Building A Small Cabinet

Use a table saw to cut plywood strips for your face frame cabinets.

Building a small cabinet.

Shim the bottom edges to level the cabinets and make the face frame edges parallel with each other. I used a table saw but a circular saw and a straightedge guide would also do the trick. Start by cutting the birch plywood for the cabinet sides top bottom shelves and cleats. Tips for building cabinets.

Learn about the specialty tools that make cabinetmaking a breeze. Start off by building your cabinet s base from four 2 4 boards then proceed to install dividers. They cover virtually everything you will need to consider when building cabinets. The best material for building cabinets is plywood 3 4 inch plywood for the box sides top bottom and shelves and 1 4 inch plywood for the back panel.

Then cut 4 pieces of 1 by 6 lumber to the same width as the bottom panel for the front back and top brace panels. Move the cases into position where they ll be installed. Subtract 3 4 inch from that measurement to allow for the thickness of the cabinet side and mark inside the cabinet where one stud will be located behind the top and bottom mounting cleats. To build a cabinet start by cutting panels for the bottom and sides out of mdf plywood or another type of laminate.

Put your finished cabinets to work. Once the wood filler has dried use your orbital sander and sand everything down. For a 12 by 13 by 24 inch cabinet box with a single center shelf you need a 2 by 4 foot piece of 3 4 inch birch or other finish grade plywood and a 12 by 24 inch piece of 1 4 inch plywood. So if you are new to the idea of building you own kitchen cabinets then you might want to take a glance at this guide.

Remove the doors drawers and all hardware and apply a finish. Sanding is a bit tedious and super messy. With the plywood cut to size your cabinet should take an hour and two to assemble. And patch it up with wood filler using your putty knife.