Biggest project yet

[lowell holmes]

I store my plywood vertically against the wall.

[john schnyderite]

Spent a few hours on the weekend cutting panels for my closet.

As I progress through the build some questions come to mind:

I am thinking I will cut all panels to size, prime them, then bring them upstairs to assemble. At what point should I drill shelf pin holes? With a sprayer, I am thinking they won't fill up with too much paint to get the pins in easily, and as a bonus it might hide the holes a bit more with matching paint inside. Anyone have recommendations on what point to drill those out?

Each side will have 3 cabinets, 3-4' wide. I plan on using a face frame to hide the edges of the plywood. My though is that I would only make the frame 1/4 or so wider than the edges of plywood it is covering, however, I am new to face frames and this doesn't leave much room for error. I know it wouldn't add any real structural value to the cabinets to just tack in my face frame to plywood without pocket holes. Any tips for a smooth assembly for a first timer with face frames? I am thinking maybe I will just tack everything in to check fit, then remove and assemble with pocket screws when I have it all looking ok. Are there better methods?

[Jim Becker]

Do your shelf pin holes when the material if flat. I'd do it unfinished, but doing it after finishing is certainly an option as long as you can do so without damaging the finish surface.

Face frame attachment can be done in many ways. What I do for built-ins is to use some biscuits along the top edge of the cabinets that the frame can be "hung" on and maybe a few elsewhere to assist with alignment beyond that and then glue it up using 23 gauge pins shot at slight angles to hold the frame in place while the glue dries. Masking tape can be used to assist. While I build face frames with pocket screws, I don't usually use that method to attach the face frames simply because it's usually awkward to do so.

[john schnyderite]

Thanks again..so it’s priming day. Wondering if I need to sand paint grade birch before putting a coat down. Is it too smooth to adhere properly?

[Jim Matthews]

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of buying finished panels? Is there a discreet corner that will be hidden in the assembly for a test pass?

[john schnyderite]

Yes.. there is. I was just hoping others could share what worked for them to save some time. I haven’t painted much wood.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks again..so it’s priming day. Wondering if I need to sand paint grade birch before putting a coat down. Is it too smooth to adhere properly?

No, there's no need to roughen the surface. Paint will adhere to smooth wood.

[Jim Becker]

No, there's no need to roughen the surface. Paint will adhere to smooth wood.

Very true. But there's a need to make sure that surface is smooth, so at a minimum, sheet goods are going to need to be hit with 180 or whatever to get rid of fibers, etc., to prepare for the finish. 'Just saying this to clarify. "Rough" for "tooth" isn't necessary, but "smooth" for "quality" is.

[Jamie Buxton]

Very true. But there's a need to make sure that surface is smooth, so at a minimum, sheet goods are going to need to be hit with 180 or whatever to get rid of fibers, etc., to prepare for the finish. 'Just saying this to clarify. "Rough" for "tooth" isn't necessary, but "smooth" for "quality" is.

He's apparently going to prime the plywood. I'd figure he's going to sand after the primer.

[Jim Becker]

Good point, Jamie. No need to sand the primer unless it's buggered for some reason and needs to be "re-smoothed".