building cabinet doors and drawers

8/20/2019 Building Cabinet Doors and Drawers

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by ny Pro


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Ruilding Cabinet oors Drawers


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Building Cabinet Doors DrawersBY D NN Y PROULX

Linden PublishingFRESNO A


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BUILDING C BINET DO OR S DR WERS

D a n n y Proulx

2000 by Dan ny ProulxiUI riehrs rocrvcd. Nu r a r r o f chis buok m av b r r r~ ro du c r dn any form by ny means elecrro~,nic r mechanical . iocludine, r~hotocomine,. .recording, or hy any infi,rm;tti


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uilding Cabinet Doors Drawers

CONTENTS

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter 3

Chapter

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 1

Chapter

Chapter 12

Introduction ge 7

W orking Safe a t W oodworkin ge 8

Joinery Overview Page 1

Exploring Door O ption ge 22

Building Draw ers Pull Out ge 34

M ak ing Slab Doors ge 48

Frame and Flat Pan el Doors P a 8

Frame and Raised Panel Doors ge 7

Multi Panel Cope and Stick Doors ...................................................... a g e 82

Glass Cabine t Door ge 84

Tongue and groove Door ge 9

M ak ing Tambour Doors ge 96

Insta lling Pocket Doors a g e loo

Installing Doors Draw er Front ge 1 6

Index ge i l l


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6 Building Cabinet Drawers Doors

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A technical writer needs a lot of support. Mastering

all the disciplines that are needed to put a wood-

working book tog ether is no t possible. Design con-cept writing graphics constru ction an d photogra-

ph y all require very deman din g skills.

I am very fortunate to have a great team. To my wife

Gale my woodworking assistant Jack Chaters and

my photographi c expert Michael Bowie than k you

very much for the suppo rt.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOGRAPHY:

Danny Proulx

COVER A N D LAB WORK:

Michael Bowie

Lux Photographic9 A Reech St.

Suite 204

Ortxwa Ont.

K l S 3J7

Canada

WORKSHOP:

Rideau Cabineu

PO. Box 33 1

Russell Ont.

K4R 1ElCanada

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan ny Proulx is the owner of Rideau Cabinets an d is

a contributing editor for CabinetMaker Magazine. H ealso contributes freelance articles to Canadian HomeWorkshop Popular Woodworkingand oth er magazines.He is the author of Build Your O wn Kitchen CabinetsThe Kitchen Cabinetmakerj Building and BusinessMa nual Ho w to Build Classic Garden Furniture andSmart Shelving an d Storage Solutions.

Danny can be reached through the Rideau

Cabin ets website at www.cabinetmaking.com

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

The following companies have been a tremendous

help in creating this book:

Julius Blum Inc.

1-800-438-6788

http://www.blum.com

Delta International Machinery Corp.

1-800-438-2486

http://www deltawoodwotkinggcom

L R H Enterprises Inc.

1-800-423-2544

http://www.lrhent.com

Rout R Slide

Jessem Tool Co.

1-800-436-6799

htrp://www.jessem.com

Ryobi Canada Inc.

1-800-265-6778

http://www.ryobi.com

Tenryu America Inc.

1-800-951-7297

http:llwww.tenryu.com

Wolfcraft Inc.

1-630-773-4777

http:l/www wolfcraft com


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Introduction

INTRODU TION

This book has been written in response to the manyquestions I have received from h undreds of cabinet-making enthusiasts asking me about building theirown doors for kitchen, entertainmen t and other cabi-net projects.

The omplete Project

M y earlier bo oks, as well as many othe rs I ve seen,have detailed building plans for all sorts of cabinets.

However, the process of building doors has not beenfully explained. In many instances, instructions for allthe possible door styles for each project would i l ldozens of pages. That s w hat I h ope to accomplish inthis book, making it a companion manual for yourfavorite woodworking books. There are dozens ofoptions offered so you should be able to find a d oorstyle to match any cabinet.

1 11 show y ou how to build all types of d oo r styles-

from simple and basic to fancy and involved. Th ere isa chapte r on joinery which, w hen mastered, will allowyou to build a ny doo r you need for your projects.

If you are planning to build new kitchen cabinets foryour home, building your own doors will save youmoney. Doo rs are am ong th e most expensive items inany kitchen renovation, so being able to build yourown will be a real plus.

An d, if you are going to tackle that kitchen cabinet-making project, there s a chapter o n building drawers.Like doors, they can be a major cost considerationand the process of drawer building can be intimidat-ing to many woodworkers. I ll show you how to builddrawers successfully, easily an d inexpensively.

I will also explore many o f the new man-made woo dproducts available, including particleboard (PB) sheets

that have paper and epoxy coatings (referred to asmelamine) as well as PB sheets that have real woodveneers attached. These open up a wealth of possibili-ties in door- and drawer-making.

Som e woodworking purists don t believe in using thesecomp osite boards. But I would advise you not to sellthese modern products short. They are stable, inex-pensive and they d o conserve ou r woodland resources.I have built hundreds of cabinets usingPB with deco-

rative moldings and they ve turne d o ut great.

A door- an d drawer-making book wouldn t be com-plete without an in-depth look at mounting hard-ware, both the traditional North American hardwareand the European version that has made mountingdoo rs an d drawers a snap. I will describe all th e possi-bilities for your projects.

D oo r- and d rawer-building can be fun and satisfying.

Take your time, explore all the options, then buildsome of these great doo r an d drawer styles for yourown projects.


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Building Cabinet Drawers Doors

W O R K I N G S FE T W O O D W O R K I N G

S FETYEQUIPMENTWo rking with tools can sometimesbe dangerous. Over the last thirtyyears, I've had my share of nicks,scrapes, an d o ne serious accident.

When I look hack o n all the timesI've had a close call, 1 realizetheywere caused by a n um be r of things. .Primarily, I wasn't paying fullattention to the task at hand. Butthere were a few times thar I was

Hearingsafety

glasses and dust\asks are a

necessity in theq ~ orkshop.

tired and shou ld no t have bee11 in Protecting yours lfthe shop. Often, we don't take the

Sawdust is a fact of life in the sh optime to read all the safety instruc-

and it can be dangerous. Wear ations packaged with a new tool.

dust mask when sanding or withany operation that creates dust.

To avoid injury, read all the ma nu-facturer's inform ation , don't workYour ability to hear is another one

if you're tired, and eliminate anyof the senses that can he affected

distractions so you can fully focuswhen using power tools. Wear

on the task. Spending the after-earplugs or any of the other hearing

noon in a hospital emergency wardprotection aids that are available.

isn't much fun.Never turn on a machine withoutwearing hearing protection.

W he n you start woodworking, thefirst thing you should do is pur onyou r safety glasses. If you normallywear glasses, get a prescription pairthat is safetyrated.


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Working Safe at Woodworking

Always kn ow where your h ands arewhen opera t ing equ ipmenr. I a ~ kmyself thar quest ion each t ime Iturn on a tool . And a lways usepush st icks, paddles and guards.

. a Push stlckspaddles featherboords and other

evrces should beused at all times.

In this bo ok, you'l l see som e of rhee q u i p m e n t o p e r a t i n g w i t h o u t aguard . T ha t is on ly be ing d one fo rphotographic clari ty. All machinesshould be o perated w i th a l l safetyatrachnients in place at a11 times.

Tool SafetyT h e r o u t e r i s o n e o f t h e w o o d -worker 's mo st im por tan t tools . I tcan create des igns in m inutes th atwould have taken a person days tofinish by ha nd . Ir's o n c of rhc besttoo l s a woodworkcr has bu t i t

dem and s lots o f respect.

Be mindfu l o f where your handsa rc wi th th i s and o the r powertool s. High-speed rou te r a n d d r il lb i ts , saw blades an d san ding bel tscan jusr as easily cut you as wood.Be careful

S FETY RULESlere are just a few safety rules th at

should be kept in mind and taughtt o a n y o n e w h o w o r ks i n y o u rwoodshop.

I Read arid undersrand all theinstrucrions that com ewith your

rools.

2. Always wear safcry glasses because

even rhc mosr innocenr lookinghand roo1 is a porenrial hanrd.

3 Re swarc of the position of your

hands an d fingers whcn operatingpowrr rools.

4. Keep a fir cxringuishrr i n rhewoodshop 2nd have it inspccrcdrcgulnrlv.

5. Insrall a smoke alarni in the shop,as rheie is alwaysa porenrial

conibu stion hamrd w ith sawdusrand chemicals.

6 Wcar hearing protecrion whenusing machines or power rools.

7 Use caution whcn ha ndling ordisposing of chemicals.

8 Wear a dusr masL or rrspirarnrwhcn rhere is a potential o f highdusr or chemical odor.

9. Work under proper lighring. Ifthe area is lir, the chanceof an acrid rnt is grearly decreased.

In Never arrempt to change bladis orbits on a tool rhnis connecred topower. Pull the plug or turn offr h ~ircuit breaker.

11 Do nor work when you are tiredor raking medication.

12. Krep bladrs an d bits sharp. Dullrools can cause an acc ident.

Thcsc are a few safe ty rules thateveryone shou ld fol low. Bu t aboveall else, use common sense. If anoperat ion seems dangerous-DON O T DO IT Find anoth er way tosafely accomplish th e task.


