Cabinet Making 101

Don't get me wrong, I like Norm Abram.  I think he has a ton of talent and does a bang up job instructing and propagating woodworking but I have to say it pains me severely to watch him build regular, run-of-the-mill, everyday cabinets.  He spends so much time and wasted energy on them that I want to run screaming into the night.  We're talking basic kitchen and bathroom variety cabinets here, not ship-going vessels.  The function of a cabinet is to sit there or hang there and that's it, that's all it'll ever do.  All those fancy screws and all the glue and all them rabbets and dadoes he uses are totally unnecessary.  There, I said it and I'm not the least bit afraid of doing so.

I've been stapling cabinets together for twenty years or better and I have yet to hear of one falling apart or coming off a wall.  So, before I go any further let me address how I go about making my cabinets:

• I Only use quality sheet goods; AC or BC plywood, Melamine, or counter top grade particle board

• I have a dimensioned drawing of all my cabinet sizes - both base and wall (this makes my material cutting faster and easier)

• The only thing I fret on are the face frames - in other words I don't get anal on carcase assembly

That's it!  Those are the only things so let's move on.

Tools you'll need:

• A tablesaw - yes, you could cut the parts with a circular saw but a TS is faster and more accurate

• A 1/4" crown stapler capable of shooting 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" staples

• A brad nailer capable of shooting 1 1/2" brads

• An air compressor

• A planer

• A drywall square

• A framing square

• A miter saw

• A hammer

• A pair of dykes

• A pencil

• A pencil sharpener

• Lighting

• Electricity

• A workbench

• Pipe or bar clamps

• A cordless drill equipped with a #2 Phillips or square drive bit

• A stupid worthless cat

I'm pretty sure you can do without the damned ole stupid worthless cat but the other stuff you'll need.

There are two types of cabinets; base and wall.  Any that rest on the floor are base cabinets.  Guess which ones are on the wall?

If you said 'wall' then you're an excellent guesser.

Ok, the next thing are the cabinet rules.  These rules are for standard base and wall cabinets, meaning 24" deep x 34 1/2" high and 12" deep x 30" high respectively (if you want your cabinets different then you'll need to adjust these dimensions accordingly).  These rules shall never change so consider them chiseled in stone.

I know, you're saying, "But Dear ole Joe, base cabinets are 36" high how's come yours are 34 1/2" high?"  Well, that's because we haven't put on the counter top yet.  Don't worry, we'll get there. 

Base cabinets

• Sides and partitions - 22 3/4" x 29"

• Bottoms - 22 3/4" x however wide the face frame is minus 3/4"

• Shelves - 14 3/4" x however long they need to be - you don't want the shelf the full depth

• Backs - however long the bottom is x 29 3/4" x 1/2" thick (this is the only 1/2" material used on the base cabinet)

• Toe-kick - 4 3/4" wide strips and 2" wide strips (I get these out of the scrap so cut them last)

Wall cabinets

• Sides and partitions - 10 3/4" x 26 7/8"

• Shelves - 10 3/4" x however long they need to be - on wall cabinets you want them the full depth

• Bottoms and tops - however wide the face frame is minus 3/4" x 10 3/4"

• Backs - however wide the face frame is minus 3/4" x 27 3/8" x 1/2" thick (this is the only 1/2" material used on the wall cabinet)

Face Frames

• All stiles and rails are 2" wide (using pocket hole joinery is best however butt joints work well)

• Face frames extend 1 1/4" below the carcase (see drawings below)

The first thing I do is cut all the components making up the cabinets and mill the face frame material.  I stack them against a wall in sections; tops/bottoms, sides/partitions, backs, etc.  I do this because I place trust in my cut list, which I garnered from my dimensioned drawings (SketchUp works great here), I can easily cut all the material for an entire set of average kitchen cabinets in two hours.

Take a look at this model, it's a blow-up of a standard base cabinet carcase.  Notice there are only four major parts; the back, the sides and/or partitions, the bottom and, finally, the toe-kick assembly.

And this is what is looks like assembled.

Assembling the basic carcase couldn't be simpler.  Stand the bottom up on your floor and lift one of the sides or partitions into place, staple it every 3" using 1 1/2" staples then repeat for the remaining side and/or partitions.  Now you have at least a "U" shaped figure.  Place the back on and begin stapling (without changing sizes - this is all about speed here) it onto the carcase frame making sure one side and the bottom align then staple the other side.  If your cuts are square then your carcase is square.  In other words, don't worry about it, move on.

After all the base cabinet carcases are assembled and laying scattered on your shop floor, it's time to put on the toe-kick-assembly.  Run around and stand all the carcases bottom up and use the scrap material left over to cut the pieces.  Staple them as shown below.

The toe-kick couldn't be simpler.  See how the assembly raises the carcase off the floor?  See how the face frame extends below the carcase bottom?  An 1 1/4" + 3/4" is 2"!  Presto!  The stiles and rails are milled to 2" so all you have to do is flush the face frame with the upper surface of the bottom while making sure to overhang it by 3/8" on each side.

From here on out you have to figure out for yourself where your partitions will be, what your face frame layouts will be, etc. but what I've given you here should be plenty of information to get started.  Keep in mind this details base cabinets but the structure of wall cabinets is the exact same with the only difference being there is no toe-kick, which is replaced with an exact replica of the top.

Face frames on base cabinets are always flush to the top of the carcase, however on wall cabinets they are 3/8" proud of the top of the carcase.  Why?  Again, assembly anomalies and to get them all to align and look nice.

Fastening wall cabinets to the wall is quite simple, drill through the 1/2" back where necessary - no hanging rail, no French cleats, no fancy crap.

Shelves are the absolute last thing you cut.  You cut them to fit because you can't be trusted to assemble the carcase accurately or trust the material you're using.  So, measure after the face frame is attached and then install them.

Dominic Palazzola, a veteran member of our woodworking list, suggested a slide-out step stool in the toe-kick area.  I've installed a boatload of cabinets over the years and this idea struck me with a lot of force.  Now, instead of your wife howling for you to get up off the couch and come reach that once-in-a-blue-moon dish off the top shelf, she can bend over, extract the almost hidden step and get the damn thing herself.  This view also shows the attached panel that gets brad nailed onto the carcase.

As for counter tops, well, they're like apples, there are so many kinds I could sit here for years writing about them.  If there's an interest then I'll publish Counter Tops 101.  For now, suffice it to say my counter tops have a 5" wide x 3/4" thick layer around the perimeter of the full layer to give the illusion of it being 1 1/2" thick.  Therefore, 34 1/2" + 1 1/2" = 36" (I told you I'd get there).