Seeking General Kitchen Cabinet Opinions

I'd like to ask some general questions on the level of difficulty doing your own cabinets. (and Rob I saw your post about that catalogue--gonna download it).

I'm redoing my kitchen next year, and when I look at the cost of cabinets....:eek::eek::eek:

So, I'd like to ask how the experienced folks would rate the following on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 is as hard as BP killing that well, and 1 is a monkey with some good light could do it. Assume 25 lineal feet of uppers and lowers. Simple style, no hand carved moldings with mother-of-pearl inlay.

1. Construction of uppers and lowers (general)
2. Inset doors
3. Doors with inset glass.
4. Drawers that actually work (I have a real drawer phobia.)

THANKS ALL,
cynthia :thumb:
 
kitchen cabinets:eek: oh ya they can be done but look at stuff by Chris Mire and Alan Berlien, they create great stuff:thumb::thumb::thumb: I began my wood working with my still in the works kitchen. Beginners can create a kitchen, i can attest to that. Get your plans, fit them to your needs and have at it. Inset has the tightest specs but can be done, that is what I am doing. Best wishes in your plans and let us know if we can be of help:)
 
Don't take Tom's word for it. He says he can build cabinets but it's been over a year now and they still are sitting in the garage.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Your question is kinda loaded. I would give them all a 1 :thumb:
But I have been at this for a few days now:thumb::rofl::rofl:
The big thing with #4 is getting good hardware and making boxes that fit right.
With #2 inset doors are 2 steps harder to make than overlay ones. 1 the cabinet face frame has to be right and 2 the door has to fit perfect.
With #3 buy extra glass:thumb:
 
Making cabinents can be a pretty big project.

Even installing them can be a big project, but it's way more doable if they cabinets are already built by someone else. If you do renovate a kitchen, you can save a lot of money doing it yourself.

I would recommend watching a few episodes of Renovation Realities though. I find it gives me a healthy idea of what can be involved in a project!
 
Cabinets aren't particularly hard to make. I'm not a very experienced woodworker (2 years now) and figured it out for a small kitchen. Since you're not doing it for a living, you can just take your time and you will get it all right. If you've never made any cabinets, I would suggest making a couple for a trial run to go in your shop or garrage or something like that to get a taste for them before going after your kitchen.

The problem I had was my shop is just a two car garrage. A kitchen's worth of cabinets take up a whole lot of space and it was tough finishing that much wood at one time.
 
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My first kitchen was built in an 8x10 foot shop, with only a radial arm saw. It took a long time but I learned a LOT. Build the parts, label them, then don't assemble until all the parts are done (saves a lot of room).

I recommend euro style cabinets with no face frame, and overlay doors - it is what I would choose to build today, 40 years later, and involves simpler construction. Key to making them easy, whatever style, is to be certain everything is precise and square.
 
Wow, thanks for so many helpful replies. Let me ask another kitchen cabinet question.

Solid wood or plywood?

Solid wood would be my first choice because it's more "green", and no noxious gas emissions.

The way I see it, the one big issue with solid wood is that for the sides/back all pieces will have to be boards laminated together, right, because no board is going to be wide enough.

Wouldn't it be a lot easier with plywood? The one big issue I see with plywood is that it usually only has one good face, but with lots of cabinets, you'll see both sides of the plywood: inside the cabinet and outside on the side? So how do you deal with that?

THANK YOU SO MUCH. You guys are the best. I don't care what your mothers say about you. I think you're great.:D
 
I'd go with ply for the cabinet carcass.

It would Be a lot of work and very expensive to make a cabinet carcass out of solid wood.

There are better grades of ply available than what you can get from the Borg...

You just have to find a 'real' lumber yard that caters to cabinet makers.

For the cabinets I've installed, the end cabs typically come with veneer panels that you use to put over the ply that match the finish and species of the cabinet doors.
 
cynthia, you could do it with solid wood but it would require a lot of prepwork getting the stock ready, and doing the glue up etc. It would also be far more expensive. Plywood wood be faster and cheaper. I don't do a lot of sheet good so I don't buy much plywood but what I do buy is good on both sides. Also I don't know how much machinery you have in your shop it sounded like you were just getting started, do you have a planer and jointer ? Maybe you should do a shop tour.
 
Cynthia you can get what they call "green" plywood. We just started building kitchen cabinets at work for a builder that caters to people who are sensetive to the outgassing of the materials. It's rather nice looking material with maple on one face and poplar on the other.

If you check out my thread on building my kitchen cabinets I did inset doors with a beaded face frame out of pecan bought from a local sawmill. I did my drawings with sketchup and made sure I had accurite dimensions. I just installed most of them this past weekend and everything fit just like it was layed out in my drawing.

Inset doors aren't realy that difficult as long as everything is built square. You only run into problems when things aren't square and thats where the headaches begin. If your not sure about your abilities build a small mockup cabinet of what you want to try out your ideas.

If you run into any problems you have plenty of people here whose brains you can pick.
 
hi cynthia,

Assuming you have some experience with woodworking and related tools.

1. 3-4 (only problem with this is deciding what type of construction you want to use, and making sure all your measurements are right)

2. 4-5 (this is easier with a euro hinge because adjustment is so much easier)

3. 3 (make the doors and get a glass company to install the glass. most won't charge that much)

4. square cabinets, square drawers and good hardware is all it takes to make drawers that work well. KV, Accuride and Blum are my top favorites for drawer slides. Of course Blum Tandem undermounts are the smoothest i have seen and you can get soft close on these.


as for material you definitely do not want to try to build cabinets out of solid wood. you would have to deal with too much movement. plywood is the way to go. the thing you need to understand is the grading scale which usually includes a letter for the good face, "A" being the best, and a number for the back, "1" being the best.

if you want to be green seek out companies that make formaldehyde free plywood. Columbia Forest Products is one with their PureBond Plywood.
There are different levels so make sure you talk to a rep to make sure you are getting what you want. I believe their pricing is close to if not the same as other high end plywood.

Another option for the finished (exposed) ends of the cabinets is panel ends. Basically you make a big panel that matches the style of the door you choose and either use it as the side panel or use a plywood side panel and attach the end panel to that.

I know I am probably going to catch grief for this comment, but unless you just want to have beautiful drawer boxes so you can show them off to your friends, I wouldn't waste time on dovetailed boxes. Yes they are by far the best built but there are other ways of building drawer boxes that are more economical and easier.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Hope this helps you make your decision.

Chris
 
I'll have to disagree on the dovetails Chris. It only took me about an hour to cut the dovetails on 13 drawers. Now if you do them by hand all bets are off on that. Then it was only about another half an hour to assemble them.
 
I'll have to disagree on the dovetails Chris. It only took me about an hour to cut the dovetails on 13 drawers. Now if you do them by hand all bets are off on that. Then it was only about another half an hour to assemble them.
I agree with alan on the dovetails, they are quick and strong once you get the hang of it.
I'd go with chuck on the materials.
 
Alan and Chris thanks for that help.

I wasn't planning on doing dovetails. The only ones who will ever see and hear about these drawers will be my bulldogs and they usually agree with anything I say, especially if I have a dog biscuit in my hand.

Re: green plywood

Is it possible to get it with different types of wood veneer? I'd like to use Hickory.

What thickness of plywood would you guys use/recommend?

THANKS :thumb:
 
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