Cabinet production shop

[William Nimmo]

I just got asked from a friend if I can make cabinets for a 20 x 20 kitchen remodel. I said I can, but not in any kind of a timely fashion and not with sample of every finish, door style etc, that the wife is going to want to see. I mostly do islands, bars , furniture, things that don't disrupt a house while it takes me some time to get it done. I have a full time career that unfortunately is not woodworking.
I know many of the local businesses advertising cabinets, have them made in a production shop in Canada or elsewhere and shipped in.

Can anyone here recommend a quality manufacturer on the web that would be interested in dealing with a small guy?

[frank shic]

have you looked into ikea kitchen cabinets? they assemble pretty quickly, utilize cutting edge hardware and are pretty durable.

[Todd Burch]

I've been drooling over the Crown Point Woodworking site. Awesome stuff.

[Stephen Cherry]

One idea would be to buy doors and end panels from a company that specializes in them, and building Ikea style boxes (which could be stored disasembled) to attatch them to. If I were to build a kitchen for myself, I would spend the few extra dollars to get formaldahyde free plywood boxes- I can't stand the smell of cheap cabinets.

[Nick Lazz]

One idea would be to buy doors and end panels from a company that specializes in them, and building Ikea style boxes (which could be stored disasembled) to attatch them to. If I were to build a kitchen for myself, I would spend the few extra dollars to get formaldahyde free plywood boxes- I can't stand the smell of cheap cabinets.

I agree. I built cabinets for my dad's remodel and the plan was to order the doors through an outfit like this just due to time and I didn't have my shop set up yet http://www.dcdoor.com/
I ended up building the doors myself at dad's request once the shop was built. But it is an option. There is also a drawer company http://drawer.com/ that I considered.
Lots of options if you only want to build the boxes.
BTW: I'm not endorsing either outfit, just examples. I have never used either.

Good luck!

[Matt Meiser]

Take a look at what Custom Service Hardware offers.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

I highly recommend Scherr's Cabinets. I've used them a couple of times. Lots of door styles and just about any kind of box you might want. Plus the have a good online gallery to see what they'll look like.

[Zach Callum]

Why exactly does your friend want you to build him cabinets? Does he think he will save money, or does he think he will get better quality?

[William Nimmo]

My friend is expecting between 20 and 35 k for the cabinets and he is going to do the install. He asked me if I wanted the job but I told him I could not commit. He does not know anyone else who does this and neither do I. I recently went to look at machinery at a cabinet shop and I asked them why they were selling the tools and they informed me that they have not built their own stuff for years since it is better to just order them from their guy in Canada. I know a lot of these storefront cabinet places do the same thing and was wondering if there is a supplier I could hook up with for this and the next time someone asks me to do a whole kitchen.

[ian maybury]

That's a trend we're seeing over here in ireland and the Uk too William. The step change seems to have been the advent of very high volume production operations using CNC (computer controlled) equipment to produce flat pack kitchen cabinets of very high quality at very competitive prices.

We're seen small shops doing kitchen and bedroom furniture go out of business one after the other over here - it's hard to compete with a high speed CNC set up using a panel saw, and it's gets worse when it turns out that you burn considerable time assembling what you produce because of errors and inaccuracies on top when the flat pack stuff goes together like Lego. On top of that there's the time you spend sourcing and designing in ever fancier fittings - probably paying way over what the volume guy does for the same stuff.

There's quite a few 'kitchen' builders over here buying Ikea stuff and using it in various ways - sometimes literally only assembling it....

ian

[Kent A Bathurst]

Where are you/your friend located?

[Peter J Lee]

There are lots and lots of companies that do doors and drawers. I'm sure boxes as well, although the Ikea suggestion has a lot of merit if the product satisfies your friend. They'll sell the boxes and they're quite inexpensive. If your friend is going to do the install which can be pretty challenging depending on a whole bunch of "ifs." If he does do the install and you order whole cabinets, you're basically a dealer. If you don't want to do that, you'd basically be a kitchen "designer."

Why not work out what style he's looking for, order the doors and drawers and build the carcasses. You could spend some of the revenue on equipment if you need it. Woodweb.com is a good site to poke around on to see some of the vendors available for kitchen components.

[Brian Ross]

I live in Canada and build kitchens but usually do 5 or 6 a year as I am semi retired and enjoy travelling. I am not aware of whom you are talking about selling cabinets in the US. There are all kinds of cabinet shops that export on both sides of the border. I stopped building my own doors 3 years ago and now get them from Walzcraft in Wisconsin. I build my own boxes using 3/4 veneer core maple, domestic as opposed to the cheaper Asian. I am not sure how I arrived at the point I am at but the more I raise my prices the more requests I get.I try and build a quality cabinet. Someone mentioned Ikea but I have found that the homeowner that lives in a $500,000 home will not be caught dead buying Ikea cabinets.Sort of like having an expensive car and purchasing tires from an auto recycler. There is a company in PA, Conestoga Cabinets. They are a manufacturer of cabinet doors but I believe they also will cut your cabinets and ship them to you for assembly. One thing to be aware of is that the sheet goods sold at the big box stores are not of the highest quality.
Brian

