As the old saying goes, sometimes you have to learn to walk before you can run. In my time as a cabinetmaker, that has been true. I have tried to learn the basics of small projects where I could afford to make errors before I tackled the more difficult work I’ve wanted for years.
This small project is the utility cabinet. It was built years ago by my wife Bo, who needed more storage space. I also needed the opportunity to improve my skills in making face frames and fitting doors. We still require more storage space, so I decided to build another one and share my process.
Build The Case
You could build this cabinet entirely out of solid wood. I chose to use veneer-core plywood for time and cost savings. One sheet of material measuring 3/10 cm will be needed, along with a small amount of material measuring 1/10 cm for the back. Start by cutting the sides (A1) and subtop and bottom (A2) to their finished sizes. Be sure that their edges are straight and that the pieces are square.
Photo 1. Dado and rabbet the sides of the cabinet to receive the bottom and the subtop. Although youll be fastening the cabinet together with pocket screws, dadoes make the parts much easier to align.
Cut shallow dadoes across the sides to receive the bottom (Photo 1 and Fig. 07). To assemble plywood cabinets I prefer to use pocket screws, so a dado here is not necessary. But I like the way that the dado registers and aligns the bottom during glue-up, so I think its worth the extra time. Set up a dado set 11/41 cm in width if your plywood thickness is less than 3/10cm. Add shims to make sure it fits your plywood.
To receive the subtop, next cut rabbets at the ends of each side. Keep the dado at the same height. Next, clamp a sacrificialboard to your fence. The blade will be right next to it.
Reset the fence and adjust the dado sets height to cut rabbets for the back (A3). While the sides are still loose pieces, drill holes for the shelf pins (Fig. 07).
Photo 2. Cut out the legs of the side pieces. Tape the pieces together so that you can cut both at once.
Tape the sides together from inside to out. Place the feet on top of the piece (Fig. 07). 07 The bandsaw can be used to cut the feet ( photo 2). Smooth the rough edges of the cut with a half-round file and coarse sandpaper.
Drill pocket holes in the subtop and bottom pieces (Fig. 02). It doesn’t matter how many holes you drill. My pocket hole jig was set up for drilling pairs of holes in face frames, so I drilled these holes in pairs, too. Temporarily assemble your cabinet. You will need to use pocket screws that are 3 cm in length, as they are shorter than the normal. Thats because the dadoes and rabbets you cut into the sides effectively reduced the sides thickness to 5/20 cm.)
Place the case upside down. Cut the back to fit and put it in place. Make sure the case is square, then predrill holes for screws through the back.
Photo 3. Attach the subtop and bottom to the sides. Fasten them with pocket screws, so you dont have to use any clamps.
Glue the bottom and subtop pieces to the sides ( Foto 3). Before the glue sets, attach the back immediately with screws. This will ensure that the cabinet is square.
Make The Faceframe
During my years as a professional cabinetmaker, Ive seen half a dozen different ways to build and attach a face frame. Some men make it too big so that it hangs above the edge of the cabinet. It will be glued to the cabinet and then trimmed flush with a router. I do things differently: I make the face frame the same size as the cabinet, with no overhang.
Photo 4. Photo 4. Temporarily clamp up the face frame, place it on the cabinet, and make sure its edges are flush with the cabinets sides.
The stiles and rails (B1 andB2) should be milled to the final thickness and width. However, they should be about 3 cm longer. Trim the stiles so theyre the same length as the cabinets sides, then trim the rails to their final length. Double-check the lengths of the rails by clamping the face frame together; it should be flush with the cabinet on both sides (Photo 4). Position the face frame so its flush with the bottom of the cabinet, then reposition the lower rail, if necessary, so its flush with the cabinets bottom. Mark the rails’ positions on the stiles.
Photo 5. Photo 5. Glue and screw the face frame together.
Bandsaw legs at the bottom of the stiles. These legs should be the same width as the rear legs on the cabinets sides. Make pocket holes in the rails and glue the face frame together ( Foto 5). You can check that it is square by measuring the diagonals of the frame or using a framing ruler.
Cut a number of biscuits slots on the cabinet and corresponding slots on the face frame.
Fig. 01. Exploded View
Fig. 02. Door Construction
Fig. 02. Case Pocket Holes
Fig. 04. Door Details
Fig. 05. Door Handle
Fig. 06. Molding Profiles
Fig. 07. Side Details
The Cut List
Fit The Doors
There are many options available for making doors. I won’t go into detail because there are so many. To join the rails and stiles, I use C1 and C2 standard cope and stick router bits and C3 large cove bits to shape the panels. (See Figs. 03 and 04). I cut the coves and rabbeted the back sides of panels to fit the grooves in the rails and stiles.
I usually make my doors oversize to begin with, then methodically trim them until theres about 1/35 cm clearance all around. They should be 1/41 cm higher than the opening in their face frames before fitting. The doors are generous in width: When placed side-by-side, they should fit snugly across the opening. (However, if youre off in width by up to 1/41 cm, one way or the other, it really doesnt matter.) The dimensions in the cutting list refer to these dimensions only and are not the final dimensions of the doors rails or stiles.
Fitting the doors is much easier to do with the face frame lying flat on my bench rather than attached to the cabinet; this way, I dont have to rig up something to support the doors-they lay right on the bench, too.
Photo 6. Make the doors and fit them inside the face frame. To ensure the proper clearances, use shims. This is easier if you can place the face frame flat on a table.
