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HOMEWORI$HOP
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Carpenter'a equare Forcheckinq or
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profile router bitstoforma complex Using simple molding appears elaborate it canactually be Although crown routerbits.Tomakethemolding, madewiththreecommon longer firstcutthreeboards andwider thanyouwillneedfor Install a panel raising bitinyour thethreelayers of molding. router table.Alignthefenceandadjustthedepthof cut,
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THEARTOFWOODWORKING
KITCHEN CABTNETS
THE ART OF WOODWORKING
KITCHEN CABINETS
TIME-LIFE BOOKS ALEXANDRIA. VIRGlNIA ST.REMYPRESS MONTREAL
THE ARTOF WOODWORKINGwasproducedby ST. REMY PRESS PUBLISHER Kenneth Winchester PRESIDENT Pierre L6veill6 SeriesEditor SeriesArt Director Editor Art Directors
Pierre Home-Douglas Francine Lemieux Andrew Jones Jean-PierreBourgeois, Normand Boudreau Designers Frangois Daxhelet, )ean-Guy Doiron PictureEditor Genevidve Monette Writers John Dowling, Adam Van Sertima Contributing lllustrators Gilles Beauchemin,Michel Blais, Ronald Durepos, JacquesPerrault, Michael Stockdale, JamesThdrien Administrator Natalie Watanabe ProductionManager Michelle Turbide Coordinator Dominique Gagn6 SystemCoordinator Eric Beaulieu Photographer Robert Chartier Proofreader Judy Yelon lndexer Christine M. Jacobs
Time-LifeBooksis a divisionof Time Life Inc., a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY
TIME-LIFEINC. President and CEO
John M. Fahey
TIME-LIFEBOOKS President ManagingEditor Directorof Design Directorof Editorial Operations
JohnD. Hall RobertaConlan MichaelHentges EllenRobling
ConsultingEditor Vice-President,Book Production ProductionManager QualityAssurance M anager
JohnR. Sullivan Marjann Caldwell MarleneZack famesKing
THE CONSULTANTS fon Eakes has been a cabinetmaker and custom renovator in Montreal for more than 20 years.He is known primarily for his teaching through books, videos, radio, and the TV show RenovationZone. Giles Miller-Mead taught advanced cabinetmaking at Montreal technical schools for more than ten years.A native of New Zealand, he has worked as a restorer of antique furniture.
Kitchen cabinets. p. cm.- (The Art of woodworking) Includes index. ISBN 0-8094-9545-7 l. Kitchen-cabinets.2. Cabinetwork. I. Time-Life Books. II. Series.
TTr97.5.K571996 684.1'6-dc20
9s-46501 CIP
For informationaboutanyTime-Lifebook, pleasecall l-800-621-7026, or write: ReaderInformation Time-LifeCustomerService P.O.BoxC-32068 Richmond,Virginia 2326r-2068 @ 1996Time-LifeBooksInc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by means,includinginformation anyelectronicor mechanical storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior written permissionfrom the publisher,exceptthat brief passages may be quotedfor reviews. Firstprinting.Printedin U.S.A. in Canada. Publishedsimultaneously TIME-LIFEis a trademarkof TimeWarnerInc. U.S.A.
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CONTENTS
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6 INTRODUCTION 12 14 17 19 23
LAYOUTAND DESIGN A galleryof kitchen styles Principlesof layout Dimensioning Storypoles
26 CASEWORK 28 Anatomy of a kitchen cabinetcase 30 Buildingmaterials 33 Buildingthe cases 38 Shelvingand storage 44 Assemblingthe cabinets 50 Faceframes
98 100 L02 II2 115 118
INSTALLING CABINETS Installationbasics Installingthe lower cabinets Islandsand peninsulas Installingthe upper cabinets Crown molding
I2O I22 123 I34
COTINTERTOPS A galleryof countertopsurfaces Installingcountertops Backsplashes and edgetreatments
140 GTOSSARY T42 INDEX I44 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
56 DOORS 58 A galleryof cabinet door designs doors 60 Board-and-batten doors 62 Frame-and-panel 73 Mounting doors 78 80 83 87 93
DRAWERS Drawerconstruction Building drawers Drawerslidesand runners Falsefronts and hardware
INTRODUCTION
Tom Santarsleroon
CHOOSING CABINETSTYLE,S espitethe tremendousvarietyof kitchencabinets, theyall comedown to two
faceframeandframeless. Eachhascharacteristics basictypes: thatgreatly affect how the heartof the modernhomewill appearand function.For the designer, cabinetmaker, and installer,theyalsodeterminehow the cabinetswill be created. Faceframe cabinetsare the most populartype of kitchencabinetin North America.Thistime-honoredmethodof constructioninvolvesattachinga framework of solidlumberto the front of a carcase. Doorsand drawerscanbe mountedin oneof threeways:inset,lipped, Inset,themostelegantin appearance, is or overlay. a true testof a craftsman's Tight tolerances skill in constructionand installation. arerequiredto accommodate woodmovementandyielda pleasing seasonal margin betweenframeand door.During installation,cabinetsmustbe setperfectlylevel and plumb to maintainthat margin.My clientswho chooseframedcabinetsare veryinterested in forginga link with thepast.Theyappreciate theclassic look of wellfitted doorsand drawersthat openwith easeand closewith a gentlepuff of air as theynestwithin the frame.
Frameless cabinetry wasbornin EuropeafterWorldWarII. It addressed some of thechallenges of thetime,suchastheshortage of lumberandtheneedto rebuild housing rapidly. Thesimplicity kitchencabinet greatly of theframeless, or European, reduced material, needs, andproduction time.Doorswouldaligntightlytogether, creating aclean,flowinglineof casework. Thisreflected amodernist viewof achanged worldwheretimewasshortandproductionandefficiency reignedsupreme. This methodyieldedotherbenefits. construction Drawers couldbewideranddeeper because theydidn'tneedto cleara faceframe.Andstorage andremoval of items alongwith cleaning thecabinetinteriorbecame easier andmoreefficient. Today, thelinebetween faceframeandframeless hasblurredslightly. casework Frameless cabinets arenolongerlimitedto flush-laminate doors;mostof theframelesskitchens I buildfeature raised paneldoors, traditional multi-part cornice moldings, andotheraccoutrements endowing eachkitchenwithwarmthandcomfort.For maximizing building,installing, storage, andease of use,frameless cabinets can'tbe surpassed. If, on theotherhand,you'dprefera touchof timeless traditionin your yourcabinets kitchen, areonlya faceframeaway.
TomSantarsiero isPresident of theKtchenDesignCenter in Montclair, NewJersey.
INTRODUCTION
DonaldSilversdiscusses
KITCHENFORM AND FUNCTION I am continuallyjugglingtwo requirements: I n *y work asa kitchendesigner, I creating spaces thatarebothwonderfultolookat anda pleasure to workin. Form must andfunction work in tandem. Thiswasnot alwaysthecase.In yearspast,cabinetmakers who designedkitchens werevirtuallyunknown,sincethe homebuilderwasresponsible for creatingthe kitchenand its cabinets, and oftenbroughtto the kitchenthe sameeconomyof meanswith which he built the restof the house.For example,a ceilingheightof 8 feetandthreestudsspaced16inchesapartcreated theneedfor largequantitiesof plywood.The homebuilderfelt it waseconomicallysoundto useleftoverplyvood for kitchencabinets sotherewouldbeno waste.Thebasecabinets were22inchesdeep just running andthewallcabinets were11to 12inchesdeep.Thesecabinets-really shelves with doors-stubbornlyresisted anyform of change; basecabinetsdidn't changeto a 24-inchdepthuntil thedevelopment of dishwaihers madeit necessary. In the kitchenenvironmentof today,designingand buildingkitchensis much morethana wayof recyclingleftoverhomebuildingmaterials. To createeye-catching residentialkitchens,today'sdesigners havetakena cuefrom the extraordinarywork of cabinetmakers. Thedifferentwoodsandfinishesthat makeup thecabinetmaker's paletteprovidethefreedomto conjureup anystyle.Wth histools,thecabinetmaker might carvecherryor oakwoods,creatingFrenchor EnglishCountrycabinets, or shapean intimateArtsandCraftskitchenin beech.He couldfashionanArt Decolook in the richness of walnut,or anArt Nouveau, Victorian,or EarlyAmericanlook in a varietyof woods-pine, ash,maple,or mahogany, to namea few Thecabinetmaker puttingat hisdisposal mightevenwork with laminates, theentirecolorspectrum. And let'snot forgetthestainsthatproducean arrayof huesandpatinas. Therange is breathtaking. of choices The cabinetmaker hasalsomadethe cook'slife a delightby incorporatingthe right kind of accessories that canmakethe cook'sjob easier,evenfun. For example, therearedrawersand roll-outswith hardwarethat givesthe cookfingertipcontrol, pantriesthat areonly a foot wide yet 84 inchestall,providingenormousstorage whenpulledout of a wallcabinetwith ease. Moreandmore,thekitchendesigner of todayis drawingon thepastandthepresentto createa kitchenenvironment thatlooks and cooksbeautifully.
DonaldSilversis a kitchendesigner who teaches at the Universityof Californiaat LosAngeles. He is theauthorof TheCompleteGuideTo KitchenDesignWith CookingIn Mind, publishedby TheNewarkManagement Institute.
INTRODUCTION
SvenHansontalksabout
ASMOOTH INSTALLATION needtop-qualityinstallation to lookgoodandfunctionwell. itchencabinets Unlikefinefurniturethatcanlookgoodin adustycornerof theshop,cabinets wetendto put don'tcometo life until aftertheyhavebeeninstalled.Unfortunately, it happens in anunfamiliar off considering theproblemsof installation because andrequiresskillsdifferentfromthoseneededto build thecabinets. environment plan,cirawn Toavoidtheseproblems, startwith andstickto a detailedinstallation you Dont betemptedto change it because up wellbeforethecabinets arefinished. of the36-inchoneyouoriginally suddenly likea 42-inchdrop-incooktopinstead plannedfor.Thiswill forceyouto modifrtherangebase, bothadjacent cabinets, table andtheirdrawers. It'sfarmoreefficientto bringallpartiesto thenegotiating andmakethatkindof decision beforeyoubuildthecabinets. yourpsychological Youwill getto practice skillswhenyouannounce to therest of thehousehold thatthektchenwill beclosedfor a fewdayswhilethenewcabinets goin. Tryto keeptheblockade for everyone. Aboveall, shortandtimedconveniently do not fall into the snakepit of trying to haveyour newkitchenreadyjust before "if goesto plan" investing in oneof those everything Thanksgiving or Christmas, them schedules. However, if youplanto getrid of yourin-lawswhileconvincing youarethecomplete idiottheythought,success beckons. Thereis no rightor wrongwayto installcabinets. I liketo installandlevelthe plinthsfor thelowercabinets theafternoon beforetheinstallation begins. Forsheer levelto thehighestpointof exhaustion, crawlingaroundthefloorto setallthebases chores. Thefollowingmorning,I thefloor standsapartfrommostwoodworking first,thenthelowercabinets. AsI screwthecabinets in installtheuppercabinets "idiot" place,Ialways for levelness. Nothingsays louderthana tilting double-check sinkor cooktop. Duringinstallation, adustcurtainmadeof 4-milplasticsheeting can repelwould-be whilekeeping mostdustandsomenoisecontained. Tofursnackers anyairductsandopenthekitchenwindowacrack therreduce dust,youshouldblock Finally,I'veobserved manyfirst-timeinstallers whousesurprisingly fewtools. I relyon manymoreandlaythemout on a temporary workbench setat theedge of theroom.Ifyourshopisapartfromthejob site,startmakingalistof theinstalhelps lationtoolswhileyou'restillconstruaing thecabinets.Visualizing theinstallation yourtools(and to fabricatea cabinetthatistruly readyto installandhelpsorganize mindset)to finishthejob properly.In 25yearsI'veneverhearda singlewoodworker "I say, wishI hadn'twasted somuchtimepreparing for thatjobJ'
SvenHansonis a cabinetmaker Ne'wMexico. in Albuquerque,
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incecolonialdavs.the American orovidedfor work.Thekitchenisa workkitchenhasbeenthoughtofas the ihop like anyother,and shouldbe laid heartof thehome.It is thefirst room a out with efficiencyin mind. Youwould familyshareseachday;it is not only the not think of locatingthetablesawanda placewheremealsareprepared, planerat oppositeendsof a workshop; but also wheretheyareofteneaten.The kitchen theprimaryworkcentersof a kitchenis wherechildrenand adultsdo their in mostcases, the sink,refrigerator, and homework,and wherethey lingerfor stove/cooking area-are no different. Yet,althoughthe roleof conversation. Worktriangles(page17)areonewayto the kitchenhasnot changedin three minimizethe trips betweenthe three. centuries,its appearance has.Once, Arriving at an efficientlayout for a cookingwasdoneby the centralfireThesupplypipesanddrainofa kitchen kitchenin a confinedspacecanbea chalplace,andthelarderwasstoredagainst sinkaremarkedon thewallwith theaid lenge.Invariably,the sizeand location willhaveto be the cold,north-facingwall. Today,a of a carpenter\level(above).Theprecise of your kitchencabinets kitchenmust be carefullyplannedto flexibleenoughto accommodatethe locationof thefixtureswill thenbe meetthe demandsof a busyhousehold, locationof appliances, markedontoverticalandhorizontal site utilities,windows, andto accommodate a batteryof laborstorypolesbeforebeingtransferred to the and doors.A selection ofbasiclayout savingdevices. Thischapterfocuses on storypolesfor thesinkcabinetitself. optionsis shownon page18.Drafting thework of today'skitchen-especialscalefloor plansandelevations canhelp ly its cabinetry-introducespopulardesigns,and outlines you visualizeyour layout;floor plansandelevations for a typical L-shapedkitchenareshownon page20. Onceyou have somebasicprinciplesthat willhelp you createa kitchenthat meetsyour needs. you candividetheir settledon theplacementof your cabinets, A kitchendesignoftenstartsasa naturalextension runsinto individualcabinetsanddrawers.Whilemostkitchen ofthe architecturalstyleof a house.Justastrim, molding,and furcabinets adhereto basicdimensionalstandards inheight (page nishingscandistinguisha homeasbeingVictorianor Colonial, 19),their width and numberof doorscanbe fine tunedto cabinetdoors,molding,andhardwarecandefinethestyleof a reacha visuallywell-balanced kitchendesign(page22). kitchen.For example,Victorianis an opulentstylemarkedby Accuracyis crucialwhen draftingfloor plansand elevapulls,andexposed tions.A site-referenced complexegg-and-dart molding,porcelain storypole(page24) tellsyou everyhinges,while Shakerstyleis a modelof austerity,relyingon thing you needto know abouta kitchenwall in precisedetail, frame-and-panel includingthelocationandsizeof thecabinets. simple,recessed doors,an absence of moldBy usingthese ing, and the muted colorsof milk paint.A galleryof kitchen smalllengthsof wood for eachwall and cabinet,you can stylesfrom traditionalto modernis shownstartingon page14. proceedfrom floor plan to cuttinglist with a minimum of Whetheryou choosea traditionalarchitectural stylefor your errors.From thereto your dreamkitchenit is only a few kitchenor a blendof severalstyles, adequate room mustbe morecarefulsteos.
Drawingyour kitchento scaleis thebestwayto experimentwith its layout.Thephotoat leftshowstheJloorplan of an L-shapedkitchen, includingthelocationof cabinets, windows,appliances, and utilities.
13
A GALLERYOF KITCHEN STYLES \ [ f hileakitchenshouldreflectyour Y V personalculinaryneedsand its designshouldnot bechosen tastes, withoutfirst addressing a fewimporWiil thestylecompletant questions. mentor clashwiththerestof thehouse
A Victoriankitchen architecturally? wouldlookout of placein a modern with Missionfurniture. housedecorated Budgetis anotherimportantconsideration.Thelumbercostsalonefor an kitchenwith cherfuts andCrafts-swle
ry cabinets doors andframe-and-panel arebeyondthereachof many.Popular, lessexpensive optionsincludethe kitchen,whichusesstanEuropean-style dardizedmelaminecabinets, or the kitchen,in whichrustic Country-style
SHAKER but Manykitchens areShaker-inspired, styleasthis fewareasfaithfulto Shaker architect Charles Allen house designedby Hill. Withtheirflat recessed frame-andpaneldoors, achewornamenthecabinets yet elegant tation,andevoke theShalcer's evena pegboard utilitarianethic.There's overtherange.
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Lessopulentthan its namesake, this byMaine architect kitchendesigned lohn Gillespienonetheless featuresseveralhallmarlsof thestyle,mostnotabf tall uppercabinetswith tongue-andgroovedoors,surface-mounted brass hinges,andporcelainpulls. Notethe way the Victori an motifs-cr own molding ornatecolumnsand arches -are carriedinto adjoiningareasof thehouse.
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charm can be derivedfrom the minor defectsofaged,recycledwood. A kitchendesigndoesnot haveto be faithful to a singlestyle.As the gallery on thesepagesandthe charton page16 show,severalstylescan be combined
with a carefuleyeto createa unique of therightmaterials canalsounifr a Blending make your kitchen with design. stylescan contrasting thesurroundfor examdesignmore flexible:Shaker-style ing house.Cherrycabinets, ple, provide kitchens well-adapted to modugraceful are the can a transition larconstruction of European-style cab- between a European-style kitchenand inetry(page26). Thediscerning choice a Colonialfarmhouse.
EUROPEAN Its hardwareout of sight,theEuropeanstylecabinetdefinesthemodernkitchen. Itsclean,unadornedlinesareenhanced by recessed kghtingandplentyofuncluxered laminatecountertop. Subtletouches by Maine designer JohnScholtz,suchasthe porcelainfriezeand bacl
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Thisisan ecleaicstylethat canbeevoked asmuchby decoration asby actualcabinetry.Framedby exposedtimbers,the kitchenat left,designed by StevenFoote of Boston,is a pleasinglymodernupdate on thestyle.Thebrick,pineplankfloors, and leadedglazingintheupperwallcabinetsall contributeto a colonialambiance. A moreexplicitreference to thestylecan befoundin theframe-and-panel doors with oversized knobs.
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()FPERI()D STYLES DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS C()UNTRY STYLE
Kaieed frameand-panel door
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Wrought iron hingeoand pullo
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Keceseed panel door with pinned mortise and tenon jointe
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Pierced tin panel
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Porcelainpull
Egg-and-dart molding
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PRINCIPLES OF LAYOUT kitchen dependson A successful A threethings:sufficientspaceto work, adequatelighting overthe sink andcookingareas, andcabinets arranged so that everythingfrom the cutleryto thebreadboxis at hand.Sometimes the areadestinedfor thekitchenis woefully inadequate in the first of thesethree needs,Still,with a little creativeplanning,a functionalkitchencanbi laid out in thetightestofspaces. Thecornerstone of kitchenlayoutis positioningthe stove,refrigerator, and
sinksotheyform a triangle(below).The smallerthe triangle,the moreefficient theuseof space. As theillustrations on page18 show,thereareseverallayout optionsfor a kitchen.The mostpopular of these,the U- and L-shaped designs, allowfor efficientwork triangles.A largekitchencanbenefitfrom theadditionof an island,whichtightens the work trianglewhile freeingup counterspace. Conversely, a singlewall or corridor-style layoutmakesthebest useof a smallspace.
All appliances andfixturescomewith dimensional requirements of theirown thatshouldbetakeninto consideration beforetheir positionsare fixed.For example,a sink shouldhavecounter spaceofabout 30 incheson eachside for washingdishes; a stoveshouldhave 20 to 24 inchesofspaceon both sides for unclutteredandsafecooking.The doorsof refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovenscreatefurtherdemandfor space; theseappliances shouldbe positioned fully open.
WORKTRIANGLES
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U-ahaped
Laying outanetficient kitchen Thethreediagrams shown above demonstrate howto applythe principle of theworktriangle forthreedifferent kitchen layouts. Formaximum efficiency, theperimeter of thetriangle should notexceed 25 feet;Iessthan20 feetis ideal.Planyourlayout yourkitchen byfirstdrawing to scale, thensketch in theappli-
ances in different arrangements untilyoucomeupwithanefficientandsatisfactory useof space. lf possible, layoutthekitchen sotheworktriangles areclearof household traffic.Forfurther easeof movement, makesurethereisat least36 inches of clearancearound anypeninsula or island.
LAYOUTAND DESIGN
(lFKITCHEN LAYOUT OPTI(INS A SELECTION SINGLEWALL Oood for a amall apartment with emallappliancee
U.5HAPED Themoat efficient and veraatilekitchen layout; two blind cornere can be a diaad' vantaqeae they take up valuableopace
L.qHAPED More efficient than either corridor or ein4le-walllayout; worktrtanqlecan be kept emalland coun' tera continuoua
CORRIDOR More efficient than einqlewall layout; through traffic can be a problem
L.5HAPED WITHI?LAND )ffere more efficient work trianqle than eimpleL-ohaped layouL;createe oeparate cooktn1area
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for kitchen Q tandardmeasurements r.J cabinetsarederivedfrom human anatomy.For example,countertopsare comfortablefor most userswhenthey arewaist-high-typically,threefeetoff the floor. Subtractingfour-and-a-half inchesfor a kickolateand one-and-ahalf inchesfor thi countertoDleavesa 30-inch-high cabinet. Uppercabinetsareusuallyshallower thanbottomonesfor easieraccess to the countertop.A generalrule of thumb for uppercabinetsis to positionthebottom of thelowestcabinetat shoulderheight. This will fluctuateto allow for a range hood overthe stoveor for mountine appliances that usedto crowdthe counl tertop,suchasmicrowaves. Youcanalso leavea few inchesbeneaththe cabinets to accommodate lighting.Allow for an inch or two at the top of the ceilingto addmolding. Onceyouhavedeterminedtheheight and depthof cabinets, you can start dividingtherunson your floor planand elevations into individualcases with face frames,doors,and drawers(page22). Startby positioningthe sink and any othermajorappliances in therun, then dividetheremainderof therun into cabinets.Dependingon yourkitchenneeds, thesecabinets canbelargeor small,with oneor two doors;theycouldalsoconsist ofa bankofdrawers.Forvisualbalance andeaseof production,try to makethe proportional,sothewidth of a cabinets large,two-doorcabinetis twicethat of a smaller,one-doorcabineu30-38inchesis a good width to work with for a Iargecabinet.Also takecareto match the upperand lowerruns.For sample floorplansandelevations ofan L-shaped kitchen, seepages 20-21.
STANDARD KITCHEN CABINET PR()P(!RTI(|NS ANDDIMENSIONS
Varies with heiqhtof kitchen ceilin4
cabinet
30-40 inchea
)pace for liqht
15 inchea minimum Counterbop
24-26 inchee
Eackaplaah
32-33 incheo
Lower cabinet
LAYOUTAND DESIGN
KITCHEN'S SH(]RTWAIL VIEWOFANI-SHAPED FAGE-ON
WALL FACE-ON VIEWOTIONGER
LAYOUTAND DESIGN
I LAYOUTAND DESIGN
DIVIDING A RUN
2-inah sPaae
The illuatration below showahowto dividea lower and upperrun of cabinete. ln the lowerrun, the diahwasherand ainkare then the reat poeiLioned,
of the run ia divided into equalcaaee.Next, the caeee are divided into draweraand doors. ln thie example,the upper cabinet run ia also divided
to match the lowerrun. For different matchtng effecte, aeeLhe illuatration at the bottom of the paqe.
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4-8 inchea wider :,Double eaee ',13-19 than aink I,inchea wide "
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MATCHING ANDTOWER UPPER CABINETS
Matahing top run to bottom
Matahing bottom run to top
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Staggered run
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STORYPOLES Q tory polesarea methodof measurrJ ingkitchencabinets accurately for a mastercuttinglist withoutrelyingon a have tapemeasure or ruler.Carpenters beenlayingout entirehomeson these long, narrowsticksof wood for centuries,and this tried-and-truemethod offersseveraladvantages overstandard measuring Forone,all meatechniques. surements aremarkedout full-size,making an error-freecuttinglist easierto thanfrom scaledrawings. calculate Storypolesalsoallowyouto visualize constructiondetailsmore easilv.By markingthemeasurements for eachcabineton thesticksyouhaveanexactpictureof eachcabinet;lengths, widths,and positionsofjointscanallbemarkedlater on the stockdirectly,without a tape measureintroducingerror.For easeof handling,makeyour storypolesfrom wood t/+inchto 3/+ inchthickandabout 1r/:incheswide.Toseetheoencilmarks wood. better,uselight-colored Whenlayingout a kitchen,sitestory polesarefirst completedfor eachwall of the kitchen(pnge24).On the horizontalstorypole,thelocationofeverything alongthat wall is marked:the appliances and cabinetsin the run, doors,windows,and anyelectricalor plumbingfixturessuchasoutletsor sink pipes(seephoto,page13).The vertical storypoleshowstheheightof thekickplate,lowercabinet,countertop,backsplash,upper cabinet, and ceiling molding,aswell asany windowsand plumbingfixtures.A depth electricalor storypoleprovidesthe depthof kickplate,cabinet,andcountertopoverhang. Oncethe kitchenhasbeenlaid out on story poles,individualstory poles arecreatedfor eachcabinet(page25). For maximumaccuracy, eachcabinet shouldhavethreesmallerstorypoles: height,width, and depth,eachieferencedto the respective sitestorypole. Theseshorterstorypoleswilltellyou the dimensionsof your cabinets(right) whenit comestime to compilethemaster cutting list (page32).
CABINET STORY POLES
Depthatory pole lndicateadepthof cabinet,kickplate, counterLop overhan1, and nailinq raile
Width at'ory pole lndicateawidth of cabinet,Iocationof drawera and doora, and any intermediate face frame attles. Aloo may indicate cutouta for electrical or plumbinqeervicee
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Height etory pole lndicatea heiqhLof cabinet, kickplate,countertop, and any drawer frame raila.Alao may indicaLe cutouts for electricalor plumbinaeervicea
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WITHSTORY POLES LAYING OUTA KITCHEN
I I I I I I I I I I horizontal sitepoles 1l Making -
I U s r n gc h a l k s, k e t c ha f u l l - s i z oe u t l i n eo f y o u rk i t c h e nl a y o u t o n t h e s i t ef l o o r .M a r kb o t ht h e u p p e ra n d l o w e rc a b i n e t r u n s ,i n d i c a t i nwg h i c hc a s e sw i l l b e c a b i n e tas n dw h i c hw i l l b e a p p l i a n c e sT.h e nc r e a t ea h o r i z o n t as li t es t o r yp o l ef o r nf all e a c hw a l l i n t h e k i t c h e nO . nt h e p o l e ,m a r kt h e l o c a t i o o cabinetsin both runs(above) and anydoorsor windows.lf the k i t c h e nw a l l i s u n u s u a l llyo n g ,y o uc a nj o i nt w o s t i c k st o g e t h e r +^ ^^^^ LU 5lidil
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Making vertical sitepoles F l o o r sa n dc e i l i n g a s r eo f t e nn o tf l a t o r l e v e ls, o y o un e e dt o k n o wt h e m i n i m u md i s t a n c e b e t w e etnh e t w ot o p l a nt h e h e i g h t y o u r i n eo n t h e w a l l sa r o u n d of c a b i n e t sS. t r i k ea l e v e rl e f e r e n cl e t h e k i t c h e nT. h e nf i n d t h e h i g hp o i n to f t h e f l o o ra n d h o l dt h e v e r t i c asl i t e s t o r yp o l ea t t h i s p o i n t ,p l u m bt o t h e r e f e r e n c e l i n e .S e ta c o m p a stso t h e h e i g h o t f the kickplate andmark . s et h e c o m p a s st o m a k e t h i s p o i n to n t h e s t o r yp o l e( r i g h t ) U t f a n y m o l d i n ga t t h e t o p a s i m i l a rm a r kt o r e c o r dt h e h e i g h o o f t h e p o l e .N o wm a r kt h e h e i g h to f t h e u p p e ra n d l o w e cr a b i n e t so n t h e v e r t i c apl o l e ,a s w e l la st h e l o c a t i oonf a n yw i n d o w so n t h a t w a l l .L a s t l yc, r e a t ea d e p t hs t o r yp o l ef o r t h e w a l l i n d i c a t i n tgh e d e p t ho f t h e c a b i n e t sa n da n yo t h e rf e a t u r eos n t h e w a l la d i a c e ntto t h e r u n .
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LAYOUTAND DESIGN
Locating electrical and plumbing services U s ea c a r p e n t e r 'lse v e lt o d r a wp l u m b l i n e sf r o mt h e l o c a t i oonf a n yp l u m b i n g or electricalservices to the levelreference line (right).Transfer theselocations to the horizontal and verticalsite storypolesfor t h e r un .
