Time to Build Some Shop Cabinets

[Sam Chambers]

Well, I'm almost ready to build some much needed cabinets for the shop. I've never built any kind of cabinet before, so this will be a learning experience. I bought one of Danny Proulx's books and found some designs that I like.

And now come the questions:

- He made his out of 5/8" melamine, but I'm limited to 3/4". (I'll buy the stuff using a bunch of accumulated Borg gift cards, that's why!) Will 3/4" be sturdy enough?

- I might go with MDF instead of melamine, just for the base cabinets, because of their extra weight. Plywood is porbably not an option, because the good stuff is out of my price range.

- What's the best way to join MDF or melamine? Dados & glue? Biscuits & glue? Pocket Screws (with or without glue)? Confirmat screws? Something else?

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

3/4" is thicker than 5/8"...so I suspect you'll be fine. :D

Confirmat screws are the defacto standard for working with mechanical fasteners and these materials. I don't recommend pocket screws for MDF or Melamine (which is particle board with a pretty face). Glue and dados is fine, but for the melemine RooGlue is what you'll need to "stick" to the white stuff.

[Anthony Anderson]

Menards, my local BORG of choice (although we do have a BORG) has three grades of 3/4" birch plywood, $25/4X8 sheet, ~$40/sheet and ~$75/sheet. I stay away from the $25/sheet, but the $40/sheet is what I use for shop cabinets. It is pretty good quality, and does not delaminate like the $25/sheet ply. They also have Oak available as well. HD or Lowe's should have the Oak ply as well, but generally do a poor job of stacking and supporting, which results in sheets of ply that is wavy and twisted. As Jim B. said, I wouldn't use the pocket screws with melamine, particle board or MDF, but with the ply the pocket screws would be fast and also have great holding power. I built my shop cabinets out of the oak ply about 8 years ago and they are still holding up great. Hope this helps. Regards, Bill

BTW, we had a new local woodworker's store open up and their plywood prices are only a few dollars more than the BORG, and the handling of the material, by the store, means that you will get good pieces of ply, so it is worth the money. I have bought my ply from them recently and have been very happy. So check out the local small woodworker's store first and give them your support if possible.

[glenn bradley]

I have 3/4" MDF cabinets that have stood the trials without complaint. Dado and glue or dado, rabbet, glue and screws depending on function. Switched to 1/2" BB ply for the drawer bodies and used MDF false fronts to preserve the look and feel. I even used MDF with bridle joints for door frames but another material would probably be better.

[Sam Chambers]

3/4" is thicker than 5/8"...so I suspect you'll be fine.

...Glue and dados is fine, but for the melemine RooGlue is what you'll need to "stick" to the white stuff.
DOH!!!

You'd think the accountant would remember his fractions! :o

I noticed that Titebond makes a melamine glue. How does it compare with RooGlue?

[Chris Bolton]

Well, I'm almost ready to build some much needed cabinets for the shop. I've never built any kind of cabinet before, so this will be a learning experience. I bought one of Danny Proulx's books and found some designs that I like.

And now come the questions:

- He made his out of 5/8" melamine, but I'm limited to 3/4". (I'll buy the stuff using a bunch of accumulated Borg gift cards, that's why!) Will 3/4" be sturdy enough?

- I might go with MDF instead of melamine, just for the base cabinets, because of their extra weight. Plywood is porbably not an option, because the good stuff is out of my price range.

- What's the best way to join MDF or melamine? Dados & glue? Biscuits & glue? Pocket Screws (with or without glue)? Confirmat screws? Something else?

Thanks!


I've built and installed a ton of kitchens with both 5/8 and 3/4 mealmine boxes. As much as I hate the stuff, it is a really great material to work with if you want to build quick square and sturdy boxes.

Melamine tends to blow out, or shatter, but you can minimize this tendency. There are a couple of "tricks"

1. Predrill you screws
2. Use a real Particle core screw
3. Don't over torque your screws/ Use a cordless drill if you can. You can use a corded drill but you have to be carefull that one the screw is set, don't over tighten it. Lots of times I have to back out the first screw I sank and the reinistall a fresh new one.

