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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP
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WORKSHO
GPU I D E I
()FMEASURING
INVENTORY TOOLS
ANDDEVICES
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Carpenter'a I
equare
Try aquare

Chalk Iine
Forcheckinq
or
m e a e u r i n 49 0 ' For checkin4or t
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A lenqth of twtne,
covered with col-
the corner of a room; an4lee.Elade
avatlabletn 6-
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ored chalk duaL Lo l2-tnch len4th
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conLained tneide a
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ma4netic fteld
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Protractor fer any an4le. Blade
Uaefulfor ae|tinq anqlee of atoree in handle I
machine fenceeand bladee

French curve
Combination square I
?pirit level For checkin7or markinq 45"
lndicat.eewhena work- For drawinq curved linee or 90' an4lea;deLachable
piece ie levelor plumb blade doubleaae ruler
or eLraiqhtedqe
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a circleor an a(c around ir For markin4
utility knife
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precieely l,han
For prectetonmarktn4 of atrar4ht ltneaand checkin4flat
eurfacee. Thick metal ed4eo are machtnedotraiqht,
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a pencil
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MAKING MOLDING
CROWN I
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Panel- Covebit Roman
raioing
bit
ogee bit I
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Using simplerouter
bitstoforma complex profile
Although crownmolding appearselaborateit canactually
be thenrouttheprofileforthef irstboard.
Switch to thesecond I
madewiththreecommon routerbits.Tomakethemolding, andthirdbitsandboards, repeatingthe process foreach
firstcutthreeboardslongerandwider thanyouwillneedfor profile.
respective rip
Next, eachboardon yourtable saw, t
thethreelayersof molding. a panel
Install raisingbitinyour is
sothefirstboard the widest andthethird the narrowest.
routertable.Alignthefenceandadjustthedepthof cut, Glueandclamptheboards to formthemolding.
together I
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THEARTOFWOODWORKING
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I KITCHEN
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THE ART OF WOODWORKING

KITCHEN
CABINETS

TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA.VIRGlNIA
ST.REMYPRESS
MONTREAL
 I
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THE ARTOF WOODWORKINGwasproducedby THE CONSULTANTS I
ST. REMY PRESS

fon Eakes has been a cabinetmaker and custom renovator in I

PUBLISHER Kenneth Winchester Montreal for more than 20 years.He is known primarily for his
PRESIDENT Pierre L6veill6 teaching through books, videos, radio, and the TV show
RenovationZone. I
SeriesEditor Pierre Home-Douglas
SeriesArt Director Francine Lemieux Giles Miller-Mead taught advanced cabinetmaking at Montreal
technical schools for more than ten years.A native of New
I
Editor Andrew Jones
Art Directors Zealand, he has worked as a restorer of antique furniture.
Jean-PierreBourgeois,
Normand Boudreau t
Designers Frangois Daxhelet,
)ean-Guy Doiron
PictureEditor Genevidve Monette
Kitchen cabinets.
p. cm.- (The Art of woodworking) I
Writers John Dowling, Adam Van Sertima Includes index.
Contributing lllustrators Gilles Beauchemin,Michel Blais, ISBN 0-8094-9545-7
l. Kitchen-cabinets.2. Cabinetwork.
I
Ronald Durepos, JacquesPerrault,
Michael Stockdale, JamesThdrien I. Time-Life Books. II. Series.
Administrator Natalie Watanabe TTr97.5.K571996 I
ProductionManager Michelle Turbide 684.1'6-dc20 9s-46501
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Time-LifeBooksis a divisionof Time Life Inc., P.O.BoxC-32068
a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof
THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY
Richmond,Virginia
2326r-2068 t
@ 1996Time-LifeBooksInc.
All rights reserved.
I
TIME-LIFEINC.
No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by
President and CEO John M. Fahey
anyelectronicor mechanical means,includinginformation I
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TIME-LIFEBOOKS
may be quotedfor reviews. I
President Firstprinting.Printedin U.S.A.
JohnD. Hall
ManagingEditor RobertaConlan Publishedsimultaneously in Canada. I
Directorof Design MichaelHentges
TIME-LIFEis a trademarkof TimeWarnerInc. U.S.A.
Directorof Editorial Operations EllenRobling
I
ConsultingEditor JohnR. Sullivan
Vice-President,Book Production
ProductionManager
Marjann Caldwell
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QualityAssurance M anager famesKing
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t
I CONTENTS
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I 6 INTRODUCTION 98 INSTALLING CABINETS
100 Installationbasics
t 12 LAYOUTAND DESIGN L02 Installingthe lower cabinets
I 14 A galleryof kitchen styles II2 Islandsand peninsulas
17 Principlesof layout 115 Installingthe upper cabinets
I 19 Dimensioning 118 Crown molding
T 23 Storypoles
I I2O COTINTERTOPS
26 CASEWORK I22 A galleryof countertopsurfaces
I 28 Anatomy of a kitchen 123 Installingcountertops
I cabinetcase I34 Backsplashes and edgetreatments
30 Buildingmaterials
I 33 Buildingthe cases 140 GTOSSARY
t 38 Shelvingand storage
44 Assemblingthe cabinets T42 INDEX
I 50 Faceframes
t I44 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
56 DOORS
I 58 A galleryof cabinet
I door designs
60 Board-and-batten doors
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62 Frame-and-panel doors
I 73 Mounting doors
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78 DRAWERS
I 80 Drawerconstruction
I 83 Building drawers
87 Drawerslidesand runners
I 93 Falsefronts and hardware
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 INTRODUCTION

Tom Santarsleroon

CHOOSING
CABINETSTYLE,S
espitethe tremendousvarietyof kitchencabinets,
theyall comedown to two
faceframeandframeless.
basictypes: Eachhascharacteristics
thatgreatly
affect
how the heartof the modernhomewill appearand function.For the designer,
cabinetmaker, and installer,theyalsodeterminehow the cabinetswill be created.
Faceframe cabinetsare the most populartype of kitchencabinetin North
America.Thistime-honoredmethodof constructioninvolvesattachinga framework
of solidlumberto the front of a carcase. Doorsand drawerscanbe mountedin
oneof threeways:inset,lipped, or overlay.Inset,themostelegantin appearance, is
a true testof a craftsman's skill in constructionand installation.
Tight tolerances
arerequiredto accommodate seasonal woodmovementandyielda pleasing mar-
gin betweenframeand door.During installation,cabinetsmustbe setperfectlylevel
and plumb to maintainthat margin.My clientswho chooseframedcabinetsare
veryinterested in forginga link with thepast.Theyappreciate theclassic
look of well-
fitted doorsand drawersthat openwith easeand closewith a gentlepuff of air as
theynestwithin the frame.
Frameless cabinetry wasbornin EuropeafterWorldWarII. It addressed some
of thechallenges of thetime,suchastheshortage of lumberandtheneedto rebuild
housing rapidly. Thesimplicity of theframeless,
or European, kitchencabinet greatly
reduced material, needs, andproduction time.Doorswouldaligntightlytogether,
creatingaclean,flowinglineof casework. Thisreflected amodernistviewof achanged
worldwheretimewasshortandproductionandefficiency reignedsupreme. This
construction methodyieldedotherbenefits. Drawers couldbewideranddeeper
because theydidn'tneedto cleara faceframe.Andstorage andremoval of items
alongwith cleaning thecabinetinteriorbecame easier andmoreefficient.
Today, thelinebetween faceframeandframeless caseworkhasblurredslightly.
Frameless cabinets arenolongerlimitedto flush-laminate doors;mostof theframe-
lesskitchensI buildfeature raised
traditional paneldoors, multi-part
cornicemoldings,
andotheraccoutrements endowing eachkitchenwithwarmthandcomfort.For
building,installing, maximizing storage,
andease of use,framelesscabinetscan'tbe
surpassed. If, on theotherhand,you'dprefera touchof timeless traditionin your
kitchen,yourcabinets areonlya faceframeaway.

TomSantarsiero isPresident
of theKtchenDesignCenter
in Montclair, NewJersey.
 INTRODUCTION

DonaldSilversdiscusses
KITCHENFORM
AND FUNCTION
I n *y work asa kitchendesigner, I am continuallyjugglingtwo requirements:
I creating spaces thatarebothwonderfultolookat anda pleasure to workin. Form
andfunction must work in tandem.
Thiswasnot alwaysthecase.In yearspast,cabinetmakers who designedkitchens
werevirtuallyunknown,sincethe homebuilderwasresponsible for creatingthe
kitchenand its cabinets, and oftenbroughtto the kitchenthe sameeconomyof
meanswith which he built the restof the house.For example,a ceilingheightof
8 feetandthreestudsspaced16inchesapartcreated theneedfor largequantitiesof
plywood.The homebuilderfelt it waseconomicallysoundto useleftoverplyvood
for kitchencabinets sotherewouldbeno waste.Thebasecabinets were22inchesdeep
andthewallcabinets were11to 12inchesdeep.Thesecabinets-really just running
shelves with doors-stubbornlyresisted anyform of change; basecabinetsdidn't
changeto a 24-inchdepthuntil thedevelopment of dishwaihers madeit necessary.
In the kitchenenvironmentof today,designingand buildingkitchensis much
morethana wayof recyclingleftoverhomebuildingmaterials. To createeye-catching
residentialkitchens,today'sdesignershavetakena cuefrom the extraordinarywork
of cabinetmakers. Thedifferentwoodsandfinishesthat makeup thecabinetmaker's
paletteprovidethefreedomto conjureup anystyle.Wth histools,thecabinetmaker
might carvecherryor oakwoods,creatingFrenchor EnglishCountrycabinets, or
shapean intimateArtsandCraftskitchenin beech.He couldfashionanArt Decolook
in the richness of walnut,or anArt Nouveau, Victorian,or EarlyAmericanlook in
a varietyof woods-pine, ash,maple,or mahogany, to namea few Thecabinetmaker
mightevenwork with laminates, puttingat hisdisposaltheentirecolorspectrum.
And let'snot forgetthestainsthatproducean arrayof huesandpatinas. Therange
of choices is breathtaking.
The cabinetmaker hasalsomadethe cook'slife a delightby incorporatingthe
right kind of accessoriesthat canmakethe cook'sjob easier,evenfun. For example,
therearedrawersand roll-outswith hardwarethat givesthe cookfingertipcontrol,
pantriesthat areonly a foot wide yet 84 inchestall,providingenormousstorage
whenpulledout of a wallcabinetwith ease. Moreandmore,thekitchendesigner of
todayis drawingon thepastandthepresentto createa kitchenenvironment thatlooks
and cooksbeautifully.

DonaldSilversis a kitchendesigner who teaches at the

Universityof Californiaat LosAngeles.
He is theauthorof
TheCompleteGuideTo KitchenDesignWith CookingIn
Mind, publishedby TheNewarkManagement Institute.
 INTRODUCTION

SvenHansontalksabout
ASMOOTH
INSTALLATION
itchencabinets needtop-qualityinstallation to lookgoodandfunctionwell.
Unlikefinefurniturethatcanlookgoodin adustycornerof theshop,cabinets
don'tcometo life until aftertheyhavebeeninstalled.Unfortunately, wetendto put
off considering theproblemsof installation because it happens in anunfamiliar
environment andrequiresskillsdifferentfromthoseneededto build thecabinets.
Toavoidtheseproblems, startwith andstickto a detailedinstallation plan,cirawn
up wellbeforethecabinets arefinished. Dont betemptedto change it because you
suddenly likea 42-inchdrop-incooktopinstead of the36-inchoneyouoriginally
plannedfor.Thiswill forceyouto modifrtherangebase, bothadjacent cabinets,
andtheirdrawers. It'sfarmoreefficientto bringallpartiesto thenegotiating table
andmakethatkindof decision beforeyoubuildthecabinets.
Youwill getto practice yourpsychological skillswhenyouannounce to therest
of thehousehold thatthektchenwill beclosedfor a fewdayswhilethenewcabinets
goin. Tryto keeptheblockade shortandtimedconveniently for everyone. Aboveall,
do not fall into the snakepit of trying to haveyour newkitchenreadyjust before
"if goesto plan"
Thanksgiving or Christmas, investing in oneof those everything
schedules. However, if youplanto getrid of yourin-lawswhileconvincing them
youarethecomplete idiottheythought,success beckons.
Thereis no rightor wrongwayto installcabinets. I liketo installandlevelthe
plinthsfor thelowercabinets theafternoon beforetheinstallation begins. Forsheer
exhaustion, crawlingaroundthefloorto setallthebases levelto thehighestpointof
thefloor standsapartfrommostwoodworking chores. Thefollowingmorning,I
installtheuppercabinets first,thenthelowercabinets. AsI screwthecabinets in
"idiot"
place,Ialways double-check for levelness.
Nothingsays louderthana tilting
sinkor cooktop. Duringinstallation, adustcurtainmadeof 4-milplasticsheeting can
repelwould-be snackers whilekeeping mostdustandsomenoisecontained. Tofur-
therreduce dust,youshouldblock anyairductsandopenthekitchenwindowacrack
Finally,I'veobserved manyfirst-timeinstallers whousesurprisingly fewtools.
I relyon manymoreandlaythemout on a temporary workbench setat theedge
of theroom.Ifyourshopisapartfromthejob site,startmakingalistof theinstal-
lationtoolswhileyou'restillconstruaing thecabinets.Visualizing theinstallation
helps
to fabricatea cabinetthatistruly readyto installandhelpsorganize yourtools(and
mindset)to finishthejob properly.In 25yearsI'veneverhearda singlewoodworker
"I
say, wishI hadn'twasted somuchtimepreparing for thatjobJ'

SvenHansonis a cabinetmaker
in Albuquerque,
Ne'wMexico.
 ,;:j/,:;,!ii,
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f, IAOUTATDDESIGN
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incecolonialdavs.the American orovidedfor work.Thekitchenisa work-
I kitchenhasbeenthoughtofas the ihop like anyother,and shouldbe laid
heartof thehome.It is thefirst room a out with efficiencyin mind. Youwould
I familyshareseachday;it is not only the not think of locatingthetablesawanda
placewheremealsareprepared, but also planerat oppositeendsof a workshop;
I wheretheyareofteneaten.The kitchen theprimaryworkcentersof a kitchen-
is wherechildrenand adultsdo their in mostcases, the sink,refrigerator, and
I homework,and wherethey lingerfor stove/cooking area-are no different.
conversation. Yet,althoughthe roleof Worktriangles(page17)areonewayto
I the kitchenhasnot changedin three minimizethe trips betweenthe three.
centuries,its appearance has.Once, Arriving at an efficientlayout for a
I cookingwasdoneby the centralfire- Thesupplypipesanddrainofa kitchen kitchenin a confinedspacecanbea chal-
place,andthelarderwasstoredagainst sinkaremarkedon thewallwith theaid lenge.Invariably,the sizeand location
I the cold,north-facingwall. Today,a of a carpenter\level(above).Theprecise of your kitchencabinets willhaveto be
kitchenmust be carefullyplannedto locationof thefixtureswill thenbe flexibleenoughto accommodatethe
I meetthe demandsof a busyhousehold, markedontoverticalandhorizontal site locationof appliances, utilities,windows,
andto accommodate a batteryof labor- storypolesbeforebeingtransferred to the and doors.A selection ofbasiclayout
I savingdevices. Thischapterfocuses on storypolesfor thesinkcabinetitself. optionsis shownon page18.Drafting
thework of today'skitchen-especial- scalefloor plansandelevations canhelp
I ly its cabinetry-introducespopulardesigns,and outlines you visualizeyour layout;floor plansandelevations for a typ-
somebasicprinciplesthat willhelp you createa kitchenthat ical L-shapedkitchenareshownon page20. Onceyou have
I meetsyour needs. settledon theplacementof your cabinets, you candividetheir
A kitchendesignoftenstartsasa naturalextension ofthe runsinto individualcabinetsanddrawers.Whilemostkitchen
I architecturalstyleof a house.Justastrim, molding,and fur- cabinets adhereto basicdimensionalstandards inheight (page
nishingscandistinguisha homeasbeingVictorianor Colonial, 19),their width and numberof doorscanbe fine tunedto
I cabinetdoors,molding,andhardwarecandefinethestyleof a reacha visuallywell-balanced kitchendesign(page22).
kitchen.For example,Victorianis an opulentstylemarkedby Accuracyis crucialwhen draftingfloor plansand eleva-
I complexegg-and-dart molding,porcelain pulls,andexposed tions.A site-referenced storypole(page24) tellsyou every-
hinges,while Shakerstyleis a modelof austerity,relyingon thing you needto know abouta kitchenwall in precisedetail,
I simple,recessed frame-and-panel doors,an absence of mold- includingthelocationandsizeof thecabinets. By usingthese
ing, and the muted colorsof milk paint.A galleryof kitchen smalllengthsof wood for eachwall and cabinet,you can
I stylesfrom traditionalto modernis shownstartingon page14. proceedfrom floor plan to cuttinglist with a minimum of
Whetheryou choosea traditionalarchitectural stylefor your errors.From thereto your dreamkitchenit is only a few
t kitchenor a blendof severalstyles, adequate room mustbe morecarefulsteos.

t
I Drawingyour kitchento scaleis thebestwayto experimentwith its
layout.Thephotoat leftshowstheJloorplan of an L-shapedkitchen,
t includingthelocationof cabinets,windows,appliances,
and utilities.

I 13

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A GALLERYOF KITCHEN STYLES I

\ [ f hileakitchenshouldreflectyour A Victoriankitchen
architecturally? ry cabinets
andframe-and-panel doors I
Y V personalculinaryneedsand wouldlookout of placein a modern arebeyondthereachof many.Popular,
its designshouldnot bechosen
tastes, housedecoratedwith Missionfurniture. lessexpensive optionsincludethe I
withoutfirst addressinga fewimpor- Budgetis anotherimportantconsider- kitchen,whichusesstan-
European-style
tant questions.Wiil thestylecomple- ation.Thelumbercostsalonefor an dardizedmelaminecabinets, or the I
mentor clashwiththerestof thehouse kitchenwith cher-
futs andCrafts-swle kitchen,in whichrustic
Country-style
,l
SHAKER I
Manykitchens areShaker-inspired,but
fewareasfaithfulto Shaker styleasthis I
house designedby architect
Charles Allen
Hill. Withtheirflat recessed
frame-and- I
paneldoors, achewornamen-
thecabinets
tation,andevoke yet
elegant
theShalcer's I
evena pegboard
utilitarianethic.There's
overtherange. I
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VICTORIAN t
Lessopulentthan its namesake, this
kitchendesigned byMaine architect I
lohn Gillespienonethelessfeaturessev-
eralhallmarlsof thestyle,mostnotabf I
tall uppercabinetswith tongue-and-
groovedoors,surface-mounted brass I
hinges,andporcelainpulls. Notethe
way the Victori an motifs-cr own I
molding ornatecolumnsand arches
-are carriedinto adjoiningareasof I
thehouse.
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I LAYOUTAND DESIGN

I charm can be derivedfrom the minor with a carefuleyeto createa unique of therightmaterials canalsounifr a
defectsofaged,recycledwood. design.Blending stylescan make your contrastingkitchenwith thesurround-
t A kitchendesigndoesnot haveto be designmore flexible:Shaker-style ing house.Cherrycabinets, for exam-
faithful to a singlestyle.As the gallery kitchensarewell-adaptedto themodu- ple,canprovide a gracefultransition
I on thesepagesandthe charton page16 larconstructionof European-style
cab- between a European-style kitchenand
show,severalstylescan be combined inetry(page26).Thediscerning choice a Colonialfarmhouse.
I
I EUROPEAN
Its hardwareout of sight,theEuropean-
I stylecabinetdefinesthemodernkitchen.
Itsclean,unadornedlinesareenhanced by
I recessedkghtingandplentyofuncluxered
laminatecountertop. Subtletouchesby
I Maine designer JohnScholtz,suchasthe
porcelainfriezeand bacl<splash
trim and
I theladderbackShakerchairs,lenda warm
toneto theimmaculate decor.
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c0t0NtAt
t Thisisan ecleaicstylethat canbeevoked
asmuchby decoration asby actualcabi-
t netry.Framedby exposedtimbers,the
kitchenat left,designed by StevenFoote
I of Boston,is a pleasinglymodernupdate
on thestyle.Thebrick,pineplankfloors,
I and leadedglazingintheupperwallcabi-
netsall contributeto a colonialambiance.
I A moreexplicitreference to thestylecan
befoundin theframe-and-panel doors
I with oversized knobs.

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LAYOUTANI) DESIGN I
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DESIGN ()FPERI()D
CHARACTERISTICS STYLES I

C()UNTRY

tl)
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STYLE

$
Kaieed
frame-
and-panel
door V Wrought iron hingeoand pullo

SHAKER

Keceseed
panel C
door with
pinned
mortise
and tenon
jointe Woodenpull Eutterfly hinge Pierced tin panel

ARTSAND
CRAFTS
-;-_A=_ --_
- , *i l ;

I,tl+

Leaded
glazed
window

VICT()RIAN 9urface-
mounted
braee door
hingea

Porcelainpull Egg-and-dart molding

I
I PRINCIPLES
OF LAYOUT
I
I A successful kitchen dependson
A threethings:sufficientspaceto
t work, adequatelighting overthe sink
andcookingareas, andcabinets arranged
I so that everythingfrom the cutleryto
thebreadboxis at hand.Sometimes the
I areadestinedfor thekitchenis woeful-
ly inadequate in the first of thesethree
I needs,Still,with a little creativeplan-
ning,a functionalkitchencanbi laid
I out in thetightestofspaces.
Thecornerstone of kitchenlayoutis
I positioningthe stove,refrigerator, and
sinksotheyform a triangle(below).The
smallerthe triangle,the moreefficient
theuseof space. As theillustrationson
page18 show,thereareseverallayout
optionsfor a kitchen.The mostpop-
ular of these,the U- and L-shaped
designs,allowfor efficientwork trian-
gles.A largekitchencanbenefitfrom
theadditionof an island,whichtightens
the work trianglewhile freeingup
counterspace. Conversely, a singlewall
or corridor-style
layoutmakesthebest
useof a smallspace.
All appliances
andfixturescomewith
dimensional requirements of theirown
thatshouldbetakeninto consideration
beforetheir positionsare fixed.For
example,a sink shouldhavecounter
spaceofabout 30 incheson eachside
for washingdishes; a stoveshouldhave
20 to 24 inchesofspaceon both sides
for unclutteredandsafecooking.The
doorsof refrigerators,dishwashers,and
ovenscreatefurtherdemandfor space;
theseappliances shouldbe positioned
fully open.

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WORKTRIANGLES
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Layingoutanetficient
kitchen
I Thethreediagrams shown above demonstrate howto applythe ances in different
arrangements untilyoucomeupwithaneffi-
principle
of theworktriangleforthreedifferent
kitchen layouts. cientandsatisfactory
useof space.lf possible,
layoutthekitchen
I Formaximum theperimeter
efficiency, of thetriangleshould sotheworktriangles areclearof householdtraffic.Forfurther
notexceed 25 feet;Iessthan20 feetis ideal.Planyourlayout easeof movement, makesurethereisat least36 inches of clear-
I byfirstdrawingyourkitchen to scale,
thensketch in theappli- ancearound anypeninsulaor island.

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 LAYOUTAND DESIGN

(lFKITCHEN
A SELECTION LAYOUT
OPTI(INS
SINGLEWALL
Oood for a amall
apartment with
emallappliancee

U.5HAPED
Themoat efficient
and veraatilekitchen
layout; two blind cor-
nere can be a diaad'
vantaqeae they take CORRIDOR
up valuableopace More efficient
than einqle-
wall layout;
through traf-
fic can be
a problem

L.5HAPED
WITHI?LAND
L.qHAPED )ffere more
More efficient than efficient work
either corridor or trianqle than
ein4le-walllayout; eimpleL-ohaped
worktrtanqlecan be layouL;createe
kept emalland coun' oeparate cook-
tera continuoua tn1area
I
I DIMENSIONING
T
t Q tandardmeasurements for kitchen
r.J cabinetsarederivedfrom human STANDARD
KITCHEN
CABINET
PR()P(!RTI(|NS
ANDDIMENSIONS
I anatomy.For example,countertopsare
comfortablefor most userswhenthey
I arewaist-high-typically,threefeetoff
the floor. Subtractingfour-and-a-half
T inchesfor a kickolateand one-and-a-
half inchesfor thi countertoDleavesa
T 30-inch-high cabinet.
cabinet
Varies with
heiqhtof
Uppercabinetsareusuallyshallower
kitchen ceilin4
I thanbottomonesfor easieraccess to the
countertop.A generalrule of thumb for
I uppercabinetsis to positionthebottom
of thelowestcabinetat shoulderheight.
I This will fluctuateto allow for a range 30-40
inchea
hood overthe stoveor for mountine
I appliances that usedto crowdthe counl
tertop,suchasmicrowaves. Youcanalso
I leavea few inchesbeneaththe cabinets )pace -
to accommodate lighting.Allow for an for liqht
T inch or two at the top of the ceilingto
addmolding.
I Onceyouhavedeterminedtheheight
and depthof cabinets, you can start
I dividingtherunson your floor planand
15 inchea
elevations into individualcases with face minimum
I frames,doors,and drawers(page22).
Startby positioningthe sink and any Counterbop
I othermajorappliances in therun, then
dividetheremainderof therun into cab-
I inets.Dependingon yourkitchenneeds, 24-26
thesecabinets canbelargeor small,with inchee
T oneor two doors;theycouldalsoconsist
ofa bankofdrawers.Forvisualbalance
I andeaseof production,try to makethe
cabinets proportional,sothewidth of a Eackaplaah
I large,two-doorcabinetis twicethat of a
smaller,one-doorcabineu30-38inch-
I esis a good width to work with for a
Iargecabinet.Also takecareto match
32-33
I the upperand lowerruns.For sample incheo
floorplansandelevations ofan L-shaped
I kitchen, seepages 20-21.
Lower
I cabinet

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 LAYOUTAND DESIGN

KITCHEN'S
VIEWOFANI-SHAPED
FAGE-ON SH(]RTWAIL

FACE-ON WALL
VIEWOTIONGER
LAYOUTAND DESIGN
 I
LAYOUTAND DESIGN I
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DIVIDING
A RUN
The illuatration below
showahowto dividea low-
of the run ia divided into
equalcaaee.Next, the
to match the lowerrun.
For different matchtng
I
er and upperrun of cabi- caeee are divided into effecte, aeeLhe illuatra-
nete. ln the lowerrun, the draweraand doors. ln tion at the bottom of t
2-inah diahwasherand ainkare thie example,the upper the paqe.
sPaae poeiLioned, then the reat cabinet run ia also divided t
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24 inahea 4-8 inchea wider :,Double eaee ;,)ingle i,Double qase
than aink ',13-19 i c a e e1 O "1 3 ' 1 9 i t
I,inchea wide :,inohes i,incheo,',1ide
" iwide I
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MATCHING ANDTOWER
UPPER CABINETS I
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Matahing top run to bottom Matahing bottom run to top Staggered run
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STORYPOLES
I
t Q tory polesarea methodof measur-
rJ ingkitchencabinets accuratelyfor a CABINET
I mastercuttinglist withoutrelyingon a STORY
tapemeasure or ruler.Carpenters have POLES
I beenlayingout entirehomeson these
long, narrowsticksof wood for cen-
I turies,and this tried-and-truemethod
offersseveraladvantages overstandard
I measuring techniques. Forone,all mea-
surements aremarkedout full-size,mak-
I ing an error-freecuttinglist easierto
calculate thanfrom scaledrawings.
I Storypolesalsoallowyouto visualize
constructiondetailsmore easilv.By
I markingthemeasurements for eachcab-
Depthatory pole
ineton thesticksyouhaveanexactpic- lndicateadepthof cab-
I tureof eachcabinet;lengths, widths,and inet,kickplate,
counter-
positionsofjointscanallbemarkedlat- Lop overhan1, and
I er on the stockdirectly,without a tape nailinq raile
measureintroducingerror.For easeof
I handling,makeyour storypolesfrom
wood t/+inchto 3/+ inchthickandabout
I 1r/:incheswide.Toseetheoencilmarks
better,uselight-colored wood.
I Whenlayingout a kitchen,sitestory
polesarefirst completedfor eachwall
I of the kitchen(pnge24).On the hori-
zontalstorypole,thelocationofevery-
I thing alongthat wall is marked:the
appliances and cabinetsin the run,
t doors,windows,and anyelectricalor
plumbingfixturessuchasoutletsor sink
I pipes(seephoto,page13).The vertical
storypoleshowstheheightof thekick-
I plate,lowercabinet,countertop,back-
splash,upper cabinet, and ceiling
I molding,aswell asany windowsand
electricalor plumbingfixtures.A depth
I storypoleprovidesthe depthof kick-
plate,cabinet,andcountertopoverhang.
I Oncethe kitchenhasbeenlaid out Width at'ory pole
on story poles,individualstory poles lndicateawidth of
I arecreatedfor eachcabinet(page25). cabinet,Iocationof
drawera and doora,
For maximumaccuracy, eachcabinet
I shouldhavethreesmallerstorypoles:
and any intermediate
face frame attles.
height,width, and depth,eachiefer- Aloo may indicate
I encedto the respective sitestorypole. cutouta for electrical Height etory pole
Theseshorterstorypoleswilltellyou or plumbinqeervicee lndicatea heiqhLof cabinet, kickplate,countertop,
I the dimensionsof your cabinets(right) and any drawer frame raila.Alao may indicaLe
cutouts for electricalor plumbinaeervicea
whenit comestime to compilethemas-
I ter cutting list (page32).

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LAYOUTAND DESIGN I
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LAYING WITHSTORY
OUTA KITCHEN POLES I
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1l Making sitepoles
horizontal
-
I U s r n gc h a l k s, k e t c ha f u l l - s i z oe u t l i n eo f y o u rk i t c h e nl a y - I
o u t o n t h e s i t ef l o o r .M a r kb o t ht h e u p p e ra n d l o w e rc a b i n e t
r u n s ,i n d i c a t i nwg h i c hc a s e sw i l l b e c a b i n e tas n dw h i c hw i l l I
b e a p p l i a n c e sT.h e nc r e a t ea h o r i z o n t as li t es t o r yp o l ef o r
e a c hw a l l i n t h e k i t c h e nO . nt h e p o l e ,m a r kt h e l o c a t i o o
nf all I
cabinetsin both runs(above) and anydoorsor windows.lf the / , /
k i t c h e nw a l l i s u n u s u a l llyo n g ,y o uc a nj o i nt w o s t i c k st o g e t h e r
t t
I
+^ ^^^^
LU 5lidil
+h^ l;^+^^^^
LilC UtSLdILC, \ /
r, / / /-
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Making sitepoles
vertical
F l o o r sa n dc e i l i n g a s r eo f t e nn o tf l a t o r l e v e ls, o y o un e e dt o t
k n o wt h e m i n i m u md i s t a n c e b e t w e etnh e t w ot o p l a nt h e h e i g h t
of y o u rc a b i n e t sS. t r i k ea l e v e rl e f e r e n cl e
i n eo n t h e w a l l sa r o u n d I
t h e k i t c h e nT. h e nf i n d t h e h i g hp o i n to f t h e f l o o ra n d h o l dt h e
v e r t i c asl i t e s t o r yp o l ea t t h i s p o i n t ,p l u m bt o t h e r e f e r e n c e I
l i n e .S e ta c o m p a stso t h e h e i g h o t f the kickplate andmark
t h i s p o i n to n t h e s t o r yp o l e( r i g h t ) U . s et h e c o m p a s st o m a k e I
a s i m i l a rm a r kt o r e c o r dt h e h e i g h o t f a n y m o l d i n ga t t h e t o p
o f t h e p o l e .N o wm a r kt h e h e i g h to f t h e u p p e ra n d l o w e cr a b - I
i n e t so n t h e v e r t i c apl o l e ,a s w e l la st h e l o c a t i oonf a n yw i n -
d o w so n t h a t w a l l .L a s t l yc, r e a t ea d e p t hs t o r yp o l ef o r t h e w a l l I
i n d i c a t i n tgh e d e p t ho f t h e c a b i n e t sa n da n yo t h e rf e a t u r eos n
t h e w a l la d i a c e ntto t h e r u n . I
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1 A
L.+ I
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I LAYOUTAND DESIGN

I
T Locating
electrical
and
plumbing
services
I U s ea c a r p e n t e r 'lse v e lt o d r a wp l u m b
l i n e sf r o mt h e l o c a t i oonf a n yp l u m b i n g
I or electricalservices to the levelreference
line (right).Transfer theselocations to the
I horizontal and verticalsite storypolesfor
t h e r un .
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I / / :
<'1- , c - R, ^b
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t-'
I {^\Q, $\
Creating storypoles
cabinet
I M a k eh o r i z o n t avl e
, r t i c a la, n d d e p t h
storypoles foreachcabinet, thenreference
I z
eachto itsrespective sitepolefortherun
/'\
a-\
Horizontal
t h ec a b i n ei st i n . I n t h ee x a m p sl eh o w n
I \z--J
u
/'1
cabineL at left,thehorizontal storypolefora bank
t QRb
t erort'Pote of drawers is beingreferenced to its hori-
r-
I {-\F ' $sJ zontal sitepole.Markoutthedetails of
\_/r I thecabinetin thiscase, thefaceframe
I r a i l sa n ds t i l e sw i t h i n
t h ec a b i n ewti d t h .
0n thevertical storypole,marktheheight
I of thekickplate, countertop, backsplash,
B3 DRAWERS upper cabinet, andceiling molding, aswell
I asanywindows andelectrical or plumb-

I B5 DRAWERS ingservices. Markthedepthof kickplate,

cabinet, andcountertop overhang onthe
depthpole.Besureto labelall poles care-
I f ullyto avoidconfusionlater.

