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Are Solid Wood Cabinets Practical to Build? A long, highly informative discussion of the practical and other issues involved in building and selling cabinetry made from solid wood rather than plywood or composites. February 26, 2007
Plywood Thickness for Cabinet Construction What starts out as a question about 1/4" versus 1/2" plywood for cabinet backs, turns into a long discussion of what plywood cabinetmakers prefer for building carcases, and why. January 20, 2007
Appliance Cutouts Standards, and a lack of, for kitchen appliace cutouts. August 7, 2004
Defining "Custom Cabinets" What is a "custom" cabinet, and what do terms like "semi-custom" and "stock cabinet" mean? Pros discuss the dividing line between craftsmanship and mass production. December 28, 2005
Confirmat screws -- getting started A discussion on drilling holes for confirmat screws dives deeper into screw and dowel construction. July 3, 2001
Custom Built-In Seating for a Boat The furniture forum discusses plumb, level, port, starboard, pitch, yaw, and relating nautical seating terminology. June 10, 2006
Preparing Face Frame Stock A lively discussion among cabinetmakers about whether, when, and how to joint, plane, or sand stock for face frames. October 8, 2005
Techniques and Equipment for Long-Grain Miters Cabinetmakers who like to miter their face frames to their end panels discuss table-saw and shaper setups, joinery, and gluing techniques. September 28, 2006
Frame-and-Panel Carcases Versus Applied End Panels What's better, building a plywood box and attaching frame-and-panel elements to it, or using the raised-panel frames as structural elements in the cabinet? Cabinetmakers discuss history, technique, and the state of the art. June 5, 2006
Proper Depth for Frameless Cabinets In a long discussion, cabinetmakers share observations, opinions and experiences about the dimensions of frameless cabinets. December 14, 2005
Switching to Melamine A cabinetmaker who usually builds with plywood gets advice on working with melamine. July 5, 2006
Drawers and the Utilization of Space Why slide-integrated drawer systems are less costly to produce and provide greater space efficiency than traditional drawer construction. 1998.
Positioning Drawer Fronts Cabinetmakers swap ideas for the jigs and methods they use to set drawer fronts onto drawer boxes. September 21, 2005
Thirty-Inch Deep Base Cabinets Extra depth brings cabinet faces out flush with a standard refrigerator, but it introduces other complications. In this discussion, cabinetmakers share techniques for building 30-inch deep cabinets that work. December 28, 2005
Pricing a Built-In Bookshelf Another tour through familiar territory: How much is this bookcase worth? And should neighbors catch a break? November 26, 2007
Components--Not Cabinets A longtime adherent of the system process of cabinet manufacturing makes his case for componentizing. 1998.
Making Fluted Pilasters Detailed tips on efficient fluting, including images of a shop-made jig. October 5, 2004
Strength of Cabinet Joinery Using Pre-Finished Plywood When you use pre-finished plywood, does the finish compromise the strength of glue joints? The question sets off an extended discussion of structural issues in cabinet carcass construction. September 23, 2006
Corner-Cabinet Face Frame Joints Corner cabinets pose a tricky face-frame construction problem. Here, cabinetmakers discuss ways to detail the corner joint. August 29, 2005
Dado Techniques Router and jig, or table-saw with dado blade set? Cabinetmakers discuss choices and methods. May 22, 2006
Clean Cuts with Vertical Panel Saws Cabinetmakers discuss scoring blades, blade types, and cutting techniques for getting clean, razor-sharp cuts with panel saws. December 28, 2005
Plywood Vs. Solid Wood What do you mean by "solid, dude"? In this thread, cabinetmakers communicate about wood, plywood, particleboard, veneers, core materials, core values, and symbolic forms of expression. It's all in good fun. October 8, 2005