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<'1- , c - R, ^b t-' {^\Q, $\ Creating cabinet storypoles M a k eh o r i z o n t avl e , r t i c a la, n d d e p t h
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B5 DRAWERS
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storypoles foreachcabinet, thenreference eachto itsrespective sitepolefortherun t h ec a b i n ei st i n . I n t h ee x a m p sl eh o w n at left,thehorizontal storypolefora bank of drawers is beingreferenced to its horizontal sitepole.Markoutthedetails of thecabinetin thiscase, thefaceframe r a i l sa n ds t i l e sw i t h i n t h ec a b i n ewti d t h . 0n thevertical storypole,marktheheight of thekickplate, countertop, backsplash, upper cabinet, andceiling molding, aswell asanywindows andelectrical or plumbingservices. Markthedepthof kickplate, cabinet, andcountertop overhang onthe depthpole.Besureto labelall poles caref ullyto avoidconfusionlater.
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andotherhardware canthenbeaddedto uilt-in kitchencabinetsarerelacreatean appropriatestyle. tivelyrecentarrivalsin domestic I kitchens.Traditionally, kitchencupWhile the wide availabilityof materialssuchasmediumdensityfiberboard boardswere freestandingunits with frame-and-panel andface hassimplifiedcasework,sheetgoods construction frames,muchlike the chinacabinetin still havean Achilles'heel:their edges theparlor.Yetby theturn ofthe centuareunattractiveand needto be hidden. ry, the switchto built-ins had already Laminateboardcanbeedgedwith hardduring the postwoodstrips(page48)orlaminateedge begun.It accelerated banding(pagea9).Thetraditionalface WW II housingboomin Europe,when frame(page50),a solid-woodframeconthe constructionof millions of new An appliancebayis a tidy way to keep sistingofrailsandstilesthatis attached homespromptedthe developmentof new wood products,tools,and techa countertop to thefront of thefinishedcase,isanothfreeof clutter.Blenders, niquesthat savedlaborand materials. cffie makers, toasters, andothersmall er wayto hidethe edgesof man-made No room in the housebenefittedfrom appliances canbekeptout of sight boards.Moreimportantly,thefaceframe morethan the kitchen. but readilyaccessible. Whilethe can impart a traditional,handcrafted theseadvances Thedevelopmentof pll.rvood,partiappliancebayshownabovefeatures feelto the kitchen. fiberboard,andothermanulouvereddoors,spacecanbesaved cleboard, Shelvingand storagearekeyconsidFor facturedsheetgoodsmadeassemblyJine by usingtambourdoors(page40). erationsin casework construction. productionof largeand rigid cabinets example, a bankof graduated drawerspossible.The European32-millimetersystem-so called theidealsolutionforcutleryandkitchenutensils-shouldnot alltheholesfor drawerslides,dowels,shelfsupports, be an afterthought if you areusingfaceframeson your cabibecause andhingesarespaced 32 millimetersapart-was revolution- nets.(For moreon drawers,seechapterthree.)Adjustable offered shelves(page38)canaddflexibilityto your cabinets,enabling aryin design.Itsmodular,predrilledmelaminecabinets flexibility.It alsomadethemodernkitchenafford- you to storeoversized unparalleled bulk goodsandadaptto changingculinaryneeds.Theyarealsosimpleto installif you drill the supable:Eventhemostmodesthomecouldnowbeoutfittedwith port holesbeforeassembling Anothermodernstorage a full complementof sleekkitchencabinets. thecases. Buildingthesecases is mainlya matterof cuttingthestock idea,thelazySusan(page42),makesgooduseof a perennial to sizeand thenjoining it usingoneof the techniquesshown weakspotin thekitchen:thelowercornercupboard.An applipieceof caseon pages33 to 37;thecharton page3I will helpyou choose ancebay(photoaboveandpage40)is a separate from availablematerials.Faceframes.doors,drawerfronts, work in its own rieht.
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Accurately cutting sheetgoods to size can be a tricky task. In the photo at left, a panel-cutting circular saw attachment is being usedto rip a sheetof melamine for a kitchen cabinet. The Exqct-T-Guidemodelshownfeaturesa T-square-type guide that rides in a U-shapedchannelscrewedto the edgeof a plywood base.
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ANATOMYOF A KITCHENCABINETCASE shouldbekeptas f1 itchencabinets goods aspossible. Usingsheet A. basic (page31)andsimplejoinerytechniques of buildwill keepthetimeandexpense worthof ing andinstalling a kitchen's to a minimum.Althoughtheir cabinets it isimportant issimple, construction Drawers, bewell-built. thatthecases will allbeeasier doors, andcountertops is strong,straight, to fit if thecasework a littleextratime andsquare. Spending will savemuchfrusin thebuildingstage trationduringinstallation.
The anatomies belowand on the facingpageshowbasiccabinetconfrom struction.Usethe measurements your cabinetstory poles(page25) to cut the stockfor eachcabinetto size. The sidesofthe bottom cabinetcan extendright down to the floor,or you can install levelerlegs (page44) that will hold a clip-onkickplate.At this time, it is a good ideato cut all the groovesfor the back panels,and to shelving boreholesfor anyadjustable (page38).
Ifyou areaftera traditionallook, solid-woodfaceframescanbe added afterthe cabinetsarebuilt. If you do not choosefaceframes,the exposededgeof mustbecovered with some theolr.r,vood eitherlaminateor solid sorfo?banding, wood.Whiietherearemanywaysto join boards,efficiencyfavorscertainmethods.Biscuit,lock miter,tongue-andgroovejointsandready-to-assemble--or RTA-fasteners,canall be usedto producejointsthat combineeaseof installationwith accuracy andstrength.
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UPPER CASES
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LOWER CASES
Counteftop nailer
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Eiaauit joint
Loak miter joint
BUILDINGMME,RIALS werebuilt all cabinets raditionally, I entirelvoisolid wood.But close examination of anticuefurniturecan offeran instructivesuiprise.Yesterday's woodworkers oftenusedlessattractive woodslike poplarandpinefor hidden partssuchasdrawersidesand cabinet
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to theexpensive, Fromtheeconomical goodsis available a uastarrayof sheet Thephotoat left for usein casework. goods,includof sheet showse selection partiingsamples of melamine-coated cleboard,mediumdensityfiberboard, and veneered olvwood.
wasno pointin puttingwalbacks;there nut andcherrywhereit wouldneverbe stillsave the seen.Today,cabinetmakers cherryandwalnutfor thedrawerfronts, sheetgoods but theyrelyon man-made Not onlydo for theinsides of thecabinets. resources, theysavemoneyandconserve but sheetgoodsalsooutperformwood in termsof dimensional stability. Thechartbelowoffersanoverviewof differentmaterialsusedin makingkitchen to cabinets, from melamineto plyr,vood solidwood.Eachhasits own strengths The challeneeis to and weaknesses. thebestproductfor eachiompochoose nentandfor the styleofyour cabinets.
MATERIATS CASEWORK MATERIAL
RELATIVE C()ST
PLYWOOD GABINET-GRADE (softwood veneer core) Moderate Rotarycut hardwood veneer Hieh Plainsawn veneer
CHARACTERISTICS
faceveneer notasattractive anddimensionally stable; Easy to work,verystrong littlesanding. variety. Edges mustbefacedwithsolidwood;needs asplainsawn resembles edge-joined boards. butfaceveneer Sameasabove
WOOD SOLID Cheny
Oak,ash Maple,birch Walnut Pine,poplar, alder
colordarkens withage; woods. Reddish-brown Oneof thefinestcabinet natural finishes well.Moderately difficultto work; f inegrained texture accepts resins in thewoodcanleaveburnmarks. natural finishes well. withprominent, opengrain;accepts Moderate to low Strong, stablehardwoods finish.Density can thatprovide a smooth Moderate to low Straight-grained, stablehardwoods woods to work;maplein particular canblunttools. makethese difficult worked withall hand woodwithrichcolorandgrain; easily Moderate to high Choice cabinet finishes well. tools;accepts natural andpower yetjustasstable.Easyto workbutalsoeasily woods, Muchsofterihanabove LOW finished withpaint. Verylittlefigure; typically damaged. Moderate
C()MPOSITE Medium density (MDF) fiberboard
Moderate
Particleboard
Low
Melamine
Moderate
orgroove; stable; edges easyto rout,shape, Strong anddimensionally or painted withlittle withplywood faceveneers. Canbefinished available Somevarieties canemittoxicfumeswhensawn;useof or nosanding. toolsis recommended. carbidetipped poorly. Moredifficult less strong andstable thanMDF;holdsfasteners Slightly withplywood faceveneers. to workandfinish;available witha hardplastic or particle boardsurfaced Common termfor plywood of colors. Toughandlong-lasting; onlyasstrong laminate; comesin a variety asitssubstrate.
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TYPES OFPLYWOOD
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Types ofplywood is thesame:a corecovered o r m e d i u m d e n s i tfyi b e r b o a rLdu. m b e r - c oprley w o ohdo l d s Thebasicdesignof all plywood l eh e r ea d d i t i o n a l on bothsidesby layers of crossbanding anda faceveneer. n a i l sa n ds c r e wbs e s ta n di s p r e f e r a bw "Cabinet-quality" plywoods plywoods strength andflatness arerequired. Themostcommon typehasa veneer core.All softwood faceveneers forvisible surand withsuoerior arerecommended aremadethisway,andtheyarestable,warp-resistant, plywoods faces.Therearetwobroadcatinexpensive. Hardwood canalsobe madewithsolid facessuchasdoorsanddrawer plywood: rotary sawnandplainsawn. lumber Themiddleplyof lumber-coreegories of cabinet-quality or particleboard cores. plywood narrow h l, a i n s a wpnl y w o ocda nr e s e m bal e consists of several stripsof solidwood-usu- W h i l ee q u ailn s t r e n g t p poplar,or basswood-edge-glued allymahogany, together. g l u e d - uspo l i dw o o dp a n e lw, h i l er o t a rsya w nv e n e ei sr e a s i l y plywood iedasplywood. Particleboard-core hasa solidcoreof particleboardidentif
PLYWOOD FACE VENEER GRADES PTYW()OD S()FTWOOD
HARDWOOD PTYWOOD Premium Faceveneer withwell-matched seams andsmooth surface; madeof specific hardwood, suchaswalnutor mahogany. Evencolorandgrain Faceveneer Good similar to premium, butnotaswellmatched. Freeof in colorandgrain sharpcontrasts Sound
Utility
Back
Faceveneer smooth, butnotmatched forcolororgrain;defects onlyon back veneer. Generally intended forpainting Veneers haveroughgrainandmay haveknotholes upto %inch,aswellas somediscoloration, staining, andslight forcolororgrain splits,Notmatched Mayhavelargerdefects thanutility grade, butnonethatimpairpanel strength. Notmatched forcolororgrain
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Specialty Madeto orderto meetspecific panels requirements, suchasseparate grainpatterns withmatching
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Sanded smooth; cantake matched for a clearfinish;faceveneer grainandcolor,freeof opendefects Sanded smooth; cantakea natural finish,butis moreoftenpainted mayhave Smooth andsanded; minorsplits grain, Smooth; mayhavesomebroken sanding defects andknotholes upto % inch Sanded; similar to C grade, butknotholes andsolitsaresmaller forinnerpliesandback Usedmainly veneer; mayhaveknotholesupto 2%inches
I CASEWORK I I list Making a cutting t cuttinglistfora kitchen Making a master Nailer:4@ CASE 2B%"X 4" X%" f u l l o f c a b i n e tm s a ys e e ml i k ea d a u n t i n g I about task,yetif youhavebeenscrupulous Baak panel: 22%" marking accurate storypolesforallyourcabiI 3U/''X 29',1"X',/" a cutting listis relatively nets,thendeducing Writea separate cuttinglist straightforward. I 1ide:2@ (lefil.f,Aake index card cabinet on an for each 51t/r"X 22" X'/o" andjot downa a roughsketchof thecabinet FACEFRAME t materials, takcomponents and list of all the Stile:2@ fromthecabinet's I ingtheirmeasurements 31'/""X 2" X'/o" laier storypoles(page2fl Toavoidconfusion Median rail: card the same as make sure to label the on, I I 271" X 2" X%" your list can then The master cutting cabinet. 31%" listbased ontherequirements becalculated I Rail:2@ I up at the cards. To speed things ed on all the X 2" X%" 26',/;' youmaywishto create separate I lumberyard, i master listsforsolidstockandsheetstock. I I FEET BOARD ESTIMATING I FEET BOARD CATCULATING I 1"x 12"x 12"= 1 aLandardboard foot foot 0rdering lumber bytheboard I usedto The"boardfoot"isa unitof measurement lt of stock. of a givenamount thevolume calculate t lumber. Asshown iscommonly usedwithhardwood board footis at righi,thestandard in the illustration t thatis I inchthick,12 inches equivalent to a piece Tocalculate thenumber long. wide,and12 inches I itsthree feetin a pieceof wood,multiply of board Then,dividetheresultby144 together. dimensions I arein inches, orby12 if justone if thedrmensrons isinfeet. dimension I board: Theformulafora standard I 1"x 12"xI2" + I44 = I ( o r1 "x 1 2 "x 1 ' + 1 2= 1 ) I plankthatis 1 inchthick So,if youhada 6{oot-long theboard wide,youwouldcalculate and4 inches I feetasfollows:1" x 4" x 6' + 12= 2 (or2 boardfeet). intheillustration. areshown Otherexamoles 2-by-6=Bboardfeet I onthe Remember thatboardfeetarecalculated 2-by-4 = 5% board feet rather thanactualdimensions basis ofthenominal I 1-W12=Bboardfeet feetcontainec theboard of thestock;consequently, ll|-by-3/zinches measures in a2-by-4thatactually 1-W-6=4boardfeet I dimensions. usingthelarger wouldbecalculated
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BUILDINGTHE CASES a master A fter you havecalculated f\ cuttinglistfor your cabiners, you arefinally readyto startbuilding them, Asyou cut the materialsto size,carefully markeachpieceto indicatewhichcabinet it belongsto. Thencut thegrooves for the backpanelsand borethe holes for anyadjustableshelving(page38). With thisgroundworkdone,assembly is largelya matterof choosingajoinerymethod.If you arecomfortablewith your table saw, tongue-and-groove joints(pagej5) areagoodchoice.Those well-versed in usinga platejointermay want to join their cases with biscuits (below),a joint equalin strengthto the tongue-and-groove. Ifyou havea shaper or a verysolidroutertableanda hearyduty router,lockmiterjoints (page36) aresolid,durable,and easyto cut. If spacein your workshopis at a premium or if you needto disassemble and Cutting sheetgoodssuch as melamine on the table saw often resultsin rough moveyour cabinets, ready-to-assemble edges,chipping and tearout. Installed on a table saw'sarbor, the Modulus scor-or RTA-fasteners(page37) maybe ing saw attachmentshownabovefeaturesa smallerblqdethat cleanlyscores the bestchoice. the sheetbeforethe main bladecuts it, resultingin a professional, smooth cut.
JOINING CASES WITHBISCUITS theslotlocations 1 Marking I Foreachcabinet, identify theoutside faceof all fourpanels withanX,then marklocation linesforthebiscuit slotson (Onlowercabreachof thefourcorners. nets,whichtypically donothavea top panel, markthelocation linesbetween thecountertop nailers andthesidepanels.)Tostart,placeonesidepaneloutside-face downona worksurface and holdthetoppanelat a 90" angleto it. Usea pencil to marklinesontheadjoiningpanels about2inches in fromeach (lefil.Markadditional corner linesabout every 4 to 6 inches. Repeat to markslot locations ontheotherthreecorners of the case.Addreference letters to helpvou identify thecorners.
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Faceplate Toppanel
)upport board )ide panel
r') Cutting theslots willallowyouto cuttheslotsfor L m" setupshownabove Place moving thepanels. corner of thecasewithout onemating downon a worksurface, a sidepanelof thecaseoutside-face up ontop.Offsetthetop thensetthetop paneloutside-face panelfromtheedgeof thesidepanelbythestockthickness slotlocamakesurethemating in place; andclampthepanels Set aligned. of stockareperfectly tionmarksonthetwopreces following themanudepthof cutontheplatejoiner theproper
Tocuttheslotsin thetop panel,butt instructions. facturer's theendof thetop panel,aligning against thetool'sfaceplate markand witha slotlocation onthefaceplate theguideline asthe boardthesamethickness resting thetoolon a support (above, the mating lefil.fo cut at each mark Cut a slot stock. the baseplateagainst buttthejoiner's slotsin thesidepanel, plate guideline panel with a slot on the center and align the top right). locationmark(above,
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slotsfora partition Q Cutting partitions or fixedshelves rJ Vertical between casesidescanalsobejoinedwith to layout square biscuits. Usea framing of the partition onthematthethickness atopone ingpanels, thenlaythepartition withits loweredgealigned of thepanels w i t ht h e l a y o ulti n e .C l a m pt h ea s s e m Cuttheslotsin the blyto a worksurface. panelandpartition as in step2 above. Reoeat to maketheslotsat theotherend andthe secondmating of the partition panel(righil.Sincesomeplatejoinerscut slotsslightlyoff center,keepthe same for bothcuts. face-up sideof thepartition
t Layout linea
Eottom panel
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JOINING CASES WITHTONGUE-AND-GROOVE J()INTS 'l
Setting upthetablesaw I U s ea d a d oh e a do n a t a b l es a wt o cutgrooves in thesidepanels andtongues i n t h et o oa n db o t t o mo a n e l sC. u tt h e grooves first.Installa dadoheadsetto halfthethickness of thestock,andattach te a n a u x i l i a rwyo o df e n c et o s u p p o rt h w o r k p i ed ce u r i n tgh ec u t .B u i t i n ag s i d e panel against thefenceasshown, slidethe riofencetoward the bladeuntiltheoutsidefaceof theworkpiece is in linewith the edgeof the sawblade(right).LasIly, s e tt h e b l a d eh e i g het q u atl o h a l ft h e thickness of thestock.
9ide panel
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Cutting thegroove L a vt h e s i d e o a n e li n s i d e - f a cdeo w n
o n t h es a wt a b l ea n db u t ti t s t o oe n d against theauxiliary woodfence.Usethe mitergauge equipped withanextension to feedthe panelintothe blades(left), pressing theworkpiece against thefence throughout thecut.Keepyourhands well awayfromtheblades. Repeat thecutfor thebottom endof theoanel.
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thetongues Q Cutting in thetopandbottom r.J Tocuttongues p a n e l sf i,r s tu n p l u tgh es a wa n da d da theblades spacer to thedadohead.Lower andmovethe belowthetablesurface the auxiliary woodfenceso it overlaps Turnonthesawandraise cutters slightly. thedadoheadto cuta notchin theauxili a r yf e n c eS. e tt h eh e i g hot f t h ed a d o h e a da n di t sw i d t ho f c u te q u atlo h a l f Withthetoppanel thestockthickness. up on thetablesaw,butt outside-face thefence.Feedthepanonesideagainst slight el intothe cutters(right),applying pressure the toward thefencethroughout fortheothersideof operation. Repeat panel. thetoppanelandthebottom
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WITHA LOCKMITERJOINT JOINING CASES
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Making thecuts p i e c eo f s c r a pa g a i n stth e f e n c ea n dt h e m i t e rg a u g ee x t e n s i o n , I n s t a al l l o c km i t e br i tt ny o u r o u t ear n dm o u ntth et o o li n a fenceandscrew anextension feed it into IhebiI (above,left).fo cut the matingpiece,clamp auxiliary table.Attach a notched . h e nf e e dt h e b o a r d cutter a g u i d eb l o c kt o i t t o r i d ea t o pt h e f e n c e T Setthebit height sotheuppermost to themitergauge. on end into Ihe bit bbove,right),keepingit f lushagainstthe withthepanel flatonthe is centered ontheendof theoanel fencesothebitwillmiterthestock f e n c ew i t h o n eh a n dw h i l ep u s h i n gi t a n dt h e g u i d eb l o c kf o r table.Position theauxiliary of ply- w a r dw i t ht h e o t h e r T. e s tt h e f i t a n da d j u s t h e p o s i t i o no f t h e it. Next,maketestcutsin twopieces without shortening r ye f o r em a k i n gt h e c u t s i n t h e c a s ep a n e l s . f e n c ea s n e c e s s a b w o o ds c r a pt h es a m et h i c k n e sassy o u rp a n e l sB. u t t i n og n e
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USINGREADY-TO-ASSEMBLE FASTENERS
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Preparing theholes I Tojoina casewithready-to-assemble or RTAfasteners, firstdryassemble thefinished caseandsecure it squarely with (page clamps 47).Tohelpposition thefasteners, drawlineson thesidesofthecaseindicating thecenter of thetopandbot(lntheexample tompanels. shown, thebottom of thecaseis s e t4 i n c h efsr o mt h ef l o o r . ) W h isl e p e c i aslt e p p eddr i l lb i t s a r ea v a i l a btloe b o r et h ep i l o th o l e a s n dc o u n t e r s itnhke mi n a s i n g l es t e p a , s i m p l ea l t e r n a t i ivset o u s et w od i f f e r e n t -
sizedbits.Startwitha bitslightly widerthanthebaseof the fastener; wrapa lengthof tapearound the bit to markthe desired depth-slightly moreihanthelength of thefastener b a s eD. r i l al s e r i eosf c o u n t e r s ihnok l e tso t h ea p p r o p r i a t e depth, spacing theholes about5 inches apart. Theninstall a bitslightly smaller thanthefastener shank to drillthepilot h o l e sM . a r kt h ea p p r o p r i adteep t hw i t hm a s k i nt ga p et,h e n borethe holeshbovd.
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Instal Iingthefasteners lf youwishto moveyourcabinets (orif your fromonekitchen to another cabinets arelarge andyouintend to disassemble thembefore transporting them t o t h ei n s t a l l a t isoint e )s, i m p l dy r i v ea fastener in eachpredrilled hole(lefil.fhe fasteners canberemoved laterandthe cabinets knocked downforeasytransport.lf youwantto install yourcabinets permanently, thenremove theclamps andapplyglueto themating edges of the before driving the fasteners. loints
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SHELVINGANDSTORAGE /l ooksseldomcomplainabouthavin their U ingtoo muchstorigespace pots,cans,spice kitchens.Appliances, racks,cookbooks, anddishesall seemto conspireto fill everynookandcrannyof available space.Efficientshelvingand storagedevicescancreatea surprising amount of spacesimply by keeping things organized.For example,the heightof adjustable shelves(below)can
Fromtowelracksto slide-outgarbage storbins,therearemanycommercial to agedevices on themarketdesigned reducetimespentrummagingin lower Thephotoat leftshowsslidecabinets. out shelvingmountedon drawerslides.
be changedto accommodate differentsizeddry goodsor dishes. Cornercabinetsareparticularlyproneto wasting valuablespace;itemsat theverybackof suchcabinets tendto beforgotten.A lazy Swan(page42)is an elegantsolutionto this problem: Its two round shelves rotatearounda centralshaft,makingall the contentsreadilyaccessible. Applianceclutteris anothercommon kitchencomplaint.Certainappliances that seefrequentuse,suchastoasters, coffeemakers,andblenders,oftencrowd the countertop.An appliancebaywith a slidingtambour door (page40)providesa tidy placeto keepthesekitchen pluggedin andout ofsight, conveniences vet easilvaccessible.
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holesforthesleeves 1 Drilling requires twoparallel rowsof holes to be I Adjustable shelving jig drilledin thesidepanels of thecabinet case.Thecommercial and shown above allowsyouto boreholesat 1-inchintervals ensures thatcorresponding holeswillbeperfectly aligned. Seta sidepanelinside{ace upon a worksurface andclampthejig to fromthe of thepanel; theholescanbeanydistance theedges paneledges, butabout2 inchesin wouldbebestforthepanels Fityourdrillwitha bitthesamediameter asthesleeves shown.
andinstall a stopcollar to markthedrilling depthequalto the sleeve lengh.Starting at eitherendof oneof thejig'srails,place theappropriate bushing in thefirstholeof thebushing carrier. (Thebushing keeps thebit perfectly square to theworkpiece.) Holding borethehole.Drilla series thedrillandcarrier, of evenly holesalongbothrails.Remove spaced thejig andrepeat forthe positioning othersidepanel of thecase, carefully thejigsothe holes willbealigned withthosein thefirstpanel.
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ljlrlllllltlllllllllllll llltllllilllllllill]lll1 |llrfil]rll1 llliilllrll1 5HO?TI? A ohop-madeshelf drillinqjiq IheT-ehaped jiq ohownaN riqhlwillallow you Noborea row of evenlyopaced holeeae accuratelyae jig. Make a commercial Nhejiq from 1-by-3stock, beinqcarefullo screwIhe fenceand arm togeLheraNa perfect90" angle.Marka linedown lhe centerof the arm and boreholes wilh the alonqit at 2-inchinNervale samebiLyou wouldusefor thread' uset.he ed sleeves.To 1iq,clampiLto a
oidepanelwith lhe fencebuLtedagainel,.: e i t h e re n d o l t h e o a n e la n d t h e m a r k e d Y
centerline2 inchesin from ite edge. FiNyourdrillbil with a otoVcollar,boreNhe holee,and,repooition Nhejiq for eachnewrow.
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r) Mounting thesleeves andsupports Z. To install thethreaded sleeves withthem,usea sleeve-setting outdamaging Place a sleeve ontheendofthe ounch. punchandpushthesleeve firmlyinto oneof theholesin a sidepanel(above). intoeachholeyouhave Insert a sleeve into drilled, thenscrew shelfsupports at eachdesired shelflocatron. thesleeves
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BUILDING ANAPPLIANCE BAY slats 1 Millingtambour I Startbycuttingthetambour stockto size;makethe lengthof thestockequalto thewidthof thetambour door plus% inch.Thenplane thestockto a thickness equalto %to I inch.Mill thedesired widthof theslats; typically of the theslatsin threesteps(right).First,jornttheedges rounding overbit to shape stock(,4).Next,usea Yo-inch thetwolongedgesof the stockon yourroutertable(B). Finally, ripa /o-to %-inch-thick stripfromeachedgeto makethefirsttwoslats(C);usea pushstickto keepyour Jointthestockagain, then fingers awayfromtheblade. slatsto repeat the lasttwostepsuntilyouhaveenough height of theslats makethetambour door.Thecombined morethantheheightof thedoor should total2 or3 inches opening. Trimalltheslatsto length.
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t I r') Gluing theslatsto a backing fortheslats.Stretch Z tlr" lightweight canvas as backing overa pieceof melamine andpullit taut,smooththecanvas i n go u ta l l t h ew r i n k l e sS.e c u r iet i n p l a c ew i t hs t a p l e sT.o helpalignthe slats,screwthreeboards to the plywood to f o r ma U - s h a p ej idg .T h ed e v i c e s h o u l db e a sw i d ea st h e s l a t sa r el o n ga n dp e r f e c tsl yq u a r eS.l i d ea l l t h es l a t si n t o
placethenscrewa fourthboardto closethetop of thejig. R e m o vt eh es l a t sa n da p p l ya n e v e nc o a to f w h i t eg l u et o thecanvas. Gluetheslatsbackin placehbovd,thenweight themdownto geta goodbond.Letthe assembly dryovern i g h tU . n s c r etwh ej i g a n dt r i mt h ee x c e scsa n v aw s i t ha s h a r ok ni f e .
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-) Routins track thetambour < bottom of the panel, r.,l Starting at the shape of the tambour door drawthedesired s i d e s F . a s hion t r a c ko n o n eo f t h ec a s e l i n a t e m o l a tteh a tc o o i etsh ei n s i d e eo f thistrack.Place thetemplate atopthecase s i d ea, l i g n i ni g t w i t ht h et r a c k 'isn s i d e l i n e .I n s t aal lt o p - p i l o t fel u d s ht r i m m i n g thediameter of thebit bit in yourrouter; s h o u lb d e% ui n c hg r e a t et hr a nt h et h i c k n e s so f t h ed o o rS . e tt h er o u t eor nt h e template andadjustthecuttingdepthto p o v eu;s es h i m s m a k ea / a - i n c h - d eger o pattern underthe if necessary. Routthe pressed track(right), keeping thebearing p a t t e r n a g a i n st ht e t h r o u g h otuhtec u t . Toroutthetambour trackin theoooosite overandrepeat. caseside,turnthepattern
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Installing thedoor youcan Oncethesidesareprepared
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a s s e m b lteh e c a s ef o r t h e a p p l i a n c e bay. M a k et h e w i d t ho f t h e c a s ee q u a tl o t h e l e n g t ho f t h e s l a t sp l u st h e t h i c k n e sos f t h e s i d e s ,l e s st h e c o m b i n e d e p t ho f . l s oa d d X ui n c ht o g i v et h e t h e g r o o v e s( A ) o t et h a tt h e a p p l i a n c e d o o ra b i t o f p l a y . N b a yh a sn o t o p o r b o t t o m ;i t i s d e s i g n e d to fit between t h e c o u n t e r t o ap n d u p p e r c a b i n e ta, n dt h e l a c ko f a b o t t o mp a n e l m a k e si t e a s i etro s l i d et h e a p p l i a n c ien a n do u t .T o i n s t a ltlh e t a m b o udr o o r t, i l t t h e c a s eo n t oi t s b a c k t, h e ns i m p l ys l i d e the doorfromthe bottom(/eft).The bottom o f t h e d o o rw i l l r e s to n t h e c o u n t e ar n d i t sw e i g hw t i l l h o l di t u p w h e no p e n e d , t h e r e f o rneo s t o p so r l a t c h e sa r er e q u i r e d .
