A Beginner Builds Built-in Cabinets....

Back Story - I am renovating my family room (bought the house 3 years ago). Here's the before :





I ripped down the paneling, added recessed lighting, drywalled the whole room, cut down the fireplace brick, and build a mantle for the fireplace:





Now I have to build cabinets for both sides of the fireplace to finish it off. Now, before I go any further, I'll tell you that I am not a carpenter and have littel experience with building stuff out of wood. The majority of my "builds" I post here are from a beginner's perspective, so please be gentle. i know there are some master craftsman on this board and I want to learn, so please feel free to share your guidance, advice, etc.

Anyway, I started with a sketch and overall dimensions of what I was looking for:


Then graduated to sketching the cabinet itself:


Then I made a cutting plan so I could go get materials. I found it helps a lot if I plan out the plywood sheet cuts ahead of time - you don't want to be short a sheet.

While at Lowe's getting materials, I picked up a Kregg Pocket Hole Jig. This thing is awesome. I read a bunch of articles online and found that pocket holes are a really strong joint, hide the screws, and can be done with a pretty cheap jig like this. I think I paid $40-50 for the kit:



I also sprung for the clamp to hold it in place:


It's really simple to use. You set the jig to the material thickness the pocket screw will reside in (not the material to are screwing to).


You also set the drill bit depth accordingly, using the guide in the case:


Using the supplied chart, you also need to use the specified pocket screw length or you risk splitting the wood (like I did).:


Now I was ready to build the frames. I chose to make front and rear face frames vs. the typical kitchen cabinet build using a plywood panel for the rear. I plan on running wires through the back and I will have outlets in the back of the cabinets, so I wasn't going to have a full rear panel. Making a framed cabinet in the back seemed like a good thing regardless. (Here's where I could use some advice). I cut the 1x2 stock to length (with 1x4 stock for the bottom of the frames to bring up the bottom shelf off the floor a bit:


Clamping the jig in place:


and getting the adjusted stop on the drill bit set up for the correct material thickness:


I drilled the pocket holes in the frame top and bottom pieces:




Then screwed the sides to the top and bottom. I really like the way the screws are hidden from sight (and the joint is remarkably strong:

Lather, rinse, repeat, and i have 4 frames built:


You may notice one of the frames bottom is not 1x4, but 1x2. This is the back of the "electronic cabinet" and I wanted a hideaway under the back of the bottom shelf for running wires, power cords, etc. This gives me 2" of area in the back to sneak wires under the bottom shelf, while the front still matches the other side.

After some stain:



It's time to cut the side panels. I have a table saw my brother lent me, but 4'x8' sheets without sufficient infeed / outfeed support made for akward material handling and cuts that left a lot to be desired. After the 2nd cut, I switched to clamping my 3' level to the plywood to use as a fence for my circular saw. I'll note that i changed the blade in the saw to a "finishing" grade blade, vs the "framing" blade I usually have in the circular. It gave me nice clean cuts, forced me to take my time, and had minimal chipping during the cuts. Anyway, Here are the side panels:


After staining:

nice work

Next was assembling the sides and the frames. More pocket holes here in the plywood, joining to the frames. I did forget to mention that the pocket hole screws are sold in fine and coarse thread. The fine is for joining hardwood, the coarse is for plywood. I learned the hard way and split my first frame slightly (which is now the back frame of that cabinet to hide it). I only bought coarse screws (not knowing this), and found that if I used the shorter screws, it didn't split. I used them for the remainder of the plywood to hardwood joints.

I also installed some adjustable shelf rails on the sides, and assembled the sides and frames:


I then took measurements of the assembled unit to get my shelf dimensions. Now, you guys that are actually skilled in woodworking could probably build a cabinet to the desired dimensions within 1/16", but I know my limitations and chose to wait and measure the final product before making my shelf cuts. here's the test fits for the shelves. You can start to see things coming together now:


That's all the pics I have for now, so I'll stop here. More to come!

BTW, I posted this in this forum becasue I intend to use this same design for wall cabinets in my garage, probably later in the year and figured i'd share and learn my mistakes before I start round 2. I also figured some guys who have never built cabinets could use my misteps and bad ideas to dive into building their own as well. I hope someone finds it useful!

NIce work. It looks like a professional. Keep us updated

ng8264723 said:

NIce work. It looks like a professional. Keep us updated

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Thanks! I learned that my cellphone camera has just the right amount of resolution to cover my mistakes but still take a good pic. .

z28snksknr said:

Making a framed cabinet in the back seemed like a good thing regardless. (Here's where I could use some advice). I cut the 1x2 stock to length (with 1x4 stock for the bottom of the frames to bring up the bottom shelf off the floor a bit:

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z28snksknr said:

BTW, I posted this in this forum becasue I intend to use this same design for wall cabinets in my garage, probably later in the year and figured i'd share and learn my mistakes before I start round 2. I also figured some guys who have never built cabinets could use my misteps and bad ideas to dive into building their own as well. I hope someone finds it useful!

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rails or stiles?

bchee said:

What advice were you looking for?

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I guess on making a frame for the front and back and whether that's really necessary or if there's a better way.

bchee said:

I'm curious why you didn't do the garage first, where your learning mistakes may not bother you as much, or the wife.

I got a pocket hole jig and plan to make just the doors for a cabinet. Basically a frame with a panel inside.

