woody10 Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hello,I am getting ready to build a new set of kitchen cabinets(red oak)to replace the ones that I have in my house,the question I have is,is there any dvds or maybe a good book out there explaining the process a little bit more in depth,maybe tricks of the trade????? I have woodworking knowledge,just havent built an entire kitchen before,any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks a lot woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Might I send you to this thread..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Here's one option. The author even hangs out around here sometimes. -- Russ http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Cabinets-Simple-Step-Step/dp/1600853005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike M Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Norm Abram did a series of shows a couple of years ago. It was 9 or 10 shows and went from planning and basic construction to installation. I don't know if they are available on line or for sale, but if you can't find them, let me know and I'll see if I can help. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Ive seen the New Yankee plans and they are pretty good. Nice easy to follow drawings. The only thing I'd do differently is skip the toe kick's and use ladder bases. Ladder bases make it easier to install the base cabinets and scribing the floor for the fascia panel is a breeze. Also you get an extra base out of an 8ft sheet. Instead of 34.5" with the toe kick your at 31 with the ladder frames. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I've done lots of cabinets and built-ins using various methods. Some simple, some far too complicated. I have to say the box building method Greg describes in the book mentioned by rmac is my new go-to method. It's plenty strong, dead simple, and VERY fast. I also like to build separate toe kicks that run under several boxes, level the base, then simply install my boxes on a perfect surface. The bases make dealing with plumbing, wiring and air ducts super simple. In built-ins, I can add electical, network, TV, and telephone outlets very easily. This also saves some wood, as the sides are smaller without the toe kick, and base parts often come from scraps. Don called these "ladder bases" above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Mentioned by MikeM. New Yankee Workshop 9 Part Kitchen Series 3 DVD Set. No measured drawings for this series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I am also planning a new kitchen this year. I have bought both of Greg's books plus I have many other books on kitchen cabinets. I am considering Greg's simple method of butt joints and screws for the box construction. I am still slightly skeptical as I watched Norm's kitchen cabinet project and he always had daddoed joints with both screws and glue. Maybe that was a little overkill. I do like the separate kicks. I'll be posting my plans in the near future looking for constructive criticism. I'm planning face frame cabs with Greene & Greene design elements such as cloud lifts, 1/8" reveals with soft 1/8" round overs and careful use of ebony plugs. All Cherry (is what wife wants...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I am also planning a new kitchen this year. I have bought both of Greg's books plus I have many other books on kitchen cabinets. I am considering Greg's simple method of butt joints and screws for the box construction. I am still slightly skeptical as I watched Norm's kitchen cabinet project and he always had daddoed joints with both screws and glue. Maybe that was a little overkill. I do like the separate kicks. I'll be posting my plans in the near future looking for constructive criticism. I'm planning face frame cabs with Greene & Greene design elements such as cloud lifts, 1/8" reveals with soft 1/8" round overs and careful use of ebony plugs. All Cherry (is what wife wants...). I wouldnt skip the dado's. The 30 or 40 seconds you save per side isnt going to be worth the grief during assembly. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 SD... I've dadoed and rabbeted more boxes than I can remember... Build a base cabinet for your shop using Greg's method and see... You'll never dado another plywood box again. FWIW, I don't even glue my side to top and bottom joints, as I use prefinished Maple for the boxes and glue won't bond well. I do run a small bead of glue down the back grooves as I slide in the back panel. My latest project has inset flush doors on Horton Brasses leaf hinges, as well as inset drawer fronts, if the boxes weren't stable, the gaps would give it away very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I wouldnt skip the dado's. The 30 or 40 seconds you save per side isnt going to be worth the grief during assembly. Don I don't know this grief... The boxes go together as easily as any dadoed box I've ever built. This goes double for dadoed boxes where finishing the insides before assembly caused the parts to warp and bow, or sanding or finishing messed with the fit of the dado. Cut complementary parts using stop blocks on a accurate saw and it's kiddie stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I don't know this grief... The boxes go together as easily as any dadoed box I've ever built. This goes double for dadoed boxes where finishing the insides before assembly caused the parts to warp and bow, or sanding or finishing messed with the fit of the dado. Cut complementary parts using stop blocks on a accurate saw and it's kiddie stuff. I find dado's with confirmats make life easier, besides if I delivered a set of cabinets to a contractor without dado's I might as well lock my shop doors and never look back. