Simply-Built Cabinets

W O O D W O R K I N G

FnL1 04 0120 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAE1wtPkCMTMDMTAwATEFVVBD 04 LUEMMDM1MzEzNjUzMzUzfA==

35313 65335

0 3

UPC

Yes, cabinets are those things that make up the storage in a kitchen. And they are the built-in storage spaces in your bathroom, den and other rooms. But cabinets are also free-standing storage units like bookcases. Building cabinets is really building boxes and there are simple techniques to create solid, quality cabinets that look great.

Learn easy steps for making doors and drawers for your cabinets; how to make counter tops, install hardware and more.

Cabinets are just boxes. Keep it Simple!

W0715 US $24.99

(CAN $28.99)

PLAN

•

BUILD

•

INSTALL

•

The easy way to great results

W

OODWORKING

POPULAR

Danny Proulx

simply-built cabinets

Pr

oulx

simply-built

cabinets

FnL1 04 0124 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAE1wwHoEMTAuNAI4MAExBkVB 04 Ti0xMw05NzgxNDQwMzEzMDU5AA==

781440 313059 9 52299 ISBN-10: 1-4403-1305-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-4403-1305-9 4 W0715 CM CABINETS.indd 1 W0715 CM CABINETS.indd 1 3/22/11 2:35:45 PM3/22/11 2:35:45 PM

8

designing & building

cabinets

While there are many reasons to build cabinetry for your home, the

number one reason falls to the kitchen, the heart of any modern home. The

principles used to build cabinetry apply to both kitchen and other cabinetry, but

because of the importance of the kitchen, I want to start here.

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material lists &

cutting plans

Whether you’re building one cabinet for your bathroom, or 15 for your

entire kitchen, the place to start is on paper. If it’s multiple cabinets you are

building, then you need to start with a floor plan. It’s your information source and

road map to completing the project successfully. Draw the plan to scale so that

any potential problems can be discovered before you begin construction. You’ll

find this exercise is valuable and the time spent will be well worth your effort.

Design software programs are available on the market for those of you who are familiar with computers. These programs, (some free, some costing under $100), sometimes allow you to render a three-dimensional image of the pro-posed cabinetry on the screen. A few programs allow you to move around in the room, showing different perspectives of the cabinets.

However, the most important exercise is drawing a simple, scaled overhead floor plan like

the example illustrated in the drawing on the following page.

Accurately measure the room dimensions, locating all the doors, windows and any special features of the walls. You may have a plumbing run or heating duct pipe that has been boxed in with drywall that creates a bump-out on the wall. These special features have to be account-ed for, as they may change your cabinet instal-lation procedures. Use graph paper to scale the

REFERENCE QUANTITY PA

R

T

STOCK

A 2 sides melamine pb 3⁄4 (19) 221⁄2 (572) 31 (787)

B 1 bottom melamine pb 3⁄4 (19) 333⁄4 (857) 333⁄4 (857) cut as illustrated

C 2 backs melamine pb 3⁄4 (19) 223⁄4 (578) 31 (787)

D 1 back melamine pb 3⁄4 (19) 18 (457) 31 (787) cut oversize, then sides are angle-cut at 45° to fit

E 2 stiles hardwood 3⁄4 (19) 11⁄2 (38) 313⁄4 (806)

F 2 rails hardwood 3⁄4 (19) 11⁄2 (38) 111⁄4 (285)

G 2 rails hardwood 3⁄4 (19) 11⁄2 (38) 101⁄2 (267)

H 2 doors 3⁄4 (19) 10 (254) 301⁄2-high (775) stock can be wood-veneer pb or frame

and panel hardwood

CUTTING LIST FOR A 36" (914MM) CORNER BASE CABINET USING 3_⁄

4" (19MM) THICK SHEET MATERIAL

INCHES (MILLIMETERS)

(mm) WIDTH (mm) LENGTH (mm)

THICKNESS

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assembly

procedures

Most woodworking shops, whether professional or hobby, have a similar

set of tools and machinery that include a table saw, drill press, clamps, drills,

etc. Not every shop will have a table saw with a sliding crosscut table as shown,

above, but the cross-cutting task shown could also be completed with a circular

saw. The steps following are those used to build a simple, but very functional and

versatile cabinets. Please adapt the basic steps to the machinery and tools that

are at your disposal.

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The standard upper cabinet is the most basic cabinet in this building

system. The sides or gable ends of the cabinet perform some important

functions. Primarily, of course, they define the height of the cabinet box and give

it strength. The sides also support the European hidden hinges and are drilled

for the shelf support pins. Also, in this particular cabinet style, the face frame is

nailed onto the side edges as well as the top and bottom board edges.

wall-hung

face-frame cabinets

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The standard base face-frame cabinet differs from the standard upper

face-frame cabinet in two areas — the lack of a carcass top board and the

addition of adjustable legs.

base face-frame

cabinets

No top board is needed, as the kitchen coun-tertop covers the base cabinet. The councoun-tertop is secured with screws and right-angle clips. This method, along with the face frame, gives the in-stalled base cabinet its strength and rigidity. I use

3_∕

4" × 3∕4" metal right-angle clips, two per side, two

on the backboard, and one in the center of the face-frame rail. The countertop is secured with two 5_{∕88" screws through each right-angle clip.}

Adjustable cabinet legs are used, replacing the base frame that was common with older-style kitchens. These legs simplify cabinet installation

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specialty cabinetry

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building islands &

peninsulas

While many of the techniques shown in this section for building islands

and penninsulas highlight kitchen uses, many basements, and family room are

now using these special cabinets to leave an open room feel, but still divide the

area into separate functional spaces.