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thepivotpoint 1 Finding I A lazySusan's traysrotatearounda centralpostscrewed to thetopandbottomof a cornercabinet. To locatethe pivotpointof theshaft,placeoneof the trayson the floorof the cabinetand clears the adjustit soitscircumference twobackpanels byabout1 inch.Slidea pencilin thetray'sshaftholeandtrace mayprovide a circle.(Themanufacturer a positioning template to makethisstep Thenusea framing square to easier.) locatethe pointin thecirclethatis the fromeachbackpanel samedistance hbovd.Thisis thepivotpoint.Transfer thesemeasurements to thetoppanelor the nailerif thecabinethasnotop.
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r') Centering thepivotbrackets I Center the lowerpivotbracketonthe pivotpoint(right),then screwthehardware in place. Turnthecabinet upside down to installthe upperbracket. andrepeat
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r') Installing thepostandtrays I Forthemodelof lazySusanshown, the postconsists of twotelescoping rodsthatareextended to fit thecabinet oncethetraysareslidin place. Slidethe lowertrayontothe post(rnset), followed bythecolletanduppertray.Placethe postin the bottompivotbracket, then extendtherodupward soitstopfitsinthe upperpivotbracket. Tighten thelocking Next,positionthe uppertrayat screw. height the desired andmarkits location onthepost.Liftthetrayandalignthetop of thecolletwiththemark.Tighten the colletin place(above), thenlowerthe upper trayintoposition.
5HO7Tt? 5lide-out shelves thelveethat elideoul of a aabinet not onlyreduceback eNrainandlime soenN rummaqin4 thr ou4h Iower cabinern,thay aleoincrea* usable atoraqe epace.To keeplhe aonlente of lhe shelvesfrom elidinqoff,qlue edqinqotripa cut from 5/+inch hardwoodetockto Nhe shelfsides and ende.lneLall bottom-mountedshelf slidesa6 you wouldfor a drawer (paAeO7).
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THE CABINETS ASSEMBLING of { l.you havecut thecomponenents .l-yourcabinets assembling accurately, task. them will be a straishtforward Whilethe procedurishown0n pages 46-47is basedon biscuitjoints,gluing andclampingis identicalfor mostother ioinervmethods. Ifyour cabinets do not havesidesthat extendbelowtheir bottompanels,you willneedto installlegs to supportthem. Commerciallevelerlegs (below)are quicklyboltedin placeandallowyouto installa levelrun of cabinetson an uneveufloor.Theyalsoaccommodate a bracketfor a clip-onkickplate.
Hidingtheedges of nelantirteorplywoodcabinets isessettial for crclean, professional look.Heren lantinote trintmercttssolidwoodedging flush Forntore with thesidesof a cabinet. seepages48-49. on edgetreatntents,
ADJUSTABLE LEGS INSTALLING D r i l l i n hg o l e sf o rt h el e gb o l t s 1 I P o s i t i o tnh e l e s so n t h e c a b i n e b t ott o m ss ot h a tw h e nt h e k i c k p l a ties c l i p p e d o n t ot h e f r o n tl e g s@ a g e1 0 4 ) , i t w i l l b e i n s e tf r o mt h e c a b i n e t ' fsr o n te d g eb y a b o u t4 i n c h e sT. h e l e g ss h o u l da l s ob e s e t i n f r o mt h e s i d e so f t h e c a b i n e bt y t h e s a m ea m o u n tT. h es i m p l el i p p e dj i g s h o w n a t r i g h tw i l l h e l py o u b o r et h e h o l e sf o r t h e l e g b o l t si n e x a c t l yt h e s a m ep l a c e o n a l l c a b i n e t sT. o m a k et h e j i g , s c r e w t w o o i e c e so f l - i n c h - s o u a rset o c kt o o n e c o r n eo r f a p i e c eo f p l y w o o dM. a r ka l i n e 4 i n c h e sp l u st h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e k r c k p l a t ef r o mt h e i n s i d ee d g eo f e a c hl i p , d h e r et h e t h e nd r i l la h o l ei n t h e p l y w o ow l i n e si n t e r s e c M t . a k et h e h o l e sf o r t h e l e g s b y h o l d i n tgh ej i g i n p o s i t i oann dd r i l l i n g a h o l ei n e a c hc o r n e o r f t h e c a b i n ebt o t tom panel (right).
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r) Attaching thelegbases L tav the bottompanelface-down on a worksurface. lnserta boltwitha washer t h r o u gohn eo f t h e h o l e sy o ud r i l l e di n oneof the theprevious step,andthread legbases ontothebolt.Holding thebase facesthefront sothatits roundsurface of the cabinet(right), tightenthe bolt Theninstall snugly. theotherlegbases.
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Inserting thelegs Thef inalstepisto insert thelegs in the bases. Thetypeof leveler leg grooves shown at lefthasmatching and place ridges. Simply thelegin thebase a n dp u s hd o w nl i g h t l w y h i l et u r n i n g untilit snaps intoplace. Thelegheight canthenbeadjusted whenthecabinet is installed @age104).
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THECABINETS ANDCLAMPING GTUING
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'l Assembling thefirstcorner sidesface-up I Layoneof thecabinet gluein eachbisinsert ona worksurface, c u i ts l o t ,a n da d dt h ec o r r e c t - s i zbei sdbiscuits, cuits.Applyglueto theexposed bottom ontotheside thenfit thecabinet p a n em l , a t c h i nt hgeb i s c u i tasn ds l o t s .
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t r) Adding thenailers panelin place with L non thebottom a 9 0 " c l a m po r a c o m b i n a t ioofnh a n d in thenext asshown screws andclamps s t e pA . p p l yg l u ei n t h es l o t sf o rt h er e a r nailers andplace thebisandcountertop gluetothenailers Apply cuitsintheslots. end cpi thpm
in nlarp
lnqpri 2 qn2apr
betweenthe rearnailersto createa gap b e t w e etnh e t w o t h a t w i l l a l l o wy o ut o slidethe backinto place(step4). Clamp the assemblytogelher(rrght).
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thesecond side Q Installing r-,, Applyglueto theexposed edgesof panelandthenailers. thebottom Insert t h eb i s c u i t tsh, e ns e tt h es e c o nsdi d e (/eft). panelatoptheassembly
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Clamping thecabinet W i t ht h e c a b i n est t i l lo n i t s s i d e , s l i d ei t s ot h a to n ee d g ee x t e n d os f f t h e w o r ks u r f a c eR. e m o v teh e 9 0 " c l a m p holding t h e b o t t o ma n d i n s t a l al b a r c l a m pa c r o s tsh e f r o n to f t h e c a b i n e t , . epeat a l i g n i nrgtw r t ht h e b o t t o mp a n e l R t h i s n r o c e d r rtroe s e c r r rteh e r e s to f t h e c a s eY . o uw i l ln e e df r v eb a rc l a m p st:w o for the casebottomand oneeachfor the t w o c o u n t e r t onpa i l e r sa n d u p p e rr e a r n a i l e rP r o t e ct th e s i d en a n e l sw i t hw o o d p a d sp; l a c ea l - i n c hw o o dc h i p u n d e r t h e b o t t o mp a d st o f o c u ss o m eo f t h e pressure m i d w a yb e t w e e nt h e e d g e so f p a n e lM . a k es u r ea l l e d g e sa r ef l u s h the a n d c h e c kt h e c a b i n efto rs q u a r eb e f o r e t i g h t e n i ntgh e c l a m p sF. i n a l l ys,e tt h e a s s e m b loyn t h e f l o o ra n ds l i d et h e b a c k panel into post|on(righil.
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W(IODEDGING SOLID 1 Makingthe edging I M a k es o l i dw o o de d g i n gb y r i p p i n gi t f r o ma p i e c eo f s t o c ks l i g h t l yt h i c k e rt h a n y o u rc a b i n e pt a n e l st;h i sw t l l a l l o wy o u t o t r i m i t f l u s ha f t e ri n s t a l l a t i oPn l.a n ea l e n g t ho f h a r d w o osdt o c ks u c ha s m a p l e o r o a kt o t h e d e s i r e dt h i c k n e s sS. e t t h e r i p f e n c eo n y o u rt a b l es a wt o c u t a % i n c h { h i c ks t r i p .F e e dt h e w o r k p i e cien t o the blade(left),keeptnglight pressure a g a i n st th e f e n c ef;i n i s ht h e c u t w i t ha s f e d g i n gf o r p u s hb l o c k R . i pf o u rp i e c e o e a c hc a b i n e tc, u t t i n gt h e ms l i g h t l yl o n g e r t h a nt h ec a b i n e t .
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r) Installing the edging L Vttt",the stripsal a 45'angleon each e n d .T r i mt h e e d g i n gt o f i t a sy o ui n s t a lilt . F i r c t e r r t tL h' ' p o o fnr the lonsest sides I rb v vvd 6rsin
. pread t f t h e c a b i n e tS t o t h e e x a c th e i g h o a t h i n b e a do f g l u eo n t h e m a t i n gs u r f a c e s , t ith a n df a s t e nt h e e d g i n gt o t h e c a b i n ew r f i n i s h i n gn a i l sa n da n a i lg u n ( r i g h t ) o a h a m m e rl .f y o ua r eu s i n ga h a m m e rd, r i l l p i l o th o l e sf o rt h e n a i l st o a v o i ds p l i t t i n g . u tt h e t o p a n d b o t t o mp i e c e s t h ew o o d C s l i g h t l yl o n g etrh a nt h e w i d t ho f t h e c a b i n e t ,t h e nt r i m t h e m u n t i lt h e yf i t . G l u e a n dn a i lt h e mi n p l a c e F. i n a l l yt r, i mt h e e d g i n gf l u s hw i t h t h e c a b i n e tu s i n ga rouler (photo,page 44).
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EDGE BANDING C()MMERCIAT edgebanding commercial 1 Applying is another I Commercial edgebanding method of hiding theedges of melamine; your a colorthatmatches simplychoose Thecommercial edge-banding cabinets. at rightworksbyfeeding the unitshown panelalonga fence;an adjustable heater justbefore it adhesive meltsthebanding's contacts theedgeof the panel.Practice onsomescrapstockuntilyoufinda temoerature andfeedratethatworkswell. butmoretime-consuming An inexpensive is to installcommercial edge alternative b a n d i nogny o u rc a b i n e tuss i n ga n i r o n sureyoudo not seton highheat,making letthe ironrestin oneplace.
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r') Trimming theedgesofthebanding around Z nttneends,pushthebanding thecorner withthef latsideof a chisel t o b r e a ki t c l e a n l yt h, e nc u t i t o f f w i t h a d o w n w asr dl i c eo f t h ec h i s e lU . s ea n edgetrimmer to trimtheedges. Themodel features twospring-mounted razor shown %e cutters andcanfit anypanelbetween a n d1 i n c ht h i c k P . l a c teh et r i m m eorn t h ee d g eo f t h e p a n eal t o n ee n da n d squeeze thetwoedges together, thenpullit alongthe edge(left). slowlyandsmoothly Youcanalsousea wide,verysharpchisel forthejob.Holdthetoolflatto thepanel, 4 5 " t o t h ee d g ea, n dm o v ea l o n gi n a for eachsideof the singlestroke-one panel. witheither or a Finish sandpaper flushedge. smooth filefora perfectly
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FACEFRAMES I faceframeis a solidwoodfronting Face Aapplied to kitchencabinets. in facttheyare framesarenot essential; noticeablyabsenton European-style cabinets,whose concealed,microadjustablehingesmakeit possibleto coverthe install doorsthat seamlessly entire cabinet front. However,face framescanadd a traditionallook to a Europeankitchen.
Whenlayingout a faceframe,remember to add an extra Yrinchto any stile positionednextto a wall;thiswill allow you to scribeand trim the stileif the wall is out-of-plumb.If the cabinethas drawers,you will alsorequiredividers betweenthem. If your cabinetsfeature doorsand drawers,cockfully recessed (page 53)canadda subtle,decbeading orativetouch.
Faceframescanbejoined in a numberof ways,includingpockpockethole et holes,biscuits,and dowels.Here,a commercial cutterboresa holein a faceframe rail. Pocketholescanalsobe usedto attachthefaceframe to thecabinet;besureto cut them. theholesin thecasesidesand railsbeforeassembling
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'l Drilling holes I U s ea d o w e l i nj iggt o d r i l lh o l e fso r The in thefaceframemembers. dowels the modelshownat rightnotonlyaligns butalsoholds holes in bothrailsandstiles, perpendicular to thewood thebitexactly instrucFollow themanufacturer's surface. of tionsto setupthejigforthethickness thefaceframestock,thenadjustthejigto fromeither about1/,inchin drilltwoholes thebushing Insert endofoneof thestiles. intothe thedoweldiameter thatmatches b u s h i ncga r r i eor f t h e1 i g a, n da t t a c ha colletto thedrillbitandadlustit to bore thanhalfthelength a holeXutnchdeeper (Allow of forthethickness of ihedowels. thismeawhenmaking theligandbushing a stileinyourworkbench Clamp surement.) a n dp l a c et h ej i g o nt h es t i l ea, l i g n i nigt Setthe withoneendof theworkpiece. holein in theappropriate carrier bushing t h ed o w e l i nj igg .H o l d i ntgh el i g s t e a d y , . e p e at ot d r i l lt h es e c o n d d r i l lt h eh o l eR hole,thenboretheholesat theopposite e n do f t h es t i l e i,n b o t he n d so f a l l r a i l s (right), andin anyinsidestilesthatalso require dowelholes.
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r") Insefting thedowels railsand in thedrawer L lnsert dowels stiles. first,thenintheouter inside stiles clamptheappropriate Toinsert thedowels, glue spread to yourbench, framemember thentapit home ononeendofthedowel, theframe witha mallet(/efil.Assemble (page53).
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I I I STAND PLATE J(IINER reduce To thesetuptimeneeded face to cut slotsfor biscuit-jointed joiner your plate in a mount frames, like the one shown shop-made stand at left. Buildthe jig from3/q-inch plywood, except forthebarrelsupport,whichshouldbesolidwood. forsuggestReferto the illustration eddimensions. to the Screw thehandle support thenattachthehandlebrackbase, themto fit yourtool. ets,spacing joinerresting plate upside Withthe support, butt downonthehandle against themotor thebarrelsupport housing andtracetheoutlineof the barrelon the stock.Cutor borea holeforthebarrel, thensawthesupportin twoacross itswidth,through the thecenterof the hole.Screw bottompartto thebaseandfit the otherhalfon top.Boreholesfor hanger boltsthrough thetoponeach thendrivethe sideof theopening, boltsintothebottomof the hanger Forquickinstallation and support. removal of thetool,usewingnuts together. to holdthetwohalves Screw theauxiliary tableto the (lt fixed-angle fenceof thejoiner. maybenecessary to drillholesin thefenceto acceptthescrews.) secure thejoiner Tousethestand, in it, thenclampthebaseto a work surface. Setthefenceat thecorrect heightand,forrepeat cuts,clampstop totheauxiliary tableto center blocks onthecutterwheel.To theworkoiece f lat cut a slot,puttheworkpiece the on thetableandbuttedagainst joiner's thenturnonthe faceplate, toolandpushthestockandthetable towardthe culter(\eft,belowl
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THEFACE FRAME ASSEMBTING C l a m p i nugpt h ef r a m e A s s e m b lteh e f r a m ew o r k i n gf r o mt h e m i d d l eo u t w a r dg, l u i n gu p a n yd r a w e r r a i l sa n d i n s i d es t i l e sf i r s t .I n t h e f r a m e s h o w na t r i g h t ,s t a r tb y g l u i n gt h e i n s i d e s t i l et o t h e t w of a c ef r a m er a i l s .A p p l y g l u et o t h e e x p o s e d o w e l st h e n p u s h t h e r a i l si n t op l a c eT. i g h t e nt h e a s s e m b l yw i t h a b a rc l a m p .N e x t ,s p r e a ds o m e g l u eo n t h ed o w e l isn t h e r a i l sa n di n s t a l l t h e o t h e rs t i l e st;i g h t e nt h e mi n p l a c ew i t h . h e c kt h e a s s e m b l y t w om o r eb a rc l a m p sC f o r s q u a r eb y m e a s u r i nagc r o s st h e t w o d i a g o n a l s( r i g h t ) . I h e ys h o u l db e e q u a l . l f n o t ,p l a c ea b a rc l a m pa c r o s tsh e l o n g e r d i a g o n aal n dt i g h t e ni t u n t i l t h ef r a m e issquare.
INSTATLING C()CKBEADING 'l
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Making cockbeading I Makecockbeading asyoumadesolid woodedging(page48), rippingY,incht h i c ks t r i p sf r o ma p i e c eo f h a r d w o o d stock%inchthicker thanthethickness of thefaceframe. Toroundovertheoutinstall a /,sideedgeof thecockbeading, inchcanoe beadbit in a router andinstall . a i s teh eh e i g hot f t h et o o li n a t a b l eR onthestock,and thebitsoit is centered a d j u stth ep o s i t i oonf t h ef e n c et o j u s t Attach behind thecutter. a featherboard to thetableto holdthestockagainst the fence, andclamptwomorefeatherboards t o t h ef e n c eo n e i t h esr i d eo f t h eb i tt o prevent thestockfromliftingup.(lnthe has illustration, thefrontfeatherboard Withtheworkbeenremoved forclarity.) piecelyingf latonthetable,feedit into t h e b i t ( / e f f )f,i n i s h i ntgh ec u t w i t ha pushstick.Ripthecockbeading to width a n dt h e nc u t i t t o l e n g t hm , i t e r i ntgh e endsat 45".
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Installing thecockbeading Dryfit thecockbeading strips;pare o r n t sw i t ha c h i s e lL. a yt h e a n yi l l - f r t t i nj g f r a m eo n a f l a t s u r f a c eS . p r e a ds o m e g l u eo n t h e o u t s i d ef a c eo f a s t r i po f c o c k b e a d i nagn d p o s i t i o ni t o n t h e f r a m e , a l i g n i n tgh e b a c ke d g e so f t h e t w o .D r i v e i n f i n i s h i n ng a i l sw i t ha h a m m eor r a n a i r nailer (lefil.
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INSTALLING THEFACE FRAME Attaching thefaceframeto thecasework A p p l ys o m eg l u et o t h e e d g e so f t h e c a b i n e t .P l a c et h e f a c ef r a m ei n o o s i t i o a nn d a l i g ni t w i t ht h e t o p , b o t t o ma, n ds i d e so f t h e c a b i n e tI.n t h e i l l u s t r a t i oant r i g h t ,t h e r i g h ts i d eo f t h e f r a m eo v e r h a n gt hse c a b i n e t ;t h i s i s t o a l l o wt h e s t i l eo f t h e f a c e frameto be trimmedto fit the profileof the wall (page104). Fastenthe faceframe in p l a c ew i t ha f i n i s h i n n g a i le v e r y4 - 6 i n c h e s .
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CASEWORK
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Usingscrewsandwoodplugs l f y o ua r ei n s t a l l i nygo u rf a c ef r a m e s w i t h s c r e w sc, o u n t e r b o rt eh e f a s t e n e r s a n d c o v e rt h e i rh e a d sw i t h w o o dp l u g s . P o s i t i otnh e f r a m ei n p l a c ea sy o uw o u l d f o r f a c e - n a i lni g ( p a g e5 4 ) . d r i l l a n d c o u n t e r b o sr ec r e wh o l e st,h e nd r i v et h e
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borea rowof Vluqetrothe depLhyou require.Coverthe rowwith a oLripof m a s k i nN q a p e , I h e rni p t h e p l u g eL o lenqLhon r,hebandeaw.)imply peeloff Lhet,aVeLo removeLhe rowof pl,tge.
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i n s t a lal n l u pc r r t t etrh e s a m ed r a m e t e r a st h e c o u n t e r b o r h eo d l e si n y o u rd r i l l p r e s sC . h o o s i nsgo m ew o o dt h a t m a t c h e s t h e f r a m es t o c kf o r g r a i na n dc o l o r , b o r ea s m a n yp l u g sa s y o u n e e di n t h e slock (above,left).Prythe plugsfree w i t h a s c r e w d r i voer n a r r o wc h i s e l (. S e e t h e S h o pT i p a t l e f tf o r a n a l t e r n a t p er o p l u g s , g i n s t a l l t h e cedure.)To apply lue i n t h e h o l e t, h e nt a pt h e p l u gi n p l a c e . T r i mt h ee x c e sw s i t ha c h i s e lH . olding t h e c h i s e lb e v e l - s i duep o n t h e f r a m e , remove the wastein f ineshavings bbove, r i g h t ) u n t i l t h e p l u g i s p e r f e c t l yf l u s h . T h i sw i l l p r o d u c ae m u c hc l e a n esru r f a c et h a n i f t h e p l u gw e r es a n d e df l u s h .
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DOORS
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themost Considerations of styleshouldnot f abinetdoorsarearguably important single decorative feature cloud the need for \-r durability.Kitchen kitchen. They first item hard of a arethe to doorswork and.sincewoodis proneto swellingandwarping,solid greettheeyeand,because theyareusuallysonumerous, canalsobethemost doorssuchasboard-and-batten doors impressive. Thestyle,finish,andconshouldonlybeinstalled on smallcabistructiondeserve carefulattention. nets.Frame-and-panel, veneered-panel, Once.cabinetmakers wereconcerned andglass doorsarebetterableto accomprimarilywith buildingsimple,sturdy modatewoodmovement caused bvflucdoorsthatwouldstandup to thepuntuationsin heatandhumidity.'Also, ishmentmetedoutto themin dailyuse. A braddriversecures a strip of molding differentdoorsrequiredifferentdegrees Formcertainlyfollowedfunctionby a to theframeof a kitchencabinetdoor of precisionwhenbuildingthem.A widemargin;kitchen cabinets, andespesandwiching a centralpaneof glass flush-mounted door,forexample, iscut ciallytheirdoors,werethemostutilibetvveen themoldingand a rabbetcut to closetolerances; anerrorasslightas tarianof furniture.Butgonearethedays into theinsideedgeof theframe.For Zuinchcansooilthelookof anotherof one-style-fits-all kitchens.Today, moreon buildingglassdoors,seepage69. wisefinelyeiecutedcabinet.Overlay homeowners carefirllyconsider theperidoors,ontheotherhand,donotrequire odandsryleof theirdwellings beforedetermining thedecorof thesameprecision astheyexceed thesizeof theiropenings. Advances particutheirkitchens. Someof thepossibilities areshownin thelayout in themanufacturing of doorhardware, AndDesignchapter(page16). larlyhinges, havegreatlyimproved boththeappearance of cabOncethebasicchoiceismade,doorstylecanbearrivedat. inetdoorsandtheease of mountingthem(page 73).Classic or Perhaps it is a basicboard-and-batten door (page60)for a antique-sryle doorsmaystillbehungfromsuchdecorative and countrycottage. Anfuts andCraftsbungalow mightdemand attractive fasteners assurface-mounted hingesthatcomein panes finerwork,withdoorsfeaturing glass setin glazing bars polishediron or brassfinishes. Otherhingeoptionsinclude (page70).Mosthomeowners will probablyprefertraditional thesimplebutefficient butthinge(page 76)forflush-mount(page frame-and-panel doors 62).Butevenheretherearevari- ed doors,andthe pianohingefor cornercabinetdoors. (page European-style ations,suchasarchedpanel(page67),veneered.panel cuphinges(page7a)havevirtuallybecome (page paneldoors 68),andglass 69).Thischapter introduces thestandard hardware for melaminekitchencabinets. Not fivedoorstyles andthesteps to buildingeach,soyoucanpro- onlyaretheseversatile hingesfully concealed; theyarealso ducedoorsthatwill lendcharacter to yourkitchen. simpleto installandeasilyadjustable.
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Theversatile Europeancuphingecanbeusedto hanga varietyofkitchencabinetdoors.In thephotoat left,afull overlay door is beingmountedon a faceframe frame-and-panel cabinet.Thedoor canbeadiustedor removedwith ease.
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A GALLERYOF CABINETDOORDESIGNS 1rl f thefourdoortypesshownbelow \-/ andon thefollowingpage,all but door arebuilt the board-and-batten The techniques. usingframe-and-panel door (page60)is a board-and-batten solidpaneldoor featuringa seriesof plankswith rabbetededgesheldtogeththebackof across erby battensscrewed aneldoors(page the door.Frame-and-p 62) fearvea panelthat floatswithin a frame composedof rails and stiles or assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints.Thefloatingpancope-and-stick el in thecenterofthe doorcanberaised effect.Therails or shaoedfor decorative and stileshavean integratedmolding
cut into them;foraddedembellishment you canalsocut an archor curveinto theupperrailandpanel. Veneered-panel doors(page68) feasheet turea panelmadefrom veneered stockthat is gluedto the frame.To concealthe platejoints betweenthe paneland the frame,rabbetsarecut into the insideedgesof the frameat doors(page69) the back.Glass-panel door a frame-and-panel areessentially with a paneof glassreplacinga floating panel.The pieceof glasssitsin rabbetscut alongthe edgesof the frame.It is held in placeby stripsof molding.A variationof theglasspanel
door featuresglazingbarsthat hold smallerpanesin place(page70).Iorned by miteredhalf-laps,the glazingbars haverabbetscut alongtheirbackedges the glassand glassto accommodate stopmolding. Althougha door is alwaysmadeto fit its cabinet,it doesnot alwayshaveto be sizedexactlyto fit its opening,asshown page. in theillustration on theopposite and full-recess doors Flush-mounted to construct canbe time-consuming required because ofthe fine tolerances to fit andhangthemproperly.Theyare particularlyunsuitablefor board-andbattendoors,as thesedoorstend to
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expandand contractwith changes in humidity.Full-overlay or lip-rabbeted doorsareeasierto make.A full-overlay doorcoverstheentirewidth of thecabinet,whilea lip-rabbeted doorhasrabbetscut aroundits outsideedgesat the backsothat only a part of its thickness is exposed. Oneof themostcommonlyuseddoors is the onetypicallyusedfor Europeanstylecabinets-apieceof laminatedparticleboardsuchasmelaminesimolvcut to size.Whileinexoensive andeisierto maintain,melaminedoorsneededge banding(pages48-49)to concealtheir non-laminated edses.
DOOR MOUNTING METH()DS
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BOARD.AND-BATTEND OORS T iketheirearlycolonialcounterparts, L moderncabinetmakers a seeking "country" look oftenturn to rusticor doors.Thesesimple board-and-batten but sturdydoorsconsistof rabbeted planksheld togetherby stripsor batacrosstheirbacks. tensofwood fastened batThemostcommonof thesefeatures tensscrewed to thebackof the door in battencontheformof aZ;thediagonal nectingthe two horizontalbattensat the too and bottom actsasa braceto strenghenthedoorandpreventsagging. Because theyaresolidpaneldoorsand will swelland shrink with changesin doorsare humidity,board-and-batten
oftenmountedon smallercabinetsas thebattens overlaydoors.In somecases, caninterferewith interiorshelving.One thebattensin dadoes solutionisto recess cut into thebackof thedoors.Another more elaboratemethodof bracinga dooristo rout a slidboard-and-batten ing dovetailacross thebackoftheboards. Routa matchingdovetailslidein thebatthemin placewith a sintens,andsecure glescrewin thecenterofthe door.
andcharm, Combiningrusticstrength doorsareidealfor board-and-batten in a countrykitchen. smallcupboards
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DOORS INBOARD.AND.BATTEN JOINTS USED
thiplap
Chamfered ahiplap
Beaded ahiplap
Double-beadedahiplap
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MAKING A BOARD-AND-BATTEN D()()R 'l
Cutting therabbets I I n s t a lal d a d oh e a dh a l fa s w i d ea s t h e s t o c kt h i c k n e sos n y o u rt a b l es a w . A t t a c ha n a u x i l i a rw y o o df e n c ea n d r a i s e t h e b l a d e tso c u t a n o t c hi n i t , t h e ns e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t - a g a i no n e - h a ltfh e t h i c k n e s so f t h e b o a r d sT. o s e c u r et h e w o r k p i e c e ,c l a m pt w o f e a t h e r b o a r d a sn d a s u p p o r tb o a r dt o t h e t a b l ea s s h o w n . U s i n ga p u s hs t i c k ,f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t o t h e b l a d e st,h e nf l i p t h e b o a r do v e ra n d repeatthe cut alongthe otheredge(left). T o a l l o wf o r w o o dm o v e m e n tc,r e a t ea s l i g h te x p a n s i ogna p b e t w e e n the boards a t t h e b a c ko f t h e d o o rb y r u n n i n go n e e d g eo f e a c hb o a r da c r o s tsh e j o i n t e r .
