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Thread: Cabinet or Drawers First?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
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    Ouray Colorado
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    1,385
    That’s what we used to do also Dave. Never wanted to have boxes taking up space till the other parts were ready. It also took a lot of work with Cabinetware to get to this point. I just built my first kitchen in 20 years and because I had not used the program for so long I built the boxes first just to be on the safe side. Kitchen cabinets no problem but if fine furniture would definitely do the casework first.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    I know we've figured this out already but, cabinet first and fit the drawers.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #18
    Machine all your parts at once to your drawing specs. You should be accurate enough that you can build from there and the drawers will fit.

    I do case first but dont think they ever taught us that just seemed logical. Id never make doors and other stuff first as doors are made over their final size then cut and tweaked to fit the cabinet for the gaps wanted

  4. #19
    Ditto on making the cabinet first. Same for doors. The one exception is when I make curved doors. Then I make the doors first and fit the front curve of the cabinet to the curve of the doors. But that is getting a little bit off topic.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Michigan
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    2,754
    My current project is a dresser. I made the 7 drawers first so the fronts would be of the best grain matched wood, and because I felt like doing drawers. Now the cabinet is about done and it is working out well. It is fussy to go this way but I am on a journey, the destination is not the goal.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    9,450
    Just out of curiosity, Tom, do the drawer run on runners, or are they due to fit an opening exactly (no runners)?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    Accuride slides

    Here with the drawers just sitting in the loose assembled case. Once gaps are added between drawers the top one will be contoured to the cloud lift.
    Loose Assembly with Drawers.jpg

    Aliginig front recess
    Aligning Drawers.jpg

    1/64" shims to make precise adjustments
    Adjusting Drawer.jpg

    Similar process for height and to get left and right stops even
    Last edited by Tom Bender; 08-16-2022 at 1:40 PM.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,450
    Thanks Tom. I expected that you were using slides as these provide a little leeway, and ultimate fitting is not critical. Contrast this with drawers for a cabinet (in this case an entry hall table), where a piston fit is desired for wood-running-on-wood.

    The drawer case is constructed carefully ..



    This is all solid wood - no laminated front. The drawer is built to fit this exactly



    Without close tolerances, it would rack and lack smooth adjustment.

    The final fit looks like this …







    Hall table made for a friend. The drawer needed to be invisible …



    Much fun.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    2,754
    As always Derek your workmanship sets a high standard.

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