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-'tl

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I CASEWORK
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uilt-in kitchencabinetsarerela-
tivelyrecentarrivalsin domestic
kitchens.Traditionally, kitchencup-
boardswere freestandingunits with
M{
l.-,,*rT: I
andotherhardware canthenbeaddedto
createan appropriatestyle.
While the wide availabilityof mate-
rialssuchasmediumdensityfiberboard
frame-and-panel construction andface hassimplifiedcasework,sheetgoods
I frames,muchlike the chinacabinetin ih still havean Achilles'heel:their edges
theparlor.Yetby theturn ofthe centu- areunattractiveand needto be hidden.
I
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I
ry, the switchto built-ins had already
begun.It accelerated during the post-
WW II housingboomin Europe,when
the constructionof millions of new
homespromptedthe developmentof
-ffi
An appliancebayis a tidy way to keep
Laminateboardcanbeedgedwith hard-
woodstrips(page48)orlaminateedge
banding(pagea9).Thetraditionalface
frame(page50),a solid-woodframecon-
sistingofrailsandstilesthatis attached
new wood products,tools,and tech- a countertopfreeof clutter.Blenders, to thefront of thefinishedcase,isanoth-
I niquesthat savedlaborand materials. cffie makers, toasters,
andothersmall er wayto hidethe edgesof man-made
No room in the housebenefittedfrom appliances canbekeptout of sight boards.Moreimportantly,thefaceframe
I theseadvances morethan the kitchen. but readilyaccessible. Whilethe can impart a traditional,handcrafted
Thedevelopmentof pll.rvood,parti- appliancebayshownabovefeatures feelto the kitchen.
I cleboard, fiberboard,andothermanu- louvereddoors,spacecanbesaved Shelvingand storagearekeyconsid-
facturedsheetgoodsmadeassemblyJine by usingtambourdoors(page40). erationsin casework For
construction.
I productionof largeand rigid cabinets example, a bankof graduated drawers-
possible.The European32-millimetersystem-so called theidealsolutionforcutleryandkitchenutensils-shouldnot
I because alltheholesfor drawerslides,dowels,shelfsupports, be an afterthought if you areusingfaceframeson your cabi-
andhingesarespaced 32 millimetersapart-was revolution- nets.(For moreon drawers,seechapterthree.)Adjustable
I aryin design.Itsmodular,predrilledmelaminecabinets offered shelves(page38)canaddflexibilityto your cabinets,enabling
unparalleled flexibility.It alsomadethemodernkitchenafford- you to storeoversized bulk goodsandadaptto changingculi-
I able:Eventhemostmodesthomecouldnowbeoutfittedwith naryneeds.Theyarealsosimpleto installif you drill the sup-
a full complementof sleekkitchencabinets. port holesbeforeassembling thecases.Anothermodernstorage
I Buildingthesecases is mainlya matterof cuttingthestock idea,thelazySusan(page42),makesgooduseof a perennial
to sizeand thenjoining it usingoneof the techniquesshown weakspotin thekitchen:thelowercornercupboard.An appli-
I on pages33 to 37;thecharton page3I will helpyou choose ancebay(photoaboveandpage40)is a separate pieceof case-
from availablematerials.Faceframes.doors,drawerfronts, work in its own rieht.
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t
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Accurately cutting sheetgoods to size can be a tricky task. In the photo at left, a
t panel-cutting circular saw attachment is being usedto rip a sheetof melamine
for a kitchen cabinet. The Exqct-T-Guidemodelshownfeaturesa T-square-type
I guide that rides in a U-shapedchannelscrewedto the edgeof a plywood base.

I 27

t
 ANATOMYOF A KITCHENCABINETCASE

f1 itchencabinets shouldbekeptas The anatomies belowand on the Ifyou areaftera traditionallook, I

A. basic aspossible.Usingsheet goods facingpageshowbasiccabinetcon- solid-woodfaceframescanbe added
(page31)andsimplejoinerytechniques struction.Usethe measurements from afterthe cabinetsarebuilt. If you do not I
will keepthetimeandexpense of build- your cabinetstory poles(page25) to choosefaceframes,the exposededgeof
ing andinstalling a kitchen's worthof cut the stockfor eachcabinetto size. mustbecovered
theolr.r,vood with some I
cabinets to a minimum.Althoughtheir The sidesofthe bottom cabinetcan sorfo?banding, eitherlaminateor solid
construction issimple, it isimportant extendright down to the floor,or you wood.Whiietherearemanywaysto join I
thatthecases bewell-built. Drawers, can install levelerlegs (page44) that boards,efficiencyfavorscertainmeth-
doors, andcountertops will allbeeasier will hold a clip-onkickplate.At this ods.Biscuit,lock miter,tongue-and- I
to fit if thecasework is strong,straight, time, it is a good ideato cut all the groovejointsandready-to-assemble--or
andsquare. Spendinga littleextratime groovesfor the back panels,and to RTA-fasteners,canall be usedto pro- I
in thebuildingstage will savemuchfrus- boreholesfor anyadjustable shelving ducejointsthat combineeaseof instal-
trationduringinstallation. (page38). lationwith accuracy andstrength. I
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UPPER
CASES I
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Holea for
I
adjuotable
shelving I
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 CASEWORK

t
LOWER
CASES
I Counteftop
nailer

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I Face frame
(paqe 50)
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RTAfastener Eiaauit joint Loak miter joint
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BUILDINGMME,RIALS I
I
f raditionally, werebuilt
all cabinets backs;there wasno pointin puttingwal- I
I entirelvoisolid wood.But close nut andcherrywhereit wouldneverbe
examination of anticuefurniturecan seen.Today,cabinetmakers stillsavethe I
offeran instructivesuiprise.Yesterday's cherryandwalnutfor thedrawerfronts,
woodworkers oftenusedlessattractive but theyrelyon man-made sheetgoods I
woodslike poplarandpinefor hidden for theinsides
of thecabinets.Not onlydo
partssuchasdrawersidesand cabinet theysavemoneyandconserve resources, I
but sheetgoodsalsooutperformwood
in termsof dimensional stability. I
Fromtheeconomical to theexpensive, Thechartbelowoffersanoverviewof
a uastarrayof sheetgoodsis available differentmaterialsusedin makingkitchen I
for usein casework. Thephotoat left cabinets, from melamineto plyr,vood to
showse selectionof sheet goods,includ- solidwood.Eachhasits own strengths I
ingsamples of melamine-coated parti- and weaknesses. The challeneeis to
cleboard,mediumdensityfiberboard, choose thebestproductfor eachiompo- I
and veneered olvwood. nentandfor the styleofyour cabinets.
t
MATERIATS
CASEWORK t
MATERIAL RELATIVE
C()ST CHARACTERISTICS
I
GABINET-GRADE
(softwood
PLYWOOD I
veneercore)
Rotarycut Moderate Easyto work,verystrong
anddimensionally faceveneer
stable; notasattractive I
hardwoodveneer asplainsawn
variety. mustbefacedwithsolidwood;needs
Edges littlesanding.
Plainsawn veneer Hieh Sameasabove butfaceveneerresembles
edge-joined
boards. I
WOOD
SOLID
colordarkens withage;
I
Cheny Moderate Oneof thefinestcabinet woods.Reddish-brown
f inegrainedtextureacceptsnatural
finishes
well.Moderately difficultto work;
resinsin thewoodcanleaveburnmarks.
I
Oak,ash Moderate
to low Strong, stablehardwoods opengrain;accepts
withprominent, naturalfinishes
well. I
Maple,birch Moderate
to low Straight-grained, stablehardwoodsthatprovidea smooth finish.Density can
makethese woods to work;maplein particular
difficult canblunttools. I
Walnut Moderate
to high Choice cabinet woodwithrichcolorandgrain; worked
easily withall hand
andpower tools;accepts finishes
natural well. t
Pine,poplar,
alder LOW Muchsofterihanabove woods,yetjustasstable.Easyto workbutalsoeasily
damaged. Verylittlefigure; withpaint.
finished
typically I
C()MPOSITE
I
Medium density Moderate Stronganddimensionally stable;edges easyto rout,shape,orgroove;
(MDF)
fiberboard withplywood
available faceveneers.Canbefinished or paintedwithlittle I
or nosanding.Somevarieties canemittoxicfumeswhensawn;useof
carbidetipped toolsis recommended.
I
Particleboard Low less
Slightly strongandstable thanMDF;holdsfasteners poorly.
Moredifficult
withplywood
to workandfinish;available faceveneers. I
Melamine Moderate Common termfor plywood or particle
boardsurfaced witha hardplastic
laminate;comesin a varietyof colors.
Toughandlong-lasting; onlyasstrong I
asitssubstrate.
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I CASEWORK

I
I TYPES
OFPLYWOOD

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I ofplywood
Types
Thebasicdesignof all plywoodis thesame:a corecovered o r m e d i u m d e n s i tfyi b e r b o a rLdu. m b e r - c oprley w o ohdo l d s
I on bothsidesby layersof crossbanding anda faceveneer. n a i l sa n ds c r e wbs e s ta n di s p r e f e r a bw l eh e r ea d d i t i o n a l
"Cabinet-quality"
Themostcommon typehasa veneer plywoods strength
core.All softwood andflatness arerequired. plywoods
I aremadethisway,andtheyarestable,warp-resistant, and withsuoerior faceveneers arerecommended forvisible sur-
inexpensive.
Hardwood plywoodscanalsobe madewithsolid facessuchasdoorsanddrawer faces.Therearetwobroadcat-
I lumberor particleboard
cores.Themiddleplyof lumber-coreegories of cabinet-quality plywood: rotary sawnandplainsawn.
plywoodconsistsof severalnarrowstripsof solidwood-usu- W h i l ee q u ailn s t r e n g t ph l, a i n s a wpnl y w o ocda nr e s e m bal e
I allymahogany, poplar,or basswood-edge-glued together. g l u e d - uspo l i dw o o dp a n e lw, h i l er o t a rsya w nv e n e ei sr e a s i l y
plywood
Particleboard-core hasa solidcoreof particleboardidentif iedasplywood.
I
I PLYWOOD
FACE
VENEER
GRADES

I HARDWOOD
PTYWOOD PTYW()OD
S()FTWOOD
I Premium Faceveneer
andsmooth
withwell-matched
surface;
seams
madeof specific
Sanded smooth; cantake
a clearfinish;faceveneer matchedfor
hardwood,
suchaswalnutor mahogany. grainandcolor,freeof opendefects
I Evencolorandgrain Sanded smooth; cantakea natural
I Good Faceveneersimilarto premium, finish,butis moreoftenpainted
butnotaswellmatched. Freeof Smooth andsanded; mayhave
in colorandgrain
sharpcontrasts
I minorsplits
Sound Faceveneer smooth, butnotmatched c Smooth; mayhavesomebroken grain,
I forcolororgrain;defects
onlyon back sanding defects andknotholesupto
veneer.Generallyintendedforpainting % inch
I Utility Veneers haveroughgrainandmay C Plugged Sanded; similarto C grade,
butknot-
haveknotholesupto %inch,aswellas holesandsolitsaresmaller
I somediscoloration,staining,
andslight
D Usedmainly forinnerpliesandback
splits,Notmatched forcolororgrain
veneer; mayhaveknotholesupto
I Back Mayhavelargerdefects thanutility 2%inches
grade,butnonethatimpairpanel
I strength.Notmatched forcolororgrain
Specialty Madeto orderto meetspecific
I requirements,
suchasseparate panels
withmatchinggrainpatterns
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CASEWORK I
I
Making a cutting list t
CASE Nailer:4@ Making a master cuttinglistfora kitchen

22%"
I 2B%"X 4" X%"

Baak panel:
3U/''X 29',1"X',/"
marking accurate
s a ys e e ml i k ea d a u n t i n g I
f u l l o f c a b i n e tm
task,yetif youhavebeenscrupulous about
storypolesforallyourcabi- I
I 1ide:2@
51t/r"X 22" X'/o"
nets,thendeducing
straightforward.
for each cabinet on an
a cutting
Writea separate
index
listis relatively

card
cuttinglist
(lefil.f,Aake
I
FACEFRAME a roughsketchof thecabinet andjot downa t
Stile:2@ list of all the components and materials, tak-

I
I
31'/""X 2" X'/o"

Median rail:
ingtheirmeasurements

on, make sure to label

fromthecabinet's I
storypoles(page2fl Toavoidconfusion
the card the same
laier
as I
271" X 2" X%" your cabinet. The master cutting listcan then
31%"
I Rail:2@ becalculated based ontherequirements list- I

i
I 26',/;'X 2" X%" ed on all
lumberyard,
master
the cards. To speed
youmaywishto create
things

listsforsolidstockandsheetstock.
up at the
separate I

I
I
ESTIMATING BOARD FEET
I
CATCULATING BOARD FEET
1"x 12"x 12"= 1 aLandardboard foot
I
0rdering lumber bytheboard foot
The"boardfoot"isa unitof measurement usedto I
calculate thevolume of a givenamount of stock.lt
iscommonly usedwithhardwood lumber. Asshown t
in the illustration at righi,thestandard board footis
equivalent to a piece thatis I inchthick,12 inches
t
wide,and12 inches long. Tocalculate thenumber
of board feetin a pieceof wood,multiply itsthree
Rt
I
dimensions together. Then,dividetheresultby144
if thedrmensrons arein inches, orby12 if justone
I
dimension isinfeet.
I
Theformulafora standard board:
1"x 12"xI2" + I44 = I
I
( o r1 "x 1 2 "x 1 ' + 1 2= 1 )
So,if youhada 6{oot-long plankthatis 1 inchthick I
and4 inches wide,youwouldcalculate theboard
feetasfollows:1" x 4" x 6' + 12= 2 (or2 boardfeet).
I
Otherexamoles areshown intheillustration.
Remember thatboardfeetarecalculated onthe
2-by-6=Bboardfeet I
2-by-4 = 5% board feet
basis ofthenominal rather thanactualdimensions
of thestock;consequently, theboard feetcontainec 1-W12=Bboardfeet I
in a2-by-4thatactually measures ll|-by-3/zinches
wouldbecalculated usingthelarger dimensions.
1-W-6=4boardfeet I
1-W-3=2boardfeet
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32 I
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I BUILDINGTHE CASES
I
I A fter you havecalculated a master
f\ cuttinglistfor your cabiners, you
I arefinally readyto startbuilding them,
Asyou cut the materialsto size,careful-
I ly markeachpieceto indicatewhichcab-
inet it belongsto. Thencut thegrooves
I for the backpanelsand borethe holes
for anyadjustableshelving(page38).
I With thisgroundworkdone,assem-
bly is largelya matterof choosingajoin-
I erymethod.If you arecomfortablewith
your table saw, tongue-and-groove
I joints(pagej5) areagoodchoice.Those
well-versed in usinga platejointermay
I want to join their cases with biscuits
(below),a joint equalin strengthto the
t tongue-and-groove. Ifyou havea shaper
or a verysolidroutertableanda heary-
I duty router,lockmiterjoints (page36)
aresolid,durable,and easyto cut. If
I spacein your workshopis at a premi-
um or if you needto disassemble and Cutting sheetgoodssuch as melamine on the table saw often resultsin rough
I moveyour cabinets, ready-to-assemble edges,chipping and tearout. Installed on a table saw'sarbor, the Modulus scor-
-or RTA-fasteners(page37) maybe ing saw attachmentshownabovefeaturesa smallerblqdethat cleanlyscores
I the bestchoice. the sheetbeforethe main bladecuts it, resultingin a professional,
smooth cut.

I
JOINING
CASES
WITHBISCUITS
I
1 Marking theslotlocations
I I Foreachcabinet, identifytheoutside
faceof all fourpanels withanX,then
I marklocation linesforthebiscuit slotson
eachof thefourcorners. (Onlowercabr-
t nets,whichtypically donothavea top
panel, markthelocation linesbetween
I thecountertop nailersandthesidepan-
els.)Tostart,placeonesidepanelout-
I side-face downona worksurface and
holdthetoppanelat a 90" angleto it.
I Usea pencil to marklinesontheadjoin-
ingpanels about2inches in fromeach
I corner (lefil.Markadditional linesabout
every 4 to 6 inches. Repeat to markslot
I locationsontheotherthreecorners of the
case.Addreference lettersto helpvou
r identifythecorners.

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CASEWORK t
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Faceplate
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Toppanel I
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)upport board
I
)ide panel
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r') Cutting
theslots
L m" setupshownabove willallowyouto cuttheslotsfor facturer'sinstructions.Tocuttheslotsin thetop panel,butt I
onemating of thecasewithout
corner movingthepanels.Place thetool'sfaceplate againsttheendof thetop panel,aligning
a sidepanelof thecaseoutside-face downon a worksurface, theguideline onthefaceplate witha slotlocation markand I
thensetthetop paneloutside-face up ontop.Offsetthetop restingthetoolon a support boardthesamethickness asthe
panelfromtheedgeof thesidepanelbythestockthickness stock.Cut a at
slot each mark (above,lefil.fo cut the mating I
andclampthepanels in place;
makesurethemating slotloca- slotsin thesidepanel, buttthejoiner's baseplateagainst the
tionmarksonthetwopreces of stockareperfectly
aligned.Set toppanel and alignthe center guidelineon the plate witha slot I
theproper depthof cutontheplatejoiner themanu-
following locationmark(above, right).
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Q Cutting slotsfora partition I
rJ Vertical partitions or fixedshelves
between casesidescanalsobejoinedwith I
biscuits. Usea framing square to layout
thethickness of the partition onthemat- t
ingpanels, thenlaythepartition atopone
of thepanels withits loweredgealigned I
w i t ht h e l a y o ulti n e .C l a m pt h ea s s e m -
blyto a worksurface. Cuttheslotsin the Layout linea
I
panelandpartition as in step2 above.
Reoeat to maketheslotsat theotherend I
of the partition andthe secondmating Eottom panel
panel(righil.Sincesomeplatejoinerscut t
slotsslightlyoff center,keepthe same
sideof thepartition face-up for bothcuts. I
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34 I
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I CASEWORK

I
I JOINING
CASES
WITHTONGUE-AND-GROOVE
J()INTS
'l Setting upthetablesaw
I I U s ea d a d oh e a do n a t a b l es a wt o
I cutgrooves in thesidepanels andtongues
i n t h et o oa n db o t t o mo a n e l sC. u tt h e 9ide panel
grooves first.Installa dadoheadsetto
I halfthethickness of thestock,andattach
I a n a u x i l i a rwyo o df e n c et o s u p p o rt h te
w o r k p i ed ceu r i n tgh ec u t .B u i t i n ag s i d e
t panel against
riofencetoward
thefenceasshown,
the bladeuntiltheout-
slidethe

I sidefaceof theworkpiece is in linewith

the edgeof the sawblade(right).LasIly,
t s e tt h e b l a d eh e i g het q u atl o h a l ft h e
thickness of thestock.
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thegroove
Cutting
t L a vt h e s i d e o a n e li n s i d e - f a cdeo w n
o n t h es a wt a b l ea n db u t ti t s t o oe n d
I against theauxiliary woodfence.Usethe
mitergauge equipped withanextension
I to feedthe panelintothe blades(left),
pressing theworkpiece against thefence
t throughout thecut.Keepyourhands well
awayfromtheblades. Repeat thecutfor
I thebottom endof theoanel.

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CASEWORK I
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Q Cutting thetongues t
r.J Tocuttongues in thetopandbottom
p a n e l sf i,r s tu n p l u tgh es a wa n da d da I
spacer to thedadohead.Lower theblades
belowthetablesurface andmovethe t
auxiliary woodfenceso it overlaps the
cutters slightly. Turnonthesawandraise I
thedadoheadto cuta notchin theauxil-
i a r yf e n c eS. e tt h eh e i g hot f t h ed a d o t
h e a da n di t sw i d t ho f c u te q u atlo h a l f
thestockthickness. Withthetoppanel I
outside-face up on thetablesaw,butt
onesideagainst thefence.Feedthepan- I
el intothe cutters(right),applying slight
pressure toward thefencethroughout the I
operation. Repeat fortheothersideof
thetoppanelandthebottom panel. I
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JOINING WITHA LOCKMITERJOINT
CASES
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Making thecuts
I n s t a al l l o c km i t e br i tt ny o u r o u t ear n dm o u ntth et o o li n a p i e c eo f s c r a pa g a i n stth e f e n c ea n dt h e m i t e rg a u g ee x t e n s i o n , I
table.Attach a notched auxiliary fenceandscrew anextension feed it into IhebiI (above,left).fo cut the matingpiece,clamp
to themitergauge. Setthebit height sotheuppermost cutter a g u i d eb l o c kt o i t t o r i d ea t o pt h e f e n c e T . h e nf e e dt h e b o a r d I
is centered ontheendof theoanel withthepanel flatonthe on end into Ihe bit bbove,right),keepingit f lushagainstthe
table.Position theauxiliary fencesothebitwillmiterthestock f e n c ew i t h o n eh a n dw h i l ep u s h i n gi t a n dt h e g u i d eb l o c kf o r - I
without shortening it. Next,maketestcutsin twopieces of ply- w a r dw i t ht h e o t h e r T. e s tt h e f i t a n da d j u s t h e p o s i t i o no f t h e
w o o ds c r a pt h es a m et h i c k n e sassy o u rp a n e l sB. u t t i n og n e f e n c ea s n e c e s s a b r ye f o r em a k i n gt h e c u t s i n t h e c a s ep a n e l s . t
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I USINGREADY-TO-ASSEMBLE
FASTENERS

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I Preparing theholes
I Tojoina casewithready-to-assemble or RTAfasteners, sizedbits.Startwitha bitslightly widerthanthebaseof the
T firstdryassemble
(page
thefinished caseandsecure it squarely with fastener; wrapa lengthof tapearound the bit to markthe
clamps 47).Tohelpposition thefasteners, drawlineson desired depth-slightly moreihanthelength of thefastener
r thesidesofthecaseindicating
tompanels. (lntheexample
thecenter
shown, thebottom
of thetopandbot-
of thecaseis
b a s eD. r i l al s e r i eosf c o u n t e r s ihnok l e tso t h ea p p r o p r i a t e
depth, spacing theholes about5 inches apart. Theninstall a
I s e t4 i n c h efsr o mt h ef l o o r . ) W h isl e p e c i aslt e p p eddr i l lb i t s bitslightly smaller thanthefastener shank to drillthepilot
a r ea v a i l a btloe b o r et h ep i l o th o l e a s n dc o u n t e r s itnhke mi n h o l e sM
. a r kt h ea p p r o p r i adteep t hw i t hm a s k i nt ga p et,h e n
t a s i n g l es t e p a
, s i m p l ea l t e r n a t i ivset o u s et w od i f f e r e n t - borethe holeshbovd.

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t Instal Iingthefasteners
lf youwishto moveyourcabinets
I fromonekitchen to another (orif your
cabinets arelarge andyouintend to dis-
t assemble thembefore transporting them
t o t h ei n s t a l l a t isoint e )s, i m p l dy r i v ea
t fastener in eachpredrilled hole(lefil.fhe
fasteners canberemoved laterandthe
I cabinets knocked downforeasytrans-
port.lf youwantto install yourcabinets
T permanently, thenremove theclamps
andapplyglueto themating edges of the
I loints before driving the fasteners.

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SHELVINGANDSTORAGE I
I
/l ooksseldomcomplainabouthav- be changedto accommodate different- I
U ingtoo muchstorigespace in their sizeddry goodsor dishes. Cornercabi-
kitchens.Appliances, pots,cans,spice netsareparticularlyproneto wasting I
racks,cookbooks, anddishesall seemto valuablespace;itemsat theverybackof
conspireto fill everynookandcrannyof suchcabinets tendto beforgotten.A lazy I
availablespace.Efficientshelvingand Swan(page42)is an elegantsolutionto
storagedevicescancreatea surprising this problem: Its two round shelves I
amount of spacesimply by keeping rotatearounda centralshaft,makingall
things organized.For example,the the contentsreadilyaccessible. I
heightof adjustable shelves(below)can Applianceclutteris anothercommon
kitchencomplaint.Certainappliances I
that seefrequentuse,suchastoasters,
Fromtowelracksto slide-outgarbage coffeemakers,andblenders,oftencrowd I
bins,therearemanycommercial stor- the countertop.An appliancebaywith
agedevices on themarketdesignedto a slidingtambour door (page40)pro- t
reducetimespentrummagingin lower videsa tidy placeto keepthesekitchen
Thephotoat leftshowsslide-
cabinets. conveniences pluggedin andout ofsight, I
out shelvingmountedon drawerslides. vet easilvaccessible.
I
ADJUSTABTE
INSTATTING SUPPORTS
SHELF I
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1 Drilling holesforthesleeves I
I Adjustable shelvingrequirestwoparallel
rowsof holes
to be andinstall
a stopcollar to markthedrilling depthequalto the
drilledin thesidepanels of thecabinetcase.Thecommercialjig sleevelengh.Starting at eitherendof oneof thejig'srails,place T
shown above allowsyouto boreholesat 1-inchintervals
and theappropriatebushing in thefirstholeof thebushing carrier.
ensures thatcorresponding holeswillbeperfectly Seta
aligned. (Thebushing keeps thebit perfectlysquare to theworkpiece.) I
sidepanelinside{ace upon a worksurface andclampthejig to Holdingthedrillandcarrier, borethehole.Drilla seriesof evenly
theedges of thepanel;theholescanbeanydistance fromthe spaced holesalongbothrails.Remove thejig andrepeat forthe I
paneledges, butabout2 inchesin wouldbebestforthepanels othersidepanel of thecase, carefullypositioningthejigsothe
shown. Fityourdrillwitha bitthesamediameter asthesleeves holes
willbealigned withthosein thefirstpanel. T
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38 I
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r) Mounting thesleeves andsupports
T
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llltllllilllllllill]lll1
llliilllrll1
|llrfil]rll1 ljlrlllllltlllllllllllll Z. To install
outdamaging
thethreaded sleeveswith-
them,usea sleeve-setting
ounch. Place a sleeve
ontheendofthe

I 5HO?TI? punchandpushthesleeve firmlyinto

oneof theholesin a sidepanel(above).
A ohop-madeshelf Inserta sleeveintoeachholeyouhave
I drillinqjiq drilled,
thenscrew shelfsupportsinto
IheT-ehaped thesleevesat eachdesiredshelflocatron.
I jiq ohownaN
riqhlwillallow
I you Noborea row
of evenlyopaced
T holeeae accuratelyae
a commercial jig. Make
Nhejiq from 1-by-3stock,
I beinqcarefullo screwIhe
fenceand arm togeLheraNa
I perfect90" angle.Marka linedown
lhe centerof the arm and boreholes
I alonqit at 2-inchinNervale wilh the
samebiLyou wouldusefor thread'
T ed sleeves.To uset.he1iq,clampiLto a
oidepanelwith lhe fencebuLtedagainel,.:
I e i t h e re n d o l t h e o a n e la n d t h e m a r k e d Y
centerline2 inchesin from ite edge.
I FiNyourdrillbil with a otoVcollar,boreNhe
holee,and,repooition Nhejiq for eachnewrow.
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CASEWORK
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BUILDING
ANAPPLIANCE
BAY I
1 Millingtambour slats
I
I Startbycuttingthetambour stockto size;makethe
lengthof thestockequalto thewidthof thetambour door
plus% inch.Thenplane thestockto a thickness equalto I
thedesired widthof theslats;typically%to I inch.Mill
theslatsin threesteps(right).First,jornttheedges of the I
stock(,4).Next,usea Yo-inch rounding overbit to shape
thetwolongedgesof the stockon yourroutertable(B). I
Finally, stripfromeachedgeto
ripa /o-to %-inch-thick
makethefirsttwoslats(C);usea pushstickto keepyour I
fingersawayfromtheblade. Jointthestockagain, then
repeatthe lasttwostepsuntilyouhaveenough slatsto I
makethetambour door.Thecombined height
of theslats
shouldtotal2 or3 inches morethantheheightof thedoor I
opening. Trimalltheslatsto length.
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r') Gluing theslatsto a backing I
Z tlr" lightweight canvas as backing fortheslats.Stretch placethenscrewa fourthboardto closethetop of thejig.
thecanvas overa pieceof melamine andpullit taut,smooth- R e m o vt eh es l a t sa n da p p l ya n e v e nc o a to f w h i t eg l u et o I
i n go u ta l l t h ew r i n k l e sS.e c u r iet i n p l a c ew i t hs t a p l e sT.o thecanvas. Gluetheslatsbackin placehbovd,thenweight
helpalignthe slats,screwthreeboards to the plywood to themdownto geta goodbond.Letthe assembly dryover- I
f o r ma U - s h a p ej idg .T h ed e v i c e s h o u l db e a sw i d ea st h e . n s c r etwh ej i g a n dt r i mt h ee x c e scsa n v aw
n i g h tU s i t ha
s l a t sa r el o n ga n dp e r f e c tsl yq u a r eS.l i d ea l l t h es l a t si n t o s h a r ok ni f e . I
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40
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CASEWORK
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T
-) Routins thetambour track
I <
r.,l Starting at the bottom of the panel,
I drawthedesired shape of the tambour door
t r a c ko n o n eo f t h ec a s e s i d e s F. a s hion
I a t e m o l a tteh a tc o o i etsh ei n s i d e eo f l i n
thistrack.Place thetemplate atopthecase
t s i d ea, l i g n i ni g t w i t ht h et r a c k 'isn s i d e
l i n e .I n s t aal lt o p - p i l o t fel u
d s ht r i m m i n g
I bit in yourrouter; thediameter of thebit
s h o u lb d e% ui n c hg r e a t et hr a nt h et h i c k -
I n e s so f t h ed o o rS . e tt h er o u t eor nt h e
template andadjustthecuttingdepthto
I m a k ea / a - i n c h - d eger o p o v eu;s es h i m s
underthe pattern if necessary. Routthe
I track(right), keeping thebearing pressed
a g a i n st ht e p a t t e r n
t h r o u g h otuhtec u t .
I Toroutthetambour trackin theoooosite Template Shim
caseside,turnthepattern overandrepeat.
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Installing
thedoor
I Oncethesidesareprepared
youcan
a s s e m b lteh e c a s ef o r t h e a p p l i a n c e bay.
I M a k et h e w i d t ho f t h e c a s ee q u a tl o t h e
l e n g t ho f t h e s l a t sp l u st h e t h i c k n e sos f
r t h e s i d e s ,l e s st h e c o m b i n e d e p t ho f
t h e g r o o v e s( A
. l s oa d d X ui n c ht o g i v et h e
I d o o ra b i t o f p l a y . N
) o t et h a tt h e a p p l i a n c e
b a yh a sn o t o p o r b o t t o m ;i t i s d e s i g n e d
t to fit between t h e c o u n t e r t o ap n d u p p e r
c a b i n e ta, n dt h e l a c ko f a b o t t o mp a n e l
I m a k e si t e a s i etro s l i d et h e a p p l i a n c ien
a n do u t .T o i n s t a ltlh e t a m b o udr o o r t, i l t
I t h e c a s eo n t oi t s b a c k t, h e ns i m p l ys l i d e
the doorfromthe bottom(/eft).The bottom
I o f t h e d o o rw i l l r e s to n t h e c o u n t e ar n d
i t sw e i g hw t i l l h o l di t u p w h e no p e n e d ,
t t h e r e f o rneo s t o p so r l a t c h e sa r er e q u i r e d .

