Jon Nuckles
05-19-2016, 1:46 PM
Hi all,
Short Question:
There's a lot of background in the following paragraphs if you want to read it. If not, here's my short question: Where would you buy kitchen cabinet boxes and/or drawer boxes online, if you planned to do the door and drawer fronts yourself?
Background, if you want to read it:
We are doing some remodeling, including a gut rehab of our kitchen, and are hoping to save some money. I am a furniture maker with a well-equipped shop and I am inclined to make the cabinets. I am trying to figure out which parts to do myself and which ones are better to outsource. We have designed a door and drawer profile that is not available elsewhere, so I am making the fronts and will make the face frame if we don't go frameless. We want those painted and I think it makes sense to find someone local to do a spray finish.
I am undecided on the cabinet boxes and drawer boxes, and that's where I could use some help. I can make the cabinet boxes, but prefinished 3/4 ply is $80/sheet (from the first supplier I checked in my area) and I recognize that there are economies of scale and advantages in precision for a well-tooled factory turning out thousands of boxes. I'd like to get a sense of pricing to help me decide whether to buy or build the boxes myself. Unfortunately, few ready-to-assemble online sources seem to offer cabinet boxes without fronts.
Barker Door suggested my best option would be to buy the complete setup from them and just not install their fronts!
Cabinet Parts, Inc. does sell boxes separately, but they sell only to professionals. I could probably have our remodeling contractor or architect buy from them for me, but I can't even get a sense of pricing from them without certifying that I am a pro.
Ikea sells cabinet boxes separately and the prices are great, but the boxes are melamine coated particle board, and I was leaning toward prefinished maple plywood. I also don't know how difficult it would be to adapt their frameless boxes made for overlay doors to my tentative plan of a face frame with inset doors/drawers.
Any suggestions of other places to try?
I have found some sources for drawer boxes: Western Dovetail & Barker Door both sell finished, dovetailed maple drawers that have been notched and drilled for Blum slides. Any other or better sources to check? I gave away my Leigh dovetail jig when I learned to cut dovetails by hand, but a whole kitchen full of drawers might take me a while by hand! I could use the DowelMax for the drawers, or could borrow a friend's Leigh jig, but I'd like to know the lowest price for good dovetail drawers to help me decide.
Thanks for any sources you can suggest!
Short Question:
There's a lot of background in the following paragraphs if you want to read it. If not, here's my short question: Where would you buy kitchen cabinet boxes and/or drawer boxes online, if you planned to do the door and drawer fronts yourself?
Background, if you want to read it:
We are doing some remodeling, including a gut rehab of our kitchen, and are hoping to save some money. I am a furniture maker with a well-equipped shop and I am inclined to make the cabinets. I am trying to figure out which parts to do myself and which ones are better to outsource. We have designed a door and drawer profile that is not available elsewhere, so I am making the fronts and will make the face frame if we don't go frameless. We want those painted and I think it makes sense to find someone local to do a spray finish.
I am undecided on the cabinet boxes and drawer boxes, and that's where I could use some help. I can make the cabinet boxes, but prefinished 3/4 ply is $80/sheet (from the first supplier I checked in my area) and I recognize that there are economies of scale and advantages in precision for a well-tooled factory turning out thousands of boxes. I'd like to get a sense of pricing to help me decide whether to buy or build the boxes myself. Unfortunately, few ready-to-assemble online sources seem to offer cabinet boxes without fronts.
Barker Door suggested my best option would be to buy the complete setup from them and just not install their fronts!
Cabinet Parts, Inc. does sell boxes separately, but they sell only to professionals. I could probably have our remodeling contractor or architect buy from them for me, but I can't even get a sense of pricing from them without certifying that I am a pro.
Ikea sells cabinet boxes separately and the prices are great, but the boxes are melamine coated particle board, and I was leaning toward prefinished maple plywood. I also don't know how difficult it would be to adapt their frameless boxes made for overlay doors to my tentative plan of a face frame with inset doors/drawers.
Any suggestions of other places to try?
I have found some sources for drawer boxes: Western Dovetail & Barker Door both sell finished, dovetailed maple drawers that have been notched and drilled for Blum slides. Any other or better sources to check? I gave away my Leigh dovetail jig when I learned to cut dovetails by hand, but a whole kitchen full of drawers might take me a while by hand! I could use the DowelMax for the drawers, or could borrow a friend's Leigh jig, but I'd like to know the lowest price for good dovetail drawers to help me decide.
Thanks for any sources you can suggest!