Building Kitchen Cabinets

[kevin st john]

So I have decided to try to build my own kitchen cabinets. So my question is how difficult can this be? I am going to purchase a Sawstop table saw. I will also have access to other wood working equipment as well.
I would appreciate any input that anyone has.
Thanks.

[Bob Grier]

Of course the amount of work depends on the quantity, style, construction style, materials (sheet goods, prefinished, solid wood, etc.) equipment/tools, work space, experience, and availability of everything you need to build them including finishing them. It is a lot of work.

If you will have a kitchen island, maybe build that and buy custom cabinets from a local shop or mail order and then you install them. I am wondering why you are motivated to build kitchen cabinets? If you have experience and a shop to build them in, then I can see some of the motivation if you like building your own things. Working evenings and weekends for a long time might become a grind. Also, you will pretty much need all the cabinets built before installing them unless you will be using temporary counter tops.

Is this for a remodel or new house?

[Sam Murdoch]

What do you know about woodworking? Any experience? Can be real hard or real easy. Not trying to be a WA but your first post means we have no information other than what you provide. The more detail you provide the more appropriately we can offer suggestions.

Oh yeah - and then all that Bob writes above ^.

[Sean Tracey]

I have a table saw but I use a track saw and parallel guides and a right angle forr cutting the majority of the sheet goods for the cabinets and drawer parts. Dealing with a whole sheet on a table saw or parts where the length of cut is shorter than the width of the piece hanging over on the left side of the blade isn't my thing. I groove the drawer slots on a table router which might also come in handy in drawer and door front construction. Then you need a way of joining the cabinet and drawer parts.

Finishing takes time. And sanding.

There are a lot of parts in kitchen cabinets. So you need space and to build them.

I have been building shop cabinets and using them as skill builders before making kitchen cabinets. You could also do closet organizers first for practice and skill building if you haven't made cabinets before.

[Andrew Hughes]

Building the cabs isn't the hard part since designs can be super simple.Now laying down a good finish that's a whole new kettle of fish.
That's the part I hate.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Danny Proulx's book "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets" was written for guys like you (and me.) Super simple system. Doors and drawer fronts can be outsourced. The rest is just boxes

[Gregory Stahl]

Udo Schmidt's book: "Building Kitchen Cabinets" is what I recommend to those getting into cabinetry.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Kitchen-Cabinets-Tauntons-Build/dp/1561584703

Greg Stahl

[kevin st john]

Thanks for the replies. I used to work construction in my past life. And the reason that I want to build them is that for me to have the kind of cabinets I want is more money than I want to pay. Plus, I want to walk into my house and look at them and say to myself, I really like the way they look. And I do understand that this will be a lot of work. But so is borrowing $15,000.00 and then having to work and pay that back over a period of time.
Now, I have been researching how to build them and I have read a lot of books on how to construct them.
Also, I do plan on buying the drawers, drawer fronts, and cabinet doors on line to help speed the process up.

[Wayne Lomman]

Kevin, the final touch to getting it all to look right is the final installation. Get it level, scribe all your kick boards to the floor, scribe filler pieces to the walls and bench tops to the walls. It's the difference between professional and mediocre.

[Robert Parent]

I did my first kitchen cabinet project about 9 months ago....... It was a great learning experience but would not recommend it as a first project if new to woodworking. The finishing is the hardest part to get right, and it needs to be right! It took me about two weeks to design, a week to build, 3-4 weeks to finish, one week to install everything. I cut everything (Euro style cabinets) on a CNC router so all the parts fit together perfectly. Very happy with the final result and would certainly do another project in the future.

Robert

[Robert Engel]

Danny Proulx's book "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets" was written for guys like you (and me.) Super simple system. Doors and drawer fronts can be outsourced. The rest is just boxesDittos!

I used this method to build my kitchen several years ago.
Make the boxes of double sided melamine.

I made my own doors and drawer fronts but like Bruce said, it may be quicker and more cost effective to have them outsourced.

336000

[Lee Schierer]

When building your own cabinets, you need to know that you not only need room for all the materials, assembly and finishing, but youalso need a place to store teh completed cabinets prior to installation.

[David Kumm]

Make sure you make a jig to get the boxes exactly square. Seems like a no brainer but if they get clamped just a little off, The fitting gets very difficult. When sourcing doors, you can specify how wide the boards ( say over 4" ) and check that the company actually tries to match the grain at least a little. Dave

[Malcolm McLeod]

When building your own cabinets, ....need a place to store the completed cabinets....

As others have said, they're just boxes. BIG boxes. And they take a LOT of space!

I dedicated 2-car garage space to fab and storage. Cut all the parts, then started assembly. By the time I had 4-5 cabinets assembled, I was climbing over them to get to tools. I quickly realized it was hopeless in the space I had, so took over another room in the house for storage. The logistics of stacking, un-stacking, moving into/out of storage/finishing area, and staging for install probably added 20-25% to the time required.

[Andy Giddings]

Just finished a long row of bathroom cabinets so can relate to a lot of the comments above. Kitchen is next.

