making cabinets with bot and kreg jig

[myxpykalix]

I'm building a bar and now hanging cabinets for my son. He wants them to cover an 11' wide wall so i would be making a few boxes. I know some of you traditional cabinetmakers have different techniques and there are different programs like sketchup to make cabinet boxes. I haven't learned sketchup yet.

I would like to use my kreg jig to make up my boxes but wondered (and preferred) to also have dado's. I prefer cabinets with seperate faceframes.
And i want to make my cabinet doors from MDf so i can make some nice carvings on all of them (or he prefers glass fronts).
I'm not clear on what is the best hinge to use for mdf doors on a faceframe?

Actually after i reread that, if he wants glass inserts i wouldn't make the rails and stiles from mdf but make the faceframes and rails and stiles from poplar as i have a ton of that.

I'm thinking i would make a 8' wide box and insert (wall)pieces vertically to make seperate cabinets? Rather then several individual boxes
Also i think i would want to make like an inch space under the cabinets to be able to hide some undercabinet lighting, and possibly some nice crown type moulding on top to hide lighting. For a bar what is the average size width cabinet (similar to kitchen cabinets)?
Any basic tips would be appreciated

[dmidkiff]

Jack, I use the kreg jig for my face frames all the time. Works great. I have never used it to attach the boxes to the frame, but I'm sure it would work. I use Aspire to draw out the parts with shelf pin holes and dadoes. I'm sure ArtCam can do these simple drawings as well. I use the same size bit 1/4" compression for all the cuts. Before I had vacuum, I placed screws around for hold down. Standard depth of upper kitchen cabinet is 12" outside. I make mine 14" deep. Be careful of making one box 8' wide. The size and weight might make it hard to get into the room and on the wall. Unless you are going to assemble in place. I place my dadoes 2" from the top and bottom of the sides and that will allow a place to hide lights. I make the top rail of the cabinet 3" wide instead of 2". That gives room for the crown, and does not get too close to the doors. If you space it right you could carve the door or doors in the center and put glass in the rest.

[Ken Sully]

Jack
Here's a great spot for LED lights. They even have LED'S on a ribbon cable
http://www.superbrightleds.com

[myxpykalix]

Dave,
If each cabinet space is 12"-18" wide you're looking at 8-10 cabinet doors so i was figuring i'd do some solid some with glass. Maybe to break it up (and not have to make so many doors) i would make a space in the center for open shelves and a place to hang the wine glasses.

As i wrote that, keeping in mind your suggestion about not making one big box maybe i'll make 2 four foot wide boxes with shelf space in the center and a valance front top for lights.

[gene]

What Dave said !

[CNYDWW]

Jack,

My meathod was to create a 1/16" deep dado and or rebate and use 1" kreg screws set at 1/2" depth on the jig or foreman. In all actuality, the depth would leave 5/8" of material.

Regards
Randy

[myxpykalix]

a little confusion...since i've never used the jig yet to make a cabinet i have a question.
If i am going to make a cabinet that is 28" tall X 48" wide x12" deep using 3/4 plywood then my top and bottom piece i cut to 46.5" x12"
and my vertical side pieces are 28" tall x12" deep

I make my pocket holes on the underside of the top and bottom that will screw into the sides to hold the 4 sides together.

I cut my back piece to 46.5" wide X 26.5" that will fit inside the square area of the four sides and i drill my pocket holes on all four sides of the reverse of the back to screw into the 4 sides of the box i made....right?

Normally i'd make dado's to insert the back panel but i wanted to make sure i got this right before laying it out to be cut.

When making the face frame i'm going to give myself an additional 1" on the bottom to hang over the bottom edge to cover any under cabinet lighting.

I just wanted to have someone "proofread" my basic plan to make sure i got it right since i hadn't used the jig before for cabinets.

[CNYDWW]

Jack,

Attached is a screen shot of how i would setup mt dadoes and rebates for use with the kreg jig. Full 3/4" construction. Everything locks in nicely. The toe tick is attached up to the bottom with 3-4 screws and from the sides with one screw. The bottom wold have pocket holes to attach to the sides and back. The back would have several pocket holes on each the right and left on the back side of the panel so it would face the wall. The cleats usually two screws each end. There are no dadoes or rebates besides what you see on the back and sides.

I hope this helps. Lack of sleep and I have a hard time comprehending and conveying.

Regards

[dmidkiff]

If i am going to make a cabinet that is 28" tall X 48" wide x12" deep using 3/4 plywood then my top and bottom piece i cut to 46.5" x12"
and my vertical side pieces are 28" tall x12" deep

Jack those measurements seam right if you are not using dadoes.

I make my pocket holes on the underside of the top and bottom that will screw into the sides to hold the 4 sides together.

I would put the pocket holes on the outside of the cabinet(on top of the top and bottom of the bottom)

I cut my back piece to 46.5" wide X 26.5" that will fit inside the square area of the four sides and i drill my pocket holes on all four sides of the reverse of the back to screw into the 4 sides of the box i made....right?

I would put the pocket holes on the back so they would end up against the wall.


Normally i'd make dado's to insert the back panel but i wanted to make sure i got this right before laying it out to be cut.

You probably already know but just in case, dadoes added will change the measurements.

When making the face frame i'm going to give myself an additional 1" on the bottom to hang over the bottom edge to cover any under cabinet lighting.

This sounds like it will work, but I think it will change the overall height of the cabinet. If you mount the bottom shelf 2" (or face frame width) up from the bottom of the sides, you will have a place for lighting.

I just wanted to have someone "proofread" my basic plan to make sure i got it right since i hadn't used the jig before for cabinets.

Hope I have understood your questions and given clear help. It looks like you are on the right track, but using a different method that I use. Giving advise is harder to communicate when the constructions methods differ. Hope this has helped.

[bleeth]

Since these are upper cabinets pocket screw holes at the bottom would be pretty unsightly, even with a dropped faceframe as a light valance. You can still do this though by adding a removeable panel that you flush mount the light pucks into. This not only hides the pocket screws, but also the wiring. Just put cleating around the bottom of the opening and use a piece of 1/4" ply as the panel. This is a requirement on our higher end jobs.

At the top, assuming your cabinet doors are going to be overlay type, rather than extend the face frame up to attach the crown to, I like an L bracket attached to the top of the cab that extends out from it equal to the door depth so the bottom of the crown does not end up recessed from the face of the doors. IMHO a much classier look. Also, if the cabinets are not wall to wall you don't have to worry about what you're going to attache the crown to at the sides. Just continue the L bracket right around.

Blum makes two lines of face frame hinges that work fine for overlay doors. One of them has several different combinations that allow you to have pretty much any amount of overlay onto your frame you want.

I prefer a dado for the back as it makes sizing of the back less critical.

Don't forget that plywood is NOT 3/4" thick.

To make this look even more classy add a rounded over bead inside the face frame openings and make the doors inset flush instead of overlay. Then it's really looking like furniture.

11 feet is a long run for just straight cabinets. Some open shelves, and possible the center cabinets being taller and deeper than the rest would add a lot of interest. Deep enough so the crown on the shallower cabinets dead end into the sides of the center taller ones.