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Chapter 1 J O IN E RY O V E RV I E W

D O O R N D

D R W E R J O IN E RY

There are a number of differentjoints we'll use to build the doorsand drawers covered in this book.They include butt, miter, lap, rah-bet, groove, dado, mortise-and-tenon, dovetail and box joints. Youmay think these joints havestrange-sounding names and maythink they appear difficult tomake, hut when you get down toth e basics of each, you w ill discoverthat they are actually quite simpleto build with a few tools.

All of these joints can be madebyhand. Before we had electricityand power tools, all joinery washand-made, using chisels, saws andplanes. Power tools have made theprocess much easier, and some ofthe jigs on the m arket furthe r sim-plify the process.

What is the best joint and whichd o we use? T he re isn't a bestjoint. Each has its own applicationand the choice depends on manythings such as stress, materialsbeing used and visual appearance.These will determine which joint ishest suited for each application.

Types of Stress Wood M o v e m e n t

Shear, racking, compression andtension are all forms of stress thatact on joints. So me act to a greaterdegree depending on the applica-tion, so it is wise to be aware of theforces affecting your joinery.

Shear is force applied to a joint,trying to slide it apart. For exam-ple, the butt joint used to joinboards at right angles, such asthose in a bookcase, has weightapplied causing a downward orshearing pressure.

Racking is a twisting force com-mon to doors, drawers and cabi-netry. T he force applied can throwdoors and cabinets out of square,causing binding and joint failure.

Compression stress pushes the jointtogether, and tension tries to pullthe joint apart. All joints are affect-ed by oneo r more of these forces.

Wood is an organic material. Itwill expand and contract even afterthe tree t came from has been cut,milled and dried. Varying humidi-ty levels during seasonal changescause the woo d cells to ab sorb andgive off moisture, w hich results inwood movement.

In many instances, joints are fash-ioned by attaching wood pieces atan angle. Movement in the woodacts on each piece at an unevenrate because the grain directionand pattern of each is different. Anexample of dealing with move-ment is with the raised panel in aframe-and-panel door-the panelis left to float in th e do or framewith a little extra space, so thatexpansion won't spread the stilean d rail joints apart.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview

Adhesivesa n d Fasteners

Yellow carpenter s glue, an aliphat-ic-resin-based liquid, is a general-purpose woodworking glue suit-able for just about all joinery. Ifany of your projects are t be usedoutside, you may be better offusing the relatively new family ofwater-resistant one-part polyur-ethane glues, however.

Many types of fasteners will beused when building drawers anddoors. Dowels and biscuits arereinforcement fastening aids,which, along with the glue, canmeasurahly improve the strengthof a joint. And mechanical fasten-ers, like screws and nails, are oftenused to secure the joint until theadhesive sets up.

One of the newest fasteners is theparticleboard (PB) or chipboardscrew. It sho uld be the o nly screwused when joining PB material.The shaft of this screw is thin andthe thread s are coarse. Some chip-board screws have nibs under thehead to lock the screw in place.But remember-always drill apilot hole before installing thesescrews. The hole allows the screwto cut a th read, instead of wedgingand splitting th e board.

u t t Joints

The butt joint is simple to puttogether because it requires noth-ing except two straight-cut boards.Its strengrh depends on the glueand on the mechanical fastenersused to secure the hoards.

Butt joints are often reinforcedwith biscuits, splines or dowels.However, most glued-up raisedpanels used for doors are simplyedge-glued, and the builder relieso n properly surfaced edges to max-imize board contact.

Another common application forthe butt joint is drawer-making.Wood drawers have glued andnailed joints, while PB drawersdepend entirely on screwed buttjoints.

To maximize the effectiveness of abutt joint, be certain both boardsare cut straight and square. A goo dedge is achieved with an accuratesaw or, in the case of panels, a well-tuned jointer.

The butt joint can be used to joinboards edge-to-edge, end-to-face,edge-to-face and so on. Orienta-tion of the grain, common whencreating panels, is important tostabilize the joint. Most wood-workers alternate the growth ringpatterns so that the cupping andwarping of on e board will counter-act the on e besideit

Butt joints ar e often used whenbuilding PB drawers. The strength ofthis joint depe nds entirely on thechipboard screw.

The particleboard or chipboardscrew shou ld be used when joiningPB materials.


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D o w e l s n d Biscuits

Dowels have long been in use tostrengthen many different types ofjoints. Biscuits, wh ich a re relativelynew to woodworkers, are quicklybecoming the preferred m ethod ofjoint reinforcement.

You'll often hear the term biscuitjoinery when the proper name is

plate joinery. How ever, th e termbiscuit has caught on so that

usually only manufacturers nowrefer to the tool as a plate joiner.

T h e process could be called by anyname and I would still continue tobelieve biscuit joinery is on e of thebest inventions in woodworking.Installing hiscuits is much easierthan aligning holes for dowels. Infact, once the plate joiner is adjust-ed, alignment is automatic.

Plate joinery involves cuttin g semi-circular slots in both hoards to bejoined. Gl ue is applied to th e edgesof each board and in th e slots. noval-shaped beech wood biscuit isput in the slots on on e board an dthe boards are clamped. Biscuitsincrease the gluing surface andthat is beneficial in achieving astronger joint. B ut, more impor-

tantly, t he b eech w ood ovals swellwhen they absorb the moisture inthe glue and increase the strengthof the joint even further.

pla te joiner is ogreat oddition toony woodworkingshop.

Each board to be joined is marked, sothat slotscon be cut with o pla te joiner. The beech woodbiscuits ore inserted into the slots on one of theboords after glue ha s been applied. The boa rdsar e then clamped together.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview 3

Spline oinery

Splines are often used to rein-force butt ioints. Both boards

Cut grooves ordodoes in eachboard

must be grooved or dadoed.T h e n a thin s tr ip of wood isinserted into the grooves.

.

Th is is a good way t o dramaticallyimprove the strength of a buttjoint. Mu ch like biscuit joinery thespline increases the gluing surface

:

and mechanically locks the joint.

To make this joint be certain youfirst have a good fit between thetwo boards being joined. The n c uta dado or a groove in each board.Nex t crit a spline to fit snugly inthe grooves.

Apply glue to the joint surfacesincluding the grooves. Insert thespline then clamp the jointtogether unt il the glue dries.

Cut o spline tha ti ts tightly in the

grooves Applyglue to allsurfaces andclomp the oint


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i ter JointsAccurate cutting

Miter joints are a form of butt of eoch piece ofjoint but because each piece of the joint iswood is cu t at an angle the avail- essential inable glue surface is increased. creating o goo d

The refore the mi ter joint is miter joint.stronger than the simple butt joint.

Miter joints are widely used in thecarpentry and cabinetmakingindustries. T h e joint is popularbecause i t is pleasing to look at and

t hides th e end grain of each board.

These ioints will be used a greatdeal when building doors anddrawers and for the most part arerelatively simple to make. Two

boards are joined at an angle. Inalmost all cases the angle of eachboard is one-half th e joint angle.

For example a 90-degree miterneeds two pieces of woo d each cu tat 45 degrees to properly form thejoint. A 30-degree miter requirestwo boards with 15-degree cutsand so on.

The biscuit is ogood woy toincrease th

r rr quolity of anymiter joint. mini-plate-joiner is anideal tool foranyone making olorge num ber ofmiters.

Miter joinery gets its strength fromtwo closely fitted glued surfaces.However mech anical fastenerssuch as splines and biscuits canstrengthen the joint.


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Dado Groove andRabbet JointsThe se joints are all related and areall made the same way. The posi-tion of the cut on a board deter-mines its name. A dado is cutacross the grain a groove is cutwith the grain and a rabbet is cuton the edge of a board.

Two rabbe t cutsform a cornerhalf-lop joint.

Joints such as these utilizing achannel cut into the wood are eas-ily made with a router or a tablesaw. They are probably the mostcommonly used joints in the cabi-netmak ing industry are mechani-cally strong and are easily made.They can be used in many differ-ent situations which is why theyare so popular.

dado joint forright-anglejoinery is anexcellent methodof supportingshelves.

double dado isa mechanicollv


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6 Buildina Cabinet Drawers Doors

Tongue and GrooveJoints

The tongue-and-groove joint isquite often the joint of choice formany door styles. A raised-paneldoor has a groove cut in the railsand st i les and a tongue on theraised panel.

T h e closed groove or trackformed by joining stiles and railsallows the panel to float in theframe. It is not necessary tomechanically bond the panelbecause t is sup port ed o n all sides.

Solid core raisedpanel doors areoften constructed

. . using a form oftongue andgroove that iscommonly colled

..

a cope and stickjoint

. .

Cut the groove ona toble saw

r The tongue conalso be eas~ lvformed on thetable saw.


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hapter One Joinery Overview 7

. -

Mort ise and Tenon

Joints

This is o ne of the woodworker sfavorite joints. It has been used forcenturies to attach wood, and con-tinues to he commonly used by llwoodworkers.

T he mortise--or hole-part of thejoint can be cut on a drill press, orwith a dedicated mortise press.Holes can be left rounded at thecorners, or chiseled square. It isyour decision-each me tho d isequally strong.

A drill press is the ideal tool forforming the mortise because thehole will be straight. Hand-drilling, although an option, is notrecommended if you want perfectmortises.

If you plan to use the mortise-and-tenon as one of your regular joints,a tenoning jig for the table saw is agood investment. The tenon isaccurately cut square an d perfectlyproportioned wi th o ne of these jigs.

The tenon iseosily cut with atable sow onddodo blade, orwith a tenon jig.

Cut the mortiseusing o drill pressond Forstner bit.