In terms of buying drawer fronts etc compared to making them - I would argue it really depends on how you value your time and effort to make these vs buying. It also depends on the design and finish. I chose a simple mission style as these are easy to make and in fashion right now. Also painted cabinets are popular - if you decide to go this route there are plenty of modern paints that are relatively easy to apply with a brush, and get a good finish that stands up to kitchen use. Like the OP, I chose to make my own as I could see the construction is simple and I knew I could reduce the remodeling cost. For me, I did the whole lot (drawers, fronts, doors) as these are straightforward although time consuming. In terms of getting everything to fit and be square, cutting everything in batches, an accurate square and good quality clamps with a large flat surface are important.
Also, the best (and most recent) book I found was the Paolini book especially if you want Euro cabinets. Would also recommend Euro cabinets as they are simpler and give you more storage

[John TenEyck]

I built my own kitchen, all 27 cabinets; never again. It's just too many nights and weekends. It took me more than a year to do complete the whole job, which started with a tearout down to the studs, all new plumbing and wiring, on and on. The boxes "only" took a couple of months, but moving all that material, multiple times, was a pain, literally. You are talking a couple of tons of sheet goods.

If I build another kitchen I will buy IKEA boxes and make my own doors and drawer fronts. I'm a wood worker so I want to make what shows. IKEA cabinets are beautifully made and install like a dream. And they will look as good and last as long as most others - kitchens get torn out every 15 to 25 years anyway, so we're not talking about needing to last generations.

IKEA cabinets show up when you need them. You move them once. You assemble them and install them. They will be plumb and square if you follow the directions. You are done and can move on to more interesting stuff.

John

[kevin st john]

Robert those are very nice cabinets. I have more than enough room to build them and to store them. Then when it comes time to finish them, I am going to use my garage next summer for that.
Also, am going to have a track saw to cut down the sheets of 4x8 pre finished maple plywood.
And I am going to be a software program KCD to design the cabinets which will give me a cultist to work from.
For the drawers, drawer front, and doors I have a friend who built his own cabinets. So I am going to see if I can hire with him to do that work. He does very nice work and he is currently building my bathroom vanity.
Then for the install, I will most likely hire that part done because I have will have enough to do with completely gutting my kitchen and finishing that part.
I do realize that this will be a lot of work and it is going to take some time to complete. But, the cost to have my kitchen remodeled professionally is shocking, but people don't work for free either. So I made the choice to do everything that I can do, and hire out the rest.
Finally, I have all of you wounderful people to ask questions if I need to. I really appreciate the responses thus far.

[Andrew Hughes]

I was thinking the same as John,Buy the cabinet boxes from Ikea and make the doors and drawers.Thats will give you some bragging rights and some hard won experience.
I have bought doors from a business out here called Drees wood products.They do make a nice product but forget about grain matching.
Too me that's important.

[Sean Tracey]

I was thinking the same as John,Buy the cabinet boxes from Ikea and make the doors and drawers.Thats will give you some bragging rights and some hard won experience.
I have bought doors from a business out here called Drees wood products.They do make a nice product but forget about grain matching.
Too me that's important.

Thirded. If you are going to sub something out, the cabinet boxes would be the part for a woodworker to sub out. It would eliminate the vast majority of handling huge amounts of sheet goods. It would also cut down on assembly time for that part of the project and the room needed to get that part of the work done.

Then you build the part that will take the kitchen to a custom level with grain, veneer, style, craftsmanship.

[Erik Christensen]

Building your own cabinet cases makes sense if you want non-stock dimensions, have the skills & tooling and are willing to invest the time vs writing a check to a custom cabinet shop. Storage of assembled cases is a challenge - I resorted to a large on-site storage container to hold them all while the kitchen space was being re-done. If you are going to use pre-finished ply you skip the finishing process entirely especially if going euro-style frame-less. If you sub out drawers & doors you should be able to just build prefinished boxes for a typical kitchen in a few weeks full time. I did the entire kitchen myself after hours and it took over a year to complete.

[Victor Robinson]

+1 on IKEA boxes. The melamine is dead nuts flat and high quality. You can modify the boxes for custom sizes. It's already edge banded if you're going frameless.

I don't think the savings for DIY is that high when you compare the cost of the IKEA boxes to high quality prefin ply. Plus the effort of breaking down sheet goods and assembling boxes. It's tedious, requires lots of space, and you're not saving much cash.

As a woodworker, I'd prefer to spend my time on the details that will show and that cost the most to outsource. Fronts, finishing, good trim work, beaded face frames, custom details like toe kick drawers, spice pull outs, vent hood cover, etc. However, that's easy for me to say because I have a fully equipped shop and some more experience now.

[Chris Hachet]

So I have decided to try to build my own kitchen cabinets. So my question is how difficult can this be? I am going to purchase a Sawstop table saw. I will also have access to other wood working equipment as well.
I would appreciate any input that anyone has.
Thanks.


Building them myself, not that difficult. But I ahve a reasonable amount of WW experience. Keeping everything organaized and having a detailed task list is important.

Buy American made plywood, it works better IMHO.

Have an overall plan set to go, and all of the details complete before you start.

It is really repetitive work, so you will increase speed exponentially if you can make tasks repetitive and have a plan for your shop time.

Lots of companies sell doors and drawers, you can make your own or buy them.

I would suggest using creativity so they do not come out looking like the garbage available from most big box stores. Push your artistic limits a bit.

Use the money you save to buy really nice hardware and soft close slides. You will appreciate that later.