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CASEWORK I
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INSTALTING
A LAZYSUSAN I
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1 Finding thepivotpoint
I A lazySusan's traysrotatearounda I
centralpostscrewed to thetopandbot-
tomof a cornercabinet. To locatethe I
pivotpointof theshaft,placeoneof the
trayson the floorof the cabinetand I
adjustit soitscircumference clearsthe
twobackpanels byabout1 inch.Slidea t
pencilin thetray'sshaftholeandtrace
a circle.(Themanufacturer mayprovide T
a positioning template to makethisstep
easier.)Thenusea framing square to I
locatethe pointin thecirclethatis the
samedistance fromeachbackpanel I
hbovd.Thisis thepivotpoint.Transfer
thesemeasurements to thetoppanel- I
or the nailerif thecabinethasnotop.
I
r') Centeringthepivotbrackets I
I Center the lowerpivotbracketonthe
pivotpoint(right),thenscrewthehardware I
in place.
Turnthecabinet upsidedown
andrepeat to installthe upperbracket. t
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42 I
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T r') Installing
thepostandtrays
I Forthemodelof lazySusanshown,
I the postconsists of twotelescoping
rodsthatareextended to fit thecabinet
I
5HO7Tt? oncethetraysareslidin place.
lowertrayontothe post(rnset),
Slidethe
followed
T 5lide-out shelves bythecolletanduppertray.Placethe
thelveethat elideoul of a postin the bottompivotbracket, then
I aabinet not onlyreduceback extendtherodupward soitstopfitsinthe
eNrainandlime soenN upperpivotbracket.Tighten thelocking
I rummaqin4 thr ou4h Iower
screw. Next,positionthe uppertrayat
cabinern,thay aleoincrea*
the desiredheightandmarkits location
I usable atoraqe epace.To
onthepost.Liftthetrayandalignthetop
keeplhe aonlente of lhe
shelvesfrom elidinqoff,qlue of thecolletwiththemark.Tighten the
I edqinqotripa cut from 5/+- colletin place(above),
thenlowerthe
inch hardwoodetockto Nhe upper trayintoposition.
I shelfsides and ende.lneLall
bottom-mountedshelf
I slidesa6 you wouldfor a
drawer (paAeO7).
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THE CABINETS
ASSEMBLING I
I
{ l.you havecut thecomponenents of I
.l-yourcabinets assembling
accurately,
them will be a straishtforward task. I
Whilethe procedurishown0n pages
46-47is basedon biscuitjoints,gluing I
andclampingis identicalfor mostoth-
er ioinervmethods. I
Ifyour cabinetsdo not havesidesthat
extendbelowtheir bottompanels,you I
willneedto installlegsto supportthem.
Commerciallevelerlegs (below)are I
quicklyboltedin placeandallowyouto
installa levelrun of cabinetson an I
uneveufloor.Theyalsoaccommodate
a bracketfor a clip-onkickplate. T
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Hidingtheedges of nelantirteorply-
woodcabinets isessettial
for crclean, I
professional
look.Heren lantinote
trintmercttssolidwoodedging flush I
with thesidesof a cabinet.
Forntore
on edgetreatntents,seepages48-49. I
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ADJUSTABLE
INSTALLING LEGS
D r i l l i n hg o l e sf o rt h el e gb o l t s
I
1
I P o s i t i o tnh e l e s so n t h e c a b i n e b t ot-
t o m ss ot h a tw h e nt h e k i c k p l a ties c l i p p e d
I
o n t ot h e f r o n tl e g s@ a g e1 0 4 ) , i t w i l l b e
i n s e tf r o mt h e c a b i n e t ' fsr o n te d g eb y
I
a b o u t4 i n c h e sT. h e l e g ss h o u l da l s ob e
s e t i n f r o mt h e s i d e so f t h e c a b i n e bt y t h e
I
s a m ea m o u n tT. h es i m p l el i p p e dj i g s h o w n
a t r i g h tw i l l h e l py o u b o r et h e h o l e sf o r
I
t h e l e g b o l t si n e x a c t l yt h e s a m ep l a c e
o n a l l c a b i n e t sT. o m a k et h e j i g , s c r e w
I
t w o o i e c e so f l - i n c h - s o u a rset o c kt o o n e
c o r n eo r f a p i e c eo f p l y w o o dM. a r ka l i n e
I
4 i n c h e sp l u st h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e k r c k -
p l a t ef r o mt h e i n s i d ee d g eo f e a c hl i p , I
t h e nd r i l la h o l ei n t h e p l y w o ow d h e r et h e
l i n e si n t e r s e c M t . a k et h e h o l e sf o r t h e l e g s
I
b y h o l d i n tgh ej i g i n p o s i t i oann dd r i l l i n g
a h o l ei n e a c hc o r n e o r f t h e c a b i n ebt o t -
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tom panel (right).
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44
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I
t r) Attaching thelegbases
L tav the bottompanelface-down on
I a worksurface. lnserta boltwitha washer
t h r o u gohn eo f t h e h o l e sy o ud r i l l e di n
I theprevious step,andthread oneof the
legbases ontothebolt.Holding thebase
I sothatits roundsurface facesthefront
of the cabinet(right), tightenthe bolt
I snugly. Theninstall theotherlegbases.

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I Inserting thelegs
Thef inalstepisto insert thelegs
I in the bases. Thetypeof leveler leg
shown at lefthasmatching grooves and
I ridges. Simply place thelegin thebase
a n dp u s hd o w nl i g h t l w
y h i l et u r n i n g
I untilit snaps intoplace. Thelegheight
canthenbeadjusted whenthecabinet
I is installed @age104).

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CASEWORK I
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THECABINETS
ANDCLAMPING
GTUING T
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-\\.--.-
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'l Assembling thefirstcorner I
I Layoneof thecabinet sidesface-up
ona worksurface, insert gluein eachbis- I
c u i ts l o t ,a n da d dt h ec o r r e c t - s i zbei sd-
cuits.Applyglueto theexposed biscuits, I
thenfit thecabinet bottom ontotheside
p a n em l , a t c h i nt hgeb i s c u i tasn ds l o t s . I
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r) Adding thenailers
L non thebottom panelin place with t
a 9 0 " c l a m po r a c o m b i n a t ioofnh a n d -
screws andclamps asshown in thenext I
. p p l yg l u ei n t h es l o t sf o rt h er e a r
s t e pA
andcountertop nailers andplace thebis- I
cuitsintheslots. Apply gluetothenailers
end cpi thpm in nlarp lnqpri 2 qn2apr I
betweenthe rearnailersto createa gap
b e t w e etnh e t w o t h a t w i l l a l l o wy o ut o I
slidethe backinto place(step4). Clamp
the assemblytogelher(rrght). I
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I CASEWORK

I
I Q Installing thesecond side
r-,, Applyglueto theexposed edgesof
I thebottom panelandthenailers. Insert
t h eb i s c u i t tsh, e ns e tt h es e c o nsdi d e
t panelatoptheassembly (/eft).

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Clamping
thecabinet
I W i t ht h e c a b i n est t i l lo n i t s s i d e ,
s l i d ei t s ot h a to n ee d g ee x t e n d os f f t h e
I w o r ks u r f a c eR. e m o v teh e 9 0 " c l a m p
holding t h e b o t t o ma n d i n s t a l al b a r
I c l a m pa c r o s tsh e f r o n to f t h e c a b i n e t , o
a l i g n i nrgtw r t ht h e b o t t o mp a n e l R . epeat o o

I t h i s n r o c e d r rtroe s e c r r rteh e r e s to f t h e o
o
o
o
c a s eY . o uw i l ln e e df r v eb a rc l a m p st:w o o o
I for the casebottomand oneeachfor the o o

t w o c o u n t e r t onpa i l e r sa n d u p p e rr e a r o o

I n a i l e rP r o t e ct th e s i d en a n e l sw i t hw o o d
o
o
p a d sp; l a c ea l - i n c hw o o dc h i p u n d e r
I t h e b o t t o mp a d st o f o c u ss o m eo f t h e
pressure m i d w a yb e t w e e nt h e e d g e so f
I the p a n e lM
. a k es u r ea l l e d g e sa r ef l u s h
a n d c h e c kt h e c a b i n efto rs q u a r eb e f o r e
I t i g h t e n i ntgh e c l a m p sF. i n a l l ys,e tt h e
a s s e m b loyn t h e f l o o ra n ds l i d et h e b a c k
I panel into post|on(righil.

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CASEWORK I
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W(IODEDGING
SOLID I
1 Makingthe edging
I M a k es o l i dw o o de d g i n gb y r i p p i n gi t
I
f r o ma p i e c eo f s t o c ks l i g h t l yt h i c k e rt h a n
y o u rc a b i n e pt a n e l st;h i sw t l l a l l o wy o u
I
t o t r i m i t f l u s ha f t e ri n s t a l l a t i oPn l.a n ea I
l e n g t ho f h a r d w o osdt o c ks u c ha s m a p l e
o r o a kt o t h e d e s i r e dt h i c k n e s sS. e t t h e
r i p f e n c eo n y o u rt a b l es a wt o c u t a % -
t
i n c h { h i c ks t r i p .F e e dt h e w o r k p i e cien t o I
the blade(left),keeptnglight pressure
a g a i n st th e f e n c ef;i n i s ht h e c u t w i t ha I
p u s hb l o c k R . i pf o u rp i e c e os f e d g i n gf o r
e a c hc a b i n e tc, u t t i n gt h e ms l i g h t l yl o n g e r I
t h a nt h ec a b i n e t .
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r) Installing the edging
L Vttt",the stripsal a 45'angleon each I
e n d .T r i mt h e e d g i n gt o f i t a sy o ui n s t a lilt .
F i r c t e r r t tL h' ' p
v o
vvd
6rsin o fnr the lonsest sides
I rb
I
t o t h e e x a c th e i g h o t f t h e c a b i n e tS
. pread
a t h i n b e a do f g l u eo n t h e m a t i n gs u r f a c e s , I
a n df a s t e nt h e e d g i n gt o t h e c a b i n ew t ith
f i n i s h i n gn a i l sa n da n a i lg u n ( r i g h t ) o a r I
h a m m e rl .f y o ua r eu s i n ga h a m m e rd, r i l l
p i l o th o l e sf o rt h e n a i l st o a v o i ds p l i t t i n g I
t h ew o o d C . u tt h e t o p a n d b o t t o mp i e c e s
s l i g h t l yl o n g etrh a nt h e w i d t ho f t h e c a b i - I
n e t ,t h e nt r i m t h e m u n t i lt h e yf i t . G l u e
a n dn a i lt h e mi n p l a c e F. i n a l l yt r, i mt h e I
e d g i n gf l u s hw i t h t h e c a b i n e tu s i n ga
rouler (photo,page 44). I
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I CASEWORK

I
I EDGE
C()MMERCIATBANDING
1 Applying commercial edgebanding
I I Commercial edgebanding is another
method of hiding theedges of melamine;
I simplychoose a colorthatmatches your
cabinets. Thecommercial edge-banding
I unitshown at rightworksbyfeeding the
panelalonga fence;an adjustable heater
I meltsthebanding's adhesive justbefore it
contacts theedgeof the panel.Practice
I onsomescrapstockuntilyoufinda tem-
oerature andfeedratethatworkswell.
I An inexpensive butmoretime-consuming
alternative is to installcommercial edge
t b a n d i nogny o u rc a b i n e tuss i n ga n i r o n
seton highheat,making sureyoudo not
I letthe ironrestin oneplace.

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I r') Trimming theedgesofthebanding
I Z nttneends,pushthebanding
thecorner withthef latsideof a chisel
around

I t o b r e a ki t c l e a n l yt h, e nc u t i t o f f w i t h
a d o w n w asr dl i c eo f t h ec h i s e lU . s ea n
I edgetrimmer
features
to trimtheedges.
twospring-mounted
Themodel
razor
shown
I cutters andcanfit anypanelbetween %e
a n d1 i n c ht h i c k P . l a c teh et r i m m eorn
t t h ee d g eo f t h e p a n eal t o n ee n da n d
squeeze thetwoedges together, thenpullit
I slowlyandsmoothly alongthe edge(left).
Youcanalsousea wide,verysharpchisel
I forthejob.Holdthetoolflatto thepanel,
4 5 " t o t h ee d g ea, n dm o v ea l o n gi n a
I singlestroke-one
panel.
for eachsideof the
Finish witheither sandpaper or a
I smooth filefora perfectly flushedge.

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49
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FACEFRAMES I
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I faceframeis a solidwoodfronting Whenlayingout a faceframe,remem- I
Aapplied to kitchencabinets. Face ber to add an extra Yrinchto any stile
positionednextto a wall;thiswill allow
in facttheyare
framesarenot essential;
you to scribeand trim the stileif the
I
noticeablyabsenton European-style
cabinets,whose concealed,micro- wall is out-of-plumb.If the cabinethas I
adjustablehingesmakeit possibleto drawers,you will alsorequiredividers
coverthe
install doorsthat seamlessly betweenthem. If your cabinetsfeature I
entire cabinet front. However,face fully recesseddoorsand drawers,cock-
(page 53)canadda subtle,dec-
framescanadd a traditionallook to a beading I
Europeankitchen. orativetouch.
I
Faceframescanbejoined in a numberof ways,includingpock- I
et holes,biscuits,and dowels.Here,a commercial pockethole
cutterboresa holein a faceframe rail. Pocketholescanalsobe I
usedto attachthefaceframe to thecabinet;besureto cut
theholesin thecasesidesand railsbeforeassembling them. I

OFA FACE
ANATOMY FRAME
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Drawer rail Ineide stile I
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CASEWORK
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I FACE
JOINING WITHDOWELS
FRAMES
'l Drilling holes
I I U s ea d o w e l i nj iggt o d r i l lh o l e fso r
dowels in thefaceframemembers. The
I modelshownat rightnotonlyaligns the
holes in bothrailsandstiles, butalsoholds
I thebitexactly perpendicular to thewood
surface. Follow themanufacturer's instruc-
I tionsto setupthejigforthethickness of
thefaceframestock,thenadjustthejigto
I drilltwoholes about1/,inchin fromeither
endofoneof thestiles. Insert thebushing
I thatmatches thedoweldiameter intothe
b u s h i ncga r r i eor f t h e1 i g a, n da t t a c ha
I colletto thedrillbitandadlustit to bore
a holeXutnchdeeper thanhalfthelength
I of ihedowels. (Allow forthethickness of
theligandbushing whenmaking thismea-
I surement.) Clamp a stileinyourworkbench
a n dp l a c et h ej i g o nt h es t i l ea, l i g n i nigt
I withoneendof theworkpiece. Setthe
bushing carrier in theappropriate holein
I t h ed o w e l i nj igg .H o l d i ntgh el i g s t e a d y ,
. e p e at ot d r i l lt h es e c o n d
d r i l lt h eh o l eR
I hole,thenboretheholesat theopposite
e n do f t h es t i l e i,n b o t he n d so f a l l r a i l s
I (right), andin anyinsidestilesthatalso
require dowelholes.
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thedowels
L lnsert dowels in thedrawerrailsand
I inside first,thenintheouter
stiles stiles.
Toinsertthedowels, clamptheappropriate
I framemember to yourbench, spread glue
ononeendofthedowel, thentapit home
I witha mallet(/efil.Assemble theframe
(page53).
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CASEWORK I
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PLATE J(IINER STAND I
To reduce thesetuptimeneeded
to cut slotsfor biscuit-jointed face I
frames, mount your plate joiner in a
shop-made stand like the one shown I
at left. Buildthe jig from3/q-inch
plywood, except forthebarrelsup- I
port,whichshouldbesolidwood.
Referto the illustration forsuggest- I
eddimensions.
Screw thehandle support to the I
base, thenattachthehandlebrack-
ets,spacing themto fit yourtool. I
Withthe plate joinerresting upside
downonthehandle support, butt I
thebarrelsupport against themotor
housing andtracetheoutlineof the I
barrelon the stock.Cutor borea
holeforthebarrel, thensawthesup- I
portin twoacross itswidth,through
thecenterof the hole.Screw the I
bottompartto thebaseandfit the
otherhalfon top.Boreholesfor t
hanger boltsthrough thetoponeach
sideof theopening, thendrivethe I
hanger boltsintothebottomof the
support. Forquickinstallation and I
removal of thetool,usewingnuts
to holdthetwohalves together. I
Screw theauxiliary tableto the
fixed-angle fenceof thejoiner. (lt I
maybenecessary to drillholesin
thefenceto acceptthescrews.) t
Tousethestand, secure thejoiner
in it, thenclampthebaseto a work I
surface. Setthefenceat thecorrect
heightand,forrepeat cuts,clampstop I
blocks totheauxiliary tableto center
theworkoiece onthecutterwheel.To I
cut a slot,puttheworkpiece f lat
on thetableandbuttedagainst the I
joiner's faceplate, thenturnonthe
toolandpushthestockandthetable
r
towardthe culter(\eft,belowl
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52 I
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I CASEWORK

I
t THEFACE
ASSEMBTING FRAME

I C l a m p i nugpt h ef r a m e
A s s e m b lteh e f r a m ew o r k i n gf r o mt h e
m i d d l eo u t w a r dg, l u i n gu p a n yd r a w e r
I r a i l sa n d i n s i d es t i l e sf i r s t .I n t h e f r a m e
s h o w na t r i g h t ,s t a r tb y g l u i n gt h e i n s i d e
I s t i l et o t h e t w of a c ef r a m er a i l s .A p p l y
g l u et o t h e e x p o s e d o w e l st h e n p u s h
I t h e r a i l si n t op l a c eT. i g h t e nt h e a s s e m -
b l yw i t h a b a rc l a m p .N e x t ,s p r e a ds o m e
I g l u eo n t h ed o w e l isn t h e r a i l sa n di n s t a l l
t h e o t h e rs t i l e st;i g h t e nt h e mi n p l a c ew i t h
I t w om o r eb a rc l a m p sC . h e c kt h e a s s e m b l y
f o r s q u a r eb y m e a s u r i nagc r o s st h e t w o
I d i a g o n a l s( r i g h t ) . I h e ys h o u l db e e q u a l .
l f n o t ,p l a c ea b a rc l a m pa c r o s tsh e l o n g e r
I d i a g o n aal n dt i g h t e ni t u n t i l t h ef r a m e
issquare.
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INSTATLING
C()CKBEADING
I 'l Making cockbeading
I Makecockbeading asyoumadesolid
t woodedging(page48), rippingY,inch-
t h i c ks t r i p sf r o ma p i e c eo f h a r d w o o d
I stock%inchthicker thanthethickness
of thefaceframe. Toroundovertheout-
I sideedgeof thecockbeading, install a /,-
|/ /-,L, inchcanoe beadbit in a router andinstall
I t h et o o li n a t a b l eR . a i s teh eh e i g hot f
thebitsoit is centered onthestock,and
I a d j u stth ep o s i t i oonf t h ef e n c et o j u s t
behind thecutter. Attach a featherboard
I to thetableto holdthestockagainst the
fence, andclamptwomorefeatherboards
I t o t h ef e n c eo n e i t h esr i d eo f t h eb i tt o
prevent thestockfromliftingup.(lnthe
I illustration, thefrontfeatherboard has
beenremoved forclarity.) Withthework-
I piecelyingf latonthetable,feedit into
t h e b i t ( / e f f )f,i n i s h i ntgh ec u t w i t ha
I pushstick.Ripthecockbeading to width
a n dt h e nc u t i t t o l e n g t hm , i t e r i ntgh e
I endsat 45".
I
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I 53

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CASEWORK I
I
Installing
thecockbeading I
strips;pare
Dryfit thecockbeading
a n yi l l - f r t t i nj g
o r n t sw i t ha c h i s e lL. a yt h e I
f r a m eo n a f l a t s u r f a c eS . p r e a ds o m e
g l u eo n t h e o u t s i d ef a c eo f a s t r i po f I
c o c k b e a d i nagn d p o s i t i o ni t o n t h e f r a m e ,
a l i g n i n tgh e b a c ke d g e so f t h e t w o .D r i v e I
i n f i n i s h i n ng a i l sw i t ha h a m m eor r a n a i r
nailer (lefil. I
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INSTALLING
THEFACE
FRAME I
Attaching thefaceframeto thecasework
A p p l ys o m eg l u et o t h e e d g e so f t h e c a b i -
I
n e t .P l a c et h e f a c ef r a m ei n o o s i t i o a nn d
a l i g ni t w i t ht h e t o p , b o t t o ma, n ds i d e so f
I
t h e c a b i n e tI.n t h e i l l u s t r a t i oant r i g h t ,t h e
r i g h ts i d eo f t h e f r a m eo v e r h a n gt hse c a b i -
I
n e t ;t h i s i s t o a l l o wt h e s t i l eo f t h e f a c e
frameto be trimmedto fit the profileof the
t
wall (page104). Fastenthe faceframe in
p l a c ew i t ha f i n i s h i n ng a i le v e r y4 - 6 i n c h e s .
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54 I
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I CASEWORK

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I Usingscrewsandwoodplugs
l f y o ua r ei n s t a l l i nygo u rf a c ef r a m e s
I w i t h s c r e w sc, o u n t e r b o rt eh e f a s t e n e r s
a n d c o v e rt h e i rh e a d sw i t h w o o dp l u g s .
I P o s i t i otnh e f r a m ei n p l a c ea sy o uw o u l d
f o r f a c e - n a i lni g ( p a g e5 4 ) . d r i l l a n d
I c o u n t e r b o sr ec r e wh o l e st,h e nd r i v et h e
;^ ^r^^^ T^ -^ko tho nlrroc
I )urcvY) rr Prduc. ru ilrd..-

i n s t a lal n l u pc r r t t etrh e s a m ed r a m e t e r
t a st h e c o u n t e r b o r h
p r e s sC
eod l e si n y o u rd r i l l
. h o o s i nsgo m ew o o dt h a t m a t c h -
I r.{rrll ffi dr trr il r}.xrili r$ ffi r$ rrr L* $ $ U *
e s t h e f r a m es t o c kf o r g r a i na n dc o l o r ,
b o r ea s m a n yp l u g sa s y o u n e e di n t h e
slock (above,left).Prythe plugsfree
I
1HO?TI? w i t h a s c r e w d r i voer n a r r o wc h i s e l (. S e e
t Making
t h e S h o pT i p a t l e f tf o r a n a l t e r n a t p
cedure.)To i n s t a l l t h p
e l u g s apply lue
, g
er o -

woodplugo !
i n t h e h o l e t, h e nt a pt h e p l u gi n p l a c e .
I Savetime making
T r i mt h ee x c e sw s i t ha c h i s e lH . olding
woodplugeby usinqa
I n i e r ^ . en f f A n e f . n r e . a n v e t h e c h i s e lb e v e l - s i duep o n t h e f r a m e ,
remove the wastein f ineshavings
N h e mf r o m t h e i r h o l e e ,U e e a bbove,
I p l , , t gc u L t e r o n L h e d r i l l p r e o ot o r i g h t ) u n t i l t h e p l u g i s p e r f e c t l yf l u s h .
T h i sw i l l p r o d u c ae m u c hc l e a n esru r -
borea rowof Vluqetrothe depLhyou
I require.Coverthe rowwith a oLripof f a c et h a n i f t h e p l u gw e r es a n d e df l u s h .
q a p e , I h e rni p t h e p l u g eL o
m a s k i nN
lenqLhon r,hebandeaw.)imply peeloff
I Lhet,aVeLo removeLhe rowof pl,tge.
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I 55

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Q.
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I DOORS
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f abinetdoorsarearguably themost Considerations of styleshouldnot
I \-r important singledecorative feature cloud the need for durability.Kitchen
of a kitchen. They arethe first item to doorswork hard and.sincewoodis
I greettheeyeand,because theyareusu- proneto swellingandwarping,solid
allysonumerous, canalsobethemost doorssuchasboard-and-batten doors
I impressive. Thestyle,finish,andcon- shouldonlybeinstalled on smallcabi-
structiondeserve carefulattention. nets.Frame-and-panel, veneered-panel,
I Once.cabinetmakers wereconcerned andglass doorsarebetterableto accom-
primarilywith buildingsimple,sturdy modatewoodmovement causedbvfluc-
I doorsthatwouldstandup to thepun- tuationsin heatandhumidity.'Also,
ishmentmetedoutto themin dailyuse. A braddriversecures a strip of molding differentdoorsrequiredifferentdegrees
I Formcertainlyfollowedfunctionby a to theframeof a kitchencabinetdoor of precisionwhenbuildingthem.A
widemargin;kitchen cabinets,andespe- sandwiching a centralpaneof glass flush-mounted door,forexample, iscut
I ciallytheirdoors,werethemostutili- betvveen themoldingand a rabbetcut to closetolerances; anerrorasslightas
tarianof furniture.Butgonearethedays into theinsideedgeof theframe.For Zuinchcansooilthelookof another-
I of one-style-fits-all kitchens.Today, moreon buildingglassdoors,seepage69. wisefinelyeiecutedcabinet.Overlay
homeowners carefirllyconsidertheperi- doors,ontheotherhand,donotrequire
t odandsryleof theirdwellings beforedetermining thedecorof thesameprecision astheyexceed thesizeof theiropenings.
theirkitchens. Someof thepossibilities areshownin thelayout Advances in themanufacturing of doorhardware, particu-
I AndDesignchapter(page16). larlyhinges, havegreatlyimproved boththeappearance of cab-
Oncethebasicchoiceismade,doorstylecanbearrivedat. inetdoorsandtheease of mountingthem(page 73).Classic
or
T Perhaps it is a basicboard-and-batten door (page60)for a antique-sryle doorsmaystillbehungfromsuchdecorative and
countrycottage. Anfuts andCraftsbungalow mightdemand attractive fastenersassurface-mounted hingesthatcomein
I finerwork,withdoorsfeaturing glasspanes setin glazingbars polishediron or brassfinishes. Otherhingeoptionsinclude
(page70).Mosthomeowners will probablyprefertraditional thesimplebutefficient butthinge(page 76)forflush-mount-
I frame-and-panel doors (page 62).Butevenheretherearevari- ed doors,andthe pianohingefor cornercabinetdoors.
ations,suchasarchedpanel(page67),veneered.panel (page European-style cuphinges(page7a)havevirtuallybecome
I 68),andglass paneldoors (page 69).Thischapter introduces thestandard hardware for melaminekitchencabinets. Not
fivedoorstyles andthesteps to buildingeach,soyoucanpro- onlyaretheseversatile hingesfully concealed; theyarealso
t ducedoorsthatwill lendcharacter to yourkitchen. simpleto installandeasilyadjustable.

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Theversatile
Europeancuphingecanbeusedto hanga vari-
I etyofkitchencabinetdoors.In thephotoat left,afull overlay
frame-and-panel door is beingmountedon a faceframe
I cabinet.Thedoor canbeadiustedor removedwith ease.

I 57

I
 A GALLERYOF CABINETDOORDESIGNS

1rl f thefourdoortypesshownbelow cut into them;foraddedembellishment door featuresglazingbarsthat hold I

\-/ andon thefollowingpage,all but you canalsocut an archor curveinto smallerpanesin place(page70).Iorned
the board-and-batten door arebuilt theupperrailandpanel. by miteredhalf-laps,the glazingbars t
usingframe-and-panel techniques.The Veneered-panel doors(page68) fea- haverabbetscut alongtheirbackedges
board-and-batten door (page60)is a turea panelmadefrom veneered sheet to accommodate the glassand glass- t
solidpaneldoor featuringa seriesof stockthat is gluedto the frame.To stopmolding.
plankswith rabbetededgesheldtogeth- concealthe platejoints betweenthe Althougha door is alwaysmadeto fit I
erby battensscrewed across thebackof paneland the frame,rabbetsarecut its cabinet,it doesnot alwayshaveto be
the door.Frame-and-p aneldoors(page into the insideedgesof the frameat sizedexactlyto fit its opening,asshown I
62) fearvea panelthat floatswithin a the back.Glass-panel doors(page69) in theillustration on theopposite page.
frame composedof rails and stiles areessentiallya frame-and-panel door Flush-mounted and full-recess doors I
assembled with mortise-and-tenon or with a paneof glassreplacinga float- canbe time-consuming to construct
cope-and-stick joints.Thefloatingpan- ing panel.The pieceof glasssitsin because ofthe fine tolerances required I
el in thecenterofthe doorcanberaised rabbetscut alongthe edgesof the to fit andhangthemproperly.Theyare
or shaoedfor decorative effect.Therails frame.It is held in placeby stripsof particularlyunsuitablefor board-and- t
and stileshavean integratedmolding molding.A variationof theglasspanel battendoors,as thesedoorstend to
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I DOORS

I expandand contractwith changes in

humidity.Full-overlay or lip-rabbeted DOOR
MOUNTING
METH()DS
I doorsareeasierto make.A full-overlay
doorcoverstheentirewidth of thecab-
t inet,whilea lip-rabbeteddoorhasrab-
betscut aroundits outsideedgesat the
I backsothat only a part of its thickness
is exposed.
t Oneof themostcommonlyuseddoors
is the onetypicallyusedfor European-
I stylecabinets-apieceof laminatedpar-
ticleboardsuchasmelaminesimolvcut
I to size.Whileinexoensive andeisierto
maintain,melaminedoorsneededge
I banding(pages48-49)to concealtheir
non-laminated edses.
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BOARD.AND-BATTEND OORS t
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T iketheirearlycolonialcounterparts, oftenmountedon smallercabinetsas I
L moderncabinetmakers seeking a overlaydoors.In somecases, thebattens
rusticor
"country"
look oftenturn to caninterferewith interiorshelving.One ,s
t
t
board-and-batten doors.Thesesimple thebattensin dadoes
solutionisto recess
but sturdydoorsconsistof rabbeted cut into thebackof thedoors.Another t
planksheld togetherby stripsor bat- more elaboratemethodof bracinga
tensofwood fastened acrosstheirbacks. board-and-batten dooristo rout a slid- t
Themostcommonof thesefeatures bat- thebackoftheboards.
ing dovetailacross
tensscrewed to thebackof the door in Routa matchingdovetailslidein thebat- I
theformof aZ;thediagonal battencon- tens,andsecure themin placewith a sin- )
nectingthe two horizontalbattensat glescrewin thecenterofthe door. I
the too and bottom actsasa braceto
strenghenthedoorandpreventsagging. I
Becausetheyaresolidpaneldoorsand Combiningrusticstrengthandcharm,
will swelland shrink with changesin board-and-batten doorsareidealfor
J
e*t I
humidity,board-and-batten doorsare smallcupboards in a countrykitchen. b
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JOINTS DOORS
INBOARD.AND.BATTEN
USED t
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thiplap Chamfered ahiplap t
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Beaded ahiplap Double-beadedahiplap
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60 I
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I DOORS

T
I MAKING
A BOARD-AND-BATTEN
D()()R
'l
Cutting therabbets
I I I n s t a lal d a d oh e a dh a l fa s w i d ea s
t h e s t o c kt h i c k n e sos n y o u rt a b l es a w .
I A t t a c ha n a u x i l i a rwy o o df e n c ea n d r a i s e
t h e b l a d e tso c u t a n o t c hi n i t , t h e ns e tt h e
I c u t t i n gh e i g h t - a g a i no n e - h a ltfh e t h i c k -
n e s so f t h e b o a r d sT. o s e c u r et h e w o r k -
I p i e c e ,c l a m pt w o f e a t h e r b o a r d a sn d a
s u p p o r tb o a r dt o t h e t a b l ea s s h o w n .
I U s i n ga p u s hs t i c k ,f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t o
t h e b l a d e st,h e nf l i p t h e b o a r do v e ra n d
I repeatthe cut alongthe otheredge(left).
T o a l l o wf o r w o o dm o v e m e n tc,r e a t ea
t s l i g h te x p a n s i ogna p b e t w e e n the boards
a t t h e b a c ko f t h e d o o rb y r u n n i n go n e
I e d g eo f e a c hb o a r da c r o s tsh e j o i n t e r .