Leoving themortise withround cornersmeans you ll

need to roundover the tenoncorners with owood rosp.


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18 Building Cabinet Drawers& Doors

Box or Finger Joints . . .-, ,

Box joints are simple, decorative .. .. - .@ Cutting boxjointson o table sow is

and mechanically strong because easy with o shop-of all the extra gluing surfaces on ma de jig.the fingers.

I '

Fit the table saw with a wood fence b itha t has a finger attached. Th e fin-ger should equal the width of the .

Y '

space you are cutting.r

Remember, start one end of eachboard with a finger and the otherwith a space. You will get perfectbox joints every time.

Use a table saw or router table.But, remember to custom-make mzp. - -the fence with a pin equal to the ..wid th of the hox joint.

p'-;T h at p in is spaced one pin s thick-ness away from the blade. Th e first Fboard cut is made with the b a r d /tigh t against the jig pin. Afterward, fset the hole cut on the pin andbegin cutting fingers the entirewidth of the board. The secondpass begins cu tting spaced on e pinwidth away from the jig pin.

m .f you own routertable, such s thisRout-R-Slide by

- - ~. Jessem, you con- -. push the it into

the smoN'-7' workprece.

Dry-fit th e joint. If it s a little tig ht,use a wood rasp to gently widen theholes. Once the joint is perfect,apply glue and clamp the joint.


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DOVET IL JOINTST h e dove ta i l j o in t , w i th a ll i t svariations, is the m os t chal leng- ;ing jo in t to make , b u t i t i s a lso f Ton e o f t he s t ronges t and f ines t

of the furn i ture jo in ts. Like th ebox joint , i t has been a s tan dardfor centuries.

Mak ing Do vetailJoints with JigThere are many dovetail jigs onthe market today. good high-quality jig is relatively expensive,

hut it will last you a lifetime. Ifyou make many dovetail joints, agood jig is well womh the money.

Look at the different systems onthe market. Look at how the m etalis mach~ned nd see what acces-sories are availab le. poor jig willonly make a po or joint.

The high-quality jigs will have awell-written manual that is worthreading thoroughly. Follow themanufacturer s instructions andpractice making th e joint.

Use a carbide dovetail bit in yourrouter and make certain it is sharp.The quality of the dovetail jointdepends largely on clean, accurate-ly cut pins an d tails.

You can hand-cut the dovetailjoint o r use a jig. It is a ma tter ofpersonal preference. Whichevermethod you choose, try to masterthis joint because it adds a lot tothe quality an d visual appearanceof any project.

You will need

router ond high-quo liy dovetoil bitto cut well-fittingdovetail oints.


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2 uilding Cabinet Drawers Doors

Hand Cut Dovetai ls

tep 1-Scribe the pin depthwith a marking gauge on theouts ide face of the board. Th edepth is equal to the thickness

of the board.tep 2-Mark the pins wi th a

10-degree angle. Divide themup equally across the board en dfor spacing and width.

tep 3-C ur the dovetail pins o nthe waste side of the pencil line,leaving the pencil line showing

as you cur. Use a backsawtenon saw) or a Japanese pull-saw.


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tep 4-Remove the waste usinga coping saw to angle downfrom the top corner to the oppo-site bottom corner with yourfirst cut. Remove the balance of

the waste with a straight cut.tep 5-Mark the tails using the

pin board as a guide. Cut andremove the waste from aroundthe tails.

tep 6-Dryfit the joint beforegluing. Use a wood file to true-up the pins and tails until youachieve a nice tight-fitting joint.

hapter One Joinery Overview


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Chapter EXPLORING DOOR OPTIONS

M O U N T I N

STYLES

Th ere are many types and styles ofcabin et doors. An d there are just asmany different ways to hinge thedoors to the cabinets.

Two of the most common mount-ing styles are the overlay and theinset. T h e overlay doo r is artachedt the cabinet o r carcass box w ithhinges and partially covers thefront edges of the cabinet. Theinset door is set into the cabinetopening, flush with the outsideface. Th ere isn't a better or beststyle-one m oun ti ng style is asgood as the other. Your choice willbe based on your personal ptefer-ence and o n m atching the cabinetdesign tha t you are building.

There are, of course, variables onthese two, including half-overlayand pocket-mounting styles.However, th e tw o generally accept-ed term s for do or-fittin g styles arethe overlay and the inset door.

Door Anatomy

Doors made from one piece ofmaterial-whether it's particle-boa rd or solid wood-are calledslab doors.

Those made of multiple parts areknown as frame-and-panel doors.They are also referred to asboard-and-batten or tongue-and-groove.It all depends on constructionstyle. Th ere are also door-m akingstyles whose names are taken fromparticu lar builders-the Shak er-style door, for instance.

Nevertheless, a door made from anu mb er of parts has two stiles,or vertical members, and tw o ho ri-zontal pieces called rails. T h efifth piece is the center panel,which can either be solid wood orplywood veneer. There are a fewexceptions to this terminology andwe'll examine all the variables inupcoming chapters.

anel

1

/Rail Stile


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 3

DOOR MOUN TINGHARDWARETh ere are many different hardwareoptions available for hanging acabinet door. The traditionalNorth American cabinet hinge,which has long been a standard, isavailable in dozens of styles andfinishes.

European HingesIn the last few years, doo r-mo unt-ing hardware from Europe hasbecome a very popular alternativeto the North American variety.Th e Euro hidd en hinge is nowwidely used as standard kitchencabinet door hardware.

The hidden hinge usually requiresa hole drilled in th e door. Th at taskmay seem a bit challenging tosome people but it is actually astraightforward process.

There are a few things to learnwhen working with the hiddenhinge. For instance, these hingesare classified with terms such asfull overlay, half-overlay and inset.Overlay simply refers to theamount of cabinet, if any, that iscovered by the door.

Parts of a HingeThe hidden hinge comes in twoparts: the hinge, or boss, whichis mounted on the door, and themo untin g plate, which is

attached to the cabinet side.

6 There ar e manytraditional NorthAmerrcan hinges

I available.

The European hidden hinge is on eof the m ost widely used door hinges

r on the market today-

Adjusting do on with the Europeanhidden hinge.

T h c boss s arrachcd ro thc ino un t-ing plate with a screw or a clip pin.T h e clip-on method is becomingvery po pular because it allows the, .door to be removed from themo untin g plate withou t disturbingany adjustments.

m

Degrees of O pera tionw

--

;S . iHidden hinges are also classed in / 5terms of degrees of open ing. Forstandard door applications, the100- to 120-degree opening hinge The clip-on hinge h as becam e veryis common. But you can purchase popular.hinges th at will allow the do or toopen from 90 to 170 degrees. T h eterm simply refers to the numberof degrees of swing that the door

can o pen from its closed position.


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Hinge ApplicationsDegrees of opening; full-overlay,half-overlay or inset mounting;and mounting styles are varied.There are hinges for bi-fold doorsoften used in right-angled corner

base cabinets in the kitchen cabi-netmaking industry; slim-linehinges for glass do or ap plications;and other specialty hinges to meetjust about every need imaginable.

tep 1 -Dr i l l t he3 5 m m h o l e s i n t h e

wqvd o o r a n d m o u n t t h ehinge boss.

1

tep 2-Secure theI

hing e boss in the hole.Use a sq uare to posi-t ion i t 90 degrees to

-. ~the d oo r edge.

tep 3 -At t ach the*

m o u n t i n g p l a t e t o iT h e majority of your applicationswill use a 95- to 1 10-degree open- th e hin ge boss. .? b ;. .ing hinge in the full overlay or inset tep 4-p lace the ,.... -.style. However, there are times door on the cabine t

i ,gA :when you may want the door in its 90.degree openswinging completely open and out position 3/16- b ; .*of the way. In tha t situation, a 1 70- inch- th ick spacerdegree hinge will be needed.

b e t w e e n t h e d o o r

Mounting th Hinges

There are door-mounting jigsavailable at all woodworkingstores. If you plan to use the hid-

den hinge for many of your proj-ects, these jigs are worth buying.

If you re o nly using th e h iddenhinge occasionally, this quick andeasy installation m ethod does notrequire a jig.

edge a nd the cab ine ts ide edge se ts theco r r ec t doo r gap .In se r t s c r ews th rough the I

m o u n t i n g p la te t o s e c u re t h e m

to the cabine t s ide .

tep 5 - R e m o v e t h e d o o r b yre leas ing the h inge boss f romthe mo un t in g p la te s. I n ser t t herema in ing sc rews to secu re t hem ou nt i ng p la tes.

T h i s d o o r i n st al la t io n m e t h o dThis method works with all hinge- wil l a l ign the d oo r in i ts propermount ing applications, bu t it s

pos i t i on . On ly minor ad jus t -based o n using a 95- to 120-degreestandard opening h ~n ge . f you men t s w il l be needed t o ensu re

plan on installing a non-qtandard door perfectly installed O n

hlnge, such as the 170-degree hidden hinges.

mode l, install the door with a stan- ~ you plan to use a 170-degreeI

dard hinge boss mounted in the hinge, replace the boss anddoor, then replace the hinge boss

i n s t a l l t h e d o o r o n t h e s a m ewith a 170-degree boss after the

m o u n t i n g p la te s. T h e w i d er -door has been hung.ope ning h inge wi l l a lso be cor-

rectly positioned.


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Full over la half- or twin o ver la ~ nd inset hinge set-ups.Hinge dimensions an dga p colculotion based on factory setting mounting plate spacing Omm).Hinge ond door protrusion at full opening angle.

