Kitchen Cabinets

[tearls26]

Good afternoon all

I just recently retired from the military, and bought an old farm house. As you know old farm houses need a lot of work. I came up with an idea to make all my own kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets and kitchen island with my CNC. The only problem I have is I don't know where to start. Could someone out there be willing to give me some pointers, or does anyone have any files they would be willing to share to get me started? My main concern is the cabinet doors and what kind of wood you would use.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tim

[dlcw]

Tim,

Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your service!!

To get started, first figure out what type of wood you want to be visible on your cabinets; doors, drawer faces, faceframes, trim, etc.

Then figure out your budgets for things like hardware and accessories; slides, hinges, pulls, etc.

Then you need to make a decision on how you want to make your cabinet carcasses. You can go anywhere from particle board to really nice domestic prefinished maple plywood. Again, your budget determines this. Each of the materials has benefits whether it's low cost or high durability. Only you can decide what your tradeoffs need to be. You will need to decide if you are going to make each cabinet individually and place them in the room or if you are going to make large cabinets that would normally be done by multiple cabinets.

Now you need to decide functionality. Each cabinet you make will have a purpose. That purpose coincides with that cabinets' location in the overall kitchen layout. Things like silverware locations, pots and pans location, stove location, oven location, sink location, etc. I normally start my layouts from the kitchen sink and work from there. If you are planning on spending the rest of yours days in this house, you need to learn a discipline called aging in place. This is the process of building the interior of your house to accommodate the aging process. For example, in base cabinets I tend to use pullout trays instead of adjustable shelves. It's easier to bring things out to you versus climbing in the cabinet to get things. Countertop height is also important. If you work in the kitchen alot, being constantly bent over, it will take it's toll on your back.

I need to run now, but this should give you some good places to start thinking. Don't rush it, if you don't have to. Plan it out well before cutting a single piece of wood. It's easier to change on paper (computer) than once you start cutting.

[Joe Porter]

I did just this very thing several years ago and was in your place experience wise. I started looking in books and magazines for instruction and ideas mostly at the local Woodcraft store on Saturday mornings. (Free). Since then I have learned to use the Internet and search out ideas and books and order them and have built up my own reference library. Two authors seem to stand out from the others, Udo Schmidt and Bob Lang. If you do a Google search for them, you will see plenty of reference material. Both of these folks seem to be down to earth and can relate to folks like me...simple and easy to follow Anyway, good luck on your project and, by the way, Don's advice on aging in place is pretty good, I just wish I had thought of that back then...joe

[dmidkiff]

Paint, stain or natural finish should be decided in order to choose your wood type. Poplar, maple and birch paint well but poplar is likely the cheapest. Almost any wood but poplar stains well or just clear coated. As Don and Joe said layout is important and ageing in place is an excellent idea. Along with books and magazines you could probably get some brochures at one of the big box stores to help with layout.

[scottp55]

Don's advice about aging in place is VERY good!
I was in a wheelchair already when I designed the house, so kitchens and baths got a LOT of attention...BUT my 89 yr old Dad, and 85 yr old Mom never gave it a thought 25 years ago
Now there are large portions of the kitchens that are pretty unusable for them, and the bathrooms were getting dangerous.
Different kickboard heights gave me 3 different counter heights, and 2 pullout cutting boards gave me a lot of options...slide out drawers are MUCH more usable for base cabinets, and corner cabinets/appliance garages benefit from lazy susans for lowers. Dropping upper cabinets a little helps, and with a counter top height change, all uppers are accessible while still allowing the big Mixmaster and blenders.
I always wondered why my Grandmother kept one complete set of dishes on the countertop, and 4 pans on the stovetop.....she couldn't REACH all her stuff
Mom and Dad were indifferent about my mods, but in the last decade I've spent weeks listening to "I wish I had thought of that!"
Dad finally got home after 6 months recovery from open heart, and been talking to his carpenter for a month giving measurements and designs for mods, BUT it doesn't help that Mom and Dad never thought they'd be confined to the bottom floor of the house.
Lucky Dad built a fully handicapped first floor bed/bath for me..as now HE'S using it or he'd still be at a rehab.
Good reads are Fine Homebuilding's book "Building for a Lifetime", and their softcover project book "Baths and Kitchens".
Lot's of other eye openers for people like me who thought when we were young....we'd die before we got old
A lot of sweat equity ahead of you...you might as well be glad 20 years from now that you did things a certain way
scott

[bruce_taylor]

I have been building cabinets with my shopbot for many years, it is a great tool! But it has limits on what it does well, it is great for taking 4x8 sheets of plywood and cutting them down and adding holes and dado's for shelving and such, It is not well suited for making cabinet doors, if you want the traditional panel doors. My advice would be to come up with a design, with everything online these days it should be easy to figure out what you would like to have.
If design it difficult it may be worth it to hire a designer to help. Make no mistake, building a kitchen from scratch it a pretty involved project and should not be taken lightly, there are a lot of ways you can buy unassembled cabinets and assemble them yourself often times for the same money as you may spend building something. Especially if the learning curve if involved. If your after high quality and something better than average then it may be for you. It can be very satisfying. This kitchen has birds-eye panels and tiger burl rails and styles.

