Building Cabinet Doors & Drawers

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- . . by ny Pro


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RuildingCabinet oors Drawers


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Building Cabinet Doors DrawersBY D NN Y PROULX

Linden PublishingFRESNO A


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BUILDING C BINET DO OR S DR WERS

D a n n y Proulx2000 by Dan ny ProulxiUI riehrs rocrvcd. Nu rarr o f c his b u o k mav b r r r ~ r o d u c r d n any form by ny means elecrro~,nic r mechanical . iocludine , r~hotocomine,. .recording, or hy any infi,rm;tti


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uildingCabinet Doors Drawers

CONTENTS

ChapterChapterChapter 3ChapterChapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 1ChapterChapter 12

Introduction ge 7Working Safe a t Woodworkin ge 8Joinery Overview Page 1Exploring Door Option ge 22Building Drawers Pull Out ge 34Making Slab Doors ge 48Frame and Flat Panel Doors P a 8Frame and Raised Panel Doors ge 7Multi Panel Cope and Stick Doors ...................................................... a g e 82Glass Cabinet Door ge 84Tongue and groove Door ge 9Making Tambour Doors ge 96Installing Pocket Doors a g e looInstalling Doors Draw er Front ge 1 6Index ge i l l


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6 Building Cabinet Drawers Doors

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSA technical writer needs a lot of support. Masteringall the disciplines that are needed to put a wood-working book together is no t possible. Design con-cept writing graphics construction and photogra-phy all require very demanding skills.I am very fortunate to have a great team. To my wifeGale my woodworking assistant Jack Chaters andmy photographic expert Michael Bowie thank youvery much for the support.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOGRAPHY:Danny Proulx

COVER A N D LAB WORK:Michael Bowie

Lux Photographic9 A Reech St.Suite 204Ortxwa Ont.K l S 3J7Canada

WORKSHOP:Rideau Cabineu

PO. Box 33 1Russell Ont.K4R 1ElCanada

ABOUT THE AUTHORDanny Proulx is the owner of Rideau Cabinets and isa contributing editor for CabinetMaker Magazine. Healso contributes freelance articles to Canadian HomeWorkshop Popular Woodworking and other magazines.He is the author of Build Your O w n Kitchen CabinetsThe Kitchen Cabinetmakerj Building and BusinessMa nual Ho w to Build Classic Garden Furniture andSmart Shelving an d Storage Solutions.Danny can be reached through the RideauCabinets website at www.cabinetmaking.com

TECHNICAL SUPPORTThe following companies have been a tremendoushelp in creating this book:

JuliusBlum Inc.1-800-438-6788http://www.blum.com

Delta International Machinery Corp.1-800-438-2486http://www deltawoodwotkinggcom

L R H Enterprises Inc.1-800-423-2544http://www.lrhent.com

Rout R SlideJessem Tool Co.1-800-436-6799htrp://www.jessem.com

Ryobi Canada Inc.1-800-265-6778http://www.ryobi.com

Tenryu America Inc.1-800-951-7297http:llwww.tenryu.com

Wolfcraft Inc.1-630-773-4777http:l/www wolfcraft com


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Introduction

INTRODU TIONThis book has been written in response to the manyquestions I have received from h undreds of cabinet-making enthusiasts asking me about building theirown doors for kitchen, entertainmen t and other cabi-net projects.

The omplete ProjectM y earlier bo oks, as well as many othe rs I ve seen,have detailed building plans for all sorts of cabinets.However, the process of building doors has not beenfully explained. In many instances, instructions for allthe possible door styles for each project would i l ldozens of pages. That s w hat I h ope to accomplish inthis book, making it a companion manual for yourfavorite woodworking books. There are dozens ofoptions offered so you should be able to find a d oorstyle to match any cabinet.1 11 show y ou how to build all types of d oo r styles-from simple and basic to fancy and involved. Th ere isa chapte r on joinery which, w hen mastered, will allowyou to build a ny doo r you need for your projects.If you are planning to build new kitchen cabinets foryour home, building your own doors will save youmoney. Doo rs are am ong th e most expensive items inany kitchen renovation, so being able to build yourown will be a real plus.An d, if you are going to tackle that kitchen cabinet-making project, there s a chapter o n building drawers.Like doors, they can be a major cost considerationand the process of drawer building can be intimidat-ing to many woodworkers. I ll show you how to builddrawers successfully, easily an d inexpensively.

I will also explore many o f the new man-made woo dproducts available, including particleboard (PB) sheetsthat have paper and epoxy coatings (referred to asmelamine) as well as PB sheets that have real woodveneers attached. These open up a wealth of possibili-ties in door- and drawer-making.Som e woodworking purists don t believe in using thesecomp osite boards. But I would advise you not to sellthese modern products short. They are stable, inex-pensive and they d o conserve ou r woodland resources.I have built hundreds of cabinets using PB with deco-rative moldings and they ve turne d o ut great.A door- an d drawer-making book wouldn t be com-plete without an in-depth look at mounting hard-ware, both the traditional North American hardwareand the European version that has made mountingdoo rs an d drawers a snap. I will describe all th e possi-bilities for your projects.D oo r- and d rawer-building can be fun and satisfying.Take your time, explore all the options, then buildsome of these great doo r an d drawer styles for yourown projects.


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Building Cabinet Drawers Doors

WORKING S FE T WOODWORKING

S FETYEQUIPMENTWo rking with tools can sometimesbe dangerous. Over the last thirtyyears, I've had my share of nicks,scrapes, an d o ne serious accident.Wh en I look hack o n all the timesI've had a close call, 1 realize theywere caused by a n um be r of things. .Primarily, I wasn't paying fullattention to the task at hand. Butthere were a few times thar I was

Hearing safetyglasses and dust\asks are anecessity in theq ~ orkshop.

tired and shou ld no t have bee11 in Protecting yours lfthe shop. Often, we don't take the Sawd ust is a fact of life in the sh optime to read all the safety instruc- and it can be dangerous. Wear ations packaged with a new tool. dust mask when sanding or withany operation that creates dust.

To avoid injury, read all the ma nu-facturer's inform ation , don't work Your ability to hear is another oneif you're tired, and eliminate any of the senses that can he affecteddistractions so you can fully focus when using power tools. Wearon the task. Spending the after- earplugs or any of the other hearingnoon in a hospital emergency ward protection aids that are available.isn't much fun. Never turn on a machine withoutwearing hearing protection.W he n you start woodworking, thefirst thing you should do is pur onyou r safety glasses. If you normallywear glasses, get a prescription pairthat is safetyrated.


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Working Safe at Woodworking

Always kn ow where your h ands arew hen ope ra t i ng equ i pmenr . I a ~ kmysel f thar ques t ion each t ime Iturn on a tool . And a lways usepush st icks, paddles and guards.

. a Push stlckspaddles featherboords and otherevrces should be

used at all times.In this bo ok, you'l l see som e of rhee q u i p m e n t o p e r a t i n g w i t h o u t agua rd . T ha t is on l y be ing d one fo rphotographic clar i ty. All machinesshould be o pera ted w i th a l l safetyatrachnients in place at a11 times.

Tool SafetyT h e r o u t e r i s o n e o f t h e w o o d -worker 's mo st im por tan t tool s . I tcan crea te des igns in m inutes th a twould have taken a person days tofinish by ha nd . Ir's o n c of rhc bestt oo l s a w oodw orkc r has bu t i tdem and s lots o f respect .B e mi ndfu l o f w here your handsa r c w i t h t h i s and o t he r pow ert ool s. H i gh- speed rou t e r a n d d r il lb i t s , saw blades an d san ding be l t scan jusr as easily cut you as wood.Be careful

S FETY RULESlere are just a few safety rules th atshould be kept in mind and taught

t o a n y o n e w h o w o r ks i n y o u rwoodshop.I Read arid unde rsrand all the

instrucrions that com e with yourrools.

2. Always wear safcry glasses becauseeven rhc mosr innocenr lookinghand roo1 is a porenrial hanrd.

3 Re swarc of the position of yourhands an d fingers whcn operatingpowrr rools.

4. Keep a fir cxringuishrr i n rhewoodshop 2nd have it inspccrcdrcgulnrlv.

5. Insrall a smoke alarni in the shop,as rheie is always a porenrialconibu stion hamrd w ith sawdusrand chemicals.

6 Wcar hearing protecrion whenusing machines or power rools.

7 Use caution whcn ha ndling ordisposing of chemicals.

8 Wear a dusr masL or rrspirarnrwhcn rhere is a potential o f highdusr or chemical odor.

9. Work under proper lighring. Ifthe area is lir, the chanceof an acrid rnt is grearly decreased.

In Never arrempt to change bladis orbits on a tool rhnis connecred topower. Pull the plug or turn offr h ~ircuit breaker.

11 Do nor work when you are tiredor raking medication.

12. Krep bladrs an d bits sharp. Dullrools c a n cause an acc ident.

Thcsc are a few safe ty ru les tha teveryone shou ld fol low. Bu t aboveal l else, use common sense. I f anopera t ion seems dangerous-DON O T DO IT Find anoth er way tosafely accomplish th e task.


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1 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsChapter 1 JOINERY OVERVIEW

D O O R N DDR WE R JOINERYThere are a number of differentjoints we'll use to build the doorsand drawers covered in this book.They include butt, miter, lap, rah-bet, groove, dado, mortise-and-tenon, dovetail and box joints. Youmay think these joints havestrange-sounding names and maythink they appear difficult tomake, hut when you get down toth e basics of each, you w ill discoverthat they are actually quite simpleto build with a few tools.All of these joints can be made byhand. Before we had electricityand power tools, all joinery washand-m ade, using chisels, saws andplanes. Power tools have made theprocess much easier, and some ofthe jigs on the m arket furthe r sim-plify the process.What is the best joint and whichd o we use? T he re isn't a bestjoint. Each has its own applicationand the choice depends on manythings such as stress, materialsbeing used and visual appearance.The se will determine which joint ishest suited for each application.

