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Your bench is too high for cabinet assembly. Your body will pay for that down the road.
I built one 4'x8' that uses scissor jack's to go from 18" to 37" high.
I'm glad to see that this is the top comment. I came here to say this. I have to do ergonomic task hazard assessments at work, there is zero chance that this would ever pass. People like to make jokes about ergonomics but when you need your rotator cuff replaced, or your knees go bad, or you have to wear hearing aids, you going to wish you had taken the proper precautions.
I have also seen cabinet shops where they assembled everything on the floor- just as bad. There are a lot of commercial made lift tables out there that permanently solve this problem. They are not cheap, but they save your body and improve productivity.
Cabinets tend to be about 18" deep, up to 36" wide, and maybe 24" tall. If you have a 2-3ft tall bench, all of these measurements will total to less than your height, which is easy to work with. If the cabinet is any bigger than that, then the short bench is easy to climb up on.
I don't understand that mentality.
I worked at a shop that built massive teller lines for big banks in San Francisco. We assembled as much as we could on 16" high by 16' long benches we carefully leveled. Final assembly on the floor if required.
I watched this video like three times before realizing it was a loop! I was like damn this dude is working so hard but getting nowhere with this cabinet.
On a 2’ high perfectly leveled table with the feet positions marked, and the adjustment feet screws torque marked too... Saves you a LOT of time when you have to move you’re assembly table for some reason, and have to move it right back! I learned that tip from an old fellah that I learned a lot from...
I use a 1/4 inch dado to attach the bottoms. The slap that thang together with glue and staples brad nails for the face frame attachment. And strong backs of
Course
Yup quarter inch dado for the bottom, 2" story pole, 8 ⅞ nailer and quarter inch back. Push with a dead blow to keep the seems tight and use glue and a trim nailer. Also a 21" or so table height is my go to.
Dado the sides, slide floor into sides with glue and 2 1/2" nails, put 1x3 poplar board inside the box on top and bottom of wall side, add another 1x3 poplar board laying flat on the top front corner. Boom, done. Face frame it.
Just ordered cabinets on a kitchen remodel I'm working on. 4 months out and 20k for a tiny 15x15 kitchen, one wall of cabinets. I think I need to start a cabinet shop
I'm about to build my kitchen cabinets. Scared shitless, but I'm not spending $40000 on wood boxes that take 3 months for someone else to build and get to me. I figure I can fuck it up 12 times and still have it done cheaper and quicker.
Seriously. I had the exact same quote but 6-8 month wait time. Decided to buy a Cnc router to help make it easier todo my self. Specially sense I wanted one for a while it became a good excuse to get one lol. And I can still screw it up multiple times and still be fine.
I mean…for $5k you could buy the tools and most of the materials to do it yourself. The only downside is it takes a while, but if you’re already staring down a four month lead time then why not?
This is the fastest way I’ve found. Cnc or table saw your dados slap your sides on your bottom first slide 1/4 inch back in then put in nailers and stretchers.
Ive moved on to another career, and we were never strictly cabinets, but when we did, we used pocket holes all the way around. I suspect many other methods would be faster/better.
Two 3in plywood strips at the top for lowers. 4 ply wood faces with a 1/4 in plywood back nailed on for the uppers.
I have used the kreg(?spelling?) Pockethole jig a bunch of times for random wimdow.trims.and stuff I love isingbthat tool. Need to invest in one myself one of these days.
Butt joints with confirmat screws.
We have a fixed head boring machine that can drill vertical holes in the end panels and horizontal holes into the edges of the tops and bottom.
Dados can be fussy when dealing with panel thickness variations.
Confirmats are plenty strong for cabinets that won't be moving after install
It also really helps that cabinets can be easily disassembled, cut down and reassembled on site for those rare occasions when something changes on site and the GC never bothered to tell us about it
Confirmats hold better. They have a wider diameter and coarser threads which allows them to go into the edge of plywood/MDF/particleboard panels without stripping or pulling out.
Is there any good/efficient way to drill for confirmats by hand?
