Kitchen Cabinet Making Tips
Building kitchen cabinets is a big craft, with many things to consider. Before creating a cut list, you must know how to incorporate hardware such as drawer slides, hinges, lazy Susan, and pantry slides. You must think about material yield, installation, necessary tools, etc. Here are a few tips to make cabinet projects easier.
Assemble a frameless cabinet
If you like the look of the frameless European cabinet, you’re in luck. Most hardware currently available is made for this style. Available in frameless construction, even if you prefer a more traditional look.
Base cabinet depth 23-3 / 4 inches
Most bow products are 48-1 / 2 inches wide. After trimming the factory edge and losing 1/8 inch of the saw cut, about 47-7 / 8 inches remain. With a cabinet depth of just under 24 inches, you can pull out two cracks from the plywood sheet. Use scrooz fasteners when making these types of cabinets.
For wall cabinets, use 11-7 / 8 inches deep
This also helps to enable the highest material yield. If the wall cabinet depth is less than 12 inches, there will be 4 cracks for every 48 1/2 inch sheet.
Place the holes in the movable shelves 32 mm apart, with the holes in the first row 37 mm from the front edge of the cabinet. Almost all hinge plates and drawer slides from significant manufacturers are designed for 32 mm systems. This system can be used to accommodate a variety of hardware.
Know how to convert from inches to millimeters
Some hardware you buy comes with instructions and templates in millimeters, so it’s helpful to know how to convert from millimeters to inches. Increase one inch is 25.4 millimeters. 36 inches is 914.4 mm (36 x 25.4 = 914.4) because you need to multiply by 25.4 to convert inches to millimeters.
Use modular arithmetic
This may seem scary, but it’s easy. Divide the length of the cabinet by 32mm, and you have 19 left. This allows for 32mm hole spacing, with the first hole 9.5mm from the bottom edge. Use the calculator’s mod button to divide the number to find the remainder.
You can get started with these tips, but you should investigate the 32mm system to find out how professionals can use it to simplify the joinery process.