[Chris Hachet]

I have a table saw but I use a track saw and parallel guides and a right angle forr cutting the majority of the sheet goods for the cabinets and drawer parts. Dealing with a whole sheet on a table saw or parts where the length of cut is shorter than the width of the piece hanging over on the left side of the blade isn't my thing. I groove the drawer slots on a table router which might also come in handy in drawer and door front construction. Then you need a way of joining the cabinet and drawer parts.

Finishing takes time. And sanding.

There are a lot of parts in kitchen cabinets. So you need space and to build them.

I have been building shop cabinets and using them as skill builders before making kitchen cabinets. You could also do closet organizers first for practice and skill building if you haven't made cabinets before.


I would buy a track saw before I would spend money on a table saw.

[Chris Hachet]

Building the cabs isn't the hard part since designs can be super simple.Now laying down a good finish that's a whole new kettle of fish.
That's the part I hate.

Pre finished plywood works well. I find working slowly and sanding between coats will give an excellent finish with most finishes. And many small cabinet shop and professional painters will spray a set of cabinets for a reasonable cost, at least here in Columbus.

[Chris Hachet]

Danny Proulx's book "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets" was written for guys like you (and me.) Super simple system. Doors and drawer fronts can be outsourced. The rest is just boxes

I liked Bob Langs book. Found that to be very helpful.

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks for the replies. I used to work construction in my past life. And the reason that I want to build them is that for me to have the kind of cabinets I want is more money than I want to pay. Plus, I want to walk into my house and look at them and say to myself, I really like the way they look. And I do understand that this will be a lot of work. But so is borrowing $15,000.00 and then having to work and pay that back over a period of time.
Now, I have been researching how to build them and I have read a lot of books on how to construct them.
Also, I do plan on buying the drawers, drawer fronts, and cabinet doors on line to help speed the process up.

Building doors and drawers is not difficult. A hollow chisel morticer or a good plunge router can make all of the mortice and tennon work fairly straightforward. And I can trail a wide awake eighth grader to make decent shaker style doors. Raised panels require an expensive bit and a variable speed router in a table, but they are not rocket science either.

[Chris Hachet]

When building your own cabinets, you need to know that you not only need room for all the materials, assembly and finishing, but youalso need a place to store teh completed cabinets prior to installation.

I need to get restarted, my wife wants that corner of the family room back...I also coach Collegiate debate, and this has been a very busy season.

[Chris Hachet]

As others have said, they're just boxes. BIG boxes. And they take a LOT of space!

I dedicated 2-car garage space to fab and storage. Cut all the parts, then started assembly. By the time I had 4-5 cabinets assembled, I was climbing over them to get to tools. I quickly realized it was hopeless in the space I had, so took over another room in the house for storage. The logistics of stacking, un-stacking, moving into/out of storage/finishing area, and staging for install probably added 20-25% to the time required.

I am building all of my base cabinets as one run,a nd the top cabinets as another run, for this very reason.

[Chris Hachet]

Robert those are very nice cabinets. I have more than enough room to build them and to store them. Then when it comes time to finish them, I am going to use my garage next summer for that.
Also, am going to have a track saw to cut down the sheets of 4x8 pre finished maple plywood.
And I am going to be a software program KCD to design the cabinets which will give me a cultist to work from.
For the drawers, drawer front, and doors I have a friend who built his own cabinets. So I am going to see if I can hire with him to do that work. He does very nice work and he is currently building my bathroom vanity.
Then for the install, I will most likely hire that part done because I have will have enough to do with completely gutting my kitchen and finishing that part.
I do realize that this will be a lot of work and it is going to take some time to complete. But, the cost to have my kitchen remodeled professionally is shocking, but people don't work for free either. So I made the choice to do everything that I can do, and hire out the rest.
Finally, I have all of you wounderful people to ask questions if I need to. I really appreciate the responses thus far.

A lot of this is just taking your time and being willing to forgive yourself for the occasional inevitable mistake. I laid ceramic tile, installed hardwood floors, did major plumbing and electrical....in all 4 of the houses we have lived in...just relax, take your time, be aware of safety concerns, and enjoy the process. you will wonder why you ever hired anyone.

[Wayne Lomman]

Kevin, if you are using CAD software to do the design and cutting list, consider doing the assembly and installation as you go. You only assemble and move once. If you want more detailed help, let me know. I have spare time evenings while on my 3 weeks working away from home and I have only just started this stint.
Get the materials for the 'boxes' all pre-cut and finished ready for assembly.
Get them all sorted and stacked ready for assembly. Get your bench tops ready for assembly.
Get any face panels that need to be installed before the bench tops ready.
Forget doors and drawers for the time being if you like but you can get them ready as well.
Get all your kickboards made up ready to install.
At this stage you have a pile of components waiting to get put together.
Organise a holiday or something so that you have a few days in a row to work on the renovation and be prepared to work long enough hours to get the following done.
Now get to work stripping out the old kitchen and get the site fully prepared for the new cabinetry. Have the plumber and electrician booked for the time you need them to turn up.
Install the kick boards.
Assemble the cupboards and install them on the kickers as you go.
Install the fixed face panels.
Install the bench tops.
Install the sink, dishwasher, cooker etc.
The kitchen is now functional and the customer ie your wife or whoever can now at least use the basics.
You can now turn your attention to doors, drawers etc at a more relaxed pace.
This is what I do when the site is difficult to access or a cabinet such as a corner pantry are too big to get on site or I am working alone and, as I get older, don't find lifting cabinets to be fun anymore.
Part of this process is what I have learnt about how to keep the customer/wife happy. If I am in the workshop, she is happy. If the mess and disruption spreads outside the workshop for too long, she is not happy.
I am using this process on my current project which is restorations and additions to a 7600sq ft Georgian style home near Adelaide in South Australia. It has 2 kitchens, 4 bathrooms, built in robes in 6 bedrooms and dressing rooms, and a library, all spread over 3 floors. I don't often get to have labour on site with me so I use this method to get the job done.

