-face-tape an extension to your miter gauge and a spacer block to the fence about 4" back from the blade [below]. In a kitchen or bath, though, countertop options include a butcherblock, plastic laminate, solid-surface, granite, and tile. Then mount the glides [below] on the case and on the lower edge of the drawer box side according to the product instructions. Repeat the same process to secure the top and bottom of the cabinet to the side piece. Now with this simple spacer block Im going to use my shelf pin jig to drill out all my shelf pin holes. 4) A dado blade speeds cutting tenons on the rails, but multiple passes with a general-purpose blade will do just as well. Support the other end of the side panel with top stretchers that you'll pocket-hole-screw in place. If youve watched my previous videos you know I love doing this with one of these centipede work holders with a piece of foam insulation on top. Here's the Right Way to Hang Cabinets with French Cleat Wedge Brackets, Learn How to Build Slab-Style Cabinet Doors, Determining the Table Saw Features You Need and Don't Need, Learn How to Cut a Dado Like a Master Woodworker, Building a Jointer Jig for Your Table Saw, Methods to Make a Zero Clearance Insert for Your Table Saw, Joining Boards with Tongue and Groove Joinery, Build Your Own Portable Miter Saw Stand With These Free Plans, Build Cabinets and Doors for Your Kitchen, Bath, or Utility Room, Learn to Make Beautiful Louvered Doors and Window Shutters. I keep nibbling away until the back panel fits nicely into the groove. Position the middle rail so its top edge is flush with the upper face of the middle stretcher. Unfinished garage becomes a woodworking haven. Now subtract the thickness of the back from your fence setting, and cut the bottom panel to width. Im going to make two 30 cabinets and two 18 cabinets. Now if youre making shop cabinets, you can probably just use plywood panels for the doors, but I didnt want to waste time showing you how to cut a rectangle and fasten it to the cabinets so instead Ill show you how to make frame and panel doors which are simple to make on the table saw and will look much better if your making your cabinets for a kitchen or pantry. Now, if you happen to have a router table this process can go a bit quicker. Smooth out the glue with a small brush so that you have an even, thin layer on all faces of the rabbets and dadoes. Set your tablesaw fence 14 " from the edge of a 14 " dado blade set 14 " high, as shown in Step 1 below. Next I slide the back panel into the groove making sure its flush with the ends. B0602300, $3.10 for two, Woodworker's Hardware, 800-383-0130 wwhardware.com. I very much recommend doing this step now, before assembly, because its much easier to drill accurate hole locations. Alternatively, you can use a circular saw, but be sure to use a straightedge guide to ensure straight cuts. Find plans for a dead-flat, torsion-box assembly table here. Place one of the cabinet sides onto a work table and run a bead of glue along the two rabbets and the dado groove. Frame parts narrower than 112 " don't mount easily to the case, while parts much wider than 2" interfere with access to the cabinet. A dead-square cabinet requires a dead-flat assembly surface to avoid twisting the glue-up. Build the face frame from solid wood to match or contrast with the sides. Double-check the material thickness before calculating cabinet sizes and cutting dadoes and rabbets. Then clamp the sides so the rabbet joints are nice and tight. Now cut four 212 "-wide stretchers and a 312 "-wide base block. You can see here when I push back on the lever one router bit swings up cutting the pocket. Check for square, as with the upper cabinet [below]. But hey thats OK, these are shop cabinets anyway. Measure and center the back drawer stretcher flush with the bottom of the front drawer stretcher. You'll fill the gap with the face frame overlap on the sides. Drill two pocket holes on both ends of each part. Oh, and I also forgot I need to fasten the back panel to the nailers using brad nails. Read our foolproof trick for perfect-fitting dadoes on the tablesaw. Nah. Why those sizes? After lining up the edges and clamping them together I add screws above and below the top and bottom panels so they wont be seen inside the cabinet. But I like using my track saw because theres much less dust created in the shop which is important to me. Place them on 12 " spacers, and rest the upper cabinet on the supports [below]. Yes. Turn the cut piece of plywood so that the short edge is