Super noob woodworking question

[abrahamfh]

I am building a cabinet for spray paint cans and other misc items, and decided that the cool thing to do would be to attach a door to look purdy.

Well, I couldn't make one big door due to the garage guide rail not allowing for the cabinet door to open fully, so I decided to split it down the middle.

The first door frame came out perfect, but the second door frame came out all twisted. I ran out of supplies so I will have to go back to HD, but was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to prevent the frame from twisting up like that.

EDIT: The green line represents the top far edge of the good frame's 1x4 and the red line shows the top nearest edge of the bad frame's 1x4.

Thanks in advance everyone for your time and wisdom.

 

[WSMC633]

Did you check the wood when you bought it to make sure it was dry and straight? Anytime I buy wood for a project that requires particularly straight boards, I spend a good amount of time digging through the pile at HD.

 

[srmofo]

Buy better wood.its getting tougher tofind good 2bys

 

[metal1313]

i would also check and make sure everything went together square. it only takes a little slip up for that to happen. this is why so many wood workers have huge table t work on.

 

[abrahamfh]

So you guys are saying to stay away from the .99 cent 2"x4"x8' stuff?

Im just kidding. Yeah, I will have to search out some better wood tomorrow to finish this project off already.

 

[Mike14k]

Also helps if your wood materials sit a bit in your shop environment for a few days prior to building something so it has time to adjust to temp and humidity.

 

[IndyGarage]

typically it doesn't twist while you are building something although I have seen a piece of wood that had stresses in it and twisted when ripped lengthwise.

It is true that it's very difficult to get a really good 2x4 these days. Sometimes also if it is sitting in the middle of a pallet load, as soon as you take it out of the stack and bring it home it twists

 

[KenS]

2x stock is really overkill for your project. Keep the weight down and make your project more professional and use 1x.

When picking your wood, try to get as close to quarter-sawn as you can with the poor quality stuff that's out there today.

 

[charle10]

Is the cut square? In the second picture the top right corner short piece doesn't look to be cut square.

Also as mentioned above, check to see if the hinge side board is twisted. (look down the end of the board). Its going to be one of those 2 things.

 

[RPH]

Looks to be an optical illusion, shadows. I thought that too at first. Nice try for someone starting out.

 

[transplant_wi]

I have some 2x4's in my (dry) shop that were straight when I bought them a year ago, but are now quite twisted. I think they were wet during manufacture. A better bet, since you are putting-in your time and effort, is to do it right and buy decent lumber from a hardwood dealer. Their wood will (generally) have been properly kiln dried.

You could use inexpensive wood, like poplar. A potential obstacle if you don't have a table-saw and planer is that the wood might still be rough, but some shops carry planed or sanded lumber, or can straight-edge a board and plane it to finish thickness for you for a fee.

Easier yet is to buy the dimensioned, sanded, shrink-wrapped boards carried by big-box DIY stores.

My own solution is to use cabinet-grade plywood and glue-on 1/4" edging, then trim it with a flush-cutting router bit, but hand-planing the excess off works too.

Whichever way you go, I think you will be happier in the long-run with better lumber, especially if you see/use the cabinet a lot. Overall you are on the right track and have learned an important lesson. Keep on it, and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

 

[Bigpigdave]

One word..... Plywood. Wait is that two words? Plywood is very dimensionally stable and strong. Laminate multiple sheets if you need more thickness.
Good luck, Dave

 

[transplant_wi]

Bigpigdave is right on - stability and strength; the absolute best plywood I have encountered is the Russian baltic birch - 3/4" stock has 13 plies vs. the 6 (IIRC) in the domestic stuff and NO VOIDS! Woot!

 

[Herb]

Is it definately the wood, or are the hinges out of alignment causing the frame to twist?

 

[woody 73]

Hi,

Wow you are getting some very good advise,in the case of plywood it can warp overnight,go figure...What I do is to use a lot of pipe clamps then either nails,glue,screws or whatever method you want. I let it all sit for 24 hours and most times that is all it takes.

 

[abrahamfh]

2x stock is really overkill for your project. Keep the weight down and make your project more professional and use 1x.

When picking your wood, try to get as close to quarter-sawn as you can with the poor quality stuff that's out there today.

WoW! I never knew that, great info, thank you.

 

[abrahamfh]

Whichever way you go, I think you will be happier in the long-run with better lumber, especially if you see/use the cabinet a lot. Overall you are on the right track and have learned an important lesson. Keep on it, and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

Thank you for the good advice, I think the quality of the lumber is really my problem.

I was using a Delta Miter saw for all the cuts but the lumber did seem wet after the cut was made.

Thank you for the encouragment. I have not been at this Bob the builder type stuff for very long, but it has been really fun and my son loves it as well.

 

[abrahamfh]

Is it definately the wood, or are the hinges out of alignment causing the frame to twist?

Only the door frame that came out as it was supposed to has been attached to the main unit. The twisted door frame is still just sitting there for visual purposes to show my issue(well one of many many issues I have ).

 

[Bigpigdave]

Get a pocket hole jig from Kreg. It will make all of your cabinet projects easier and better looking. Check out their website, www.kreg.com .
Good luck, Dave

 

[transplant_wi]

Dave- we think alike. As I have said before, "they can have my Kreg jig when they pry it from my cold. dead hands" Fantastic piece of kit -mine is an earlier one, all metal, and at the time I thought it rather expensive for what it is. Worth every penny at 3x the price! I even used pocket holes/long screws (12 of them) to anchor the base of a stair-rail end post (newel?), then covered them up with base trim.

 

[srmofo]

Get a pocket hole jig from Kreg. It will make all of your cabinet projects easier and better looking. Check out their website, www.kreg.com .
Good luck, Dave

Thats a healthcare website

here ya go
http://www.kregtool.com/Pocket-Hole-Jigs-Prodlist.html

 

[abrahamfh]

2x stock is really overkill for your project. Keep the weight down and make your project more professional and use 1x.

When picking your wood, try to get as close to quarter-sawn as you can with the poor quality stuff that's out there today.

This is as close as I could get today at Lowes along the quarter-sawn style.

Once I pulled it, I checked and it was pretty near straight, I'm sure it was as straight as I was going to get.

 

[abrahamfh]

Thats a healthcare website

here ya go
http://www.kregtool.com/Pocket-Hole-Jigs-Prodlist.html

That kreg jig is way too cool. I love it. I actually saw it on a Lowes DIY video, but when I went to Lowes I couldn't find it and they didn't even know what I was talking about.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Groovy]

I have the Kreg it's awesome a bit spendy but works great the caveat is you have to get the correct pocket hole screws and that is a hassle of course you can order 500 at 25 +/- bucks a pop on line.

When you frame up anything besides having straight and good wood (a reason the make planners and joiners) but if the wood is half way OK and you used a square so all edge’s are straight and made sure your miter saw is actually square then make your box, frame, doors whatever (it’s all a box if you think about it) and lay it on a flat surface take a tape measure and measure corner to diagonal corner the numbers on the tape should be the same i.e. 69” at each corner you can move the material side to side or trim the material until the match.

If the 2X4 was cut too short you can get a 2X4 stretcher and mark it with stripped spray paint you can get the stretcher at the same place you get muffler bearings anyway…

Then you know you are pretty square then screw, nail, weld, glue, or epoxy bond the material together and if every layer of box or frame is square then ta da