[Jesse Busenitz]

Here's my two cents...

First make sure you plan everything out to the smallest detail! I would make one sample cabinet, and learn from you mistakes and then set up to build all the cabinets in one shot, cutting out all the pieces at once... sides, top/bottom etc. There is nothing that's more of a time waster than reseting jigs etc. for each cabinet. It's fun to see a completed cabinet more often but it eats up your time. If I was just doing a one time kitchen I would get at minimum, good table saw with a long outfeed for ply, kreg jig for face frames and attaching them, dado blade for attaching sides to top and bottom and rabbeting back in, and a good random orbit sander, small router for roundover, and a good spray gun. I'm assuming you're doing face frame, which is mostly what I do. Also use prefinished ply, and finish your face frame and then attach... big time saver for me.

[Larry Frank]

Jesse had good advice...make a sample cabinet or shop cabinets. I would make as many trials as you need to work the kinks out. If you have never done it, it will be a learning experience.

Good Luck

[Jim Dwight]

I made one entire kitchen, one kitchenette and a decent sized island so far. The kitchen was oak plywood boxes (3/4), frameless, and solid oak raised panel doors. I made the drawers with half blind dovetails out of solid maple and beech (I tried each, both worked and didn't look that different from each other). I built cabinets that were not attached to other cabinets first. That let me make one or two, take those out, and put the new ones in. It saved a bunch of space and gave my wife some new cabinets sooner.

I made the doors using a router in a router table. One reason I made them rather than buy them is I wanted to finish the panels and inside edges before glue up. That way you don't get an unfinished edge if the panel shrinks a bit. But doors and drawer fronts probably take roughly the same time as the boxes.

If you make the boxes, remember that commercial drawer slides allow you to be up to 1/32 small but not oversize at all. If your openings are a little off, or the drawers are a little off, or both, the drawers won't work right. Undersize you can shim. Oversize it's cut down or scrap. 1/32 is not a lot to be off when you don't have a lot of experience.

You can do it but I will also vote for a trial or two. A cabinet for a pantry or the garage or something that won't be terribly visible would be a good idea.

I really like my DeWalt track saw and Paulk inspired workbench (including crosscut jig). I can do boxes on it better than on a table saw and with less effort. It is also relatively safe. Building the workbench would also be a way to get a little practice where a mistake won't be critical. Paulk also has a you tube where he uses a Festool saw and parallel guide to build some shop cabinets quickly. Good way to see the steps. There are other good you tubes on making cabinets. I also use a PC router on my DeWalt track sometimes to make dados. I would definitely get a track saw first. With it, you can get by with a small plastic table saw if you want.

[Jared Sankovich]

I'm all for diy to save a buck, and have a garage full of machines from chasing that idea. However before you start buying tools plan out all your costs, you may be suprised how much you will actually have in lumber and hardware, and that's before the cost of tools.

Also if you haven't checked on actual prices of cabs, it will likely be worthwhile.

My parents had this custom kitchen done last year (pics below). Cherry faces, Inset doors, ply boxes, poplar drawers (dt), Blum soft self close hardware. From the crown to the base board it was 10k. Even with a reasonably equipped shop I'd be hard pressed to make minimum wage building them myself for that price.

To quote something I read here once regarding building cabinets to save money.
"Its hard to beat a man at his own game"


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/jar944/rps20160419_220842_183_zpseoi1iirl.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/jar944/rps20160221_215055_880_zpsi7udgben.jpg

[lowell holmes]

I've built several kitchens, including the ones in our house. One thing I always do is make a set of drawings first. That way you can work out any issues ahead of time. It also insures you have the proper toe kicks and drawers.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I had a kidney stone once, an IRS audit once, parachuted twice & built a set of kitchen cabinets once.

Like the kidney stone, building the cabinets was a royal pain.
Everything miserable other people have mentioned is 100% true.

Like the IRS audit, building the cabinets was a real study in how time stands still when you're doing something very unpleasant....it just seemed to last an eternity. Day after day after day after day after day after day,,,,,and that was just wiping on the poly!---on the insides of the cases!..

Like jumping with a parachute, about halfway through - - you really question the wisdom of what youre in the middle of..

However - - once it's done,,,just like jumping with a parachute - - it's one of those things you can look back on and say, "I'm glad I did that once - -but - never again".

:D :D

[Biff Phillips]

So I have decided to try to build my own kitchen cabinets. So my question is how difficult can this be? I am going to purchase a Sawstop table saw. I will also have access to other wood working equipment as well.
I would appreciate any input that anyone has.
Thanks.

Hey, if you want to do it, go for it.
Just keep the following things in mind.
1. You wont save much money (if any).. It might even cost more. Especailly if you have to buy a lot of tools
2. It takes a long time. Make sure the SO or whoever is ok with this. Make sure you are ok with this.
3. Do it because you really love woodworking
4. If you dont have much woodworking experience, build a few bookcases or something like that first, to see if you really like it.