Types of Stress Wood M o v e m e n tShear, racking, compression andtension are all forms of stress thatact on joints. So me act to a greaterdegree depending on the applica-tion, so it is wise to be aware of theforces affecting your joinery.Shear is force applied to a joint,trying to slide it apart. For exam-ple, the butt joint used to joinboards at right angles, such asthose in a bookcase, has weightapplied causing a downward orshearing pressure.Racking is a twisting force com-mon to doors, drawers and cabi-netry. T he force applied can throwdoors and cabinets out of square,causing binding and joint failure.Com pression stress pushes the jointtogether, and tension tries to pullthe joint apart. All joints are affect-ed by one or more of these forces.

Wood is an organic material. Itwill expand and contract even afterthe tree t came from has been cut,milled and dried. Varying humidi-ty levels during seasonal changescause the woo d cells to ab sorb andgive off moisture, w hich results inwood movement.In many instances, joints are fash-ioned by attaching wood pieces atan angle. Movement in the woodacts on each piece at an unevenrate because the grain directionand pattern of each is different. Anexample of dealing with move-ment is with the raised panel in afram e-and-panel door-the panelis left to float in th e do or framewith a little extra space, so thatexpansion won't spread the stilean d rail joints apart.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview

Adhesivesand FastenersYellow carpenter s glue, an aliphat-ic-resin-based liquid, is a general-purpose woodworking glue suit-able for just about all joinery. Ifany of your projects are t be usedoutside, you may be better offusing the relatively new family ofwater-resistant one-part polyur-ethane glues, however.Many types of fasteners will beused when building drawers anddoors. Dowels and biscuits arereinforcement fastening aids,which, along with the glue, canmeasurahly improve the strengthof a joint. And mechanical fasten-ers, like screws and nails, are oftenused to secure the joint until theadhesive sets up.One of the newest fasteners is theparticleboard (PB) or chipboardscrew. It sho uld be the o nly screwused when joining PB material.The shaft of this screw is thin andthe thread s are coarse. Some chip-board screws have nibs under thehead to lock the screw in place.But remember-always drill apilot hole before installing thesescrews. The hole allows the screwto cut a th read, instead of wedgingand splitting th e board.

utt JointsThe butt joint is simple to puttogether because it requires noth-ing except two straight-cut boards.Its strengrh depends on the glueand on the mechanical fastenersused to secure the hoards.Butt joints are often reinforcedwith biscuits, splines or dowels.However, most glued-up raisedpanels used for doors are simplyedge-glued, and the builder relieso n properly surfaced edges to max-imize board contact.Another common application forthe butt joint is drawer-making.Wood drawers have glued andnailed joints, while PB drawersdepend entirely on screwed buttjoints.To maximize the effectiveness of abutt joint, be certain both boardsare cut straight and square. A goo dedge is achieved with an accuratesaw or, in the case of panels, a well-tuned jointer.

The butt joint can be used to joinboards edge-to-edge, end-to-face,edge-to-face and so on. Orienta-tion of the grain, common whencreating panels, is important tostabilize the joint. Most wood-workers alternate the growth ringpatterns so that the cupping andwarping of on e board will counter-act the on e beside it

Butt joints ar e often used whenbuilding PB drawers. The strength ofthis joint depe nds entirely on thechipboard screw.

The particleboard or chipboardscrew shou ld be used when joiningPB materials.


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2 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsDowels nd BiscuitsDowels have long been in use tostrengthen many different types ofjoints. Biscuits, wh ich a re relativelynew to woodworkers, are quicklybecoming the preferred m ethod ofjoint reinforcement.You'll often hear the term biscuitjoinery when the proper name is

plate joinery. How ever, th e termbiscuit has caught on so that

usually only manufacturers nowrefer to the tool as a plate joiner.T h e process could be called by anyname and I would still continue tobelieve biscuit joinery is on e of thebest inventions in woodworking.Installing hiscuits is much easierthan aligning holes for dowels. Infact, once the plate joiner is adjust-ed, alignment is automatic.Plate joinery involves cuttin g semi-circular slots in both hoards to bejoined. Gl ue is applied to th e edgesof each board and in th e slots. noval-shaped beech wood biscuit isput in the slots on on e board an dthe boards are clamped. Biscuitsincrease the gluing surface andthat is beneficial in achieving astronger joint. B ut, more impor-tantly, t he b eech w ood ovals swellwhen they absorb the moisture inthe glue and increase the strengthof the joint even further.

pla te joiner is ogre at oddition toony woodworkingshop.

Each board to be joined is marked, so that slotscon be cut with o pla te joiner. The beech woodbiscuits ore inserted into the slots on one of theboords after glue ha s been applied. The boa rdsar e then clamped together.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview 3

Spline oinerySplines are often used to rein-force butt ioints. Both boards

Cut grooves ordodoes in eachboard

must be grooved or dadoed.T h e n a th in s t r ip of wood isinserted into the grooves.

.

Th is is a good way t o dramaticallyimprove the strength of a buttjoint. Mu ch like biscuit joinery thespline increases the gluing surface

:and mechanically locks the joint.To make this joint be certain youfirst have a good fit between thetwo boards being joined. The n c uta dado or a groove in each board.Nex t crit a spline to fit snugly inthe grooves.Apply glue to the joint surfacesincluding the grooves. Insert thespline then clamp the jointtogether unt il the glue dries.

Cut o spline thatits tightly in the

grooves Applyglue to allsurfaces andclomp the oint


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iter Joints Accurate cuttingMiter joints are a form of butt of eoch piece ofjoint but because each piece of the joint iswood is cu t at an angle the avail- essen tial inable glue surface is increased. creating o goo dThe refore the mi ter joint is miter joint.stronger than the simple butt joint.Miter joints are widely used in thecarpentry and cabinetmakingindustries. T h e joint is popularbecause i t is pleasing to look at andt hides th e end grain of each board.

These ioints will be used a greatdeal when building doors anddrawers and for the most part arerelatively simple to make. Twoboards are joined at an angle. Inalmost all cases the angle of eachboard is one-half th e joint angle.For example a 90-degree miterneeds two pieces of woo d each cu tat 45 degrees to properly form thejoint. A 30-degree miter requirestwo boards with 15-degree cutsand so on.

The biscuit is ogood woy toincrease thr rr quolity of anymiter joint. mini-plate-joiner is anideal tool foranyone making olorge num ber ofmiters.

Miter joinery gets its strength fromtwo closely fitted glued surfaces.However mech anical fastenerssuch as splines and biscuits canstrengthen the joint.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview 5

Dado Groove andRabbet JointsThe se joints are all related and areall made the same way. The posi-tion of the cut on a board deter-mines its name. A dado is cutacross the grain a groove is cutwith the grain and a rabbet is cuton the edge of a board.

Two rab be t cutsform a cornerhalf-lop joint.

Joints such as these utilizing achannel cut into the wood are eas-ily made with a router or a tablesaw. They are probably the mostcommonly used joints in the cabi-netmak ing industry are mechani-cally strong and are easily made.They can be used in many differ-ent situations which is why theyare so popular.

dado joint forright-anglejoinery is anexcellent m ethodof supportingshelves.

double dado isa mechanicollv


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6 Buildina Cabinet Drawers Doors

Tongue and GrooveJointsThe tongue-and-groove joint isquite often the joint of choice formany door styles. A raised-paneldoor has a groove cut in the railsand s t i les and a tongue on theraised panel.T h e closed groove or trackformed by joining stiles and railsallows the panel to float in theframe. It is not necessary tomechanically bond the panelbecause t is sup port ed o n all sides.

Solid core raisedpanel doors areoften constructed

.. using a form oftongue andgroove that iscommonly colled

.. a cope and stickjoint

. . Cut the groove ona toble saw

r The tongue conalso be eas~ lvformed on thetable saw.


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hapterOne Joinery Overview 7. -

Mortise and TenonJointsThis is o ne of the woodworker sfavorite joints. It has been used forcenturies to attach wood, and con-tinues to he commonly used by llwoodworkers.T h e mortise--or hole-part of thejoint can be cut on a drill press, orwith a dedicated mortise press.Holes can be lef t rounded at thecorners, or chiseled square. It isyour decision-each me tho d isequally strong.A drill press is the ideal tool forforming the mortise because thehole will be straight. Hand-drilling, although an option, is notrecommended if you want perfectmortises.If you plan to use the mortise-and-tenon as on e of your regular joints,a tenoning jig for the table saw is agood investment. The tenon isaccurately cut square an d perfectlypropo rtioned wi th o ne of these jigs.

The tenon iseosily cut with atable sow onddodo blade, orwith a tenon jig.

Cut the mortiseusing o drill pressond Forstner bit.

Leoving themortise withround cornersmeans you llneed to roundover the tenoncorners with owood rosp.


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18 Building C abinet Drawers & Doors

Box or Finger Joints . . .-, ,Box joints are simple, decorative . . .. -.@ Cutting boxjointson o table sow isand mechanically strong because easy with o shop-of all the extra gluing surfaces on ma de jig.the fingers.

I 'Fit the table saw with a wood fence b itha t has a finger attached. Th e fin-ger should equal the width of the .

Y 'space you are cutting.r

Remember, start one end of eachboard with a finger and the otherwith a space. You will get perfectbox joints every time.Use a table saw or router table.But, remember to custom-make mzp. - -the fence with a pin equal to the ..wid th of the hox joint.

p'-;T h at p in is spaced one pin s thick-ness away from the blade. Th e first Fboard cut is made with the b a r d /tigh t against the jig pin. Afterward, fset the hole cut on the pin andbegin cutting fingers the entirewidth of the board. The secondpass begins cu tting spaced on e pinwidth away from the jig pin.

m . f you own routertable, such s thisRout-R-Slide by- - ~. Jessem, you con- -. push the it into

the smoN'-7' workprece.

