Garage cabinet quetions

[franksinatra]

Guys, I have been asking for a Cabinet area on the forum but I havent seen anything yet so hopefully this is the place to put it for now.
Ok, Im building cabinets in the garage and I need some help/ideas in building them. I will list some questions and if anyone can give any advice to one or all then please post it. Im pretty much in the dark here. Im only building wall cabinets for now.
1.) What wood have you guys been using for the cabintes themselves. I cant bring my self to use particle board but I have tried Lauan and some other cheaper 3/4 sanded plywoods with pretty good results. The only problems that I have ran into is that on a 48"cabinet one of my sides is somewhat bowed to the inside. Not terrible but its not exactly straight. Im trying to do European cabinets with no face frames and the slight bow looks a bit shotty to me. It may straighten out when I fasten a couple of cabinets together
2.) What type of wood are you using for the doors? Ive looked at everything again and even Baltic Birch and it all seemed to have a slight warp to it. Also what thickness do you guys use for the doors? Im using 3/4 for the cases so should I stick with it for the doors as well?
3.) What material and thickness can I use for the backs of the cabinets? I wont go any smaller than 1/2" but being that Im painting them I dont care if I have 5 different types of lumber on each cabinet built.
4.) What hinges does a guy go with?
Lets start with that and see what kind of info we can gather up. Also if you have some pics of your garage built cabinets please post them so I can have some ideas and goals to shoot for. lol G

 

[65EFI5.0]

When I was building cabinets (euro style full overlay) at a commercial shop everything was melamine thermafused on one side (yes over particle board) with plastic laminate exterior. Extremely stable shipping from Colorado to the east coast. The doors were always mdf with pl. lam. on ext and int. Never saw anything that was anything but straight. use 1/2" melamine (one side) for the back. If you can get away from the mentality that particle board is evil and you can end up with a quality piece that will be durable and last! Use Blum or Grass euro hinges. Let me know if you need details.

 

[crewchief888]

have you ever looked at kitchen cab's at lowes, HD or menards? ive seen them for greatly reduced prices, usually with some cosmetic damage or floor displays.. even check around on your local CL, ive seen old kitchen cabs free

 

[AMCguy]

I can see you are a fine woodworker. You have to get past your aversion to particle board. There is nothing cheaper, easier to work with or finish.

Here are mine.

I used 4'x8' sheets of 5/8'' MDF and 1''x2'' spruce strips. They are 12'' deep, 36'' wide and 28'' tall. You can get six doors, three sides and one shelf out of a single sheet. The saw kerf allows for the clearance required between the doors. There are no backs. No handles just reach under and pull the door open. There is room under them for fluorescent lights.

The beauty of MDF is you can build the box, lightly sand the edges, prime and paint and you're done.

I used one coat of primer and one coat of semi gloss melamine paint.

 

[ghnl]

48" is a bit long for an unsupported span. With a strong enough back securely attached to the side that shouldn't be a problem though.

Looking at your photo it appears the grain on sides is not parallel to the longest length. It'd probably be a little stronger/straighter that way.

 

[larry4406]

AMCguy - nice cabinets, I need to do this. Can you get some more pictures and dimensions? I assume each cabinet has its own box (i.e., when butted together there are two end panels adjacent). Looks like your walls are painted plywood; I have drywall. Where do you get the hinges and any tricks to mounting them?

 

[AMCguy]

larry4406, Thanks, yes each cabinet is basically a box. Tell me what pictures you need. I have none of their construction. They were lost in a computer catastrophe.

The shelves were all built the same. They were fastened to the strips with a line of carpenter's glue and drywall screws. Then they were glued and screwed to the sides.

The hinges you can get at Home Depot or the like. They are good ones, made in Italy. I don't remember the individual cost. You can get a bitt for milling the pockets there as well. I borrowed the one I used from a friend.

The beauty of this design is how little waste there is. You can get six doors, three sided and a shelf out of a single sheet. Or, you can get twelve sides and a shelf. Or, you can get nine shelves.

A table saw would be handy, but I used one sheet as a straight edge to cut another with a circular saw.

My total cost was around $300. about ten years ago. I only built nine of them because that's all I had room for in my old garage.

 

[grego]

If you have an Ikea around they make some nice kitchen cabinets that work well in the garage for both bottom and top. I outfitted my garage with wall mounts, 6 36wx48tx12d cabinets with doors, hinges and handles for around $600. And I got it installed in one evening.

 

[hammlm]

About a year ago, there was a similar thread. I have a couple of posts / pictures in it. Let me know if you want more info.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27279

 

[Brad54]

Are you guys considering "MDF" the same thing as "Particle Board"? I always considered particle board as what they're calling "OSB" now.

One thing with MDF is that it will sag under its own weight if not properly supported. OSB is hard on cutting tools, sags, and absorbs moisture and spills horribly.

MDF will also absorb liquids like a sponge, and must be sealed with paint.

I use 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood and metal shelf frames. I don't have any cabinets, but will be adding cabinet doors to some shelves. I'm going to use metal and paint it red--my personal opinion is shops should have metal, not wood... but then I'm a car-guy, not a wood worker.

-Brad

 

[Jack Olsen]

It's hard to go wrong with steel.

 

[MMONT]

These are the cabinets I chose for my garage. They are knock downs from BH NorthAmerica. Sorry about the crappy pics