Scrap free building

Stick486 said:

Tell your friend to stop in the next time I do a build...

TOOLS..
Other than the usual suspect hand tools (cordless, crank neck paring chisels, scraper, #7 smoother, shoulder plane, LA smoother, etc)...
9 Routers; 1 per profile or purpose, (7ea 1617's, 2ea 1619's)... Bits; helix trim, top bearing mortising, rebated rabbet, Quadra-cut, rabbet, slot cutter, profile
2 Bosch 4100 table saws w/ Freud blades, 1 for crosscut, 1 for ripping.. (LU and LM series)
ROS and pad sanders...

THE BOX..
One piece unit.. (up to 12' construction)
Base is independent...
Any dadoes cut were done as a single pass depth of cut and 2 passes for the width using an adjustable mortising jig... Cuts were made up one side of the jig and down the other...
Single dividers for each section..

TO START...
Presand...
The bottom panel is cut to length minus any clearances required and allowing for the rabbeted fit on the bottom of the end panels...
The width is cut allowing for depth of cabinet plus 4 strips.. the width of the strips is up to you but there are other/more measures to consider...
Cut the rebated rabbets for the end panels all the way across the bottom panel...
Cut the required dado(s) (I find 3/16'' deep works out well) for the separating intermediate panel(s) all the way across the bottom panel...
Rip your strips...
Rabbet two of the strips in mirror image along one edge the depth of the dado and as wide as the ply is thick...
These strips will be installed to the back of the cabinet, one at the top w/ the rabbet up and one at the bottom w/ the rabbet down...
Kerf what will be the two inside edges that face each other... I kerf for 3MM BB and fasten the back panel on w/ truss headed screws...

Slot cutter or saw table to the rescue..

The inside edge of the kerf just touches the bottom of the dado that is already there... (see the picture of the back of the cabinet)...
When you install these strips they will auto square up the cabinet...
The remaining two strips go on top of the box one in the front and one in the back...
Hold up on putting the front strip on until after you get the face frame on...
These strips reinforce/support the counter top against sagging, help carry the weight of the sink and the box from wracking...
Install the intermediate panels... Screw through from the underside of the bottom panel or pocket hole from the top...
Of course, all joints are also glued...

FACE FRAME...
Install the face frame... (see the picture of the front of the cabinet)...
I dado and rabbet the rails and stiles as required to fit the end and intermediate panels... Doing this takes out any of the edge irregularities of the panels and straightens them at the same time..
Pocket hole screw the frame into place and use no glue...

NOTE...
To cut the groves in the face frame pieces I find a dual guide set up works really well...

DRAWERS...
Size and count is your or your customers call...
Sides rebate rabbeted to the face...
Sides and front reveal kerfed to accept the drawer bottom...
On large drawers add a rim ledger strip to the reveal... A center rib is often a plus...
The back drawer panel sets on top of the drawer's bottom and butt jointed to the sides...

NOTE...
I often spline the drops back into sheets/strips/etc using 3MM splines to use up the ''scrap''.. (see the picture w/ the drawer and note the back panel and intermediate panel)...
MAN!!! I love splines... Waste not, want not....

DOORS-DRAWER FACES...
Arrange your material to suit for grain orientation and aesthetics/blend...
Dress the adjoining edges and spline everything into one panel or as many as required...
The credenza was done from a single panel and the vanity was done in two separate panels...
Close cut the panel into workable pieces as required... Double doors and stacked drawer faces stay as a single panels for now...
Dust lip the rims if desired...
Edge profile the rims if desired...
Cut perpendicular blind dados into the backside of the door panels to the long grain... Dado in about 3'' in from end grain and place one centered to the door... I like 1'' wide and 50% of the panel's thickness... I believe this relieves stress/tension/compression set to foil your diligent hard work...
Clamp the panel down flat and fill (snug) the dado w/ a glue in strip of straight grained hardwood...
For me, Ash or Maple works just fine... I very rarely have a door change shape...
For taller doors add more strips... (Max out at about 12''OC, less is fine)...
Cut the panel(s) to make your doors and drawer faces...
From here edge ornamentation is all up to you and your customer...
To get butted doors to work w/o catching on each other, relief angle cut/plane the edge a few degrees, (5°±?)... Hold back from the face a little bit to make the relief invisible...

NOTE...
See the joiner substitute PDF for dressing the edges for straighter, truer 90° edges w/ less waste...

FINISHING...
Sub it out or do as you please...
BUT... if you finish the outside.. finish the inside 100% too as in everything...
The vanity's sink section has a coating of paint on vinyl to protect against water damage and household chemicals...

SCRAP...
As you can see I have very little of it... Even then most of it was used for settings verification...
No or next to none in burns and tooth scores attributed to better tooling and tool setup....

MORE NOTES...
I vent the sink portion of my cabinets by over cutting the bottom dust lip... Pipes and sinks sweat...

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Nickp said:

@Stick486

How about starting a new thread and move your post to it...I'm sure it will get a lot of comments and questions...

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MT Stringer said:

I recognized that exact width dado jig! It works great.

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Nickp said:

@Stick486

How about starting a new thread and move your post to it...I'm sure it will get a lot of comments and questions...

Click to expand...

Nickp said:

For the FACE FRAME...why did you choose not to use glue along with the pocket hole screws...?

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Stick486 said:

2... facilitate refacing, fit, hardware changes, (screw holes and indents can be tough to get rid of) adjusting, rework and repairs...
the rails and stiles are either dadoed or rabbeted (sized or a very snug fit) on the backside as required for location...

NOTE...
W/ the snugly fitted rails and stiles intermediates are often not need as in the 5 stacked drawers... They make the panels they are fastened to extremely rigid...
This means the drawers can be deeper...
W/ the sides of the drawer rebate rabbeted to the face the is aadditional gain in drawer volume space...
Also, there is a lot less material used which adds to the bottom line...

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Nickp said:

Nicely done...did the same today to "shrink" the small cabinet next to the fridge to get the fridge to fit in the space...your writeup was very helpful in cutting the cabinet down about an inch...had to cut 1/2" off each side to keep the drawer and door aligned, redid the dadoes and rabbets to put the face frame and back panel back on. Surgery in place for the upper cabinet was a whole other animal...Fein tool to the rescue...

BTW...I did not use glue to reassemble the cabinet...I figured if it worked for you, it would work for me...:grin:

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smitty10101 said:

@stick

"my pocket holes are installed w/ a slight up or down kant (as required)... this kant makes the screw draw whatever in and up or down simultaneously..."

a) rough idea of the amount of "kant"? A degree or two, or more substantial.
b) or established by years of experience?
or
c) some secret mojo?

smitty

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