against the fence, and rip the piece in half. Then drill pilot holes from the inside front of the drawer box to the drawer front frame, and screw on the front. Cut both halves of the joint on your tablesaw. )We positioned the holes 414 " from the top and bottom of the door for plenty of clearance, with the center of the hole 1316 " from the stile edge. You can use the same setup to cut 38 "-deep rabbets along the inside back edge of the sides to accept the cabinet back. Again Im using just a single saw blade to make a pass, then flip the piece end for end to make another pass and perfectly center my groove. Begin by drilling 138 " holes 12 " deep with a Forstner bit [below]. To calculate the length of all three rails, measure the case width and add 14 " for the two 18 " overhangs. Three great finishes (that aren't polyurethane). Rip a 45-degree bevel along the long edge of each of the two 1x4 boards. The last thing to do here is add shelves, but before I install them I want to add edge banding to the front edge. Its quick to set up and lets me cut at a comfortable height and not on the floor. The hardware we recommend allows many ways to fine-tune the position. "Butbut, they have drawers!" Queen Bee of Honey Dos is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites. Chris Baylor is a woodworking expert and writer with over a decade of hands-on commercial carpentry experience. Calculate upper cabinet sizes the same way. Rout the recesses right to hold a lid upright. Assemble a frame-and-panel drawer front as you would a small version of a cabinet door. B038N355C.12 (2) for 34 " face frames, $2 each, Woodworker's Hardware. Which hand planes should a power-tool woodworker buy first? Next you'll need a countertop sized to overlap the front or both the front and sides about 112 2". Built on the Genesis Framework. But before I move the fence to take my second pass, Ill begin cutting the dados along the top and bottom. B230M, $3.86 per pair. You'll be glad you did. The screws won't show after you glue the frame to the cabinet. Here's why: Cut frame parts from straight-grain 34 "-thick stock 112 " or 2" wide, depending on the part. On the bottom inside edge of each piece, cut a groove 14 " from the edge to accept the drawer bottom. Then subtract 1" from the drawer opening width in the frame, and cut the front and back to that size (121116 " for this example). The grooves will house the center panel in the finished door. Check that the top stile ends sit flush with the top ends of the case sides. From 112 "-wide stock, cut the top and bottom rails. Assemble the cabinet with wood glue, finish nails, and screws. I go ahead and do the same to the other side. Cut the following pieces from the leftover 3/4-inch plywood: Cut the back panel to size at 23 1/4 by 11 1/4 inches, using 1/4-inch plywood. The cabinet will hang with a set of French cleats mounted to the back of the cabinet and the wall. Cabinet grade birch is typical and can be found in all big box stores. Just two clamps are needed, one spanning each joint. Refer to the hinge instructions for details on adjusting the door position. Begin by cutting 2"-wide stiles 18 " longer than the dimension from the toe kick cutout to the top of the case (31" in this case). OK, next come the doors and Im going to be using the same pre-surfaced maple to make the frame parts. To start I add glue to the tongues on each end of the top and bottom rails and slide them into the groove in the side, or stile. Imagine all the potential pitfalls about making drawers. Tenons should fit dadoes snugly, with the outside faces of the front and back flush with the ends of the sides. It should just touch the teeth of the blade. With a dado stack, this process goes real quick and its on to assembly. For a base cabinet less than 4' wide, you can cut all the parts except the back and toekick from one 34 "4'8' sheet of plywood or MDF. Im going to countersink and screw the back panel into place for added strength. I got a little glue squeeze-out along the back corner which Im just going to clean out with a straw. Then, I add the two nailers in place and fasten them with pocket screws. This will make everything clean and crisp on all sides. Next, I trim the edges flush and trim the side waste using this double edge trimmer and then quickly sand the rough edges smooth. We shadowed two experienced makers and installers of custom cabinetry to bring you simple tips and tricks that will keep your built-in projects (and your sanity) on the bubble.. After the glue dries, cut the back to