Tool cabinet construction

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'm making a wall-hung tool cabinet, mostly from 3/4 birch ply and it will have doors ~3" deep to store tools hanging from the inside. I intend to use the 3/4 ply for the door frames, either finger joints or glued/screwed rabbets, but I'm not sure how to make a stable door that won't rack if I use solid wood panels. I have a bunch of 1/2" mahogany I'd like to use for this instead of plywood panels.

Do you think the solid panels will provide adequate strength if they are in grooves and allowed just enough space for expansion?

[glenn bradley]

Sounds like you're talking about frame and panel construction for the doors. In this type of door most of the "staying square" duty falls to the frame. Here's some help (I hope):

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=29197

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2891

Since the carcase will be plywood you might consider solid wood frame with 1/4" ply for the panel(?).

[Ron Dunn]

*lol* ... I think I'm a sick, sick man ... I read your first sentence as:

"I'm making a WELL-hung tool cabinet ..."

[Jake Helmboldt]

Sounds like you're talking about frame and panel construction for the doors. In this type of door most of the "staying square" duty falls to the frame. Here's some help (I hope):

No, it isn't typical frame and panel. The doors are deep to allow storage on the inside of them so the frames will be ~3" wide plywood with a panel ala Christian Becksvoort's cabinet, doors hung on piano hinges. I could use plywood, but the mahogany would look better and I wouldn't have to buy more plywood. I'm just not sure if I can build the door with a wood panel, allow for contraction/expansion, and also make it strong enough to resist racking.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/uploadedimages/fine_woodworking_network/image_resources/cms/img1201-img1500/IMG1451_xl.jpg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I'm just not sure if I can build the door with a wood panel, allow for contraction/expansion, and also make it strong enough to resist racking.


I have read somewhere that Plywood isn't an issue in this app because you can glue it all around cause it's expansion is uniform. I've never tried it.

[Dana Vogel]

Jake, I built this exact cabinet for my tools and followed the original instructions and found that by using plywood for the doors you wind up with a whole box then the doors are sliced off at the table saw. This way you wind up with perfectly matched doors that match the carcass perfectly. you can find this article at FWW, I have the downloaded PDF copy if you are interested.

[Dana Vogel]

Jake, I misled you about the PDF file it does not include instructions I was thinking of another tool cabinet from another article but is very similar in construction only the inside layout is different. The FWW article does include ideas and somewhat directions for tool layout.

[Chris Friesen]

I could use plywood, but the mahogany would look better and I wouldn't have to buy more plywood. I'm just not sure if I can build the door with a wood panel, allow for contraction/expansion, and also make it strong enough to resist racking.

I suspect you cannot avoid racking with a floating panel unless you brace the corners, but then you lose out on tool storage space.

However, you could buy some plywood thinner than what you want to end up with, resaw your mahogany, and glue it onto your plywood. That way you get the looks of mahogany and the strength/stability of plywood.