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t r) Assembling thedool
L C l a n pt h e d o o rt o g e t h ear n d p l a c ei t i n s i d e - f a cuep o n a p l a c e sw h e r et h e s c r e ww i l l j o i nt h e b a t t e nt o a n o u t s i d ed o o r
I w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e nc u t t w o b a t t e n ss l i g h t l ys h o r t e trh a nt h e b o a r dT. h e n ,h o l d i n gt h e b a t t e ns q u a r et o t h e e d g eo f t h e d o o r ,
w i d t ho f t h e d o o ra n d n a r r o w et h r a nt h e d o o rb o a r d sP. o s i t i o n drivein eachscrew(above,left).Cuta third battento fit diago
I the two piecesof woodacrossthe top and bottomof the assem- n a l l yb e t w e e tnh e t w o a l r e a d yi n p l a c ea n d s c r e wi t i n t o p o s i -
b l ya s s h o w nT. h e nf i t a n e l e c t r i dc r i l l w i t ha c o m b i n a t i obni t t i o n .T o c o n c e atlh e s c r e w sa, p p l ya d a bo f g l u et o t h e i rh e a d s ,
I a n d c o u n t e r b o rheo l e sf o r s c r e w sa n dw o o dp l u g sa t 2 - i n c h t h e ni n s e r nt l r r c si n t h e h o l e sT. a nt h e n l r r s si n o l a c ew i t ha
i n t e r v a las l o n gt h e b a t t e n sa, l t e r n a t i nbge t w e e tnh e t o p a n d woodenmallelhbove,right),then usea chiselto trim the pro-
I b o t t o mo f e a c hb o a r d .M a k ec l e a r a n cheo l e se x c e o ti n t h e l e c t i n gs t u b sf l u s hw i t ht h e d o o rs u r f a c e .

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DOORS
FRAME-AND-PANEL I
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p leasing to theeyeandstructurally swelling andshrinkingof woodbrought andglazingbars(page70).Thetop rail I
.L sound,theframe-and-panel dooris on by changes in humiditybetterthan of theframecanevenbearchedto soft-
the mostenduringand popularof all anyothersolid-wooddoor.Theflexi- entherectangular linesofthedoorsand I
cabinetdoor designs. Because its panel bility of its designallowsfor a widevari- adda touchofelegance (pnge67).
floatsin a rigid frameof railsandstiles, etyofattractiveoptions,suchasveneered The framederivesits considerable I
a frame-and-panel doorwithstands the panels(page68),glassdoors(page69), strengthfromthejoinerymethodsused
Thissectioncovers
in its construction. I
buildinga frame-and-panel doorusing
mortise-and-tenon joinerywith inte- I
gratedmolding (page63)andcope-and-
stickjoints (page66).Beforestartingto I
builda frame-and-panel door,however,
takecareto sizethestockproperly.Make I
thestilesequaltotheheightof thedoor
opening;the railsshouldbe aslongas I
thewidthof thedoorplusthetrvotenons
at eitherend-typicallyaboutZ inch- I
minusthewidth of thestiles.
I
Depending oppearance
on thedesirecl I
of afrane-and-panel door,thepan-
el'sinsideedgescanbentoldedtoJit I
in thegroovesof thef'arneor beveled
"raise"thecertter
onfour sidesto I
of thepanel.Irrthephotoat left,a
panelis beingraisedwith an ogee t
panel-raisirtgbiton a routertable.
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RAISED
PANET
STYTES t
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62 I
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T
I MAKING
A FRAME.AND-PANEL
DOOR

I 1 Cutting thetenoncheeks
I Install a dadoheadslightly widerthan
thetenonlengthonyourtablesaw.Attach
I andnotchanauxiliary fence, thensetthe
w i d t ho f c u te q u atlo t h el e n g t h
ofthe
I tenonto sawthetenoncheeks; adjust the
cutting height to about one-third thethick-
I nessof thestock.Butting therailagainst
thefenceandthemitergauge, feedthe
I stockfacedownintotheblades. Turnthe
railoverandrepeat thecutontheother
T sideof thetenon.Thenrepeat theprocess
at the opposite endof the rail (left)and
I wtththesecond rail.
I
r) Gutting thetenonshoulders
I L to cutthetenonshoulders, setthe
height of thedadoheadat about%inch.
T S t a n d i nt gh er a i lo n e d g ef l u s ha g a i n s t
t h ef e n c ea n dm i t e rg a u g ef,e e dt h e
t workpiece intotheblades. Turntherail
overandrepeaton the othersideof the
T t e n o nC . u tt h et e n o ns h o u l d ear st t h e
o p p o s i teen do f t h e r a i lt h es a m ew a y Tenon
T (right).Repeat the process withthesec- ehoulder
ondrail.Toaddintegrated molding, f it a
I r o u t ewr i t ht h ea p p r o p r i abt iet ,m o u n t
t h et o o li n a r o u t etra b l ea n dc u t a l o n g
I theinside edges of therailsandstiles.
I
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therailsforglueup
Preparing
T R e m o vteh e a u x i l i a rfye n c ea n dd a d o
h e a dI.n s t a al l c o m b i n a t ibolna d e and
I adjustitsangleto 45".Tosetthewidth
of cut,marka lineonthemolded edgeof
I a railthesamedistance fromthetenon
s h o u l d ae srt h em o l d i nwgi d t hA. l i g nt h e
I markwiththeblade whereit exitsthetable
opening, thenbuttthefenceagainst the
I rail.Adjust theblade height untilonetooth
protrudes justbeyond thetenonshoulder.
I Tomakethecuts,butttherailagainst the
fenceandholdit flushagainst themiter
I gauge to feedit molded-edge downintothe
blade. Repeat to cuttheotherendof the
I rail(left)andbothendsof thesecond rail.

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I 63

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DOORS I
I
thestiles
Preparing T
M a r ka l i n eo n t h e m o l d e de d g eo f
eachstilethewidthof a railawayfrom t
theendof theboard. Withthetablesaw
b l a d ea n g l e ad t 4 5 ' , a l i g nt h ec u t t i n g I
edgewiththemarkandcut intothemold-
ededge; adjust thecuttingheight sothe I
cutf inishes at thepointwhere themold-
ingendsandthefaceof thestilebegins. I
Next,sliceoffthestripof molding between
the45' cutandtheendof thestilewith I
a bandsaw?iehil.
I
I
f, Smoothing thecut edge I
r , f O nt h e t a b l es a w ,a d j u s t h e r i p f e n c e
s o t h e b l a d el i n e su p w i t ht h e b e g i n n i n g I
o f t h e c u t y o u m a d ei n s t e p1 w h e nt h e
s t i l ei s b u t t e da g a i n stth e f e n c e .H o l dt h e I
s t i l ef l u s ha g a i n stth e m i t e rg a u g eS . lide
t h e s t o c kb a c ka n df o r t ha l o n gt h e m i t e r I
gaugeto smooththe cut edge(lefil.
T
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themortises
trl Cutting
L.f Cutthemortises in thestilesona drill I
pressusinga commercial mortisingattach-
ment.Aligna rail
with each stileand mark I
theoutlineofthe mortises. Install
a mor-
tisingattachmentonyourdrillpress and I
clampthestileto the fence, centeringthe
mortise
outlineunder thechisel and bit. t
depthslightly
Setthedrilling deeper than
thetenonlength,thenmake a cutat each I
endof the mortise before boring the
out
wastein belween (right). I
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64 I
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I DOORS

I
I I Cutting
grooves forthepanel
Three-wing alot- / Assemble therailsandstiles. Then,
I tinq cutter protecting thestockwithwoodpads,use
twobarclamps to holdtheframetogether
I securely. Fita router witha %-inch three-
wingslotting cutterandmountthetoolin
t a routertable.Remove thefenceandset
theframeonthetable.Adjust thecutter
I height to placethegroove midway between
the bottomof theframeandtheedgeof
I t h em o l d i n gG.r i p p l nt h
g eb a rc l a m p s
f irmly,butttheinsideedgeof theframe
I a g a i n st h
t eb i t n e a o
r n ec o r n e rt ,h e n
rotateit against thedirection of bit rota-
T tionto cutthegroove alongtherailsand
stiles(/eff,). Keeptheframef lat on the
I tableasyoufeedit intothe bit. Raise a
panelto f it theframe(photo,page62),
I thendisassemble theframe.

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I Gluing upthedoor
Glueupa panel from%-inch{hick solidstockandcutit to anyglueto thepanel grooves. Then,assemble thedoorandset
I % i n c ht o e a c hs i d et o a l l o wt h ep a n etlo f i t t h e
s i z ea; d d i n g ontwobarclamps ona worksurface, aligning therailswiththe
groove in theframe.Thenrouttheedges of the panelto pro- barsof theclamps. Tokeeptheclamps fromfalling over,prop
I ducethe raisedcenter,asshownin the photoon page62. eachoneon a notched woodblock.Protecting theframewith
Makesuccessive passes untiltheedgeof thepanelfits intothe woodpads, tighten theclamps justenough to fullyclosethe
I groove in theframe.To reduce tearout, routthetopandbottom joints(abovd,thenusea square to checkwhether thecorners
edgesbefore routing thesides.Squeeze someglueintothe o f t h ed o o a
r r ea t r i g h a
t n g l e sF.i n i s thi g h t e n i nt hgec l a m p s
t mortises in thestilesandonthetenoncheeks andshoulders at untilthegluesqueezes outof thejoints, checking occasionally
theendsof therails;alsoapplysomeadhesive onthecontact- thatthecorners remain square. 0ncethegluehasdried,usea
I ingsurfaces of themitercutsin therailsandstiles. Donotadd cabinet scraper to remove anyremaining adhesive.

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DOORS T
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JOINERY
C()PE.AND-STICK I
1 Cutting tongues in therails
I Thecope-and-stick jointprovides a I
method of joining stiles andrailsin frame-
a n d - p a nceol n s t r u c t i o Tno.n g u ei n
st h e t
railsmeshwithgrooves in thestiles; the
routerbit thatcutsthegrooves forthe I
panelalsocarves a decorative molding in
theinside edges of theframe. Tocutthe I
tongues, install a piloted coping bit-the
r a i lc u t t e r - i ny o u rr o u t ear n dm o u n t I
t h et o o li n a t a b l e B . u t tt h ee n do f a
r a i la g a i n st ht eb i ta n da d j u stth ed e p t h t
of cut sothatthetopof the uppermost
c u t t e irs s l i g h t layb o v teh ew o r k p i e c e . I
Position thefenceoarallel to themiter
,,/ \ /y -/ gauge slotin linewiththeedgeof thebit I
p i l o tF. i tt h em i t e rg a u g w e i t ha n e x t e n -
sionandlaytheoutside faceof thestock I
f l a to nt h et a b l ek; e e pt h ee n d so f t h e
workpiece andextension buttedagainst I
the fencethroughout eachcut (left),
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r') Cutting thegrooves
L Unplucthe routerandreplace the I
c o p i n gb i t w i t ha p i l o t e d
s t i c k i n bg i t -
a l s ok n o w n a sa s t i l ec u t t e rT. os e tt h e I
cuitingdepth,butttheendof a complet-
ed railagainst thestilecutter; adjust the I
height of thebit untiloneof itscutters is
levelwiththerailtongue(inset). Alignthe I
fencewiththeedgeof thepilotbearing.
Usetwofeatherboards to secure thework- I
pieceduring thecut:Clamp oneto the
router tableoooosite thebitandsecure I
theotherontheinfeed sideof thefence.
Makeeachcutwiththestockoutside-face I
down, pressing theinside edgeof thework-
pieceagainst thefence(rtght). Usea push I
stickto complete thepass.Repeat onthe
inside edees of allrailsandstiles. I
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66 I
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t DOORS

I
I RAISING
ANARCHED
PANEL

I 1 Raising thearch
I B a n d s atw h ep a n etlo s i z ea, d d i n g
%inchoneachsideto allowtheoanel to
I fit thegroove in theframe.Install a panel-
raising bit in yourrouter andmountihe
I toolin a table,setting it fora shallow cut.
Clampa free-standing bit guardto the
I t a b l ea, n da g u i d ee x t e n d i nf rgo mt h e
infeedendof thetableto thebit'soilot
I bearing. (Donotusea fenceforthisoper-
ation,asyouwillneedto pivotthepanel
I beyond thebit.)Usingtheguideasa pivot
point(right),pivotoneend of the arch
I i n t ot h e b i t a n ds t a r tr o u t i n tgh ea r c h ,
k e e p i ntgh e p a n efll u s hw i t ht h e p i l o t
I bearing throughout thecut.Makeseveral
passes onthearch,raising thebit %inch
I at a timeuntilthepanelf itsthegroove
in theframe.
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Raising thesides
I T o r a i s et h es i d e sa n de n do f t h e
panel,usethesamesetupor remove the
I guideandbitguardandinstall a fenceon
yourrouter table.Lower thebitto a shallow
r c u t t i n dg e p t hT. h e nh, o l d i ntgh ep a n e l
f latonthetable,feedit intothe bit with
I yourrighthandandpressit flatagainst
theguidewithyourlefl (left).Repeat for
I theothersideandtheendof theoanel.
Makeas manypasses as necessary for
I thepanelto f it in thegrooves in theframe,
raising thebit %inchat a timeandtest-
I ingbetween passes. Thenglueup the
doorasyouwoulda regular frame-and-
I panelassembly (page65, step8).

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DOORS I
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VEENERED-PANEL
D()()R I
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Preparing theframepieces
I R r pt h ef o u rf r a m ep i e c e tso w r d t ht,h e nc r o s s c ut ht e ms l i g h t l y
I
l o n g etrh a nt h e i rf i n i s h e dl e n g t hF . i t a r o u t ew r i t ha d e c o r a t i v e
m o l d i n gb i t , i n s t a ltlh e t o o li n a r o u t e tra b l e ,a n d r o u tt h e o u t -
I
s i d ee d g eo f e a c hf r a m ep i e c e .N e x t ,c u t a r a b b e ti n t h e b a c k
f a c eo f e a c ho f f r a m ep i e c e S . e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o e q u a tl h e
I
t h i c k n e sosf t h e p a n e lt;h e w i d t hs h o u l db e o n e - h a tl h f es t o c k
t h i c k n e s sC. l a m pf e a t h e r b o a r dt ost h e s a wt a b l et o s u p p o rtth e
I
w o r k p i e c eI n
. sera t s h i mb e t w e e n t h e v e r t i c afle a t h e r b o a a
r dn d
the fenceto keepthe pressure off the rabbetedpartof the stock.
I
Feedthe workpiece face up intothe dadoheadtight). CUIthe
f r a m ep i e c e st o s i z e .m a k i n g4 5 " m i t e rc u t sa t e a c he n d .D r y -
I
a s s e m b lteh e f r a m e t, h e nc u t t h e p a n etl o f i t i t . M a r kt h e p a n e l
e d g e sa n dt h e i rm a t i n gf r a m ep i e c e tso h e l py o uc o r r e c t lays s e m -
I
b l et h e d o o ra t t h et i m eo f g l u eu p .
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r) Cutting slotsintheframes
biscuit
. a ^
C - C u tt h e p a n e tl o s i z ea n d m a r ka l i n ea c r o s tsh e p a n e al n d Assembling
thedoor I
f r a m ep i e c e as b o u 4t i n c h e sf r o me a c he d g ea n d a t 6 - i n c h O n c ea l l t h e s l o t sh a v eb e e nc u t , g l u eu p t h e d o o r .S e tt h e
i n t e r v a lisn b e t w e e nD. i s a s s e m bt hl ee d o o ra n dc l a m po n e f r a m eo i e c e sa n dt h e o a n e fl a c e - d o wonn a c l e a nw o r ks u r f a c e I
f r a m ep i e c et o a w o r ks u r f a c ep, r o t e c t i ntgh e s t o c kw i t hw o o d a n ds q u e e zgel u ei n t oe a c hs l o t ,i n s e r t i nbgi s c u i tas sy o ug o .
n:dc Qpi tho nrnnor don+L ^{ ^ ^ '+ ^- ^ ^l^+^ ;^incr ihon qpi
V u u J , r u L L r r uV r u p u r u u p L I l U l d L U L U l l d p l d L Uj u l , . - , . . . , - , , - - . T o p r e v e nt th e b i s c u i t fsr o me x p a n d i nbge f o r e v e r y t h i ni sg p u t I
t h e t o o l ' sb a s ep l a t eo n t h e b o t t o mo f t h e r a b b e itn t h e f r a m e t o g e t h e ra,s s e m b lteh e d o o r sa s q u i c k l ya s p o s s i b l ef i,t t i n gt h e
pieceS . e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h st o t h e s l o t sw i l l b e m a d ei n t h e framepiecesto the panel(above), Setthe dooron two barclamps I
m i d d l eo f t h e r a b b e t e p d o r t i o no f t h e f r a m e a , s s h o w nb y t h e o n a w o r ks u r f a c eW . i t hw o o dp a d sp r o t e c t i ntgh e f r a m e ,t i g h t -
r e dd o t t e dl i n e i n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o n W. i t ha s u p p o rbt o a r du n d e r e n t h ec l a m p sj u s te n o u g tho c l o s et h ej o i n t sI.n s t a l l t w m o ore I
t h e j o i n e rt o k e e pl t l e v e l a, l i g nt h e g u i d e l i noen t h e t o o l c l a m p sa, c r o s tsh e t o p o f t h e d o o r ,p l a c i n gt h e mp e r p e n d i c u l a r
w i t ha s l o t l o c a t i o m n a r k .H o l d i n g t h el o i n e w r i t h b o t hh a n d s , t o t h e f i r s tt w o .F i n i s ht i g h t e n i n ug n t i l g l u es q u e e z eosu t o f I
cut a grooveat eachmark(abovd.Repeatfor the otherframe thejoints0 . n c et h e a d h e s i vhea sd r i e d ,r e m o v e a n ye x c e s s
. . :.t*i n. .o, .col n t c ,i n t h p n : n p l t.h, p, -s a m ew a y .
n i p c p q i h p n r ^ r r i.h. p. -m w i t h a c a b i n est c r a o e r . t
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I DOORS

I
t GLASS-PANEL
D()()R
I 1l Cuttins
-
a rabbet
around
the
I i n s i d eo f a d o o rf r a m e
I Makeandglueup a frameas youwouldfor
a frame-and-panel door(page63). Using
I a wood pad for protection, clampthe frame
t o a w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e ni n s t a l la % - i n c h
I r a b b e t i nbgi t i n a r o u t e a
r n ds e tt h ed e p t h
o f c u t t o t h e c o m b i n e d e p t ho f t h e m o l d -
I i" n
' bo :" "n- d thp nano nf ol:cc vnrr intond in

i n s t a l il n t h e f r a m e .H o l dt h e t o o lf i r m l y
I w r t hb o t hh a n d sw h i l er e s t i n g thebase-
p l a t eo n t h e f r a m en e a ro n ec o r n e rt,h e n
I t u r no n t h e r o u t ear n dg u i d et h e b i t i n t o
the insideedgeof the door.Movethe router
I clockwise alongthe edges?ight)untilthe
c u t i s c o m o l e t e dS. o u a r e t h e c o r n e rw s ith
I a woodenmalletanda woodchiselbelow).
M a k et h e c u t sa g a i n stth e g r a i nf i r s tt o
I a v o i ds p l i t t i n tgh ef r a m e .

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I O Fittingtheglass
I t o h o l dt h eg l a s si n t h ef r a m e m . ake
t g l a s s - s t ompo l d i n gb y r o u t i n ga d e c o r a t i v e
pdoe in pithpr sidp nf : l n n o n i p ep n f c n l .
I i d s t o c kR . i pt h e m o l d i n tgo w i d t h t, h e n
m i t e rf o r r nr r e c etsn f i t i h e f r a m eS e tt h e
I frameandtheglasson a worksurface, then
p l a c et h e m o l d i n g i n p o s i t i o nB.o r ea p i l o t
I h o l ee v e r y2 i n c h e su s i n ga n e l e c t r idc r i l l
f i t t e dw i t ha s m a l fl i n i s h i nnga i lw i t ht h e
I h e a ds n i p p e do f f . D r i v et h e b r a d si n p l a c e
u s i n ge i t h e ra h a m m eor r a b r a dd r i v e r
I (photo,page57). Whenusinga hammer,
h o l dt h e m o l d i n g f l u s ha g a i n stth e f r a m e
I o f t h ed o o rs; l i d et h e h a m m ear l o n gt h e
s r r r f a coef a n i e c eo f c a r d b o a rtdo a v o i d
I breakingthe glass(/eff).

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oi\{r_. I
Ifyou prefer the look ofsntallerpanesofglassrather
thatr one largersinglepane in yotn'dooryotr can choose
Q'-- I
to makeglnzingbars.The moldedstripsarejoined with \. ,\t"n-
\-
miteredhalf-laps.Rabbetsare cut along the backedgesof 't'a I
the barsto acconmtodate panesof glassand glass-stop
molding. The endsof the barscan bejoined to the outer I
rnilsend stileswith dowelsor cope-and-stickjoints.
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MAKING
A GLAZING
BARD()OR
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M o l d i n tgh eg l a z i n g bars
I T h ej o i n t r s m a d ei n t h r e es t a g e sS: t a r tb y c u t t i n gt h e p r o p - t i o nw i t ht h r e ef e a t h e r b o a r dCsl :a m po n et o t h e t a b l eo p p o s i t e I
e r p r o f i l ei n t h e g l a z i n gb a r s ,a s s h o w na b o v en; e x t ,c u t r a b - t h e b i t a n dt w ot o t h e f e n c eo n e a c hs i d eo f t h e c u t t e r .( l n t h e
b e t si n t ot h e o p p o s i t sei d e so f t h e b a r st o h o l dt h e g l a s sa n d i l l u s t r a t i o tnh, e f e a t h e r b o aor dn t h e o u t f e e ds i d eo f t h e f e n c e I
m o l d i n gs t r i p s( s t e p2 ) ; I i n a l l y ,p r o d u c et h e m i t e r e dh a l f - l a p h a sb e e nr e m o v efdo r c l a r i t y )F. e e dt h e b a ri n t ot h e b i t u n t i l
(sfeps3 to 5). Forthe first stage,installa pilotedroundover bit y o u rf i n g e r sa p p r o a cthh e c u t t e r t, h e n u s et h e n e x tp i e c ea s a I
i n a r o u t e rm , o u n t h e t o o l i n a t a b l e ,a n da l i g nt h e f e n c ew i t h p u s hs t i c ko r m o v et o t h e o t h e rs i d eo f t h e t a b l ea n d p u l lt h e
t h e b i t ' sp i l o tb e a r i n gT. h es t o c ks h o u l db e w i d ee n o u g hs o t h a t w o r k p i e cteh r o u g ht h e c u t . R e p e atth e p a s so n t h e o t h e rs i d e I
making a p a s so n e a c hs i d eo f t h e b a rw i l l l e a v ea % - i n c h - w i d e o f t h e b a r ( a b o v e P ) . r e p a raen e x t r ab a rt o h e l ps e t u p t h e c u t
l i p b e t w e etnh e c u t s .S u p p o rtth e w o r k p i e cdeu r i n gt h e o p e r a - i n s t e p3 . I
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t r) Cutting rabbets fortheglasspanes
I lnstalla dadoheadonyourtablesawslightly widerthanthe
I desired rabbets. Thetongue remaining aftertherabbets arecut
shoulm d easu% r ei n c hw i d e I. n s t a al l w o o d eanu x i l i a frey n c e
I andmarktherabbetdepthon it-the combined thickness of
theglass andthemolding strip.Position theauxiliary fenceover
I thedadoheadandraisethe blades to notchthefenceto the
height of themarked line.Turnoffthesawandmarkthewidth
I of therabbets ontheleading endof theglazing bar.Buttone
o f t h em a r k as g a i n st ht eo u t e b
r l a d eo f t h ed a d oh e a dt,h e n
I position thefenceflushagainst thebar.Usethreefeatherboards
to support thepieceas in step1, addinga support boardto
I provide extrapressure to thefeatherboard clamped to thetable.
(Again in thisillustration, thefeatherboard ontheoutfeed side
I of thetablehasbeenremoved forclarity.) Feedthebarsbyhand
(left)unlilyourfingers approach thefeatherboards, thenusethe
t nextworkpiece to finishthepass. Complete thecutonthefinal
workpiece bypulling it fromtheoutfeed sideof thetable.
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t Q Making themitercuts
r-,1 Remove thedadoheadandinstalla crosscut blade. Adjust b a rf l a ta g a i n st h
t e m i t e re x t e n s i oann da l i g no n eo f t h e
I thebladeangleto 45" andattacha mitergauge extension. To marks withtheblade.Butta stopblockagainst theendof
s e tt h eb l a d eh e i g h th, o l dt h ee x t r ag l a z i nbga ro nt h es a w thestockandclampit to theextension forsubsequent cuts.
I tablesothetongue youcut in step2 isflushagainst theexten- Clamptheworkpiece to theextension andfeedthe glazing
sion.Thetopof thebladeshouldbe levelwiththe lowerside b a ri n t ot h eb l a d ew h i l eh o l d i n igt f i r m l yi n p l a c eR
. otate
I of the lip (inset). Thenmarkthemitercutson bothsidesof thepieceandmakethesamecutontheothersideof theV.
t h eb a r sa; t t h e i rw i d e spt o i n t st ,h eV ss h o u l db et h es a m e Repeat theprocess to cuttheV ontheopposite sideof the
t widthasthestock.To makethecut,holdthetongue of the bar (above).

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Cleaning theV-cuts I
O n c ea l l t h e m i t e rc u t sh a v eb e e n
made,usea narrow chiselto pareaway I
t h ew a s t eT. h ew i d t ho f t h ec h a n n ealt
t h eb o t t o m
o f t h eV s h o u l de o u atlh e I
widthof thelip.Holding thechiselbevel-
sideup, pareawaythewaste(right)until I
the bottom of theV is smooth andf lat.
Workcarefullv to avoidtearout. I
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f, Cutting thehalf-laps I
r . , l R e i n s t at lhl ed a d oh e a di n y o u rt a b l es a wa n da d j u sitt b a rf l u s ha g a i n st ht em i t e rg a u g e x t e n s i oKn e. e pt h ew o r k -
t o t h ew i d t ho f t h e b a r ' sl i p .S e tt h ec u t t i n gd e p t ht o o n e - p i e c ef l a to n t h es a wt a b l ea n df l u s ha g a i n st th ee x t e n s i o n I
h a l ft h es t o c kt h i c k n e sY s ,o uw i l l n e e dt o s a wa h a l f - l a ipn asyoucut the half-laps (above). Usedowels or copingcuts
thebottom of oneglazing bar,thenmakean identical cut in (page66) to securethe glazingbarsto a frame-and-panel I
t h et o po f t h em a t i n gp i e c eS. e tu p t h ec u t b ya l i g n i ntgh e d o o rt,h e ni n s t a lgl l a s sp a n e as sy o uw o u l df o ra g l a s s - p a n e l
m i d d lo e f t h eV - c uw t i t ht h ed a d oh e a dw, h i l eh o l d i ntgh e door(page69). I
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72 I
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I MOUNTINGDOORS
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t fr hoosingtheappropriate hingesfor hingeshavebecomewidespread in the
*-L yourkitchencabinetdoorsdepends homebuildingindustry.Availablefor
I primarilyuponthestyleof cabinets you bothEuropean-style andfaceframecab-
arebuilding.Surface-mounted hinges, inets,cuphingescomewith a varietyof
t thoughlimitedin termsof weightcapac- mountingplatesthatallowtheinstaller
ity andeaseof adjustment, areidealfor to controltheamountof overlay.
I antiqueor rusticcabinets. Butthinges Beforeinstallinganyhinge,readthe
(page76),available in iron or brass,are manufacturer's instructionsregarding
I commonlyused on flush-mounted placement. If youareworkingwith fine,
doorsandsit in shallowmortises cut delicate woods,tapthestockfor machine
I into the door and case.Long,narrow screwsafterdrillingpilot holesto reduce
cabinets oftenrequirepianohingesfor thechance of splitting.A spotof gluein
I strenghandproperweightdistribution. theholewill improvetheholdingabil-
Tilt-out hinges(pnge77) arepractical ity of thefastener.
I for turningfalsedrawerfiontsinto small,
handystorage units.
I \Ahenstyleis not an issue,andeaseof Locatingdoorknobs neednot involve
installationandadjustability aremore tediousmeasurement frontdoorto door.
t important,European-type cup hinges, Thesimplejig showrtin thephotoat
or 32-millimeterhinges,(pnge74) are right,madefront a pieceofplywoodand
I an idealchoice.Fullyconcealed, strong, twolipscutfrom solidstock,
Iocatesknobs
andsimpleto adjustoncein place,cup in exnctlythesarnespotot'teachdoor.
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I ()FDO()R
A SETECTI()N HINGES
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Piano hinge
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MOUNTING
ANOVERLAY
D()()R t
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Drillinh g o l e sf o rh i n g e s I
I D r i l tl h e h o l e sf o r E u r o p e acnu p h i n g e s
w i t ha c o m m e r c idarli l l i n jgi g a n dg u i d eo, r I
m a k ey o u ro w nj i g b y i n s t a l l i nagp l y w o o d
f e n c ea n db a c k u pb o a r do n y o u rd r i l lp r e s s . I
F i tt h ed r i l lw i t ha 3 5 - m i l l i m e t F eo r rstner
b r t ,a n ds c r e wt h ef e n c ea n db a c k u pb o a r d
t o g e t h ear s s h o w nF . o l l o wt h e h i n g em a n -
r
u f a c t u r e r 'i n
s s t r u c t i o nrse g a ridn g r e c o m - I
m e n d e db o r i n gd e p t ha n dd i s t a n c e from
ihp pdsp nf ihp dnnr' rrqo : nionp nf snr:n
I
w o o dt o p r o p e r lpyo s i t i o tnh e j i g .C l a m p
t h e 1 i gt o t h e d r r l lp r e s st a b l e ,a n d m a r k I
t h e c e n t e r l i noef t h e h o l eo n t h e f e n c e .
N e x t ,m a r kt h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e h i n g e so n I
t h e d o o r sd; e p e n d i nogn t h e s i z eo f t h e
d o o ry o ua r ew o r k i n g w i t h .h i n g e sc a n b e I
installea d n y w h e rfer o m3 t o 6 i n c h e s
f r o me i t h e re n do f t h e d o o r ;m a r ka s i m i l a r I
c e n t e r l i noen t h e f e n c e .L a yt h e d o o rf a c e
d o w no n t h e d r i l lp r e s st a b l ea n d b u t t i t I
a g a i n st ht ef e n c ea, l i g n i nag h i n g em a r k
w i t ht h e c e n t e r l i n eH. o l dt h e d o o rs t e a d y I
a n d d r i l lt h e h o l e( / e f f ) S . l i d et h e d o o r
a l o n gl,i n eu p t h es e c o n h d i n g em a r kw i t h I
t h ec e n t e r l i n ae n, dd r i l lt h e s e c o n d hole.
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r) Installing the hinges
L t o w o r kc o m f o r t a b l p y ,l a c et h e d o o r I
f a c ed o w no n a w o r ks u r f a c eW . r t ht h e
mounting p l a t ea t t a c h e tdo t h e h i n g ea r m , t
f i t t h e b o d yo f t h e h i n g ei n t h e h o l ey o u
d r i l l e di n s t e p1 . T h e n ,m a k i n gs u r et h a t I
t h e h i n g ea r m i s p e r f e c t lpye r p e n d i c u l a r
tn ihp odop nf ihp dnnr f:qtpn ihc hinop I
i n p l a c ew i t h t h e s c r e w sp r o v i d e db y t h e
manulaclurer(risht). I
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I DOORS

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I Installing
themounting plate
Withthemounting platestillattachedto thehinge, align
I thedoorwiththecabinetasshown, andextendthehinge armsto
buttthe mounting plateagainst thepanel.Making surethat Hanging thedoor
I theadjustmentscrewsonthemounting platearein mid-position, Slidethehingearmsontothemounting plateuntilthey
marka referenceline,unscrew themounting platefromthe (above),
clickintoposition thenscrewthemtogether.
Close the
I hingearms,andfastenit to thecabinetside(above).Thisneed doorandcheckitsposition.Adjust
theheight,
depth,
or lateral
precise; position
r notbeoverly
(step4).
installation
the hingecaneasilybeadjusted after of thedoorbyloosening
adjustment screws
ortightening
theappropriate
onthehingearmsandmounting plate.