Dry-fit th e joint. If it s a little tig ht,use a wood rasp to gently widen theholes. Once the joint is perfect,apply glue and clamp the joint.


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Chapter One Joinery Overview 9DOVET IL JOINTST h e dove ta i l j o in t , w i th a ll i t svar ia tions, is the m os t challeng- ;ing jo in t to make , b u t i t i s a lso f Ton e o f t he s t r onge s t a nd f ine s tof the furn i ture jo in ts. L ike th ebox joint , i t has been a s tan dardfor centuries.

Making DovetailJoints with JigThere are many dovetail jigs onthe market today. good high-quality jig is relatively expensive,hut it will last you a lifetime. Ifyou make many dovetail joints, agood jig is well womh the money.Look at the different systems onthe market. Look at how the m etalis mach~ned nd see what acces-sories are availab le. poor jig willonly make a po or joint.The high-quality jigs will have awell-written manual that is worthreading thoroughly. Follow themanufacturer s instructions andpractice making th e joint.Use a carbide dovetail bit in yourrouter and make certain it is sharp.The quality of the dovetail jointdepends largely on clean, accurate-ly cut pins an d tails.You can hand-cut the dovetailjoint o r use a jig. It is a ma tter ofpersonal preference. Whichevermethod you choose, try to masterthis joint because it adds a lot tothe quality an d visual appearanceof any project.

You will needrouter ond high-quo liy dovetoil bitto cut well-fittingdovetail oints.


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2 uildingCabinet Drawers DoorsHand Cut Dovetailstep 1-Scribe the pin depthwi th a marking gauge on theouts ide face of the board . Th edepth is equal to the thicknessof the board.tep 2-Mark the p ins wi th a

10-degree angle. Divide themup equally across the board en dfor spacing and width .tep 3-C ur the dovetail pins o n

the waste side of the pencil line,leaving the pencil line showingas you cur. Use a backsawtenon saw) or a Japanese pull-saw.


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tep4-Remove the waste usinga coping saw to angle downfrom the top corner to the oppo-site bottom corner with yourfirst cut. Remove the balance ofthe waste with a straight cut.tep 5-Mark the tails using thepin board as a guide. Cut andremove the waste from aroundthe tails.tep 6-Dryfit the joint before

gluing. Use a wood file to true-up the pins and tails until youachieve a nice tight-fitting joint.

hapter One Joinery Overview


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Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsChapter EXPLORING DOOR OPTIONS

MOUNTINSTYLESTh ere are many types and styles ofcabin et doors. An d there are just asmany different ways to hinge thedoors to the cabinets.Two of the most common mount-ing styles are the overlay and theinset. T h e overlay doo r is artachedt the cabinet o r carcass box w ithhinges and partially covers thefront edges of the cabinet. Theinset door is set into the cabinetopening, flush with the outsideface. Th ere isn't a better or beststyle-one m oun ti ng style is asgood as the other. Your choice willbe based on your personal ptefer-ence and o n m atching the cabinetdesign tha t you are building.There are, of course, variables onthese two, including half-overlayand pocket-mounting styles.However, th e tw o generally accept-ed term s for do or-fittin g styles arethe overlay and the inset door.

Door AnatomyDoors made from one piece ofmate rial-whether it's particle-boa rd or solid wood-are calledslab doors.Those made of multiple parts areknown as frame-and-panel doors.They are also referred to as board-and-batten or tongue-and-groove.It all depends on constructionstyle. Th ere are also door-m akingstyles whose names are taken fromparticu lar builders-the Shak er-style door, for instance.Nevertheless, a door made from anu mb er of parts has two stiles,or vertical members, and tw o ho ri-zontal pieces called rails. T h efifth piece is the center panel,which can either be solid wood orplywood veneer. There are a fewexceptions to this terminology andwe'll examine all the variables inupcoming chapters.

anel

1

/Rail Stile


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 3

DOOR MOUNTINGHARDWARETh ere are many different hardwareoptions available for hanging acabinet door. The traditionalNorth American cabinet hinge,which has long been a standard, isavailable in dozens of styles andfinishes.

European HingesIn the last few years, doo r-mo unt-ing hardware from Europe hasbecome a very popular alternativeto the North American variety.Th e Euro hidd en hinge is nowwidely used as standard kitchencabinet door hardware.The hidden hinge usually requiresa hole drilled in th e door. Th at taskmay seem a bit challenging tosome people but it is actually astraightforward process.There are a few things to learnwhen working with the hiddenhinge. For instance, these hingesare classified with terms such asfull overlay, half-overlay and inset.Overlay simply refers to theamount of cabinet, if any, that iscovered by the door.

Parts of a HingeThe hidden hinge comes in twoparts: the hinge, or boss, whichis mounted on the door, and themo untin g plate, which is

attached to the cabinet side.

6 There ar e manytraditional NorthAmerrcan hingesI available.

The European hidden hinge is on eof the m ost widely used door hingesr on the market today

- Adjusting do on with the Europeanhidden hinge.

T h c boss s arrachcd ro thc ino un t-ing plate with a screw or a clip pin.T h e clip-on method is becomingvery po pular because it allows the, .door to be removed from themo untin g plate withou t disturbingany adjustments.

mDegrees of Operation w--;S . iHidden hinges are also classed in / 5

term s of degrees of open ing. Forstandard door applications, the100- to 120-degree opening hinge The clip-on hinge h as becam e veryis common. But you can purchase popular.hinges th at will allow the do or toopen from 90 to 170 degrees. T h eterm simply refers to the numberof degrees of swing that the doorcan o pen from its closed position.


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4 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsHinge ApplicationsDegrees of opening; full-overlay,half-overlay or inset mounting;and mounting styles are varied.There are hinges for bi-fold doorsoften used in right-angled cornerbase cabinets in the kitchen cabi-netmaking industry; slim-linehinges for glass do or ap plications;and other specialty hinges to meetjust about every need imaginable.

tep 1 -Dr i l l t h e3 5 m m h o l e s i n t h e wqvd o o r a n d m o u n t t h ehinge boss.

1tep 2-Secure the Ihing e boss in the hole.Use a sq uare to posi-t ion i t 90 degrees to -. ~the d oo r edge.tep 3 -At t ach t h e *m o u n t i n g p l a t e t o iT h e majority of your applications

will use a 95- to 1 10-degree open- th e h in ge boss. .? b ;. .ing hin ge in the full overlay or inset tep 4-p lace the ,.... -.style. However, there are times door on the cab ine ti ,gA :when you may want the door in its 90.degree openswinging completely open and out position 3/16- b ; .*

of the way. In tha t situation, a 1 70- inch- th ick spacerdegree hinge will be n eeded. b e t w e e n t h e d o o rMounting th HingesThere are door-mounting jigsavailable at all woodworkingstores. If you plan to use the hid-den hinge for many of your proj-ects, these jigs are worth buying.If you re o nly using th e h iddenhinge occasionally, this quick andeasy installation m ethod does notrequ ire a jig.

ed ge a n d t h e cab i n e ts ide edge se t s theco r r ec t d o o r g ap .In s e r t s c r ews t h ro u g h t h e Im o u n t i n g p la te t o s e c u re t h e mto the cab ine t s ide .tep 5 - R e m o v e t h e d o o r b y

re leas ing the h inge boss f romt h e m o u n t i n g p la te s. I n s er t t h erem a i n i n g s c rews to s ecu re t h em ou n t i ng p la tes.T h i s d o o r i n st al la t io n m e t h o dThis method works with all hinge- wil l a l ign the d oo r in i ts propermoun t ing applications, bu t it s p o s i t i o n . On l y m i n o r ad j u s t -based o n using a 95- to 120-degrees tandard opening h ~n ge . f you m en t s w il l b e n eed ed t o en s u re

plan on installing a non-qtandard door perfectly installed O nhlnge, such as the 170-degree hidden hinges.mode l, install the door with a stan- ~ you plan to use a 170-degree Idard hinge boss mounted in the hinge, replace the boss anddoor, then replace the hinge boss i n s t a l l t h e d o o r o n t h e s a m ewith a 170-degree boss after the m o u n t i n g p la te s. T h e w i d er -door has been hung. ope n ing h inge wi l l a lso be co r -

rectly posit ioned.


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 5

Full over la half- or twin overla~ nd inset hinge set-ups.Hinge dimensions andgap colculotion based on factory setting mounting plate spacing Omm).Hinge ond door protrusion at full opening angle.

.... Set mounting platecotlrtcw l lu us Rlum i n c i l mc surementi in m ~ l m e t e r s back y door thickness

Typical bi-fold and 770-degree hinges on cabinet doors. These two hinges ore used together quite often, in a right-ongle-corner base cabinet with a lazy Susan, for example.Hinge dimensions and gap colculotion based on factoty setting mounting plate spacing Omm).

Use of cover cap isrecommended.

The hinge boss of the bi-fold hinge should be fixedto the same door as thehinge boss of the 770-

Factory setting for 19mm-thickdoor in conjunction with 3mmspaced standord mounting plate. \\ \ 60


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26 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsThe ullOverlay inge

Mounting Side panel Arm sideplate width projectionheight- jtc -his hinge covers the cabinet side

by almost 518-inch when the do oris closed. That overlay distance islargely based on frameless .-European-style kitchen cabinetry

umade with l6 m m 518-inch) 7 melamine-coated particleboard.

.