[Richard McComas]

I live in Canada and build kitchens but usually do 5 or 6 a year as I am semi retired and enjoy travelling. I am not aware of whom you are talking about selling cabinets in the US. There are all kinds of cabinet shops that export on both sides of the border. I stopped building my own doors 3 years ago and now get them from Walzcraft in Wisconsin. I build my own boxes using 3/4 veneer core maple, domestic as opposed to the cheaper Asian. I am not sure how I arrived at the point I am at but the more I raise my prices the more requests I get.I try and build a quality cabinet. Someone mentioned Ikea but I have found that the homeowner that lives in a $500,000 home will not be caught dead buying Ikea cabinets.Sort of like having an expensive car and purchasing tires from an auto recycler. There is a company in PA, Conestoga Cabinets. They are a manufacturer of cabinet doors but I believe they also will cut your cabinets and ship them to you for assembly. One thing to be aware of is that the sheet goods sold at the big box stores are not of the highest quality.
BrianDo the a fore mentioned companies do business with people who are not a real business?

[William Nimmo]

To answer a few questions asked,
I am on Long island.
Anything from Ikea is out of the question.
The doors and drawers are my favorite parts to build so I am not looking to have someone do just that.
I had a successful business for 25 years that I recently sold but still own the corporation with a federal tax i.d. so I should be able purchase as such.
A major part of operating and doing business used to be the relationships with local vendors, now with the web that is not as accurate as it once was.
I guarantee most of the cabinet showroom owners could not come close to the knowledge most of us have here about woodworking and actually building product.
They take an order from a customer ( I know I am making that sound easy) and send that order to a factory and receive the product , use their staff or most likely 1099 subs to install and thats it. This probably adds 30 percent to the actual costs.


Maybe I should take this as a sign it is time to quit my job and go full time.

[Andrew Joiner]

I recently went to look at machinery at a cabinet shop and I asked them why they were selling the tools and they informed me that they have not built their own stuff for years since it is better to just order them

I bought a used sander from a cabinet shop that said the same thing. They quit building and just measured, ordered and arranged installation. However this was in 1979!
I guess times haven't changed. Still I made money in custom woodworking till I retired in 1991. I found kitchens to be the most competitive and least profitable area of the business. Custom commercial furniture and fixtures was the most profitable.

For kitchens I'd say for success you need these skills.

35% Sales and marketing
25% Design
20% business management
20% woodworking

A big hurdle in many kitchen cabinet sales is you have to please 2 people. A couple who have many different ideas of what a kitchen costs and how it should look. I called it kitchen design/sales/marriage counseling.

[William OConnell]

Hey William
Guess what I'm on Long island and make cabinets. I have a shop thats 1270 sq. ft on the first floor and 500 on the second.
I do everything in house and when I say in house I mean i built a shop at my house specifically for casework etc. Yes woodworkers are still alive and well on Long island.
I live in Commack and have been woodworking for a long time
http://woodworkers.us/gallery/index.php/Oak-built-in/oak-armoie-1


To answer a few questions asked,
I am on Long island.
Anything from Ikea is out of the question.
The doors and drawers are my favorite parts to build so I am not looking to have someone do just that.
I had a successful business for 25 years that I recently sold but still own the corporation with a federal tax i.d. so I should be able purchase as such.
A major part of operating and doing business used to be the relationships with local vendors, now with the web that is not as accurate as it once was.
I guarantee most of the cabinet showroom owners could not come close to the knowledge most of us have here about woodworking and actually building product.
They take an order from a customer ( I know I am making that sound easy) and send that order to a factory and receive the product , use their staff or most likely 1099 subs to install and thats it. This probably adds 30 percent to the actual costs.


Maybe I should take this as a sign it is time to quit my job and go full time.

[Greg Portland]

Someone mentioned Ikea but I have found that the homeowner that lives in a $500,000 home will not be caught dead buying Ikea cabinets.
Yes, but it is common practice to buy the cases from Ikea and then add custom trim & doors.

[frank shic]

just realize that if you buy the cases from ikea that you'll have to deal with a slightly different hinge cup boring pattern. i love the crown point beaded face frame cabinets personally but i would never build them for any one besides my immediate family.

[Mike Heidrick]

Many people love woodworking until their bills depend on it. It's one thing to make "extra" money with ww. The Stress of it making all your money can end a career and a passion.

I really hope these Ikea cabinets folks are using are different than the Ikea cabinets I have seen in Chicagoland!

[frank shic]

go check out an ikea showroom sometime. they've come a long way in recent years: soft close doors, tandem box drawers, easy assembly, cabinet hangers for upper cabinets, adjustable feet for the lowers not to mention the finish on their doors and drawer fronts easily exceeds what i could put out... although i still prefer building my own ;)