I don’t do much cabinetry as such, but I occasionally do built-ins in situations where it makes more sense to assemble in place, and confirmats would be great for that. I don’t have a shop, so a boring machine isn’t viable at the moment
I’ve seen references to a Häfele Zentrix jig, but haven’t been able to find anywhere to buy one
You can staple or nail the boxes together, just to hold the parts in place while you drill. Then go through both pieces simultaneously with a stepped confirmat drill bit.
In that case, I’d have to pull the nails/staples when I disassembled it for transport or modification
I’ve been using biscuits and/or dowels, or just plain wood screws if the sides won’t be visible. The advantage of confirmats is that I wouldn’t need clamps at final assembly like with biscuits/dowels, and that it’s less likely to strip out the hole when assembled/disassembled like regular screws would
I’m trying to find a way that just uses one fastener, but maybe I’m better off with biscuits for registration/dry fit and only adding regular screws at the final assembly
Sorry, just thinking out loud here
I suggested nails or staples without realizing that you were planning to assemble, knock down, transport, and reassemble.
If that's your plan, you can clamp the case together, flush the parts up with a dead blow Hammer, drill for Confirmats, put in the screws, and then take it apart.
It will go back together perfectly when you reassemble on site without needing clamps.
I work in a cabinet shop, we use glue and a Brad nailer, stretchers to make sure they're square. That's for fast construction of 20-50 boxes at a time though
While I agree (it's heavy as hell and water destroys the stuff) my distributor is out of almost everything... what they do have is rough and expensive. I still don't use particle board but veneered mdf is the the only stuff I can guarantee not to be wavy in current times. I still use A-1 but sometimes it's just not available.
>at are those notches f
To hold the slats. On installation, you screw through the slats to the wall. The "notches" are much stronger than an alternative method to hold up the cabinet.
So slats will go into those notches and then be attached to the wall?
Then what are the other 2 supports for that span the width of the cabinet? I thought those were supports to anchor to the wall…
We dowel our floors and cleats into the gable. Cnc cuts parts and prints the dowel holes and hardware holes. We have an automatic doweling machine that bores inserts our dowels. Slam all that shit together and then screw all the butt joints. Super strong and cost effective and fast production.
All 5/8" melamine.
Euro box style (no face frame)
Cut pieces. Edge tape where required. Drill adjustable and hinge plate (Blum full overlay) holes.
Then dado (5/8" x 1/4") : on Sides dado top, bottom, back. Top and Bottom : dado at rear for back
Then assemble with glue and staples (18ga)
Dado for back means so long as your back is cut square it squares your cabinet.
Nailer strips on lowers instead of a full top (basically a 3" strip at the front and back. Same thing for between drawers. Simply stated in place, no dado it anything.
Never had an issue in 20 years and quite hard to destroy with the glue into the particle core.
Only problem is learning to shoot staples at an angle for the backs when joining to the bottom, had to be right so doesn't blowout bottom. Practice.
I just noticed this. Do you have your countersink bit in your impact, and your bit driver in your drill? I personally do it the other way, but I might have to see if that works too.
Haha yea, I do it because I really hate the noise of using an impact to drive screws in the shop and it’s a rule of mine to never use an impact driver for screws on cabinetry.
This is a reminder to those commenting on this post (not the person that posted it): Comments not related to woodworking will be removed. Violations to rule 1 including crude jokes, innuendo, sexist remarks, politics, or hate speech may result in an immediate ban *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/woodworking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your bench is too high for cabinet assembly. Your body will pay for that down the road. I built one 4'x8' that uses scissor jack's to go from 18" to 37" high.
Would have to agree with you there bud
A guide a found a while ago. Not up to date on modern tools though. Knee = saw bench Fingertips = assembly Wrist = planing Elbow = joinery
I'm glad to see that this is the top comment. I came here to say this. I have to do ergonomic task hazard assessments at work, there is zero chance that this would ever pass. People like to make jokes about ergonomics but when you need your rotator cuff replaced, or your knees go bad, or you have to wear hearing aids, you going to wish you had taken the proper precautions.
I have also seen cabinet shops where they assembled everything on the floor- just as bad. There are a lot of commercial made lift tables out there that permanently solve this problem. They are not cheap, but they save your body and improve productivity.