For "BOXES", I don't really like MDF, maybe because it isn't finished in the same way that melamine is, but to be honest, I haven't really built enough boxes out of it to say beter.I've used melamine to build most of my shop cabinets and none are falling apart, they're still square and the still look fine. I like the prefinished melamine advantage, but I don't think it really makes that much diference what you choose.

[Dewayne Reding]

Sam

I am a shop cabinet rookie myself, having only built the NYW router table with MDF and plywood. Around here (at Home Depot), there is a six buck difference in the price between 3/4 MDF and a paintable grade birch plywood (color variance). I like MDF OK once it is assembled. It is heavy and finishes well. What I don't like about it is the edges and corners are far more delicate than plywood during construction. It's an annoyance, along with the huge quantities of cutting and machining dust. I have to cut it out in the garage. Maybe I would like MDF more if it wasn't -7 outside today? :)

[Errol Wentworth]

I noticed that Titebond makes a melamine glue. How does it compare with RooGlue?
I don't know what others feel, but I think the Titebond melamine glue STINKS. It's like water. Very difficult to work with.

Rooglue is harder to get and more $$, but worth it.

Errol

[Scot wolf]

Sam. I recently was in the same boat. Needing to build shop cabinets/bench space. Now it would not be a problem for me to build a set of cabinets (being a trim carpenter for years) but here's what I ended up doing.

search for "Small gloat... finnally setting up a real shop after years! " on woodnet

Maybe not as pleasing on the eye but it was cheaper and took a whole lot less time than building from scratch. I'm sure you would have a Restore in your area. http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore_detail.aspx?place=87
Besides you're helping a good cause. P.S....they will deal with you on prices. WDO

[Corey Hallagan]

I built my shop cabinets out of MDF for the carcass. I took Jim's advise 2 years ago and bought the confirmant screws and the drill bit. Get a good square to help line of the panels, drill and screw it together. Works great!

Corey

[Al Willits]

Because I deal with some machining and metal work, which can be both heavy and oily, I've found MDF hasn't worked for me, plus it doesn't support much weight unless supported.
Liquids are not MDF's friend, and some seem to seep though even paint and that will ruin MDF, personally I use plywood now, for the garage I buy the $28 stuff at Menard's and it ain't pretty, but it works.
Plus a coat or two of paint makes it look a lot better....:)

Have the same opinion of particle board also.

Al

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have melamine kit cabinets in my shop that are now over 13 years old. Not a single problem in that time. I bought the kits at Home Depot - mostly Mills Pride white kitchen cabinets. I chose kits because of time factors and also because I could buy the materials for what the kits cost.

If you want to make your own, confirmat screws from McFeely's are excellent for melamine or MDF butt joints. Dado and glue works well too, although butt joints are strong enough for cabinet carcasses and a lot faster than clamp and glue joints.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I second Dave's recommendation. One could purchase Mills Pride cabinets cheaper than buying, making and finishing your own. Unless you have some unique size requirement, this is a quick and easy option. You can also just buy the carcass and make your own doors too. The carcasses are available with a fake birch grain finish, or a white melamine finish.

I have found these cabinets to be sturdy and square upon assembly.

Cheers,
-Jeff :)

[Paul Wingert]

Another option for shop wall cabinents i(f you aren't using them as a learning experience) is to go down to habitat for humanity and get some used kitchen wall cabinents. Especially if you are willing to take odds and ends (unmatched singles), they are very inexpensive. The downside is that obviously there's no guarantee of what they have in stock on any given day.

[Jim Becker]

Buying knock down or used is certainly an option for "shop cabinets", especially when time is a major factor. But I encourage building them otherwise as it's an excellent chance to learn new techniques or experiment with different materials before you employ them on other projects for outside of the shop. I'm about as time-limited as most working/parenting woodworkers can get, but I still try to build my shop fixtures and cabinets when it's possible to do so. In fact, I'm about to do a rolling tool cabinet, both to accommodate my growing collection of Neander tools as well as to try out a few things I may use for the cabinetry in our addition.

