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Sorry to put this here, but I thought it would get more traffic. I'm wondering if any of you have built inset cabinets with guitar-making as your only background in woodworking. That's my situation and I've been given the task of building some for a friend. From what I've gathered so far, these are the most difficult type of cabinet to make, though the Kreg Beaded Face Frame jig looks like it might help a little. Getting a consistent 1/16" between the door and the face frame seems daunting. For you experience lot, can you give me any tips, perhaps books you'd recommend for the first timer? I'd really like to hear your experiences. Thank you.

Hey Darren,
I could help you. Talk you through a few potential pit falls. Were in Cal. are you.
BTW I am a pro-woodworker.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

While I'm sure u will get excellent responses here, u might want to try Sawmillcreek.org. Lots of pros in this area, very friendly site.

Mike

Yes, that's a great website, though a little intimidating. I thought I'd inquire over here first hoping that maybe someone with the same prior skill-set knows my trepidation.


Link, I will PM you.

i'm a cabinet builder during the day and i'm right in the middle of a huge job that's all inset cabinets. you are welcome to pm with questions and hopefully i can help.

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I'd be happy to help in any way, Darren. I'm a cabinet maker, as well, and all of my kitchens are face frame and full inset doors. If you are using european hinges, a 1/8" spacing looks better, and allows for wood movement. The hinges that I use are the "F" model. http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/pa ... 1241,55420
Careful arithmetic planning and accurate milling of parts are the most important aspect of doing a good job.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

One difficulty you may encounter with inset doors on kitchen cabinets, is that as you tie them into the wall and to each other you can distort the openings. If you are doing euro style boxes this is quite easy to do. Face frame construction is a bit more ridged but can also become misaligned if not properly installed.
When making the doors, some make them tight to the openings then trim for the gap.
Fully inset doors are a PITA but can look very nice when well done.

Face frame construction and a 1/2" cabinet back screwed to the sides, top and bottom will help keep the cabinet square. How you mount upper cabinets to the wall makes a difference, as well. What I do is screw a header to the wall at a determined height into the wall studs, and shim it so that it is even, and screw a cleat to the back of the cabinet at the top. The cleat on the cabinet sits on the header, and the cabinet is screwed to the header. Two 1 1/2" screws is all that you need as the header takes the full weight. I also have a cleat at the bottom of the cabinet so that it stands off the wall, and allows you to shim the cabinet to plumb. This is just a simplified French cleat.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Thanks for your replies! It was made clear to me over at Sawmillcreek that my portable table saw won't quite cut it. I might be able to get a new saw out of this, but I'm not sure if I have the room. We'll see. Thanks again.

FWIW I use a 3/32" gap as that is what most non mortise hinges measure. The kreg deal looks nice but I run a separate bead molding around the openings. Have done them as "stuck" in the past but it poses problems with sanding sometimes.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/