....Set mounting plate

cotlrtcw llu usRlum i n c i l mc surement i in m ~ l m e t e r s back y door thickness

Typical bi-fold and 770-degree hinges on cabinet doors. These two hinges ore used together quite often, in a right-ongle-corner base cabinet with a lazy Susan, for example.Hinge dimensions and gap colculotion based on factoty setting mounting plate spacing Omm).

Use of cover cap isrecommended.

The hinge boss of the bi-fold hinge should be fixedto the same door as thehinge boss of the 770-

Factory setting for 19mm-thickdoor in conjunction with 3mmspaced standord mounting plate. \

\\ 60


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The ull

Overlay inge

Mounting Side panel Arm sideplate width projectionheight- jtc -

his hinge covers the cabinet sideby almost 518-inch when the do oris closed. That overlay distance is

largely based on frameless .-European-style kitchen cabinetryu

made with l6 m m 518-inch) 7 melamine-coated particleboard.

.

Two 35mm-diameter holes are f *a1drilled in the door to accept the ohinge. Th e holes are set back abo ut

i p o r i n g d ista nce118 inch from the edge of the door.-Most hing e manufacturers, includ-

ing Blum, whose products I use,require this set-up. However,check the specifications suppliedby the manufacturer of the hingesyou prefer.

The depth of the hinge holedepends upon the hinge beingused. While there are slight vari-ances, most hinges will it in a hole

112 inch deep. Again, check thespecifications of the hinge youplan to use.

The ideal bit for drilling a hingehole is flat-bottomed, and oftencalled a Forstner bit or a hinge-bor-ing bit. I suggest you use a carbide-tipped hinge-boring bit becausethe b inding adhesives used to man-

ufacture particle core an d plywoodsheet goods are hard. High-speedsteel bits will burn very quicklywhen drilling these boards.

-oor overlay ~'

Door protrusionat rnax open ing) \

A 35 mm hole for the full overloyhinge is set bock 1 8 inch from theedge of the door


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The Half

Overlay Hinge

The half-overlay hinge overlaps thecabinet side y about 5 16 inch.

This hidden hinge is identical to

the full overlay model with oneslight difference.

It mounts on the door in the sameway but the overlap o n the cabinetis only about 5 16 inch or one-half th e distan ce of the full overlay.

Manufacturers call this type a half-overlay hinge hu t you m ight also

see it called a twin or dual applica-tion hinge.

This hinge is used when two doorsmeet on one cabinet. This situa-tion may arise when you have aseries of doo rs side by side in a runand the center doors meet on on ecabinet. It is a limited-use hingebut there are times when the small-

er overlay is needed .

The Inset Hinge

The inset hinge mounts the doorflush with the face of the cabinet.

T he inset hinge is perfect for flush-

mounted doors. The mechanicalability of this hinge to maintain itsposition is an important featureand unlike some of the earlierinset hinges and the traditionalNo rth Am erican styles this hingeis adjustable.

Building inset doors for any wood-working project is challenging.

The cahinet opening must hesquare an d the do or has to be builtwith very close tolerances. Oftenthe clearance between the doorand cabinet opening is 1116 inchor less. high-quality hing e is nec-essary for this app lication.

Study the specifications of thehing e you plan to use before build-

ing your inset doors. There areslight mounting differencesdepending on the manufactureran d you s hould be aware of thesebefore the doors are built.


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Hing e Terminology

and imensions

Hidden hinges are easy to install Study this illustration to becomeand you will soon appreciate all familiar with hidden-hing e termi-their benefits. T h e illustration nology. It gives you som e of th e

below details som e of the imp or- im porta nt dimensions you ll needtant dimensions and terminolo gy when installing these hinges.associated with this hardware.

Hinge arm height Hinge arm height Hinge arm height-

- -

1g j-I.-I

. ..

. . . . .. ..Door protrusion; i Door protrusion \ , r

. ..:. . ..::.

Overlay application: Centre or twin application Inset applicakoni

Straight hinge arm 9.5m m cranked hinge arm 18 m m cranked hinge arm

Drilling distance

Drilling distanceG a p - m--

cap_Boss overlay 1

GapBoss overlad Boss overlay

-~

Door overlay -~= Fixedi 1 Door overlay = F i x T d j : ~= Fixed-

dimension dimension dimension

Drilllng Drilling depthdistance

iScrew onDrilling Drillinfdistance

Knock in

Iinge

4 Lboss dimensions

:depth flange width

m


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H N D L E OPTIONSThere is not a great deal I can sayabout door handles. They are anecessity for most doors andchoosing one is sometimes diffi-cult because of the many stylesavailable.

T he cabinet style will often dictatewhich handle is most suitable-amodern nickel handle isn't appro-priate for a Shaker-style cabinet,for instance. But the choice is notalways that simple. Some suppli-ers, like mine, have more tha n twohun dred different types of handlesin stock.

Handles are mounted to thedoors with machine screws.Manufacturers often include thescrews with the handles, bu t mostof those screws are for a standard314-inch-thick door. You mayhave to run to th e hardware storefor different ones if your doorisn't th e so-called stand ardthickness. It 's one minor annoy-ance that you may encounterwhen you are in a hurry to com-plete a project, so consider i tahead of time.

I Door handles ar einstalled on alm ostevery door webuild. There arehundreds of styleson the market.

Mounting tyles

Handles are attached with one o rtwo screws through the back side

of a door. The screw spacing isn'tthe same for every handle fromeach manufacturer. You will see 3inch, 3-112 inch and 96mm on-center spacing plus a few more. Itis not an important consideration,but i t can be limiting if you needto change handles later.

What is the best position on the

door to m oun t the handles?I don'tbelieve there is a defin ite bestposi tion. I've seen handles inchesfrom the top, in the center of thedoor, on the edge of the door andin dozens of other positions. It'sreally a ma tter o f looks and of per-sonal choice. Sometimes the cabi-net style that you're copying willprovide th e answer.

unction

My m ain concern with a ny handleis its ease of use. Is th e door easy to

operate? Will the handle be strongenough to stand up to the abusewhen a cabinet is opened andclosed a lot? Is the handle danger-ous? Could a child's fingers getcaught in the opening?

Older people, and those withdiminished flexibility in theirhands, sometimes have a hard time

grasping door handles. If that situ-ation applies in your house, youmay want to consider a differenthandle style. Having everyone try afew samples, before you co mm it topurchasing all the hardware, isoften well worth the effort. Unlessmoney is not an issue, you willhave to live with your choice forqu ite some time-and handles can

be an expensive hardware item.


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srvles. All of them can be easilvconstructed in the hom e workshop.

However, a few types are beyondthe ability of the woodworker, par-ticularly thermoplastic doors.

These doors are made with medi-um-density fiberboard (MDF)that has a pattern routed on thesurface. T h e inlay p atterns are cre-ated with a computer-controlledrouter. The designs are cut to sim-

ulate a raised-panel do or style.

T he M D F is then covered with aheat-shrunk plastic film on a high-pressure vacuum press. T he plasticis forced into the patte rn an d takes Determining Thermoplastic doors ar e becomingon the contours o f the design. Do or Size papular choice for bathroom a n d

Euro-style cabinek.If you plan to install the standard

The latest styles of thermoplastic 1 00-degree, full overlay hiddendoors com e in a range of colors. A

hinge, there is an easy rule-of-few manufacturers are offering th um b used to determine door size.these doors w ith a texture that sim-ulates woo d grain.

l as s an dPlastic Do orsObviously, glass and Plexiglasdoor-making must also be left tothe experts, but you may need oneor two of these doo rs for a specialcabinet. You will need to knoww ha t size to order-and here iswhere information abou t the hid -den hin ge is useful.

First, the height is not critical. Thedoor should overlay the cabinet atthe top and bottom of the door byat least 4 inch.

The width of the door is critical.To calculate door width, measurethe inside opening o f the cabinet.Th en, add 1 inch to that dimen-sion to find the d oor size.

For example, a utility cabinet thathas a 21-inch inside openin g meas-urement will need one 22-inch-wide door or two 11-inch-widedoo rs. It s th at simple. You w illhave to adjust th e hinges slightly toget the correct gap between doorsbu t, as you ll discover, this sim plerule works in almost all cases.


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FACE FRAME VS FRAMELESS CABINETRY

One other question you should each style, but being aware of theconsider, before building cabinet two main styles will help youdoors and ordering your hardware, decide on the door and the hard-is the cabinet style. ware required.

There are two main styles of cabi-nets, with many variations within

h

The basrc foce-fram e cabin et installing the face frome flush with the

has a hardwood face applred to inside face of the cabmet s side boardth carcass. is anothe r common building practice.

Face Frame C abinetry In some instances, th e inside style hinges or else hidd en hingesdimensio n o f the face frame is less with a face-frame mounting plate.This cabinet-building style con-than the inside carcass dimensio n. Either hin ge will work fine.sists of a simple cabinet box (car-T he cabinet s side board is set backcass) and an applied hardwoodfrom the inside edge of the face- In the last few years, cabinetmak-frame on the front face. T h e car-frame stiles (vertical members). ers-particularly in the kitch encass can be made of sheet materials

cabinetmaking industry-havesuch as plywood or particleboard.If that is th e type of face-frame cab- installed their face frames so thatIn early cabinets, you might seeinet you are building, o rify ou have the inside edges of the face-framesolid wood panels that have beenon e that needs new doors, you can stiles are flush with the inside facesglued together.use traditional North American- of the cabinet.