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r) Assembling thedool L C l a n pt h e d o o rt o g e t h ear n d p l a c ei t i n s i d e - f a cuep o n a w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e nc u t t w o b a t t e n ss l i g h t l ys h o r t e trh a nt h e w i d t ho f t h e d o o ra n d n a r r o w et h r a nt h e d o o rb o a r d sP. o s i t i o n the two piecesof woodacrossthe top and bottomof the assemb l ya s s h o w nT. h e nf i t a n e l e c t r i dc r i l l w i t ha c o m b i n a t i obni t a n d c o u n t e r b o rheo l e sf o r s c r e w sa n dw o o dp l u g sa t 2 - i n c h i n t e r v a las l o n gt h e b a t t e n sa, l t e r n a t i nbge t w e e tnh e t o p a n d b o t t o mo f e a c hb o a r d .M a k ec l e a r a n cheo l e se x c e o ti n t h e
6l
p l a c e sw h e r et h e s c r e ww i l l j o i nt h e b a t t e nt o a n o u t s i d ed o o r b o a r dT. h e n ,h o l d i n gt h e b a t t e ns q u a r et o t h e e d g eo f t h e d o o r , drivein eachscrew(above,left).Cuta third battento fit diago n a l l yb e t w e e tnh e t w o a l r e a d yi n p l a c ea n d s c r e wi t i n t o p o s i t i o n .T o c o n c e atlh e s c r e w sa, p p l ya d a bo f g l u et o t h e i rh e a d s , t h e ni n s e r nt l r r c si n t h e h o l e sT. a nt h e n l r r s si n o l a c ew i t ha woodenmallelhbove,right),then usea chiselto trim the prol e c t i n gs t u b sf l u s hw i t ht h e d o o rs u r f a c e .
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t to theeyeandstructurally p leasing dooris .L sound,theframe-and-panel the mostenduringand popularof all Because its panel cabinetdoor designs. floatsin a rigid frameof railsandstiles, the doorwithstands a frame-and-panel
swelling andshrinkingof woodbrought in humiditybetterthan on by changes anyothersolid-wooddoor.Theflexibility of its designallowsfor a widevarietyofattractiveoptions,suchasveneered panels(page68),glassdoors(page69),
andglazingbars(page70).Thetop rail of theframecanevenbearchedto softlinesofthedoorsand entherectangular (pnge67). adda touchofelegance The framederivesits considerable strengthfromthejoinerymethodsused Thissectioncovers in its construction. doorusing buildinga frame-and-panel joinerywith intemortise-and-tenon gratedmolding (page63)andcope-andstickjoints (page66).Beforestartingto door,however, builda frame-and-panel takecareto sizethestockproperly.Make thestilesequaltotheheightof thedoor opening;the railsshouldbe aslongas thewidthof thedoorplusthetrvotenons at eitherend-typicallyaboutZ inchminusthewidth of thestiles.
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oppearance Depending on thedesirecl door,thepanof afrane-and-panel canbentoldedtoJit el'sinsideedges in thegrooves of thef'arneor beveled "raise"thecertter onfour sidesto of thepanel.Irrthephotoat left,a panelis beingraisedwith an ogee panel-raisirtgbit on a routertable.
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MAKING A FRAME.AND-PANEL DOOR thetenoncheeks 1 Cutting I Install a dadoheadslightly widerthan thetenonlengthonyourtablesaw.Attach andnotchanauxiliary fence, thensetthe w i d t ho f c u te q u atlo t h el e n g t h ofthe tenonto sawthetenoncheeks; adjust the cutting height to about one-third thethicknessof thestock.Butting therailagainst thefenceandthemitergauge, feedthe stockfacedownintotheblades. Turnthe railoverandrepeat thecutontheother sideof thetenon.Thenrepeat theprocess at the opposite endof the rail (left)and wtththesecond rail.
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r) Gutting thetenonshoulders L to cutthetenonshoulders, setthe height of thedadoheadat about%inch. S t a n d i nt g h er a i lo n e d g ef l u s ha g a i n s t t h ef e n c ea n dm i t e rg a u g ef,e e dt h e workpiece intotheblades. Turntherail overandrepeaton the othersideof the t e n o nC . u tt h et e n o ns h o u l d ear st t h e o p p o s i teen do f t h e r a i lt h es a m ew a y (right).Repeat the process withthesecondrail.Toaddintegrated molding, f it a r o u t ewr i t ht h ea p p r o p r i abt iet ,m o u n t t h et o o li n a r o u t etra b l ea n dc u t a l o n g theinside edges of therailsandstiles.
Tenon ehoulder
Preparing therailsforglueup R e m o vteh e a u x i l i a rfye n c ea n dd a d o
h e a dI.n s t a al l c o m b i n a t ibolna d e and adjustitsangleto 45".Tosetthewidth of cut,marka lineonthemolded edgeof a railthesamedistance fromthetenon s h o u l d ae srt h em o l d i nwgi d t hA. l i g nt h e markwiththeblade whereit exitsthetable opening, thenbuttthefenceagainst the rail.Adjust theblade height untilonetooth justbeyond protrudes thetenonshoulder. Tomakethecuts,butttherailagainst the fenceandholdit flushagainst themiter gauge to feedit molded-edge downintothe blade. Repeat to cuttheotherendof the rail(left)andbothendsof thesecond rail.
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thestiles Preparing M a r ka l i n eo n t h e m o l d e de d g eo f
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eachstilethewidthof a railawayfrom Withthetablesaw theendof theboard. b l a d ea n g l e ad t 4 5 ' , a l i g nt h ec u t t i n g edgewiththemarkandcut intothemoldsothe adjust thecuttingheight ededge; themoldat thepointwhere cutf inishes ingendsandthefaceof thestilebegins. between Next,sliceoffthestripof molding the45' cutandtheendof thestilewith a bandsaw?iehil.
I I I I I I thecut edge f, Smoothing r , f O nt h e t a b l es a w ,a d j u s t h e r i p f e n c e s o t h e b l a d el i n e su p w i t ht h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e c u t y o u m a d ei n s t e p1 w h e nt h e s t i l ei s b u t t e da g a i n stth e f e n c e .H o l dt h e . lide s t i l ef l u s ha g a i n stth e m i t e rg a u g eS t h e s t o c kb a c ka n df o r t ha l o n gt h e m i t e r gaugeto smooththe cut edge(lefil.
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themortises trl Cutting in thestilesona drill L.f Cutthemortises press attachmortising usinga commercial and mark rail with each stile ment.Aligna mormortises. Install a ofthe theoutline and onyourdrillpress tisingattachment fence, centering the clampthestileto the and bit. under thechisel mortise outline deeper than depthslightly Setthedrilling a cut at each thenmake thetenonlength, out before boring the endof the mortise (right). wastein belween
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Three-wing alottinq cutter
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grooves forthepanel I Cutting / Assemble therailsandstiles. Then, protecting thestockwithwoodpads,use twobarclamps to holdtheframetogether securely. Fita router witha %-inch threewingslotting cutterandmountthetoolin a routertable.Remove thefenceandset theframeonthetable.Adjust thecutter height to placethegroove midway between the bottomof theframeandtheedgeof t h em o l d i n gG.r i p p l nt h g eb a rc l a m p s f irmly,butttheinsideedgeof theframe a g a i n st h t eb i t n e a o r n ec o r n e rt ,h e n rotateit against thedirection of bit rotationto cutthegroove alongtherailsand stiles(/eff,). Keeptheframef lat on the tableasyoufeedit intothe bit. Raise a panelto f it theframe(photo,page62), thendisassemble theframe.
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Gluing upthedoor Glueupa panel from%-inch{hick solidstockandcutit to s i z ea; d d i n g % i n c ht o e a c hs i d et o a l l o wt h ep a n etlo f i t t h e groove in theframe.Thenrouttheedges of the panelto producethe raisedcenter,asshownin the photoon page62. passes Makesuccessive untiltheedgeof thepanelfits intothe groove in theframe.To reduce tearout, routthetopandbottom edgesbefore routing thesides.Squeeze someglueintothe mortises in thestilesandonthetenoncheeks andshoulders at theendsof therails;alsoapplysomeadhesive onthecontactingsurfaces of themitercutsin therailsandstiles. Donotadd
grooves. anyglueto thepanel Then,assemble thedoorandset ontwobarclamps ona worksurface, aligning therailswiththe barsof theclamps. Tokeeptheclamps fromfalling over,prop eachoneon a notched woodblock.Protecting theframewith justenough woodpads, tighten theclamps to fullyclosethe joints(abovd,thenusea square to checkwhether thecorners o f t h ed o o a r r ea t r i g h a t n g l e sF.i n i s thi g h t e n i nt hgec l a m p s untilthegluesqueezes outof thejoints, checking occasionally thatthecorners remain square. 0ncethegluehasdried,usea cabinet scraper to remove anyremaining adhesive.
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JOINERY C()PE.AND-STICK
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r') Cutting thegrooves the L Unplucthe routerandreplace s t i c k i n bg i t c o p i n gb i t w i t ha p i l o t e d a sa s t i l ec u t t e rT. os e tt h e a l s ok n o w n cuitingdepth,butttheendof a completadjust the thestilecutter; ed railagainst is height of thebit untiloneof itscutters Alignthe levelwiththerailtongue(inset). fencewiththeedgeof thepilotbearing. theworkto secure Usetwofeatherboards pieceduring oneto the thecut:Clamp thebitandsecure router tableoooosite sideof thefence. theotherontheinfeed Makeeachcutwiththestockoutside-face pressing edgeof theworktheinside down, pieceagainst Usea push thefence(rtght). onthe thepass.Repeat stickto complete inside edees of allrailsandstiles.
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in therails tongues 1 Cutting jointprovides a I Thecope-and-stick andrailsin framemethod of joining stiles Tno.n g u ei n st h e a n d - p a nceol n s t r u c t i o in thestiles; the railsmeshwithgrooves forthe routerbit thatcutsthegrooves panelalsocarves in molding a decorative Tocutthe edges of theframe. theinside bit-the a piloted coping tongues, install r a i lc u t t e r - i ny o u rr o u t ear n dm o u n t . u t tt h ee n do f a t h et o o li n a t a b l e B r a i la g a i n st ht eb i ta n da d j u stth ed e p t h of cut sothatthetopof the uppermost c u t t e irs s l i g h t layb o v teh ew o r k p i e c e . to themiter Position thefenceoarallel gauge slotin linewiththeedgeof thebit e i t ha n e x t e n p i l o tF. i tt h em i t e rg a u g w faceof thestock sionandlaytheoutside f l a to nt h et a b l ek; e e pt h ee n d so f t h e buttedagainst andextension workpiece eachcut (left), the fencethroughout
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RAISING ANARCHED PANEL thearch 1 Raising I B a n d s atw h ep a n etlo s i z ea, d d i n g %inchoneachsideto allowtheoanel to fit thegroove in theframe.Install a panelraising bit in yourrouter andmountihe toolin a table,setting it fora shallow cut. Clampa free-standing bit guardto the t a b l ea, n da g u i d ee x t e n d i nf rgo mt h e infeedendof thetableto thebit'soilot (Donotusea fenceforthisoperbearing. ation,asyouwillneedto pivotthepanel beyond thebit.)Usingtheguideasa pivot point(right),pivotoneend of the arch i n t ot h e b i t a n ds t a r tr o u t i n tgh ea r c h , k e e p i ntgh e p a n efll u s hw i t ht h e p i l o t bearing throughout thecut.Makeseveral passes onthearch,raising thebit %inch at a timeuntilthepanelf itsthegroove in theframe.
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Raising thesides T o r a i s et h es i d e sa n de n do f t h e panel,usethesamesetupor remove the guideandbitguardandinstall a fenceon yourrouter table.Lower thebitto a shallow c u t t i n dg e p t hT. h e nh, o l d i ntgh ep a n e l f latonthetable,feedit intothe bit with yourrighthandandpressit flatagainst theguidewithyourlefl (left).Repeat for theothersideandtheendof theoanel. Makeas manypasses as necessary for thepanelto f it in thegrooves in theframe, raising thebit %inchat a timeandtestpasses. ingbetween Thenglueup the doorasyouwoulda regular frame-and(page65, step8). panelassembly
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VEENERED-PANEL D()()R 'l
Preparing theframepieces I R r pt h ef o u rf r a m ep i e c e tso w r d t ht,h e nc r o s s c ut ht e ms l i g h t l y r i t ha d e c o r a t i v e l o n g etrh a nt h e i rf i n i s h e dl e n g t hF . i t a r o u t ew m o l d i n gb i t , i n s t a ltlh e t o o li n a r o u t e tra b l e ,a n d r o u tt h e o u t s i d ee d g eo f e a c hf r a m ep i e c e .N e x t ,c u t a r a b b e ti n t h e b a c k . e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o e q u a tl h e f a c eo f e a c ho f f r a m ep i e c e S f es t o c k t h i c k n e sosf t h e p a n e lt;h e w i d t hs h o u l db e o n e - h a tl h t ost h e s a wt a b l et o s u p p o rtth e t h i c k n e s sC. l a m pf e a t h e r b o a r d r dn d w o r k p i e c eI n . sera t s h i mb e t w e e n t h e v e r t i c afle a t h e r b o a a off the rabbetedpartof the stock. the fenceto keepthe pressure Feedthe workpiece face up intothe dadoheadtight). CUIthe f r a m ep i e c e st o s i z e .m a k i n g4 5 " m i t e rc u t sa t e a c he n d .D r y a s s e m b lteh e f r a m e t, h e nc u t t h e p a n etl o f i t i t . M a r kt h e p a n e l e d g e sa n dt h e i rm a t i n gf r a m ep i e c e tso h e l py o uc o r r e c t lays s e m b l et h e d o o ra t t h et i m eo f g l u eu p .
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r) Cutting biscuit slotsintheframes . a ^
Assembling thedoor
C - C u tt h e p a n e tl o s i z ea n d m a r ka l i n ea c r o s tsh e p a n e al n d s b o u 4t i n c h e sf r o me a c he d g ea n d a t 6 - i n c h f r a m ep i e c e a i n t e r v a lisn b e t w e e nD. i s a s s e m bt h l ee d o o ra n dc l a m po n e f r a m ep i e c et o a w o r ks u r f a c ep, r o t e c t i ntgh e s t o c kw i t hw o o d n:dc Qpi tho nrnnor don+L ^{ ^ ^ '+ ^- ^ ^l^+^ ;^incr ihon qpi V u u J , r u L L r r uV r u p u r u u p L I l U l d L U L U l l d p l d L Uj u l , . - , . . . , - , , - - .
t h e t o o l ' sb a s ep l a t eo n t h e b o t t o mo f t h e r a b b e itn t h e f r a m e pieceS . e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h st o t h e s l o t sw i l l b e m a d ei n t h e m i d d l eo f t h e r a b b e t e p d o r t i o no f t h e f r a m e a , s s h o w nb y t h e r e dd o t t e dl i n e i n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o n W. i t ha s u p p o rbt o a r du n d e r t h e j o i n e rt o k e e pl t l e v e l a, l i g nt h e g u i d e l i noen t h e t o o l n a r k .H o l d i n g w i t ha s l o t l o c a t i o m t h el o i n e w r i t h b o t hh a n d s , cut a grooveat eachmark(abovd.Repeatfor the otherframe n i p c p q i h p n r ^ r r i.h. p. -m . . :.t*i n. .o, .col n t c ,i n t h p n : n p l t.h, p, -s a m ew a y .
O n c ea l l t h e s l o t sh a v eb e e nc u t , g l u eu p t h e d o o r .S e tt h e f r a m eo i e c e sa n dt h e o a n e fl a c e - d o wonn a c l e a nw o r ks u r f a c e a n ds q u e e zgel u ei n t oe a c hs l o t ,i n s e r t i nbgi s c u i tas sy o ug o . T o p r e v e nt th e b i s c u i t fsr o me x p a n d i nbge f o r e v e r y t h i ni sg p u t t o g e t h e ra,s s e m b lteh e d o o r sa s q u i c k l ya s p o s s i b l ef i,t t i n gt h e framepiecesto the panel(above), Setthe dooron two barclamps o n a w o r ks u r f a c eW . i t hw o o dp a d sp r o t e c t i ntgh e f r a m e ,t i g h t o ore e n t h ec l a m p sj u s te n o u g tho c l o s et h ej o i n t sI.n s t a l l t w m c l a m p sa, c r o s tsh e t o p o f t h e d o o r ,p l a c i n gt h e mp e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e f i r s tt w o .F i n i s ht i g h t e n i n ug n t i l g l u es q u e e z eosu t o f . n c et h e a d h e s i vhea sd r i e d ,r e m o v e thejoints0 a n ye x c e s s w i t h a c a b i n est c r a o e r .
6B
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GLASS-PANEL D()()R a rabbet around the 1l Cuttins -
I i n s i d eo f a d o o rf r a m e Makeandglueup a frameas youwouldfor a frame-and-panel door(page63). Using pad protection, a wood for clampthe frame t o a w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e ni n s t a l la % - i n c h r a b b e t i nbgi t i n a r o u t e a r n ds e tt h ed e p t h o f c u t t o t h e c o m b i n e d e p t ho f t h e m o l d i" n ' bo :" "n- d
thp nano nf ol:cc vnrr intond in
i n s t a l il n t h e f r a m e .H o l dt h e t o o lf i r m l y w r t hb o t hh a n d sw h i l er e s t i n g thebasep l a t eo n t h e f r a m en e a ro n ec o r n e rt,h e n t u r no n t h e r o u t ear n dg u i d et h e b i t i n t o the insideedgeof the door.Movethe router clockwise alongthe edges?ight)untilthe c u t i s c o m o l e t e dS. o u a r e t h e c o r n e rw s ith a woodenmalletanda woodchiselbelow). M a k et h e c u t sa g a i n stth e g r a i nf i r s tt o a v o i ds p l i t t i n tgh ef r a m e .
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O Fittingtheglass t o h o l dt h eg l a s si n t h ef r a m e m I . ake g l a s s - s t ompo l d i n gb y r o u t i n ga d e c o r a t i v e
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pdoe in pithpr sidp nf :
l n n o n i p ep n f c n l .
i d s t o c kR . i pt h e m o l d i n tgo w i d t h t, h e n m i t e rf o r r n r r e c etsn f i t i h e f r a m eS e tt h e frameandtheglasson a worksurface, then p l a c et h e m o l d i n g i n p o s i t i o nB.o r ea p i l o t h o l ee v e r y2 i n c h e su s i n ga n e l e c t r idc r i l l f i t t e dw i t ha s m a l fl i n i s h i nnga i lw i t ht h e h e a ds n i p p e do f f . D r i v et h e b r a d si n p l a c e u s i n ge i t h e ra h a m m eor r a b r a dd r i v e r (photo,page57). Whenusinga hammer, h o l dt h e m o l d i n g f l u s ha g a i n stth e f r a m e o f t h ed o o rs; l i d et h e h a m m ear l o n gt h e s r r r f a coef a n i e c eo f c a r d b o a rtdo a v o i d breakingthe glass(/eff).
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oi\{r_.
Ifyou prefer the look ofsntallerpanesofglassrather thatr one largersinglepane in yotn'dooryotr can choose to makeglnzingbars.The moldedstripsarejoined with miteredhalf-laps.Rabbetsare cut along the backedgesof panesof glassand glass-stop the barsto acconmtodate molding. The endsof the barscan bejoined to the outer joints. rnilsend stileswith dowelsor cope-and-stick
Q'-\.
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MAKING A GLAZING BARD()OR
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'l
M o l d i n tgh eg l a z i n g bars I T h ej o i n t r s m a d ei n t h r e es t a g e sS: t a r tb y c u t t i n gt h e p r o p - t i o nw i t ht h r e ef e a t h e r b o a r dCsl :a m po n et o t h e t a b l eo p p o s i t e e r p r o f i l ei n t h e g l a z i n gb a r s ,a s s h o w na b o v en; e x t ,c u t r a b - t h e b i t a n dt w ot o t h e f e n c eo n e a c hs i d eo f t h e c u t t e r .( l n t h e b e t si n t ot h e o p p o s i t sei d e so f t h e b a r st o h o l dt h e g l a s sa n d i l l u s t r a t i o tnh, e f e a t h e r b o aor dn t h e o u t f e e ds i d eo f t h e f e n c e m o l d i n gs t r i p s( s t e p2 ) ; I i n a l l y ,p r o d u c et h e m i t e r e dh a l f - l a p h a sb e e nr e m o v efdo r c l a r i t y )F. e e dt h e b a ri n t ot h e b i t u n t i l (sfeps3 to 5). Forthe first stage,installa pilotedroundover bit y o u rf i n g e r sa p p r o a cthh e c u t t e r t, h e n u s et h e n e x tp i e c ea s a p u s hs t i c ko r m o v et o t h e o t h e rs i d eo f t h e t a b l ea n d p u l lt h e i n a r o u t e rm , o u n t h e t o o l i n a t a b l e ,a n da l i g nt h e f e n c ew i t h t h e b i t ' sp i l o tb e a r i n gT. h es t o c ks h o u l db e w i d ee n o u g hs o t h a t w o r k p i e cteh r o u g ht h e c u t . R e p e atth e p a s so n t h e o t h e rs i d e ) . r e p a raen e x t r ab a rt o h e l ps e t u p t h e c u t making a p a s so n e a c hs i d eo f t h e b a rw i l l l e a v ea % - i n c h - w i d e o f t h e b a r ( a b o v e P l i p b e t w e etnh e c u t s .S u p p o rtth e w o r k p i e cdeu r i n gt h e o p e r a - i n s t e p3 .
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r) Cutting rabbets fortheglasspanes I lnstalla dadoheadonyourtablesawslightly widerthanthe desired rabbets. Thetongue remaining aftertherabbets arecut shoulm d easu% r ei n c hw i d e I. n s t a a l l w o o d eanu x i l i a frey n c e andmarktherabbetdepthon it-the combined thickness of theglass andthemolding strip.Position theauxiliary fenceover thedadoheadandraisethe blades to notchthefenceto the height of themarked line.Turnoffthesawandmarkthewidth of therabbets ontheleading endof theglazing bar.Buttone o f t h em a r k as g a i n st ht eo u t e b r l a d eo f t h ed a d oh e a dt,h e n position thefenceflushagainst thebar.Usethreefeatherboards to support thepieceas in step1, addinga support boardto provide extrapressure to thefeatherboard clamped to thetable. (Again in thisillustration, thefeatherboard ontheoutfeed side of thetablehasbeenremoved forclarity.) Feedthebarsbyhand (left)unlilyourfingers approach thefeatherboards, thenusethe nextworkpiece to finishthepass. Complete thecutonthefinal workpiece bypulling it fromtheoutfeed sideof thetable.
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themitercuts Q Making r-,1 Remove thedadoheadandinstalla crosscut blade. Adjust thebladeangleto 45" andattacha mitergauge extension. To s e tt h eb l a d eh e i g h th, o l dt h ee x t r ag l a z i nbga ro nt h es a w youcut in step2 isflushagainst tablesothetongue theextension.Thetopof thebladeshouldbe levelwiththe lowerside of the lip (inset). Thenmarkthemitercutson bothsidesof t h eb a r sa; t t h e i rw i d e spt o i n t st ,h eV ss h o u l db et h es a m e widthasthestock.To makethecut,holdthetongue of the
b a rf l a ta g a i n st h t e m i t e re x t e n s i oann da l i g no n eo f t h e marks withtheblade.Butta stopblockagainst theendof thestockandclampit to theextension forsubsequent cuts. Clamptheworkpiece to theextension andfeedthe glazing . otate b a ri n t ot h eb l a d ew h i l eh o l d i n igt f i r m l yi n p l a c eR thepieceandmakethesamecutontheothersideof theV. Repeat theprocess to cuttheV ontheopposite sideof the bar (above).
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Cleaning theV-cuts O n c ea l l t h e m i t e rc u t sh a v eb e e n made,usea narrow chiselto pareaway t h ew a s t eT. h ew i d t ho f t h ec h a n n ealt o f t h eV s h o u l de o u atlh e t h eb o t t o m widthof thelip.Holding thechiselbevelsideup, pareawaythewaste(right)until andf lat. the bottom of theV is smooth Workcarefullv to avoidtearout.
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thehalf-laps f, Cutting r . , l R e i n s t at lhl ed a d oh e a di n y o u rt a b l es a wa n da d j u sitt t o t h ew i d t ho f t h e b a r ' sl i p .S e tt h ec u t t i n gd e p t ht o o n e h a l ft h es t o c kt h i c k n e sY s ,o uw i l l n e e dt o s a wa h a l f - l a ipn thebottom of oneglazing bar,thenmakean identical cut in t h et o po f t h em a t i n gp i e c eS. e tu p t h ec u t b ya l i g n i ntgh e m i d d lo e f t h eV - c uw t i t ht h ed a d oh e a dw, h i l eh o l d i ntgh e
b a rf l u s ha g a i n st ht em i t e rg a u g e x t e n s i oKn e. e pt h ew o r k p i e c ef l a to n t h es a wt a b l ea n df l u s ha g a i n st th ee x t e n s i o n (above). asyoucut the half-laps Usedowels or copingcuts (page66) to securethe glazingbarsto a frame-and-panel d o o rt,h e ni n s t a lgl l a s sp a n e as sy o uw o u l df o ra g l a s s - p a n e l door(page69).
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hingesfor fr hoosingtheappropriate *-L yourkitchencabinetdoorsdepends primarilyuponthestyleof cabinets you arebuilding.Surface-mounted hinges, thoughlimitedin termsof weightcapacity andeaseof adjustment, areidealfor Butthinges antiqueor rusticcabinets. (page76),available in iron or brass,are commonlyused on flush-mounted doorsandsit in shallowmortises cut into the door and case.Long,narrow cabinets oftenrequirepianohingesfor strenghandproperweightdistribution. Tilt-out hinges(pnge77) arepractical for turningfalsedrawerfiontsinto small, handystorage units. \Ahenstyleis not an issue,andeaseof installation andadjustability aremore important,European-type cup hinges, or 32-millimeterhinges,(pnge74) are an idealchoice.Fullyconcealed, strong, andsimpleto adjustoncein place,cup
hingeshavebecomewidespread in the homebuildingindustry.Availablefor andfaceframecabbothEuropean-style inets,cuphingescomewith a varietyof mountingplatesthatallowtheinstaller to controltheamountof overlay. Beforeinstallinganyhinge,readthe manufacturer's instructionsregarding placement. If youareworkingwith fine, delicate woods,tapthestockfor machine screwsafterdrillingpilot holesto reduce thechance of splitting.A spotof gluein theholewill improvetheholdingability of thefastener.
Locatingdoorknobs neednot involve tedious measurement frontdoorto door. Thesimplejig showrtin thephotoat right,madefront a pieceofplywoodand twolipscutfrom solidstock, Iocates knobs in exnctlythesarnespotot'teachdoor.
()FDO()R A SETECTI()N HINGES
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MOUNTING ANOVERLAY D()()R 'l
Drillinh g o l e sf o rh i n g e s I D r i l tl h e h o l e sf o r E u r o p e acnu p h i n g e s w i t ha c o m m e r c idarli l l i n jgi g a n dg u i d eo, r m a k ey o u ro w nj i g b y i n s t a l l i nagp l y w o o d f e n c ea n db a c k u pb o a r do n y o u rd r i l lp r e s s . F i tt h ed r i l lw i t ha 3 5 - m i l l i m e t F eo r rstner b r t ,a n ds c r e wt h ef e n c ea n db a c k u pb o a r d t o g e t h ear s s h o w nF . o l l o wt h e h i n g em a n u f a c t u r e r 'i n s s t r u c t i o nrse g a ridn g r e c o m m e n d e db o r i n gd e p t ha n dd i s t a n c e from
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w o o dt o p r o p e r lpyo s i t i o tnh e j i g .C l a m p t h e 1 i gt o t h e d r r l lp r e s st a b l e ,a n d m a r k t h e c e n t e r l i noef t h e h o l eo n t h e f e n c e . N e x t ,m a r kt h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e h i n g e so n t h e d o o r sd; e p e n d i nogn t h e s i z eo f t h e d o o ry o ua r ew o r k i n g w i t h .h i n g e sc a n b e installea d n y w h e rfer o m3 t o 6 i n c h e s f r o me i t h e re n do f t h e d o o r ;m a r ka s i m i l a r c e n t e r l i noen t h e f e n c e .L a yt h e d o o rf a c e d o w no n t h e d r i l lp r e s st a b l ea n d b u t t i t a g a i n st h t ef e n c ea, l i g n i nag h i n g em a r k w i t ht h e c e n t e r l i n eH. o l dt h e d o o rs t e a d y . l i d et h e d o o r a n d d r i l lt h e h o l e( / e f f ) S a l o n gl,i n eu p t h es e c o n h d i n g em a r kw i t h t h ec e n t e r l i n ae n, dd r i l lt h e s e c o n d hole.
r) Installing the hinges L t o w o r kc o m f o r t a b l p y ,l a c et h e d o o r f a c ed o w no n a w o r ks u r f a c eW . r t ht h e p l a t ea t t a c h e tdo t h e h i n g ea r m , mounting f i t t h e b o d yo f t h e h i n g ei n t h e h o l ey o u d r i l l e di n s t e p1 . T h e n ,m a k i n gs u r et h a t t h e h i n g ea r m i s p e r f e c t lpye r p e n d i c u l a r tn ihp odop nf ihp dnnr
f:qtpn
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i n p l a c ew i t h t h e s c r e w sp r o v i d e db y t h e manulaclurer(risht).