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building frameless

cabinetry

The European frameless cabinet is modular and commonly ranges in

widths from 10" to 36". The frameless system offers flexibility with quality, and

can be built with any

_∕

8

"- or

∕

"-thick sheet material; we are not restricted to

white cabinets.

The Europeans perfected the box, or unit-ized, construction methods to a point where the frameless cabinet, often called the Euro-style kitchen, has become a popular option in North

America. European design features such as the hidden hinge, bottom-mount drawer glides and adjustable cabinet legs are now an important part of the North American cabinetmaking industry.

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countertops

The simplest and least expensive approach in a renovation project is to

use one of the many styles of roll or postformed laminate countertops that are

readily available. Laminate is applied under pressure over a particleboard form that

has a curved, moulded backsplash and front edge. It is relatively inexpensive and

available at one of the many countertop specialty companies in most major cities.

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cabinet doors &

drawers

As most cabinetry is for storage, doors to hide the spaces and drawers to

ease in access are important parts of an attractive and functional storage cabinet.

There are a variety of styles available and I have tried to show most of the major

options available here.

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142

Drawers are required for many woodworking projects. You’ll find them in desks, kitchen cabinets, storage cabinets, workshops and many more applications. We need drawers to store and organize all sorts of things in every room of the house, office and workshop.

Some woodworkers believe that a drawer lacks qual-ity unless it’s built with dovetail joinery. I don’t hold that opinion. There are dozens of ways to build high-quality drawers, and all of them have a purpose and place in modern cabinetry.

I’ll start by describing drawers made with melamine particleboard (PB) and then move on to other materi-als such as Baltic birch plywood and solid wood. I’ll explain some of the joinery options as well as the hard-ware that can be used for your drawers.

Cabinet Drawers

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door & drawer

hardware

The hardware used to mount doors and drawers demands that both fit

properly and are correctly sized. The methods used to calculate the correct size

for both drawers and doors will be discussed in this chapter.

There are differences between frameless and face-frame style cabinets that must be taken into consideration when doors and drawer boxes are installed. Two common door-hinge mounting

styles are overlay and inset. The overlay door is attached to the cabinet or carcass box with hinges and partially covers the front edges of the cabinet. The inset door is set into the cabinet

opening, flush with the out-side face. There are of course variables on the two, includ-ing half-overlay and pocket-mounting styles. However, the two generally accepted terms for door-fitting styles are the overlay and inset door.

Drawer boxes that are mounted on mechanical slides also demand that you accurately size each box to its opening. In general, bottom-mount or full-extension side-and-bottom mounted glide sets require a

1_{∕2" space on each side of the}

drawer box for correct fitting. However, manufacturers have different specifications, so you should verify the space requirements before building the drawer box.

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Many finishes are available on the market. They include paint and stains

in any color imaginable, washed stains, polyurethane, oils and varnishes. Most

finishing products are easy to apply and produce excellent results. However, check

sample finishes on the type of wood you’ll be using for your cabinets, and research

all the properties. Check specifically for the product’s hardness, resistance to

stains from oils and grease, and its life expectancy. The finish will be subjected to

a good deal of abuse in the kitchen from heat, moisture and handling.

The Internet is a good place to start your research on finishing products and tech-niques. Many major suppliers have information-based sites that are helpful. Some sites, such as the one run by the Hardwood Council at www.hardwoodcouncil.com, have on-line data and infor-mation brochures that you can order.

cabinet finishes

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cabinet installation

Cabinet installation methods vary depending on the installer. The primary

difference is whether to begin by installing the uppers or the bases. Each method

has its merits, as there is no absolute correct way of installing cabinets. Find

a process that you are comfortable with to achieve the end result: properly

installed cabinets. I will describe my method of cabinet installation based on our

sample kitchen layout at the beginning of the book.

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W O O D W O R K I N G

FnL1 04 0120 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAE1wtPkCMTMDMTAwATEFVVBD 04 LUEMMDM1MzEzNjUzMzUzfA==

35313 65335

0 3

UPC

Yes, cabinets are those things that make up the storage in a kitchen. And they are the built-in storage spaces in your bathroom, den and other rooms. But cabinets are also free-standing storage units like bookcases. Building cabinets is really building boxes and there are simple techniques to create solid, quality cabinets that look great.

Learn easy steps for making doors and drawers for your cabinets; how to make counter tops, install hardware and more.

Cabinets are just boxes. Keep it Simple!

W0715 US $24.99

(CAN $28.99)

PLAN

•

BUILD

•

INSTALL

•

The easy way to great results

W

OODWORKING

POPULAR

Danny Proulx

simply-built cabinets

Pr

oulx

simply-built

cabinets

FnL1 04 0124 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAE1wwHoEMTAuNAI4MAExBkVB 04 Ti0xMw05NzgxNDQwMzEzMDU5AA==

781440 313059 9 52299 ISBN-10: 1-4403-1305-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-4403-1305-9 4 W0715 CM CABINETS.indd 1 W0715 CM CABINETS.indd 1 3/22/11 2:35:45 PM3/22/11 2:35:45 PM