I
INSTATTING
EUR()PEAN-STYIE
FACEFRAME
HINGES
I
Installing
thehinge
I European-stylehinges arealsoavailable
forfaceframecabinets, thepredominant
I cabinetstylein NorthAmerican kitchens.
Install
thehinges to thedoors in thesame
t manner youwouldan overlay door,but
fastenthe mounting plateto the inside
I edgeof thefaceframe(left).

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I 75

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INSTALLING
A FLUSH.MOUNTED
DOOR t
'l Routing hingemoftises
I Toroutthemortises forbutthinges on
I
a f lush-mounted
mortising
door,firstmakea hinge
jie (inset). Drawa centerline
I
across thewidthof a pieceof %-inch t
plywood andcentera hrngeleafonthe
board's edge.Tracethe profileof the I
hardware onthetemplate. Next,install a
straight-cutting bit in a router andrestthe I
bitontheleftedgeof thehinge outline.
Makea markat theIeftsideof therouter I
baseplate.Repeat theprocedure at the
rightandinside edges oftheoutline. Use
profile
I
a square to complete thetemplate
andcut it outona bandsaw.Nowposition I
thehingeonthecabinet sideandmeasure
thedistance fromthebottom of thecabi- I
netto themidpoint of thehinge.Measure
thesamedistance fromthecenterline I
of thetemplate to eitherendof thejig
a n dt r i m i t t o l e n g t hF. i n a l l yc,u tt w o I
smallblocks forliosandnailthemto the
frontof yourtemplate. To usethejig, I
olacethecabinet on itssideon a work
surface, thensettherouter's depthof cut I
to thethickness of the hingeleaf.Butt
thetemplate against the bottomof the I
cabinet andclampbothin place. Using
thetemplate asa guide,routthe mor- I
Iise (above,right).BuIt the template
against thetopof thecabinet andrepeat I
thecut.Usea chiselto square thecorners.
I
I
r) Hanging thedoor
L to cut matingmortises in theedgeof I
thedoor,secure theworkpiece in
edge-up
a vise.Markthehingeoutlines ontheedge I
of thedoortransferring theirlocationfrom
thecabinet side;makesurethehingepin I
projectsovertheedge. Clamp anedgeguide
to thefaceof thedoorto orovide a wider I
bearingsurface fortherouter,thenroutthe
mortises. Next,shrmthedoorwitha piece I
of woodsothedooris levelwiththecabi-
net.Setthehingeleaves in themortisescut I
inthecabinet sides, andscrew thehardware
in placetighil. I
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76 I
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I DOORS

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I INSTALLING
A TILT-OUT
SINKTRAY

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1 Attaching thehinges
I I A tilt-out sinktrayisa handy space-
saving fixture forstoring soap, scouring
I pads,andsponges outof sightyetclose
at hand.To install thetray,f irstremove
I thefalsedrawer frontfromthecabinet
andplaceit ona worksurface. Follow
I themanufacturer's instructions to trace
t h eo p e n i nogf t h et r a yo nt h e i n s i d e
I of thedrawer front.Next,lineupa hinge
withtheedgeof theoutline andcenter
I it onthedrawer front,(When thehinge
i sc l o s e di t,w i l lb ei n t h em i d d l oe f t h e
I drawer face.)Holdthehinge to theout-
l i n ea n ds c r e wi t t o t h ed r a w ef r o n t .
I Repeat theprocess fortheotherhinge.

I
r) Re-attaching thedrawer front
I L Xtacnthetwoscrews thatholdthe
trayin placebefore installation. Then,mak-
I ingsureto spring themechanism of the
h i n g fei r s tl,i n eu pt h eh i n g ien t h em i d d l e
I of thedrawer frameandscrewtheentire
unitin place. Attach theotherhinge, and
I hangthetrayfromthetwoscrews,

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roperlyproportioned andwell-built 83).Otheroptions,likethelockmiter
I I drawers areanindispensable partof (page37),dado(page35),andthedou-
anykitchen.Likecabinetdoors,well- bledadoaresuitable alternatives.
I styleddrawerfrontscan contribute Kitchendrawers placetoughdemands
handsomely to the overalllook of a onthemountingmethodusedto secure
t kitchen.Yettheirappealing
thekitchen's mostabused
faceshide
elements: the
themto thecasework. Side-mounted
(page89)aredesigned
firll
extension sltdes to
I drawers themselves. Theirorganization withstand veryrigorous use,andarethe
andconstruction areofparamount impor- bestchoiceif your budgetpermits.
I tance,for avisuallystrikingkitchencan Bottom-mounted slides(page87)are
beafrustrating placeto workif itsdraw- notquiteasstrong,butarelessexpensive
I ersarehaphazardly locatedor jamevery andeasier to install.
timetheyareopened. Whenit comes to theappearance of
I Kitchendrawers mustbebuilt to last. akitchen,thefrontisthemostimportant
Theyareyanked openandslammed shut part of a drawer.Thedesignof your
I countless timesaday.Worse, drawers in DrawerscaninJluence lookandfeelof a drawerfrontswill helpsetthetonefor
thekitchenareoftenweighed downwith kitchen.With their moldededges
and thekitchen's style.Howwellthedrawers
I appliances andcrammed full of cutlery roundpulls,thebankof overlaydrawers areinstalled will alsoproveto bea last-
andutensils, soanyshortcutmadein in thekitchenshownabovespeaks of a ing testimonial to yourcraftsmanship.
I theirconstruction will eventually com- verytraditional,almostVictorian,style. It canbeatime-consuming taskto hang
promisetheirstrength andutility. adrawersoit restsperfectlystraightand
t Thischapter detailsthetechniques
strong,attractive, smoothly functioning
involved in building level,let aloneseveral banksof drawers in a cabinetrun.
drawers. Thecon- Applytnga falsefrontto thedrawer(page93)canreduce the
I structionguides onpages 80and81offeranoverview ofyour timespentfussingwithlevelsanddrawerslides.
joinery,mounting,andmaterials. experience,
Wth minimal
optionsfor drawerfaces, youcanquicklyandaccurately installfalsefronts
I Youreventual choicewill dependon yourexperience, shop onbothinsetandoverlay drawers. Evenif themounteddraw-
setup,andtimetable. Whenit comes to joinery,thereis little ersthemselves areslightlyuneven, theywill appear to behung
t question thatthestrongest joint isthethroughdovetail (page with theprecise eyeof a mastercabinetmaker.

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t
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r A bankof insetdrawersin aframeless cabinetlike theone
I shownat left allowslittle roomfor error.By installing
fakefronts,thedrawersneednot behungperfectly;thefalse
I frontscanthenbepositionedstraightand levelto thecase.

I 79

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 DRAWERCONSTRUCTION
INSETDRAWER DRAWER
OVERLAY I
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Alsohnwn as a llush-f'ont drawer,an ilset Arr overlaydrawerfenttn"es n sepnrote .fhlsa
dra;er fits entirelywithin itscabinet.To hide fi'ont screwedto the drawer.fi'ortt.A false.fitrtt I
the ud grain of the drawer sides,s raltbetcan is typicallylorgerthart its drawerc0tulterpart
be ctff irtto the bttckJaceof the drawerf'ont as so thnt it overlaystlrcfaceJi'nrrteof tlrc cobitrct. I
shownabove,or a falseJi'otttcan be ndcled.
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DRAWER
J()INTS
Throughdovetail
I
Veryotron4, deco-
rativejotnt eutLable I
for any drawercor'
ner; end qrain of
drawer aideecan be
t
concealedwtth falae Front/back
front. Ueedonly I
with eolid wood.
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Lock miter joint
I
AIao known aa a drawer lockjoint;
CommonlyueedLojoin drawer cut wtLh a epectal ehaper cul,Ler I
backeLo eidee;autLablefor solid or rouLerbtt. )uttable for aolid
wood.plywood.or melamirte. wood,plywood,and melamine. I
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Doubledado
Canbe uaed I
for all cornera
of a drawer;
conceal6ena
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gratn of etdee.
Front/back Suitableonly I
for eolid wood.
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I DRAWERS

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DRAWER
HANGING
METHODS
t Wooden runners
thop-made otripe of wood acrewed
I to ordepanelaof cabineteiL in groovee
cut in drawer etdee;drawer can be
t exLendedto about.% of ita length.

I
Eottom-mounted alidee
I CommercialmeLalahdee;runnero
screwed to the lowercorneraof the
I drawermate with tracke faetened
Lo cabinet eidee:drawer can be
t extendedabout% of ita len7f,h.

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I Commercialmetal alidee;runnero
aLtach Lo drawer eideand mate wiLh
I track mountedon cabinet atdee;exten-
sion mechaniamtn eomemodeleallows
I drawer to be fully exLended.

I
I MATERIALS
FORDRAWERS

r MATERIAT USES COMMENTS

I Solidwood Sides,backs,fronts,
falsefronts
U s ep i n eo r o t h e ri n e x p e n s iwv oe o df o rd r a w ecr a r -
case;savemoreattractive species forfalsefronts
t plywood
Cabinet-grade Sides,backs,
fronts,false Useplainsawn veneer forfalsefronts;trimedges of false
fronts,drawer
bottoms frontsandtopedges of drawer sideswithsolidwood
I banding (page48);use%"panels fordrawer bottoms
Melamine Sides,backs, fronts, false Trimall edges withlaminate edgebanding (page 49);
I fronts,bottoms use%"panels fordrawer bottoms
Medium
density
fiberboard S i d e sb, a c k sf,r o n t s , Easyto work,yetfairlyheavy for drawer construction;
I falsefronts mustbe painted orveneered

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DRAWERS I
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BANKSOFDRAWERS
PLANNING I
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t
t--;---l
t-;-l
t--:---l
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r-:---l I
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Two middle Threeupper Three lower
Graduated drawers of draweraof drawera of I
drawera equal height, equalheight equal height
I
Layingouta bankofdrawers I
Thereisonlyonegenerally ruleof thumbforplanning
accepted youlike.Onceyouhavedecided
kitchens ona layout,
markthe
drawerheights: shouldnever
a lowerdrawer besmallerthan location onthecabinet's
of thedrawers storypole(page 25).lf I
theoneabove. Thehumaneyeappreciatesorderin proportion; yourcabinetshavefaceframes, usethechartbelowto calcu-
placinglarger
drawers onesmakes
atopsmaller look
a cabinet latethesizeof thedrawerpieces.Forexample,thewidthof a I
top-heavy.
Otherwise, area matterof taste.Experiment
drawers drawersideto beusedwithbottom-mountedrunnersshouldbe
withthedesignsshown aboveortakemeasurements fromother %inchlessthantheheight opening,
of thedrawer I
I
DRAWER
CALCULATING DIMENSIONS
fromtheopening
theseamounts
Subtract dimensions depth.
orcabinet I
I
PTANNING ()FDRAWERS
BANKS HEIGHT WIDTH DEPTH
Sidemountedrunners I
Withflushfront '/ou %"+ thickness
of falsefront
1u
I
Withoverlappingfront Y4' I
Bottommountedrunners I
Withflushfront %' 1 % ' + thickness
of falsefront
Withoverlappingfront %' 1 %'
I
Wooden runners I
Withflushfront You YB' % ' + thickness
of falsefront
Withoverlapping
front YAu Ya' %' I
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t BUILDINGDRAWERS
I
t ]l rawerstendto takea lot of abuse, throughdovetail, canbecut on your
Ll sostrength isof utmostimportance tablesaw.Unfortunately,
neitherof these
I whenbuildingthem.A drawerthathas jointsworkswellin plywood,oneof the
beenstapled togethermaylookfine,and mostcommonkitchencabinetmateri-
I will evenworkwell-for awhile.Butin als.Forplywood,alockmiter(page 37)
a fewyearsit will startto loosen,sag, or dadojointcanbeused.
I andeventually fallapart.
Whendesigning for strengh,noth-
I ingtopsthethroughdovetail joint.Many
woodworkers remainintimidatedbythe A lockmiterjoint is an easywayto
I degree ofprecision needed to execute turn out perfectlyfining drawer
thisjoint properly,
yetcommercial router parts by thedozen.Thejoint fea-
I jigshaveplacedthisonce-exacting task turesidenticalcutsin theendof one
within reachof everycabinetmaker. If boardand thefaceof themating
T you do not havea router,thedouble- board.Thestepsfor makinga lock
dado,a joint almostasstrongasthe miterjoint areshownonpage37.
I
I CUTTING
THROUGH
DOVETAITS
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I Routingthrough joints
dovetail
Whenjoininga drawer withdovetailjoints, cutthepinsin the depthto slightly morethanthethickness of thedrawer front.
T frontandbackof the drawer, andthetailsin the sides.To Cutthetailsbyfeeding thetoolalongthetopof thetemplate
cut thedovetails
withthecommercial jig shownabove, screw andmoving the bit in andoutof thejig'sslols(above, left).
I thepin-andtail-board
templates to backup boards,
thensecure Keepthebit pilotpressed against thesidesof theslot.Repeat
oneof thedrawer sidesendup in a benchvise.Protecting the to routthetailsat theotherendof theboardandin theother
I stockwitha woodpad,clampthetailtemplate to thework- drawer side.Thenusethecompleted tailsto outline the oins
piecesotheunderside of thetemplate is buttedagainstthe onthedrawer frontandback.Secure eitheronein thevise,
I endof the board.Alsoclampa stopblockagainst oneedge c l a m pt h e p i n - b o a tr ed m p l a tteo t h e b o a r dw i t ht h es l o t s
of the drawersidesothetailsat the otherendwill match. aligned overtheoutline, andsecure thestopblockin place.
I Installa top-piloted
dovetailbit in the routerandsetthe Routthe pinswitha top-piloted straightbit (above, righil.

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DRAWERS I
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DADO
DOUBLE JOINTS I
1 Cuttins dadoes in thedrawer front
I M a r ko n ee n do f t h ed r a w efr o n t ,
T
d i v i d i nigt st h i c k n e si ns t ot h i r d sT. h e n ,
i n s t a lal d a d oh e a do n v o u rt a b l es a w .
I
adjusting itswidthto one{hird thethick-
nessof thedrawer front.Setthecutting
I
height equalto thethickness of thedrawer
s i d e sN . e x t i,n s t a lal t e n o n i nj gi g ;t h e
t
m o d esl h o w ns l i d e si n t h e m i t e rs l o t .
P r o t e c t i nt hges t o c kw i t ha w o o dp a d ,
I
c l a m pt h ed r a w ef r o n t o t h ej i g ;m a r k
t h eo u t s i dfea c ew i t ha nX . M o v e t h el i g
I
sideways to aligntheblade withthemid-
d l et h i r do f t h eb o a r dT. u r no nt h es a w
I
a n ds l i d et h ej i g a l o n g t h em i t e rs l o t o
cut thedado.Turnthedrawer frontover
I
a n dc l a m pi t t o t h ej i g t o c u tt h ed a d o
at the otherend(right).
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Cutting matching dadoesin thedrawersides I
r) Trimming thetongues r . J T o j o i n t h e d r a w e sr i d e st o t h e f r o n t ,c u t a d a d on e a rt h e
L lnstalla woodauxiliary fenceon the rip fence.Marka f r o n te n d o f e a c hs i d e .T h ed a d om u s tm a t ew i t h t h e h a l f - I
c u t t i n gl i n eo nt h ee d g eo f t h ed r a w ef r o n t h a td i v i d etsh e t o n g u eo n t h e f r o n t .S e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o t h e l e n g t ho f t h e
tongue on its inside facein half.Withthestockflushagainst h a l f - t o n g uaen d s c r e wa w o o d e ne x t e n s i obno a r dt o t h e m i t e r I
themitergauge, inside-face down,alignthemarkwiththeblade. g a u g eT. o s e tt h e w i d t ho f c u t , b u t t t h e d r a w e sr i d ea g a i n s t
Buttthefenceagainst thestockandraisethe blades to cut t h e f r o n ta n d u s ea p e n c itl o o u t l i n et h e h a l f - t o n g uoen t h e I
a reliefnotchin thefence. Setthecutting height to trimthe d r a w esr i d e .H o l dt h e s i d ea g a i n stth e e x t e n s i oann da l i g nt h e
halftongue. Holding thedrawer frontf irmlyagainst thegauge, m a r k sw i t ht h e d a d oh e a d C . l a m pa s t o pb l o c kf l u s ha g a i n s t I
feedit intothecutters(above). Turnthe boardaround and the endof the stockandfeedthe boardto cut the dadohbovd.
reoeat theorocedure attheotherend. R e p e atth e c u t o n t h e o t h e rs i d e . I
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I DRAWERS

I
I PREPARING
THEDRAWER
F()RA B()TT()M
PANEL
I Cutting thegroove forthebottom panel
Dry-assemble thedrawer andmarkany
I spots where thejointsbind;usea chisel to
paresmallamounts of woodto achieve a
I goodfit. Next,useyourtablesawto cut
a groove in thedrawer frontandsides to
I accommodate thebottom panel. Install a
d a d oh e a da, d j u s t i nt gh ew i d t ht o t h e
I thickness of thebottom panelstock. Set
thecuttingheight to halfthestockthick-
T nessandadjusttheriptenceto leave a
%-inchborderbetween the bottomof
T thegroove andtheboard edge.Feedthe
drawer frontacross thetableusinga push
I slick(right).(Caution: Inthisillustration the
bladeguardhasbeenremoved for clari-
I t y . )R e p e at h t ec u to n t h ed r a w esri d e s .
F i n a l l rya, i s teh eb l a d e
h e i g hat b i th i g h -
I e r t h a nt h es t o c kt h i c k n e sasn dr i pt h e
d r a w ebra c kt o w i d t hT. h i sw i l la l l o w the
I bottompanelto slrdeintoposition when
thedrawer is assembled,
I
I
ASSEMBLING
THEDRAWER
I
1 Clamping thedrawer
I I A webclampwithcorner brackets is
idealforgluingupdrawers. Thewebdis-
I tributes pressure evenly among allfour
corners, whilethebrackets helpto spread
I thepressure along thelenghof eachjoint.
Tousethewebclamps shown, applyglue
I t o t h ec o n t a c t i nsgu r f a c easn da s s e m -
blethedrawer on a worksurface. Next,
I f it thecorner brackets in olace. Wraothe
s t r a p sa r o u n d
t h ed r a w ecr a r c a saen d
T t i g h t e nt h e mw i t ht h e b u c k l ebs e f o r e
locking themin place(left).Whenthe
I a d h e s i vhea sc u r e dr,e m o vteh ec l a m p s
andapplyedgebanding to thetopedges
I of thedrawer.

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O lnstalling thebottom I
L f rimthe bottomoanel'/,e
rowerthanthesoacebetween
inchnar-
thetwo rltffrlllIItffilj{tiltllllfillllltflflljliljltII]finitltjllntl I
grooves. Slidethepanelintoplacefrom
the back(above). Donotapplyanyglue. 1HO?Tt? I
Thiswillallow thedrawer sides to expand
o r c o n t r a cwt i t hc h a n g ei sn h u m i d i t y ; Eliminating
drawer rattle
I
p a r t i c u l a ri fl yt h es i d e sa r em a d ef r o m
DrawerbolNome
solidwood.Secure the bottomwitha
alwayofia t tad
I
couole of finishnailsin thedrawer back.
looeelyto allowfor
woodmovement, T
Unfor1unately, thio
can somelimeolead I
lo an annoytnq
raNlle.An eaoy fix t
for this io to jam
little wedqee T
belweenthe bottom
paneland the drawer I
sides.Cut four lo six wedaes
for eachoffendinadrawer.ge eure
Lo cut,lhemeo the grainie orientedaNa I
riqhLanqleNothe taper.Thiowillmakeit eaoy
to breakoff. Toinetall eachwedqe,NapiNin place. t
Finallybreakoff lhe exceesby liflinq the wedqe.
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I DRAWERSLIDESAND RUNNERS
I
I f ommercial slideshavesimplifedthe
U installation of drawersto thepoint
I wherethat theyhavevirtuallysupplant-
ed all otherdrawer-hanging hardware,
t andfor goodreason.Theslidesaresim-
ple to installand canbe securedwith
t only threeor four screws.Somecom-
mercialslidesevenallowfor fine tunins
I and canbe adjustedverticallyafterthi
screws havebeeninstalled.
I For the kitchenuser,commercial
drawer slidesalso offer unmatched
I durability.Goodqualityside-mounted
slides(page89) arerigorouslytested;
I theymust openand closeflawlessly at
Ieast100,000 timesand supporta load
I of 150poundswhen fully extended.
Bottom-mounted slides(below)cannot
T bearnearlyasmuchweight,but arecon-
siderably lessexpensive. Woodenslides
I (page91)still havea place.Inexpensive
to make,they areperfectlysuitablefor Somebottom-mounteddrawer slidescan extend
I light-dutysituations. a drawer itsfull length to display the contentsinside.

T
INSTATTING
BOTTOM.MOUNTED
STIDES
I
1 Attaching therunner to thedrawer
r I Bottom-mounted
parts:a runnerthatattaches
slidesconsist of two
to the bot-
I tomof thedrawer slideanda trackthat
is secured to the cabinetsides.Before
I installing thefirstdrawer, placeit in front
o f t h ec a s ea n dl a yo u tt h es l i d ep a r t s
T beside i t . M a k es u r ey o uu n d e r s t a n d
where eachpiecegoesanditsorientation.
I T o p o s i t i otnh er u n n e rs,e tt h ed r a w e r
o n i t s s i d ea n db u t tt h er u n n ear g a i n s t
t the bottomof thedrawer sideasshown.
Insetthehardware %einchbackfromthe
I drawer f rontso it will notinterfere with
the falsefronl(page93).fhe runner
t canbesecured frombelowor fromthe
side.lf youareusingsolidwoodor ply-
I wood,attachit fromtheside.lf youhave
chosen melamine, attach therunner from
I below(/eff).In bothcases, drillpilotholes
f irstto avoidsplitting thematerial.
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I 87

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Positioning thetracks
O n c ey o uh a v ed e t e r m i n et hdes p a c i nogf t h ed r a w e r s drawerheightfromthecabinetstorypole(page25) thenmove I
(page82),position thetracksfor bottom-mounted slidesonthe thesquare andtracktogether to alignthebottom of thetrack
sidesof thecabinet. Place a trackonthecabinet side,usinga withthisdistance hbovd.Given thecombined thickness of the I
framing square to holdit at a rightangleto thecabinet front. runner andtrack,thismeans the bottomof thedrawer sides
Forfaceframecabinets, placethetrackalmost flushwiththe w i l lb ea c t u a l layb o u% t z - i n chhi g h et rh a no nt h es t o r yp o l e . I
frontedgeof thecabinet; forframeless cabinets liketheone Thisbit of extraclearance overthedrawer belowwrllnotbe
shownabove, insetthedrawer bythethickness of thefalse s i l lc o v etrh eg a p .F i n a l l y ,
n o t i c e a bslien c et h ef a l s ef r o n t w I
frontstock;typically about%inch.Measure outtheappropriatemarktheoredrilled holesrnthetrackontothecabinet side.
I
I
I
I
Q Fastening thetracks
I
r-,f Drilla oilotholeat eachof themarks
youmadein step1, wrapping a pieceof
t a p ea r o u ntdh ed r i l lb i tt o e n s u rteh a t I
thescrews do notpassthrough theside
o f t h ec a b i n eTt .h e nf a s t e tnh et r a c ki n I
placewitha screwin eachholetighil.
lf youhavemorethanonedrawer to install I
at a certainheight, cut a plywood spacer
to fit between thetrackandthecabinet I
bottom. Youcanusethisto placeallthe
tracksat exactly thesameheightwithout I
measuring. Repeat steps1 and2 forthe
otherdrawers in thecabinet. I
I
88 I
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I DRAWERS
I
T INSTALLING
SIDE.MOUNTED
SLIDES
'l Attaching
I thedrawer runners
I Unlikebottom-mounted slides, the
I runners of a side-mounted drawer slide
canbeattached to thesideof a drawer at
I anyheight. To makeinstallation easier,
always offsettherunner thesamedistance
I fromthe bottomedgeof thedrawer side.
Therunner in theillustration wasolaced
I 3%inches fromtheedge,measuring to
t h ec e n t eor f t h er u n n e rM. a k ea s i m o l e
jig to position Poaitioninqjiq
I all therunners at exactly
thesamespoton eachdrawer. Fasten
I someone-inch-square stockasa lipto a
12-inch length of plywood, thentrimthe
I jigto widthto holdtherunner at theright
position asshown. Toattacheachrunner,
I firstseparate therunner fromthetrack.
Thenclampthejigto thedrawer sideand
I holdtherunner against it, making sureit
is f lushwiththedrawer front.Secure the
I runnerwith screwstight).

I
I
r
I
r) Fastening thetracks
T Z- Position thetracksonthesidesof the
cabinet according to thedesired spacing
I (page82) Forthe lowest track,simply
measure theoffsetof thedrawer runner
T (above) fromthecabinet bottom, adding
Yoinchforclearance. Drawa lineat this
I height. Holdthetrackagainst thecabinet
srdeandcenter thepredrilled screwholes
t o v e tr h e l i n e .F o rf a c ef r a m ec a b i n e t s ,
position thetracksoit is nearly f lushwith
I t h ef r o n to f t h ec a b i n e tf ;o r f r a m e l e s s
cabinets, insetthetrackbythethickness
I of thefalsefrontstock.Fasten thetrack
withscrews(left).f he highertracks
t canbe positioned byadding thedrawer
heightspecified onthecabinet storypole
I @age 25)to the runner offset. Remember
t o m e a s u rt eo t h e c e n t eor f t h et r a c k .
I Repeat stepsI and2 fortheotherdrawers.
I
I 89

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DRAWERS I
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Q Installing thedrawer
vl lf youhavecaref ullypositioned and
lljtfillffilltllittllltlltfitrfiltljltlllrfillfiltilltllllilIltllllllt I
i n s t a l l etdh e r u n n e rasn dt r a c k st ,h e
drawers canbehungbysimply slipping I
theirrunners intotheslidesmounted on 9HO7Tt?
thecabinet sides. Toremove thedrawer, t
extend it fullythentripthelever releases 7uildingup faaeframe cabineto
on bothslrdeskbove). )ince mosl commercial drawer
slidesare desianedtobeecrewed
I
direcblyto the eideeof a cabinel,
lhey cannol be ueedon face
T
framecabineNe withoutcerlain
adjuetmenNe. Manufacturere I
makeepecialbrackeLe
Nobridqethie qap buI a I
muchelurdier,ehoe-made
alternaNive ie NobuildupNhecabi- I
neNeidee,Rio eome 1'/z-inch-Nhick
eolidetock equalin widLhlo Nhe I
dietancebelweenNheedgeof the face
frameandthe eideeof Nhecabinet,.You I
willneedthree upriqhLpieceoIhaN eNreNch
between the bothomand lop of NhecabineN. Drillpilot,holesin Nhe
upriqhLo everyfourto sixiiches.Locaileeachoi Lheupriqh\eeo I
suew holein the olide,then f astenthe
it io oppooite a pre-drilled
o?acerotrothe cabinetsidewith woodscrews.NowNheslidecan I
beoecurely inslalledin linewiththe insideedqeof Ihe f aceframe.
I
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90 I
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I
I DRAWERS
I
I Longbefore theadventof commer-
cial drawerslides,cabinetmakers
I weremakingsimpleyet fficient
drawerrunnersfrom wood.The
I drawerin thefaceframe cabinet
shownat right hasdadoescut into
I its sidesthat slideoverwooden
runnersmountedto theinsideof
I thecabinet.Four notchedblocks
scretued to thefaceframe and cabi-
I netbacksupporteachrunner.To
installwoodenrunnersin aframe-
T lesscabinet,seethestepsbelow.

I
I
I
I
I
I HANGING
DRAWERS
WITHSHOP-MADE
RUNNERS
I 1 Cutting
grooves in thedrawer sides
I Before assembling thedrawer, cut a
I groove forthe runnerin theoutside face
of eachdrawer side.Tomakeinstallation
I easier, offseteachgroove thesamedis-
tancefromthe bottomedgeof the drawer
I side.Therearenorigidrulesforthewidth
of thegroove, butit shouldaccommodate
t slidesthatarethickenough to support
thedrawer. Onyourtablesawinstalla
I dadoheadthesamewidthasthe groove.
Drawcuttinglinesforthegroove in the
t middleof the leading endof onedrawer
side.Alsomarkthedepthof thegroove;
T i t s h o u l db e n o m o r et h a no n e - h atlhf e
stockthickness. Buttthe linesforthe
I groove against thedadohead,thencrank
theblades upto thedepthline.Buttthe
I ripfenceflushagainst thestockandmake
thecut.Repeat foreachdrawer side.
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I 91

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DRAWERS I
I
r) Installing theslides I
L ltulltheslidestockso itsthickness
andwidthareabouthzinchlessthanthe t
d i m e n s i oonfst h eg r o o vien t h ed r a w e r
sides. Trimtheslides a fewinches shorter I
t h a nt h ec a b i n esti d e st,h e nd r i l lt h r e e
c o u n t e r b o rcel e d a r a n cheo l e si n e a c h . I
Position thewooden slidesasyouwould
commercial side-mounted slides@age 89. I
Holda slideso it is insetf romthefront
e d g eo f t h ec a b i n ebt yt h et h i c k n e s s I
of thefalsefrontstock,thenscrewit in
place(righil.Test-fit the drawer.lf it is I
t o ol o o s ea, d ds h i m su n d etrh es l i d e s ;
i f t o ot i g h t ,r e m o viet a n dp l a n eo rs a n d I
i t s l i g h t tl yhi nn e r .
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Q Fine-tuningdrawerfit
r-,1Slidethedrawerontoitsrunners. lf thesidesbind,remove i s f a c i n gu p .T h e nc l a m pa n o t h ebro a r dt o t h ew o r k b e n c h ,
thedrawer andmarkanyshinyareas onthesides-high spots butting it against thedrawer; usea bench dogto keepthesec- I
thatcanbeshaved offwitha handplane. Tosecure thedrawer ondboard frommoving. Gripping theplanewithbothhands,
forplaning,clampa wideboard to a workbench withoneedge shaveoff the marked spotswithsmooth, evenstrokes (above). I
extending overthesideasshown. Remove the bottomof the Test-fit thedrawer andrepeat untilit slides smoothly. Replace
drawer andhangthedrawer ontheboardsothe binding side ihp hnfinm nanpl I
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92 I
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I FALSEFRONTSAND HARDWARE
I
I f, alsefrontssolvethe problemof
I hanging drawerssotheyareperfectly
I straightandlevel.Wth thefalsefront
system, all thedrawers in a cabinetare
I mountedascloseto levelaspossible,
thenthefrontsarepositioned individ-
I uallysotheyareplumbandlevelwith
thecaseor faceframe.Shimsareused
I to fine-tunethefit. Thelocationof the
falsefrontsaremarkedwithnailtiosset
I in the drawers, thenthe draweriare
removed andthefalsefrontsarefastened
I in place.
Falsefrontscanbeusedwith either
I framelessor faceframecabinets.Thefor-
mer alwaysusesinsetdrawers(below),
while the lattercanhaveeitherinsetor
overlaydrawers(page80).
Installing knobs or pulls is not
tricky, but takethe time to do it right.
The key is to centerthe hardwareon
the drawer front. Techniquesfor
installing the two different types of
hardwareare shownon page97.
Oneof thefinal touchesin makinga
draweris addingtheappropriatehan-
dleor knob.Herea drawerknobis at-
tachedto aframe-and-panel falsefront.