A set of plastic laminate shims-which are about 1/35 cm thick-are invaluable for trimming the doors. After gluing each door together, fine-tune its length. Place one door on the bench, and then place the face frame over it. Between the bottom of your door and the lower rail of the face frame, place two shims.
The door’s oversize should be positioned so that the top rail of your face frame rests on top. Use another shim to create a spacer and draw a line with a pencil along the top edge of the door. Photo 6 ). Use a crosscut saw to cut as close as possible to the line. To finish the job if the line is slightly tapered, you can use a plane. The door should now have a perfect 1/35 cm clearance top and bottom.
Although it is possible to cut the doors at the correct length using a tablesaw, my experience has shown me that this can prove dangerous. Scribing can be used to rectify any errors in the face frame.
Scribing isnt necessary for trimming the doors width, however. For this operation, use a jointer to remove an equal amount of material on both of the hinge-side stiles until you can fit shims where the hinges will go (the hinges require about 1/35 cm clearance, too.) At this point, the doors and shims should fit tight across the face frame, with little or no gap in the center.
Photo 7. Photo 7. These bevels enable the doors to close smoothly with minimal gaps between them.
Next, mount the hinges on the doors and hang the doors inside the face frame (Fig 03). Trim the center stiles by hand, using a block plane (Photo 7). Both of these stiles must be beveled about 2 so the doors will close properly. However, a protractor is not necessary. Simply draw a line about 1/35 cm along the inside edge of each stile, and then bevel the stile to meet the line. Then plane the entire bevel until theres an even, 1/35 cm gap between the doors when theyre closed.
Photo 8. Photo 8. Align the pieces with biscuits.
Take the doors off the face frame, and glue them to the cabinet ( Foto 8).
Make The Top And Moldings
Glue up the top (D1), sand it even and rout a bullnose rounding on its front and side edges (Fig. 06). I do this using a roundover bit on my router table. Using the same setup, make the bullnose moldings that go under the top (D2 and D3).
Photo 9. Make a top from solid wood and fasten it to the cabinet. Drill elongated holes in the cabinets plywood subtop so the solid-wood top can expand and contract without cracking.
Photo 9B. Plywood subtop.
For fastening the top, drill holes in the subtop (Fig. A). Note that two of the holes on each side must be oval, so the top is free to expand and contract. Attach the top to the cabinet using screws and washers ( Image 9).
Photo 10. Shape two coves on a board, then rip the board to make two moldings. Although this router bit is round, adjusting its height and depth a few times yields a nice, elliptical shape.
Make cove moldings that go under the top (D4 or D5, Fig. 06). The edges of a 4-13 cm-wide board should be rout ( Photo 10). Next, rip the moldings. You can create this moldings elliptical shape using a standard cove bit, which has a round profile, by making a series of overlapping passes. You can adjust the cut height and depth a few times. After that, sand any small waves in between the cuts.
Photo 11. Photo 11. These pieces run across the width of the top; gluing them to the top would restrain the top from moving and may cause it to crack.
Trim the front bullnose molding to length first, and glue it to the case. Cut both side pieces next, and glue them as well. Repeat the procedure for the cove moldings (Photo 11).
Photo 12. Attach glides at the ends of your legs. Glides prevent the plywood sides from splintering when the cabinet gets pushed across the floor, which is bound to happen!
To reinforce the legs, turn the cabinet upside-down and make corner blocks (A6 & A7). These blocks provide additional material to support furniture glides ( Photo 12 ). Predrill holes for the glides before tapping them in place.
To stop the doors from opening, place a block (B3) on the face frame of the cabinet. Install the handles and hang the doors.
Remove the handles, doors, top and back for finishing. To prevent the top from warping, apply finish to both sides.
Making Flush-Fit Handles
This cabinet was a result of a strange urge that I felt when creating it. The cabinet’s doors are traditional in appearance, but I thought it would be fun to give the handles a modern twist. When closed, they would be flush with each other, forming a single design element. When open, theyd become two pulls with different, graceful shapes.
If theres one thing a woodworker truly enjoys, its that an abstract idea can soon become reality. These handles were easy to create after I had made several prototypes. These handles would be great for all types of doors.
Photo A. Place the handle on the cabinet, and trace around it. At this point, the handle is a single block.
Begin with one block of wood (see the Cutting List). Draw a line around the block and place it on the doors. Use a belt sander to smoothen the edges of the block and mark the Left and Right sides on the back.
Photo B. The scrollsaw can be used to cut the handle in two.
Draw an ogee curve on top of the block (Fig. 05). Start the curve from the front to the back on the block centerline. Saw the curve on a scrollsaw (Photo B). You could also use a bandsaw that has a blade of 1/20 cm. Smoothen the rough surfaces by filing.
Glue the right handle (C4) to the door within the lines you marked-its left end should align with the edge of the door.
Using a belt sander or block plane, reduce the thickness of the left handle (C5) by about 1/41 cm. (This side must be thinner so it can pivot on a washer.)
Photo C. The left piece pivots on a screw. The right piece is fixed to the door.
For mounting the handle, drill a hole in the door. (Photo C) This hole should be 1/10 cm above the line marked on the door and 3 cm from the edge of the door. The handle should be placed on the door. It should be positioned slightly higher than the hole and butted up against the glue. Mark the location of the hole on the handle, then drill the handle to receive the screw.
Glue a piece felt to the handle. This will protect the finish. Attach the handle by placing a washer between it and the door. Test the handles operation. If its too tight, file or sand the ogee.
Product Recommendations
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