Photo by Team Lane
Setting up kitchen cabinets by your own is an ambitious DIY project. Basically, these are boxed setups with attached doors, but a lot of detailed precision is required to make them. Experienced carpenters recommend that you build the boxes, but buy the readymade cabinet doors from the stores to set them up.
Making the door is usually the toughest part, so unless you have adequate confidence on your DIY expertise, buying readymade doors from the markets can be a good option. The general instructions in the following paragraphs would provide a clear idea on the nitty-gritty’s of the project.
Begin with the face frame
The face frame is the front part where you set the doors. As mentioned above, cabinet doors are tricky to make because you will need advanced expertise and a bunch of extra tools. They are doable nonetheless, but you can buy the doors separately as well. Continue with the face frame. You can join the components of the face frame by pocket-hole screws for fast joinery. Some folks also prefer to set them together by mortise-and-tenon joints.
Face frames are made slightly bigger at first (about 1/16 inch) and later trimmed to precision by a flush trim router bit. They should be flush with the cabinet sides. This is also the part of the project when you apply finishing varnish to the face frame because it is difficult to apply finish when you have set them with the boxes. Be very careful in making the perfect face frame components. If you have been accurate, the parts would fit in nicely. Use a few brads and carpenter’s glue for completing the compact structure.
Readying the base
Set up the base framework accurately so that the boxes can fit perfectly in them. The length of the base should be only slightly more than the total length of the boxes so that they fit in snugly.
Nailing them to the cabinet boxes
You must have already prepared the cabinet boxes. Instead of building a big carcass of the cabinet boxes together, make them uniquely before you bring them together. Attach the face frame securely with them using a nail gun and carpenter’s glue. Use brads to keep the components in place when you use the glue.
Once the settings have been achieved, use your nail gun at regular intervals and the complete cabinet structure should be ready. Cover brad holes with putty and apply a slight coat of paint to make them invisible. Allow the face frames to overlap box edges slightly as it offers a perfect look, concealing the not-so-perfect saw cuts on the box edges.
Set up the doors
Now, to the last part. You must have the doors already. Seriously, it is definitely the best idea to buy the doors separately because you would need a lot of tools and advanced expertise even to make basic doors. Save time. Even the expert carpenters prefer to buy cabinet doors of different sizes easily available online. The external face frame stile should be extended about ¼ inch to hold the doors with the fasteners and accommodate the thickness of the plywood doors. Your kitchen cabinet should be ready by now.