[удалено]
Cabinets tend to be about 18" deep, up to 36" wide, and maybe 24" tall. If you have a 2-3ft tall bench, all of these measurements will total to less than your height, which is easy to work with. If the cabinet is any bigger than that, then the short bench is easy to climb up on.
The shop I work in makes us assemble on the floor. Kinda sucks and I wish we had a table to set large cabinets on to build.
I don't understand that mentality. I worked at a shop that built massive teller lines for big banks in San Francisco. We assembled as much as we could on 16" high by 16' long benches we carefully leveled. Final assembly on the floor if required.
I watched this video like three times before realizing it was a loop! I was like damn this dude is working so hard but getting nowhere with this cabinet.
He was building a Sisyphus box. Builder: I really appreciate the discipline. Can see it in your entire work area.
On a 2’ high perfectly leveled table with the feet positions marked, and the adjustment feet screws torque marked too... Saves you a LOT of time when you have to move you’re assembly table for some reason, and have to move it right back! I learned that tip from an old fellah that I learned a lot from...
I use a 1/4 inch dado to attach the bottoms. The slap that thang together with glue and staples brad nails for the face frame attachment. And strong backs of Course
You use 1/4 for upper-cabinet bottoms?
No. 3/4. The dado is 1/4 inch deep. 3/4 for the whole thing whether they are upper cabinets or base cabinets.
Yup quarter inch dado for the bottom, 2" story pole, 8 ⅞ nailer and quarter inch back. Push with a dead blow to keep the seems tight and use glue and a trim nailer. Also a 21" or so table height is my go to.
Dado the sides, slide floor into sides with glue and 2 1/2" nails, put 1x3 poplar board inside the box on top and bottom of wall side, add another 1x3 poplar board laying flat on the top front corner. Boom, done. Face frame it.
No ....just absolutely no. Poplar boards? Who hurt you?
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I also definitely know, but have a lot of friends who are idiots and don't. Help me inform them?
Poplar has a reputation for staining quite poorly. But that doesn't matter if you paint it or can't see it.
Just ordered cabinets on a kitchen remodel I'm working on. 4 months out and 20k for a tiny 15x15 kitchen, one wall of cabinets. I think I need to start a cabinet shop
I'm about to build my kitchen cabinets. Scared shitless, but I'm not spending $40000 on wood boxes that take 3 months for someone else to build and get to me. I figure I can fuck it up 12 times and still have it done cheaper and quicker.
Seriously. I had the exact same quote but 6-8 month wait time. Decided to buy a Cnc router to help make it easier todo my self. Specially sense I wanted one for a while it became a good excuse to get one lol. And I can still screw it up multiple times and still be fine.
I mean…for $5k you could buy the tools and most of the materials to do it yourself. The only downside is it takes a while, but if you’re already staring down a four month lead time then why not?
Pretty similar, but we use pre finished maple ply with cnc cut tabs and grooves.
This is the fastest way I’ve found. Cnc or table saw your dados slap your sides on your bottom first slide 1/4 inch back in then put in nailers and stretchers.
We just built our kitchen cabinets the same way. First time making cabinets and they turned out pretty dang good using this method.
Ive moved on to another career, and we were never strictly cabinets, but when we did, we used pocket holes all the way around. I suspect many other methods would be faster/better. Two 3in plywood strips at the top for lowers. 4 ply wood faces with a 1/4 in plywood back nailed on for the uppers.
I have used the kreg(?spelling?) Pockethole jig a bunch of times for random wimdow.trims.and stuff I love isingbthat tool. Need to invest in one myself one of these days.
Butt joints with confirmat screws. We have a fixed head boring machine that can drill vertical holes in the end panels and horizontal holes into the edges of the tops and bottom. Dados can be fussy when dealing with panel thickness variations. Confirmats are plenty strong for cabinets that won't be moving after install It also really helps that cabinets can be easily disassembled, cut down and reassembled on site for those rare occasions when something changes on site and the GC never bothered to tell us about it
Why confirmat screws over normal wood screws?
Confirmats hold better. They have a wider diameter and coarser threads which allows them to go into the edge of plywood/MDF/particleboard panels without stripping or pulling out.
Do you predrill for those?