[jTr]

Design skills and experience are paramount to successfully executing a kitchen.
Next, basic woodworking skills are needed.
Experience in finishing is needed, or all that effort can be ruined in an afternoon of trying to complete a job of this complexity without having done so previously.

Hate to sound rude/cruel and or obnoxious, but seriously - sounds like you're way over your head. A CNC does not build cabinets. A cabinetmaker does.
You honestly may be better off selling the CNC and using the funds to purchase the cabinets. While I may be coming off as a pompous jerk, some day you'll likely realize the depth of truth I'm trying to sincerely convey here.

I apologize, honestly, no offense is intended. You need to realize this forum is full of generous, experienced folks who enjoy lending a hand and sage advice. However, we cannot possibly give you an education in cabinetmaking/woodworking via this format.

Please, don't shoot the messenger.

Jeff

[dlcw]

I agree with you Jeff. However, everyone needs to start somewhere. You're dead on when you say a CNC does not make cabinets. It is just another tool in the shop, like a router or tablesaw. It's up to the user to make it a valuable and productive tool and learn what it can and can't do. I think if Tim takes it slow and learns how to use the CNC, while building his skills in the other areas required to build cabinetry, I think he could succeed.

I personally don't think his first CNC project should be a set of cabinets. Starting with smaller, less complex projects would be a better place to start. Maybe learn to make some signs, do some of the free projects that Vectric offers (lots of skill building in these projects), Do some of the projects Vectric has in their tutorials, review the YouTube training sessions that Shopbot has put together, break a few bits, shove a bit thru the material all the way into the spoil board, slam it into the stops a couple of times. You know, things we all did and learned quickly how to NOT duplicate. Learn its idiosyncrasies, its limitations, etc. are vital to succeeding. At the same time he needs to be building his other woodworking skills, prepping wood, milling wood, making a 5-piece door, making a drawer box, making a faceframe, installing drawer slides (many types available), installing hinges (many types available), etc.

All these skills need Tim to get used to and very comfortable with the tools he has in his shop. Again, learning what each can do and not do. He might even discover that he really needs a specific tool he doesn't have yet. He will also need to learn how to maintain, tune up and repair his tools. I have tools fail all the time. Very important woodworking skill.

He did, after all, survive at least 20 years in the military so he certainly has the aptitude to learn, adapt and adjust as he goes. That's part of being in the military. I served 23 years in the Coast Guard and specialized in electronic technology. But the biggest lessons I learned was:

1) HOW TO LEARN QUICKLY
2) How to adapt
3) How to change plans on the fly
4) How to improvise
5) How to learn new technologies quickly

plus many other skills outside of the electronics field.

He has a big project ahead of him. But I think he can do it with some help from us as well as woodworkers/cabinet makers in his local area that he can talk with. He does need to do a lot of reading and studying. But anyone making a career in the military has mastered that skill.

[scottp55]

Tim has a whole old Farmhouse...I'M SURE he has a lot of other things to practice on at first
When my parents renovated/restore a 1860 3 story Victorian, the fact they used individual's handmade shaping planes drove the modern carpenters NUTS trying to replace rotted sections, and a lot of cast plaster was just ripped out rather than replaced
Sure the heck wish I had even my Desktop when I built my house...even if it was only to make the jigging for the joinery!
Maybe he'll pick up the basics quick just doing things as they come along(like shelving)...and can then start on a facelift with just doors for one bath, and progress from there.
"You always need to know everything right now, but you can never know everything all at once"

[bleeth]

Shopbot and cabinets: Great for box parts.
Possible for 5 part doors but not practical.
Got time, inclination, and stubbornness to do it anyway?
Tough learning curve.
Could be a long time from "I'm going to do it" to "Holy moly-I did it."
One heck of a feeling when you hang them!
PM me with your phone number for some more detailed advice/help.
(Retired cabinetmaker after 40 years of it-but not retired!)