I
INSTALLING
FALSE ()NINSET
FRONTS DRAWERS
t 'l Preparing
thedrawer
I I 0ncethe drawer slideshavebeen
properlymounted(pages 87-92),setthe
I =--l - l= drawerface-upona worksurfaceanddrive
twobradsintothedrawer front,leaving
I theirheadprotruding.
Makesurethebrads
arenotlocatedwherethedrawer pullwill
I beinstalled.
Thensnipofftheheads, leav-
ingabout%inchexposed.
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DRAWERS I
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Attaching thefalsefronts
Applya thinlayerof glueto thefrontof thedrawer. Posi- I
t i o nt h ef a l s ef r o n ti n p l a c el,i n i n gu pt h ei n d e n t a t i oynosu
m a d ei n s t e p2 w i t ht h eb r a dt i p s .C l a m tph ef a l s ef r o n ti n I
, e nd r i l la p i l o h
p l a c et h t o l en e aer a c hc o r n ef r o mt h ei n s i d e
o f t h ed r a w e m r ; a r kt h ep r o p edr e p t ho nt h eb i t w i t hs o m e I
m a s k i nt ag p et o a v o i d r i l l i ntgh r o u gthh ef r o n tF. i n a l lfya s t e n
thefalsefrontwithscrews %inchshorter thanthetotalthick- I
nessof thedrawerIront(above).
r) Marking thedrawer fronts
I
Z lnstall
Starting
allthedrawers
withthe bottomdrawer,
ontheirslides.
posi- liliiltlfillllltlljllllliltillllilllllllill lll1
fii1 lll1
lllllllJllltlllj I
t i o ni t sm a t c h i nf ga l s ef r o n ti n p l a c e . I
U s eo a o eor r c a r d b o asr d h i m st o l e v e l 5HO7Tl?
thefalsefrontandcreate anevengap I
of about%inchbetween it andthecab- Sizingfaloe fronls
uein6two stiaks
inetbottom.
to ensure
Pulloutthedrawer
thatit clears thebottom
above
false tatoe
ForCuNNinq lffi$S$#,ffi;; t
fronls lo eize,two
front;trimthefrontif necessary. When
youaresatisf iedwiththef it, pushthe
otraiqht,and equare I
slickg can oerveag
falsefrontintothedrawer, driving the
bradtipsintothewood. Applylaminate
accural,e4auqeofor I
measurinq Ihe ineide
edgebanding (page4& to theedges of
thefalsefront,thenproceed to step3 to
w i d t h o f a k i b c h e nc a b i -
neL,TlaceNhesticks oideby
I
installit. Marktherestof thefalsefronts
thesameway,shimming eachoneagainst
sidein Nhecabinet,bultinqone
o t i c k a q a i n o No n e o i d e a n d L h e o t h e r
t
thef inished drawer benealh it bbove). a q a i n e l N h eo p p o o i t es i d e . M a r k a l i n e
Remove
acro;ethe eNicks. them and realiqnthe I
marke.Ihecombined lenquhof the stickswillgiveyou
Nhecorrect,meaouremenNfor Ihe lenathof the faleefronN. I
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I
t INSTALTING
FALSE
FRONTS
ONOVERTAY
DRAWERS

I 1 Chamfering thefalsefronts
I False f rontson overlay drawers typi-
callyhavesomesortof edgetreatment,
I suchasrounding over,chamfering (shown
here), or moreinvolved shaping. Firstsize
I thefalsefrontsto matchthedrawer car-
casefront,plusthedesired overlap. To
I chamfer theedges ofthefalsefront,install
r a piloted 45" chamfering
mountthetoolin a table.Alignthefence
bit in a router and

withthebit'spilotbearing andadjust the

I height of thebitto cutall but%uinchof
thefront'sedgesandends.Clamptwo
I featherboards to thefence,oneon either
sideof thebit,to holdthestockagainst
I t h et a b l e (. l n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o
t hnef r o n t
featherboard hasbeenremoved forclari-
I ty.)Toreduce tearout, chamfer theends
b e f o r teh es i d e sF . e e dt h ew o r k o i e c e
I across thetablewitha pushstick,using
yourlefthandto press thestockagainst
I the f ence(righil.
I
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r) Marking thefalsefront
I L Ltlarnfalse frontsforanoverlay drawer
asyouwouldforan insetdrawer (page93).
I Theexample at leftshows twoside-by-
sidedrawers overa pairof doors. A sup-
I portblockis clamped beneath thedrawer
t o h e l pp o s i t i ot n
h ef a l s ef r o n ti n p l a c e .
I Firstprepare thefrontof thedrawers by
inserting andcuttingoff a pairof brads
I (page93).To placethesupportblock,
drawa lineonthedrawer railwherethe
I lowest partof thefalsefrontwillbe.Clamp
theblockin place, thensetthefalsefront
I ontopof rt.Finetune theblock's position
b yt a p p i n igt l i g h t l w
y i t ha m a l l eut n t i l
I thefalsefrontsitslevelandat exactly the
rrghtheight. Thenmovethefrontrightor
I leftto center it horizontally. Finally, hold
thefrontin position andpushthedrawer
I intothefrontto markit (lef).fhe front
canbescrewed to thedrawer(page94)
I orgluedin place(page96).

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onfalsefronts
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Q Gluing
r.,l Remove thedrawer andspread a
thrnlayerof glueonthebackof thefalse tjlifiljiltilllllll]llllllliilliilllllljlllillliill illllllllllllll1llll I
front.Placethefrontin position,
withthe I
twobradsin theirimpressions. Holdthe )HO?Tt?
assemblytogether, usingquick-action
bar I
clamps along theedgeof thefrontand 1eauringfalse lronts
deep-throated C clampsalongthebottom with double-facedtape
I
edge;protect thestockwithwoodpads
wherenecessary. Tightentheclamps
Double-f acedtape ie
a quickand eaey /
wayto Vooition
fri I
evenlyuntiltherearenogapsbetween S._
and holdfalee
thefalsefrontandthedrawer bbovd. lronNein place I
whileinotallinq
Nhem.Slick a eNriV
LaVe
I
of double-faced
to the fronl of the I
drawercarcage.Forface frame cabi'
neNo(ehownhere),holdthe f alsefront
in placewith a 6u??ortboard.For I
frameleescabinets.shimLhefront,
with paperor card,board,shime.Then I
oushthe fronNaaaineLthe drawerso
it uticketo NheiaVe,Finally,ineLall I
Ihe faleefront with ocrewe.
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ANDPULTS
'l Installing knobs
I I Drawers withsinele knobs should have
t h e k n o bc e n t e r ei d n t h em i d d l eo f t h e
I drawer front.Tofindthe center,draw
d i a g o n acl so n n e c t i nogp p o s i tceo r n e r s ,
I marking justnearthemiddle ofthedrawer
(right); do notmakethe linestoodarkor
I t h e yw i l lb ed i f fi c u l t o e r a s e
l a t e rD
. rill
a c l e a r a n cheo l ef o rt h e k n o bt;h eh o l e
I should bejusta shade larger thanthebolt
sotheknobbasewillhavesomething to
I bearagainst. lnstall theknobafterapply-
inga finishto thefront.
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t r') Installing drawer pulls
L me holes fordrawer pullsarea little
t moretime-consuming to mark.Mostfronts
a r el a i do u ts ot h ep u l li s l e v eal n dc e n -
I teredbothhorizontally andvertically; some
tallerdrawers mayhavepullsplaced a bit
I below thehalfway mark.Fora single cen-
t e r e dp u l l ,b e g i nb yd r a w i nagl i n et h a t
I divides thefrontin halflengthwise. Use
a framing square to layouttheline,then
I d o u b l ceh e c kw i t ha r u l e tro m a k es u r e
thatit is evenat bothends.Measure out
I theexactmidpoint of thislineandmake
a mark.Measure thedistance fromcenter
I to center of thetwoendsof thepulland
divide thisnumber in two.Markoutthis
I d i s t a n coen t h ec e n t e r l i nm e ,e a s u r i n g
f r o mb o t hs i d e so f t h em i d p o i n D t.rill
I clearance holes through thefrontat these
twopoints. Install thepullafterapplying
I a finishto thefront.

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f nstalling kitchencabinets can Pinpointingirregularities in
I I bethebestof times.andthe kitchensurfaces is coveredon
worst.Best,because it marksthe page102.Lowercabinetruns
I completionof an arduoustask; (pagefia) areusuallyinstalled
worst.because installationof first,followedbytheuppercab-
I perfectcabinets in an imperfect inets(page115).Somecabinet-
kitchenis sureto put yourcab- makers,however,install the
I inetmakingskillsto the test. uppercabinets first,arguingthat
Until now,you haveworkedon it is easierto dothistaskwith the
I paperandin therelativecalmof lowercabinetsout of theway.
yourworkshop,carefullycraft- A transferscribeaccuratelyfollowsthecontours Whileeitheroptionwill work,
I ing your cabinets oneby one. of a wall and drawsa matchinglineontoa scribe stand-alone kitchenpeninsulas
Buta kitchenis not a workshop. rail. Oncetherail isplanedor sandedto thisline, andislands(pages 112-114) are
I Whenyoubringyour cabinets thecabinetwill fit seamlessly
whenit is installed. bestinstalledlast,astheycancre-
on siteandstartinstallingthem, atetrafficjamsduringinstalla-
I you mayfind yourselfdealingwith problemsyou hadnot tion, no matterhow well theyareexpected to work in the
anticipated,oftenworkingagainst theclock. finishedkitchen.
I Forexample, no matterhowpainstakinglyyou haveexe- Placed on levelers, plinths,or theirownintegralbases, the
cutedyourstorypolesandbuilt yourcabinets to theirspec- lowercabinets (page104)arcshimmedfrombehindsotheir
t ifications,
therewill undoubtedlybe gapsbetween thecarcases facesareplumbandalignedflushwith eachother,thenthe
andthewalls,floors,andceilings. Thisisbecause thewallsof cases arefastened to thewallstuds.Utilityhookupssuchashot
I a room,unlikeyourcabinets, arerarelystraight. Fortunately, andcoldwatersupplies, drainpipes,andelectrical outlets
out-of-plumbwallscaneasilybestraightened by addingaddi- requirespecialplanning(page108).Beforeinstallingcabinets
I tionalrailsto theendcabinets (page104)andscribingthem aroundsuchhookups, checkwithaprofessional plumberand
(photo,above). Thescriberail canthenbeplanedor sanded electrician to ensure thatthepipesaresoundandthewiringis
I to conformto thewall. in goodcondition.Uppercabinets aremountedusingnailer
Thechapterthatfollowsguidesyou throughthesteps rails,European-style supports, or beveled woodensupportrails
I andtechniques necessary to installyourkitchencabinets (page115).As in thelowercabinets, variations in thelengthof
andmakesuretheyareplumbandlevel.A generalreview acabinet runmaycallforfillersnipsto bridgegapsbetween cab-
t of installationtechniques (pages100-101) outlinesseveral inets.Thefinaltouchisdecorative crownmolding(page118),
optionsfor installingbothloweranduppercabinetruns. whichdresses thejointbetr,veen thecabinets andtheceiling.
I
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Positioningand installingtheuppercabinetsof a kitchen
I is moredfficult than installinglowercabinets.Simple
jigssuchasshop-madecabinetjacks(left) and tempo-
I rary supportraik (pagell5) makethejob mucheasier.

t 99

I
 INSTALLATIONBASICS
yourkitchen
heninstalling cabi-
youchoose
nets,thetechnique to
keepthem levelwill dependon your I
methodof construction. If your lower
cabinets feature an integraltoekick,you I
can use leveler legs (page 44) or shims
(page106)to positionthecabinetslevel, I
plumb,and squarewith one another
beforenailingthe cases to the studs.If I
your cabinetsaresimplecarcases, leveler
legsor a plinth base areboth suitable. t
Whiletheplinth base(page112)can
be usedwith anyIowercabinet,it is par- I
ticularly well-suitedto islandsand
oeninsulas. Thisisbecause bothof these I
iabinet tvDesaredifficult to secureto
thefloor whilehidingthefasteners. The I
olinth is leveledfirst with shimsor
idjustablelevelers,then fastenedin I
olacewith a fewL-brackets screwed to
ihe floor and insideof the plinth. The I
islandor peninsulais thenscrewed onto
theolinth, I
Uppercabinetscaneitherbescrewed
to the wall studsthroughnailerrails I
(page116),specialized commercial hard- Kickplate
ware,or hungon beveled woodensup- I
oort railsscrewedto both the cabinet
ind the wall studs(opposite).In both I
upperandlowercabinets, shimsareused
to levelthe cabinets and makethemall I
appearto be a singleunit seamlessly
joinedto the kitchen.Scriberailsand
0
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fillerstripsshouldtakecareofanygaps. 0

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kickclio

\, E1,
f f i - - - - - - , /

lE
i

F'::-::!a
Adiuatable
,F
w
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w-^
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plate
I
I INSTALLING CABINETS

UPPER (Page115)
CABINETS

5ide view

ISTAND
(Page
112)

Adjuetable
leveler
 I
INSTALLINGTHE LOWERCABINETS I
I
rla hewallsandfloorsof a kitchenare beforeyoubeginputtingthecabinets I
I typicallyfar from plumb,level, in place.
straight,andsquare. Commonirregu- Yourfirsttaskis to drawlevelhori- I
laritiessuchasbowsin thewallor a zontallinesonthewallswherethecab-
warpedfloorcancreate problems when inetswill go(below). If thekitchenfloor I
it comes timeto installcabinetsthatare isnotlevel,youcanadjusttheheightof
perfectly square.In olderhomes,the thecabinets laterwith shimsor various I
studsin thewallsmayalsobeplacedat typesof commercial levelers. Next,you
intervals
otherthanthestandard 16-inch needto locatethewallstuds.whichare I
spacing usedtoday.Thebestplanned crucialto securing thecabinets in place.
kitchenwill poseinstallationchallenges Thisis easilydonewith an electronic I
thatcannotbetackleduntil thecabinets deviceknownasa studfinder,which
arereadyfor assembly on-site.However, detects differences in thethickness ofa I
youneedto identifytheseirregularities wallby meansof a magnetic field.
Lastly,thesquareness of corners will I
affectaclosefit (opposite). Scriberails,
A chalklinesimplifies
markingout usedto covergaps, mustbewideenough I
longlevellines,suchasindicating to spananyvoids between cabinetsides
thetopof a lowerrun of cabinets. andtheadjoiningwall. I
I
PREPARING
FORINSTALLATION
t
1 Drawing layout lines
I Usea longcarpenter's levelto drawa
lineonthewallat the heightof the lower
I
cabinetstighil. Measure this linefrom I
the highestpointof the f loorwhereit
meetsthe wall (page24). lt youhave I
adjoiningcabinetruns,startmarking
fromthe highest floorpointof the respec- I
tivewalls.Thisensures thatyouwillonly
needto shimthecabinetbottoms
thetopsof thecabinets.
to level
(lf youstarted
t
froma lowerpointonthef loor,cabinet I
bottomswouldrequire scribing-amore
laboriousapproach.) Thelinescanalso I
beeasilylaidoutwitha chalkline(pho-
to,above).Repeat the procedure to mark I
thebottomof the uppercabinets.
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I INSTALLING CABINETS

I
t r) Checking thecorners
forsquare
L tlsea carpenter's square to determine
I (left).lf not,measure
if a corneris square
thegap,andusethisfigureto makescribe
I rails(page104).Usea plumbbobto see
if thewallleansinward. lf it does,mea-
t surethegapat itswidest point.

I
I
I Q Locating wallstuds
r.,f Usean electronic studf inderto
I locate thecenters of thestudsin the
w a l l sF. o l l o w i nt hgem a n u f a c t u r e r ' s
I instructions, calibrate thesensor and
place thedevice against thewall.Press
I theoperating buttonandslidethesen-
sorsideways across the wall(below);
I theredlightwillcomeonasthedevice
passes overa stud.Determine theedges
I of eachstudandmarkitscenter. You
canalsosnapa chalklineupthecenter
t of eachstudto locateit for bothuooer
andlower cabinets.
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I 103

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INSTALLINGCABINETS I
I
A LOWER
INSTALLING RUN
CABINET I
'l Adding scribe rails
I lnstall a corner cabinet first.Cuta
I
scriberailwideenough to spanthegap
between theedgeof thecabinetandthe
I
wall.Thescribe railshould bethesame
lengtah st h ec a b i n ef a
t c ea, n dm a d e
I
fromthesamematerial. Gluetherailin
placesoitsfaceisf lushwiththecabinet.
I
railin place(left)and
Clamp thescribe
letthegluecure.
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r) Shimming thecabinets temporarily
h ec a b i n ei tn p l a c ew i t h
Z - P o s i t i ot n I
r a i lt o u c h i ntgh ew a l l .S l i p
t h es c r i b e
s h i m sb e n e a t h ec a b i n eutn t i tl h et o p t
of thecabinetis level(righil.Forcabi-
r g sa, d j u stth e h e i g h t
n e t sw i t hl e v e l el e t
o f t h el e g su n t i lt h ec a b i n ei ts l e v e l
(page110). I
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Q Scribing therail
I r-t Seta transfer scribeslightlylarger
thanthegapyoudetermined forthe
I scriberail(page103).Placethesteel
p o i n at g a i n st ht ew a l la n dl a yt h ep e n -
I c i l p o i no
t n t h es c r i b er a i l .K e e pt h e
two points levelasyouslidethetransfer
I scribedownthewall(above), marking
thecontour of thewallontherail.
I
I
I
I Planing thescriberails
Sandor planetheedgeof thescribe
t raildownto thelineyouscribed in step
2. Tilt thetoola bit towardthe rear
I o f t h ec a b i n eatsy o up l a n et h es c r i b e
rail,creating a slightbevel(/eff).This
I bevelneednotbeverypronounced, but
willensure a snugf it whenthecabinet
I is installed.

t
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INSTALLING CABINETS I
I
f, Installing thecabinet t
r-,1Reposition thecabinet in placewith
t h es c r i b er a i lt o u c h i ntgh ew a l l .S h i m I
the bottomandsidesof thecabinet so
i t i s l e v eal n di t st o pi s a l i g n ew
d i t ht h e I
r e f e r e n cl ien eo n t h ew a l l .F a s t etnh e
c a b i n ei tn p l a c eb ys c r e w i nt g hrough t
t h es h i m sa n dr e a rn a i l e risn t ot h ew a l l
studs(/eff).Trimthe excess fromthe I
shimswitha sharpknife.Alignthenext
c a b i n ei tn t h er u na n ds c r e wi t t o t h e t
firstcabinet(below), Repeat to install
0
t h er e m a i n doefrt h er u n . I
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INSTALLING RUNS
ADJACENT t
1 Aligning adjacent cabinets I
I Toinstall runsof cabinets onadjacent
walls,startwiththecorner cabinet. Level I
a n di n s t a tl lh ec a s ea sy o ud i d i n s t e p5
(above), thenalignthenextcabinet. Place I
andadjustshimsas needed sothecabi-
n e tf a c e sa r ef l u s ha n dI e v e lC. l a m tph e
(rghf).
I
cabinets together in position
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I INSTALLINGCABINETS

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I r) Fastening thecabinets
I rlJl ji]trllillll lrrlllll ilil lilrlillill illi itil {illtlil ilt{iil1iill
ul lllI
L Once y o uh a v ea l i g n etdh ec a b i -
ur iii lu ili i.u uJ ilJ iti t$ {lJ di ul i.ri ru u ui ut nets,fastenthemtogether withscrews.
I D r i l tl h r e ec o u n t e r s uonikl o th o l e a
st
5HO?TI? t h ef r o n ta n dt h eb a c ko f o n ec a b i n e t
t Makingthiak shims
side.lf youareusing %-inchthick stock
foryourcabinets, maketheseholes1%
lf you muet ehima wideqap,add a sufficienbly
I Lo a ef,andard cedarshim.Thieeliminatee
thick pieceof plywood
the needfor eeveral
i n c h eds e e pT. h e nd r i v et h ef a s t e n e r s
in place(above).
ahime,whichmay ehifLand complicate Ihe levelinq
I Uoinqa pieceof plywood of uniformthickneesalso
?roceoo.
enauree that,the shimwillnoLinlroduceaddi-
t tionalirregularities, as may happenwhen
placinqmanyohimonexf,loeachother.
I JoinIhe ehimIo the plywood with
a shorLscrewimakesureLhe
I headof the lasteneris
e u n kb e l o wt h e s u r - .,"', / .-
I f ace of the ehim. G)

,/ . a ' - ' d*.

I .a/
,at'

'..,."
I 'x.t -
I y'''
t '\ti

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INSTALLING CABINETS I
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Q Installing fillerstrips I
r-J Minoraberrations in themeasurement
of thewallsandcabi- thetwocabinets. Cutthepiecefromthesamematerial asthe
netscanleaveyouwitha gapbetween the lastcabinets to be cabinets,
then screw it to the cabinet installed.
already Screw I
installed.
lf thespace cannotbeeliminatedbyadding scribe rails an addiiionalstripalongthetopedgeof thecabinetbbovd,as
of equalwidthat eitherendof therun,cuta fillerstripthelength wideasthe frontfillerstripandaslongasthedepthof thecabr- I
of thecabinet faceandwideenough to bridgethegapbetween nets.Slidethe next cabinet in place, it asin step2.
andinstall
I
FITTING
CABINETS
AROUND H()()KUPS
UTITITY I
1 Locating utilitycutouts I
I Usingthecabinet storypolesforthe
appropriatecabinet(page24),transfer I
themeasurements forplumbingandelec-
ontothebackoanelof the
tricaloutlets I
cabinettighD.lndicate the position
and
sizeof eachutilitycutout. t
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r) Gutting
holes
I L Cutthe holesusinsa drillf itted
witha holesawthesairesrzeasthe
I cutout(abovel.
Makethe holesslightly
thanthe pipe.A keyhole
larger saw
I canbeusedfor largerholes.

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I Q Attaching shut-off valves
\, Fitdecorative flanges overthepipes,
I thenfastenshut-off valves to the pipe
e n d sT. h e s e t a p su s u a l lrye q u i roen l y
I wrenches (left)tofastenthemin place.
A f l e x i b l seu p p l tyu b et h e nf e e d st h e
I waterto thetaos.

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INSTALLINGCABINETS I
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KICKPLATES
INSTALLING I
1l Levelins -
thecabinet I
I lf yourcabinets haveintegrated toe
kicks(page100),proceed to step2. For
I
cabinets withleveler legs,usea levelto
guideyouwhileyouadjustthelegs(right).
Shiftthelevelfromthefrontto theside
T
andrepeat asnecessary untilthecabinet I
i s l e v eol na l ls i d e sS. e c u rteh ec a b i n e t
in placebydriving fasteners through the I
nailers intothewallstuds.
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thekickplate
Scribing
T o f i t t h e k i c k p l a t ep, l a c ei t o n t h e T
f loorin frontof thecabinetbelow).Use
a transfer scribe thekickplate
to scribe I
asyoudid the scriberail (page105).
Thetopedgeof thekickplate should
be I
level; useshimsif necessary. Plane
the
kickplate to theline. I
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)rrtrr$a'r
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theretainingclips
Drawa centerlinedowntheleneth
I ofthekickplate'sinsrdeface.lndicate
thelocatron of eachleveler legon
I thekickplate.Screw therectangular
mounting platesat eachof thesepoints,
I thenslidetheclipsontothemounting
plates(above).
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I Attaching
thekickplate
L i n eu p t h e c l i p sw i t h t h e l e g s( l e f t )
I t h e ns n a pt h ek i c k p l a itnep l a c eS. l i d e
t h ec l i p ss l i g h t layl o n tgh em o u n t i n g
I plates, if necessary, sotheylineupwith
theirrespective legswhenthekickplate
t is properly positioned.

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ISLANDSANDPENINSULAS t
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I f yourkitchenis largeenough,the T
I additionof a freestanding islandcan
tightenwork triangles,reducekitchen I
traffic,andeliminatecountertopclutter.
Incorporating a sinkor rangeandaddi- I
tionalstorage spaceinto the islandcan
improvethe overallefficiencyof your I
kitchenevenmore.
Installinga kitchenislandrequiresa t
differentapproachthantheoneusedfor
kitchencabinets,asthe islandhasno I
supportfrom thewalls.Onesolutionis
to setthe islandon a plinth. This is a T
woodenframewith a perimeterslightly
smallerthan the cabinet.The plinth is T
assembled with splinedmiterjoints,Iev-
eled,andfastened to thefloor;theisland I
cabinetisthenscrewed to theplinth.The
plinth canbe madefrom plywoodor T
With its large tiled countertop,sink, and ample storagebelow,the kitchen solidwood.Theformeris recommend-
island abovedoesdouble duty as a dishwashingand food preparation ed ifthe floor is uneven;separate kick- I
qrea. Instead of restingon a plinth, the island is set on a molded baseframe. olatescanbe scribedandaddedlater,
I
ISLAND
A KITCHEN
INSTALLING I
1 Preparing theframepieces I
I Assemble theolinthfromveneered
%-inchplywood or solidstockusing I
splined miterjointsat thecorners. First,
ripthefourframepieces to width-typi- T
cally,4 inches. Tocuttheframepieces to
l e n g t ht ,i l t t h et a b l es a wb l a d et o 4 5 " I
a n dm i t e rt h ee n d s w ; h e na s s e m b l e d ,
theolinthshould beinset3 inches from T
allsidesof theisland cabinet. Next,make
somesplines from%-inch plywood; they I
s h o u l db ea s l o n ga st h ew i d t ho f t h e
f ramepiecesand%inchwide.Tocutthe I
grooves in theframepieces forthesplines,
remove thesawbladeandinstalla dado I
headsetto thethickness of thesplines.
Adjusttheheightof thesawbladesoit T
cutsa 45" dadointothemitered endofthe
frame pieces (right);lhe depth of thedado I
should be half the width of the splines.
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I INSTALLING CABINETS

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I r) Assembling theplinth
glue
L npply to theendsof theframe
I pieces, spreading it in thedadoes you
cut in step1. Spread adhesive on the
I s p l i n easn dt a pt h e mi n t ot h ed a d o e s .
A s s e m bal en dc l a m pt h ep l i n t hu s i n g
I a largewebclamp(above); the model
shownfeatures special corners thatdis-
I t r i b u t et h ec l a m p i npgr e s s u e
r ev e n l y
along themiterjoints.
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I theplinth
Leveling
S c r e wa n a d j u s t a b l lee v e l ear t e a c h
I corner of theplinth,installing
thefirstone
at thehighest floorelevationof thefour
I corners.Setthisleveleraslowaspossible.
thenraiseor lower theothers asneeded
I untilthetopof plinthis level(/eft).

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INSTALLINGCABINE,TS I
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theplinth
Shimming I
l f t h e f l o o ri s u n e v e ny,o uw i l l u n d o u b t e del yn d u p w i t h F Fastening theplinthto thefloot
g a p sb e t w e e nt h e b o t t o mo f t h e p l i n t ha n d t h e f l o o ro n c et h e t h e p l r n t ht o t h e f l o o ru s i n gL - s h a p eadn g l eb r a c k -
r - , 1F a s t e n I
p l i n t hh a sb e e nl e v e l e dF. i l lt h e g a p sw i t hs h i m s p , ositioning e t s S e tt h e b r a c k e tisn o l a c ea n ds c r e wt h e mt o t h e i n s i d e
e a c ho n e s o i t s w i d ee n d i s o u t s i d et h e p l i n t ha r e a( a b o v e ) . f a c eo f t h e p l i n t h ;u s et w o b r a c k e t sp e rs i d e .T h e ns c r e wt h e I
A d d a d r o po f g l u et o e a c hs h i mt o h o l di t i n p l a c e a, n d u s e h a r d w a rteo t h e f l o o r ( a b o v e )O. n c et h e p l i n t h h a s b e e nf a s -
a c a r p e n t e rl'es v e tl o e n s u r et h a ty o ud o n o ts h i f tt h e p l i n t h t e n e di n p l a c ec, u t t h e s h i m sf l u s hw i t ht h e o u t s i d e f a c eo f I
a s v o ui n s e r a t d d i t i o n aslh i m s . t h ep l i n t h .
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theisland
lnstalling cabinel I
C e n t etrh e i s l a n dc a b i n e ot n t h e
p l i n t h ,a n d m a r ko u tt h e p o s i t i oonf t h e I
p l i n t ho n t h e c a b i n ebt o t t o mS . c r e wt h e
c a b i n e ti n p l a c e( r i g h i l ,d r i v i n gt h e f a s - I
t e n e r st h r o u g ht h e c a b i n e b t o t t o mi n t o
t h ep l i n t hA . f t e rt h e c a b i n eits i n p l a c e , I
s c r i b ea n d i n s t a lkl i c k p l a l e(sp a g el l 0 )
o n t h eo u t s i d fea c e so f t h e p l i n t h . I
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I INSTALLINGTHE UPPE,R
CABINETS
I
I T f pp.r.cabinetscanbe fastened to Onerailisscrewed to thebackof thecab-
LJ thewallsin oneof threeways.The inet,theotherto thewall.Cabinets can
I easiest
methodissimplyto screwthecab- alsobehungusingcommercially avail-
inetsto the wall studsthrouehnailers ableadjustablerailsandcabinetsupports
I (below).lf you wanta lesspErmanent (photo,right).Whatevermethodyou
solution,youcanhangthecabinets from choose, the cabinetsneedto be leveled
I shop-made interlockingrails(page116). beforefinalinstallation.

I
The European-stylecabinetsLtpportshown in the cutawaycabinet
I nt right providesstrongersupportfor mounting uppercabinetsthan
screwsdriven into the wall. Screwedto the insidecornerof a cabinet,
I the hardwarefeaturesa metalhook that protrudesthroughthe backand
clips onto a rnil fastenedto the wall behind the cabinet.Adjustment
I screwsallow the cabinetto be leveledand tightenedagainstthe rail.

I
INSTALLING
UPPER
CABINETS
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I Installing
a temporarysupport
rail
I Attaching a temporary railwillhelpyouholdtheupper
support cabinets
I in position
asyouinstallthem.Screw pieceof 1-by-2
a straight stockto the
wall(abovd, aligningitstopwiththe layoutlineindicatingthebottom of
I theupper cabinet run.Makesureto drivethefastenersintothewallstuds.