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 If you are able to charge more than a competing supplier that isn't dadoing the boxes, great! You're being paid to dado because a the contractors you deal with believe the boxes need it, and it adds value to your "brand". I'd do it too... If you look at GOOD frameless stuff getting installed, in my area some of it goes in big buck homes, I don't mean Ikea, it's actually able to be shipped flat and assembled on site, aligned by dowels. No dados... In this case, the OP is not selling anything. He simply needs good looking cabinetry that's plenty durable to please himself. The question is... Have you seen the entire method Greg descibes? When I first saw Greg's version, I looked at it exactly as you are. I always dadoed my cases. However, I tried his entire method... Not simply butt jointing, but using his inset backs, the way he staples the parts before the screws go in, etc... Then, I dragged the box around the shop, stood on it, stacked things on it, tried to rack and twist it... I was pleasantly surprised enough to change my own methods. I recently ripped out a union-made kitchen from a ~ 1990 spec house, complete with big 'ol local stamp on the back of every box. I had no idea union cabinet shops still existed in my area in 1990, but this told me the boxes were at least made by some sort of "reputable" outlet. These things had all kinds of joinery on them that I'm sure made everyone involved feel important. Upon examination once unistalled, the boxes were far less rigid than the boxes replacing them, but they were obviously rigid enough to serve well for 20 years. There was nothing wrong with them functionally, style dictated the replacement. The butt-jointed, screwed cabinets that replaced the union-made versions are noticeably more rigid, with far less joinery, because they're made from void-free 3/4" (actual 3/4, not 23/32) Finnish or Baltic birch ply, as opposed to the union-shop's 1/2" "voidy" lumber core plywood, pine stringers, and veneered particleboard floors. The face frames on the replacements are pocket screwed, the old were M&T. I could see no realistic difference once assembled, and neither did the granite installers. If building flight cases, touring speaker cabinets, or fine furniture, I'm all about joinery. But I have no problems putting built-in cabinetry built to Greg's method in my own home, or any of my relatives, where I will see it and live with it for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 If you are able to charge more than a competing supplier that isn't dadoing the boxes, great! You're being paid to dado because a the contractors you deal with believe the boxes need it, and it adds value to your "brand". I'd do it too... If you look at GOOD frameless stuff getting installed, in my area some of it goes in big buck homes, I don't mean Ikea, it's actually able to be shipped flat and assembled on site, aligned by dowels. No dados... In this case, the OP is not selling anything. He simply needs good looking cabinetry that's plenty durable to please himself. For me the only reason to make my own cabinets for my home if I only did it as a hobby, would be pride in doing it myself and taking the extra steps. You certainly don't save money. Most unitized stock cabinets even the Lowes particle board ones use dado's, even the face frames are attached with dado's. I think times have changed from what some call high end. As in your example of flat packed cabinets, around here we call that junk. High end stuff we build as one piece units entire runs up to 12ft long as a single unit pre built and set in place, delivered on a moving truck. We use matching plywood for the carcases, if it has cherry face frames it gets a cherry box. There is lots of ways to skin a cat. I personally see these alternative methods as a high production cost savings move. Save 30 seconds per box side, a minute a box at 10K boxes a year that's alot of money. For a hobbyist doing his or her own kitchen its a few minutes of time and cost nothing. For a small 1-10 man shop it means offering something that you dont see in factories, the cost doesn't add up. In the end its all just our own opinions and everyone has a right to have their own. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 For me the only reason to make my own cabinets for my home if I only did it as a hobby, would be pride in doing it myself and taking the extra steps. You certainly don't save money. Most unitized stock cabinets even the Lowes particle board ones use dado's, even the face frames are attached with dado's. I think times have changed from what some call high end. As in your example of flat packed cabinets, around here we call that junk. High end stuff we build as one piece units entire runs up to 12ft long as a single unit pre built and set in place, delivered on a moving truck. We use matching plywood for the carcases, if it has cherry face frames it gets a cherry box. There is lots of ways to skin a cat. I personally see these alternative methods as a high production cost savings move. Save 30 seconds per box side, a minute a box at 10K boxes a year that's alot of money. For a hobbyist doing his or her own kitchen its a few minutes of time and cost nothing. For a small 1-10 man shop it means offering something that you dont see in factories, the cost doesn't add up. In the end its all just our own opinions and everyone has a right to have their own. Don Agreed! Life sure would be boring if everyone did everything exactly the same way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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