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3 Buildinn Cabinet Drawers Doors

Ha rdw are Questions

to Consider in Face

frame Cabinetry

Mounting doors with traditionalNorth American-style hinges is

easy with face-frame cabinets.There is usually ample room tom ou nt the hinge on the face of theexterior frame.

Installing European hidden hingeson face-frame cabinets can presenta few dificulties, but Europeanhardware manufacturers havesolved almost all of these problems

with some un ique hardware.

If the face frame has been installedso that its inside edges are flushwith the inside surface of the cabi-net carcass, install the hinges in t henormal m anner.

O n th e other hand , if the faceframe has a smaller inside dimen-sion than the carcass, a face-framemounting plate must be used tomo un t the hidden hinge. It isn t aserious problem but it is one youshould consider when orderinghinge hardware.

North Amerrcantraditional hingesar e simple toinstall on face-frame cabinets.

Europeanhidden hingeinstalled onface-fromemounting plate.


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options

Frameless abinetryCabinets built without a faceframe are often referred to asframeless or European cabi-

nets. The cabinet box does nothave a wooden face frame appliedto it. In almost all cases, the frontedges of the cabinet box are cov-ered with an iron-on melaminetape or with wood veneer edging.

This is a very common style inEurope, as the name implies.Frameless cabinets are now popu-lar in North America as well,because they are simple t buildand often cost less than the face-frame style.

A typical frameless kitchen cabinetconsists of two side boards, a top , abottom and a back. Shelves anddoors are all that are then neededto complete the cabinet. Usually,the cabinet is 518-inch-thickmelamine particleboard with theexposed front edges covered withmelamine tape.

Hardware

onsiderationsThe North American traditionaldoor hinge, which m ounts on thefront face of the ca binet, is difficultto install on frameless cabinets.That doesn't mean it definitelycan't be used, but the 518-inch-thick front edge leaves little roomfor hinge placement.

All the overlay specifications havebeen developed based on t he use of16mm or 518-inch-thick cabinetmaterials.

Door openings, mounting platesand hardware fastening proceduresare based on frameless cabinetstyles. However, manufacturershave realized that the face-framecabinet is still in dem and and th eyhave developed hardware toaccom mod ate this style.

Doors and H inges

You m ight thin k that the hardwaredetermines th e d oor style. Well, inalmost all cases, that is not so.Th ere are hundreds of hinge appli- sdcations and, quite often, you willbe able to m oun t any door style onany cabinet. It's simply a matter ofknowing what is available and w hatthe limitations are in some cases

If the complex-looking Europeanhidden hinge intimidates you, typ;ca/ ,,fromeless uropeandon't be alarmed. W e all were hesi-rant wh en first faced with the needto use this hardware but, after the ~~~~~l~~~ab;netsprov;,je thefirst few installations, we were ideal application for the Europeanamazed to find ou t how easyit is. hidden hinge.

Here is whcre the European hiddenhinge comes into its own. It wasdesigned for frameless cabinets, iseasy to install and is the perfectcom panion for this style of cabinet.


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Chapter B U ILD IN G DRAWERS PULL-OUTS1P 1'

TRADITIONAL That inscr-bottom tradition con-STYLES tinues today among many cabinet-

makers. Traditional building stylesTh roug hou t most of furniture his-

are sometimes hard to change,tory, drawers were mad e o ne way, although most now use modernand one way only. Two sides were

drawer-glide hardware.ioined to a front and backboard.and then an inset bottom was

The drawer face was either incor-installed in grooves. T h e bottom ofporated in to the drawer as both thethe drawer sides acted as runners,face and the front board or as a

which ran on wooden tracks builtseparately applied front. That

into the cabinet.choice was made by the cabinet-maker and was determined by the

I remember building m any draw-style of cabinet being built. Manyers, all that same style, and build- cabinetmakers of long ago built

ing frames inside the cabinet forvery elegant and intricate drawers

th e drawers. It wasn t a great sys-using all forms of joinery.

tem but t was the standard.

Cabinet drawers moved on woodrunners before modern drawerhardware came onto the market.


35/113

Chapter Three Buildina Drawers Pull-Outs 5

M O D E R N

DR WER

H RDW RE

Modern hardware now gives cabi-netmakers the o ppo rtuni ty to varydrawer styles and constructionmethods. Side- and bottom -moun tglides with three-quarter and fullextension capabilities, along withpositive stops a nd closing features,have opened a world of designopportunities.

Low-cost metal drawer glide setsthat consist of two bo ttom-mo untdrawer runners and two cabinettracks are quite simple to install.Installing the new drawer hardwaredemands special attention to thedrawer s body width, s most of thehardw are requires very precise clear-ances in order to operate properly.Otherwise, building high-quality

drawers is well within the abilitiesof any woodworker o r hobbyist.

Material Choices

In the past, it was common to use112-inch-thick wood for buildingthe body of the drawer. Today, alltypes and sryles of solid woods a nd

manufactured shret goods arebeing used to build drawers.

Most common are cabinet-gradeplywood and melamine-coatedparticle-core material.

-Modern drawer hardware expandsthe design possibilities.

Cabinet-gradeplywood, which.ha s void-freelayers, is a

popular drawer-making choicetoday

@v'q

Melamine-coated

another populardrawer-buildingmaterial. This one.

+has a solid woodedg e trim a n d

A bottom-mounted


36/113

6 build in Cabinet Drawers Doors

DR WER JOINERY

Many of the joints discussed inCh apt er can be used to builddrawer boxes. Rabbets, interlock-ing grooves an d dovetail joints arestill popular drawer-buildingchoices. Butt joinery, using specialscrews for particleboard, is alsovery comm on.

C a l c u l a t i n g

D r a w e r S iz esIn general, the 1-inch rule appliesto most drawer-building projectswhen using modern hardware.Bottom-mounted and side-mounted slides made by manufac-

matters, I also subtract 1 inch from Measure the inside width an d heightthe height of the opening to deter- of the cabinet, an d then subtractmine my drawer-box height. inch from each dimension to deter-

mine the heigh t of your draw er box.T hi s rule is very general and Isuggest you read the manufactur-er's instructions that come withyour hardware.

One important point should bekept in min d ifyo u are planning touse th e new hardware. M ost draw-er-glide systems are designed tooperate with frameless cabinetbuilding styles, where the cabinetis the same width all over. But tha t

doesn't mean that the hardwarecannot be used with face-frame-style cabinets.

turers such as Blum, Accuride and If the inside width of the faceothers, require a 112-inch space frame is smaller than the insidebetween the outside of th e drawer width of the cabinet, cleats orbox an d th e cabinet side for proper spacers must be installed so thatinstallation an d operation. you can mount the glides flush

with the inside of the face frame. ItThe drawer opening is measured

is a simple matter of attachingfrom inside the face frame, or cabi- small strips of wood on which tonet sides if it is a frameless style

mo unt the hardware.cabinet. Subtract inch from thatdimension to get the outside widthof the drawer box. To simplify


37/113

Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull-Outs 37

B U I L D I N G A

TRADITIONAL

STYLE DRAWERsi es 314 x 6 x 22

This drawer box is made of 314-inch-thick pine and has a 114-

inch-thick bottom. This is theinser bottom style that has longbeen the standard.

For this example the drawer box isinches long and 12 inches wide

by 6 inches high. This box isdesigned to have a false drawerfront applied.

Step 1-Cut tw side boards.Each inside face will require arabbet 114-inch deep by 314inch wide on both ends of theboard. Cut the rabbet with adado blade on a table saw orwith a router.

Step 2-The two side boardsand the front board nowrequire a 114-inch-wide by 114-inch-deep groove on the insidefaces to receive the bottomboard. The top edge of thegroove is 112-inch above thebottom edge of each board.

Tip Use a table saw to cut thegrooves. Set the blade 1/32 inchdeeper than 114 inch to allowfor a little movement of thebottom board.


38/113


tep 3-The back is dimensioned .as detailed in the materials list.

No grooves or rabbets are\iequired o n this piece. \.

tep 4-The bottom can be any \'t114-inch-thick sheet material. .. .,

often use veneer plywood that

matches the wood of the drawer

box, but use of any good hard-

board is also very common.

tep 5-Attach the sides to thefront and back boards, usingglue and finishing nails. The . : . t,top edges of all the parts should * . .~be flush, and the bo ttom board

grooves should line up on the,.-. .

\front a nd side hoards.

tep 6-Slide the bottom boardinto th e grooves of the sides and

front board. It should be flush . , . t,,

with the outside face of the

back board. Verify that the box

is square, and then nail the bot-tom board to the edge of the :.

back board.

Traditionally, when solid wood Iwas used as a bottom, glue was notapplied. Therefore, the wide bot-tom board could expand and con-tract. Today, however, ply andcomposite boards are used for the

bottoms and wood movement isn'tthe problem i t once was. Use nailsonly, or apply glue along with thenails. still retain my old habitsand don't glue the bottom-buti t can be done either way. ., v:.,--m


39/113


- -w

CABINET GRADEPLYWOODDRAWERS

A special type of plywood is fre- * .quently used to build cabinet

drawers. It is called by manynames, includ ing cabinet plywood,Baltic birch and Russian birch.

Build traditional-style drawersusing birchplywood.

