Replies

1. 
   alwaysoverbudget | Feb 07, 2009 06:50am | #1

   look at fhb about a month or 2 ago,guy had a pretty good article on cabinets. he was building in the driveway..................... but i liked some of his ideas.

   the only advice i'll give,because i blow it everytime is when you hit a corner be sure to allow for doors and drawers opening and clearing the others including the HANDLES!. [how many times can you make the same mistake?answer: numerous] larry

   YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T
   MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE
   DUCT TAPE.

2. 
   Piffin | Feb 07, 2009 01:19pm | #2

   There are a lot of ways.

   What I do is cut the two sides to size and shape ( with the corner knocked off for the toekick) then lay out where the bottom and back will beand dado a slot there for those to fit into a quarter inch deep.

   Then glue and clamps
   Add a stretcher at the front top to stabilize until the faces go on.

   A mid shelf can be added with pins to be adjustable or you can dado that in also

   You have to be quite accurate with placing those dados or the box will not be square.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   k1c | Feb 07, 2009 11:31pm | #3

   I built kitchen cabinets (for my house) with basic circular saw, straight edge, square and sheetrock square. I used butt joints, glue and finish nails. I nailed or screwed the backing directly to the side panels instead of making rabet or grooves.
   Base cabinets can be made like simple box without the toe kick, attached together and set on foundation made with 2x4. There was article or suggestion like this in recent FHB. Top cabinets need reinforcement or cleat for hanging.
   You can use melamine boards and veneer only the sides that will show. Sand the melamine, use contact cement, and once the veneer is on, wait 3 or 4 days before trimming the veneer. Veneer may shrink and expose the melamine along the edge if you trim right away. Some ready made shelf boards have shelf holes already drilled. Face edge can be edge banded or face frame will cover.
   HOpe this helps.

4. 
   gordsco | Feb 08, 2009 12:05am | #4

   The first kitchens I built were essentially large plywood or melamine boxes with long shelves. Face frames were added after the cabinet was leveled and installed. Base boxes were set on 2X4's.

   Nowdays I don't do much kitchen work, but I would build units instead of large boxes. Material cost increases when building units. Size depends on available finished door dimensions, custom door sizes can add $$$ to a project.

   As for constuction, plywood boxes would be butt jointed and nailed/ screwed. Particleboard joints would be dadoed and rabetted.

    

5. 
   MikeHennessy | Feb 09, 2009 03:40pm | #5

   FWW has some good books on cabs -- mostly re-prints of old articles, but pretty good stuff. Here's a few of what they offer:

   http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/item/building-kitchen-cabinets-udo-schmidt-070614.html

   http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/item/building-kitchen-cabinets-udo-schmidt-070614.html

   http://www.amazon.com/Taunton-Press-Building-Traditional-070196/dp/B00002256I

   Head over to the Taunton store for more choices.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   marv | Feb 09, 2009 06:56pm | #6

   My favorite site built kitchen was v126  pages 64-69 and came out 11-1-99.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.

   Marv