I am almost done with my kitchen.. I didnt change the layout much. I did the uppers first. I would build one or two, then take down existing uppers and then put in new ones. Same with the lowers.. I did them in stages. I just put the old countertop on top of the new cabinets until all the bottoms were done, then got my new countertop in.
Im in a little over 2 years now.. Just have to make the doors.. Note, you should plan for 2-3 years as a hobbyist. Sure, its possible to go faster, but this is supposed to be enjoyable, not a second job.. Another note is that I made my uppers out of solid wood, so that made it took a lot longer.. I Still think you should plan for 2 years though lol.. If that is unacceptable, buy cabinets and DIY the install.

[Robert Engel]

I found CutList program helped a lot to maximize sheet goods.

Sides will all be the same, but I also found it a good idea to number each individual cabinet and the corresponding bottoms/tops/backs just to keep it organized.

Once the building process begins you will find the most efficient way and they go together quite quickly. With all the materials cut and ready to go, I can build a box in about 30 minutes.

[roger wiegand]

As others have said, don't do it to save money-- you won't. It's one of the simpler woodworking projects one can take on but for the sheer magnitude of the materials involved, but it all comes down to plain boxes, some drawers and doors. As such, you really can't compete with a factory that's all jigged up to turn out product in vast numbers and buys their material by the railroad car.

The reason to do it is to end up with grain that runs the right directions, matches well, and has detailing that you either can't get or don't want to pay for from a typical cabinet shop or factory. Inset drawers would be a good example-- they will either be very expensive or badly fitted. You can apply sweat equity in order to get a higher quality product for the same price as you would pay for a factory overlay drawer. For me the driver would be being able to choose each board for each location. None but the fussiest small shop pros will choose carefully.

[Marc Burt]

I would also strongly suggest ordering the boxes and doing the drawer fronts and doors yourself. It's the show surfaces that are going to give you the look of a custom kitchen. If you do them yourself you can insure a good grain match for a custom look, if you order those parts then you might as well get the whole kitchen from a box store IMO. Once the face is on nobody is going to know or care whether the boxes are ply or particleboard so i wouldn't spend my time on that.

Just my .02

[lowell holmes]

[/QUOTE]Once the face is on nobody is going to know or care whether the boxes are ply or particleboard so i wouldn't spend my time on that.

Just my .02[/QUOTE]

I have to take exception to that.:)
We had particle board cabinets and they were a disaster. They do not tolerate moisture at all and are quite ugly. If you have cabinet making skils, making carcasses will go really fast. Finding full cut lip mould was an issue for me. Much of it is not full size. If you have woodworking skills, cabinets are not that big of a issue. If you've never made cabinets, find a book on cabinet making.

I do agree that making the shells of the cabinets and cupboards and ordering pre-made doors and drawer fronts is a good way to go. It will make your cabinets first rate.

[Chris Hachet]

As others have said, don't do it to save money-- you won't. It's one of the simpler woodworking projects one can take on but for the sheer magnitude of the materials involved, but it all comes down to plain boxes, some drawers and doors. As such, you really can't compete with a factory that's all jigged up to turn out product in vast numbers and buys their material by the railroad car.

The reason to do it is to end up with grain that runs the right directions, matches well, and has detailing that you either can't get or don't want to pay for from a typical cabinet shop or factory. Inset drawers would be a good example-- they will either be very expensive or badly fitted. You can apply sweat equity in order to get a higher quality product for the same price as you would pay for a factory overlay drawer. For me the driver would be being able to choose each board for each location. None but the fussiest small shop pros will choose carefully.


Depends, I figure it will cost me about $1200 to build a set of cupboards that would cost me 5K at a big box store...

[Chris Hachet]

Once the face is on nobody is going to know or care whether the boxes are ply or particleboard so i wouldn't spend my time on that.

Just my .02[/QUOTE]

I have to take exception to that.:)
We had particle board cabinets and they were a disaster. They do not tolerate moisture at all and are quite ugly. If you have cabinet making skils, making carcasses will go really fast. Finding full cut lip mould was an issue for me. Much of it is not full size. If you have woodworking skills, cabinets are not that big of a issue. If you've never made cabinets, find a book on cabinet making.

I do agree that making the shells of the cabinets and cupboards and ordering pre-made doors and drawer fronts is a good way to go. It will make your cabinets first rate.[/QUOTE]

Boxes are simple and easy to make, you get them absolutely square if you take your time and do them yourself. Whcih will help greatly if you do insert doors and drawers, which will add immeasurably to the custom look of your work.

[BOB OLINGER]

You might want to consider building the cabinet carcasses and drawer boxes and buying the door/drawer fronts and face frames already made. We just completed our kitchen remodel and did that, and it worked out great.

[Jay Nossen]

My 2 cents. I have yet to build my own kitchen cabinets, but have done a fair share of built ins and custom closets that were very similar to kitchen cabinets.

1. Get prefinished ply for the boxes. If I remember correctly, last time I ordered some, it was around $50-$60 per sheet (vs. $40 for unfinished cabinet grade ply).
2. Do a section at a time and build as one large face frame (no need to screw individual units together).
3. Think of what tools are necessary and what can be replaced with a jig. I looked at a line boring machine, but eventually settled on a plunging router and a jig that took a few hours to build.
4. Think about layout. This is the advantage to building them yourself. You do not need to work with standard dimensions. No filler pieces needed. If you want your upper cabinets to be a bit deeper, go for it!.
5. Think about storage and shelving. you can eliminate a lot of wasted material by building large boxes (e.g 6' box with 4 doors instead of two 3' boxes). This works especially well on lower cabinets where you are more likely to have drawers or sliders than shelves.
6. Think about finish. This is the hardest part! If you don't think you can nail the finish, you might want to reconsider building the cabinets yourself.