Two 35mm-diameter holes are f *a1drilled in the door to accept the ohinge. Th e holes are set back abo ut i p o r i n g d istance118 inch from the edge of the door.-Most hing e manufacturers, includ-ing Blum, whose products I use,require this set-up. However,check the specifications suppliedby the manufacturer of the hingesyou prefer.The depth of the hinge holedepends upon the hinge beingused. While there are slight vari-ances, most hinges will it in a hole112 inch deep. Again, check thespecifications of the hinge youplan to use.The ideal bit for drilling a hingehole is flat-bottomed, and oftencalled a Forstner bit or a hinge-bor-ing bit. I suggest you use a carbide-tipped hinge-boring bit becausethe b inding adhesives used to man-ufacture particle core an d plywoodsheet goods are hard. High-speedsteel bits will burn very quicklywhen drilling these boards.

-oor overlay ~'Door protrusionat rnax open ing) \

A 35 mm hole for the full overloyhinge is set bock 1 8 inch from theedge of the door


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 27The HalfOverlay Hinge

The half-overlay hinge overlaps thecabinet side y about 5 16 inch.This hidden hinge is identical tothe full overlay model with oneslight difference.It mounts on the door in the sameway but the overlap o n the cabinetis only about 5 16 inch or one-half th e distan ce of the full overlay.Manufacturers call this type a half-overlay hinge hu t you m ight alsosee it called a twin or dual applica-tion hinge.This hinge is used when two doorsmeet on one cabinet. This situa-tion may arise when you have aseries of doo rs side by side in a runand the center doors meet on on ecabinet. It is a limited-use hingebut there are times when the small-er overlay is needed .

The Inset Hinge

The inset hinge mounts the doorflush with the fa ce of the cabinet.T he inset hinge is perfect for flush-mounted doors. The mechanicalability of this hinge to maintain itsposition is an important featureand unlike some of the earlierinset hinges and the traditionalNo rth Am erican styles this hingeis adjustable.Building inset doors for any wood-working project is challenging.The cahinet opening must hesquare an d the do or has to be builtwith very close tolerances. Oftenthe clearance between the doorand cabinet opening is 1116 inchor less. high-quality hing e is nec-essary for this app lication.Study the specifications of thehing e you plan to use before build-ing your inset doors. There areslight mounting differencesdepending on the manufactureran d you s hould be aware of thesebefore the doors are built.


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28 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsHinge Terminologyand imensionsHidden hinges are easy to install Study this illustration to becomeand you will soon appreciate all familiar with hidden-hing e termi-their benefits. T h e illustration nology. It gives you som e of th ebelow details som e of the imp or- im porta nt dimensions you ll needtant dimensions and terminolo gy when installing these hinges.associated with this hardware.

Hinge arm height Hinge arm height Hinge arm height- - -1g j-I

.-I. ... .. . .. ..Door protrusion; i Door protrusion \ , r. ..:. . ..::.

Overlay application: Centre or twin application Inset applicakon iStraight hinge arm 9.5m m cranked hinge arm 18 m m cranked hinge arm

Drilling distanceDrilling distanceG a p - m --

cap_Boss overlay 1 GapBoss overlad Boss overlay -~ Door overlay -~= Fixedi 1 Door overlay = F i x T d j : ~ = Fixed-dimension dimension dimensionDrilllng Drilling depthdistance

Screw on

Drilling Drillinfdistance

Knock inI

inge4 Lboss dimensions

:depth flange width

m


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 9H NDLE OPTIONSThere is not a great deal I can sayabout door handles. They are anecessity for most doors andchoosing one is sometimes diffi-cult because of the many stylesavailable.T he cabinet style will often dictatewhich handle is most suitable-amodern nickel handle isn't appro-priate for a Shaker-style cabinet,for instance. But the choice is notalways that simple. Some suppli-ers, like mine, have more tha n twohun dred different types of handlesin stock.Handles are mounted to thedoors with machine screws.Manufacturers often include thescrews with the handles, bu t mostof those screws are for a standard314-inch-thick door. You mayhave to run to th e hardware storefor different ones if your doorisn't th e so-called stand ardthickness. I t 's one minor annoy-ance that you may encounterwhen you are in a hurry to com-plete a project, so consider i tahead of time.

I Door handles ar einstalled on alm ostevery door webuild. There a rehundreds of styleson the market.

Mounting tylesHandles are attached with one o rtwo screws through the back sideof a door. The screw spacing isn'tthe same for every handle fromeach manufacturer. You will see 3inch, 3-112 inch and 96mm on-center spacing plus a few more. Itis not an important consideration,but i t can be limiting if you needto change handles later.What is the best position on thedoor to m oun t the handles? I don'tbelieve there is a defin ite bestposi tion. I've seen handles inchesfrom the top, in the center of thedoor, on the edge of the door andin dozens of other positions. It'sreally a ma tter o f looks and of per-sonal choice. Some times the cabi-net style that you're copying willprovide th e answer.

unctionMy m ain concern with a ny handleis its ease of use. Is th e door easy tooperate? Will the handle be strongenough to stand up to the abusewhen a cabinet is opened andclosed a lot? Is the handle danger-ous? Could a child's fingers getcaught in the opening?Older people, and those withdiminished flexibility in theirhands, sometimes have a hard timegrasping door handles. If that situ-ation applies in your house, youmay want to consider a differenthandle style. Having everyone try afew samples, before you co mm it topurchasing all the hardware, isoften well worth the effort. Unlessmoney is not an issue, you willhave to live with your choice forqu ite some time-and handles canbe an expensive hardware item.


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3 uilding Cabinet Drawers Doors

srvles. All of them can be easilvconstructed in the hom e workshop.However, a few types are beyondthe ability of the woodworker, par-ticularly thermoplastic doors.These doors are made with medi-um-density fiberboard (MDF)that has a pattern routed on thesurface. T h e inlay p atterns are cre-ated with a computer-controlledrouter. The designs are cut to sim-ulate a raised-panel do or style.T he M D F is then covered with aheat-shrunk plastic film on a high-pressure vacuum press. T he plasticis forced into the patte rn an d takes Determining Thermoplastic doors ar e becomingon the contours o f the design. Do or Size papular choice for bathroom a n dEuro-style cabinek.If you plan to install the standardThe latest styles of thermoplastic 100-degree, full overlay hiddendoors com e in a range of colors. A hinge, there is an easy rule-of-few manufacturers are offering th um b used to determine door size.these doors w ith a texture that sim-ulates woo d grain.

lass an dPlastic Do orsObviously, glass and Plexiglasdoor-making must also be left tothe experts, but you may need oneor two of these doo rs for a specialcabinet. You will need to knoww ha t size to order-and here iswhere information abou t the hid -de n hin ge is useful.

First, the height is not critical. Thedoor should overlay the cabinet atthe top and bottom of the door byat least 4 inch.The width of the door is critical.To calculate door width, measurethe inside opening o f the cabinet.Th en, add 1 inch to that dimen-sion to find the d oor size.For example, a utility cabinet thathas a 21-inch inside openin g meas-urement will need one 22-inch-wide door or two 11-inch-widedoo rs. It s th at simple. You w illhave to adjust th e hinges slightly toget the correct gap between doorsbu t, as you ll discover, this sim plerule works in almost all cases.


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Chapter Two Exploring Door Options 31FACE FRAME VS FRAMELESS CABINETRYOne other question you should each style, but being aware of theconsider, before building cabinet two main styles will help youdoors and ordering your hardware, decide on the door and the hard-is the cabinet style. ware required.There are two main styles of cabi-nets, with many variations within

h

The basrc foce-fram e cabin et installing the face frome flush with thehas a hardwood face applred to inside face of the cabmet s side boardth carcass. is anothe r common building practice.

Face Frame Cabinetry In some instances, th e inside style hinges or else hidd en hingesdim ensio n o f the face frame is less with a face-frame mounting plate.This cabinet-building style con- than the inside carcass dimensio n. Either hin ge will work fine.sists of a simple cabinet box (car- T he cabinet s side board is set backcass) and an applied hardwood from the inside edge of the face- In the last few years, cabinetmak-frame on the front face. T h e car- frame stiles (vertical members). ers-particularly in the kitch encass can be made of sheet materials

cabinetmaking industry-havesuch as plywood or particleboard. If that is th e type of face-frame cab- installed their face frames so thatIn early cabinets, you might see inet you are building, o r ify ou have the inside edges of the face-framesolid wood panels that have been on e that needs new doors, you can stiles are flush with the inside facesglued together. use traditional North American- of the cabinet.


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3 Buildinn Cabinet Drawers DoorsHardware Questionsto Consider in Faceframe CabinetryMounting doors with traditionalNorth American-style hinges iseasy with face-frame cabinets.There is usually ample room tom ou nt the hinge on the face of theexterior frame.Installing European hidden hingeson face-frame cabinets can presenta few dificulties, but Europeanhardware manufacturers havesolved almost all of these problemswith some un ique hardware.If the face frame has been installedso that its inside edges are flushwith the inside surface of the cabi-net carcass, install the hinges in thenormal m anner.O n th e other hand , if the faceframe has a smaller inside dimen-sion than the carcass, a face-framemounting plate must be used tomo un t the hidden hinge. It isn t aserious problem but it is one youshould consider when orderinghinge hardware.

North Amerrcantraditional hingesar e simple toinstall on face-frame cabinets.

Europeanhidden hingeinstalled onface-fromemounting plate.


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Chapter Two Exploring Door OptionsFrameless abinetryCabinets built without a faceframe are often referred to asframeless or European cabi-

nets. The cabinet box does nothave a wooden face frame appliedto it. In almost all cases, the frontedges of the cabinet box are cov-ered with an iron-on melaminetape or with wood veneer edging.This is a very common style inEurope, as the name implies.Frameless cabinets are now popu-lar in North America as well,because they are simple t buildand often cost less than the face-frame style.A typical frameless kitchen cabinetconsists of two side boards, a top , abottom and a back. Shelves anddoors are all that are then neededto complete the cabinet. Usually,the cabinet is 518-inch-thickmelamine particleboard with theexposed front edges covered withmelamine tape.