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plate Installing themounting platestillattached Withthemounting to thehinge, align thedoorwiththecabinet asshown, andextend thehinge armsto plateagainst buttthe mounting thepanel.Making surethat Hanging thedoor platearein mid-position, plateuntilthey theadjustment screws onthemounting Slidethehingearmsontothemounting (above), platefromthe marka reference line,unscrew themounting clickintoposition thenscrew themtogether. Close the hingearms,andfastenit to thecabinet side(above). Thisneed doorandcheckitsposition. Adjust theheight, depth, or lateral precise; position notbeoverly the hingecaneasilybeadjusted after of thedoorbyloosening ortightening theappropriate (step4). plate. installation adjustment screws onthehingearmsandmounting
INSTATTING EUR()PEAN-STYIE FACE FRAME HINGES Installing thehinge European-style hinges arealsoavailable forfaceframecabinets, thepredominant cabinet stylein NorthAmerican kitchens. Install thehinges to thedoors in thesame youwouldan overlay manner door,but plateto the inside fastenthe mounting edgeof thefaceframe(left).
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INSTALLING A FLUSH.MOUNTED DOOR 'l
Routing hingemoftises I Toroutthemortises forbutthinges on a f lush-mounted door,firstmakea hinge jie (inset). mortising Drawa centerline across thewidthof a pieceof %-inch plywood andcentera hrngeleafonthe board's edge.Tracethe profileof the hardware Next,install onthetemplate. a straight-cutting bit in a router andrestthe bitontheleftedgeof thehinge outline. Makea markat theIeftsideof therouter baseplate.Repeat theprocedure at the rightandinside edges oftheoutline. Use profile a square to complete thetemplate andcut it outona bandsaw.Nowposition thehingeonthecabinet sideandmeasure thedistance fromthebottom of thecabinetto themidpoint of thehinge.Measure thesamedistance fromthecenterline of thetemplate to eitherendof thejig a n dt r i m i t t o l e n g t hF. i n a l l yc,u tt w o forliosandnailthemto the smallblocks frontof yourtemplate. To usethejig, olacethecabinet on itssideon a work surface, thensettherouter's depthof cut to thethickness of the hingeleaf.Butt thetemplate against the bottomof the cabinet andclampbothin place. Using thetemplate asa guide,routthe morIise (above,right).BuIt the template against thetopof thecabinet andrepeat thecut.Usea chiselto square thecorners.
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r) Hanging thedoor L to cut matingmortises in theedgeof in thedoor,secure theworkpiece edge-up a vise.Markthehingeoutlines ontheedge from of thedoortransferring theirlocation thecabinet side;makesurethehingepin projects overtheedge. Clamp anedgeguide to thefaceof thedoorto orovide a wider bearing surface fortherouter, thenroutthe mortises. Next,shrmthedoorwitha piece of woodsothedooris levelwiththecabinet.Setthehingeleaves in themortises cut inthecabinet sides, andscrew thehardware in placetighil.
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INSTALLING A TILT-OUT SINKTRAY
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thehinges 1 Attaching I A tilt-out sinktrayisa handy spacesaving fixture forstoring soap, scouring pads,andsponges outof sightyetclose at hand.To install thetray,f irstremove thefalsedrawer frontfromthecabinet andplaceit ona worksurface. Follow themanufacturer's instructions to trace t h eo p e n i nogf t h et r a yo nt h e i n s i d e of thedrawer front.Next,lineupa hinge withtheedgeof theoutline andcenter it onthedrawer front,(When thehinge i sc l o s e di t,w i l lb ei n t h em i d d l oe f t h e drawer face.)Holdthehinge to theoutl i n ea n ds c r e wi t t o t h ed r a w ef r o n t . Repeat theprocess fortheotherhinge.
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r) Re-attaching thedrawer front L Xtacnthetwoscrews thatholdthe trayin placebefore installation. Then,makingsureto spring themechanism of the h i n g fei r s tl,i n eu pt h eh i n g ien t h em i d d l e of thedrawer frameandscrewtheentire unitin place. Attach theotherhinge, and hangthetrayfromthetwoscrews,
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roperlyproportioned andwell-built 83).Otheroptions,likethelockmiter I drawers partof (page areanindispensable 37),dado(page35),andthedouanykitchen.Likecabinetdoors,wellbledadoaresuitable alternatives. styleddrawerfrontscan contribute Kitchendrawers placetoughdemands handsomely to the overalllook of a onthemountingmethodusedto secure kitchen.Yettheirappealing faceshide themto thecasework. Side-mounted firll thekitchen's mostabused elements: the (page89)aredesigned extension sltdes to drawers themselves. Theirorganization withstand veryrigorous use,andarethe andconstruction areofparamount imporbestchoiceif your budgetpermits. tance,for avisuallystrikingkitchencan Bottom-mounted slides(page87)are beafrustrating placeto workif itsdrawnotquiteasstrong,butarelessexpensive ersarehaphazardly locatedor jamevery andeasier to install. timetheyareopened. Whenit comes to theappearance of Kitchendrawers mustbebuilt to last. akitchen, thefrontisthemostimportant Theyareyanked openandslammed shut part of a drawer.Thedesignof your countless timesaday.Worse, drawers in DrawerscaninJluence lookandfeelof a drawerfrontswill helpsetthetonefor thekitchenareoftenweighed downwith kitchen.With their moldededges and thekitchen's style.Howwellthedrawers appliances andcrammed full of cutlery roundpulls,thebankof overlaydrawers areinstalled will alsoproveto bea lastandutensils, soanyshortcutmadein in thekitchenshownabovespeaks of a ing testimonial to yourcraftsmanship. theirconstruction will eventually com- verytraditional,almostVictorian,style. It canbeatime-consuming taskto hang promisetheirstrength andutility. adrawersoit restsperfectlystraightand Thischapter detailsthetechniques involved in building level,let aloneseveral banksof drawers in a cabinetrun. strong,attractive, smoothly functioning drawers. Thecon- Applytnga falsefrontto thedrawer(page93)canreduce the structionguides onpages 80and81offeranoverview ofyour timespentfussingwithlevelsanddrawerslides. Wth minimal joinery,mounting,andmaterials. experience, optionsfor drawerfaces, youcanquicklyandaccurately installfalsefronts Youreventual choicewill dependon yourexperience, shop onbothinsetandoverlay drawers. Evenif themounteddrawsetup,andtimetable. Whenit comes to joinery,thereis little ersthemselves areslightlyuneven, theywill appear to behung joint isthethroughdovetail (page with theprecise question thatthestrongest eyeof a mastercabinetmaker.
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A bankof insetdrawersin aframeless cabinetlike theone shownat left allowslittle roomfor error.By installing fakefronts,thedrawersneednot behungperfectly;thefalse frontscanthenbepositionedstraightand levelto thecase.
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DRAWERCONSTRUCTION I
DRAWER OVERLAY
INSETDRAWER
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t I Arr overlaydrawerfenttn"es n sepnrote .fhlsa A false.fitrtt fi'ont screwedto the drawer.fi'ortt. is typicallylorgerthart its drawerc0tulterpart so thnt it overlaystlrcfaceJi'nrrteof tlrc cobitrct.
Alsohnwn as a llush-f'ont drawer,an ilset dra;er fits entirelywithin itscabinet.To hide the ud grain of the drawer sides,s raltbetcan be ctff irtto the bttckJaceof the drawerf'ont as shownabove,or a falseJi'otttcan be ndcled.
DRAWER J()INTS
Throughdovetail Veryotron4, decorativejotnt eutLable for any drawercor' ner; end qrain of drawer aideecan be concealedwtth falae front. Ueedonly with eolid wood.
Lock miter joint CommonlyueedLojoin drawer backeLo eidee;autLablefor solid wood.plywood.or melamirte.
Front/back
AIao known aa a drawer lockjoint; cut wtLh a epectal ehaper cul,Ler
or rouLerbtt. )uttable for aolid wood,plywood,and melamine.
Doubledado Canbe uaed for all cornera of a drawer; conceal6ena gratn of etdee. Suitableonly for eolid wood.
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DRAWER HANGING METHODS Wooden runners thop-made otripe of wood acrewed to ordepanelaof cabineteiL in groovee cut in drawer etdee;drawer can be exLendedto about.% of ita length.
Eottom-mounted alidee CommercialmeLalahdee;runnero screwed to the lowercorneraof the drawermate with tracke faetened Lo cabinet eidee:drawer can be extendedabout% of ita len7f,h.
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Commercialmetal alidee;runnero aLtach Lo drawer eideand mate wiLh track mountedon cabinet atdee;extension mechaniamtn eomemodeleallows drawer to be fully exLended.
MATERIALS FORDRAWERS MATERIAT
USES
COMMENTS
Solidwood
Sides,backs,fronts, falsefronts
plywood Cabinet-grade
Sides,backs, fronts,false fronts,drawer bottoms
Melamine
Sides,backs, fronts, false fronts,bottoms S i d e sb, a c k sf,r o n t s , falsefronts
U s ep i n eo r o t h e ri n e x p e n s iwv oe o df o rd r a w ecr a r case;savemoreattractive species forfalsefronts Useplainsawn veneer forfalsefronts;trimedges of false frontsandtopedges of drawer sideswithsolidwood (page48);use%"panels banding fordrawer bottoms (page Trimall edges withlaminate edgebanding 49); use%"panels fordrawer bottoms Easyto work,yetfairlyheavy for drawer construction; mustbe painted orveneered
Medium density fiberboard
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BANKSOFDRAWERS PLANNING
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t-;-l t--:---l l
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Graduated drawera
I I Threeupper draweraof equalheight
Two middle drawers of equal height,
Laying outa bankofdrawers ruleof thumbforplanning There isonlyonegenerally accepted than shouldnever besmaller heights: a lowerdrawer drawer orderin proportion; Thehumaneyeappreciates theoneabove. placing look a cabinet larger drawers atopsmaller onesmakes drawers area matterof taste.Experiment top-heavy. Otherwise, fromother above ortakemeasurements withthedesigns shown
Three lower drawera of equal height
youlike.Onceyouhavedecided markthe ona layout, kitchens 25).lf onthecabinet's storypole(page location of thedrawers yourcabinets to calcuhavefaceframes, usethechartbelow pieces. Forexample, thewidthof a latethesizeof thedrawer runners shouldbe drawer sideto beusedwithbottom-mounted opening, of thedrawer %inchlessthantheheight
DRAWER DIMENSIONS CALCULATING depth. dimensions orcabinet fromtheopening Subtract theseamounts ()FDRAWERS PTANNING BANKS
HEIGHT
WIDTH
DEPTH
'/ou
1u
of falsefront %"+ thickness
front Withoverlapping Bottom mounted runners Withflushfront
Y4'
I
%'
% ' + thickness of falsefront
front Withoverlapping Wooden runners Withflushfront
%'
1 1
You
YB'
of falsefront % ' + thickness
YAu
Ya'
%'
runners Sidemounted Withflushfront
Withoverlapping front
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%'
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BUILDINGDRAWERS
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]l rawerstendto takea lot of abuse, Ll sostrength isof utmostimportance whenbuildingthem.A drawerthathas beenstapled together maylookfine,and will evenworkwell-for awhile.Butin a fewyearsit will startto loosen,sag, andeventually fallapart. Whendesigning for strengh,nothjoint.Many ingtopsthethroughdovetail woodworkers remainintimidatedbythe degree ofprecision needed to execute yetcommercial thisjoint properly, router jigshaveplacedthisonce-exacting task within reachof everycabinetmaker. If you do not havea router,thedoubledado,a joint almostasstrongasthe
throughdovetail, canbecut on your tablesaw.Unfortunately, neitherof these jointsworkswellin plywood, oneof the mostcommonkitchencabinetmaterials.Forplywood,alockmiter(page 37) or dadojointcanbeused.
A lockmiterjoint is an easywayto turn out perfectlyfining drawer parts by thedozen.Thejoint featuresidenticalcutsin theendof one boardand thefaceof themating board.Thestepsfor makinga lock miterjoint areshownonpage37.
CUTTING THROUGH DOVETAITS
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joints Routing through dovetail Whenjoininga drawer withdovetailjoints, cutthepinsin the frontandbackof the drawer, andthetailsin the sides.To jig shownabove, cut thedovetails withthecommercial screw thepin-andtail-board templates to backup boards, thensecure oneof thedrawer sidesendup in a benchvise.Protecting the stockwitha woodpad,clampthetailtemplate to theworkpiecesotheunderside of thetemplate is buttedagainst the endof the board.Alsoclampa stopblockagainst oneedge of the drawer sidesothetailsat the otherendwill match. Installa top-piloted dovetail bit in the routerandsetthe
depthto slightly morethanthethickness of thedrawer front. Cutthetailsbyfeeding thetoolalongthetopof thetemplate andmoving the bit in andoutof thejig'sslols(above, left). Keepthebit pilotpressed against thesidesof theslot.Repeat to routthetailsat theotherendof theboardandin theother drawer side.Thenusethecompleted tailsto outline the oins onthedrawer frontandback.Secure eitheronein thevise, c l a m pt h e p i n - b o a tr ed m p l a tteo t h e b o a r dw i t ht h es l o t s aligned overtheoutline, andsecure thestopblockin place. Routthe pinswitha top-piloted straightbit (above, righil.
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DADO DOUBLE JOINTS dadoes in thedrawer front 1 Cuttins I M a r ko n ee n do f t h ed r a w efr o n t , d i v i d i nigt st h i c k n e si ns t ot h i r d sT. h e n , i n s t a lal d a d oh e a do n v o u rt a b l es a w . itswidthto one{hird thethickadjusting front.Setthecutting nessof thedrawer height equalto thethickness of thedrawer s i d e sN . e x t i,n s t a lal t e n o n i nj gi g ;t h e m o d esl h o w ns l i d e si n t h e m i t e rs l o t . P r o t e c t i nt hges t o c kw i t ha w o o dp a d , c l a m pt h ed r a w ef r o n t o t h ej i g ;m a r k t h el i g t h eo u t s i dfea c ew i t ha nX . M o v e withthemidsideways to aligntheblade d l et h i r do f t h eb o a r dT. u r no nt h es a w t h em i t e rs l o t o a n ds l i d et h ej i g a l o n g frontover cut thedado.Turnthedrawer a n dc l a m pi t t o t h ej i g t o c u tt h ed a d o at the otherend(right).
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r) Trimming thetongues fenceon the rip fence.Marka L lnstalla woodauxiliary c u t t i n gl i n eo nt h ee d g eo f t h ed r a w ef r o n t h a td i v i d etsh e facein half.Withthestockflushagainst tongue on its inside inside-face themitergauge, down,alignthemarkwiththeblade. Buttthefenceagainst thestockandraisethe blades to cut height a reliefnotchin thefence. Setthecutting to trimthe frontf irmlyagainst halftongue. Holding thedrawer thegauge, feedit intothecutters(above). Turnthe boardaround and reoeat theorocedure attheotherend.
Cutting matching dadoesin thedrawersides Q r . J T o j o i n t h e d r a w e sr i d e st o t h e f r o n t ,c u t a d a d on e a rt h e f r o n te n d o f e a c hs i d e .T h ed a d om u s tm a t ew i t h t h e h a l f t o n g u eo n t h e f r o n t .S e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o t h e l e n g t ho f t h e h a l f - t o n g uaen d s c r e wa w o o d e ne x t e n s i obno a r dt o t h e m i t e r g a u g eT. o s e tt h e w i d t ho f c u t , b u t t t h e d r a w e sr i d ea g a i n s t t h e f r o n ta n d u s ea p e n c itl o o u t l i n et h e h a l f - t o n g uoen t h e d r a w esr i d e .H o l dt h e s i d ea g a i n stth e e x t e n s i oann da l i g nt h e m a r k sw i t ht h e d a d oh e a d C . l a m pa s t o pb l o c kf l u s ha g a i n s t the endof the stockandfeedthe boardto cut the dadohbovd. R e p e atth e c u t o n t h e o t h e rs i d e .
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DRAWERS
PREPARING THEDRAWER F()RA B()TT()M PANEL panel Cutting thegroove forthebottom Dry-assemble thedrawer andmarkany spots where thejointsbind;usea chisel to paresmallamounts of woodto achieve a goodfit. Next,useyourtablesawto cut a groove in thedrawer frontandsides to panel. accommodate thebottom Install a d a d oh e a da, d j u s t i nt gh ew i d t ht o t h e panelstock. thickness of thebottom Set thecuttingheight to halfthestockthicknessandadjusttheriptenceto leave a %-inchborderbetween the bottomof thegroove andtheboard edge.Feedthe drawer frontacross thetableusinga push slick(right).(Caution: Inthisillustration the bladeguardhasbeenremoved for clarit y . )R e p e at h t ec u to n t h ed r a w esri d e s . F i n a l l rya, i s teh eb l a d e h e i g hat b i th i g h e r t h a nt h es t o c kt h i c k n e sasn dr i pt h e d r a w ebra c kt o w i d t hT. h i sw i l la l l o w the bottompanelto slrdeintoposition when thedrawer is assembled,
ASSEMBLING THEDRAWER thedrawer 1 Clamping I A webclampwithcorner brackets is idealforgluingupdrawers. Thewebdispressure tributes evenly among allfour corners, whilethebrackets helpto spread thepressure along thelenghof eachjoint. Tousethewebclamps shown, applyglue t o t h ec o n t a c t i nsgu r f a c easn da s s e m blethedrawer on a worksurface. Next, f it thecorner brackets in olace. Wraothe s t r a p sa r o u n d t h ed r a w ecr a r c a saen d t i g h t e nt h e mw i t ht h e b u c k l ebs e f o r e locking themin place(left).Whenthe a d h e s i vhea sc u r e dr,e m o vteh ec l a m p s andapplyedgebanding to thetopedges of thedrawer.
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thebottom O lnstalling L f rimthe bottomoanel'/,e inchnarthetwo rowerthanthesoacebetween grooves. Slidethepanelintoplacefrom the back(above). Donotapplyanyglue. Thiswillallow thedrawer sides to expand o r c o n t r a cwt i t hc h a n g ei sn h u m i d i t y ; p a r t i c u l a ri fl yt h es i d e sa r em a d ef r o m solidwood.Secure the bottomwitha back. couole of finishnailsin thedrawer
rltffrlllIItffilj{tiltllllfillllltflflljliljltII]finitltjllntl 1HO?Tt? Eliminating drawer rattle DrawerbolNome alwayofia t tad looeelyto allowfor woodmovement, thio Unfor1unately, can somelimeolead lo an annoytnq raNlle.An eaoy fix for this io to jam little wedqee belweenthe bottom paneland the drawer sides.Cut four lo six wedaes for eachoffendinadrawer.ge eure Lo cut,lhemeo the grainie orientedaNa riqhLanqleNothe taper.Thiowillmakeit eaoy to breakoff. Toinetall eachwedqe,NapiNin place. Finallybreakoff lhe exceesby liflinq the wedqe.
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DRAWERSLIDESAND RUNNERS ommercial slideshavesimplifedthe f of drawersto thepoint U installation wherethat theyhavevirtuallysupplanted all otherdrawer-hanging hardware, andfor goodreason.Theslidesaresimple to installand canbe securedwith only threeor four screws.Somecommercialslidesevenallowfor fine tunins and canbe adjustedverticallyafterthi havebeeninstalled. screws For the kitchenuser,commercial drawer slidesalso offer unmatched durability.Goodqualityside-mounted slides(page89) arerigorouslytested; theymust openand closeflawlessly at Ieast100,000 timesand supporta load of 150poundswhen fully extended. Bottom-mounted slides(below)cannot bearnearlyasmuchweight,but areconsiderably lessexpensive. Woodenslides (page91)still havea place.Inexpensive to make,they areperfectlysuitablefor Somebottom-mounteddrawer slidescan extend light-dutysituations. a drawer itsfull length to display the contentsinside.
INSTATTING BOTTOM.MOUNTED STIDES therunner to thedrawer 1 Attaching I Bottom-mounted slidesconsist of two parts:a runnerthatattaches to the bottomof thedrawer slideanda trackthat is secured to the cabinetsides.Before placeit in front installing thefirstdrawer, o f t h ec a s ea n dl a yo u tt h es l i d ep a r t s beside i t . M a k es u r ey o uu n d e r s t a n d where eachpiecegoesanditsorientation. T o p o s i t i otnh er u n n e rs,e tt h ed r a w e r o n i t s s i d ea n db u t tt h er u n n ear g a i n s t the bottomof thedrawer sideasshown. Insetthehardware %einchbackfromthe drawer f rontso it will notinterfere with the falsefronl(page93).fhe runner canbesecured frombelowor fromthe side.lf youareusingsolidwoodor plywood,attachit fromtheside.lf youhave chosen melamine, attach therunner from below(/eff).In bothcases, drillpilotholes f irstto avoidsplitting thematerial.
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Positioning thetracks O n c ey o uh a v ed e t e r m i n et hdes p a c i nogf t h ed r a w e r s drawerheightfromthecabinetstorypole(page25) thenmove (page82),position andtracktogether to alignthebottom of thetrack thetracksfor bottom-mounted slidesonthe thesquare withthisdistance thecombined thickness of the sidesof thecabinet. Place a trackonthecabinet side,usinga hbovd.Given front. runner andtrack,thismeans the bottomof thedrawer sides framing square to holdit at a rightangleto thecabinet placethetrackalmost t z - i n chhi g h et rh a no nt h es t o r yp o l e . flushwiththe w i l lb ea c t u a l layb o u% Forfaceframecabinets, overthedrawer belowwrllnotbe frontedgeof thecabinet; forframeless cabinets liketheone Thisbit of extraclearance s i l lc o v etrh eg a p .F i n a l l y , insetthedrawer bythethickness of thefalse n o t i c e a bslien c et h ef a l s ef r o n t w shownabove, holesrnthetrackontothecabinet outtheappropriatemarktheoredrilled side. frontstock;typically about%inch.Measure
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thetracks Q Fastening r-,f Drilla oilotholeat eachof themarks youmadein step1, wrapping a pieceof t a p ea r o u ntdh ed r i l lb i tt o e n s u rteh a t theside thescrews do notpassthrough o f t h ec a b i n eT t .h e nf a s t e tnh et r a c ki n placewitha screwin eachholetighil. lf youhavemorethanonedrawer to install at a certainheight, cut a plywood spacer to fit between thetrackandthecabinet Youcanusethisto placeallthe bottom. thesameheightwithout tracksat exactly Repeat measuring. steps1 and2 forthe in thecabinet. otherdrawers
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DRAWERS
INSTALLING SIDE.MOUNTED SLIDES 'l Attaching runners thedrawer I Unlikebottom-mounted slides, the runners of a side-mounted drawer slide canbeattached to thesideof a drawer at anyheight. To makeinstallation easier, always offsettherunner thesamedistance fromthe bottomedgeof thedrawer side. Therunner in theillustration wasolaced 3%inches fromtheedge,measuring to t h ec e n t eor f t h er u n n e rM. a k ea s i m o l e jig to position all therunners at exactly thesamespoton eachdrawer. Fasten someone-inch-square stockasa lipto a 12-inch length of plywood, thentrimthe jigto widthto holdtherunner at theright position asshown. Toattacheachrunner, firstseparate therunner fromthetrack. Thenclampthejigto thedrawer sideand holdtherunner against it, making sureit is f lushwiththedrawer front.Secure the runnerwith screwstight).
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r) Fastening thetracks Z- Position thetracksonthesidesof the cabinet according to thedesired spacing (page82) Forthe lowest track,simply measure theoffsetof thedrawer runner (above) fromthecabinet bottom, adding Yoinchforclearance. Drawa lineat this height. Holdthetrackagainst thecabinet srdeandcenter thepredrilled screwholes o v e tr h e l i n e .F o rf a c ef r a m ec a b i n e t s , position thetracksoit is nearly f lushwith t h ef r o n to f t h ec a b i n e tf ;o r f r a m e l e s s cabinets, insetthetrackbythethickness of thefalsefrontstock.Fasten thetrack withscrews(left).f he highertracks canbe positioned byadding thedrawer heightspecified onthecabinet storypole 25)to the runner offset. Remember @age t o m e a s u rt eo t h e c e n t eor f t h et r a c k . Repeat stepsI and2 fortheotherdrawers.
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t I I I I I I I I I I I I thedrawer Q Installing ullypositioned and vl lf youhavecaref i n s t a l l etdh e r u n n e rasn dt r a c k st ,h e drawers canbehungbysimply slipping intotheslidesmounted on theirrunners Toremove thecabinet sides. thedrawer, it fullythentripthelever releases extend on bothslrdeskbove).
lljtfillffilltllittllltlltfitrfiltljltlllrfillfiltilltllllilIltllllllt 9HO7Tt? 7uildingup faaeframe cabineto drawer )ince mosl commercial slidesare desianedtobeecrewed direcblyto the eideeof a cabinel, lhey cannol be ueedon face framecabineNe withoutcerlain adjuetmenNe. Manufacturere makeepecialbrackeLe Nobridqethie qap buI a muchelurdier,ehoe-made alternaNive ie NobuildupNhecabineNeidee,Rio eome 1'/z-inch-Nhick
eolidetock equalin widLhlo Nhe dietancebelweenNheedgeof the face frameandthe eideeof Nhecabinet,.You willneedthree upriqhLpieceoIhaN eNreNch the bothomand lop of NhecabineN. Drillpilot,holesin Nhe between upriqhLo everyfourto sixiiches.Locaileeachoi Lheupriqh\eeo it io oppooite a pre-drilled suew holein the olide,then f astenthe o?acerotrothe cabinetsidewith woodscrews.NowNheslidecan beoecurely inslalledin linewiththe insideedqeof Ihe f aceframe.
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DRAWERS
Longbefore theadventof commercial drawerslides,cabinetmakers weremakingsimpleyet fficient drawerrunnersfrom wood.The drawerin thefaceframe cabinet shownat right hasdadoescut into its sidesthat slideoverwooden runnersmountedto theinsideof thecabinet.Four notchedblocks scretued to thefaceframe and cabinetbacksupporteachrunner.To installwoodenrunnersin aframelesscabinet,seethestepsbelow.
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HANGING DRAWERS WITHSHOP-MADE RUNNERS grooves in thedrawer sides 1 Cutting I Before assembling thedrawer, cut a groove forthe runnerin theoutside face of eachdrawer side.Tomakeinstallation easier, offseteachgroove thesamedistancefromthe bottomedgeof the drawer side.Therearenorigidrulesforthewidth of thegroove, butit shouldaccommodate slidesthatarethickenough to support thedrawer. Onyourtablesawinstalla dadoheadthesamewidthasthe groove. Drawcuttinglinesforthegroove in the middleof the leading endof onedrawer side.Alsomarkthedepthof thegroove; i t s h o u l db e n o m o r et h a no n e - h atlhf e stockthickness. Buttthe linesforthe groove against thedadohead,thencrank theblades upto thedepthline.Buttthe ripfenceflushagainst thestockandmake thecut.Repeat foreachdrawer side.
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r) Installing theslides L ltulltheslidestockso itsthickness andwidthareabouthzinchlessthanthe d i m e n s i oonfst h eg r o o vien t h ed r a w e r Trimtheslides a fewinches shorter sides. t h a nt h ec a b i n esti d e st,h e nd r i l lt h r e e c o u n t e r b o rcel e d a r a n cheo l e si n e a c h . Position thewooden slidesasyouwould commercial side-mounted slides@age 89. Holda slideso it is insetf romthefront e d g eo f t h ec a b i n ebt yt h et h i c k n e s s of thefalsefrontstock,thenscrewit in place(righil.Test-fit the drawer.lf it is t o ol o o s ea, d ds h i m su n d etrh es l i d e s ; i f t o ot i g h t ,r e m o viet a n dp l a n eo rs a n d i t s l i g h t tl yhi nn e r .