[jack duren]

So I have decided to try to build my own kitchen cabinets. So my question is how difficult can this be? I am going to purchase a Sawstop table saw. I will also have access to other wood working equipment as well.
I would appreciate any input that anyone has.
Thanks.

You need to post room dimensions,windows, ect. This will allow some of us a chance to see what your trying to accomplish and some can give you a layout. There's boxes and then there's a whole wall cabinet.

Your going to get pounded with this way or that way on this forum. PB,plywood,etc here again pounded with there preferences. Sub,this sub that again pounded with preferences.

A simple drawing on paper, scanned or photo uploaded will give some details that one can work with.

Replies on here sometimes remind me of car salesman. When I run my shop I give the base price of set of cabinets and then we upgrade till we hit there budget. In this case your building them yourself but there's still a budget.

[kevin st john]

I am going to use 3/4" pre finished maple plywood for the cabinets. Then for the faces I am using Quatersawn White Oak finished using the Jeff Jewitt method.
Then I have a friend who is a perfectionist woodworker who I am going to hire to build my drawers, doors, and drawer fronts. I really think that I can pull this over a two year period.
I really only need 40 lineal feet of cabinets. Plus, I can build these as I want and utilize every square inch of space in my kitchen.
Where I live, custom cabinets are $250 or more per lineal foot.
I do agree with everyone that has offered advice here. And everyone has provided me with valuable advice in which to take into consideration.
Now as far the cost of tools, well I am remodeling my bathroom this summer myself. So between the bathroom and the kitchen I can justify the additional cost of tools between the two projects combined. I am fairly certain that I would be north of $40,000 if I would hire everything done professionally.
Finally, I find great pleasure in learning how to do new things and I love a challenge too.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has responded.

[rudy de haas]

Kevin st. John:

You say you're going to buy a sawstop, and you say money is important to you - and those two things do not go well together (better than festool and savings but..)

Sawstop's big advantage is its ability to save fingers - but what that really means is that it is great for places like schools where insurance costs dominate shop and equipment costs. For personal use I don't see it - and I still have all my fingers.

[jack duren]

I am going to use 3/4" pre finished maple plywood for the cabinets. Then for the faces I am using Quatersawn White Oak finished using the Jeff Jewitt method.
Then I have a friend who is a perfectionist woodworker who I am going to hire to build my drawers, doors, and drawer fronts. I really think that I can pull this over a two year period.
I really only need 40 lineal feet of cabinets. Plus, I can build these as I want and utilize every square inch of space in my kitchen.
Where I live, custom cabinets are $250 or more per lineal foot.
I do agree with everyone that has offered advice here. And everyone has provided me with valuable advice in which to take into consideration.
Now as far the cost of tools, well I am remodeling my bathroom this summer myself. So between the bathroom and the kitchen I can justify the additional cost of tools between the two projects combined. I am fairly certain that I would be north of $40,000 if I would hire everything done professionally.
Finally, I find great pleasure in learning how to do new things and I love a challenge too.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has responded.

Something isn't right with the numbers...

Time your buddy does the drawers,doors,etc he may as well build the cabinet boxes...

[Ben Rivel]

Kevin st. John:

You say you're going to buy a sawstop, and you say money is important to you - and those two things do not go well together (better than festool and savings but..)

Sawstop's big advantage is its ability to save fingers - but what that really means is that it is great for places like schools where insurance costs dominate shop and equipment costs. For personal use I don't see it - and I still have all my fingers.
If you know you want to buy new and you want a cabinet saw, SawStops are only a little more than the closest competition and their fit and finish are better. The safety feature is just an added bonus. I recently bought my first cabinet saw and when I was doing my research on only new saws I couldnt find a reason not to go with a SawStop for a say 3HP, 36" cabinet saw.

[Mike Berrevoets]

I'm a hobbyist in the middle of a kitchen remodel and building all the cabinets. I did this about 10 years ago on our first house so I knew what I was getting into but this kitchen is twice the size.

I laid out my kitchen in CAD so I had all the dimensions and worked out the kinks.

i then went to the big box store and found a plywood cabinet, dovetailed drawers and door style we wanted and had them run an estimate of cost to buy the cabinets. Then I figured out my materials to build my own and determined if my time was worth what I would be saving by building myself. Yes, I will save some money but I have all the tools already and had a good idea of how boring and monotonous this would be.

My wife wanted all drawers on the bottoms. I have all the boxes made and they are installed. My 20 by 36 shop was not big enough for all the boxes and drawers and storing them was a pain. Moved them to the garage and parked outside for the winter. Thank goodness for the remote car starter. Made 26 dovetailed drawers so far and have 6 more to make. I still need to make all the drawer fronts and doors.

This stopped being fun a long time ago and it is like work. I have a regular job, I don't need another one. I'll get it done but now I'm on the "show" portion and getting to that point when the project is getting old is not a good thing.

Finishing takes as long or longer than building. I can bang out good square boxes pretty quick. That's the easy part.