Hardwareonsiderations

The North American traditionaldoor hinge, which m ounts on thefront face of the ca binet, is difficultto install on frameless cabinets.That doesn't mean it definitelycan't be used, but the 518-inch-thick front edge leaves little roomfor hinge placement.

All the overlay specifications havebeen developed based on t he use of16mm or 518-inch-thick cabinetmaterials.Door openings, mounting platesand hardware fastening proceduresare based on frameless cabinetstyles. However, manufacturershave realized that the face-framecabinet is still in dem and and th eyhave developed hardware toaccom mod ate this style.Doors and HingesYou m ight thin k that the hardwaredetermines th e d oor style. Well, inalmost all cases, that is not so.Th ere are hundreds of hinge appli- sdcations and, quite often, you willbe able to m oun t any door style onany cabinet. It's simply a matter ofknowing what is available and w hatthe limitations are in some casesIf the complex-looking Europeanhidden hinge intimidates you, typ;ca/ ,,fromeless uropeandon't be alarmed. W e all were hesi-rant wh en first faced with the needto use this hardware but, after the ~~~~~l~~~ab;netsprov;,je thefirst few installations, we were ideal application for the Europeanamazed to find ou t how easy it is. hidden hinge.

Here is whcre the European hiddenhinge comes into its own. It wasdesigned for frameless cabinets, iseasy to install and is the perfectcom panion for this style of cabinet.


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34 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsChapter BUILD ING DRAWERS PULL-OUTS

1P 1'

TRADITIONAL That inscr-bottom tradition con-STYLES tinues today among many cabinet-makers. Traditional building stylesTh roug hou t most of furniture his-

are sometimes hard to change,tory, drawers were mad e o ne way, although most now use modernand one way only. Two sides were drawer-glide hardware.ioined to a front and backboard.and then an inset bottom was The drawer face was either incor-installed in grooves. T h e bottom of porated in to the drawer as both thethe drawer sides acted as runners, face and the front board or as awhich ran on wooden tracks built separately applied front. Thatinto the cabinet. choice was made by the cabinet-

maker and was determined by theI remember building m any draw-style of cabinet being built. Manyers, all that same style, and build- cabinetmakers of long ago builting frames inside the cabinet for very elegant and intricate drawersth e dr awe rs. It wasn t a great sys- using all forms of joinery.tem but t was the standard.

Cabinet drawers moved on woodrunners before modern drawerhardware came onto the market.


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Chapter Three Buildina Drawers Pull-Outs 5

MODERNDR WERH RDW REModern hardware now gives cabi-netmakers the o ppo rtuni ty to varydrawer styles and constructionmethods. Side- and bottom -moun tglides with three-quarter and fullextension capabilities, along withpositive stops a nd closing features,have opened a world of designopportunities.Low-cost metal drawer glide setsthat consist of two bo ttom-mo untdrawer runners and two cabinettracks are quite simple to install.Installing the new drawer hardwaredemands special attention to thedrawer s body width, s most of thehardw are requires very precise clear-ances in order to operate properly.Otherwise, building high-qualitydrawers is well within the abilitiesof any woodworker o r hobbyist.

Material ChoicesIn the past, it was common to use112-inch-thick wood for buildingthe body of the drawer. Today, alltypes and sryles of solid woods a ndmanufactured shret goods arebeing used to build drawers.Most common are cabinet-gradeplywood and melamine-coatedparticle-core material.

-Modern drawer hardware expandsthe design possibilities.

Cabinet-gradeplywood, which.ha s void-freelayers, is apopular drawer-making choicetoday@v'q

Melamine-coatedanother populardrawer-buildingmaterial. This one. + ha s a solid woodedg e trim a n d

A bottom-mounted


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6 build in Cabinet Drawers Doors

DR WER JOINERYMany of the joints discussed inCh apt er can be used to builddrawer boxes. Rabbets, interlock-ing grooves an d dovetail joints arestill popular drawer-buildingchoices. Butt joinery, using specialscrews for particleboard, is alsovery comm on.

Calculat ingDra we r S izesIn general, the 1-inch rule appliesto most drawer-building projectswhen using modern hardware.Bottom-mounted and side-mounted slides made by manufac-

matters, I also subtract 1 inch from Measure the inside width an d heightthe height of the opening to deter- of the cabinet, a n d then subtractmine my drawer-box height. inch from each dimension to deter-mine the heigh t of your draw er box.T hi s rule is very general and Isuggest you read the manufactur-er's instructions that come withyour hardware.One important point should bekept in min d ifyo u are planning touse th e new hardware. M ost draw-er-glide systems are designed tooperate with frameless cabinetbuilding styles, where the cabinetis the same width all over. But tha tdoesn't mean that the hardwarecannot be used with face-frame-style cabinets.

turers such as Blum, Accuride and If the inside width of the faceothers, require a 112-inch space frame is smaller than the insidebetween the outside of th e drawer width of the cabinet, cleats orbox an d th e cabinet side for proper spacers must be installed so thatinstallation an d operation. you can mount the glides flushwith the inside of the face frame. ItThe drawer opening is measuredis a simple matter of attachingfrom inside the face frame, or cabi- small strips of wood on which tonet sides if it is a frameless style mo unt the hardware.cabinet. Subtract inch from that

dimension to get the outside widthof the drawer box. To simplify


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Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull-Outs 37BUILDING ATRADITIONALSTYLE DRAWER si es 314 x 6 x 22This drawer box is made of 314-inch-thick pine and has a 114-inch-thick bottom. This is theinser bottom style that has longbeen the standard.For this example the drawer box is

inches long and 12 inches wideby 6 inches high. This box isdesigned to have a false drawerfront applied.

Step 1-Cut tw side boards.Each inside face will require arabbet 114-inch deep by 314inch wide on both ends of theboard. Cut the rabbet with adado blade on a table saw orwith a router.Step 2-The two side boardsand the front board nowrequire a 114-inch-wide by 114-inch-deep groove on the insidefaces to receive the bottomboard. The top edge of thegroove is 112-inch above thebottom edge of each board.

Tip Use a table saw to cut thegrooves. Set the blade 1/32 inchdeeper than 114 inch to allowfor a little movement of thebottom board.


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8 Building Cabinet Drawers Doorstep 3-The back is dimensioned .

as detailed in the materials list.No grooves or rabbets are \iequired on this piece. \.tep 4-The bottom can be any \

't114-inch-thick sheet material. .. .,often use veneer plywood thatmatches the wood of the drawerbox, but use of any good hard-board is also very common.tep 5-Attach the sides to the

front and back boards, usingglue and finishing nails. The . : . t,top edges of all the parts should * . .~be flush, and the bottom boardgrooves should line up on the ,.-. . \front and side hoards.tep 6-Slide the bottom board

into the grooves of the sides andfront board. It should be flush . , . t,,with the outside face of theback board. Verify that the boxis square, and then nail the bot-tom board to the edge of the :.back board.Traditionally, when solid wood Iwas used as a bottom, glue was notapplied. Therefore, the wide bot-tom board could expand and con-tract. Today, however, ply andcomposite boards are used for thebottoms and wood movement isn'tthe problem i t once was. Use nailsonly, or apply glue along with thenails. still retain my old habitsand don't glue the bottom-buti t can be done either way. ., v:.,--m


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Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull-Outs 9- - w

CABINET GRADEPLYWOODDRAWERSA special type of plywood is fre- * .quently used to build cabinetdrawers. It is called by manynames, includ ing cabinet plywood,Baltic birch and Russian birch.

Build traditional-style drawersusing birchplywood.

It is special because th e layers mak-ing up the sheet are void-free,that is, they are guaranteed to befree from holes. This is importantbecause it means that the edges ofeach cut will be smooth. may be surprised at the high cost you will gain a little extra interiorMany cabinetmakers leave theedges uncovered because sandingcan produce a very smooth finish.T h e edges can be stained, or sealedwith urethane or lacquer. Thealternating light and dark layersmaking up the plywood produce a

of this material, so plan your cut-ting carefully.T he same process described underthe heading Building aTiaditiona1-Style Drawer is used when build-ing birch plywood drawers.

drawer space.Like solid wood, this plywood isnailed and glued in most cases.Either side- or bottom-mounteddrawer runners are used for thetracking m echanism.

.finished appearance. Because cabine t-grade plywood is a Next time you are in a furniturecom posite board, drawer boxes are store, look at commercial-gradeThe thickness most commonly very stable and won't expand or drawer boxes. You'll find that theused for drawers is 2 inch. Sheets contract like solid-wood drawers. majority are made from Baltic birch.can be purchased in a standard 4 It is also only 2 inch thick, sofoot by 5-foot size. However, you


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4 Building Cabinet Drawers & DoorsMELAMINEPARTICLEBOARDDRAWERSMPB drawers are very popular inthe kitchen cabinetmaking indus-try. Wood edge trim matching thecabinet wood can be added to thedrawer edge as a finishing detail.Ne w hardware innovations like thebottom-mounted drawer glidehave allowed woodworkers to use awider range of drawer-makingmaterial. One of those products ismelamine particleboard (MPB).Drawers do not have to track onwood runners or on flimsy plasticglides. Cabinet-mounted tracksand drawer-box runners supportthe drawer box. The drawer mate-rial is no longer part of the tracksystem.

Building anMPB rawerIn this example, my drawer open-ing is 5 inches high by 14-314inches wide in a 17-114-inch-deepcabinet, and it will have a falsefront attached.Step 1-Ca lcu la te the s ize ofdrawer box you l l need . As d is -cussed ear l ier , using Blum bor-tom- moun te d g l i de s , I m a k em y b o x 1 i n c h n a r ro w e r a n d 1i n c h lo w er t h a n t h e w i d t h a n dhe ight o f t he ope n ing .