Are "High-End" Drawer Joints Worth the Trouble? Cabinetmakers discuss the processes involved in dovetail joints, box joints, and simpler drawer construction joints. Will customers see value in a "better" drawer joint? February 26, 2007
Squaring Up Cabinets What's the best way to keep cabinet carcasses square — and is it worth it? Cabinetmakers share techniques and opinions. August 14, 2007
Finished Outside But Not Inside How to handle things when specs call for finished face frames but unfinished interiors. February 8, 2005
Drawer Construction Choosing an efficient method over farming out the work. June 4, 2004
Speaker Box Material — Solid Wood or MDF? Solid wood turns out to be a poor choice for speaker cabinets. This discussion explains why, and covers other ground concerning speaker construction. November 20, 2005
Driver Choices for Confirmat Screws Experiences using battery-powered and air-powered impact drivers to drive Confirmat screws, and some thoughts on screw selection. April 18, 2006
More About Dadoing Face Frames Additional back-and-forth on a well-trodden path — the whys and hows of dadoing cabinet face frames. March 5, 2007
Solid Mahogany Countertop Details Cabinetmakers discuss glue-up, attachment, and finishing methods for a solid mahogany kitchen countertop. May 23, 2007
Case Construction Basics Advice for a new shop owner on whether to dado the parts for face frame cabinets. February 26, 2007
Leg Levelers and Cabinet Construction Cabinetmakers discuss the assembly details that allow leg leveler hardware to provide structural support for installed cabinets. February 6, 2007
Speedy Face Frame Construction Cabinetmakers debate the details of fast methods for building and attaching face frames. July 9, 2005
Making a Full-Height Cabinet Fit A full-ceiling-height refrigerator cabinet can be a bear to install, because you can't tip it up (the diagonal is too long). Here's a useful thread on solving that problem. January 20, 2007
Laminate Cabinet Tips Advice (sometimes conflicting) about how to build high-quality laminate cabinets. July 5, 2006
Where Doors and Panels Meet How various cabinetmakers deal with the relationsihp between overlay doors and the adjacent edges of finished end panels. January 24, 2005
Creating a Bead Profile on Curved Stock Cabinetmakers suggest tools and setups for beading curved pieces, and offer an alternative applied-bead technique. Check out the photos! September 22, 2005
Gluing Face Frames onto Cabinets Many cabinetmakers glue and clamp face frames on, with no other fasteners. In this thread, pros discuss options and techniques. October 20, 2005
Solid Wood Versus Veneer for a Bar Top Quarter-inch veneer over MDF might show less movement at the miter joints in this large bar top. But can they dance on it in high heels? December 6, 2006
Sanding Face Frames Cabinetmakers discuss whether to sand face frames before or after assembling them, and other fine points of sanding technique. October 2, 2007
Plywood Thicknesses and Dado Widths A detailed discussion of the fine points of making a well-fit dado joint. Calipers, shims, decimals, fractions, and more. May 14, 2006
Structural Concerns for Boat Cabinetry A proposal for a free-standing entertainment center on a boat sets off a discussion about appropriate technology in nautical cabinetry. July 30, 2007
Beyond the Lazy Susan: Corner Cabinet Options Not everyone loves the Lazy Susan cabinet. Here's a discussion of alternative ways to provide easy-reach storage in corner cabinets. December 28, 2005
Pros and Cons of Pocket-Holing Face Frames Cabinetmakers praise pocket hole joinery for face frames, discuss the occasional glitches, and compare notes on equipment. October 26, 2005
Melamine Versus Plywood for Kitchen Cabinets It's an apples-to-oranges comparison, but one that sets off a thoughtful exchange of views about workability and performance in this thread from the Cabinetmaking forum. June 28, 2005
Face Frame Construction Details with Prefinished Plywood Using pre-finished plywood has helped streamline one cabinetmaker's process. Here, he gets ideas from others about touches that could make his product look better. November 20, 2005