I knew this would happen but I still did it. I don't want to sound like a downer but it is a lot of monotonous repetitive work. I can't make stuff as fast as guys geared up for it so it seems to drag on and on....

so why did I do it?
i will save money versus the quote I got from the big box store and I'm confident my quality is better. I'm probably only working for minimum wage but its still real money.

my wife is understanding. She knows it will take a while and I work to keep things working for her in the kitchen. We've tore out walls, Windows, moved the kitchen, all the electric, etc but she has always had a sink, stove, fridge and dishwasher.

I make the exact size cabinets I want. I can balance cabinet spacing on the Windows, I make deep cabinets for the island, custom sized for the microwave, etc. I like to control the outcome and I have the flexibility to make anything within reason.

i determine my own quality. If I make something that isn't quite perfect I make it again or I live with it. No arguing with a contractor about what is good enough.

I like some of the challenges of figuring things out. I'm an engineer so problem solving is my thing and that is part of the fun.

is it worth it? I'll tell you in a few months. Well, maybe 6 months.... Ok, make it a year. This project consumes all my spare time.

[Robert Engel]

As others have said, don't do it to save money-- you won't. It's one of the simpler woodworking projects one can take on but for the sheer magnitude of the materials involved, but it all comes down to plain boxes, some drawers and doors. As such, you really can't compete with a factory that's all jigged up to turn out product in vast numbers and buys their material by the railroad car.
Have to disagree here. Checking the cost of sheet goods vs. even the cheapest boxes, I've found they are a fraction of the cost. How many sheets of DS Melamine can one buy for $150, the cost of one 24" base unit? They will also not be built as well or with some features you may want.

Assuming, of course we work for free when we work for ourselves ;)

Assuming our time is actually worth something, this is not necessarily true when it comes to doors. Depending on # and type of wood it can be cheaper to let someone build them.

[Robert Engel]

is it worth it? I'll tell you in a few months. Well, maybe 6 months.... Ok, make it a year. This project consumes all my spare time.

I went through everything you are but I can assure you it will!! Especially the rewards of people praising your abilities. I think I didn't build another cabinet for like 6 years!!

When I did my kitchen I worked with a kitchen designer (who happens to be the daughter of my dentist [who happens to be one of my clients] who volunteered her expertise in return for services). She helped me a LOT in the beginning just one suggestion she made saved me from a big design error.

Long story short, she looked at the kitchen when completed and estimated $35,000 if built and installed by her company. I had a bunch of addons like a big pantry unit with 150# slides, slide outs in all the bases, turntables in all the corners, a recessed refrig and custom curved open shelves in 3 corners. All Blum hardware.

My total cost was right around $6K and in the process I acquired a new planer and drum sander plus a few hand tools.

[Randy Red Bemont]

Kevin, I say go for it. If you're comfortable enough to take this on, do it. I've built three complete kitchens and two walk-in pantries. It's not that hard but you do have to be very organized. And yes finishing IS the worst and hardest part. It is nice to sit back, look at the cabinetry and say I did it and did it well! Good luck and post some pics along the way.

I read this book by Jim Tolpin and it was a huge help for me. Building Traditional Kitchen Cabinets. You can find it on Amazon for $20.

Red

[scott vroom]

Kevin, ignore all he naysayers and go for it. If you do your homework, are detail oriented, and aren't in a hurry you can make a beautiful set of cabinets as a first project. Your experience in the trades gives you a good head start on some basic concepts. I'd recommend you build a simple wall cabinet and base cabinet first, one each, start to completion including the finish. You'll learn a lot and will be able to work out a lot of the bugs.

Good luck!

[Chris Hachet]

Kevin, ignore all he naysayers and go for it. If you do your homework, are detail oriented, and aren't in a hurry you can make a beautiful set of cabinets as a first project. Your experience in the trades gives you a good head start on some basic concepts. I'd recommend you build a simple wall cabinet and base cabinet first, one each, start to completion including the finish. You'll learn a lot and will be able to work out a lot of the bugs.

Good luck!

Agreed. This is good advice....

[Glenn de Souza]

Have to disagree here. Checking the cost of sheet goods vs. even the cheapest boxes, I've found they are a fraction of the cost. How many sheets of DS Melamine can one buy for $150, the cost of one 24" base unit? They will also not be built as well or with some features you may want.


Sorry, not only will I throw out a +1 for IKEA boxes, but I will respectfully disagree with you. A 24" x 24" x 30" Sektion IKEA base cabinet is $44.00. If you can buy a sheet of melamine, edge band it, line bore it, join it, buy additional material for a backer and do so for less than $44.00 then teach me sensei. Even if we say a sheet of 3/4" melamine might do two bases, by the time you add the backing material and edge banding, it's still not a "fraction" of the cost.

I've built several projects the old way, and have since built more than a handful using IKEA boxes as my skeletons and adding on my own drawer boxes, fronts, plinth bases, trim, moldings, etc to the point where the finished product looked nothing like what IKEA shows in their showrooms. You're only using their "guts". The process has been much more enjoyable and far less expensive. Also, their installation system of hanging rails is brilliant.

Unless you have expensive, space consuming tooling, don't underestimate the grief involved in handling sheet goods and line boring.