Materials Listsi es @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 16front @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 12 1 2back @ 5/8 x 3-3/8 x 12 1 2bottom @ 5/8 x 13-3/4 x 16

Ba se d o n r he s i ze o f t he ope n - o f t he box . A pp ly e dge t ape t o Tip: Metal drawer glides arei ng , m y d r a w e r box w i ll be 4 o n e l o n g e dg e, a n d t r i m t h e available in standard sizes, soi nc he s h igh by 13-314 inc he s r ape. Cu t t he boa r d t o t he pick the closestsize t yourw ide by 16 inches deep. required s izes . Tap ing f i rst a n d requirements. My draweropening is 17-1/4 inchesStep 2 - C u t a le ng th o f M P B 3 c rosscu t t ing second wi l l g ive deep. A standard 18-inch318 i nc he s w ide by a bou t 60 c lean , square edges on each en d drawer glide wou ld be tooinches long. Thi s materia l wil l be of the boards . long, so have chosen theused for the s ides, back an d f ront next size dow n-16 inches.


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Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull Outs 4- , ..Step 3-Attach the sides to the .front and back boards. Use two

2-inch screws at each corner.T h e screws must be MP B-rateddesigned to join particleboard).Step C C u t t h e bo tt o m b o ardaccurately. Take extra care to Imake vure this board is squarebecause it will be used to sauare ,the drawer box. Edge-tape thesides before installing, as they *will be visible. Attach the backwith 2-inch M PB screws on 6inch centers.Step 5-Attach the bottom-mo unt drawer glides to the boxwith 518-inch screws.

Here's a pointer: To achieve chip-free cuts with melam ine-coatedboards, use a b lade specificallydesigned to cut this materia l, suchas this MEL PRO blade by Tenryu.


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4 Building Cabinet Drawers Doorstep 6-Screwheads visible on :p&

the sides of the drawer box canbe covered with plastic caps. Ifyou plan to use these caps, drivethe screw until the head is flush bwith th e surface of th e m aterial.tep 7-U?e a carpenter ? squareto align the cabinet runners. -. .-

They should be installed 114inch above the rail, so positionyour square accordingly. Restthe leg of the square against theface of the cabinet, and the wtongue o n th e cabinet side, then - V Ldraw line. Th is line will be 90degrees to the cab inet face.tep 8-Use th e reference line as

a guide to aligning the cabinetrunners. Install one 518-inchscrew at the front and one at theback of each runner, in caseadjustments are required.tep 9-Test-fit the drawer box

and adjuxr the runners ifrequired. O n ce yo u are satisfiedthat the drawer is operatingproperly, install the remainingscrews. Finally, attach th e draw -er face of your choice.


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Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull-Outs 4

INSET C BINETDR WERSInset drawers have their faces flushwith the cabinet front. Buildingthese drawers requires accuratecutting and assembly, as we areusually dealing with a 1116-inchgap between the drawer face andth e cabinet sides.T he following is an example of aninset drawer using t he front hoardas the finished face. In this case,rabbets are cut int o the front an drear faces, whic h is opposite t o theprocess we used when building atraditional drawer wi th a false faceapplied. The front of the drawerwill be visible, so we must coverthe en ds of the side boards.

I will also explain how to build Inset drawers ar e an JthersV ethese drawers with wooden side-runners. This is another style thatwas popular years ago, and somecabinetmakers continue to copythis process whe n building periodfurniture. When tracking thedrawer on wood runners, waxingthe wood is usually necessary tomake the drawer operate smoothly.


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Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsBuilding the rawerI will be using 314-inch solid woodfor the sides back and front. Thebottom will be 114-inch-thickveneer plywood.Step 1-Cut the drawer-frontboard which will be the fin-ished draw er face 1116-inchless than the drawer opening inheight and width.Next cu t a 314-inch-wide by112-inch-deep rabbet on eachinside en d of the drawer face.Step 2-T he two sides are 1 inchshorter than the cabinet depthand the same height as thedrawer-front board. Preparethese boards by forming agroove on the outside face ofeach side. T h e groove should becentered an d measure 314 inchwide by 112 inc h deep.Step 3-Cut a back board that is112-inch lower than the frontboard and 1- 112 inches narrower.Step 4-Before the drawer isassembled we need a groove onthe front and side boards toreceive the bot tom board. Cutthe groove 114 inch wide and114 inch deep with its to p edge112 inch up from the bottomedge of each board.

Tip This can be a challenging drawer to build.Accuracy is important s o cut and position all th eparts carefully.The drawer rails should be sm oothly sande d toabout 1 64 inch less than th e drawer o pening allaroun d so th e drawer will ope rate properly.


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ha~ter hree Buildine Drawers Pull Outs 5

tep 5-Assemble the drawer CIparts using glue an d brad nails.Nail the side boards to the frontthrough the sides to hide nailholes. T h e bottom board sits inthe side and fro nt board groovesand overlaps the edge of theback board as it does in the tra-ditiona l drawer desc ribed earlierin this chapter.tep 6-Cut two cabinet rails

112 inc h wide by 314 inch high .The rail5 are yecured 114 inchback from the face of the cabi-net. wh ich allows the face of thedrawer to close flush with thecabinet facePosition the rails accuratelybased on measurements fromthe grooves on the drawer box.Be very careful when placing therails as their position determinesthe at-rest position of the drawerbox. I recommend a 1116-inchgap between the face of thedrawer box a nd the cabinet faceon the sides top and bottom .


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46 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsPULL OUTSPull-outs are located behind cabi-net do ors an d can be used for stor-age or for special applications suchas shelves for CD players.Two hardware improvements havema de pull-outs possible-moderndrawer glides and improved hingetechnology. Cabinets no longerrequire a center stile because thenew hidden hinges can maintaintheir position. Kitchen and utilitybase cabinets now have pull-outsroutinely installed because of themechanical ability of these hinges.But there is one item that must beconsidered when building pull-outs. Man y cabinet doors enter theinterior space of th e cabinet whenthey are opened. Check the hingeyou plan to use, because a spacer orcleat may have to be installed onthe hinge side of the cabinet to p ro-vide clearance for the drawer glide.

Platform Pull outsThe platform pull-out can be assimple as a sheet of 314-inch woodwith a piece of decorative moldingo n the front. O r it can be a 314-inch-thick wood frame with a 114-inch-thick bott om . Thi s is an idealapplication for bottom-mounteddrawer glides.

Pull-outs a redrawem behindcabrnet doors an dcan be any shape1 necessary to fit yourrequirements.' wood-frame pull-out with a 1/4-inch-thick bottom,mounted on drawerglides.

Side-mounted fullextension glidesar e also id eal foruse withequipmen t pull-outs.


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Chapter Three Building Drawers Pull-Outs 7MakingDrawer Pull outstep l -Co nstr uct a t radi tional-style drawer following the pro-cedures covered earlier in thischapter. Remem ber the drawerwidth may not be inch nar-rower than the cabinet wid th ifa cleat is needed to allow thedrawer to clear the d oo r hinge.tep 2-Attach a false drawer-

face as wide as the drawer boxplus a li t t le wider to cover theglide mechanism. F- ~ Wtep 3 - In ~ t a l l t h e d ra w erglides. In this example I am

using full-extension side-mounted glide^ but less expen-sive three-quarter extensionunits w ill wo rk just as well

Design NotesThere are dozens of pull-outdesign possibilities. Large un itsin k itchen base cabinetsimprove storage; equipmentpull-outs in the w orkshop savespace; and entertainm ent-cen terstorage of tapes, cassettes andCDs is much m ore efficient w itha few pull-outs.I use a num ber of tray andplatform pull-outs in myworkshop to store router and drillbits. Closing the cabinet doorshelps keep the dust off my toolsand the pu ll-outs allow me quickaccess to l l my small tools. I'msure you'll find m any applicationsaround your home and shop forthese great storage devices.


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8 Buildinc Cabinet Drawers Doors

hapter MA K I N G SLAB DOORS

WHEN TO USESLAB DOORSSlab, or flat, doors are made fromsheet goods or from glued-upwood ~ a ne ls . hey are a low-costoption to consider whe n a num berof doors are required.Utility and storage cabinets don'toften require fancy doors, so theslab door is the answer. But don'tsell it short-many kitch ens ,including my own, have veneer-covered particle-core doors, o ne ofthe m ost p opular slab-style doors.

doors. If you have a kitchen, hath -room, laundry or storage roomproject that you've postponedbecause you can't afford th e cost ofmaking solid-wood raised-paneldoors, take another look at thislow-cost solution .Even the plain slab door can hemade beautiful with a little imagi-nation. Friends of min e tole-paint-ed a lovely design on an oak-veneerparticleboard door, and it lookedgreat. This show s you w hat a littletime an d talent can do w ith inex-pensive m aterialsOne 32-square-foot sheet of

Tole-pa~nbng deagn on veneer-covered port~cleboards o greo t wayto enh ance the look of oninexoensive slob door.mela mine or veneer-covered parti-cleboard will yield quite a few


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Chaoter Four Makinn Slab Doors 49

MELAMINESLAB DOORSMelamine particleboard MPB)doors are simply f la t doors cutfrom 518-inch or 314-inch-thick Tmelamine sheets. They are popularin Europe and are common hereon low-cost frameless cabinets.Step 1-Cut the door blank from ,.ing an arched or cathedral raisedpanel door is the same as it is forf la t panel doors. The frame is iden-tical and only the panel-makingprocedure is different.I am using 314-inch stock for thedoor frame and panel. The doorsize is 4 inches high by 14 inch-s wide.tep 1-Cut two stiles 314 inch

thick by 2-114 inches wide by24 inches long. T h e bottom railequals the door width less thew idth of tw o stiles plus 1 inchfor the two 112-inch longtenons. T h e botto m rai l is 314inch by 2-114 inche s by 10-112inches. T h e top rail is the sam ethickness and the same lengthbu t it is 3-114 inches wide sothat the arch or cathedral canbe formed.tep 2-Form a 114-inch-thick

by 112-inch-long tenon on b othends of each rail.tep 3-Cut the arch or cathe-dral curve in the top rail. Follow

the procedures detailed inChapter 5 for each pattern.tep 4-N ext cu t the 114-inch-

wide by 112-inch-deep grooveo n the inside edge of both stilesan d rails. Use a win g slot cutteron a router table. he curve onthe top rail makes it necessaryto use this router bit with aguide bearing.