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I needed to get the current rat's nest of wires and electronics off the floor and secured away from my soon-to-be-crawling-newborn, so I had to dive in head first and hope for the best. From my drywalling, I added outlets where the cabinets are going and since I had originally planned on installing old work boxes in the cabinets themselves, I left the wire just hanging out of the wall which is a no-go now. The pics aren't dated, but this has taken me 3 months so far. I prefer to spend 10x the amount of "build time" just thinking about it and what my approach should be. I can't afford a mistake (that i can't hide).

I'm kicking around the idea of making doors for the cabinets when complete, although I'll probably need a break from the "sanding, staining, sanding, polyeurethane, sanding, polyeurethane, install" cycle as I'm pretty sick of it at this point. Having my house still smell like stain after 2 weeks is not going well either.

bchee said:

In your research did you find any advantage to making either the rails or stiles longer? Is one design sturdier compared to the other?

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I pondered that myself, and tried to get an answer, but struck out. I looked at my kitchen cabinets and chose to mimic them. I figured they know better than I do

I'm sure there is a good reason for it being that way - I haven't found an answer yet though

The joints are glued as well as screwed?

Herb said:

The joints are glued as well as screwed?

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No glue. I thought about it, but I have never had good luck using wood glue. I'm just bad with it - ends up all over the place and never seems to get sanded off completely before staining, then shows through the finish. Part of my "beginner" qualifications I guess.

bchee said:

In your research did you find any advantage to making either the rails or stiles longer? Is one design sturdier compared to the other?

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If you run the rail out to the end of the cabinet the end grain will show, looks better to go between the stiles.

Most "box style" cabinets are built this way. When I build a run of cabinets I make the top rail, and bottom rail run to the end stiles. Takes a bit more work, but looks better to me, like a complete piece, versus a bunch of boxes that were put together.

If you use yellow glue and wash off with a wet rag before it sets, it is invisible..

What are the door designs gonna look like?

c_mccann said:

If you use yellow glue and wash off with a wet rag before it sets, it is invisible..

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I'll definately try that - thanks!

c_mccann said:

What are the door designs gonna look like?

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The more I think about it, the less I am inclined to put doors on them. The one will house the subwoofer for my surround sound system, the other will be all the other associated electronics. So if I had to put a door, the electronics require a glass pane so I can still use my remote. Matching the other cabinet makes for a subwoofer in a glass enclosure - not the best idea. I may put doors on from the 2nd shelf up, leaving the bottom shelf open. Still undecided.

As for the design, don't expect much more than what will get the job done - square frame using the same stock as the cabinet frame, maybe some small trim molding attached to dress it up, but that's about it.

Looks good!!

I have a similar fireplace layout and have been trying to decide what we want to do with it...I like how yours is turning out.

I also need to do some cabinet work but I'm worthless when it comes to working with wood.

I put in another 8 hours into this time vacuum of a project and made some significant progress.

Got the shelves stained and the tops / backs installed. The backs only go down to where the outlets are on the wall:


I used more pocket holes around the perimeter of the top and back panels. I found it pretty easy to get the edges flush with 3 screws per panel side. I aligned one corner flush with the frame, secured it, and moved down the line. Granted, there 1 or spots that show 1/32" or so of "un-flush-ness", but I can't straighten curved plywood any better than that with my tools at hand (unless there are some suggestions out there?)

Anyway, I test fit the shelves one more time before applying sealer:


This pic (above) is the electronic cabinet. The bottom shelf does not go all the way to the back of the cabinet. this is so I can hide the power strip and excess wires under the bottom shelf vs. behind all the equipment on the shelves. I'll grab a pic of that when I finish that cabinet.

I also stained all the trim before I cut it down to size.

I had a goal of getting one cabinet complete and installed. Here's the finished product, with the subwoofer nicely tucked in the bottom shelf as well as some random **** the wife thought should go in the cabinet vs. where I had put it . I'm pretty darn pleased with the results, although my measurements for the cabinet width were off. The top of the cabinet fit perfectly, but the wall near the floor is not square and leans out by 1/2" at the floor. I had to cut back some of the mantle framing and shave the drywall to get the cabinet to sit "home". I also attached some quarter round to the shelf front edge to hide the plywood endgrain as to soften the edges. Here's some pics:*





The basket will hold the kid's toys (not misc. electrical boxes and dryer duct believe it or not )

I installed some "conduit" wire raceway across the mantle to hide the subwoofer and speaker wires. You can it sitting above the mantle. Once painted, I find these to be almost unnoticeable. I should get the rest complete by next week. I'll get better quality pics too - these ****.

cabinet looks great

bchee said:

That green carpet needs to go.....
otherwise cabinet looks great.

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Tell me about it. I have to cut it back to fit around the cabinets so we were waiting until I finished them to get new carpet installed. It's been my most hated aspect of the entire house for 3 years now.

If your wife really wants to keep the handweights in there on the shelf I have two suggestions...
1. put them on something, sliding them in and out is going to ruin your finish.
2. put them on the bottom shelf, if a little one grabs one and slides it to the edge and out it will hurt little feet and legs and...


Oh yeah, GREAT WORK!

Have to agree with the Kreg jig. Makes life a lot easier than cutting rabbets or dovetails and looks great.

Wonderful work; you should be extremely pleased with your beginning skills and your attention to some of the finer details of woodworking. Taking your time and planning is the biggest thing that I've learned through my many mistakes (which I still make).