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DIY cabinet plans ?

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Txchevy18 
#1 ·
Im looking to build some cabinets to go above my work bench. Right now the bench is just a half sheet of high density medite. 3/4"x2'x8' with 40" legs.
Im thinking about building the cabinets out of the same material. Something with doors on it... I can build them as I go or do em up in cad. But just curious if anyone has plans or pictures of something similar ?
 
#2 · (Edited)
I would consider another material such as 3/4 plywood for your cabinets if the high density medite your referring to is mdf. It doesn't like wet and overall construction will weight much more than a plywood based cabinet.

The two design that are commonly used are face frame and European styles. The face frame is simply a built to your dimensions box and then a frame constructed on the outside commonly with a 3/4" overhang into the cabinet space. A European style or frame less is built to be lightweight and gain strength by design not material bulk. :D

Since your wanting to build wall cabinets. Construction starts with a solid base and top as well as two sides with a 1/4" dado cut on the back inside edge 3/4" from the edge. The base and top are cut 1" shorter depth wise than the sides. Assemble the sides and base with the front being flush. A tip is to assemble with the fronts down on a level work bench. Once the box is assembled cut out a back from 1/4" plywood 3/16" wider than you inside dimension and slide it into the dado cut earlier on either side. Use a framers square to make sure everything is square and fasten the back at the top and and bottom with 2 screws (1" or 3/4" work fine) or if you have a staple gun use 3/4" staples and fasten the back along the sides just to keep it square. Then add 2 runners that span between the two sides 4 or 5" wide for the top and bottom. They'll attach over the back and fit in the 3/4" space. This will also give you a great mounting point.

A tip on hanging them is find the height of the bottom of the cabinets and make you a mark at either end Throw up a level and make a connecting line. Then attach a 2x4 or 1x2(or w/e you have around that is the right length and straight) keeping the top edge even with your line the span of the cabinets on the stud centers. Next, find s and mark your studs under your support board. Now all you have to do is sit you cabinet on the support board and reference your stud marks to hang em. We always used 2 1/2" or 3" screws for this. If you plan to have a serious amount of weight in the cabinets you can leave the support and add more screws for more weight support.

Now you have a cabinet. You need special hinges that can be had at just about any home improvement chain (grass and blum make nice pieces) and they'll only run you about 5$ea. Heres an example
They use a mounting plate and hinge assembly that makes removing the doors very simple with just two clips. They also allow for adjustment of the door in and out as well as side to side and up and down to get clearances just right.

We always assembled the cabinets with 1 1/4" staples and the once assembled came back and screwed them together with 1 3/4" screws and a countersink bit.

Hope this helps. This is the way the majority of our cabinets in my fathers shop were made and while we had a cad program for design and layout these are still quite simple to design and construct.

Good luck

Btw sry if this seems like the cabinets for idiots guide most of its common sense but some times people over look the simple details.:flipoff2:

Noticed you have dimensions in your post. I would assume your table top is roughly 40 3/4" and 2' wide give or take a 1/16th. I would suggest keeping the cabinets at least 16" above your work and no more the 16" deep. Any deeper and while you'll gain capacity, you'll see it fells like your cramped when working at the bench.

Just my .02cents take it or leave it...
 
#3 ·
Txchevy18 Good job on the explanation, I think you covered most of the basics, I'll just add a few small hints. You are right that alot of people over look the basics.

I do heavy cabinets out of 3/4" ply and a lot of wall cabinets out of 1/2" ply with 3/4" shelves. I try to stay away from melamine, the white laminate coated particle bd, if posible because I hate the hasle of covering the edges. I does hold up semi well to some dampness and is easy to clean but has very little strength and fasteners pull out to easy.

I like to try and glue most of my joints. This is especially true of the boxed kits you assemble yourself. Definately increases the strength. The PVC type glues like Gorilla glue works well on these laminated materials.

These premade wall cabinets are not a bad choice if you don't plan on having a ton of weight in the cabinets. They are avail. from most home centers, IKEA, and even a number of other places. They look nice, ( bonus point with the Mrs.), come in a wide variety of sizes and styles, and are easy to assemble. You don't need any special tools to put them together and don't need to transport sheet goods if you don't have a truck.

Try to keep the wall cabinets smaller than 30" in width. 3/4" plwood shelves start to sag at about this point if you dont have a center support or stiffen the front edge. You can also get adjustable shelf tracks at home centers and I do most shelves with them unless they will handle a huge amount of weight. Then the shelves are all set in dadoes and glued. Extra tall cabinets 40"+ I make a fixed center shelf to help support the side from bowing out.
 
#4 ·
Ya we started using melamine cabinets for larger commercial jobs for the cleanabilty and nice look but they usually were for offices. Heck we even did all the dorm at A&M Galveston with the stuff. I remember the hassle of edge banding by hand for many years. I always liked the prefab plywood with the laminate sides much better building material with out needing to be painted or stained.

We edgebanded every cabinet we built since any exposed edge was vernable to moisture and living right on the coast promoted that 10 fold. We started with a clothes iron, a roll of banding and a special trimmer, a normal kitchen would take 2 days. Then we picked up an scmi edge bander. That thing rocked it and 2 or 3hours and you were done and ready for the next process.

Ya the prefab stuff you can pick up today looks nice and as long as ur not wanting alot of weight to be in there then you should be fine. Just be aware they are cheap for a reason and I have found they don't stand up to everyday abuse very well over a long period of time.

Good note on the shelve width I knew I had forgotten something. I like the idea of dadoing the shelve positions that definitely should improve rigidity. We always used a line bore machine and shelve pins for ours. I may have to give that a try on the next set i build.
 
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