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Chapter Six Frame-and-Raised-Panel Doors 79Step 5-Glue up a solid-woodpanel. Its rough size should be1-112 inches wide, and longerthan the inside dimensions ofthe door frame.A 314-inch-thick panel will be114 inch higher than the frame sface. If you want the face of thecenter panel flush with the faceof the frame, use a 9116-inch-thick panel and align the grooveso that it is 3/16 inch above theback face of the frame.Step 6-Dry-assemble the doorframe and lay it on top of thecenter panel. Trace the patternonto the panel face.

Step 7-Use the lines trans-ferred to the panel as a guide.Enlarge the pattern by 7/16inch on all edges. The groovesare 112 inch deep, so we mustallow for a small amount ofpanel movement.

Step 8-Cut the panel using theenlarged pattern as a guide. Aj ~ g r band saw will easily cutthe panel, but make sure thecurve is smooth because thepanel-raising follower-bearingwill transfer any uneven curvesto the raised panel.It is a good practice to cut onthe outside of your pattern linesand then sand to the lines. Thisensures accurate sizes andsmooth lines.Step 9-1 am using a r pppanel-raising bit in a .router table set up with a .I-112-horsepowerouter. The final height,

or cut, with these bitsshould be set to leave a114-inch-thick edge onthe panel so that it will 4it snugly into the frame t igrooves. Make a number r .,of small passes with thesebits until the edge is thedesired thickness. iStep 10-Sand dl the parts, then afety Notedry-assemble the door to test Notice that have a safety boardfor a correct fit Apply glue to on my router table. I t is set at thethe tenons only, and clamp. center of my bit and wrapsCheck that the door is square, around the bit sides so that theand set it aside to dry before panel cannot be drawn into. orfinishing. past th e bit. Again make anum ber of small passes until the

desired edge thickness isachieved. Do not attempt to useone single pass. You will alsofind these bits make a great dealof noise so be sure to wearhear ing protection as well asyour eye protection.


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COPE AND STICKSQUARE RAISEDPANEL DOOR SThis door will be 13 inches wideby 18 inches high. am using 718-inch-thick stock for the frame and518-inch-thick boards for theraised panel. My stick cut orgroove will start 114 inch abovethe back face of my frame mem-bers. This relationship of frame topanel thickness will make the frontface of my panel flush with theoutside surface of my door frame.

, s noted in Chapter 5 each set ofcope-and-stick bits will cut a little

differently. Test both the stick cut ' +,and the rail-end cope cut to deter--mine the correct rail width for a ..particular size door. Once the

dimensions are established For yourparticular set of bits your door-width calculations are simple.

tep 1-Based on 2-114-inch- tep Z C u t the stick profiles on tep 3-The 518-inch-thick panelwide frame members and my the inside edge of each stile and is 9-718 inches wide by 14 718cope-and-stick bit set will rail. Next cut the cope on both inches high. t is cut to be 118need two stiles 718 inch thick by ends of each rail. inch less than both dimensions2-114 inches wide by 18 inches in order to leave 118 inch forlong. My rails are 718inch by 2- panel movement. Raise the panel114 inches by 9-518 inches. as previously described. Assemble

the door with glue at the cornersonly. Check that the door issquare and clamp until dry.


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Chapter Six Frame-and-Raised-Panel Doors 8COPE AND STICKRAISED ARCH A N DCATHEDRAL DOORSCurved cope-and-stick doors fol-low the same procedures as thesquare doors. The differences arethe curved upper rail and thecurved raised panel.Step 1- C ut the stiles an d rails tolength, based on the f inal doorsize. Arched and cathedraldoors require a t op rail tha t isinch higher than the straightbottom rail.Step 2-Form the curved top asshown in Ch apter 5.Step 3-C ut the st ick profile onone inside edge of all frameparts. T he n c ut th e cope profileo n both rail ends.Step 4-Rough-cut the curvedpanel for either style. Next, usethe simple trace methoddescribed earlier, taken from adry-assembled frame. Add thegroove de pths, m inus 8 inchfor panel movement, to thetraced lines and cut the panels.Raise the m with a panel-raisingbit in a router table followingthe procedures detailed in theprevious chapter.

Step 5-D ry& the door. If all Tip f you are oin to make athe parts fit correctly, apply glue num ber of do ors that are theto the c ~ ~ e - a n d - ~ t i ~ koint in sam e size, cut a master templateeach corner, b ut no t to the for the panel.panel. Check the door with asquare and, if aligned properly,clamp until dry. Remember topre-stain the center panel beforeassembly if the stain is darkerthan the wood. Staining afterassembly ma y reveal clear wo odas the panel contracts. Install asoft foam strip at the bottom ofthe grooves to stop any panelrattling. T h e foam w ill allow freemovement and prevent noisecaused by a loose center panel.


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82 uildinnCabinet Drawers Doors

Chapter MULTI PANEL COPE AND STICK DOORSThese cope-and-stick panel doorscan be made as flat or raised-paneldoors. Th ey are built like any othercope-and-stick doors but havecross ra ~l s ndlor stiles t o sup portthe divided panels.The cross rails support two panelsand, because they are like a regularrail, must be coped on both endsto fit in the stick cut of either astile or a rail. They must also becut with a stick bit on bot h edges,because they nearly always su pp or ttwo panels.It s no t necessary t o purchase addi-tional bits in order to make thesedoors, because they are cut withthe same bits tha t are used for ingle-panel doors.These rails attach to any outsideframe member, and are glued inplace much like a regular rail.

.Cross rails have bothedges cut with a stickbit, a n d both e nds cutwith a cope bit.


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Chapter Seven Multi-Panel Cope-and-Stick Doors 8

The design possibilities for multi-panel doors are endless. Howeverit can he a mathematical night-mare to calculate the panel sizesand curves. I suggest you dry-assemble the do or frame an d deter-mine a rough size for each panel.Glu e and assemble the panels andplace them under the dry-assem-bled door frame to trace the insidedimension. Add the required 7 8inch depend ing on your bit pro-file an d cut the panels.T he n raise the panels with a panel-raising hit and verify the fit Usefoam in the grooves to help stahi-lize th e panels.If you plan to make a number ofdoors of the sam e size create apanel template.

O n e step that will present a certainamount of difficulty when youmake these doors is the sanding.Grain structures are often run ningin many directions and the chanceof scratching the wood because ofcross-grain sanding is high.I use a random orbital sanderwhen sanding these doors becausegrain direction is nor critical. Startwith a coarse 80-grit paper the nsand the door with three finerpapers until smoo th.

afety NoteBe very careful w h en raisingthe se pa ne ls a s the y t e nd to besmall an d the re is an increaseddanger wh en working c lose toth e cutt ing tool Use all th esafety devices.

@/ Cross rails ar eglue d in placeanywhere on theinside of the doorframe.

, ' eqr Check multi-pan el doorscarefully beforegluing.

Cross-grainsanding can besuccessfullyaccomplishedwith a randomorbital sander.


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hapter I GLASS CABINET DOORSALLOWING FORREPLACEMENTGlass cabinet doors are popular inmany applications. Kitchen cabi- -- .~-nets, china cabinets, and displaycabinets ofien use these doors.The y can be made in a number ofways but the com mo n factor is theglass panel. Morrise-and-tenon aswell as cope-and-stick-style doorsare the most co mm on types.Once it was considered standardpractice to build a doo r so that theglass could he replaced. M any, bu tnot all, do or m akers are still usingthis method. In cases where specialglass panels are used, a full grooveis sometimes made to secure theglass. T h a t is the style used fo r flat-or raised-panel doors. However, ifthe glass does need replacing, thedoor must be taken apart and it isoften damaged, so I ll concentratehere on doors t ha t will allow easyreplacem ent of the glass.

Securing the .. ~.. ,lass Panel Cornmerciol rub-There are two common methodsused to secure thc glass panel. Th efirst utilizes small moldings thatare nailed in place behind the glasswith brad nails. The second uses acommercially available rubber gas-ket. I t mav be difficult to locatethis material in some areas.However. if vo u decid e to use thismethod and the product is avail-able, you will need to groove thestiles and rails very carefully toaccept rhe rubber grips.

ber gaskets aremode for glasscabinet doors.


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8 uildine Cabinet rawers oors

tep 5-Finish the stopped rab-bet by removing the strip ofwood with a chisel or sharpknife.tep 6-Before beginning assem-

bly, form tenons on both endsof each rail, 114 inch thick by112 inch long. Center theteno ns on the rail ends.tep 7-Assemble the door

frame with glue in the mortise- sand -teno n joint. also secure \the joint with two 518-inchbrads. Make sure the door issauare. an d set aside to drv.

Smteo 8-Meaqure and order theglasq. I uqe 118-inch 3m m )glasq for most of my doors.Measure the width and heightexactly, then ~ ub tr a ct /16 inchfrom each dimension for easierinstallation.tep 9-The wood s t r ips thatwere saved earlier are now used

to secure the glass. Use bradnails through the strips into thedoo r frame. If you are uncom -fortable nailing close to glass,you can purchase a manuallyoperated brad-setter. It is notabsolutely necessary to use thewo od strips. Window-glazing orframing points will work verywell on their ow n.I often use a 318-inch round-over bit on th e ou tside profile ofthis door. Th e d oor looks quiteplain with clear glass, and therounded profile helps to add alittle interest.