It is special because th e layers mak-ing up the sheet are void-free,that is, they are guaranteed to befree from holes. This is importantbecause i t means that the edges ofeach cut will be smooth. may be surprised at the high cost you will gain a little extra interior

Many cabinetmakers leave theedges uncovered because sandingcan produce a very smooth finish.T h e edges can be stained, or sealedwith urethane or lacquer. Thealternating light and dark layersmaking up the plywood produce a

of this material, so plan your cut-ting carefully.

T he same process described underthe heading Building aTiaditiona1-Style Drawer is used when build-ing birch plywood drawers.

drawer space.

Like solid wood, this plywood isnailed and glued in most cases.Either side- or bottom-mounteddrawer runners are used for thetracking m echanism.

.

finished appearance. Because cabine t-grade plywood is a Next time you are in a furniturecom posite board, drawer boxes are store, look at commercial-grade

The thickness most commonly very stable and won't expand or drawer boxes. You'll find that theused for drawers is 2 inch. Sheets

contract like solid-wood drawers. majority are made from Baltic birch.can be purchased in a standard4 It is also only 2 inch thick, sofoot by 5-foot size. However, you


40/113

4 BuildingCabinet Drawers & Doors

M E L A M I N EPARTICLEBOARDDRAWERSMPB drawers are very popular inthe kitchen cabinetmaking indus-

try. Wood edge trim matching thecabinet wood can be added to thedrawer edge as a finishing detail.

Ne w hardware innovations like thebottom-mounted drawer glidehave allowed woodworkers to use awider range of drawer-makingmaterial. One of those products ismelamine particleboard (MPB).

Drawers do not have to track onwood runners or on flimsy plasticglides. Cabinet-mounted tracksand drawer-box runners supportthe drawer box. The drawer mate-rial is no longer part of the tracksystem.

Building anM P B rawer

In this example, my drawer open-ing is 5 inches high by 14-314inches wide in a 17-114-inch-deepcabinet, and it will have a falsefront attached.

Step 1-Calcula te the s ize ofdrawer box you l l need . As d is -cussed earl ier, using Blum bor-tom-moun ted g l ides , I m a k em y b o x 1 i n c h n a r ro w e r a n d 1i n c h lo w er t h a n t h e w i d t h a n dhe ight o f t he open ing .

Materials List

si es @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 16

front @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 12 1 2

back @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 12 1 2

bottom @ 5/8 x 13-3/4 x 16

Based o n rhe s i ze o f t he open- o f t he box . App ly edge t ape to Tip: Metal drawer glides are

i ng , m y d rawer box wi ll be 4 o n e l o n g e dg e, a n d t r i m t h e available in standard sizes, so

i nches h igh by 13-314 inches r ape. Cu t t he boa rd to t he pick the closest size t your

wide by 16 inches deep. required sizes. Tap ing f irst a n drequirements. My draweropening is 17-1/4 inches

Step 2 - C u t a le ng th o f M P B 3 crosscut t ing second wi l l g ive deep. A standard 18-inch318 i nches wide by abou t 60 c lean , square edges on each en d drawer glide wou ld be tooinches long. Thi s material wil l be

of the boards . long, so have chosen theused for the s ides, back an d front next size down-16 inches.


41/113

Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull Outs 4

-, ..

Step 3-Attach the sides to the .front and back boards. Use two2-inch screws at each corner.T h e screws must be MP B-rateddesigned to join particleboard).

Step C C u t t h e bo tt o m b o ardaccurately. Take extra care to Imake vure this board is squarebecause it will be used to sauare ,the drawer box. Edge-tape thesides before installing, as they *

will be visible. Attach the backwith 2-inch M PB screws on6inch centers.

Step 5-Attach the bottom-mo unt drawer glides to the boxwith 518-inch screws.

Here's a pointer: To achieve chip-free cuts with melam ine-coatedboards, use a b lade specificallydesigned to cut this ma teria l, suchas this MEL PRO blade by Tenryu.


42/113


tep 6-Screwheads visible on :p&the sides of the drawer box canbe covered with plastic caps. Ifyou plan to use these caps, drivethe screw until the head is flush

b

with th e surface of th e m aterial.tep 7-U?e a carpenter ? square

to align the cabinet runners. - . .-They should be installed 114inch above the rail, so positionyour square accordingly. Restthe leg of the square against theface of the cabinet, and the

w

tongue o n th e cabinet side, then - V L

draw line. Th is line will be90degrees to the cab inet face.

tep 8-Use th e reference line asa guide to aligning the cabinetrunners. Install one 518-inchscrew at the front and one at theback of each runner, in caseadjustments are required.

tep 9-Test-fit the drawer boxand adjuxr the runners ifrequired. O n ce yo u are satisfiedthat the drawer is operatingproperly, install the remainingscrews. Finally, attach th e draw-er face of your choice.


43/113


I N S E T C B I N E TD R W E R S

Inset drawers have their faces flushwith the cabinet front. Buildingthese drawers requires accuratecutting and assembly, as we areusually dealing with a 1116-inchgap between the drawer face and

th e cabinet sides.

T he following is an example of aninset drawer using t he front hoardas the finished face. In this case,rabbets are cut int o the front an drear faces, whic h is opposite t o theprocess we used when building atraditional drawer wi th a false faceapplied. The front of the drawer

will be visible, so we must coverthe en ds of the side boards.

I will also explain how to build Inset drawers ar e an JthersV e

these drawers with wooden side-runners. This is another style thatwas popular years ago, and somecabinetmakers continue to copythis process whe n building periodfurniture. When tracking thedrawer on wood runners, waxingthe wood is usually necessary to

make the drawer operate smoothly.


44/113


Building the r a w e rI will be using 314-inch solid woodfor the sides back and front. Thebottom will be 114-inch-thickveneer plywood.

Step 1-Cut the drawer-frontboard which will be the fin-ished draw er face 1116-inchless than the drawer opening inheight and width.

Next cu t a 314-inch-wide by112-inch-deep rabbet on eachinside en d of the drawer face.

Step 2-T he two sides are 1 inchshorter than the cabinet depthand the same height as thedrawer-front board. Preparethese boards by forming agroove on the outside face ofeach side. T h e groove should becentered an d measure 314 inchwide by 112 inch deep.

Step 3-Cut a back board that is112-inch lower than the frontboard and 1- 112 inches narrower.

Step 4-Before the drawer isassembled we need a groove onthe front and side boards toreceive the bottom board. Cutthe groove 114 inch wide and114 inch deep with its to p edge112 inch up from the bottomedge of each board.

Tip This can be a challenging drawer to build.Accuracy is important s o cut and position all th eparts carefully.

The drawer rails should be sm oothly sanded toabout 1 64 inch less than th e drawer opening allaround so th e drawer will ope rate properly.


45/113

ha~ter hree Buildine Drawers Pull Outs 5

tep 5-Assemble the drawer CI

parts using glue an d brad nails.Nail the side boards to the frontthrough the sides to hide nailholes. T h e bottom board sits in

the side and fro nt board groovesand overlaps the edge of theback board as it does in the tra-ditiona l drawer desc ribed earlierin this chapter.

tep 6-Cut two cabinet rails112 inch wide by 314 inch high .The rail5 are yecured 114 inchback from the face of the cabi-

net. wh ich allows the face of thedrawer to close flush with thecabinet face

Position the rails accuratelybased on measurements fromthe grooves on the drawer box.Be very careful when placing therails as their position determinesthe at-rest position of the drawer

box. I recommend a 1116-inchgap between the face of thedrawer box a nd the cabinet faceon the sides top and bottom .


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PULL OUTSPull-outs are located behind cabi-net do ors an d can be used for stor-age or for special applications suchas shelves for CD players.

Two hardware improvements havema de pull-outs possible-moderndrawer glides and improved hingetechnology. Cabinets no longerrequire a center stile because thenew hidden hinges can maintaintheir position. Kitchen and utilitybase cabinets now have pull-outsroutinely installed because of themechanical ability of these hinges.But there is one item that must beconsidered when building pull-outs. Man y cabinet doors enter theinterior space of th e cabinet whenthey are opened. Check the hingeyou plan to use, because a spacer orcleat may have to be installed onthe hinge side of the cabinet to p ro-vide clearance for the drawer glide.

Platform Pull outs

The platform pull-out can be assimple as a sheet of 314-inch woodwith a piece of decorative moldingo n the front. O r it can be a 314-inch-thick wood frame with a 114-inch-thick bott om . Thi s is an idealapplication for bottom-mounted

drawer glides.

Pull-outs a redrawem behind

cabrnet doors an dcan be any shape

1 necessary to fit yourrequirements.

' wood-frame pull-out with a 1/4-inch-thick bottom,mounted on drawerglides.

Side-mounted fullextension glidesar e also id eal foruse withequipmen t pull-outs.


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MakingDrawer Pull outs

tep l-Co nstr uct a traditional-style drawer following the pro-cedures covered earlier in thischapter. Remem ber the drawerwidth may not be inch nar-rower than the cabinet wid th ifa cleat is needed to allow thedrawer to clear the d oo r hinge.

tep 2-Attach a false drawer-face as wide as the drawer boxplus a little wider to cover theglide mechanism. F- ~ W

tep 3 - In ~ t a l l t he d rawerglides. In this example I amusing full-extension side-mounted glide^ but less expen-sive three-quarter extensionunits w ill wo rk just as well

Design NotesThere are dozens of pull-outdesign possibilities. Large unitsin k itchen base cabinetsimprove storage; equipmentpull-outs in the w orkshop savespace; and entertainm ent-cen terstorage of tapes, cassettes andCDs is much m ore efficient w itha few pull-outs.