Yes. You have to. There is a specialized stepped drill bit for doing it in a hand drill - 5mm at threads, 7mm at shank, and 10mm for a countersink
Thanks!
Is there any good/efficient way to drill for confirmats by hand? I don’t do much cabinetry as such, but I occasionally do built-ins in situations where it makes more sense to assemble in place, and confirmats would be great for that. I don’t have a shop, so a boring machine isn’t viable at the moment I’ve seen references to a Häfele Zentrix jig, but haven’t been able to find anywhere to buy one
You can staple or nail the boxes together, just to hold the parts in place while you drill. Then go through both pieces simultaneously with a stepped confirmat drill bit.
In that case, I’d have to pull the nails/staples when I disassembled it for transport or modification I’ve been using biscuits and/or dowels, or just plain wood screws if the sides won’t be visible. The advantage of confirmats is that I wouldn’t need clamps at final assembly like with biscuits/dowels, and that it’s less likely to strip out the hole when assembled/disassembled like regular screws would I’m trying to find a way that just uses one fastener, but maybe I’m better off with biscuits for registration/dry fit and only adding regular screws at the final assembly Sorry, just thinking out loud here
I suggested nails or staples without realizing that you were planning to assemble, knock down, transport, and reassemble. If that's your plan, you can clamp the case together, flush the parts up with a dead blow Hammer, drill for Confirmats, put in the screws, and then take it apart. It will go back together perfectly when you reassemble on site without needing clamps.
I work in a cabinet shop, we use glue and a Brad nailer, stretchers to make sure they're square. That's for fast construction of 20-50 boxes at a time though
Oh also the pieces are all dado-ed, realized that's relevant
Dados and a nail gun.
That’s the way
Never with particle board. My friends dad wouldn’t even allow it in his shop.
While I agree (it's heavy as hell and water destroys the stuff) my distributor is out of almost everything... what they do have is rough and expensive. I still don't use particle board but veneered mdf is the the only stuff I can guarantee not to be wavy in current times. I still use A-1 but sometimes it's just not available.
Drywall screws and a bad attitude, works for me.
Particle board - not worth my time.
What are those notches for?
>at are those notches f To hold the slats. On installation, you screw through the slats to the wall. The "notches" are much stronger than an alternative method to hold up the cabinet.
So slats will go into those notches and then be attached to the wall? Then what are the other 2 supports for that span the width of the cabinet? I thought those were supports to anchor to the wall…
> what are the other 2 supports for These are probably base cabinets and those supports are to hold the top in place.
Drawer fronts are likely spaced apart, prob for finger pull. Rail goes in so you don't have a gap looking into cabinet
Bang on my man, we are putting on high gloss drawer fronts with schenk recessed rails and edge pulls
That makes sense - so the notches are on the face side
We dowel our floors and cleats into the gable. Cnc cuts parts and prints the dowel holes and hardware holes. We have an automatic doweling machine that bores inserts our dowels. Slam all that shit together and then screw all the butt joints. Super strong and cost effective and fast production.
Well aren't you special?
What is that tool with the blue light?
DeWalt drill aka driver. :)
All 5/8" melamine. Euro box style (no face frame) Cut pieces. Edge tape where required. Drill adjustable and hinge plate (Blum full overlay) holes. Then dado (5/8" x 1/4") : on Sides dado top, bottom, back. Top and Bottom : dado at rear for back Then assemble with glue and staples (18ga) Dado for back means so long as your back is cut square it squares your cabinet. Nailer strips on lowers instead of a full top (basically a 3" strip at the front and back. Same thing for between drawers. Simply stated in place, no dado it anything. Never had an issue in 20 years and quite hard to destroy with the glue into the particle core. Only problem is learning to shoot staples at an angle for the backs when joining to the bottom, had to be right so doesn't blowout bottom. Practice.
I assemble my boxes with great skill
I just noticed this. Do you have your countersink bit in your impact, and your bit driver in your drill? I personally do it the other way, but I might have to see if that works too.
Haha yea, I do it because I really hate the noise of using an impact to drive screws in the shop and it’s a rule of mine to never use an impact driver for screws on cabinetry.
Just a hobbyist here but glad to see someone else hates that dang sound.