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ARCHEDMORTISE ANDTENO N GLASSDOORSThe arched door is made like thesquare glass door. The difference isan arched top rail One variationon the arched or cathedral door isthe use of curved top and bottomrails. The door size in this exampleis 314 inch thick by 14 inches wideby 24 inches high. Follow the stepsfor stile- and rail-cutting detailedfor the square door using only one2.114 inch high rail.

aking th urvedTop Rai ltep 1-The curved top rail is

314 inch thick by 3-114 incheshigh by 10-112 inches wide fora 14-inch door.tep Z C u t a 114-inch-deepgroove on one edge of the rail.

The width is 1-112 inches.tep I C u t the back face of this

groove 1-112 inches above theedge. That will form a rabbet 114inch deep by 1-112 inches wide.tep 4-Form the arch or cathe-

dral top by following the proce-dures in Chapter 5 for eitherdoor style.tep 5-Assemble the door with

glue and brad nails.tep 6-Measure the glass and

install with wood strips or glaz-

Chapter Eight Glass Cabinet Doors 87

ing points. Notice that we canuse square glass by building thedoor with a deep rabbet on thecurved rail. Using curved glasswould be very expensive so wewant to avoid that situation.


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88 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsCOPE AN D STICKGLASS DOORSIt is difficult to provide preciseinstructions for cope-and-stickglass doors. Each bit set is a littledifferent and the process for cut-ting the rabbets in place of groovesvaries with each manufacturer. Forexample, I can alter my set to cutglass-door frames by changing theback cutter on my stick bit. Themanufacturer of my bits has pro-vided a data sheet for this proce-dure. When you purchase your bitset, ask for details on this feature.If the b its you use aren t a dapta blefor glass cope-and-stick frames,you can use the methods outlinedfor mortise-and-tenon frames.Cutting the back side of the stickgroove and stopping short of theends on the stiles will allow you t oinstall glass with woo d molding orwith glazing points.

oor StylesThere are three main styles ofcope-and-stick glass-door frames.They are the open, the divided-light and the m ullion frame.

Most cope-and-stick bits can bealtered to cutglass-doorframes.

All of these door frames are madeusing cope-and-stick bits that havebeen a dap ted for glass frames.

he back si e ofcoped stiles canbe cut to formstopped robbetjoint for the gloss.


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Op en Cope and StickClass DoorsThis simple frame is fitted with asingle sheet of glass. It is cut aspreviously discussed with a cope-and-stick bit set that has beenadap ted for glass center-panels.

Divided L ight Copeand Stick DoorsThe divided-light door style usesfull-thickness cross rails. Eachdivided section is fitted with a sin-gle pane of glass.T h e cross rails are cut w ith a set ofcope-and-stick bits suitable forglass doors but both sides of therail are cut with the stick bit.Th erefore each cross rail needstwo cope a nd two stick cuts.

Both sides of the crossrails need a stick cutwhen panels of glassare used


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9 Building abinet Drawers DoorsMullion Style Copeand Stick DoorsThe mullion-style door has a fullsheet of glass behind mullions thathave been cut with a stick bit andreduced i n thickness. It s m eant togive the impression of a true divid-ed window frame in your door.Th e mullions are cut on both sideswith the stick bit. I prefer cuttin g afull-thickness board equal to mydoor frame members. The endsmust be cut with the cope bitbefore further cutting .Once the full-thickness boardshave been cut, reduce the thicknessby cutting o n a ha nd or table saw.Notice in the illustrations that themullions are cut just below thecurved bead section on the stickbit. T h e ends are cooed so thev willit into an outside stile or rail as

well as into anoth er mu llion.The mullions rest on anotherframe member and are glued inposition and fastened securelywith clamps

The rnu/lionsrequire stick cuts onboth sides and copecuts on each end.

T he w idth of these door mullionsis a matter of personal choice.door appears heavier with widermullions and lighter when themullions are thinner. Experimentwith a few samples until you have awid th that suits your cabinet style. i ,,. .... .:

t i Rough cut a fullthickness boardand reduce thethickness on aband or table saw


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This chino cobinet illustrates theeffectiveness ond beauty of woodframe glass doors


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92 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsChapter TONGUE AND GROOVE DOORS

DOORMEASUREMENTSTlicse doors are made of solidwood and are joined with mortise-and-tenon as well as with tongue-and-groove joints. There is a greatdeal of preparation required beforeassembly, hu t it can all be com plet-ed o n a table saw.If you only have to make one ortwo of these doors for a project,the calculations for the height ofthe center boards are quitestraightforward. The challengecomes when you have a number ofdifferent sizes for a project, such asin a kitchen. W hen there are manydifferent door heights, decidingwhich panel height to work withcan sometim es be difficult.This door style is simple to makeand the door is strong. But do allthe design and calculations beforeany cutting is attempted.

For example, want to make 12 would maintain a comm on looktongue-and-g roove doors for a for all of the doors in that project.project. Three are 24 inches high,two are 18 inches high and theremainder are 26 inches high. A 3-inch-high center board will divideevenly into the 24-inch and 18-inch doors-eight for the 24-in chand six for the 18-inch. The 26-inch doors, however, cannot bedivided equally by 3-inch centerboards.

pplicationsThe tongue-and-groove door ismade of solid wood, offering bothstrength and stability. This doorcan be used for many applications.If you are building a project thatrequires tall doors, or wide doors,this style is an excellent choice.Since it has a country look , it isT h e best solution is to find a board also extremely well-suited forheight that will divide i nto all your country-style furniture.doors. I n this case, I would use a 2

inch-high center board for all the This door can also be roundeddoors, but there are times when over on the outside edge, or V-the doo r heights can't be com mo n- grooved along the stile-to-rail jointly divided. When that happens, as I've do ne in this exam ple.adjust the height of the centerboards slightly to solve the prob-lem. If one of those doors were 17inches high, I would use a 2-118-inch center board. The extra 118-inch would not be obvious and I


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Chapter Nine Tongue-and-Groove Doors 93

uilding the oorThe tongue-and-groove door hereis 4 inches wide and 24 incheshigh. I have used all 314-inch stock

,

but it can be made with m aterial ofany thickness.Step 1- T he two stiles are 2-114inches wide by 24 inches long.Cu t a groove on one edge ofeach stile 114 inch wide by 112inch deep. Cen ter the groove oneach edge.Step 2-This door will haveeight 3-inch-high rails. Six ofthe rails will need tongu e-and-groove. T h e seventh or topboard requires a groove an d thebottom rail a tongue. The railsthat need tongues must bewider. Cur seven rails 3-112inches wide by 10-112 incheslong an d one rail 3 inches wideby 10-112 inches long.Step 3-Six of the 3-112-inch-wide rails as well as the 3-in chwide rail will need a 114-inch-wide by 112-inch-deep groove r: .x...~ bon one edge. Center the groove 3along each edge.Step 4-Form a 1M-inch-thickby 112-inch-long tongu e on th eun cu t edge of th e seven 112-inch rails. This tongue is cen-tered on the edge.


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9 uilding Cabinet Drawers Doorstep 5-Both ends of the eight

rails have a tenon 4 inch thickby 112 inch long. Cut thetenons on a table saw and cen-

- =ter them on each end.tep 6-Assemble the rails to thestiles using glue and clamps. 111

Two of the rails have either atenon or groove-these are thetop and bottom rails.Clamp the assembly makingsure the door is sauare. If it isracked apply a little pressure onopposite corners to correct thealignment before the glue sets.tep 7-Once the glue has cured

sand the door. A random orbitalsander is the best tool for sand-ing in t h i ~ ituation because ofthe cross-grain patterns wherethe rails meet the stiles.


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Chapter Nine Tongue and Groove Doors 9Step 8-There are a number ofedge treatments for this door.mentioned rounding-over theedge with a router bit but youcan also use any decorative bitthat suits the project.The rail-to-stile joint is some-times difficult to align and closetightly. If there are even anyslight differences in the railsclosing them all tightly isalmost impossible. There mayalso be expansion and contrac-tion at the rail-to-stile jointcausing gaps.To visually enhance this jointuse a V-groove bit and run ashallow cut along the joint line.

also use the same bit to easethe front edges of the door onall sides.


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9 Building Cabinet Drawers DoorsChapter 1 M A K I N G TAMBOU R DOORS

TAMBOURAPPLICATIONSRuilding a tambour door mightsound likc a difficult process.However, just the opposite is true. Itis a relatively easy, step-by-step pro-cedure that anyone c n accomplish.Tam bour doors have many appli-cations. They are often associatedwith roll-top desks, bu t a roll-topkitchen storage cabinet--called anapplia nce garage-is frequentlyadded to renovation projects.T h e tambou r do or is also the ideal

solution for large cabinets thathold stereo equipment or for ahome bar. It's particularly suited toa cabinet built to contain a televi-sion because, once opened, thedoor is hidden and doesn't blockthe view as a traditional swingdoor would. When you are fin-ished watching television, you canpull the door down and hide thecontents of the cabinet.A tam bou r is made of thi n, narrowstrips of wood glued to a flexiblebacking. I have been using den imfor the backing over the last few

years and I've found that it holdsup very well.Slat width and thickness are vari-able, but if you have an applicationfor a small doo r with a tight turn-ing-radius, keep the slats s narrowas possible. Large applications , suchas the stereo cabinet shown above,can have wider slats because thedepth of the cabinet provides plentyof room for a gently curved track.There are a number of ways tobuild rhe doo r track. First I will beillustrating a router

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