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fit drawer Q Fine-tuning r-,1Slidethedrawer ontoitsrunners. lf thesidesbind,remove onthesides-high spots thedrawer andmarkanyshinyareas Tosecure thedrawer thatcanbeshaved offwitha handplane. forplaning, to a workbench withoneedge clampa wideboard Remove of the extending overthesideasshown. the bottom drawer andhangthedrawer ontheboardsothe binding side
i s f a c i n gu p .T h e nc l a m pa n o t h ebro a r dt o t h ew o r k b e n c h , butting it against thedrawer; usea bench dogto keepthesecondboard frommoving. Gripping theplanewithbothhands, (above). shaveoff the marked spotswithsmooth, evenstrokes Test-fit thedrawer andrepeat untilit slides smoothly. Replace ihp hnfinm nanpl
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FALSEFRONTSAND HARDWARE f, alsefrontssolvethe problemof I hanging drawers sotheyareperfectly straightandlevel.Wth thefalsefront system, all thedrawers in a cabinetare mountedascloseto levelaspossible, thenthefrontsarepositioned individuallysotheyareplumbandlevelwith thecaseor faceframe.Shimsareused to fine-tunethefit. Thelocationof the falsefrontsaremarkedwithnailtiosset in the drawers, thenthe draweriare removed andthefalsefrontsarefastened in place. Falsefrontscanbeusedwith either frameless or faceframecabinets. Thefor-
mer alwaysusesinsetdrawers(below), while the lattercanhaveeitherinsetor overlaydrawers(page80). Installing knobs or pulls is not tricky, but takethe time to do it right. The key is to centerthe hardwareon the drawer front. Techniquesfor installing the two different types of hardwareare shownon page97.
Oneof thefinal touchesin makinga draweris addingtheappropriatehandleor knob.Herea drawerknobis attachedto aframe-and-panel falsefront.
()NINSET INSTALLING FALSE FRONTS DRAWERS 'l
Preparing thedrawer I 0ncethe drawer slideshavebeen properly mounted(pages 87-92),setthe drawer face-up ona worksurface anddrive twobradsintothedrawer front,leaving theirheadprotruding. Makesurethebrads arenotlocated pullwill where thedrawer beinstalled. Thensnipofftheheads, leavingabout%inchexposed.
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Attaching thefalsefronts PosiApplya thinlayerof glueto thefrontof thedrawer. t i o nt h ef a l s ef r o n ti n p l a c el,i n i n gu pt h ei n d e n t a t i oynosu m a d ei n s t e p2 w i t ht h eb r a dt i p s .C l a m tph ef a l s ef r o n ti n t o l en e aer a c hc o r n ef r o mt h ei n s i d e p l a c et h , e nd r i l la p i l o h o f t h ed r a w e m r ; a r kt h ep r o p edr e p t ho nt h eb i t w i t hs o m e m a s k i nt a g p et o a v o i d r i l l i ntgh r o u gthh ef r o n tF. i n a l lfya s t e n %inchshorter thanthetotalthickthefalsefrontwithscrews nessof thedrawerIront(above). r) Marking fronts thedrawer Z lnstall allthedrawers ontheirslides. posiwiththe bottomdrawer, Starting t i o ni t sm a t c h i nf ga l s ef r o n ti n p l a c e . h i m st o l e v e l U s eo a o eor r c a r d b o asr d anevengap thefalsefrontandcreate it andthecabof about%inchbetween Pulloutthedrawer above inetbottom. false thebottom to ensure thatit clears When front;trimthefrontif necessary. youaresatisf iedwiththef it, pushthe driving the falsefrontintothedrawer, Applylaminate bradtipsintothewood. (page4& to theedges of edgebanding to step3 to thefalsefront,thenproceed installit. Marktherestof thefalsefronts eachoneagainst thesameway,shimming it bbove). drawer benealh thef inished
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thefalsefronts 1 Chamfering I False f rontson overlay drawers typicallyhavesomesortof edgetreatment, (shown suchasrounding over,chamfering here), or moreinvolved shaping. Firstsize thefalsefrontsto matchthedrawer carcasefront,plusthedesired overlap. To chamfer theedges ofthefalsefront,install a piloted 45" chamfering bit in a router and mountthetoolin a table.Alignthefence withthebit'spilotbearing andadjust the height of thebitto cutall but%uinchof thefront'sedgesandends.Clamptwo featherboards to thefence,oneon either sideof thebit,to holdthestockagainst t h et a b l e (. l n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o t hnef r o n t featherboard hasbeenremoved forclarity.)Toreduce tearout, chamfer theends b e f o r teh es i d e sF . e e dt h ew o r k o i e c e across thetablewitha pushstick,using yourlefthandto press thestockagainst the f ence(righil.
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r) Marking thefalsefront L Ltlarnfalse frontsforanoverlay drawer (page93). asyouwouldforan insetdrawer Theexample at leftshows twoside-bysidedrawers overa pairof doors. A supportblockis clamped beneath thedrawer t o h e l pp o s i t i ot n h ef a l s ef r o n ti n p l a c e . Firstprepare thefrontof thedrawers by inserting andcuttingoff a pairof brads (page93).To placethesupportblock, drawa lineonthedrawer railwherethe partof thefalsefrontwillbe.Clamp lowest theblockin place, thensetthefalsefront ontopof rt.Finetune position theblock's b yt a p p i n igt l i g h t l w y i t ha m a l l eut n t i l thefalsefrontsitslevelandat exactly the rrghtheight. Thenmovethefrontrightor leftto center it horizontally. Finally, hold thefrontin position andpushthedrawer intothefrontto markit (lef).fhe front canbescrewed to thedrawer(page94) orgluedin place(page96).
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t I onfalsefronts Q Gluing a andspread r.,l Remove thedrawer thrnlayerof glueonthebackof thefalse withthe front.Place thefrontin position, Holdthe twobradsin theirimpressions. bar usingquick-action assembly together, theedgeof thefrontand clamps along C clamps along thebottom deep-throated edge;protect thestockwithwoodpads Tighten theclamps wherenecessary. evenlyuntiltherearenogapsbetween thefalsefrontandthedrawer bbovd.
tjlifiljiltilllllll]llllllliilliilllllljlllillliill illllllllllllll1llll )HO?Tt? 1eauringfalse lronts with double-facedtape Double-f acedtape ie a quickand eaey / wayto Vooition S._ and holdfalee lronNein place whileinotallinq Nhem.Slick a eNriV LaVe of double-faced to the fronl of the drawercarcage.Forface frame cabi' neNo(ehownhere),holdthe f alsefront in placewith a 6u??ortboard.For frameleescabinets.shimLhefront, shime.Then with paperor card,board, oushthe fronNaaaineLthe drawerso ineLall it uticketo NheiaVe,Finally, Ihe faleefront with ocrewe.
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HANDTES ANDPULTS 'l
Installing knobs I Drawers withsinele knobs should have t h e k n o bc e n t e r ei d n t h em i d d l eo f t h e drawer front.Tofindthe center,draw d i a g o n acl so n n e c t i nogp p o s i tceo r n e r s , justnearthemiddle marking ofthedrawer (right); do notmakethe linestoodarkor t h e yw i l lb ed i f fi c u l t o e r a s e l a t e rD . rill a c l e a r a n cheo l ef o rt h e k n o bt;h eh o l e should bejusta shade larger thanthebolt sotheknobbasewillhavesomething to bearagainst. lnstall theknobafterapplyinga finishto thefront.
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r') Installing pulls drawer L me holes pullsarea little fordrawer moretime-consuming to mark.Mostfronts a r el a i do u ts ot h ep u l li s l e v eal n dc e n teredbothhorizontally andvertically; some tallerdrawers mayhavepullsplaced a bit below thehalfway mark.Fora single cent e r e dp u l l ,b e g i nb yd r a w i nagl i n et h a t divides thefrontin halflengthwise. Use a framing square to layouttheline,then d o u b l ceh e c kw i t ha r u l e tro m a k es u r e thatit is evenat bothends.Measure out theexactmidpoint of thislineandmake a mark.Measure thedistance fromcenter to center of thetwoendsof thepulland divide thisnumber in two.Markoutthis d i s t a n coen t h ec e n t e r l i nm e ,e a s u r i n g f r o mb o t hs i d e so f t h em i d p o i n D t.rill clearance holes through thefrontat these twopoints. Install thepullafterapplying a finishto thefront.
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NSTALLNG CABINETS
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kitchencabinets can Pinpointingirregularities in f nstalling I bethebestof times.andthe kitchensurfaces is coveredon worst.Best,because it marksthe page102.Lowercabinetruns completionof an arduoustask; (pagefia) areusuallyinstalled worst.because installationof first,followedbytheuppercabperfectcabinets in an imperfect inets(page115).Somecabinetkitchenis sureto put yourcabmakers,however,install the inetmakingskillsto the test. uppercabinets first,arguingthat Until now,you haveworkedon it is easierto dothistaskwith the paperandin therelativecalmof lowercabinetsout of theway. yourworkshop,carefullycraftA transferscribeaccurately Whileeitheroptionwill work, followsthecontours ing your cabinets oneby one. of a wall and drawsa matchinglineontoa scribe stand-alone kitchenpeninsulas Buta kitchenis not a workshop. rail. Oncetherail isplanedor sandedto thisline, andislands(pages 112-114) are Whenyoubringyour cabinets thecabinetwill fit seamlessly whenit is installed. bestinstalledlast,astheycancreon siteandstartinstallingthem, atetrafficjamsduringinstallayou mayfind yourselfdealingwith problemsyou hadnot tion, no matterhow well theyareexpected to work in the anticipated, oftenworkingagainst theclock. finishedkitchen. Forexample, no matterhowpainstakinglyyou haveexePlaced plinths,or theirownintegralbases, on levelers, the cutedyourstorypolesandbuilt yourcabinets (page104)arcshimmedfrombehindsotheir to theirspec- lowercabinets ifications, therewill undoubtedlybe gapsbetween thecarcases facesareplumbandalignedflushwith eachother,thenthe andthewalls,floors,andceilings. Thisisbecause thewallsof cases arefastened to thewallstuds.Utilityhookupssuchashot a room,unlikeyourcabinets, arerarelystraight. Fortunately, andcoldwatersupplies, drainpipes,andelectrical outlets out-of-plumbwallscaneasilybestraightened by addingaddi- requirespecialplanning(page108).Beforeinstallingcabinets (page104)andscribingthem aroundsuchhookups, tionalrailsto theendcabinets checkwithaprofessional plumberand (photo,above). Thescriberail canthenbeplanedor sanded electrician to ensure thatthepipesaresoundandthewiringis to conformto thewall. in goodcondition.Uppercabinets aremountedusingnailer Thechapterthatfollowsguidesyou throughthesteps rails,European-style supports, or beveled woodensupportrails andtechniques necessary to installyourkitchencabinets (page115).As in thelowercabinets, variations in thelengthof andmakesuretheyareplumbandlevel.A generalreview acabinet runmaycallforfillersnipsto bridgegapsbetween cab(pages100-101) of installationtechniques outlinesseveral inets.Thefinaltouchisdecorative crownmolding(page118), optionsfor installingbothloweranduppercabinetruns. whichdresses thejointbetr,veen thecabinets andtheceiling.
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Positioningand installingtheuppercabinetsof a kitchen is moredfficult than installinglowercabinets.Simple jigssuchasshop-madecabinetjacks(left) and temporary supportraik (pagell5) makethejob mucheasier.
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INSTALLATIONBASICS yourkitchen cabiheninstalling youchoose to nets,thetechnique keepthem levelwill dependon your If your lower methodof construction. integral toekick,you feature an cabinets (page legs 44) or shims use leveler can (page106)to positionthecabinetslevel, plumb,and squarewith one another to the studs.If beforenailingthe cases leveler your cabinetsaresimplecarcases, plinth are both suitable. legsor a base Whiletheplinth base(page112)can be usedwith anyIowercabinet,it is particularly well-suitedto islandsand Thisisbecause bothof these oeninsulas. iabinet tvDesaredifficult to secureto The thefloor whilehidingthefasteners. olinth is leveledfirst with shimsor idjustablelevelers,then fastenedin screwed to olacewith a fewL-brackets ihe floor and insideof the plinth. The onto islandor peninsulais thenscrewed theolinth, Uppercabinetscaneitherbescrewed to the wall studsthroughnailerrails (page116),specialized hardcommercial woodensupware,or hungon beveled oort railsscrewedto both the cabinet both ind the wall studs(opposite).In shimsareused upperandlowercabinets, and makethemall to levelthe cabinets appearto be a singleunit seamlessly joinedto the kitchen.Scriberailsand fillerstripsshouldtakecareofanygaps.
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(Page115) UPPER CABINETS
5ide view
ISTAND (Page 112)
Adjuetable leveler
INSTALLINGTHE LOWERCABINETS rla hewallsandfloorsof a kitchenare I typicallyfar from plumb,level, straight, andsquare. Commonirregularitiessuchasbowsin thewallor a problems warpedfloorcancreate when it comes timeto installcabinets thatare perfectly In olderhomes,the square. studsin thewallsmayalsobeplacedat intervals 16-inch otherthanthestandard spacing usedtoday.Thebestplanned kitchenwill poseinstallation challenges thatcannotbetackleduntil thecabinets arereadyfor assembly on-site.However, youneedto identifytheseirregularities A chalklinesimplifies markingout longlevellines,suchasindicating thetopof a lowerrun of cabinets.
PREPARING FOR INSTALLATION
beforeyoubeginputtingthecabinets in place. Yourfirsttaskis to drawlevelhorizontallinesonthewallswherethecabIf thekitchenfloor inetswill go(below). isnotlevel,youcanadjusttheheightof thecabinets laterwith shimsor various typesof commercial levelers. Next,you needto locatethewallstuds.whichare in place. crucialto securing thecabinets Thisis easilydonewith an electronic deviceknownasa studfinder,which detects differences in thethickness ofa wallby meansof a magnetic field. Lastly, thesquareness of corners will affectaclosefit (opposite). Scriberails, mustbewideenough usedto covergaps, to spananyvoids between cabinetsides andtheadjoiningwall.
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layout lines 1 Drawing I Usea longcarpenter's levelto drawa lineonthewallat the heightof the lower this linefrom cabinetstighil. Measure the highestpointof the f loorwhereit meetsthe wall (page24). lt youhave adjoining cabinetruns,startmarking fromthe highest floorpointof the respectivewalls. Thisensures thatyouwillonly needto shimthecabinetbottoms to level (lf youstarted thetopsof thecabinets. froma lowerpointonthef loor,cabinet wouldrequire scribing-amore bottoms Thelinescanalso laborious approach.) beeasilylaidoutwitha chalkline(photo,above). Repeat the procedure to mark thebottomof the uppercabinets.
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r) Checking thecorners forsquare L tlsea carpenter's square to determine (left).lf not,measure if a corneris square thegap,andusethisfigureto makescribe rails(page104).Usea plumbbobto see if thewallleansinward. lf it does,meapoint. surethegapat itswidest
wallstuds Q Locating r.,f Usean electronic studf inderto locate thecenters of thestudsin the w a l l sF. o l l o w i nt hgem a n u f a c t u r e r ' s instructions, calibrate thesensor and place thedevice against thewall.Press theoperating buttonandslidethesensorsideways across the wall(below); theredlightwillcomeonasthedevice passes overa stud.Determine theedges of eachstudandmarkitscenter. You canalsosnapa chalklineupthecenter of eachstudto locateit for bothuooer andlower cabinets.
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RUN A LOWER CABINET INSTALLING 'l Adding scribe rails I lnstall a corner cabinet first.Cuta to spanthegap scribe railwideenough between theedgeof thecabinetandthe wall.Thescribe railshould bethesame lengta h st h ec a b i n ef a t c ea, n dm a d e fromthesamematerial. Gluetherailin placesoitsfaceisf lushwiththecabinet. railin place(left)and Clamp thescribe letthegluecure.
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t r) Shimming temporarily thecabinets Z - P o s i t i ot n h ec a b i n ei tn p l a c ew i t h r a i lt o u c h i ntgh ew a l l .S l i p t h es c r i b e s h i m sb e n e a t h ec a b i n eutn t i tl h et o p of thecabinetis level(righil.Forcabin e t sw i t hl e v e l el e r g sa, d j u stth e h e i g h t o f t h el e g su n t i lt h ec a b i n ei ts l e v e l (page110).
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t therail Q Scribing r-t Seta transfer scribeslightlylarger thanthegapyoudetermined forthe scriberail(page103).Placethesteel p o i n at g a i n st ht ew a l la n dl a yt h ep e n t n t h es c r i b er a i l .K e e pt h e c i l p o i no points two levelasyouslidethetransfer scribedownthewall(above), marking thecontour of thewallontherail.
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Planing thescriberails Sandor planetheedgeof thescribe raildownto thelineyouscribed in step 2. Tilt thetoola bit towardthe rear o f t h ec a b i n eatsy o up l a n et h es c r i b e rail,creating a slightbevel(/eff).This bevelneednotbeverypronounced, but willensure a snugf it whenthecabinet is installed.
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RUNS INSTALLING ADJACENT adjacent cabinets 1 Aligning I Toinstall runsof cabinets onadjacent cabinet. Level walls,startwiththecorner a n di n s t a tl lh ec a s ea sy o ud i d i n s t e p5 (above), Place thenalignthenextcabinet. sothecabiandadjustshimsas needed n e tf a c e sa r ef l u s ha n dI e v e lC. l a m tph e (rghf). in position cabinets together
thecabinet f, Installing r-,1Reposition in placewith thecabinet t h es c r i b e r a i lt o u c h i ntgh ew a l l .S h i m the bottomandsidesof thecabinet so i t i s l e v eal n di t st o pi s a l i g n ew d i t ht h e r e f e r e n cl ien eo n t h ew a l l .F a s t etnh e c a b i n ei tn p l a c eb ys c r e w i nt g hrough t h es h i m sa n dr e a rn a i l e risn t ot h ew a l l fromthe studs(/eff).Trimthe excess shimswitha sharpknife.Alignthenext c a b i n ei tn t h er u na n ds c r e wi t t o t h e Repeat firstcabinet(below), to install t h er e m a i n doefrt h er u n .
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5HO?TI? Makingthiak shims lf you muet ehima wideqap,add a sufficienbly thick pieceof plywood Lo a ef,andard cedarshim.Thieeliminatee the needfor eeveral ahime,whichmay ehifLand complicate Ihe levelinq ?roceoo. Uoinqa pieceof plywood of uniformthickneesalso enauree that,the shimwillnoLinlroduceadditionalirregularities, as may happenwhen placinqmanyohimonexf,loeachother. JoinIhe ehimIo the plywood with a shorLscrewimakesureLhe headof the lasteneris e u n kb e l o wt h e s u r / ..,"', f ace of the ehim. G) ,/ . a ' - '
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r) Fastening thecabinets y o uh a v ea l i g n etdh ec a b i L Once nets,fastenthemtogether withscrews. D r i l tl h r e ec o u n t e r s uonikl o th o l e a st t h ef r o n ta n dt h eb a c ko f o n ec a b i n e t side.lf youareusing %-inchthick stock foryourcabinets, maketheseholes1% i n c h eds e e pT. h e nd r i v et h ef a s t e n e r s in place(above).
INSTALLING CABINETS
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fillerstrips Q Installing r-J Minoraberrations of thewallsandcabiin themeasurement to be netscanleaveyouwitha gapbetween the lastcabinets rails cannot beeliminated byadding scribe installed. lf thespace of equalwidthat eitherendof therun,cuta fillerstripthelength faceandwideenough to bridge thegapbetween of thecabinet
asthe Cutthepiecefromthesamematerial thetwocabinets. installed. Screw screw it to the cabinet already cabinets, then an addiiional stripalongthetopedgeof thecabinetbbovd,as front fillerstripandaslongasthedepthof thecabrwideasthe it asin step2. next in place, andinstall nets.Slidethe cabinet
H()()KUPS FITTING CABINETS AROUND UTITITY utilitycutouts 1 Locating I Usingthecabinet storypolesforthe cabinet(page24),transfer appropriate forplumbing andelecthemeasurements tricaloutlets ontothebackoanelof the the position and cabinettighD.lndicate sizeof eachutilitycutout.
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r) Gutting holes L Cutthe holesusinsa drillf itted witha holesawthesairesrzeasthe cutout(abovel. Makethe holesslightly larger thanthe pipe.A keyhole saw canbeusedfor largerholes.
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shut-off valves Q Attaching \, Fitdecorative flanges overthepipes, thenfastenshut-off valves to the pipe e n d sT. h e s e t a p su s u a l lrye q u i roen l y (left)tofastenthemin place. wrenches A f l e x i b l seu p p l tyu b et h e nf e e d st h e waterto thetaos.
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INSTALLINGCABINETS
KICKPLATES INSTALLING thecabinet 1l Levelins haveintegrated toe I lf yourcabinets to step2. For kicks(page100),proceed legs,usea levelto withleveler cabinets guideyouwhileyouadjustthelegs(right). Shiftthelevelfromthefrontto theside untilthecabinet andrepeat asnecessary i s l e v eol na l ls i d e sS. e c u rteh ec a b i n e t fasteners through the in placebydriving intothewallstuds. nailers
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thekickplate Scribing T o f i t t h e k i c k p l a t ep, l a c ei t o n t h e
f loorin frontof thecabinetbelow).Use to scribe thekickplate a transfer scribe asyoudid the scriberail (page105). should be Thetopedgeof thekickplate Plane the level; useshimsif necessary. kickplate to theline.
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Fitting theretaining clips Drawa centerline downtheleneth ofthekickplate's insrde face.lndicate thelocatron of eachleveler legon thekickplate. Screw therectangular plates mounting at eachof thesepoints, thenslidetheclipsontothemounting plates(above).
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Attaching thekickplate L i n eu p t h e c l i p sw i t h t h e l e g s( l e f t )
t h e ns n a pt h ek i c k p l a itnep l a c eS. l i d e t h ec l i p ss l i g h t layl o n tgh em o u n t i n g plates, if necessary, sotheylineupwith theirrespective legswhenthekickplate positioned. is properly
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ISLANDSANDPENINSULAS
With its large tiled countertop,sink, and ample storagebelow,the kitchen island abovedoesdouble duty as a dishwashingand food preparation qrea. Instead of restingon a plinth, the island is set on a molded baseframe.
I f yourkitchenis largeenough,the islandcan I additionof a freestanding tightenwork triangles,reducekitchen traffic,andeliminatecountertopclutter. a sinkor rangeandaddiIncorporating spaceinto the islandcan tionalstorage improvethe overallefficiencyof your kitchenevenmore. Installinga kitchenislandrequiresa differentapproachthantheoneusedfor kitchencabinets,asthe islandhasno supportfrom thewalls.Onesolutionis to setthe islandon a plinth. This is a woodenframewith a perimeterslightly smallerthan the cabinet.The plinth is with splinedmiterjoints,Ievassembled to thefloor;theisland eled,andfastened to theplinth.The cabinetisthenscrewed plinth canbe madefrom plywoodor solidwood.Theformeris recommendkicked ifthe floor is uneven;separate olatescanbe scribedandaddedlater,
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ISLAND A KITCHEN INSTALLING theframepieces 1 Preparing I Assemble theolinthfromveneered or solidstockusing %-inchplywood First, miterjointsat thecorners. splined to width-typiripthefourframepieces to Tocuttheframepieces cally,4 inches. l e n g t ht ,i l t t h et a b l es a wb l a d et o 4 5 " ; h e na s s e m b l e d , a n dm i t e rt h ee n d s w from beinset3 inches theolinthshould Next,make cabinet. allsidesof theisland plywood; they from%-inch somesplines s h o u l db ea s l o n ga st h ew i d t ho f t h e f ramepiecesand%inchwide.Tocutthe grooves forthesplines, in theframepieces remove thesawbladeandinstalla dado of thesplines. headsetto thethickness Adjusttheheightof thesawbladesoit endofthe cutsa 45" dadointothemitered (right);lhe pieces depth of thedado frame width of the splines. be half the should
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r) Assembling theplinth glue L npply to theendsof theframe pieces, spreading you it in thedadoes cut in step1. Spread adhesive on the s p l i n easn dt a pt h e mi n t ot h ed a d o e s . A s s e m bal en dc l a m pt h ep l i n t hu s i n g a largewebclamp(above); the model shownfeatures special corners thatdisr ev e n l y t r i b u t et h ec l a m p i npgr e s s u e along themiterjoints.
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Leveling theplinth S c r e wa n a d j u s t a b l lee v e l ear t e a c h
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corner of theplinth,installing thefirstone at thehighest floorelevation of thefour corners. Setthisleveler aslowaspossible. thenraiseor lower theothers asneeded untilthetopof plinthis level(/eft).
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t I I I Shimming theplinth l f t h e f l o o ri s u n e v e ny,o uw i l l u n d o u b t e del yn d u p w i t h g a p sb e t w e e nt h e b o t t o mo f t h e p l i n t ha n d t h e f l o o ro n c et h e p l i n t hh a sb e e nl e v e l e dF. i l lt h e g a p sw i t hs h i m s p , ositioning e a c ho n e s o i t s w i d ee n d i s o u t s i d et h e p l i n t ha r e a( a b o v e ) . A d d a d r o po f g l u et o e a c hs h i mt o h o l di t i n p l a c e a, n d u s e a c a r p e n t e rl'es v e tl o e n s u r et h a ty o ud o n o ts h i f tt h e p l i n t h t d d i t i o n aslh i m s . a s v o ui n s e r a
theplinthto thefloot F Fastening r - , 1F a s t e n t h e p l r n t ht o t h e f l o o ru s i n gL - s h a p eadn g l eb r a c k e t s S e tt h e b r a c k e tisn o l a c ea n ds c r e wt h e mt o t h e i n s i d e f a c eo f t h e p l i n t h ;u s et w o b r a c k e t sp e rs i d e .T h e ns c r e wt h e h a r d w a rteo t h e f l o o r ( a b o v e )O. n c et h e p l i n t h h a s b e e nf a s f a c eo f t e n e di n p l a c ec, u t t h e s h i m sf l u s hw i t ht h e o u t s i d e t h ep l i n t h .
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cabinel lnstalling theisland C e n t etrh e i s l a n dc a b i n e ot n t h e p l i n t h ,a n d m a r ko u tt h e p o s i t i oonf t h e p l i n t ho n t h e c a b i n ebt o t t o mS . c r e wt h e c a b i n e ti n p l a c e( r i g h i l ,d r i v i n gt h e f a s t o t t o mi n t o t e n e r st h r o u g ht h e c a b i n e b . f t e rt h e c a b i n eits i n p l a c e , t h ep l i n t hA s c r i b ea n d i n s t a lkl i c k p l a l e(sp a g el l 0 ) o n t h eo u t s i d fea c e so f t h e p l i n t h .
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INSTALLINGTHE UPPE,R CABINETS to T f pp.r.cabinetscanbe fastened LJ thewallsin oneof threeways.The easiest methodissimplyto screwthecabinetsto the wall studsthrouehnailers (below).lf you wanta lesspErmanent solution,youcanhangthecabinets from shop-made interlockingrails(page116).
Onerailisscrewed to thebackof thecabinet,theotherto thewall.Cabinets can alsobehungusingcommercially availableadjustable railsandcabinetsupports (photo,right).Whatevermethodyou choose, the cabinetsneedto be leveled beforefinalinstallation.
The European-stylecabinetsLtpportshown in the cutawaycabinet nt right providesstrongersupportfor mounting uppercabinetsthan screwsdriven into the wall. Screwedto the insidecornerof a cabinet, the hardwarefeaturesa metalhook that protrudesthroughthe backand clips onto a rnil fastenedto the wall behind the cabinet.Adjustment screwsallow the cabinetto be leveledand tightenedagainstthe rail.
INSTALLING UPPER CABINETS
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Installing a temporary support rail I Attaching a temporary support railwillhelpyouholdtheupper cabinets in position asyouinstallthem. pieceof 1-by-2 Screw a straight stockto the wall(abovd, aligning itstopwiththe layoutlineindicating thebottom of theupper cabinet run.Makesureto drivethefasteners intothewallstuds.
INSTALLING CABINETS
thefirstcabinet O Installing in theupper Z- Position thef irstcabinet runin itscorner, settingit onthesupport rail.lf necessary, adda scriberail (page the cabinetand 105),thenreposition screwit to thewallstudswithtwoscrews the backof thecabinet driventhrough all nearthetop.Donotdrivethefasteners theway;leave someslacksoyoucanshim t h ec a b i n e C t . l a m pa l e v etlo t h es i d e o f t h ec a b i n eatn ds l i ps h i m sb e h i ntdh e caseuntilit is plumb(left),thentighten Drivea secondpairof screws thescrews. the backof intothewallstudsthrough thecabrnet at thebottom.
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t I I I I cabinets Installing additional in therun Position thesecond cabinet nextto thefirstandclampthemtogether in sothefacesareflush.Drivetwoscrews them the secondcabinet(right),leauing asin slacksoyoucanshimthecabinet cabistep.Shimthesecond theprevious thenscrewit to the netuntilit is level, joining Tighten thescrews f irstcabinet. the cabinet to thewall.Screw thesecond Repeat to installthe cabinets together. in therun othercabinets
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USINGBEVELED NAILERS
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ffilltillllllllllltllfltlljtllltll}IlItllltllllllliflttlIIllllllltllli 1HO?TI? Shop-made cabinet jacke Cabinetjacke eerveas an extra pair of h a n d s ,h o l d i n qa c a 6 ei n p l a c ew h i l ey o u i n s t a l li t . Y o uc a n e a o i l ym a k ey o u r o w n jacke.7implyscrewtrhreepiecee ehop-built of Vlywoodor melamineNoqelherinboNhe l-ohapeshownaNriqhL Vakethe piecee ae lonqas the dielancebelweenthe upper cabinetrs and the counterlop.The cenNer e h o u l d w i d e b e e n o u 4 h t o o uVporN Viece a cabinelunif.