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INSTALLING CABINETS I
I
O Installing thefirstcabinet I
Z- Position thef irstcabinet in theupper
runin itscorner, settingit onthesupport I
rail.lf necessary, adda scriberail (page
105),thenreposition the cabinetand I
screwit to thewallstudswithtwoscrews
driventhrough the backof thecabinet I
nearthetop.Donotdrivethefasteners all
theway;leave someslacksoyoucanshim I
t h ec a b i n e Ct . l a m pa l e v etlo t h es i d e
o f t h ec a b i n eatn ds l i ps h i m sb e h i ntdh e I
caseuntilit is plumb(left),thentighten
thescrews. Drivea secondpairof screws T
intothewallstudsthrough the backof
thecabrnet at thebottom. I
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Installing
additional cabinets
Position
thesecond cabinetin therun I
nextto thefirstandclampthemtogether
sothefacesareflush.Drivetwoscrews in I
the secondcabinet(right),leauing them
slacksoyoucanshimthecabinet asin I
theprevious step.Shimthesecond cabi-
netuntilit is level,thenscrewit to the I
Tighten
f irstcabinet. thescrews joining
thesecond cabinet to thewall.Screw the I
cabinets together. Repeat to installthe
othercabinets in therun I
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116 I
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t INSTALLINGCABINETS

I
I USINGBEVELED
NAILERS
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Hanging thecabinets
I lf youareusingbeveled nailers to install
yourcabinets, firstscrewa lengthof
I 1-by-6 to thebackof an uppercabinet.
Position thecaseonthewallsothebot-
I tomof thecaseis aligned withtheline
onthewallindicating thebottom of the
I uppercabinets, thenmarkthelocation

t ffilltillllllllllltllfltlljtllltll}IlItllltllllllliflttlIIllllllltllli of the 1-by-6 onthewall.Remove

stripof woodandcuta 45" beveldown
the

its middle. Crosscut the oieces to the

I 1HO?TI? desired length. Screw oneof thestrips
Shop-made cabinet jacke to thewallstudsasa batten, its bevel
I Cabinetjacke eerveas an extra pair of p o i n t i nugpa n df a c i n g t h ew a l l S
. crew
h a n d s ,h o l d i n qa c a 6 ei n p l a c ew h i l ey o u theotherpieceto thebackof thecabi-
I i n s t a l li t . Y o uc a n e a o i l ym a k ey o u r o w n netasshown. Attacha second railan
ehop-built jacke.7implyscrewtrhreepiecee equaldistance fromthebottom of the
I of Vlywoodor melamineNoqelherinboNhe c a b i n et o t a c ta sa s h i m S. crew a filler
l-ohapeshownaNriqhL Vakethe piecee s t r i pt o t h eb a c ko f t h ec a b i n ef tl u s h
I ae lonqas the dielancebelweenthe upper withthebottom, thenhangthecasein
cabinetrs and the counterlop.The cenNer place(top,left).
t Viece e h o u l db e w i d ee n o u 4 h
t o o uVporN
a cabinelunif.
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CROVTNMOLDING I
I
f rown moldingaddsa nicefinish- width is aboutright for an average 8- I
\-i ins touchto a setof kitchencabi- foot-highceiling.
nets.Itian alsohideunevenceilingsand Whilecuttingmiteredcornersat the I
visuallyintegratethe cabinets with the end of a cabinetrun requirescare,the
room'sarchitecture. Simpleone-piece realchallenge in installingcrownmold- I
crownmoldingis available in a varietyof ing is attachingit firmly andinvisiblyto
profilesto matchthesryleofyour kitchen the cabinets, particularlywhenthereis I
cabinets, andis easilycut andinstalled. onlyenoughspacebetween thecabinet
Youcanalsomakeyour ownwith a table- tops and the ceilingfor the molding I
mountedrouteranda coupleof bits (see itself.Attachinga nailerto themolding
backendpaper). \tVhenchoosingcrown (below)allowsit to be fastenedto the I
molding,makesureit is properlypro- cabinetfrom underneatn.
portionedfor thekitchen;molding that Crown molding doesnot haveto I
is too widewill havethe effectof lower- extendall the wayto the ceiling.In the
ing theceiling.Molding3 or 4 inchesin caseofexceptionally high ceilings,there I
maybe a gapof asmuchasa foot.This
hiddenspaceabovethe cabinetcanbe I
Customcrownmoldingisavailable usedto goodeffect;by placingfluores-
with elaborate carvedpatterns centlightson top ofthe cabinets, the I
andscrollwork,in a widerangeof resultingindirectlightingcanadd so-
modernand antiquestyles(left). phistication to your kitchen. I
I
INSTALLING MOLDING
CROWN
I
1 Attaching thenailer
I Toorovide ananchor forthefasteners I
wheninstallrng crownmolding, attach a
nailer to themolding first.Ripa %-by-IY,- I
inchpieceof stockequalin lenghto the
pieceof molding youareinstalling onthe I
c a b i n e tT. o e a s ep a i n t i nogr f i n i s h i n g ,
b ec u tf r o mt h es a m e
t h en a i l esr h o u l d I
m a t e r i aalst h e m o l d i n gP. r o t e c t i nt hge
stockwithwoodpads,gluetheedgeof I
thenailer flushto thebottom edgeof the
molding; support thetwopieces witha I
shimasyouclampthemtogether (right).
Repeat fortheotherpieces of molding. I
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I INSTALLINGCABINETS

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t Cutting
themolding
to lengh
M a r kt h e l e n g t ho f t h e t o p o f t h e c a b i n ert u n o n t h e u p p e r a l i g n ewdr t ht h eb l a d eS. e c u rteh em o l d i nign p l a c w
e i t ht h e
I f a c eo f t h en a i l e rS. e ty o u rm i t e sr a wt o c u ta 4 5 ' a n g l ea n d saw'sviseknob;usea scrappieceof woodif necessary. Make
p o s i t i otnh em o l d i n rgi g h t - s i duep o nt h es a ws ot h em a r ki s thecut,keeping yourhandwellclearof theblade(abovd.
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Installing
themolding
I P o s i t i otnh e c r o w nm o l d i n go n t o p o f
t h ec a b i n ertu n ,a l i g n i ntgh e h e e lo f t h e
I m i t e ry o uc u t i n s t e p2 w i t ht h e c o r n e o rf
t h e c a b i n e tT. h en a i l e rs h o u l de x t e n do u t
I o v e rt h e e x t e r i oor f t h e c a b i n e tf r o n t b y
t h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e d o o r s l.f t h e r ei s s u f -
I f i c i e n ts p a c es, c r e wt h e c r o w nm o l d i n gt o
t h et o po f t h ec a b i n e ttsh r o u g h thenailers,
I spacing t h e f a s t e n e resv e r y6 t o 8 i n c h e s .
Otherwise, drivethe fasteners fromunder-
I n e a t h .M i t e rt h e p i e c eo f c r o w nm o l d i n g
f o r t h e e n do f t h e c a b i n e tt,h e ns c r e wi t
I in place(left).

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{L-t,'l
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' . . ----=-
\,a"-- ='--
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s indispensable
to the easeofapplication(page126).
I kitchen asa workbench The originalfitting neednot
is to theshop,thecountertop be painstakinglyexact;once
I bearsthebruntof thekitchen's the laminateis gluedin place,
workload.In additionto suD- it can be trimmed perfectly
I portingthepreparation and flushwith the substrateusinga
cookingof meals, thecounter laminatetrimmer. This cus-
I isalsoanall-purpose worksur- tom-fittingabilityis particu-
faceusedfor scores of other larly usefulwhen meldingthe
I dailyhousehold tasks,from top sheetof laminatewith a
brewingcoffeeto writinglet- contrastingedge treatment
I ters,fromfixingappliances to (page1j7). Plasticlaminateis
sundryarts andcraftsactivities. thematerialusedto makeinex-
t Itmustbesolidenough tostand pensive,popularpre-molded
on,easily cleaned withadamp A tile baclcsplash
canelevatean ordinarykitcheninto a countertops (page132).These
I cloth,anddurableenoughto workof art. In thekitchenshownabove,a baclesplash of countertops havethetop,edge
lookasgoodafter10yearsas decorative ceramictilesis carriedoverinto an elaborate treatment, and backsplash
I thedayit wasinstalled. mural in theopenspaceabovetherange,providinga tra- combinedin oneunit, andtake
Fortunately,the technical ditionalcontrastto theclean,modernlinesof thecabinets. much of the work out of
I innovationsthat transformed installinga countertop.Solid-
kitchencabinetmaking in thepost-warerahavemadethiskind surfacecountertops(page129)aremoredifficult to installbut
I of performance commonplace. In particular,theperfectionof the resultsarerewarding.The ability to mold edgesand exe-
plasticlaminatehasput attractiveand resilientcountertops cuteinvisiblejoints and repairshasmadesolid-surface coun-
I within thereachof eventhetightestof homebuildingbudgets. tertopssecondonly to plasticlaminatein popularity,despite
Solid-surface materialssoldundersuchbrandnamesasCorian their highercost.
I andAvoniteofferevenbetterperformance-but at a price.And Gettingall the detailsright is the mark of true craftsman-
there still is a placein the kitchenfor natural materialslike ship,andinstallinga backsplash (pages 134-1j6)is an excellent
I wood and stone.Theguideon page122will helpyou choose wayto addan individualtouchto your kitchen.Sincea back-
the bestcountersurfacefor your kitchen;thepagesthat follow splashdoesnot bearasmuchabuseasa countertop,you have
I outlinethe procedures andtechnioues necessarv to installit. considerably moreleewaywhenchoosingthe material.Wood
While initallation methodsdiffer somewhatamongcoun- andtile,which canbeproblematicascountertopsurfaces, are
I tertop materials,therearemanysimilarities.The procedure excellentchoicesfor backsplashes. Selectingthe perfectpiece
for installinga sink in a countertopwith a plasticlaminate of hardwoodor usingceramictileswith an antiquehand-
I surface(page125),for example,canbe easilyadaptedto oth- paintedpatternasa backsplashcould be the differencethat
er countertops. One of the appealsof plasticlaminateis its makesyour kitchenunique.
I
I countertopmaterialsoffersuperiorjoint-cuxingandshapingabilities.
Solid-surface
Thekitchenat leftfeaturescountertops
madefrom Corian,a popularsolid-surface
I material.Notethemoldedcornersand seamless transitionfrom countertopto sink.

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A GALLERYOF COUNTERTOPSURFACES I
I
tl- h. idealcountertopis not only laminatehassincebecome thestandard, Someof thebest-designed kitchens I
I attractive. durable, heat-resistant covering andcounters
millionsof tables makeuseof several contrastingmate-
and waterproolbut easyto form, aroundtheworld. rials,takingadvantageoftheirdiffer- t
install,andrepair,andinexpensive. Madeof castacrylicandpolyester, entstrengths. Forexample, a counter
Alas,thiswonderhasyetto beinvented. solid-surface countertops wereinvented might be mostlywood or tile but t
Fortunately,thereareseveral products, in thelate1960s, andaretheclosestto an switchto stainless steelaroundthe
both man-madeand natural,that idealcountersurface,but for their sink.Anotheroptionis a plasticlam- I
comeclose. expense. Ifyourbudget permits,
youcan inateor solid-surface
countertop with
Plastic
laminate isthemostcommon opt for theopulence ofstone,suchas aninsetcuttingboardof wood.Lastly, I
countertop facingmaterial.Firstcreated graniteor marble.Woodcanbea very do not forgetthedecorative possibil-
in 1913,thismaterialisformedbybond- attractive counter,butmanypeopleshy itiesof thebaclsplash,
wheretheuseof I
ingpaper, andmelamine awayfromusingit nearthesinkwhere
phenolicresins, eitherwoodor tilescanadda hand-
plasticunderheatandpressure. Plastic it will become wet. craftedtouch. I
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Plasticlaminate is tough,inexpensive, Solid-surfacematerial,suchasCorian Granite is the mostprestigious-and
and relativelyeasyto apply.Because or Avonite,is expensive, but can be expensive-materialfor countertops: I
it ispaperthin, however,it cannotbe workedmuchlike wood,sincethepat- extremelyhard,smooth,and idealfor
shapedand is very dfficult to repair. ternand coloris consistentthroughits rollingpastrydough.It is alsoheavy I
entirethickness. It canalsobejoined and difficultto install.
or repairedwith invisibleresults. I
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Tile is heat-and water-resistant
and Marble is veryexpensive but is Woodencountertops arewarm and I
availablein a varietyofpatterns,colors, not astoughasgranite.And like pleasant-well suitedfor country-style
andfinishes.Thegroutbetween thetiles granite,it needsto becut and kitchens,but theleastdurableof thelot. I
canbecome stainedand mildewedunless p olished professionalf . Theyarebestusedfor part of a counter,
ahigh-qualityepoxygroutis used. suchasa choppingblockinsert. I
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I INSTALLINGCOUNTERTOPS
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t Woodenand plasticlaminatecoun-
tertopsare installedby simply screw-
I ing them to the supportingcabinets.
In the photo at left, a woodencoun-
I tertop with mitered solid wood edging
is beingsecuredto a cornercabinet
I that featuresa lazy Susan;thefasten-
ersare driven through the cabinet's
I countertopnailers into stretchers
attached to the undersideofthe top.
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UPTHECOUNTER
BUITDING
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I Attaching stretching andcleats
C o u n t esru b s t r a t a e rseu s u a l lm
y a d eo f % - i n cm h e d i u m - d e n -of 4-inch-wide andcleatsof thesamematerial
stretchers as
I sityf iberboard, chosen for itsdimensional stability. Todouble thesubstrate. Screwthestretchersalongtheedges of the
t h ep e r c e i v et hdi c k n e sosf t h ec o u n t e r t oa pn di n c r e a si tes thenattachcleatsbetween
substrate, thestretchers,
spacing
I s t r e n g t hb ,u i l du p t h es u b s t r a w s dc l e a t s . themevery1Bto 20 inches.
t ei t hs t r e t c h ear n lf youarejoiningtwosheetsof
, a k i n sgu r et o i n c l u dteh e
F i r s ct u tt h es u b s t r a t oe s i z e m substrateintoan L-shapedcountertop(above),makesureto
t amount of overhang; typically % inch.Thenprepare a number secure a cleatontheioint.

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COUNTERTOPS I
t
A HOLEFORTHESINK
CUTTING I
1 Marking thesubstrate
I Mostnewsinkscomewitha template
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t h a tw i l lh e l py o up o s i t i oann dm a r kt h e I
o p e n i nognt h es u b s t r a tlef y. o ud o n o t
havea template, youcanmakeonefrom I
cardboard. Place thesinkfacedownon
thecardboard andtraceitsoutline. Next I
drawa second line%inchinside thefirst
onethencutoutthetemplate along this I
innerline.Draw a pairof linesdividing the
template in halfbothvertically andhori- I
zontally. Center thesinkonthesubstrate
atopitslower cabinet, marking intersect- I
inglinesonthesubstrate. Place thetem-
platein position andalignthetwopairsof I
lines.Trace theoutline witha pencil(/efil.
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r) Cutting theopening I
L Once youhavemarked outtheposi-
t i o no f t h es i n k c, h e c kt h a tt h el i n ed o e s I
notcrossanyof thescrews holding the
stretchers andcleats. Next,drillaY,-inch I
access holethrough the substrate just
inside t h ep e r i m e t eI rn.s t a lal c o m b i n a - I
tionbladein a saber sawandlowerthe
blade t h r o u gthh eh o l eH . o l d i ntgh et o o l I
f i r m l yt,u r ni t o na n ds t a rct u t t i n agl o n g
the linetighil. f ry to cut ascloseto the I
lineas possible. Thisneednotbeexact,
a st h ee d g ew i l lb eh i d d e n b yt h el i p o f I
thesink.To keepthewastepiecefrom
breaking off asyouneartheendof the I
cut,support it withyourfreehand.Solid-
s u r f a cteo o ss h o u l dn e v ebr ec u tw i t h I
a saber saw;instead, usea router witha
straight bitanda plywood template. I
I
t24 I
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I COUNTERTOPS

I
I INSTALLING
A TAMINATE
COUNTERTOP
1t Trimmins
laminate
I -
I A sheeo t f p l a s t i cl a m i n a t ec a n b e r i p p e dt o w i d t ho n y o u r
t a b l es a w ,b u t i t i s e a s i etro c r o s s c ui t w i t ht h e j i g s h o w nh e r e .
I T o s e t u p t h e j i g , f i r s tj o i n t t w o b o a r d ss o t h e ye a c hh a v eo n e
s t r a i g het d g e W . i t ha f r a m i n gs q u a r ed, r a wa l i n ea c r o s tsh e
I l a m i n a t ae t t h e d e s i r e d l e n g t hN . e x t s, a n d w i cthh e l a m i n a t e
b e t w e e tnh e b o a r d sa s s h o w nA . l i g nt h e l i n ew i t h t h e e d g e so f
I t h e b o a r d sa n dc l a m pt h e w h o l ea s s e m b ltyo t h e w o r ks u r f a c e .
I n s t a lal f l u s h - t r i m m i nbgi t i n y o u rr o u t e a r n ds e t t h e c u t t i n g
I d e p t hs o t h e p i l o tb e a r i n w g i l l r u b a g a i n stth e j i g . P l a c et h e
r o u t e frl a t o n t h e j i g a n de a s et h e b i t i n t ot h e l a m i n a t em
I s u r et h e b e a r i n gr u b sa g a i n stth e j i g t h r o u g h o ut h
, aking
t e cut(left).
l f a s h e e ti s d a m a g e ad t b o t he n d s ,f i r s tt r i m o n ee n dt o g e ta
I c l e a ne d g e t, h e nm a r ko f f t h e d e s i r e dl e n g t ha n dt r i m t h e o t h e r
e n d .C u tt h e l a m i n a t ae t l e a s a t n i n c hl o n g ear n dw i d e rt h a n
I n e c e s s a rivt :c a n b e t r i m m e df l u s hl a t e r .
I
I
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I
Flueh-trimminq
bit
I
I
I
I
I
I r) Trimmingmatchedpieces
Z- Whenever twopieces
of plasticlaminatemeetit is important o v e r l a p p itnhge mb y4 t o 5 i n c h e sa,n dc l a m pt h ea s s e m b l y
I thattheymatchperfectly.
Anygapswillbeverynoticeable and i n p l a c eT. os u p p o rt h
t eo u t e sr h e e tc, l a m pi t t o t h et a b l er n
unattractive.
Trimmingthetwosheets beforeinstallation
in the a second jig about6 inches fromthefvst(inseil. Totrimthe
I jigshownherehoweverwillresultin precisely
matched edges sheets, settherouter onthejig withthepilotbearrng against
everytime.Theprocedureissimilarto trimming
a single sheet theedge, thenpullit through thesheets (above). Keepa slight
I 6tep1).Tosetupthejig,securebothsheets between theboards, pressure against thejigthroughout thecut.

I
I t25

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COUNTERTOPS I
I
Positioning thelaminate t
Attach thelaminate sheet to thesub-
stratewithcontactcement.Firstf inish I
the edgesof the substrate (page138);
o t h e r w i tsheee d g eo f t h el a m i n a twei l l I
show. Trimthesheet to approximate size,
andjointanymating edges (sfep2).fhe I
sheetshownat leftis for an L-shaped
counter; theinside corner canbetrimmed t
aftergluing.Applyan evencoatof con-
tactcement to thesubstrate andlet it I
dry.Thenapplya thincoatto bothsur-
facesandletdryuntilit istacky. Ascon- I
tactcement bondsinstantly, set%-inch
dowels onthesubstrate about12 inches I
a p a r tL. a yt h e l a m i n a tseh e eot n t h e
dowels withoutlettingit touchthesub- I
strale(lefil.
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t
/ Gluing downthelaminate
'tSlide thelaminate sheetoverthedow- I
elsto position it properly; sincethesheet
is slightly oversized, youhavesomemar- I
ginforerror.Starting at oneend,remove
thef irstdowelandoressthe laminate I
against thesubstrate. Worktoward the
otherend,removing dowels andpressing I
the laminate downasyougo (right).Press
thelaminate sheetagainst thesubstrate I
w i t ha r o l l e (r i n s e t )l f. y o ua r ed e a l i n g
w i t ht w om a t c h i nsgh e e t sd,r a wa l i n e I
across thesubstrate wherethetwosheets
a r et o m e e t W . h e ni n s t a l l i ntgh ef i r s t I
sheet, beginbylaying downtheedgestart-
i n ga t t h i sl i n e T. o i n s t a tl lh es e c o n d I
sheet, beginbycarefully butting itsedge
against thefirstpiece. I
I
r26 I
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I COUNTERTOPS

I
I f,
Trimming theedges
r - , 1U s ea r o u t eor r l a m i n a tter i m m e r
I mounted witha flushtrimming bittotrim
theedges of thelaminate. First,remove
I anygluesqueeze-out fromthejoint.Then
s e tt h ec u t t i n g
d e p t hs ot h eb e a r i nwgi l l
I r u bt h em i d d l e o f t h es u b s t r a tTeo.t r i m
theedges, holdthetrimmer f latonthe
I c o u n t ear n de a s ei t i n t ot h e l a m i n a t e .
C o n t i n ume o v i ntgh et r i m m ear l o n g the
t edge(right), working against thedirection
of bit rotation andkeeping slightpressure
t againstthesubstrate.

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t
t Cutting outthesinkopening
Thelaminate covering thesinkopen-
I ingcanbecutoutusing thesamemethod
youusedto trimtheedges. Starting the
I cut,however, is a bit moretricky.You
c a ne i t h edr r i l la h o l et h r o u gthh el a m i -
t nateandusea regular bottom-mounted
f l u s h - t r i m m bi ni tgo r y o uc a ne q u i pa
I p l u n g reo u t ewr i t ha s p e c i apla n epl i l o t
b i t .T h i sb i t h a sa p o i n t etdi p t h a tc a n
I penetrate the laminate: theshaftof the
bitthenactsasa pilotto guidethetrim-
t mer.Sincethisbitdoesnothavea pilot
bearing it mayburntheedge, butthiswill
I b eh i d d eunn d etrh es i n k

t
t r27

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COUNTERTOPS t
I
I Screwing thecounter tothecabinet I
/ Position thecounter onthecabinet
andanchor thecounter withwoodscrews, I
drivingthemin frombelow(right).Secure
eachscrewthrough thecabinet's coun- I
t e r t o pn a i l e r as n di n t ot h e s t r e t c h e r s
attached to the underside of thecoun- I
tertop.Selectthe sizeof yourfasteners Counter
c a r euf l l y ;t o ol o n ga s c r e wc o u l dp i e r c e
Counf,ertop
etretcher I
thelaminate. nailer
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I
THESINK
INSTALLING I
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t
t
I
I
I
thefit l') Securing thecountel
1 Testing
I lnsertthesinkintothecounter to checkthefit hbovd. L me sinkis heldin placewithspecial clamps thatpullit I
Trimthecounter opening if necessary. Marktheholesonthe downagainst thecounter top.Toinstall eachclamp,insertits
countertop f o r t h et a p sa n dc u t t h e mo u tw i t ha h o l es a w . h o o ki n t ot h em a t c h i ncgl i po nt h es i n k T . i g h t e int ( a b o v e ) t
Applyplumber's puttyto theunderside of thesinkrim.(Some untiltheserrated endtouches thesubstrate. 0nceall the
sinkscomewitha special closed-cell foamtapethatserves clamps arein place, begin to secure thesinkasevenly aspos- I
thesame purpose.) Lower the sink into place (above) andadjust s i b l eg, r a d u a tl li yg h t e n i ne ga c hc l a m pa l i t t l ea t a t i m eu n t i l
it soit restssquare to theedgeof thecounter. therimisf lushwiththecountertop; avoidovertightening. I
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I COUNTERTOPS

t
r INSTATTING
A SOTID.SURFACE
COUNTERT()P
I 1 Attaching funingstrips
I U n l i k ep a r t i c l e b o asrodl,i ds u r f a c e
m a t e r i aelx p a n dasn dc o n t r a c twsi t h
I changes in temperature, so it cannot be
a t t a c h etdo a f u l l s u b s t r a t e
I n. s t e a d ,
I attachit directlyto the cabinets or to
t furring strips.
thecountertop
Furring stripsaddheight
andallowa built-up edge
to

of ,/o-by-
t to beaddedlater.Cuta number
4-inchboards to matchthedeothof the
t countertop.
modules
Attachthestripsto cabinet
withwoodscrews, spacing them
about18 inches apart.Addan extrafur-
I ringstripwherever twosheets areto be
joinedand3 inches fromeithersideof
I anopening fora sinkorcooktop.
I
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I
I
r) Adding silicone sealer
I I to allowforexpansion, thecounter
m u s tb e f a s t e n etdo t h e f u r r i n gs t r i p s
I withsilicone sealeraboutevery 8 inches.
Position the counterin placeandadjust
I it soit issquare to thecabrnets. lf theend
of thecountertop meetsa wall,leavean
t }{-inch gapto allowforexpansion. lf you
a r ej o i n i n gt w om a t c h i nsgh e e t sf i,r s t
I s t i c ka l e n g t h
ofaluminum conductive
tape(commercial ducttapeistooporous)
I to thefurringstripwheretheywill meet
(seestep3), thenapplythesilicone on
I topof thetape.

I
I r29
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COUNTERTOPS I
I
thesheets
Joining t
L a yt h e f i r s ts h e e to f s o l i d - s u r f a c e
m a t e r i ai nl p l a c eo n t h e f u r r i n gs t r i p s , I
c l a m p i n gi t t o k e e pi t f r o m m o v i n gL. a y
t h e s e c o n ds h e e tr n p l a c e a, r r a n g i ntgt t
so thereis an evengapof /, inch between
t h et w os h e e t sW . o r kq u i c k l yt ;h e s i l i c o n e t
w i l ls e tw i t hi n 2 0 mi nu t e s m , aking the
c o u n t e r t odpr f fr c u l t o m o v e .M a k ea d a m I
u n d e rt h e g a pw h e r ei t o v e r h a n gt hs e
c a b i n e tw s i t hs o m ea l u m i n u m conduc- I
tivetape (/eft).
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I
jointadhesive
Applying
S e l e c t i ntgh e r i g h tc o l o ra n d p a t t e r n I
t o m a t c ht h e c o u n t e r t o pp,r e p a r a e tube
o f s o l i d - s u r f al coei n t a d h e s i va ec c ording I
to manufacturer's d i r e c t i o n ( sT. h i s u sually
involves i n l e c t i n g
a t u b e o f c a t a l y s int to I
a l a r g etru b e o f a d h e s r v a en d m i x i n gt he
t w o . )F i l lt h e g a p h a l f u l l w r t ht h e m i x ture, I
w o r k i n gf r o m b a c k t o f r o n t . B e s u r e t o
k e e pt h e t u b ev e r t i c a l . P u s ht h e s h e ets I
t n o e r h erro s c l r e e / eo u rt h e e x c e s a sdhe
siveP . o pa n ya i r b u b b l ew s i t ha t o o t h p t c k I
a n d a d d e x t r aa d h e s i v eo a r e a sw h e r e
t
t h e a d h e s i vlei e sb e l o wt h e s u r f a c eo f t h e I
c o u n t e r t o pD. o n o t r e m o v et h e e x c e s s ;
i t w i l l b e s a n d e dd o w nl a t e r . t
I
130 I
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I COI-INTERTOPS

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I
f, Clamping thesheets together
fi Smoothingthe surface
I r,f Attacha stripof woodto the countertopon eithersideof thegapwithbeadsof \,f Remove the excess adhesiveand
hot-meltglue.Clampa pairof handscrews to thestripsto pullthetwosheets snugly levelthejointwitha blockplane.Make
I together.
Donotclampthemtootightlysincethiscansqueeze outall theadhesive. surethebladeis verysharpandthecor-
Letthegluecureforonehour,thenloosen theclamps andtapoffthewoodstrips. nersareslightly
rounded. A beltsander
t Usea puttyknifewithrounded edgesto remove anyleftoverhotglue. with 120-gritpaperwill alsoworkbut
it producesmuchmoredustandruns
I theriskof gougingthecounter. Smooth
thejointfurtherwitha randomorbit
I sanderusing18O-grit sandpaper(above).
To keepthe dustdown,moisten the
I counter.Finally,
bufftheentiresurface
witha syntheticpolishingpad.Again,
I keepthesurface moist.Thef inaljoint
shouldbe perfectlyinvisible.
I
I
I
Sincetheir colorandpattern run
I throughtheir entirethickness,solid-
surfacecountertops offerunmatched
I shapingandjoinery abilities.In the
photoat left,a solid-surfacecounter-
I top is bondedseamlessly with a sink
of thesamematerial.Thebuilt-in
I drain boardto theright of thesink
wasmadeby routinggroovesin the
I countertopwith a carbide-tipped bit.