I use a num ber of tray andplatform pull-outs in myworkshop to store router and drillbits. Closing the cabinet doorshelps keep the dust off my toolsand the pu ll-outs allow me quickaccess to l l my small tools. I'msure you'll find m any applicationsaround your home and shop for

these great storage devices.


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8 Buildinc Cabinet Drawers Doors

hapter M A K I N G SLAB D O O R S

W HEN TO USESLAB D O O R S

Slab, or flat, doors are made fromsheet goods or from glued-upwood ~ a ne ls . hey are a low-costoption to consider whe n a num berof doors are required.

Utility and storage cabinets don'toften require fancy doors, so theslab door is the answer. But don'tsell it short-many kitch ens ,including my own, have veneer-covered particle-core doors, o ne ofthe m ost p opular slab-style doors.

doors. If you have a kitchen, hath -room, laundry or storage roomproject that you've postponedbecause you can't afford th e cost ofmaking solid-wood raised-paneldoors, take another look at thislow-cost solution .

Even the plain slab door can hemade beautiful with a little imagi-nation. Friends of min e tole-paint-ed a lovely design on an oak-veneerparticleboard door, and it lookedgreat. This show s you w hat a littletime an d talent can do w ith inex-pensive m aterials

One 32-square-foot sheet of

Tole-pa~nbng deagn on veneer-covered port~cleboards o greo t wayto enhance the look of oninexoensive slob door.

mela mine or veneer-covered parti-

cleboard will yield quite a few


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Chaoter Four Makinn Slab Doors 49

M E L A M I N E

SLAB DOORS

Melamine particleboard MPB)

doors are simply f l a t doors cutfrom 518-inch or 314-inch-thickT

melamine sheets. They are popularin Europe and are common hereon low-cost frameless cabinets.

Step 1-Cut the d oor blank from ,.<

a sheet of MPR. As mentionedearlier this is where a dedicated

melamine table saw blade is

invaluable.

Step 2-Tape the edges of thedoo r with iron-on veneer tape.

Step 3-Trim the tape with adouble-edged trimmer. Thistrimmer is an inexpensive tool

that saves time and does a greatjob of trimming the tape. -m

Tip Even if you don t have awell-equipped table saw with amelamine blade, you can stillmake these doors. To cut MPrelatively chip-free w ith a circularsaw, set the saw blade to adepth of 1 16 inch. Make aninitial pass along the cut line toscore the m elam ine coating.Next, set the blade to 3/4 inch

deep, and complete your cut. Ifyou have access to a router,make the first cut with a circularsaw 1/8 inch greater than therequ ired length. Then, using a

straight-cutting carbide-tippedrouter blade, trim the board tothe required size. The rou ter willgive you a perfect edge.


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W O O D V E N E E R

D O O R S

T h e steps involved in ma king thisdoor are similar to those for themelamine door. However we willbe using veneer particleboard andwood-veneer tape.

Pre-glued heat-sensitive wo odveneer is available in all types andsizes to match any of the veneeredsheet goods you choose. If youwan t a stronger door you have theoption of using veneer plywoodmaterial but t is more expensive.

Step l - C u t t h e d o o r t o size a n dapply wood-veneer edge tape.

Step 2 A double-edged t r im-mer t ends to fo l low the g ra inan d tear the w oo d veneer. I use EmXF ~a sma l l rou te r a nd a f lu sh - tr imbi t to cu t the veneer.

Step 3-To comple t e t he doorc l ean th e rough edges o f t hetape by san din g l ightly us ingfine-grain p aper.


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h a ~ t e r our Makinn lab Doors 5

VENEER DOORS

W I T H A W O O D

EDGE

Veneer doors area great low-cost- - . . . ...option, but it is impossible to rout V .,an edge profile on these doors.However, the edges of a wood-edeed veneer door can be treated & , . l~

L

with designs, which add a great dealof interestto an otherwise flat door.

tep 1 1 will be using 114-inch-thick wood strips, so my doorsheet will have to be cut 112nch less in width and height

from the door opening. Addingth e wood edge will give m e m yrequired d oo r size.

tep 2-Cut two hardwoodstrip 114 inch thick an d aswide as the thickness of thedoor. They should equal thedoor width i n length. G lue and la .nail the strips to the top and

bottom edge9 o f the door.tep 3-Cut two hardwood R

strips 114 inch thick and aswide as the door thickness.They should equ l the doorheight in len gth plus the thick-ness of the top and bot tom -wood edges. Glue and nail the

trips to the sides of the door.


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tep F i l l the nail holes wit h ai

w x stick that matches the f i na linish color.

tep 5-Using a router roundover the solid wood edge w it h a

114-inch round-over b it.

esign NotesThis door allows you to becreative without spending afortune. Use a light-colored woodsuch as birch for the center paneland trim the door with a darkerwood such as walnut.

Varying the thickness of thewo od edging permits the use ofmore com plicated rou ter designson the door edge. You can use a

cove bit or even a Roman ogee ifyou want a more intricatedesign.

This i s one of my favorite low-cost door- and drawer-facestyles. The wood edge provides a

great deal of protection for thedoor. Most of the damage likelyto be done to a door wil l usuallyoccur on the edges. When it

happens to a solid-wood stripsuch damage can be repaired.

I recently completed a bedroomset using this style on all thedoor and drawer faces. I spentabout one-fifth the cost of solid

wood and the bedroom setlooked great.


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Chapter Four Making Slab Doors 53

VENEER OORS

W I T M O L I N G

You can dramatically alter the lookof a plain slab door by installingwood moldings. Make the mold-

ing yourself on a table saw with aspecial cutter or purchase it at anylumberyard.

esign otesThere are dozens of ready-mademoldings available at your locallumberyard. Doors can be madeto look big and solid by usingwider moldings, while thin pieces

will make the door look lighter.You can also create some veryinteres ting visual effects byfinishing the door and m oldingdifferently. Usinga dark stain forthe door and a clear finish forthe molding-or vice versa-canbe very dramatic.

This door style also works w ell

wit h plywood and moldings ifyou paint the door. It s a greatlook for the cottage or for thoseplayroom cabinets. Blue doorswith red molding will brightenup any child s room.

tep I-Make a standard slabdoor with wood edging.Measure inch n from alledges and draw guidelines.

tep 2-Cut the molding so thecorners meet at 5 degrees

inside the guidelines. Use glueand brad nails to secure the

molding to t he slab door.


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SIMULATED FLATPANEL DOO RSCreating expensive-looking doorswith relatively low-cost materialscan be easily accomplished. Like

the previously described door thisone has an edge molding that givesit visual depth.

tep 1-Cut a veneered particle-board do or to the required size.Apply woo d tape to th e edges aspreviously described.

tep 2-The edge molding used

here is commonlv calleddoorstop molding. I t can bep r c h ase d a t any l u mbe r sto reor you can make it yourselfwitha round-over bit in your router.Measure the required lengthsand cut the corners a t 45degrees. T h e flat edge isinstalled on the outside of thedoor and the rounded edgefaces inward. Secure the mold-ing with glue an d bradnails

Slob doors with miterededge moldings hove o flat-pane l ook.

Design NotesThis i s another slab-style door can create a more dramatic lookthat is inexpensive and easy to by using a thicker molding.make. t can also be made from is perfect orplywood and finger-jointed cabinets in a utility room or onmoldings if you are go ing to laundry cabinets. t adds anpaint the door a solid color.

element of interest to theDoorstop m olding is flat so the cabinet door without costing adepth is no t great. However you great deal of money.


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Chapter Four ma kin lab Doors 55

SOLID WO OD

SLAB DOORS

Edge-gluing boards will create -solid-wood slabs that can be cutand routed for cabinet doors.It s a

very old, traditional cabinetmak-ing technique that was popularmany years ago.

Step 1-Edge-glue as manyboards as required. A platejoiner makes the work easier,bu t be careful where you locatethe biscuits.

Step 2-C ut the panel to size an dround over the edges with a114-inch route r bit.

Step 3 A simple cross patternon the door can enhance thelook. Th ere are m any router bitsavailable. Here I m using a Vbit to create th e groove.

Solid wood doors offermany possibilities


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M E D I U M

DENSITY

FIBERBOARD

DOORS

M D F is compressed wood fiberthat can be cut and routed easily.It is also used to make thermoplas-tic doo rs which are growing inpopularity.

The thermoplastic process canonly be used comm ercially becauseof the very expensive and compli-cated machinery needed.Melamine-backed MDF which iscurved to counter the heat andstress of apply ing a plastic film iscut on a computer-controlledrouter. T h e board is then wrapp edwith a plastic film and heat pres-sure and vacuum are applied tocreate the door.

However you can use M D F sheets

to make som e great-looking doors.The board can be cut and routedeasily Edge and face patterns arequickly cut with V ~ ~ U Souter bits.

M D F is usually a brown or tancolor with a sm ooth surface. T h ecolor and surface texture resultfrom extreme pressure appliedwhcn the wood pulp s compressed

into sheets.

It is a very inexpensive materialand can be painted or sprayed withsolid colors. This board is the idealmaterial to use when you want tobuild a few new doors for yourworkshop cabinets.