fit. Glue each tenon, assemble and clamp the drawer, and then check for square. Since m y cabinets are not going to be painted, I an just going to glue it to the carcass and fasten it with clamps. Remove the doors, drawers, and all hardware, and apply a finish. Repeat for the other hinge. Want to learn more about built-in cabinet installation? All these frame parts are two inches wide, so I just set me fence to two inches and start cutting. Align the top and bottom edges of the plywood with the top and bottom of the cabinet, double-check diagonally for squareness, and nail the back panel into place. Also, the wider the door, the more clearance you'll need in front of the cabinet. You can see here Im using just my thumb as a clamp which I would never attempt with a 15 degree drill pocket hole. I like using pre-surfaced lumber here because it doesnt require any milling machines, I can just cut it and begin building. Use as an alternative to doing dados on a table saw. 6) Apply glue to the tenons plus a dab centered in each frame part groove to keep the panel from rattling. Lift the cabinet into place so the halves of the French cleat interlock. No tricky drawer-glide installations. Then mount the drawer fronts to the boxes for dead-on alignments. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. Soon enough I have this face frame together and I give the whole thing a sanding to 180 grit to make sure all the joints are nice and flush. Cut the upper and lower vertical dividers to fit between the middle rail and the top and bottom rails. I then use another undersized plywood bit to cut the top and bottom dados. Next, rabbet both ends of the drawer front and back to create a tenon that fits the side dadoes [below]. The best material for building cabinets is plywood3/4-inch plywood for the box sides, top, bottom, and shelvesand 1/4-inch plywood for the back panel. Wall cabinets commonly mount 18" above the base-cabinet countertop. Then fill the holes. Position the bottom nailer against the bottom edge of the cabinet (flat against the cabinet back), and nail it into place through the cabinet sides. Drill/screwdriver with the appropriate bits. With the doors installed and aligned with each other, lay a spacer the width of the space between the doors and drawer fronts atop the door [below]. Adjust the saw fence so it is 11 5/8 inches from the near side of the dado blade. I even added some hidden features that I think you'll want to try. Then I can take my real top and bottom parts and begin making the tongues in the ends of each. As I mentioned assembling this version of the cabinet is going to be pretty basic. Label them left and right with pencil marks on the inside faces. For example, to make a cabinet 3334 " wide using 34 " plywood, cut the case bottom 33" long. 2-by-4-foot piece of 3/4-inch finish-grade plywood, 1-by-2-foot piece of 1/4-inch finish-grade plywood. The only time I use 1/8 on the back is if I am doing a large quantity and want to save money. Okay, let's hear 'emyour excuses for not making those cabinets you could use everywhere from your kitchen to your workshop: "Oooh, they have doors." Rotate the board so the freshly rabbeted end is against the fence, and cut a second rabbet on the opposite end of the board. First pre-drilling and then screwing the doors into place. Rear drawer glide mounting bracket no. Before I used my door hinge jig to create pockets for my European style hidden hinges. 1/8 plywood for the back of the cabinets (Note this is the common method for building cabinets. Then cut the bottom to length. Remount the doors and drawers, fill up your new cabinets, and start scouting other locations in your shop, garage, kitchen, or bathroom for new cabinet-making opportunities. Mount the cabinet using the French cleat to carry the weigh of the cabinet, then secure the cabinet in place with screws driven through the bottom nailer. Pinterest. Then Im going to combine each 30 to an 18 cabinet to make two 48 units. Ive got to keep doing this until the dadoes are wide enough to fit the top and bottom panels. In this post I'll walk you step-by-step through all the upgrades I just made to my benchtop drill press. After chopping out the blanks, I head to the table saw to rip my parts to width. Flip the assembly over so that the long rabbeted sides are facing up. After making some adjustments to the hinges, the doors sat perfect and even with one another. To compensate for the frame overlap, add a 14 " spacer between the cases toward their backs and between the clamps [first photo below].