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27K views 35 replies 14 participants last post by  helluvawreck 
#1 ·
Building my first ever cabinets

Now that the temperature in Bangkok has cooled down a little I have been able to make a start on my next project, building some cabinets for my workshop and kitchen. I researched standard cabinet sizes etc. on the internet and built full models in SketchUp before starting. So far the basic boxes are completed and one face frame has been made and fitted.

From left to right the cabinets are:

Mobile workshop cabinet, will have my little planer / thicknesser mounted to it.
Kitchen cabinet for oven and hob.
Cabinet for gas bottle.



I am building these in the North American face frame style as I prefer the look, most cabinets here are Euro style. The local True Value store had obviously made a mistake and imported a lot of face frame door hinges that they then couldn't sell, I picked up a bunch for around 60c (US) a pair, I wish I'd got more of them!
The carcass is 3/4" Thai plywood and the face frames are rubber wood. I am going to stain the workshop cabinet but I'm unsure about the kitchen, I may paint those white.

I'm really looking forward to getting the kitchen cabinets completed, currently we have a Thai style kitchen which means nowhere to cook inside. Balancing a wok on a gas burner outside is OK for some things but not much use for cooking a nice western meal or baking some bread.
 
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#7 ·
That frame is proving to be useful for lots of things. It's great for keeping work off the floor and I also use it to break down big sheets of plywood with the circular saw. I cut into the frame a little each time of course but I can easily make a new one when it gets really torn up.
 
#8 ·
Face frames completed

The weather has been kind to me again today and I was able to get outside and do some more work on the cabinets for my shop and kitchen.
Today I built and fitted the face frames to both kitchen cabinets.



Here are some construction details for those interested.

The cabinets sides and bottoms are 3/4" Thai plywood, the backs are 8mm ply (the wood here is mainly in metric sizes).
I used my router to cut dados in the sides for the bottom which was then fixed in place with glue and screws. The back sits in a rabbet and is secured with glue and small nails.
The face frames are made from rubber wood and I used my new Kreg pocket hole jig to make them, I am finding the Kreg jig perfect for things like this that I want to get built a bit quicker than if I used more traditional joinery.
I fixed the face frames to the cabinets with glue and counter bored and plugged screws. I don't have a biscuit joiner or nail gun and my hand nailing technique needs a lot more practise so I decided to use the screws.

Things I learnt today:

  • I'm really glad I didn't try to build these as one cabinet, I would not be able to move it my own.
  • Getting a large cabinet and face frame all square and flush fitting is hard! Mine are not perfect but I think a bit of shimming and trimming on installation will get everything lined up nicely.
  • Don't leave a silver coloured metal tape measure under the Bangkok sun for an hour. Remember that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where the bad guy picks the pendant thing out of the fire? I'm sure I have 'Stanley' burnt on my palm now.

I'm delaying the moment of truth for another day, will the oven actually fit into the cabinet?

I'm starting to run out of wood and hardware now so progress is going to be slow for a few days, a family illness means I don't have access to our truck at the moment.
 
#23 ·
More progress

I'm back in the shop after some time out to visit my wife's village for a funeral. The cabinet for my workshop has been fully assembled, a stain and finish applied and my planer / thicknesser has been mounted.



The jointer cabinet is mounted on 4 small castors and seems very stable in use. I had some problems fixing the top onto the cabinet and mounting the jointer. I hadn't really thought about access for fixing the top when I put the fixed shelf in place and there really wasn't enough room to get a drill or screwdriver in there. When it came to mounting the jointer I could only get 3 bolts in place, my lack of a drill press led to some inaccurate holes for the mounting bolts. The angle in the photo makes it look a bit tippy but I haven't noticed any problems so far.



I am also making a door for the cabinet, my first attempt at door making. I forgot to check reality when cutting the styles, the final door is only just big enough to cover the opening in the face frame. When I resized my design I made a small mistake in SketchUp and carried that onto the final build, lesson learnt. The stub tenons for the door are not as nice as I would like. I cut them with my new table saw and got distracted by the blade not cutting a flat bottomed groove. In my attempts to smooth out the bottom I cut a bit deeper and wider than required. To give the joints a bit more security I drilled a hole through each joint and drove a dowel through to peg them into place.
 
#24 ·
Looks good to Me. Making these little mistakes is a great way to learn. Usually it takes much more time to fix mistakes than to do the job right from the beginning, but you also learn something from the fixing. Apart from attending a good woodworking school or having a mentor close at hand, it's the only way I know to improve your craftsmanship. Keep up the good work!
 
#27 ·
On the home stretch

Almost there with the kitchen cabinets. Today I was able to install them, fit the top and appliances and start using them. There are only 2 things left to complete this project, build and install the kick plate and the cabinet door. The door may have to wait a little while as I don't have a drill press yet. I don't fancy trying to drill the 35mm hole for the hinges with a hand drill. I am looking at the limited choice of drill presses here at the moment, so far a Performax 12" bench top model is leading the field.



This is by far my biggest and most challenging project so far. I'm not trying to complete with you guys that make these all day, I really just wanted to have something to cook on inside the house! Before building this we only had a large wok sized burner outside, perfect for cooking Thai food but no good for trying to simmer something for a couple of hours.

Total cost for materials worked out at around $100 US, not bad at all.
 
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