Cabinet Construction with Half-Inch Plywood Using half-inch plywood for all cabinet components (sides, back, shelves, and deck) lends itself to quick and simple cabinet assembly. March 5, 2007
Corner Cabinet Miter Joint Options Cabinetmakers discuss various ways of making a nice 45-degree joint when constructing face-frame corner cabinets. March 9, 2008
Reasons to Dado Face Frames Stiff structure, ease of assembly, and clean joints are all good reasons to dado face frames to accept carcase edges. February 26, 2007
Pricing Cabinets Basic ideas on estimating cabinet construction costs. January 9, 2006
Melamine And Water Is melamine safe for cabinet interiors under sinks? April 18, 2006
Keeping Cabinet Boxes Square Plywood often has a bow in it. There are tricks for keeping cabs square, but you may also want to use non-plywood sheet goods. September 7, 2006
P-lam Cabinet Door Backs Construction considerations when backing cabinet doors with plastic laminate to match cabinet interiors. March 20, 2006
Extreme Drawer-Slide Extension With a wide desk overhang above some short drawers, a custom cabinetmaker needs drawer extensions that go above and beyond the call. Here, he presents and ingenious solution for giving a 20-inch drawer 36 inches of travel. November 11, 2005
Template Materials Pros discuss the merits of various materials for making router patterns, including MDF, plexiglass, phenolic board, and more. October 22, 2005
Cabinet Back Construction Cabinetmakers share views on the appropriate thickness for cabinet backs and nailer strips. October 22, 2005
Cabinet Details for an Apron Front Sink "Farmer's" sinks have an apron front that overhangs the cabinet face. Here, cabinetmakers discuss the difficulties that can arise, and how to address them. February 28, 2006
Clamping Methods for Laminations Cabinetmakers discuss jigs and techniques for clamping large curved laminated assemblies. July 21, 2005
Inset-door cabinets A cabinetmaker goes from frameless to face frame and seeks advice. September 19, 2001
Working with Pre-Finished Plywood A little extra care is needed to prevent scratches, but the convenience can be well worth it. November 11, 2005
Squaring Up Plywood Out-of-whack plywood can throw off all your cabinet carcase dimensions. Here, cabinetmakers discuss techniques for truing up plywood when the factory dimensions are off. October 22, 2005
Wine Cubes Experienced hands describe ways to design and assemble wine storage cabinets. June 13, 2005
Cabinet Back Options Half-inch plywood, or quarter-inch plywood and cleats? March 17, 2005
Hanging Cabinets from the Ceiling No walls to attach to, and no backs on the cabinet — here are a few suggestions for securely mounting these custom cabs. March 25, 2007
Stiffening Long-Span Shelves Woodworkers discuss torsion boxes and steel-angle reinforcement for long-span shelf situations. November 11, 2005
Oversize Drawer Construction Five out of five doctors agree: heavy slides, extra slides underneath, and no guarantees. August 29, 2005
Cabinet Hanger Cleats Ways to install back-panel cleats for attaching cabinets to walls. June 18, 2005
Corner Sink Base Ideas Advice with drawings for building a corner sink base cabinet. October 11, 2007
Biscuits for face frames A discussion of using biscuits for assembling cabinet face frames. Pros and cons of biscuits on face frames, and equipment used. November 21, 2000
Fine Points of Boring Advice on matching the bore-hole dimensions of various boring machines to the requirements of metric-based frameless cabinetmaking systems. September 7, 2006
End Panels Inset into a Face Frame Cabinetmakers discuss construction methods for a nice end-panel detail: panels set into a face frame, with a slight reveal. March 25, 2007
Drawer Box Doweling Pros share tips for dowel construction of drawer boxes. May 10, 2005
Span Limits for Plywood Shelving Over three feet, and you're looking at potential sagging issues. Pros discuss span limits and shelf stiffening options. November 11, 2005
Cost of Shop Drawings Pros consider perspectives on drafting's share of the cost of a kitchen job. November 26, 2007