[Biff Phillips]

I am going to use 3/4" pre finished maple plywood for the cabinets. Then for the faces I am using Quatersawn White Oak finished using the Jeff Jewitt method.
Then I have a friend who is a perfectionist woodworker who I am going to hire to build my drawers, doors, and drawer fronts. I really think that I can pull this over a two year period.
I really only need 40 lineal feet of cabinets. Plus, I can build these as I want and utilize every square inch of space in my kitchen.
Where I live, custom cabinets are $250 or more per lineal foot.
I do agree with everyone that has offered advice here. And everyone has provided me with valuable advice in which to take into consideration.
Now as far the cost of tools, well I am remodeling my bathroom this summer myself. So between the bathroom and the kitchen I can justify the additional cost of tools between the two projects combined. I am fairly certain that I would be north of $40,000 if I would hire everything done professionally.
Finally, I find great pleasure in learning how to do new things and I love a challenge too.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has responded.

I really wouldn't want to count on this buddy. Lots of times people mean well and volunteer to help with a kitchen or whatever.
Then reality sets in. It's a gigantic time commitment. Too much of a chance that he will resent the project (by his own underestimating) or just
never get around to finishing it. Not worth losing a friend over.
Since you are doing oak, it would probably be better to order all the stuff you were going to have your friend build for you, or build it yourself.

Again, this is purely an opinion thing.. but if you are going through all this trouble to build your own cabinets, consider using oak plywood instead of maple for the inside.
I think it looks better when the wood species matches throughout the entire piece. Finishing really doesn't take that long, IMO. I do my own "prefinishing" .. I cut all the plywood pieces to size, apply finish, then assemble. Oak and prefiinished maple plywood look very different. (Or maybe consider making the face frames. doors, etc maple instead of oak? )

[jack duren]

Sorry but I don't see these cabinets in the near future. This is the second time on two different forums this kind of question has come up with either wild cabinet numbers or now I don't want to spend time away from my family. You need to hire it out...

[Andy Giddings]

Totally agree with Robert, Scott, Chris and Randy. Go for it. Might be good to work with your buddy to see how the drawers etc are made in case you want to have a go yourself. And finishing is the PITA part

[Jim Dwight]

I've applied finish a lot of ways (wipe on, brush on and spray) and spraying is far faster and gives better results - once you get the feel for it. I spray only water based products that dry quickly. I spray in the garage or outside. I risk getting things in the finish and have to sand out sometimes but I don't have a spray booth. I use a Fuji mini mite 3 stage. I used cheaper spray guns before getting the Fuji but they were a waste of time and money. The Fuji does a much better job laying down a smooth layer of finish. If you do this yourself, I would budget for a spray rig.

As to cost, I think it probably depends some. I did things inexpensively with inexpensive drawer slides and even no drawer slides in the island. I omitted the slides mainly to give us more drawer space. But most people want them. The thing is, the bottom mount soft close ones are seriously expensive. Hardwood prices vary widely as does plywood. If you use premium everything and don't get great pricing on materials, and also have to get some tools, it might get close to knock down cabinets. But I am confident I did not spend close to retail for my cabinets. I didn't add tools, got good prices on the materials, and got good prices on the wood. It might make sense to look at something like Lily Ann kitchens and then price up the materials before you take the plunge, however. But if you make them yourself, you also gain a lot of flexibility on the sizes of the cabinets that can result in more useful space. My current wife isn't patient enough for me to make them so we will be buying some. The only question is which. We'll probably look at IKEA but I don't want particle board (it degrades too quickly if it gets wet and isn't very strong). The Chinese knock down cabinets are plywood (at least the ones I'm thinking of are). I'll probably buy one if they price out significantly better to see what the real construction is. I also have plenty of other things to do on this house.

[kevin st john]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I appreciate it. Have a great day.

[kevin st john]

Well I made my decision today. I went out and purchased a Sawstop 3hp table saw.

[Andy Giddings]

Congrats, Kevin. Enjoy the project

[Chris Hachet]

If you know you want to buy new and you want a cabinet saw, SawStops are only a little more than the closest competition and their fit and finish are better. The safety feature is just an added bonus. I recently bought my first cabinet saw and when I was doing my research on only new saws I couldnt find a reason not to go with a SawStop for a say 3HP, 36" cabinet saw.


Were I to spend any real money on a saw, this would be it. We have two of them at work; I actually enjoy working on a Saw Stop more than a Powermatic, there is just something about the feel and working of the tool that has some wonderful intangibles.

[Grace Brown]

My husband also made cabinets for our new kitchen himself. And it turned out quite well. He had some experience, though, helping his father in his carpenter shop for some years. But in terms of design, we made use of some interior design apps to bring our ideas to life. We planned our kitchen space in detail from the visual side at first, and then he got the ball rolling starting out from the picture we created http://prodboard.com/planner/#project-261-2017 , however a little bit changed in process. Look what we've got in the end. What do you think?

347665

[Mel Fulks]

Welcome,Grace. I'm not much of a modernist but I've always liked that style kitchen. Nice job. Raised panels are available in too many sizes per kitchen!

[Bryan Cowing]

Last kitchen I did, I had Home Depot break down the melamine panels and resized them on the TS. A lot easier than trying to manhandle them by yourself. I used "Cut List" software program to organize the cutting of the sheets. Having my own shaper and power feeder I can easily make the doors using a door calculator program. Got started in kitchens many years ago using a book similar to Danny Prolux's. Pantry I made for a buddy , using white melamine , red oak.
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[Bonnie Snyder]

Thanks Greg Stahl!