Cabinet Assembly Inserts

[ChrisA Edwards]

I'm going to be making a few large cabinets that will need to be assembled in place as the entrance ways will not allow me to carry the cabinets in whole.

For this I would like to use a connector system that will allow me to assemble/disassemble them.

I'm familiar withe the Festool system that replaces the dominoes for their connectors.

I've also seen the Lamello Cabineo system.

Are there others that I should possibly take a look at.

Thanks

[Jamie Buxton]

I often use brass threaded inserts with connector bolts. (Connector bolts are the ones with a big flat head driven by a 4mm Allen wrench.)

[Peter Kelly]

The Häfele Ixconnect system is pretty slick but it requires the same level of precision as Cabnieo which can be difficult if you aren’t drilling your parts with a pod & rail CNC machine. There’s also the Lamello Clamex which is easily the nicest system out there but you’ll need a Zeta which will set you back $1,500.

Expensive and fiddly as the Festool RTA connectors are, they’re probably your best bet if you’ve already got a Domino. You’ll still need the drilling template, special drill bit and 8mm cutter but you can now buy everything al la carte rather than the entire Connect kit.

[glenn bradley]

Are mini fix connectors too lightweight for your purposes?

[Kevin Jenness]

The Lamello Clamex S is a screw-in connector that works well, though it is a bit of a pain to use without an 8mm cutter- I have used the standard 4mm cutter with a 4mm shim for this application.

[Lee Schierer]

This cabinet I made was too large to get into the home and down the stairs to the lower level when fully assembled. This cabinet is 8 feet long and about 40 inches tall and 48" wide when the leaf is extended.
craft_table4.jpgcraft_table2.jpg
It was put together with pocket hole screws. I had it fully assembled in my shop, broke it down for transport and completely reassembled it in the owners home.

[Jim Dwight]

I did something like what Lee did with a tall cabinet in my bathroom. It goes almost floor to ceiling with crown molding hiding the gap at the top. I have pocket screws in the top and bottom with biscuits for alignment that were installed in the bathroom prior to tilting the cabinets up in position. They do not show in the finished cabinet. I also used them on a solid middle shelf, on the bottom and while those can be seen I filled the holes and painted over them so they are not obvious. The cabinet is screwed to the wall so the joints do not see a lot of stress (but pocket screws create surprisingly strong joints). I would have had a different plan for solid wood but for a painted cabinet, this worked well.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Yes a combination of Dominos and pocket hole screws may be the ticket.

[Mark Gibney]

I like what Chris above says - a combination of Dominoes and pocket hole screws.
Pocket hole screws tend to pull the parts slightly out of alignment as they are tightened down, and maybe Dominoes or biscuits would help mitigate that.

I'm not familiar with the Ixconnect or other systems mentioned here, I think I have a few youtube videos to watch this weekend.

[Dave Sabo]

Dowels and or confirmant screws.

Easy, simple, fast, and economical. No special tools required.

[Lee Schierer]

Pocket hole screws tend to pull the parts slightly out of alignment as they are tightened down, and maybe Dominoes or biscuits would help mitigate that.

If you clamp the pieces to be joined together the pocket screws don't move the pieces. For the large panels in my cabinet I used pipe clamps to hold pieces in place while the screws were inserted. During reassembly, since the holes were already into the mating pieces, no clamps were needed. All the pocket holes in my craft cabinet were located so they were not visible from the outside.