I
I 131

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COUNTERTOPS I
I
A PRE-M()LDED
INSTALLING COUNTERTOP I
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T
T
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r
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I
thecountertop end
1 Laminating
I A p p l yp l a s t i cl a m i n a tteo t h e v i s i b l e n do f a p r e - m o l d e d thenaffixit to thecounter withcontact cement. Install a bottom- I
c o u n t e tro h i d ea n yg a p so r e x p o s e e d d g e sF. o re x a m p l ew, h e n mounted f l u s h - t r i m m b
i nrgti n a r o u t e o
r r l a m i n a t erimmer
t h e c o u n t e ri s p u s h e da g a i n stth e w a l lt h e r ew i l l b e a w i d e a n ds e tt h e c u t t i n g
d e p t h
t o a b o u t / i
, n c h T
. o t r i m t h ee n d , T
g a po n t h e e x p o s e e dndbetween t h e b a c k s p l a sahn dt h e w a l l . e a s et h eb i t i n t o t h e l a m i n a t t
e h, e n m o v et h e b i t a l la r o u n d
F i l l t h i sg a pw i t h a w o o d e nb l o c k T . o c o v e tr h e e n d ,u s ea itsedges (abovd. Keep the base of the tool flat against theend I
p r e - f o r m esdt r i po r c u t a r e c t a n g loef l a m i n a t e
s l i g h t l yo v e r s i z e , to ensure a smooth cut.
I
r) loiningpre-molded countertops
L P r e - m o l d ecdo u n t e r t o pasr et y p i c a l l a y v a i l a b lien l e n g t h su p T
t o 1 2 f e e t l o n g ,s o t h e yr a r e l yh a v et o b e j o i n e di n a c a b i n e t
r u n .C o r n ejro i n t s ,h o w e v ear ,r ec o m m o nC . u t t i n ga p r e - m o l d e d I
c o u n t e r t oapt a p e r f e c4t 5 " a n g l ei s t r i c k y ,t h o u g h a, n d i s a 1 o b
b e s tl e f tt o a p r o f e s s i o nw a il t h a l a r g er a d i a l - a r m
s a w .J o i n i n g I
the countertoos with counterconnectors afterwardis somewhat
e a s i e rP . l a c et h e t w o s e c t i o nfsa c e - d o wonn a w o r ks u r f a c e and T
b u t tt h e m a t i n ge d g e so f t h e . l o i ntto g e t h e T r .o p l a c et h e c o n -
n e c t o r sm , a k ea m a r ka c r o s st h e j o i n t6 i n c h e sf r o me i t h e r I
e n d .R e f e r r r nt og t h e m a r k sd, r i l la 3 5 m m - d i a m e treerc e sos n
e i t h e rs i d eo f t h e j o i n t ,s e t b a c k1 %i n c h e sf r o mt h e 1 o i n tF. o r m I
a c h a n n ebl e t w e e tnh e r e c e s s ef so r t h e b o l tb y m a k i n gt w oc u t s
w i t ha d o v e t a si la w ,t h e nc l e a n i n o g u tt h e w a s t ew i t ha c h i s e l . I
T o j o i nt h e t w o c o u n t e r t o pas l,i g nt h e m ,i n s e rt h e c o n n e c t o r s ,
a n dt i g h t e nt h e mw i t h a w r e n c hu n t i l t h e ya r eb o t hs n u g? i g h i l . I
C h e c kt h a tt h e c o u n t e r t o pasr ep e r f e c t layl i g n e da n df l u s h ,t h e n
f i n i s ht r g h t e n i ntgh e c o n n e c t o r s . I
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r32 I
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I COUNTERTOPS

I
I Scribing
thebacksplash
S i n c ew a l l sa r es e l d o ms t r a i g h ty,o u
I w i l l p r o b a b lnye e dt o s c r i b et o f i t t h e w a l l ,
t h e ns a n dd o w nt h e h i g hs p o t s P . ositron
I t h e c o u n t e r t oipn p l a c ea n ds e ta t r a n s f e r
s c r i b es l i g h t l yw i d e rt h a nt h e d i s t a n c e
I b e t w e etnh e w a l la n dt h e l i p . H o l dt h e
t o o la s s h o w na t l e f tt h e np u l l i t a l o n gt h e
I w a l lt o m a r kt h e b a c k s p l a s R h .e p e afto r
t h e o t h e rw a l l .
I
I
Sanding
backsplash
I A s t h e l i p o f t h e b a c k s p l a si sho n l y
a b o u tI i n c ht h i c k ,i t i s f a i r l ye a s yt o
I s a n di n t os h a p eW . i t ha v e r yl i g h tt o u c h
s a n dd o w nt o t h e s c r i b e dl i n ew i t h a
I b e l ts a n d e r( b e l o w )H. o l dt h e s a n d e r
a g a i n stth e e d g ea t a n a n g l es o i t w i l l
I r e m o v es l i g h t l ym o r em a t e r i aflr o m
t h e b o t t o me d g et h a nt h e t o p .T h i sw i l l
I e n s u r ea v e r yc l o s ef i t a t t h ew a l l .R e p e a t
f o r t h e o t h e rw a l l .
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I 133

t
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I
AND EDGETREATME,NTS
BACKSPLASHES
I
MAKING
A TILEBACKSPLASH I
1t Attachins
-
thesubstrate I
I T o p r o v i dae g l u i n gs u r f a c a e n dt o a d d
depthto a tile backsplash, screwa /:tnch-
t h i c kp l y w o o d
s u b s t r a tteo t h e w a l lf i r s t .
I
D p t p r m i n i n o t h p r - n r r e r ^ltp n s t h n f t h c s r r h -
e v l v i

cJ tLr IaOi oL C n
i i

U eonr l h
i i i , i i

U oL il rl il nu lnr yy
b

lUaLa L1 O ^ > E +L ;l ll ^C. ) O

" .U ar^ ^{
lq Ul
I
f i x e dw i d t ha n dt h e e n do f t h e b a c k s p l a s h I
u s u a l lwy i l l n o tf a l la t t h e c o u n t e r e' sn d .
T h ee n do f t h e b a c k s p l a si shu s u a l lsyl i g h t - I
l y s e t b a c k( s e ep a g e 1 3 6 ) .I o f i n d t h e
c o r r e cl te n p t hl a vo r r ta l t h et i l e so n t h e
I
c o u n t ew r i t h a n I i n c hs p a c eb e t w e e n
t h e r na n dc u t t h es u b s t r a t e o t h i sl e n g t h : I
r i n i f o n r r : l i n i h o n o r o h tn { i h o t i l p c .n l r r s
I i n c h .M a r kt h e p l a c e m e o n ft t h es t u d s
I
t h e p l y w o ow
o n t h e w a l l ,t h e ns e c u r e d ith
two screwsin eachstud (/eft).lf neces- I
saryu . s et w o p e c e so f p l y w o otdr i m n e d
cn thpv inin :t : ctrrd
I
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I
T
I
I
r) Applying
mastic
(^-t ^,
C ' e a nt h e p l y w o o cw i t h a s l g h t l y I
d a m p e n ecdl o t ht o p , c ku p a n yd u s t .
P r o t e ctth e c o u n t e r t ow pith nasking I
t a n p a n d : n n l v a s t r n p r o JcSo a to f m a s -
t i c w i r ha s e r r a t etdr o w e ls, m o o t h , nigt a s T
y o ug o t o c r e a t ea s u r f a c e l r k ea f r e s h l y
n l n r a r p df i p l r l D n n n t t r v l n r ^ n v o rt n n l a r o p I
a n a r e aa t f i r s t ;t h e m a s t i cs e t si n a b o u t
30 minutes. I
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134 I
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I COUNTERTOPS

I
T Mounting thetiles
Cut%-inch-thick spacers to separate
I thetiles.Makesurethetilesareall clean
anddustfree.Starting in onecorner, place
I twospacers onthecounter in frontof the
t h ef i r s t i l ew i l lg o .S e t h e
w a l lw h e r e
I tileonthespacers andpivotit intoplace,
separating it fromthewallcorner with
I another spacer. Press thetileagainst the
substrate, givingit a slighttwistto ensure
I a tightfit. Theninstallthe restof the
tiles,separating themwithspacers (lghf).
T
T
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t
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t
Attaching molding
I Addmolding to thetopof theback-
splash afterthetilemastichascured.The
I widthof themolding shouldbeequalto
thecombined thickness of thesubstrate
t andthetiles.Mitertheendof themold-
ing,thentrimit to length. Applya beadof
I glueto theplywood substrate thenplace
themolding in position. Fasten it to the
I substrate witha finishing nailevery 5 to
6 inches. Remove themasking tapeand
I s e atl h et i l e sb yf i l l i n ga l lt h eg a p sw i t h
e p o xgy r o u ta, n da p p l y i nagj o i n to f s i l i -
I conebetween thetilesandcountertoo.

I
t t3s
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COUNTE,RTOPS I
I
INSTALLING BACKSPLASH
A W()()DEN I
1I Attachins
thebacksnlash
-
I T o m a k ea w o o d e n b a c k s p l a swh, t h
I
n o l d e dt o pa n ds i d ee d g e s . ' r s l aal l
s q u a r e - e d gbeoda r dt,h e na d da m o l d i n g
I
( p a g e1 3 5 )o r s h a p et h e e d g eo f a w i d e r
b o a r dw i t h a r o u t e or r s h a p ear n d n s t a l l
I
t h e b a c k s p l a si nho n ep i e c eI.n e i t h e cr a s e ,
s c l e c ra ' p r - p t h
o f a t t r a c t i vhea r d w o ofco r
I
y o u rb a c k s p l a sahn d p l a n ei t t o a t h i c k -
n e s so f / t a / , i n c h .C u ti t t o s i z e m , akrng
I
r t s l r g h t lsyh o ' t e trl ^ a nt h e c o u r t e " t o tpo
c r e a t ea s e t b a c ak t t r e e n d .l V i t etrn ee r d s
t
a s s h o w nl.n d i c a t teh e p l a c e m e n o tf e a c h
s t u dw i t ha l i g h tm a r ko n t h ew a l l ,t h e n
I
nailthe boardin place(left).
I
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t
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r) Installing a return I
L W f r " " t h e b a c n s p l a senr o s . m a v .aP
r e t u r nm o l d i n gf r o ms o m es c r a pl e f t o v e r I
f r o mt h e b a c k s p l a s M h .i t e rt h e r e t u r ns o
i t f r l l st h eg a pb e t w e etni e b a c k s p l a s h I
a n dt h e w a l l ,f o r m i n g a s q u a r e n da n d
c o n t i n u i nt gh e m o l d e dp r o f i l eS. i n c et h s I
p i e c ew i l l n o t b e s u b j e c t etdo a l o t o f
s t r e s ist c a n b e s , m p l g y l u e d ' np l a c e r
a n dt h e nh e l dw i t h s o m em a s k i n tga p e
u n t i lt h eg l u ec u r e s . I
I
136 I
I
I
I COUNTERTOPS

I
t A chamfering bit revealsa walnut
divider betweenplastic laminate top
I and edgesurfaces.This effect was
createdby applying a solid wood
I edgeto the countersubstrate,then
adding laminate to the top and edge.
I Not only is this an auractive way to
easethe counterfront but it alsodis-
I guisesthe dark edgesof the laminate.

I
t
I
I
I
I INSTATTING
A DECORATIVE
EDGING
I
I
I
t
I
I (N
I
I
I
I
I
I
I 'l Applying
wooden edging
I Applysolidwoodedging to thecountertopbeforeyouglue Spreada filmof glueonthewood,thenfastenthe piecein
I downtheplastic
laminatelop (page126).(Ihiswillensure
there placew i t hf i n i s h i nnga i l se v e r4y t o 6 i n c h e sl f. t h ee d g ew i l l
arenocracksbetween theupperlaminateandtheedging.) Mill bechamfered (step9, placethenailsat least%inchbelow the
I theedgestockto a thickness
of %inchandthedesired width. topedge; thiswillprotect therouterbitfrombeingdamaged.

I
I r37
I
 I
COUNTERTOPS I
I
r) Applying laminate I
I trtma length of plastic laminate a bit
w i d etrh a nt h et h i c k n e sosf t h ec o u n t e r . I
Fasten it to thecounter edgewithcontact
cement (left)and press it downf irmly I
witha roller. When the adhesive hascured,
t r i mt h e l a m i n a f
t el u s h w i t ha r o u t eor r I
laminate trimmer. Use a chisel to square
u pa n y i n s i d c
e o r n e r t
s h, e nr e m o vaen y I
excess contact cement with a scraper.
0 n c et h i si s d o n ea, p p l yl a m i n a t o et h e I
countertop @ages I 25-1 27).
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I
Q Chamfering theedge
r - J B yc h a m f e r i nt hgec o r n e rosf t h e I
built-up edging, youwillexpose thewood
edgeyouaddedin thefirststep.lnstall a I
piloted chamfering bit in yourrouter and
setthecuttingdepthto % inch.Holding t
thetoolwithits basef latonthecounter-
top,ease thebitintothelaminate untilthe I
bearing touches thecounter edge.Move
t h et o o la r o u n tdh ec o u n t e w r , o r k i nigt I
against thedirectron of bit rotation. Thebtt
cannot cutrightintotheapexof an inside I
g m b ' tso n g u e
c o r n e rb,u tt h er e s u l t i nl a
pattern is anattractive effect. I
t
138 I
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I COUNTERTOPS

I
I MOLDING
A WO()DEN
EDGE
t
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R o u t i nagn o g e ep r o f i l e
I N a i l a s o l i dw o o ds t r i pt o t h e e d g eo f t h e c o u n t e r( p a g e1 3 7 ) forming b i t i n y o u r o u t e rS. e tt h et o o lo n t h ec o u n r earn c
b e f o r eg l u i n gt h e p l a s t i cl a m i n a t ed o w no n t h e c o u n t e r t o p . a d l u stth ec u t t i n gd e p t hs ot h eb e a r i nwg i l lr i d ea g a i n st ht e
I S i n c ey o u w i l l b e s h a p i n gt h e e d g ew i t h a r o u t e r m , a k es u r e loweredgeof thecounter. Toshapetheedge,setthe router
t o p l a c et h e f a s t e n e rws e l lb e l o wt h e b i t ' sd e p t ho f c u t ( a b o v e ) . f l a to nt h ec o u n t e r t ot h
pe , ne a s et h eb i t i n t ot h ew o o dM . ove
I N e x t ,a t t a c ht h e l a m i n a t et o p a n d t r i m i t f l u s h ( p a g e sJ 2 6 - therouter around thecounter, working against thebit'sdirec-
1 2 7 ) .T o s h a p et h e e d g e ,i n s t a l a l p i l o t e do g e eo r o t h e re d g e - t i o no f r o t a t i o n .
I
I R()UTING
A DRIPEDGE
IN A S()LID-SURFACE
C()UNTER
I S h a p i nag d r i pe d g e
A d r i pe d g ei s a s l i g h t l yr a i s e de d g et h a t
I p r e v e n tm s i n o rs p i l l sf r o mr u n n i n go f f t h e
c o u n t e r t o pA. p p l ya s t r i po f m a t c h i n g
t s o l i d - s u r f am c ea t e r i at o
l t h e e d g eo f t h e
c o u n t e r t o pc,r e a t i n ga r a i s e de d g e .A f f i x
I t h e e d g i n gw i t h a d h e s i vdee s i g n eeds p e -
c i a l l yf o r t h e m a t e r i a(l p a g e s1 3 0 - 1 3 1 ) .
I I n s t a l l ap i l o t e d r i pe d g eb i t i n y o u rr o u t e r
a n da d j u s t h e c u t t i n gd e p t hs o t h e t o p
I o f t h e c u r v ei s e v e nw i t ht h e r o u t e rb a s e ;
t h e i n s e ts h o w sh o wt h e b t t s h o u l dm e e t
I t h ec o u n t e rT.o s h a p et h ec o u n t e rh,o l dt h e
routerbaseagainstthe edge,then lowerit
I u n t i lt h e p i l o tb e a r i ntgo u c h etsh e c o u n -
tertopsurface.Keepingthe routerpressed
I f l a t a g a i n stth e e d g e ,m o v et h e t o o la l o n g
the counter(/eit).
I
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I 139

I

A-B-C.D
leveller:Anycommercial
Adjustable
foot or leg attachedto lowerkitchen
cabinetsto leveland supportthem.
Auxiliary fence:A woodenattachment
to a tool's rip fencethat servesto attach
accessories and preventaccidental
damageto the fence.
Backsplash:A continuation of the
countertopalongthe backwall; canbe
part of the countertopitselfor made
from tile orwood.
Biscuit: A thin oval wafer of com-
pressedwood that fits into a semicir-
cular slot cut by a platejoiner.
Blank A pieceof solid or glued-up
wood usedto createa furniture part.
Board-and-battendoor: A door
madeof boardsfastenedtogether
with lap joints and held together
by a diagonalbatten.
Board foot A unit of wood volume
measurementequivalentto a pieceof
wood one inch thick, 12incheslong,
and 12incheswide.
Caul: In veneeringor gluing uP a
carcase,a board placedbetween
the clampsand theworkpieceto dis-
tribute clampingpressure.
Chalk line: A length of twine loaded
with chalkdustusedto mark longlines
that arenormally eitherlevelor plumb.
Chamfer:A decorativebevelcut along
the edgeof a workpiece.
Cheek The faceof the projecting
tenonin a mortise-and-tenon joint.
Cockbeading:A narrow decorative
molding appliedto the insideedges
of a faceframeor draweropening.
I
GLOSSARY I
I
Cope-and-stickjoint: A methodof Featherboard:A pieceof woodwith
"feathers"alongoneend
I
joining stilesand rails in frame-and- thin fingersor
panelconstruction.Tonguesin the to hold a workpiecesecurely againstthe I
railsmeshwith groovesin the stiles; fenceor tableof a powertool.
a decorativemolding is cut alongthe I
insideedgeof the frame. Fence:An adjustableguideusedto
keepthe edgeof a workpiecea setdis- I
Counterbore:To drill a hole that per- tancefrom the cutting edgeof a tool.
mits the headof a screwto sit below I
the wood surfaceandbe concealed Filler strip: A thin strip of either
with a wood plug. wood or laminate-covered material
usedto concealgapsbetweencabinets. I
Countersink:To drill a hole that per-
mits the headof a screwto lie flush Furring strip: A narrow length I
with or slightlybelowa wood surface. of wood installedatop a lower cabi-
net to supportthe counterand I
Dado: A rectangularchannelcut raiseits height.
in a workpiece. I
Glass-stopmolding: Decorativestrips
Dado head:A combinationof blades of woodusedto hold panesof glassin I
and cuttersusedto form dadoesand a cabinetdoor.
groovesin wood. The assemblyis
mounted on a tablesawwith two Glazingbars:Molded stripsof wood I
bladesseparatedby oneto five cutters joined by half-lapsto hold several
to achievethe right width. panesofglassin a singlecabinetdoor. I
Drip edge:A raisedprofileat the edge Inset drawer:A drawerthat fits flush I
of a countertopthat preventsspills' within a framelesscabinet.
I
E-F-G-H-I-l Island:A freestandingcabinetor
Edgebanding:Stripsof materialused cabinetrun isolatedfrom the walls I
to coverthe edgesof plywood and of a kitchen.
compositeboards;canbe solidwood I
or plasticlaminate. fig A devicefor guiding a tool
or holdingworkpiecein position.
End grain: The arrangementand I
directionof the wood fibersrunning K-L-M-N-O-P-Q
acrossthe the endsof a board. Kickback The tendencyof a I
workpieceto be thrown back in
Faceframe: A decorativewooden the directionofthe operatorofa I
framefixedaroundthe front of a woodworkingmachine.
cabinet,providingextrarigidity to I
the cabinet. Kickplate:The boardthat coversthe
toe kick of a lowerkitchencabinetor I
Falsefront A pieceof wood installed the exposedfacesof a plinth.
overa drawerfront, usuallyto conceal t
the end grain of the sidesor to create Laminatetrimmer: A lightweight
a lippedfront. routerusedto trim plasticlaminate
and solid wood edgingflush with I
its substrate.
I
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t40 I
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I
I
I Lockmiter joinfiA joint cut with a
specialrouter bit that produces
I an interlocking connectionwith
a miteredoutsidecorner.
I R-S
Melamine A popularbrand of plas-
I tic laminatemadefrom bonded
plastic,paper,and phenolicresin;
availablein sheetsor bondedto ply-
I wood or particleboard.
I Miter gauge:A devicethat slidesin a
slot on a sawor routertable,providing
I support for the stockasit movespast
the bladeor bit; canbe adjustedto
I different anglesfor miter cuts.
I Mortise-and-tenonjoint A joinery
techniquein which a projectingtenon
cut in one board fits into a matching
I hole,or mortise,in another.
I Mortise:A holecut into a pieceof
wood to receivea tenon.
I Tongue-and-groove
Nailer rails: Woodenrails attached
I to the backsof cabinetsthat support
the cabinetswhen screwedto the
I wall studs.
I Overlaydrawer: A drawerthat par-
tially or fully overlaysthe frame of a
t faceframe cabinet.
Panelsaw:A track-mountedcircular
t sawusedfor accuratecutsoflarge
sheetgoodssuchasplywood.
I and Avonite.
Plainsawnveneer:Veneerthat
I hasbeencut from the log in a flat
sheet;hardwoodplywoodwith
I plainsawnfaceveneercloselyresem-
blessolid wood.
I Plinth: A mitered woodenframe
that actsasa basefor lower cabinets
I or islands.
t
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I
I I4I
I
Pushblock or stick A deviceusedto
feeda workpieceinto a bladeor cutter
to protectthe operator'sfingers.
RabbehA step-likecut in the edge
or end of a board;usuallyforms part
of a joint.
Rail: The horizontalmemberof a
frame-and-panelassembly,Seestile.
Ready-to-assemble (RTA)fastener:
A type of threadedfastenerwith a
stout shaftand a narrowhead;used
for fastassembly of cabinets.
Scribing:Marking a line with a com-
passor scribingtool to copythe irreg-
ularity of a wall onto a cabinetor
counterwhereit butts againsta wall.
Oncethe wood is planedor sanded
to this line,the cabinetor counter
will fit seamlessly
againstthe wall.
Shim:A thin, wedge-shaped pieceof
materialusedto levelcabinetsand fill
minor irregularities.
Shoulder:In a mortise-and-tenon
joint, the part of the tenonthat is
perpendicularto the cheek.
Solid-surfacemateriaLA composite
boardmadeof castacrylicandpoly-
esterusedfor kitchencountertops;
sold under suchnamesasCorian
Stile:The verticalmemberof a frame-
and-panelassembly. Seerail.
Storypole A long,thin pieceof wood
with the measurements
indicatedon its length.
for a proiect
Stud finder: A devicethat electronical-
Iy pinpointsthe locationof wall studs.
T.U-V.W-X.Y-Z
Thmbourdoor: A type of door made
from narrowslatsattachedto a flexible
canvasbackingthat slidesin tracks
routedin the sidesof the carcase.
Tearout:The tendencyof a bladeor
cutterto tearwood fibers.
TemplateA patternusedto guidea
tool in reproducingidenticalcopies
oI a plece.
Tenon:A protrusionfrom the end of
a workpiecethat fits into a mortise.
Three-wingslotting cutter:A piloted,
groove-cutting
routerbit.
Toekick The recessrunning along
the bottom of a lower cabinetthat
allowsspacefor the feetof a person
standingbeforethe cabinet.
jointA joint in
which a tonguecut in the edgeor end
of onepiecefits into a groovein the
matingpiece.
Tiansferscribe:A compass-like device
that transferstheprofileof onesurface
onto another.
Utilityhookup: The point whereutil-
itiessuchaswater,sewage,
tricity areconnected.
and elec-
Wood movement:The shrinking
or swellingof wood in reactionto
changesin relativehumidity.
Worktriangle:An ergonomicprin-
ciplemeasuringthe efficiencyof a
workspacethat connectsthe three
most common placesof work in
that space;in a kitchen,typicallythe
refrigerator,stove,and sink.
 I
INDEX I
I
A-B.C Countrystyle,16 Mounting,79,87 I
Crownmolding,16, 118-119 bottom-mountedslides,
Adjustableshelving
Shelfsupports,i8-i9 Makingcrownmolding, 81.87-88 I
backendpaper building up faceframe cabinets
Shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs (ShopTip), 90
(ShopTip),39 Cutting lists,32
side-mountedslides,81, 89-90
I
Appliancebays,27, 38,40-4I
woodenrunners,81,91-92
Arts and craftsstyle,16 D-E-F Overlay,79,80,95-96 I
Backsplashes Dadoioints,80 Drawerslides,38,8l
TiL;,121,134-135
Wooden,136
Doubledadojoints,8Q 84
Design,13
Drip edges,139 t
Edgetreatments,44
Biscuitjoints,29,33-34,46-47 Arts and craftsstyle,16
Platejoiner stands,52 Colonial style,I5
eommercialedgebanding,49
Countertops
I
Board-and-batten doors,58,60-61 Countrystyle,i6 decorativeedgings,137-139
Board.feet,32 Europeanstyle,15 drip edges,-139 I
Build It Yourself Shakerstyle,14,16 Solidwood,44,48
Plateioiner stands,52
Cabinetjacks,gS
Victorian style,14,16 Europeancup hinges,56,74-75 I
Doors,57 Europeanstyle,15
Cabinets Board-and-batten,58, 60-6l
Dimensions,19,20-22 Frame-and-panel,58, 62-65
Faceframes,28, 50-51,53-55 I
Building up faceframe cabinets
SeealsoCasework;Doors; archedpanels,67 for mounting drawers I
Hardware;Layout;Lower cope-and-stick joints,66 (ShopTip), 90
cabinets;Upper cabinets raisedpanels,62 Makingwood plugs(ShopTip), 55
Casework,27,28 Glasspanel,57,58,59,69 Fasteners I
Gluing :up,46-47 glazingbars,70-72 Concealment
Lower cases,29
Uppercases,28
Hinges,73-76 making wood plugs I
Mounting techniques,59,73 (ShopTip),55
Sie alsoJoinery;Lower cabinets; flush-mounteddoors,76
Upper cabinets overlaydoors,74-75
Knockdownfasteners, I
Cockbeading, 53-54 front endpaper
Veneered-panel, 58,59,68 Ready-to-assemble (RIA), 32
Colonial style,I5 Doubledadojoints,80,84 Floorpians,12 I
Countertops,121 Drawers.T9 Flush-frontdrawers.
Backsplashes
tile,121,134-135
Assembly,85-86 SeeInset drawers I
Bottom panels,85,86 Frame-and-panel doors,58,62-65
wooden,136
Decorativeedgings,137-1i9
Dimensions,82
Eliminating drawerrattle
Arched panels,67
joints,66
I
Cope-and-stick
Installation,123 (ShopTip), 86 Raisedpanels,62 I
plasticlaminatecountertoPs, Falsefronts, 78,79, 93-96
125-128,137-139 securingfalsefronts with
pre-moldedcountertops, double-facedtape
G-H-I I
132-133 (ShopTip), 96 Glasspaneldoors,57,58,59,69
sinks,I24, 127,128 Glazingbars,70-72
solid surfacecountertoPs,
sizingfalsefronts
(ShopTip), 94 Glazingbars,70-72 I
129-131,139 Inset,78, 80,93-94 Handles,16
Plasticlaminate,l2l, 122, ]oinery,80
Drawers,93,97 I
125-128,132-133 doubledadojoints, 84 84 Hansen,Sven,10-ll
edgings,l37-139 lock miter joints, 84 83 Hardware I
Solid-surface, 120,l2l, 122, through dovetailjoints, 80,83 Doors,57
129-131 Knobsandpulls,9j,97 Drawerslides,38 I
drip edges,139 Layout,82 bottom-mountedslides,
Wooden,122,123 81.87-88
Materials,Sl
side-mountedslides,81,89-90 I
I
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r42 I
I
I
I
I
t Knobsandpulls,16,93,97 making thick shims Solid-surface
countertops,
Shelfsupports,38-39 (ShopTip), 107 120,127,122,129-131
I SeealsoHinges
Hinges,16,73
utility hookups,108-109
wall studs,103
Drip edges,139
Storypoles,13,23-25
Europeancup hinges,56,74-75 Kickplates,110-I I I
I Europeanfaceframe hinges,75 Layout, 19,20-22,24-25
Insetdrawers,78, 80,93-94 T-U*V
Lumber
I Boardfeet,32 Tambourslats.40-41
Throughdovetailjoints,8Q 83
I.K-L Cutting lists,32
Tiles
I IigS Drawers,81
Backsplashes, 121,134-I 35
Cabinetiacks,98,117 Plywood,30, 31,81
Countertops,I22
I Circular'saws Tilt-out sinktrays,TT
panel-cuttingattachments, 26 M-N-O-P-Q-R-S Tongue-and-groove joints,29, 35-36
I scoringsawattachments,
Drills
33 Moldings,l6
Seea[soCrown molding
Tools
Circular saws
shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs Overlaydrawers,79, 80,95-96
I (ShopTip), 39 Panels
panel-cuttingattachments,
scoringsawattachments, 33
26
Platejoiners Arched panels,67 Drills
I platejoiner stands,52 Raisedpanels,62 shop-madeshelfdrilling jigs
Temporarysupportrails,115 Peninsulas.SeeKitchenislands (ShopTip), 39
I loinery,29
Biscuitjoints,33-34,46-47
Plasticlaminatecountertops, Laminatetrimmers,44
t2l, 122, I 25-129, 132-133 Measuringtools,backendpaper
platejoiner stands,52
I Board-and-batten doors,60
Edgings, l37-139
Plateioinerstands,52
Platejoiner stands,52
Routers
Cope-and-stick joints,66 Platejoints.SeeBiscuitjoints bits, backendpaper
I Dadojoints,80 Plumbing,13 Tablesaws
Doubledadojoints,8Q 84 Sinks,124,127,128 blades,front endpaper
I Lock miter joints, 29,36, 80,83 Utility hookups,108-109 Tiansferscribes.99
Through do-setailjoints, 8Q 83 Plywood,30,31,81 Uppercabinets
I Tongue-and-groove
Kickplates,1 10-111
joints,35-36 Santarsiero, Tom,6-7
Shakerstyle,14,16
Casework,28
Installation,98,99,
Kitchenislands.112 Sheetgoods,30
I Plinths,100,101,I 12-114 Plywood,30,31,81
1 0 0t,} t , 1 1 5 - 1 1 6
bevelednailers,117
Knobs,l6 Reducingtearout,33 commercialcabinetsupports,
I Drawers,93,97 SeealsoPlasticlaminate 115
Layout,13,-18 countertoDs crownmolding,I18-119
I Drawers,82 Shelfsupports,SA-SS makingthick shims
Proportionsand dimensions, Shelves (ShopTip), l0Z
I 19,20-22
Work triangles,17
Adjustableshelvingsupports,
38-39
shop-madecabinetjacks
(ShopTip),llZ
LazySusans, 38,42-43 Slide-outshelves
I Legs (ShopTip), 43
Layout, 19,20-22,24-25
Utility hookups,108-109
Levelerlegs,44-45, 100 Shims Veneered-panel doors,58, 59,68
I Levellingtechniques,100,102 Making thick shims Victorian sIyle,14,16
Lock miter j oints,29, 36,80,83 (ShopTip), 107
I Lower cabinets
Casework,29
ShopTips W-X-Y-Z
Cabinetinstallation,107,117
Installation,99, 100,104-106 Wood.30
I adjacentwalls,106-I 08
Casework, 39,43,55
Drawers,86,90,94,96
SeealsoLumber;Sheetgoods
levellingtechniques,100, Woodplugs(ShopTip), 55
Silvers,Don, 8-9
I 102-103 Sinks,124, 127,128
Work triangles,17
Sink trays,77
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I
Theeditorswishto thank thefollowing I
LAYOUTAND DESIGN
' Tools,Ltd.,ottawa,ont.; StanleyTools,Divisionof the Stanleyworks,
LeeValley
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New Britain,CT; TritechIndustries,St-Lambert, Que.
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CASEWORK
AdjustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericanClanryinq(Canada)Inc.,CambridgeOnt.; I
6lack& Decker/EluPowerTools,Towson,MD; BradburyIndustries,Toronto,Ont.;
canadianIndustrialDistributors,Inc., Montreal,Que.;cMT Tools,Oldsmar,FL;
DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., I
Mississausa, Ont.i HitachiPowerToolsU'S.A.Ltd'' Norcross,GA;
JuliusBlum Inc., Stanley]NC; LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,ottawa, on-t.;Modulus, St-Hubert,Que.; I
LesRealisations Loeven-Morcel, Montreal,Que.;Sears,Roebuckand Co.' Chicago,IL;
SencoProducts,Inc., Cincinnati,OH; Steiner-Lamello A'G.
Switzerland/Colonial SawCo.,Kingston,MA; Tool TrendLtd', Concord,Ont' I
DOORS
AdiustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln,NE; CMT Tools,Oldsmar,FL;
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DeliaInternationilMachineryTPort.r-Cable, Guelph,Ont.; GreatNeck SawMfrs. lnc. (BuckBros.
Sears,Roebuckan$_Cg.,Chicago,IL;
Division), Millbury, VA; JuliusBlum Inc., Stanley,.NC; I
Steiner-LamelloA.G.Switzerland/ColonialSawCo.,kingston,MA; Tool TrendLtd.,Concord,Ont.

DRAWERS t
AdiustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Guelph'Ont.;
Roebuckand co., chicago,lL;
David Keller,Petaluma,cA; iulius BIum Inc.,stanley,NC; Sears,
A.G.
Divisionof the StanleyWorks,New Brilain,CT; Steiner-Lamello
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StanleyTools,
SawCo., Kingston,MA; Tool Trend Ltd., Concord,On1
Switlerland/Colonial
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INSTALLING CABINETS
ClampCo.,Chicago,IL; DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable,
Adiustable
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GA;JuliusBlum Inc',Stanley,
Guelph,Ont.;
NC;
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Hitachii'owerTooliU.S.A.Ltd.,Norcross,
LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,Ottawa,Ont.; OrnamentalMouldings,.HighPoint, NC; Sears,
New Britain'CT;
Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; StanleyTools,Divisionof the Stanley-Works, I
A.G.
Steiner-Lamello Saw
Switzerlind/Colonial Co., MA;
Kingston, Tritech St-Lambert,Que'
Industries,

COI.]NTERTOPS
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CA; Black&_Decker/Elu
AdjustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; Avonite,Inc.,Sylmar,. PowerTools,
Guelph,Ont';
' MD; CMt Tools,Oldimar, FL;DeltalnternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable,
TowJon, I
Roebuckand Co.,Chicago,IL;
LeeValleyTools,Ltd.,Ottawa,Ont.; Sears,
SencoProducts,Inc.,Cincinnati,OH I
in thepreparationofthis book:
Thefollowingpersonsalsoassisted
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ScottYetman
LorraineDor6,Kerry& VictoriaMcCluggage'
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PICTURECREDITS
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CoverRobertChartier I
6,7 CarolynJones
8,9GaryMoss
10,11MichaelTincher
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14,15,27,38,79Brian VandenBrink
87 Courtesyfulius BIum, Inc. I
112BrianVandenBrink
I l8 CourtesyOrnamentalMouldings
l20,l2l BrianVandenBrink
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l3l Courtesy Avonite,Inc.
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WORKSHO
GPUIDE
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I TABLESAWBLADES
F()RKITCHEN
CABINETS Dado blade
Two blades are fitted
I Combination blade
All-purpoee eaw
Melamine blade
9pecialieed blade ueed
Plywood blade
Hae many emall
ort eirhe" eide of chipper
bladea, which are added
blade; can rip and for cutLtnq lamtnatee teel,h tthaL make a a9 nece'sary T.ovary
t crogocut lumber ,UCn aA melAmtne- cmooth, aplinter- the widLh of Lhe cut
c overe ti pa rLtc leboa rd free cut tn plywood
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