MDFcuts easilfiand all types ofprofiles can becreated


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hapter Four Making Slab Doors 7

Melamine porticleboord with edgetape make great low cost doors forthose workshop or storage cabinetr

Slab veneer particleboard doorswith an applied molding dress up

_ any woodworking project

.- TI-Simple wood veneer porticleboardsheets with wood edge tape lookgreat and are an inexpensive door

option for those large projects


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hapter FRAME AND FLAT PANEL DOORS

FLAT PANELO O R OPTIONS

Frame-and-panel doors can beloosely covered in two categories.The first are doors with a ply-wood veneer core panel and thesecond are those with solid-woodcenter panels.

Within each group are variousstyles of construction such as mor-tise-and-tenon, cope-and-stick,mitered and so on. But for ourpurposes, I'll classify them in thesetwo broad groups and detail manyof t he styles.

Many woodworkers feel thatFrame-and-panel door-making is

difficult. However, just the oppo.site is true-it is an easy process.

As discussed earlier, the frame-and-panel door is made with two stiles,or vertical members; two rails, orhorizontal frame members; and acenter panel. Th e center panel canbe plyw ood, solid wood or glass.

A problem that intimidates somepeople is the number of calcula-tions and steps involved whenmaking arched or cathedral-styledoors. This, too, is a relatively easyprocess with straightforward meas-urements. There are a couple ofsimple rules to follow, but you'llsoon become an expert at makingthese doors.

An d finally, som e so-called rulesare really a matter of individualtaste. I prefer to make my stilesand rails 2-114 inches wide. That'smy choice. You might want tomake yours 2 inches or 2-112 inch -es wide. It is no t a major issue, justa matter of how you want yourdoors to look.

So don't be intimidated by theidea of making these doors. Theyare made with simple power toolsand a few router bits, and can bequality-built by anyone in a shop

of any size.


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Cha pter Five Frame and Flat Panel Doo rs 59

M I T E R E D F R A M E

A N D PA N E L D O O R, . . ~ , . . , . . . . . . .

The mitered frame-and-panel door

is often used on furniture-stylecabinets. The more common butt-joined style tends to be used onkitchen cabinetry.

will be building a 14-inch wideby 24-inch high door using 314

inch stock. The center panel is114-inch-thick veneer plywood.

tep 1-Cut two stiles that are314 inch by 2-114 inches by 24-112 inches long an d two rails

314 inch by 2-114 inches by 14112 inches long. Do not miter

the parts yet.

tep 2-The stiles and rails eachneed a groove 114 inch wide by112 inch deep on one edge.

Center th e groove on each edge.

You can make this groove on a

table saw or with a slot-cutting

router bit.

tep 3-Next cut a 45-degreemiter at each end of the stiles

and rails. T h e rails should be 14

inches long and the stiles

should be 24 inches long. The

groove o n each board shoul d be

on the inside face as shown.


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tep C L ay the door f rame on atable and measure the insidedimension. Mine is 9-112 inch-es wide by 19-112 inches high.T h e oanel should be cut to this

dimension plus 1 inch on bo ththe height and the width so thatthe panel will fit in the 112-inch-deep grooves.

Plywood panels do not expandan d contract like solid wo od socuttin g the panel 1/ 16 inch lesso n both dimensions is fine.

tep 5-Join two stiles to o ne railusing biscuit or dowel joinery.

tep 6-Slide the panel into thepartial frame a nd make s ure it isseated properly. Attach theremaining rail an d clamp untilthe glue sets.

tep 7-O nce the glue has driedsand the frame. R oun d over the

outside profile with a 318-inchrotind-over l t in ;I router.


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Chapter Five Frame-and-flat-Panel Doors 6

MORTISE AND

T E N O N

PANEL DOOR

The corner joinery on this door isa mortise-and-tenon, one of the

most popular door-m aking joints.The joint is exposed on the topand bottom of the door frame.Therefore, a tight-fitting tenon isimperative.

This door will have a finished sizeof 14 inches wide and 24 incheshigh. The door frameis made from314-inch-thick stock and the panel

is 114-inch veneer plywood.

tep 1-Cut two stiles 2-114inches wide by 24 inches long.The rails are 2-114 inches wideby 10-112 inches long. Raillength is equal to the total wid thof the door m inus the width oftwo stiles, or 9-112 inches long.We have to add the length oftwo tenons, which are each 112inch long , to th e rail length.

T h e rail length formula is doo rwidth minu s the width of twosti les plus the length of twotenons. As a fu rther exam ple,adoor of th e same style that is 20inches wide would have 16-

112-inch-long rails 20-4 1/ 2+116 112).

tep 2-Form a groove on theinside edge of each st i le andrail 114 inch wide by 112 inchdeep. Use a table saw or slotcutter bit a nd center the grooveo n each edge.

tep 3-Make a tenon on bothends of the two rails 114 inchthick by 112 inch long. Makecertain the tenon is centered onthe rail. These tenons are easilyform ed using a table saw.

Tip Cut th e ten ons slightlythicker than necessary. Testth e fit by gently pushing th etenons into their mortises.Sand or file the teno nscarefully until you achieve asnug fit. f you are doing anumber of doors, have allth e rails ready for tenon-

cutting at the sam e time.est th e saw se t up until you

get a good fit, the n cut all\? - th e rails. This procedure

x e

saves saw se t up time andall the joints will be perfect.


62/113


tep 4D ry -fit the frame and ver- s'

ify your overall measurements.

tep 5-Cut a 114-inch-thickveneer plywood panel tha t is the- .size of the inside frame d imen - ,

sion plus the depth of thegrooves. The panel should be10-112 inches wide by 20-112 .

..inches high. - .

tep 6-Apply glue to the tenonsof one rail , and clamp the tw o '

stiles to tha t rail.

tep 7-Slide the panel into the

partial frame, making certain itis seated properly in all the 1groove?.

tep 8-Glue the final rail to thetwo ?tile5 and clam p t ha t joint. .. rUse a square to check the door.If it has been racked duringassembly, align it properly inthe clamps. O nc e the glue sets,

it will be held square.tep 9 Atic.r the glucic complcre-

I \ drv. s.ind thedoor Then it ic, ,readv to be finished. T he outside Iprofilecan be left square orc n be I

rounded over with a 318-inchround-over bit. If more detail isdesired, you can use a fancierbit

uchas an ogce. 1 lo\r.ever. al\vav\ ..-- -

r - ' 7- -

. ' .

. .

-1

tp in mind the style and : . . . - A .mounting requirements of thehinges you plan to use. If the out-side profile of the door is roodetailed, the hinge may notm ou nt correctly. Test the profiletreatment on a scrap piece ofwood, then align one of yourhinges to check its operation.


63/113

Chapter Five Frame-and-Flat-Panel Doors 63

ARCHED FRAME-

A N D - PA N E L D O O R

Cutting curves, arcs and otherradius patterns in rails is a littleharder than making a straight rail

door. Howeve r, I thin k you ll findit s no t t oo difficult to d o if youfollow these instruc tions.

This door has an arc cut into thetop rail and therefore is referred toas an arched frame-and-paneldoor. I will also describe how thetop rail can he cu t to form a cathe-dral-style door.

In a kitchen, cupboard doors varyin width . T h e challenge is main-taining t he visual appea rance of alldoors in the room, no m atter whatthe width. To accomplish this, setthe ends of each rail at a fixedwidth. I am using 3-114-inch-widecurved up per rails for this project.

Th e straight stiles and straight bot-tom rail are 2-114 inches wide inmy design. So, to maintain thesame look hetween a doo r12 inch-

es wide and one 24 inches wide. The drawing illustrates the differ-need a constant reference. I can ences between rails for a 14-inchachieve that look by making sure wide door and for a 24-inch widemy arc is 2 114 inches down from door. O nly the rail width and arcthe top center of all my curved radius change, while all other val-rails-no matte r w hat the doo r ues remain the same.width. All my doors will have thesame measurement above the arc,

an d on ly the radius of the arc willchange. But all the doors, no mat-ter how wide, will have the samereference above the arc.

14 Wide Door Rail

k 1

/2

/2 -++ 12 1/4 adius

2 4 Wide Door Rail

b I9 1/2

/22 /4

12+

f40 /2 adius


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6 Buildina Cabinet Drawers & Doors

Building th oorThe door is 14 inches wide and 24inches high. I've used 314-inch-thick stock for the stiles and rails,with a 114-inch-thick veneer ply-

wood panel.

I have added another design fea-ture with this door-the groovesin the stiles are stopped 112 inchshort of the ends. That will giveme a stopped mortise-and-tenon

joint that won't be visible on thetop and bottom of the door. Forthat reason, I have cut the tenon112 inch from the outside edges of

the top and bottom rail. However,the door can be made with a fulltenon and groove so that the mor-tise-and-tenon will be visible. Thechoice is yours-either method isequally acceptable.

tep l-Cut two stiles 3 4 inchby 2-114 inches by 24 incheslong, and one upper rail 3 4

inch by 3-114 inches by 10-112

inches wide. The bottom rail is3 4 inch by 2-114 inches by 10-112 inches wide. Note th at the

width of the upper and lower

rails includes a 112-inch-long

tenon on each end.

tep 2-Mark an arc on thePia e q wider upper rail, but remember

- to end the radius 112 inch sho rt.I of each end. For this, I use an

. ~ . adjustable ',Yardstick compass,. . .

which is available at most

woodworking stores. The arc

should have a radius of 12-114

inches.

tep 3-Before cutting the toprail arc, form the tenons on

both rails. Refer to the drawing -for the top-rail tenon. The bot-

tom-rail tenon is reduced in

length by 112 inch on the out-I side to fit the stopped groove in

each stile. All tenons are 114

building cabinet doors and drawers

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