[Bert Johansen]

I have used MDF on many cabinets, including my shop cabinets, and they are great so long as you understand their limitations. I make the cabinet bottoms out of 3/4 ply, and add melamine only to the top. After gluing the melamine to the top I edge the top with solid hardwood. I also pre-finish (paint) the MDF sides and back before assembly. I make drawers out of 1/2 birch ply and add a false drawer front made from the same hardwood I used to edge the top. I also add a front face frame of the same hardwood. Finally, I glue hardwood drawer guides to the inside and install full-extension slides. Here's a photo of my drill press cabinet. I used left-over jatoba for the hardwood.

[Travis Hirst]

I am looking at doing the same thing this weekend. I have a set of plans from american woodworker that uses 3/4 mdf for the cabinets. They lay out the plans in a way that you can get four cabinets out of just two sheets of mdf. They are plenty strong and very versital in that they can be hung or just used on the floor.

Travis

[James Carmichael]

Because I deal with some machining and metal work, which can be both heavy and oily, I've found MDF hasn't worked for me, plus it doesn't support much weight unless supported.
Liquids are not MDF's friend, and some seem to seep though even paint and that will ruin MDF, personally I use plywood now, for the garage I buy the $28 stuff at Menard's and it ain't pretty, but it works.
Plus a coat or two of paint makes it look a lot better....:)

Have the same opinion of particle board also.

Al

I'm with Al on the MDF, liquids always seem to find an unprotected spot, and then it looks like a tumor. Also hate the dust.

I'd bite the bullet and go with plywood, even if you do have to paint it, it's so much easier to work with. If durability is a concern, you can get hot-stick melamine veneer at Lowes (not sure about the price, though).

[John Hulett]

Sam,

Melamine is typically 49x97 (as opposed to the standard 48x96) and is oversized for a reason - the edges are usually chipped. The first time I made cabinets with melamine, the edges looked crummy because I just used the "factory" edge.:( Plan on trimming that outside edge of the sheet - you'll be happier in the end if you do

[Sam Chambers]

I second Dave's recommendation. One could purchase Mills Pride cabinets cheaper than buying, making and finishing your own.I don't know about that, Jeff. I went by the Borg at lunch today. The typical Mills Pride base cabinet is in the $50-$60 range. 3/4" MDF is about $20/sheet. Melamine is about $25/sheet. The bargain basement plywood was about $28/sheet. It wouldn't take more than one sheet per cabinet, so it seems like it would be cheaper (though certainly not faster) to build my own.

Interestingly, the low-priced plywood was pretty flat, but the mid-level stuff ($35 or so) was already pre-formed into a nice, but uneven, curve. The stuff looked like a big rectangular Pringle! And the expensive oak plywood was almost as bad.

[Sam Chambers]

I am looking at doing the same thing this weekend. I have a set of plans from american woodworker that uses 3/4 mdf for the cabinets. They lay out the plans in a way that you can get four cabinets out of just two sheets of mdf. They are plenty strong and very versital in that they can be hung or just used on the floor.

Travis
I was looking at the same issue, Travis. I think I might need to make mine a bit deeper, though, and that would probably mess up the sheet layout.

[Travis Hirst]

Heres a link to some plans http://f.chtah.com/i/12/432869668/AW01JUN_08713-Shop_Solution.pdf

See if that's what you might want.

Travis

[Sam Chambers]

Heres a link to some plans http://f.chtah.com/i/12/432869668/AW01JUN_08713-Shop_Solution.pdf

See if that's what you might want.

Travis
Yep, that's the issue I have. I need to play with the layout a little to see if I can make them deeper.

[Tom Ricochet]

Sam,

If at all possible, I would recommend that you try to build your own cabinets - for all the reasons that Jim and others have mentioned. Also, I would discourage you from using particle board or MDF for any cabinet where you plan to install casters for mobility - a lot of extra stress is developed when rolling a loaded cabinet around. P/B and MDF are "tender" compared to plywood, and also probably should not be used if there is any chance of liquids coming into contact with them. Look around for a good supplier for plywood, if you can - I know there are many options in the Atlanta area - perhaps you can find one that would work for you.

[Kurt Strandberg]

I used plywood then made face frames and doors, then painted white

Did 3 on one wall and 2 on ther other wall

[Jim Bunton]

I used 3/4 melamine for my shop cabinets. I used dados and rabbets , glue and screws to hold it while it dried. I had salveged a board that was 13' long 23" wide and 3" thick I used that for the top. The cabinet is very stable.


Jim Bunton