Pro Woodworking Tips.com

Building Base Cabinets For Kitchens

- part six

Building Base Cabinets For Kitchens - Assembly

Assembly must be done on a flat bench or table, if you want to maintain what sanity you still have.  Grab all parts for the cabinet you're assembling. Lay the sides flat, and run a small bead of yellow glue at the bottom edge. Insert the biscuits into the slots. Holding the bottom of the cabinet up in a vertical position, with the finished edge up, stand up one cabinet side, and position it in place. Make sure the front edges are flush, and shoot a couple brads into it to hold it in place for you. Then drill holes for the screws. Keep the screws away from the ends by about three inches, to prevent splitting the plywood. We use four screws on a base cabinet, bottom. Now repeat the process for the other side.

Now it's time to add the cross pieces, at the top front and rear of the cabinet. Here we do screw closer to the edges of the cross pieces, but we make sure to use the right sized drill bit for the screw to prevent splitting. It is easier to add the drawer cross members after the top cross members are installed. (there's only so much you can do with two hands). The easiest way to add them, since they're slotted for the biscuits, is to run the slot out the back side of the cross pieces. This way they can be slid into place, without bowing the cabinet sides. These can just be bradded into place, as they won't get much abuse.

Make sure any exposed cabinet ends have the screws countersunk about 3/16" to allow for plugs. These will be cut from the face of matching hardwood, using a plug cutter. That way the grain will match that of the plywood. Cut the plugs about 1/2" long. A drop of glue, and drive them in lightly with a mallet. Make sure the grain an the plug is running the same direction as the grain in the plywood. After the glue dries, trim them off, flush with the cabinet sides. This is best done with a Japanese saw, as the teeth on them have no set, (meaning there flush with the blade of the saw), so you won't scratch the plywood. Another option is to lay a sheet of paper under the saw blade, when making the cut, and then sand them smooth.

After the cabinet is assembled, lay it face down, and measure the opposing diagonal corners. If they are equal, the cabinet is square. If not, rack it into place, using a long clamp, if needed. Once both diagonals are equal, install the corner braces you made earlier. Just tack them on with the brad nailer, in the rabits made for the backs. Also, shoot the plywood strips on for temporary feet. Move that cabinet out of the way, and proceed to the next one.

When all the cabinets are assembled, cut the shelves and backs. These should be cut about 1/8" smaller in both directions, to make installing them a little easier.

After the staining and finishing process is complete, remove the corner braces, and install the backs. Tack them on with the brad nailer. No point in using any wood glue on these, as that glue won't stick to the finish anyway. If you wanted to, you could run a bead of adhesive caulk, but that's kind of over kill.

The final step would be to install the feet, and any shelves, drawers or doors the cabinet is to get fitted with.

Slide-Out Base Blind Corner Unit

Double your corner storage space and enjoy the beauty of chrome! Pull handle and half of the unit gently slides out of cabinet. Another pull slides the other half out of the cabinet and exposes two additional storage shelves. Includes all mounting hardware and four shelves with chrome-plated wire railings. Choose from left or right pull-outs. Right-hand Pull-out pictured above. Slide-Out Base Blind Corner Unit

Kitchens (Simple Solutions Series) The kitchen is the home's ''nerve center''--so make it work for you!.. Kitchens (Simple Solutions Series)

Return To Cabinet Making Tips Page

Previous Page

Next Page

Return to prowoodworkingtips.com