Face Frames or Frustration?

[Jeremy Taylor]

Good evening all! Can you achieve reasonable success constructing cabinet face frames without milling your own stock? I'm not sure if the s4s material available at the local big boxes or other suppliers will work. I know I would be limited in available widths for the stiles and rails but I really don't want to invest (yet) in a jointer and planer.

Thanks for any input,

Jeremy

[Lee Schierer]

You can probably rip the lumber you would find at the big box stores to make suitable face frames. Personally I buy my lumber F4S at another location for less than half of what they sell if for at HD and Lowes. I get better quality material too. After ripping you can sand away any saw marks if you saw has been trued up properly.

However, assuming you can't find another source then by all means use what you can get. Just pick out the boards carefully and avoid those with lots of twist, cup or warp. Pick out the best piece you can find even if you have to sort through the entire rack. If an associate says something tell them you will leave the stack nice and neat, but if you are paying for the material you want the best you can get.

[glenn bradley]

I just finished a quicky frame and ripped the pieces from some scrap. I normally mill down better material but this was just a quick corner cabinet for a garage. Worked fine but I wouldn't want it in my living room. If you used decent (not great) stock to start and don't mind a little hand sanding, you should be OK.

[frank shic]

jeremy, another alternative is to use edgebanded plywood for stain/clear finish projects or MDF for paint grade projects. yet another possibility is to get rid of the face frames entirely and just edgeband the sheet material. watch those fingers.

[Jim Becker]

You can use the s4s stuff no problem...as long as you carefully select the lumber so it's all the same thickness. Don't assume it is as there is often variation in the retail racks.

[Ben Grunow]

Check edges of store bought material for square if you intend to use the factory edge. A slight variation from 90 degrees will cause your face frames to be fubar (stiles/rail not in plane, especially if you use pocket screws). I think you know how I know this.

[Greg Cole]

One of my first projects as a Newbie was to make cabinet faces for a kitchen. All materials were Borg bought including S4S poplar for the rails and stiles, as the cabinets are painted.
Dimensions are pretty good, but finding enough straight material proves to be an exercise in digging! Once you find a decent supplier of sticks other than what the Borg carries, you won't go back unless it's in a pinch. There is more to ww'ing than Borg 4/4, S4S sticks in red oak, poplar, very limited maple selection and pine (at least that is all my local Borg has).

[Jeremy Taylor]

Thanks for the input! This board is the most used tool so far in my WW arsenal. I'm not sure how anyone got started in WWing before the internet came along!

[Ted Miller]

I suffer from better than 20/20 vision, so I rarely find good straight wood anymore, don't care where I go, and yes I have been everywhere. I like to do all my own work when it comes to surfacing, makes better projects and I feel better about what I accomplished...

[Pete Brown]

My first projects (http://www.irritatedvowel.com/HomeImprovement/EntertainmentCenter.aspx)all used big box store wood. I've learned a lot about design/construction/proportions/support etc. since I built that, and also now mill all my own lumber, but it definitely worked.

Keep in mind that for face frames, a little bow is ok on the pieces that will run along a plywood edge for their whole length. If you can flatten the board easily with your hand and a table, you'll be fine - you just need to use biscuits or pocket screws to provide a good solid connection to the plywood.

Twist is not ok, and a curve that makes it look like a boomerang is also not ok.

When you get the wood home, stack it and heavily weight it so it won't pick up more bow. The climate control at HD/Lowes leaves a lot to be desired and the pieces tend to go all funky when they get to your house/shop and sit for a day or two.

Pete