Hanging thecabinets lf youareusingbeveled nailers to install yourcabinets, firstscrewa lengthof 1-by-6 to thebackof an uppercabinet. Position thecaseonthewallsothebottomof thecaseis aligned withtheline onthewallindicating thebottom of the uppercabinets, thenmarkthelocation of the 1-by-6 onthewall.Remove the stripof woodandcuta 45" beveldown its middle. Crosscut the oieces to the desired length. Screw oneof thestrips to thewallstudsasa batten, its bevel p o i n t i nugpa n df a c i n g t h ew a l l S . crew theotherpieceto thebackof thecabinetasshown. Attacha second railan equaldistance fromthebottom of the c a b i n et o t a c ta sa s h i m S . crew a filler s t r i pt o t h eb a c ko f t h ec a b i n ef tl u s h withthebottom, thenhangthecasein place(top,left).
CROVTNMOLDING 8rown moldingaddsa nicefinish- width is aboutright for an average f \-i ins touchto a setof kitchencabi- foot-highceiling. Whilecuttingmiteredcornersat the nets.Itian alsohideunevenceilingsand with the end of a cabinetrun requirescare,the visuallyintegratethe cabinets in installingcrownmoldroom'sarchitecture. Simpleone-piece realchallenge in a varietyof ing is attachingit firmly andinvisiblyto crownmoldingis available particularlywhenthereis profilesto matchthesryleofyour kitchen the cabinets, thecabinet cabinets, andis easilycut andinstalled. onlyenoughspacebetween Youcanalsomakeyour ownwith a table- tops and the ceilingfor the molding mountedrouteranda coupleof bits (see itself.Attachinga nailerto themolding (below)allowsit to be fastenedto the \tVhenchoosingcrown backendpaper). cabinetfrom underneatn. molding,makesureit is properlyproportionedfor thekitchen;molding that Crown molding doesnot haveto is too widewill havethe effectof lowerextendall the wayto the ceiling.In the high ceilings,there caseofexceptionally ing theceiling.Molding3 or 4 inchesin maybe a gapof asmuchasa foot.This hiddenspaceabovethe cabinetcanbe usedto goodeffect;by placingfluoresCustomcrownmoldingisavailable centlightson top ofthe cabinets, the carvedpatterns with elaborate resultingindirectlightingcanadd soandscrollwork,in a widerangeof phistication to your kitchen. modernand antiquestyles(left).
MOLDING INSTALLING CROWN thenailer 1 Attaching forthefasteners I Toorovide ananchor a wheninstallrng crownmolding, attach first.Ripa %-by-IY,nailer to themolding inchpieceof stockequalin lenghto the youareinstalling pieceof molding onthe c a b i n e tT. o e a s ep a i n t i nogr f i n i s h i n g , t h en a i l esr h o u l d b ec u tf r o mt h es a m e t hge m a t e r i aalst h e m o l d i n gP. r o t e c t i n stockwithwoodpads,gluetheedgeof flushto thebottom edgeof the thenailer witha molding; support thetwopieces (right). shimasyouclampthemtogether fortheotherpieces of molding. Repeat
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Cutting themolding to lengh M a r kt h e l e n g t ho f t h e t o p o f t h e c a b i n ert u n o n t h e u p p e r
f a c eo f t h en a i l e rS. e ty o u rm i t e sr a wt o c u ta 4 5 ' a n g l ea n d p o s i t i otnh em o l d i n rgi g h t - s i duep o nt h es a ws ot h em a r ki s
e i t ht h e a l i g n ewdr t ht h eb l a d eS. e c u rteh em o l d i nign p l a c w saw'sviseknob;usea scrappieceof woodif necessary. Make yourhandwellclearof theblade(abovd. thecut,keeping
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Installing themolding P o s i t i otnh e c r o w nm o l d i n go n t o p o f t h ec a b i n ertu n ,a l i g n i ntgh e h e e lo f t h e m i t e ry o uc u t i n s t e p2 w i t ht h e c o r n e o rf t h e c a b i n e tT. h en a i l e rs h o u l de x t e n do u t o v e rt h e e x t e r i oor f t h e c a b i n e tf r o n t b y t h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e d o o r s l.f t h e r ei s s u f f i c i e n ts p a c es, c r e wt h e c r o w nm o l d i n gt o t h et o po f t h ec a b i n e ttsh r o u g h thenailers, spacing t h e f a s t e n e resv e r y6 t o 8 i n c h e s . Otherwise, drivethe fasteners fromundern e a t h .M i t e rt h e p i e c eo f c r o w nm o l d i n g f o r t h e e n do f t h e c a b i n e tt,h e ns c r e wi t in place(left).
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COLINTERTOPS s indispensable to the
easeofapplication(page126). The originalfitting neednot is to theshop,thecountertop be painstakinglyexact;once bearsthebruntof thekitchen's the laminateis gluedin place, workload.In additionto suDit can be trimmed perfectly portingthepreparation and flushwith the substrateusinga cookingof meals, thecounter laminatetrimmer. This cusisalsoanall-purpose worksurtom-fittingabilityis particufaceusedfor scores of other larly usefulwhen meldingthe dailyhousehold tasks,from top sheetof laminatewith a brewingcoffeeto writingletcontrastingedge treatment (page1j7). Plasticlaminateis ters,fromfixingappliances to sundryarts andcraftsactivities. thematerialusedto makeinexItmustbesolidenough tostand pensive,popularpre-molded on,easily cleaned withadamp A tile baclcsplash canelevatean ordinarykitcheninto a countertops (page132).These cloth,anddurableenoughto workof art. In thekitchenshownabove,a baclesplash of countertops havethetop,edge lookasgoodafter10yearsas decorative ceramictilesis carriedoverinto an elaborate treatment, and backsplash thedayit wasinstalled. mural in theopenspaceabovetherange,providinga tracombinedin oneunit, andtake Fortunately,the technical ditionalcontrastto theclean,modernlinesof thecabinets. much of the work out of innovationsthat transformed installinga countertop.Solidkitchencabinetmaking in thepost-warerahavemadethiskind surfacecountertops(page129)aremoredifficult to installbut of performance commonplace. In particular,theperfectionof the resultsarerewarding.The ability to mold edgesand exeplasticlaminatehasput attractiveand resilientcountertops cuteinvisiblejoints and repairshasmadesolid-surface counwithin thereachof eventhetightestof homebuildingbudgets. tertopssecondonly to plasticlaminatein popularity,despite Solid-surface materials soldundersuchbrandnamesasCorian their highercost. andAvoniteofferevenbetterperformance-but at a price.And Gettingall the detailsright is the mark of true craftsmanthere still is a placein the kitchenfor natural materialslike (pages ship,andinstallinga backsplash 134-1j6)is an excellent wood and stone.Theguideon page122will helpyou choose wayto addan individualtouchto your kitchen.Sincea backthe bestcountersurfacefor your kitchen;thepagesthat follow splashdoesnot bearasmuchabuseasa countertop,you have outlinethe procedures andtechnioues necessarv to installit. considerably moreleewaywhenchoosingthe material.Wood While initallation methodsdiffer somewhatamongcounandtile,which canbeproblematicascountertopsurfaces, are tertop materials,therearemanysimilarities.The procedure excellentchoicesfor backsplashes. Selectingthe perfectpiece for installinga sink in a countertopwith a plasticlaminate of hardwoodor usingceramictileswith an antiquehandsurface(page125),for example,canbe easilyadaptedto othpaintedpatternasa backsplashcould be the differencethat er countertops. One of the appealsof plasticlaminateis its makesyour kitchenunique. kitchen asa workbench
Solid-surface countertopmaterialsoffersuperiorjoint-cuxingandshapingabilities. Thekitchenat leftfeaturescountertops madefrom Corian,a popularsolid-surface material.Notethemoldedcornersand seamless transitionfrom countertopto sink.
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A GALLERYOF COUNTERTOPSURFACES tl- h. idealcountertopis not only laminatehassincebecome thestandard, andcounters millionsof tables I attractive. durable, heat-resistant covering and waterproolbut easyto form, aroundtheworld. Madeof castacrylicandpolyester, install,andrepair,andinexpensive. wereinvented countertops Alas,thiswonderhasyetto beinvented. solid-surface products, in thelate1960s, andaretheclosest to an Fortunately, thereareseveral both man-madeand natural,that idealcountersurface,but for their permits, youcan expense. Ifyourbudget comeclose. ofstone,suchas Plastic laminate isthemostcommon opt for theopulence facingmaterial.Firstcreated graniteor marble.Woodcanbea very countertop counter, butmanypeopleshy isformedbybond- attractive in 1913, thismaterial phenolicresins, ingpaper, andmelamine awayfromusingit nearthesinkwhere wet. plasticunderheatandpressure. Plastic it will become
kitchens Someof thebest-designed matemakeuseof several contrasting rials,takingadvantage oftheirdifferForexample, entstrengths. a counter might be mostlywood or tile but steelaroundthe switchto stainless sink.Anotheroptionis a plasticlamwith inateor solid-surface countertop aninsetcuttingboardof wood.Lastly, possibildo not forgetthedecorative itiesof thebaclsplash, wheretheuseof eitherwoodor tilescanadda handcraftedtouch.
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Plasticlaminate is tough,inexpensive, and relativelyeasyto apply.Because it cannotbe it ispaperthin, however, shapedand is very dfficult to repair.
Solid-surfacematerial,suchasCorian or Avonite,is expensive, but can be workedmuchlike wood,sincethepatthroughits ternand coloris consistent It canalsobejoined entirethickness. or repairedwith invisibleresults.
Granite is the mostprestigious-and expensive-materialfor countertops: extremelyhard,smooth,and idealfor rollingpastrydough.It is alsoheavy and difficultto install.
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but is and Marble is veryexpensive Tile is heat-and water-resistant availablein a varietyofpatterns,colors, not astoughasgranite.And like granite,it needsto becut and thetiles andfinishes.Thegroutbetween canbecome stainedand mildewedunless p olished professionalf . ahigh-qualityepoxygroutis used.
arewarm and Woodencountertops pleasant-well suitedfor country-style kitchens,but theleastdurableof thelot. Theyarebestusedfor part of a counter, suchasa choppingblockinsert.
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Woodenand plasticlaminatecountertopsare installedby simply screwing them to the supportingcabinets. In the photo at left, a woodencountertop with mitered solid wood edging is beingsecuredto a cornercabinet that featuresa lazy Susan;thefastenersare driven through the cabinet's countertopnailers into stretchers attached to the undersideofthe top.
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BUITDING UPTHECOUNTER
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Attaching stretching andcleats as stretchers andcleatsof thesamematerial h e d i u m - d e n -of 4-inch-wide e rseu s u a l lm y a d eo f % - i n cm C o u n t esru b s t r a t a of the Screw thestretchers alongtheedges for itsdimensional stability. Todouble thesubstrate. chosen sityf iberboard, thestretchers, spacing substrate, thenattachcleatsbetween t h ep e r c e i v et hdi c k n e sosf t h ec o u n t e r t oa pn di n c r e a si tes of lf youarejoiningtwosheets t ei t hs t r e t c h ear n s dc l e a t s . themevery1Bto 20 inches. s t r e n g t hb ,u i l du p t h es u b s t r a w (above), countertop makesureto substrate intoan L-shaped , a k i n sgu r et o i n c l u dteh e F i r s ct u tt h es u b s t r a t oe s i z e m a cleatontheioint. % inch.Thenprepare a number secure amount of overhang; typically
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CUTTING A HOLEFORTHESINK thesubstrate 1 Marking I Mostnewsinkscomewitha template t h a tw i l lh e l py o up o s i t i oann dm a r kt h e o p e n i nognt h es u b s t r a tlef y. o ud o n o t youcanmakeonefrom havea template, Place thesinkfacedownon cardboard. Next thecardboard andtraceitsoutline. line%inchinside thefirst drawa second onethencutoutthetemplate along this innerline.Draw a pairof linesdividing the in halfbothvertically andhoritemplate zontally. Center thesinkonthesubstrate marking intersectatopitslower cabinet, Place theteminglinesonthesubstrate. platein position andalignthetwopairsof lines.Trace theoutline witha pencil(/efil.
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r) Cutting theopening youhavemarked L Once outtheposit i o no f t h es i n k c, h e c kt h a tt h el i n ed o e s holding the notcrossanyof thescrews Next,drillaY,-inch stretchers andcleats. just access holethrough the substrate inside t h ep e r i m e t eI rn.s t a lal c o m b i n a tionbladein a saber sawandlowerthe . o l d i ntgh et o o l blade t h r o u gthh eh o l eH f i r m l yt,u r ni t o na n ds t a rct u t t i n a gl o n g the linetighil. f ry to cut ascloseto the Thisneednotbeexact, lineas possible. a st h ee d g ew i l lb eh i d d e n b yt h el i p o f thesink.To keepthewastepiecefrom breaking off asyouneartheendof the cut,support it withyourfreehand.Solids u r f a cteo o ss h o u l dn e v ebr ec u tw i t h saw;instead, usea router witha a saber bitanda plywood template. straight
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COUNTERTOPS
INSTALLING A TAMINATE COUNTERTOP laminate 1t Trimmins -
I A sheeo t f p l a s t i cl a m i n a t e c a n b e r i p p e dt o w i d t ho n y o u r t a b l es a w ,b u t i t i s e a s i etro c r o s s c ui t w i t ht h e j i g s h o w nh e r e . T o s e t u p t h e j i g , f i r s tj o i n t t w o b o a r d ss o t h e ye a c hh a v eo n e s t r a i g het d g e W . i t ha f r a m i n gs q u a r ed, r a wa l i n ea c r o s tsh e l a m i n a t ae t t h e d e s i r e d l e n g t hN . e x t s, a n d w i cthh e l a m i n a t e b e t w e e tnh e b o a r d sa s s h o w nA . l i g nt h e l i n ew i t h t h e e d g e so f t h e b o a r d sa n dc l a m pt h e w h o l ea s s e m b ltyo t h e w o r ks u r f a c e . I n s t a lal f l u s h - t r i m m i nbgi t i n y o u rr o u t e a r n ds e t t h e c u t t i n g d e p t hs o t h e p i l o tb e a r i n w g i l l r u b a g a i n stth e j i g . P l a c et h e r o u t e frl a t o n t h e j i g a n de a s et h e b i t i n t ot h e l a m i n a t em , aking s u r et h e b e a r i n gr u b sa g a i n stth e j i g t h r o u g h o ut h t e cut(left). l f a s h e e ti s d a m a g e ad t b o t he n d s ,f i r s tt r i m o n ee n dt o g e ta c l e a ne d g e t, h e nm a r ko f f t h e d e s i r e dl e n g t ha n dt r i m t h e o t h e r e n d .C u tt h e l a m i n a t ae t l e a s a t n i n c hl o n g ear n dw i d e rt h a n n e c e s s a rivt :c a n b e t r i m m e df l u s hl a t e r .
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Flueh-trimminq bit
r) Trimming pieces matched Z- Whenever twopieces of plastic laminate meetit is important o v e r l a p p itnhge mb y4 t o 5 i n c h e sa,n dc l a m pt h ea s s e m b l y thattheymatchperfectly. Anygapswillbeverynoticeable and i n p l a c eT. os u p p o rt h t eo u t e sr h e e tc, l a m pi t t o t h et a b l er n jig about6 inches unattractive. Trimming thetwosheets before installation in the a second fromthefvst(inseil. Totrimthe jigshown herehowever willresultin precisely matched edges sheets, settherouter onthejig withthepilotbearrng against every time.Theprocedure (above). issimilar to trimming a single sheet theedge, thenpullit through thesheets Keepa slight bothsheets 6tep1).Tosetupthejig,secure between theboards, pressure against thejigthroughout thecut.
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Positioning thelaminate sheet to thesubAttach thelaminate stratewithcontactcement.Firstf inish (page138); the edgesof the substrate o t h e r w i tsheee d g eo f t h el a m i n a twei l l size, Trimthesheet to approximate show. (sfep2).fhe edges andjointanymating sheetshownat leftis for an L-shaped corner canbetrimmed counter; theinside aftergluing.Applyan evencoatof conandlet it tactcement to thesubstrate dry.Thenapplya thincoatto bothsurAsconfacesandletdryuntilit istacky. set%-inch tactcement bondsinstantly, about12 inches dowels onthesubstrate a p a r tL. a yt h e l a m i n a tseh e eot n t h e dowels withoutlettingit touchthesubstrale(lefil.
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downthelaminate / Gluing 'tSlide thelaminate sheetoverthedowit properly; sincethesheet elsto position youhavesomemaris slightly oversized, ginforerror.Starting at oneend,remove thef irstdowelandoressthe laminate Worktoward the against thesubstrate. dowels andpressing otherend,removing the laminate downasyougo (right).Press thesubstrate thelaminate sheetagainst w i t ha r o l l e (r i n s e t )l f. y o ua r ed e a l i n g w i t ht w om a t c h i nsgh e e t sd,r a wa l i n e wherethetwosheets across thesubstrate a r et o m e e t W . h e ni n s t a l l i ntgh ef i r s t downtheedgestartsheet, beginbylaying . o i n s t a tl lh es e c o n d i n ga t t h i sl i n e T butting itsedge sheet, beginbycarefully against thefirstpiece.
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Trimming theedges f, r - , 1U s ea r o u t eor r l a m i n a tter i m m e r mounted witha flushtrimming bittotrim theedges of thelaminate. First,remove anygluesqueeze-out fromthejoint.Then s e tt h ec u t t i n g d e p t hs ot h eb e a r i nwgi l l r u bt h em i d d l e o f t h es u b s t r a tTeo.t r i m theedges, holdthetrimmer f latonthe c o u n t ear n de a s ei t i n t ot h e l a m i n a t e . C o n t i n ume o v i ntgh et r i m m ear l o n g the edge(right), working against thedirection of bit rotation andkeeping slightpressure againstthesubstrate.
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Cutting outthesinkopening Thelaminate covering thesinkopeningcanbecutoutusing thesamemethod youusedto trimtheedges. Starting the cut,however, is a bit moretricky.You c a ne i t h edr r i l la h o l et h r o u gthh el a m i nateandusea regular bottom-mounted f l u s h - t r i m m bi ni tgo r y o uc a ne q u i pa p l u n g reo u t ewr i t ha s p e c i apla n epl i l o t b i t .T h i sb i t h a sa p o i n t etdi p t h a tc a n penetrate the laminate: theshaftof the bitthenactsasa pilotto guidethetrimmer.Sincethisbitdoesnothavea pilot bearing it mayburntheedge, butthiswill b eh i d d eunn d etrh es i n k
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tothecabinet thecounter I Screwing / Position thecounter onthecabinet withwoodscrews, andanchor thecounter drivingthemin frombelow(right).Secure thecabinet's couneachscrewthrough t e r t o pn a i l e r as n di n t ot h e s t r e t c h e r s of thecounattached to the underside tertop.Selectthe sizeof yourfasteners c a r euf l l y ;t o ol o n ga s c r e wc o u l dp i e r c e thelaminate.
Counf,ertop nailer
Counter etretcher
THESINK INSTALLING
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thefit 1 Testing to checkthefit hbovd. I lnsertthesinkintothecounter Marktheholesonthe if necessary. Trimthecounter opening a n d c u t t h e m o u tw i t ha h o l es a w . f o r t h e t a p s countertop puttyto theunderside of thesinkrim.(Some Applyplumber's foamtapethatserves closed-cell sinkscomewitha special (above) purpose.) place into andadjust Lower the sink thesame it soit restssquare to theedgeof thecounter.
l') Securing thecountel clamps thatpullit L me sinkis heldin placewithspecial eachclamp,insertits thecounter top.Toinstall downagainst . i g h t e int ( a b o v e ) h o o ki n t ot h em a t c h i ncgl i po nt h es i n k T endtouches thesubstrate. 0nceall the untiltheserrated begin to secure thesinkasevenly asposclamps arein place, s i b l eg, r a d u a tl li yg h t e n i ne ga c hc l a m pa l i t t l ea t a t i m eu n t i l avoidovertightening. therimisf lushwiththecountertop;
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INSTATTING A SOTID.SURFACE COUNTERT()P funingstrips 1 Attaching I U n l i k ep a r t i c l e b o asrodl,i ds u r f a c e m a t e r i aelx p a n dasn dc o n t r a c twsi t h changes in temperature, so it cannot be a t t a c h etdo a f u l l s u b s t r a t e I n. s t e a d , attachit directlyto the cabinets or to furring strips. Furring stripsaddheight to thecountertop andallowa built-up edge to beaddedlater.Cuta number of ,/o-by4-inchboards to matchthedeothof the countertop. Attachthestripsto cabinet modules withwoodscrews, spacing them about18 inches apart.Addan extrafurringstripwherever twosheets areto be joinedand3 inches fromeithersideof anopening fora sinkorcooktop.
r) Adding silicone sealer I to allowforexpansion, thecounter m u s tb e f a s t e n etdo t h e f u r r i n gs t r i p s withsilicone sealer aboutevery 8 inches. Position the counterin placeandadjust it soit issquare to thecabrnets. lf theend of thecountertop meetsa wall,leavean gapto allowforexpansion. }{-inch lf you a r ej o i n i n gt w om a t c h i nsgh e e t sf i,r s t s t i c ka l e n g t h ofaluminum conductive tape(commercial ducttapeistooporous) to thefurringstripwheretheywill meet (seestep3), thenapplythesilicone on topof thetape.
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thesheets Joining L a yt h e f i r s ts h e e to f s o l i d - s u r f a c e m a t e r i ai n l p l a c eo n t h e f u r r i n gs t r i p s , c l a m p i n gi t t o k e e pi t f r o m m o v i n gL. a y t h e s e c o n ds h e e tr n p l a c e a, r r a n g i ntgt so thereis an evengapof /, inch between . o r kq u i c k l yt ;h e s i l i c o n e t h et w os h e e t sW the , aking w i l ls e tw i t hi n 2 0 mi nu t e s m c o u n t e r t odpr f fr c u l t o m o v e .M a k ea d a m u n d e rt h e g a pw h e r ei t o v e r h a n gt hs e conducc a b i n e tw s i t hs o m ea l u m i n u m tivetape (/eft).
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jointadhesive Applying S e l e c t i ntgh e r i g h tc o l o ra n d p a t t e r n e tube t o m a t c ht h e c o u n t e r t o pp,r e p a r a a d h e s i v a e c c ording o f s o l i d - s u r f al coei n t ( T h i s u sually d i r e c t i o n s . to manufacturer's in i n l e c t i n g o f c a t a l y s t to a t u b e involves m i x i n g t he o f a d h e s r v a e n d a l a r g etru b e g a p m i x ture, w r t h t h e h a l f u l l t w o . )F i l lt h e B e s u r e t o t o f r o n t . w o r k i n gf r o m b a c k P u s h t h e s h e ets k e e pt h e t u b ev e r t i c a l . t n o e r h erro s c l r e e / eo u rt h e e x c e s a sdhe s i t ha t o o t h p t c k siveP . o pa n ya i r b u b b l ew t a n d a d d e x t r aa d h e s i v eo a r e a sw h e r e t h e a d h e s i vlei e sb e l o wt h e s u r f a c eo f t h e c o u n t e r t o pD. o n o t r e m o v et h e e x c e s s ; i t w i l l b e s a n d e dd o w nl a t e r .
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thesheets together f, Clamping r,f Attacha stripof woodto the countertop on eithersideof thegapwithbeadsof glue.Clampa pairof handscrews hot-melt to thestripsto pullthetwosheets snugly together. Donotclampthemtootightlysincethiscansqueeze outall theadhesive. Letthegluecureforonehour,thenloosen theclamps andtapoffthewoodstrips. Usea puttyknifewithrounded edgesto remove anyleftover hotglue.
surface fi Smoothingthe \,f Remove the excess adhesive and levelthejointwitha blockplane.Make surethebladeis verysharpandthecornersareslightly rounded. A beltsander with 120-gritpaperwill alsoworkbut it produces muchmoredustandruns theriskof gouging thecounter. Smooth thejointfurtherwitha randomorbit (above). sanderusing18O-grit sandpaper To keepthe dustdown,moisten the counter. Finally, bufftheentiresurface polishing pad.Again, witha synthetic keepthesurface moist.Thef inaljoint perfectly shouldbe invisible.
Sincetheir colorandpattern run throughtheir entirethickness,solidsurfacecountertops offerunmatched shapingandjoinery abilities.In the photoat left,a solid-surface countertop is bondedseamlessly with a sink of thesamematerial.Thebuilt-in drain boardto theright of thesink wasmadeby routinggroovesin the countertopwith a carbide-tipped bit.
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COUNTERTOP A PRE-M()LDED INSTALLING
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r I I end thecountertop 1 Laminating I A p p l yp l a s t i cl a m i n a tteo t h e v i s i b l e n do f a p r e - m o l d e d . o re x a m p l ew, h e n d d g e sF c o u n t e tro h i d ea n yg a p so r e x p o s e e t h e c o u n t e ri s p u s h e da g a i n stth e w a l lt h e r ew i l l b e a w i d e g a po n t h e e x p o s e e t h e b a c k s p l a sahn dt h e w a l l . dndbetween . o c o v e tr h e e n d ,u s ea F i l l t h i sg a pw i t h a w o o d e nb l o c k T p r e - f o r m esdt r i po r c u t a r e c t a n g loef l a m i n a t e s l i g h t l yo v e r s i z e ,
cement. Install a bottomwithcontact thenaffixit to thecounter l a m i n a t e rimmer b r t i n a r o u t e o r r f l u s h t r i m m i n g mounted i n c h T . o t r i m t h ee n d , a b o u t / , c u t t i n g d e p t h t o a n ds e tt h e m o v e b i t a l la r o u n d t h e n t h e i n t o t h e l a m i n a t e , e a s et h eb i t (abovd. flat theend of the tool against Keep the base itsedges a smooth cut. to ensure
r) loiningpre-molded countertops y v a i l a b lien l e n g t h su p L P r e - m o l d ecdo u n t e r t o pasr et y p i c a l l a t o 1 2 f e e t l o n g ,s o t h e yr a r e l yh a v et o b e j o i n e di n a c a b i n e t . u t t i n ga p r e - m o l d e d r u n .C o r n ejro i n t s ,h o w e v ear ,r ec o m m o nC c o u n t e r t oapt a p e r f e c4t 5 " a n g l ei s t r i c k y ,t h o u g h a, n d i s a 1 o b a il t h a l a r g er a d i a l - a r m s a w .J o i n i n g b e s tl e f tt o a p r o f e s s i o nw afterwardis somewhat with counterconnectors the countertoos and e a s i e rP . l a c et h e t w o s e c t i o nfsa c e - d o wonn a w o r ks u r f a c e r .o p l a c et h e c o n b u t tt h e m a t i n ge d g e so f t h e . l o i ntto g e t h e T n e c t o r sm , a k ea m a r ka c r o s st h e j o i n t6 i n c h e sf r o me i t h e r e n d .R e f e r r r nt og t h e m a r k sd, r i l la 3 5 m m - d i a m e treerc e sos n e i t h e rs i d eo f t h e j o i n t ,s e t b a c k1 %i n c h e sf r o mt h e 1 o i n tF. o r m a c h a n n ebl e t w e e tnh e r e c e s s ef so r t h e b o l tb y m a k i n gt w oc u t s g u tt h e w a s t ew i t ha c h i s e l . w i t ha d o v e t a si la w ,t h e nc l e a n i n o T o j o i nt h e t w o c o u n t e r t o pas l,i g nt h e m ,i n s e rt h e c o n n e c t o r s , a n dt i g h t e nt h e mw i t h a w r e n c hu n t i l t h e ya r eb o t hs n u g? i g h i l . C h e c kt h a tt h e c o u n t e r t o pasr ep e r f e c t layl i g n e da n df l u s h ,t h e n f i n i s ht r g h t e n i ntgh e c o n n e c t o r s .
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Scribing thebacksplash S i n c ew a l l sa r es e l d o ms t r a i g h ty,o u w i l l p r o b a b lnye e dt o s c r i b et o f i t t h e w a l l , t h e ns a n dd o w nt h e h i g hs p o t s P . ositron t h e c o u n t e r t oipn p l a c ea n ds e ta t r a n s f e r s c r i b es l i g h t l yw i d e rt h a nt h e d i s t a n c e b e t w e etnh e w a l la n dt h e l i p . H o l dt h e t o o la s s h o w na t l e f tt h e np u l l i t a l o n gt h e w a l lt o m a r kt h e b a c k s p l a s R h .e p e afto r t h e o t h e rw a l l .
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Sanding backsplash A s t h e l i p o f t h e b a c k s p l a si sho n l y a b o u tI i n c ht h i c k ,i t i s f a i r l ye a s yt o s a n di n t os h a p eW . i t ha v e r yl i g h tt o u c h s a n dd o w nt o t h e s c r i b e dl i n ew i t h a b e l ts a n d e r( b e l o w )H. o l dt h e s a n d e r a g a i n stth e e d g ea t a n a n g l es o i t w i l l r e m o v es l i g h t l ym o r em a t e r i aflr o m t h e b o t t o me d g et h a nt h e t o p .T h i sw i l l e n s u r ea v e r yc l o s ef i t a t t h ew a l l .R e p e a t f o r t h e o t h e rw a l l .
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AND EDGETREATME,NTS BACKSPLASHES
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MAKING A TILEBACKSPLASH thesubstrate 1t Attachins -
I T o p r o v i dae g l u i n gs u r f a c a e n dt o a d d depthto a tile backsplash, screwa /:tnchs u b s t r a tteo t h e w a l lf i r s t . t h i c kp l y w o o d D p t p r m i n i n o t h p r - n r r e r ^ltp n s t h n f t h c s r r h e
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f i x e dw i d t ha n dt h e e n do f t h e b a c k s p l a s h u s u a l lwy i l l n o tf a l la t t h e c o u n t e r e' sn d . T h ee n do f t h e b a c k s p l a si shu s u a l lsyl i g h t l y s e t b a c k( s e ep a g e 1 3 6 ) .I o f i n d t h e c o r r e cl te n p t hl a vo r r ta l t h et i l e so n t h e c o u n t ew r i t h a n I i n c hs p a c eb e t w e e n t h e r na n dc u t t h es u b s t r a t e o t h i sl e n g t h : r i n i f o n r r : l i n i h o n o r o h tn { i h o t i l p c .n l r r s
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n ft t h es t u d s I i n c h .M a r kt h e p l a c e m e o d ith o n t h e w a l l ,t h e ns e c u r e t h e p l y w o ow two screwsin eachstud (/eft).lf necessaryu . s et w o p e c e so f p l y w o otdr i m n e d
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r) Applying mastic (^-t
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C ' e a nt h e p l y w o o cw i t h a s l g h t l y d a m p e n ecdl o t ht o p , c ku p a n yd u s t . P r o t e ctth e c o u n t e r t ow pith nasking t a n p a n d : n n l v a s t r n p r o JcSo a to f m a s t i c w i r ha s e r r a t etdr o w e ls, m o o t h , nigt a s y o ug o t o c r e a t ea s u r f a c e l r k ea f r e s h l y
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n l n r a r p df i p l r l D n n n t t r v l n r ^ n v o rt n n l a r o p
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a n a r e aa t f i r s t ;t h e m a s t i cs e t si n a b o u t 30 minutes.
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Mounting thetiles Cut%-inch-thick spacers to separate thetiles.Makesurethetilesareall clean place anddustfree.Starting in onecorner, twospacers onthecounter in frontof the w a l lw h e r e t h ef i r s t i l ew i l lg o .S e t h e tileonthespacers andpivotit intoplace, separating it fromthewallcorner with another spacer. Press thetileagainst the givingit a slighttwistto ensure substrate, a tightfit. Theninstallthe restof the (lghf). tiles,separating themwithspacers
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t Attaching molding Addmolding to thetopof thebacksplash afterthetilemastichascured.The widthof themolding shouldbeequalto thecombined thickness of thesubstrate andthetiles.Mitertheendof themolding,thentrimit to length. Applya beadof glueto theplywood substrate thenplace themolding in position. Fasten it to the substrate witha finishing nailevery 5 to 6 inches. Remove themasking tapeand s e atl h et i l e sb yf i l l i n ga l lt h eg a p sw i t h e p o xgy r o u ta, n da p p l y i nagj o i n to f s i l i conebetween thetilesandcountertoo.
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BACKSPLASH INSTALLING A W()()DEN thebacksnlash 1I Attachins -
I T o m a k ea w o o d e n b a c k s p l a swh, t h n o l d e dt o pa n ds i d ee d g e s . ' r s l aal l s q u a r e - e d gbeoda r dt,h e na d da m o l d i n g ( p a g e1 3 5 )o r s h a p et h e e d g eo f a w i d e r b o a r dw i t h a r o u t e or r s h a p ear n d n s t a l l t h e b a c k s p l a si nho n ep i e c eI.n e i t h e cr a s e , s c l e c ra ' p r - p t h o f a t t r a c t i vhea r d w o ofco r y o u rb a c k s p l a sahn d p l a n ei t t o a t h i c k n e s so f / t a / , i n c h .C u ti t t o s i z e m , akrng r t s l r g h t lsyh o ' t e trl ^ a nt h e c o u r t e " t o tpo c r e a t ea s e t b a c ak t t r e e n d .l V i t etrn ee r d s o tf e a c h a s s h o w nl.n d i c a t teh e p l a c e m e n s t u dw i t ha l i g h tm a r ko n t h ew a l l ,t h e n nailthe boardin place(left).
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r) Installing a return L W f r " " t h e b a c n s p l a senr o s . m a v .aP r e t u r nm o l d i n gf r o ms o m es c r a pl e f t o v e r f r o mt h e b a c k s p l a s M h .i t e rt h e r e t u r ns o i t f r l l st h eg a pb e t w e etni e b a c k s p l a s h a s q u a r e n da n d a n dt h e w a l l ,f o r m i n g c o n t i n u i nt gh e m o l d e dp r o f i l eS. i n c et h s p i e c ew i l l n o t b e s u b j e c t etdo a l o t o f s t r e s ist c a n b e s , m p l g y l u e d ' np l a c e a n dt h e nh e l dw i t h s o m em a s k i n tga p e u n t i lt h eg l u ec u r e s .
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A chamfering bit revealsa walnut divider betweenplastic laminate top and edgesurfaces.This effect was createdby applying a solid wood edgeto the countersubstrate,then adding laminate to the top and edge. Not only is this an auractive way to easethe counterfront but it alsodisguisesthe dark edgesof the laminate.
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INSTATTING A DECORATIVE EDGING
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'l Applying wooden edging I Applysolidwoodedging to thecountertop youglue before (page126).(Ihiswillensure downtheplastic laminatelop there arenocracks between theupperlaminate andtheedging.) Mill theedgestockto a thickness of %inchandthedesired width.
Spread a filmof glueonthewood,thenfastenthe piecein place w i t hf i n i s h i nnga i l se v e r4y t o 6 i n c h e sl f. t h ee d g ew i l l (step9, placethenailsat least%inchbelow bechamfered the topedge; thiswillprotect therouterbitfrombeingdamaged.
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r) Applying laminate a bit laminate of plastic I trtma length w i d etrh a nt h et h i c k n e sosf t h ec o u n t e r . edgewithcontact Fasten it to thecounter (left)and press it downf irmly cement hascured, When the adhesive roller. witha r o u t eor r f l u s h w i t h a l a m i n a t e t r i mt h e a chisel to square Use laminate trimmer. t h e n r e m o vaen y i n s i d c e o r n e r s , u pa n y with a scraper. cement contact excess et h e 0 n c et h i si s d o n ea, p p l yl a m i n a t o I 25-1 27). countertop @ages
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theedge Q Chamfering r - J B yc h a m f e r i nt hgec o r n e rosf t h e youwillexpose thewood edging, built-up a edgeyouaddedin thefirststep.lnstall piloted and bit in yourrouter chamfering setthecuttingdepthto % inch.Holding thetoolwithits basef latonthecounteruntilthe thebitintothelaminate top,ease edge.Move thecounter touches bearing r , o r k i nigt t h et o o la r o u n tdh ec o u n t e w Thebtt of bit rotation. thedirectron against cutrightintotheapexof an inside cannot g m b ' tso n g u e c o r n e rb,u tt h er e s u l t i nl a pattern effect. is anattractive
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MOLDING A WO()DEN EDGE
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R o u t i nagn o g e ep r o f i l e N a i l a s o l i dw o o ds t r i pt o t h e e d g eo f t h e c o u n t e r( p a g e1 3 7 ) b e f o r eg l u i n gt h e p l a s t i cl a m i n a t ed o w no n t h e c o u n t e r t o p . S i n c ey o u w i l l b e s h a p i n gt h e e d g ew i t h a r o u t e r m , a k es u r e t o p l a c et h e f a s t e n e rws e l lb e l o wt h e b i t ' sd e p t ho f c u t ( a b o v e ) . N e x t ,a t t a c ht h e l a m i n a t et o p a n d t r i m i t f l u s h ( p a g e sJ 2 6 1 2 7 ) .T o s h a p et h e e d g e ,i n s t a l a l p i l o t e do g e eo r o t h e re d g e -
forming b i t i n y o u r o u t e rS. e tt h et o o lo n t h ec o u n r earn c a d l u stth ec u t t i n gd e p t hs ot h eb e a r i nwg i l lr i d ea g a i n st ht e loweredgeof thecounter. Toshapetheedge,setthe router f l a to nt h ec o u n t e r t ot h pe , ne a s et h eb i t i n t ot h ew o o dM . ove therouter around thecounter, working against thebit'sdirect i o no f r o t a t i o n .
R()UTING A DRIPEDGE IN A S()LID-SURFACE C()UNTER
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S h a p i nag d r i pe d g e A d r i pe d g ei s a s l i g h t l yr a i s e de d g et h a t p r e v e n tm s i n o rs p i l l sf r o mr u n n i n go f f t h e c o u n t e r t o pA. p p l ya s t r i po f m a t c h i n g s o l i d - s u r f am c ea t e r i at o l t h e e d g eo f t h e c o u n t e r t o pc,r e a t i n ga r a i s e de d g e .A f f i x t h e e d g i n gw i t h a d h e s i vdee s i g n eeds p e c i a l l yf o r t h e m a t e r i a(l p a g e s1 3 0 - 1 3 1 ) . I n s t a l l ap i l o t e d r i pe d g eb i t i n y o u rr o u t e r a n da d j u s t h e c u t t i n gd e p t hs o t h e t o p o f t h e c u r v ei s e v e nw i t ht h e r o u t e rb a s e ; t h e i n s e ts h o w sh o wt h e b t t s h o u l dm e e t t h ec o u n t e rT.o s h a p et h ec o u n t e rh,o l dt h e routerbaseagainstthe edge,then lowerit u n t i lt h e p i l o tb e a r i ntgo u c h etsh e c o u n tertopsurface.Keepingthe routerpressed f l a t a g a i n stth e e d g e ,m o v et h e t o o la l o n g the counter(/eit).
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GLOSSARY A-B-C.D leveller:Anycommercial Adjustable foot or leg attachedto lowerkitchen cabinetsto leveland supportthem. Auxiliary fence:A woodenattachment to a tool's rip fencethat servesto attach and preventaccidental accessories damageto the fence. Backsplash:A continuation of the countertopalongthe backwall; canbe part of the countertopitselfor made from tile orwood. Biscuit: A thin oval wafer of compressedwood that fits into a semicircular slot cut by a platejoiner. Blank A pieceof solid or glued-up wood usedto createa furniture part. Board-and-battendoor: A door madeof boardsfastenedtogether with lap joints and held together by a diagonalbatten. Board foot A unit of wood volume measurementequivalentto a pieceof wood one inch thick, 12incheslong, and 12incheswide. Caul: In veneeringor gluing uP a carcase,a board placedbetween the clampsand theworkpieceto distribute clampingpressure. Chalk line: A length of twine loaded with chalkdustusedto mark longlines that arenormally eitherlevelor plumb. Chamfer:A decorativebevelcut along the edgeof a workpiece. Cheek The faceof the projecting joint. tenonin a mortise-and-tenon Cockbeading:A narrow decorative molding appliedto the insideedges of a faceframeor draweropening.
Cope-and-stickjoint: A methodof joining stilesand rails in frame-andpanelconstruction.Tonguesin the railsmeshwith groovesin the stiles; a decorativemolding is cut alongthe insideedgeof the frame. Counterbore:To drill a hole that permits the headof a screwto sit below the wood surfaceandbe concealed with a wood plug. Countersink:To drill a hole that permits the headof a screwto lie flush with or slightlybelowa wood surface. Dado: A rectangularchannelcut in a workpiece. Dado head:A combinationof blades and cuttersusedto form dadoesand groovesin wood. The assemblyis mounted on a tablesawwith two bladesseparatedby oneto five cutters to achievethe right width.
Featherboard:A pieceof woodwith "feathers"alongoneend thin fingersor againstthe to hold a workpiecesecurely fenceor tableof a powertool. Fence:An adjustableguideusedto keepthe edgeof a workpiecea setdistancefrom the cutting edgeof a tool. Filler strip: A thin strip of either material wood or laminate-covered usedto concealgapsbetweencabinets. Furring strip: A narrow length of wood installedatop a lower cabinet to supportthe counterand raiseits height. Glass-stopmolding: Decorativestrips of woodusedto hold panesof glassin a cabinetdoor. Glazingbars:Molded stripsof wood joined by half-lapsto hold several panesofglassin a singlecabinetdoor.
Drip edge:A raisedprofileat the edge of a countertopthat preventsspills'
Inset drawer:A drawerthat fits flush within a framelesscabinet.
E-F-G-H-I-l Edgebanding:Stripsof materialused to coverthe edgesof plywood and compositeboards;canbe solidwood or plasticlaminate.
Island:A freestandingcabinetor cabinetrun isolatedfrom the walls of a kitchen.
End grain: The arrangementand directionof the wood fibersrunning acrossthe the endsof a board. Faceframe: A decorativewooden framefixedaroundthe front of a cabinet,providingextrarigidity to the cabinet. Falsefront A pieceof wood installed overa drawerfront, usuallyto conceal the end grain of the sidesor to create a lippedfront.
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fig A devicefor guiding a tool or holdingworkpiecein position. K-L-M-N-O-P-Q Kickback The tendencyof a workpieceto be thrown back in the directionofthe operatorofa woodworkingmachine. Kickplate:The boardthat coversthe toe kick of a lowerkitchencabinetor the exposedfacesof a plinth. Laminatetrimmer: A lightweight routerusedto trim plasticlaminate and solid wood edgingflush with its substrate.
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Lockmiter joinfiA joint cut with a specialrouter bit that produces an interlocking connectionwith a miteredoutsidecorner. Melamine A popularbrand of plastic laminatemadefrom bonded plastic,paper,and phenolicresin; availablein sheetsor bondedto plywood or particleboard. Miter gauge:A devicethat slidesin a slot on a sawor routertable,providing support for the stockasit movespast the bladeor bit; canbe adjustedto different anglesfor miter cuts. Mortise-and-tenonjoint A joinery techniquein which a projectingtenon cut in one board fits into a matching hole,or mortise,in another. Mortise:A holecut into a pieceof wood to receivea tenon. Nailer rails: Woodenrails attached to the backsof cabinetsthat support the cabinetswhen screwedto the wall studs. Overlaydrawer: A drawerthat partially or fully overlaysthe frame of a faceframe cabinet. Panelsaw:A track-mountedcircular sawusedfor accuratecutsoflarge sheetgoodssuchasplywood. Plainsawnveneer:Veneerthat hasbeencut from the log in a flat sheet;hardwoodplywoodwith plainsawnfaceveneercloselyresemblessolid wood. Plinth: A mitered woodenframe that actsasa basefor lower cabinets or islands.
Pushblock or stick A deviceusedto feeda workpieceinto a bladeor cutter to protectthe operator'sfingers. R-S RabbehA step-likecut in the edge or end of a board;usuallyforms part of a joint. Rail: The horizontalmemberof a frame-and-panelassembly, Seestile. (RTA)fastener: Ready-to-assemble A type of threadedfastenerwith a stout shaftand a narrowhead;used for fastassembly of cabinets. Scribing:Marking a line with a compassor scribingtool to copythe irregularity of a wall onto a cabinetor counterwhereit butts againsta wall. Oncethe wood is planedor sanded to this line,the cabinetor counter will fit seamlessly againstthe wall.
T.U-V.W-X.Y-Z Thmbourdoor: A type of door made from narrowslatsattachedto a flexible canvasbackingthat slidesin tracks routedin the sidesof the carcase. Tearout:The tendencyof a bladeor cutterto tearwood fibers. TemplateA patternusedto guidea tool in reproducingidenticalcopies oI a plece. Tenon:A protrusionfrom the end of a workpiecethat fits into a mortise. Three-wingslotting cutter:A piloted, groove-cutting routerbit. Toekick The recessrunning along the bottom of a lower cabinetthat allowsspacefor the feetof a person standingbeforethe cabinet.
Shim:A thin, wedge-shaped pieceof materialusedto levelcabinetsand fill minor irregularities.
jointA joint in Tongue-and-groove which a tonguecut in the edgeor end of onepiecefits into a groovein the matingpiece.
Shoulder:In a mortise-and-tenon joint, the part of the tenonthat is perpendicularto the cheek.
Tiansferscribe:A compass-like device that transferstheprofileof onesurface onto another.
Solid-surfacemateriaLA composite boardmadeof castacrylicandpolyesterusedfor kitchencountertops; sold under suchnamesasCorian and Avonite.
Utilityhookup: The point whereutilitiessuchaswater,sewage, and electricity areconnected.
Stile:The verticalmemberof a frameand-panelassembly. Seerail. Storypole A long,thin pieceof wood with the measurements for a proiect indicatedon its length. Stud finder: A devicethat electronicalIy pinpointsthe locationof wall studs.
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Wood movement:The shrinking or swellingof wood in reactionto changesin relativehumidity. Worktriangle:An ergonomicprinciplemeasuringthe efficiencyof a workspacethat connectsthe three most common placesof work in that space;in a kitchen,typicallythe refrigerator,stove,and sink.
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INDEX A-B.C Adjustableshelving Shelfsupports,i8-i9 Shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs (ShopTip),39 Appliancebays,27, 38,40-4I Arts and craftsstyle,16 Backsplashes TiL;,121,134-135 Wooden,136 Biscuitjoints,29,33-34,46-47 Platejoiner stands,52 doors,58,60-61 Board-and-batten Board.feet,32 Build It Yourself Plateioiner stands,52 Cabinetjacks,gS Cabinets Dimensions,19,20-22 SeealsoCasework;Doors; Hardware;Layout;Lower cabinets;Upper cabinets Casework,27,28 Gluing :up,46-47 Lower cases,29 Uppercases,28 Sie alsoJoinery;Lower cabinets; Upper cabinets 53-54 Cockbeading, Colonial style,I5 Countertops,121 Backsplashes tile,121,134-135 wooden,136 Decorativeedgings,137-1i9 Installation,123 plasticlaminatecountertoPs, 125-128,137-139 pre-moldedcountertops, 132-133 sinks,I24, 127,128 solid surfacecountertoPs, 129-131,139 Plasticlaminate,l2l, 122, 125-128,132-133 edgings,l37-139 120,l2l, 122, Solid-surface, 129-131 drip edges,139 Wooden,122,123
Countrystyle,16 Crownmolding,16, 118-119 Makingcrownmolding, backendpaper Cutting lists,32
D-E-F Dadoioints,80 Doubledadojoints,8Q 84 Design,13 Arts and craftsstyle,16 Colonial style,I5 Countrystyle,i6 Europeanstyle,15 Shakerstyle,14,16 Victorian style,14,16 Doors,57 Board-and-batten,58, 60-6l Frame-and-panel,58, 62-65 archedpanels,67 joints,66 cope-and-stick raisedpanels,62 Glasspanel,57,58,59,69 glazingbars,70-72 Hinges,73-76 Mounting techniques,59,73 flush-mounteddoors,76 overlaydoors,74-75 58,59,68 Veneered-panel, Doubledadojoints,80,84 Drawers.T9 Assembly,85-86 Bottom panels,85,86 Dimensions,82 Eliminating drawerrattle (ShopTip), 86 Falsefronts, 78,79, 93-96 securingfalsefronts with double-facedtape (ShopTip), 96 sizingfalsefronts (ShopTip), 94 Inset,78, 80,93-94 ]oinery,80 doubledadojoints, 84 84 lock miter joints, 84 83 through dovetailjoints, 80,83 Knobsandpulls,9j,97 Layout,82 Materials,Sl
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Mounting,79,87 bottom-mountedslides, 81.87-88 building up faceframe cabinets (ShopTip), 90 side-mountedslides,81, 89-90 woodenrunners,81,91-92 Overlay,79,80,95-96 Drawerslides,38,8l Drip edges,139 Edgetreatments,44 eommercialedgebanding,49 Countertops decorativeedgings,137-139 drip edges,-139 Solidwood,44,48 Europeancup hinges,56,74-75 Europeanstyle,15 Faceframes,28, 50-51,53-55 Building up faceframe cabinets for mounting drawers (ShopTip), 90 Makingwood plugs(ShopTip), 55 Fasteners Concealment making wood plugs (ShopTip),55 Knockdownfasteners, front endpaper (RIA), 32 Ready-to-assemble Floorpians,12 Flush-frontdrawers. SeeInset drawers doors,58,62-65 Frame-and-panel Arched panels,67 joints,66 Cope-and-stick Raisedpanels,62 G-H-I Glasspaneldoors,57,58,59,69 Glazingbars,70-72 Glazingbars,70-72 Handles,16 Drawers,93,97 Hansen,Sven,10-ll Hardware Doors,57 Drawerslides,38 bottom-mountedslides, 81.87-88 side-mountedslides,81,89-90
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Knobsandpulls,16,93,97 Shelfsupports,38-39 SeealsoHinges Hinges,16,73 Europeancup hinges,56,74-75 Europeanfaceframe hinges,75 Insetdrawers,78, 80,93-94
I.K-L IigS Cabinetiacks,98,117 Circular'saws panel-cuttingattachments, 26 scoringsawattachments, 33 Drills shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs (ShopTip), 39 Platejoiners platejoiner stands,52 Temporarysupportrails,115 loinery,29 Biscuitjoints,33-34,46-47 platejoiner stands,52 Board-and-batten doors,60 joints,66 Cope-and-stick Dadojoints,80 Doubledadojoints,8Q 84 Lock miter joints, 29,36, 80,83 Through do-setailjoints, 8Q 83 joints,35-36 Tongue-and-groove Kickplates,1 10-111 Kitchenislands.112 Plinths,100,101,I 12-114 Knobs,l6 Drawers,93,97 Layout,13,-18 Drawers,82 Proportionsand dimensions, 19,20-22 Work triangles,17 LazySusans, 38,42-43 Legs Levelerlegs,44-45, 100 Levellingtechniques,100,102 Lock miter j oints,29, 36,80,83 Lower cabinets Casework,29 Installation,99, 100,104-106 adjacentwalls,106-I 08 levellingtechniques,100, 102-103
making thick shims (ShopTip), 107 utility hookups,108-109 wall studs,103 Kickplates,110-I I I Layout, 19,20-22,24-25 Lumber Boardfeet,32 Cutting lists,32 Drawers,81 Plywood,30, 31,81 M-N-O-P-Q-R-S Moldings,l6 Seea[soCrown molding Overlaydrawers,79, 80,95-96 Panels Arched panels,67 Raisedpanels,62 Peninsulas.SeeKitchenislands Plasticlaminatecountertops, t2l, 122, I 25-129, 132-133 Edgings, l37-139 Plateioinerstands,52 Platejoints.SeeBiscuitjoints Plumbing,13 Sinks,124,127,128 Utility hookups,108-109 Plywood,30,31,81 Santarsiero, Tom,6-7 Shakerstyle,14,16 Sheetgoods,30 Plywood,30,31,81 Reducingtearout,33 SeealsoPlasticlaminate countertoDs Shelfsupports,SA-SS Shelves Adjustableshelvingsupports, 38-39 Slide-outshelves (ShopTip), 43 Shims Making thick shims (ShopTip), 107 ShopTips Cabinetinstallation,107,117 Casework, 39,43,55 Drawers,86,90,94,96 Silvers, Don, 8-9 Sinks,124, 127,128 Sink trays,77
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Solid-surface countertops, 120,127,122,129-131 Drip edges,139 Storypoles,13,23-25
T-U*V Tambourslats.40-41 Throughdovetailjoints,8Q 83 Tiles Backsplashes, 121,134-I 35 Countertops,I22 Tilt-out sinktrays,TT joints,29, 35-36 Tongue-and-groove Tools Circular saws panel-cuttingattachments, 26 scoringsawattachments, 33 Drills shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs (ShopTip), 39 Laminatetrimmers,44 Measuringtools,backendpaper Platejoiner stands,52 Routers bits, backendpaper Tablesaws blades,front endpaper Tiansferscribes.99 Uppercabinets Casework,28 Installation,98,99, 1 0 0t,} t , 1 1 5 - 1 1 6 bevelednailers,117 commercialcabinetsupports, 115 crownmolding,I18-119 makingthick shims (ShopTip), l0Z shop-madecabinetjacks (ShopTip),llZ Layout, 19,20-22,24-25 Utility hookups,108-109 Veneered-panel doors,58, 59,68 Victorian sIyle,14,16
W-X-Y-Z Wood.30 SeealsoLumber;Sheetgoods Woodplugs(ShopTip), 55 Work triangles,17
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Theeditorswishto thank thefollowing LAYOUTAND DESIGN LeeValley ' Tools,Ltd.,ottawa,ont.; StanleyTools,Divisionof the Stanleyworks, New Britain,CT; TritechIndustries,St-Lambert, Que. CASEWORK AdjustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericanClanryinq(Canada)Inc.,CambridgeOnt.; 6lack& Decker/EluPowerTools,Towson,MD; BradburyIndustries,Toronto,Ont.; canadianIndustrialDistributors,Inc., Montreal,Que.;cMT Tools,Oldsmar,FL; Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, GA; Ont.i HitachiPowerToolsU'S.A.Ltd'' Norcross, Mississausa, JuliusBlum Inc., Stanley]NC; LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,ottawa, on-t.;Modulus, St-Hubert,Que.; Montreal,Que.;Sears,Roebuckand Co.' Chicago,IL; Loeven-Morcel, LesRealisations A'G. SencoProducts,Inc., Cincinnati,OH; Steiner-Lamello SawCo.,Kingston,MA; Tool TrendLtd', Concord,Ont' Switzerland/Colonial DOORS AdiustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln,NE; CMT Tools,Oldsmar,FL; Guelph,Ont.; GreatNeck SawMfrs. lnc. (BuckBros. DeliaInternationilMachineryTPort.r-Cable, Sears,Roebuckan$_Cg.,Chicago,IL; Division), Millbury, VA; JuliusBlum Inc., Stanley,.NC; SawCo.,kingston,MA; Tool TrendLtd.,Concord,Ont. A.G.Switzerland/Colonial Steiner-Lamello DRAWERS Guelph'Ont.; AdiustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Roebuckand co., chicago,lL; David Keller,Petaluma,cA; iulius BIum Inc.,stanley,NC; Sears, A.G. Divisionof the StanleyWorks,New Brilain,CT; Steiner-Lamello StanleyTools, SawCo., Kingston,MA; Tool Trend Ltd., Concord,On1 Switlerland/Colonial INSTALLING CABINETS Guelph,Ont.; ClampCo.,Chicago,IL; DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Adiustable ' NC; GA;JuliusBlum Inc',Stanley, Hitachii'owerTooliU.S.A.Ltd.,Norcross, LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,Ottawa,Ont.; OrnamentalMouldings,.HighPoint, NC; Sears, New Britain'CT; Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; StanleyTools,Divisionof the Stanley-Works, St-Lambert,Que' Industries, MA; Tritech Kingston, Saw Co., A.G. Switzerlind/Colonial Steiner-Lamello COI.]NTERTOPS PowerTools, CA; Black&_Decker/Elu AdjustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; Avonite,Inc.,Sylmar,. Guelph,Ont'; TowJon, ' MD; CMt Tools,Oldimar, FL;DeltalnternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Roebuckand Co.,Chicago,IL; LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,Ottawa,Ont.; Sears, SencoProducts,Inc.,Cincinnati,OH in thepreparationofthis book: Thefollowingpersonsalsoassisted ScottYetman LorraineDor6,Kerry& VictoriaMcCluggage'
PICTURECREDITS CoverRobertChartier 6,7 CarolynJones 8,9GaryMoss 10,11MichaelTincher Brian VandenBrink 14,15,27,38,79 87 Courtesyfulius BIum, Inc. 112BrianVandenBrink I l8 CourtesyOrnamentalMouldings l20,l2l BrianVandenBrink Avonite,Inc. l3l Courtesy
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TABLESAWBLADES F()RKITCHEN CABINETS Combination blade All-purpoee eaw blade; can rip and crogocut lumber
Melamine blade 9pecialieed blade ueed for cutLtnq lamtnatee ,UCn aA melAmtnec overe ti pa rLtc leboa rd
Plywood blade Hae many emall teel,h tthaL make a cmooth, aplinterfree cut tn plywood
Dado blade Two blades are fitted ort eirhe" eide of chipper bladea, which are added a9 nece'sary T.ovary the widLh of Lhe cut
