Decent base cabinets for the shop

[Brendon_t]

With the garage to shop renovation about ready to start, I've been watching cl for any base cabinets like someone tearing out a kitchen but haven't seen squat. 

I know its been covered but its buried in the search function.  

Anybody have any advice where to look for decent (read as not nicer than my kitchen cabinets) cabinets or boxes? 

I don't mind buying just boxes and making face frames and doors.  

[Tom Cancelleri]

I bought unfinished cabinets at Lowe's. They are oak face frame and doors, with particle board cases. Not ideal, but it's shop furniture Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

[weithman5]

i was fortunate to use my old kitchen cabinets

i know in my neighborhood when houses get remodeld often those cabinets are at the curb.

otherwise i would follow the above advice and just get cabinets from a borg.

[Brendon_t]

I have seen pistons multiple times on cl for whole kitchen sets for rediculous prices. One I saw recently was something like 22 double cabinets pick up only for $100. 

[drzaius]

Don't laugh, but check out Ikea. When I did the kitchenette at work I did a lot of shopping for cheap cabinets. Their boxes & drawers were far & above better than the cheaper stuff at Home Depot & about the same price.

[Brendon_t]

I actually looked at their website but couldn't find just basic boxes.  It was all modular finished sets 

[Larry Moore]

Try Habitat for Humanity resale stores even Volunteers of America if they have a resale store

[Brendon_t]

Tom recommended a restore also.  I'll drop by the one that recently opened. 

As much as I want to like the restore, every time I have ever been there,  there was really nothing but junk. 

[-MattK-]

Brendon, the ikea website is a pain in the ass.  I've dug through it, here's what I learned:

* White "haggeby" is the cheapest door/drawer

* Cheapest cabinet per linear inch is a 36" 2-door - it was $2.64 / in.  (2.64 $/ inch if you're Shane).

* Adding drawers gets expensive - there's a cheap drawer hardware and a more expensive drawer hardware

* Doing doors with wire basket drawers is a more economical approach but only works in a few widths of cabinet

* I believe there's only one solid wood counter top left - the hammarp.  Comes in 98 or 74 lengths x 25 5/8 deep x 1 1/8 thick.

[Cliff]

Friend of mine got an entire kitchen of oak cabinets for $100 at an auction. 

[Coop]

The down side is that you are stuck with the size you find, depth, width, drawers/doors. Why not build your own, you'll be happier in the long run?

[Brendon_t]

Coop, i know that I could.  I just have no desire to.  I want to get the shop finished so I can  build a rocker.

I'm also not married to any specific sized boxes.  I could make due with a lot of  different sizes. 

I guess it's like doing my own taxes. I definately could,  but my time is better spend doing something else.

Plus,  at $78/$100 a piece.  It'll be about the same price as buying my own cabinet ply.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Brendon_t

[wtnhighlander]

I agree with you, Brendon, except for one thing. If you build them from plywood, they will actually stand up to shop use, instead of turning to particlemush when the humidity gets high, like the $70-$100 a pop stuff available from my local big-box does. Voice of experience. If your shop space is climate-controlled, that's a different story.

[estesbubba]

I checked CL and habitat restore for months and no luck finding what I wanted. Ended buying heavy duty shelving which I'm happy with. 

https://goo.gl/photos/iN7D6WRzXjbpj6787

[Brendon_t]

Wtn, I get the argument. Fortunately,  cali doesn't deal with humidity, almost at all. 

And Mike S, I have always worked with open shelving.  It gave me much needed storage,  I just feel they look like an eyesore.  Plus a bottom cabinet row will be the base for a mitre station. 

[rodger.]

I made a set for my shop out of 3/4" construction ply.  Used pine face frames.  Very durable for shop use!  

[mat60]

With the garage to shop renovation about ready to start, I've been watching cl for any base cabinets like someone tearing out a kitchen but haven't seen squat.

I know its been covered but its buried in the search function.

Anybody have any advice where to look for decent (read as not nicer than my kitchen cabinets) cabinets or boxes?

I don't mind buying just boxes and making face frames and doors.

The boxes are the easy part and Id be glad to walk you through it if you don't mind sending me a pm..Mark

[Andy Wright]

Try doing a google search for "surplus building supplies" in your area. There are usually a few places in every city that sell surplus building supplies (think returns, damaged in shipping, built with imperfections, etc.) I bought four oak base cabinets that all had damage from a place like that hen was able to put together three good cabinets back in my shop in an hour.

In my case, one unit had a broken door, another unit had a broken drawer, and another one had been hit by a forklift damaging the case but not the door or drawer. I scrapped the one with major damage to the case and used the door and drawer to fix the other two. The fourth cabinet had minor damage to the back of the case that I was able to patch up by installing a new plywood back. In the end, they were as nice as they would have been if I had bought them new but I was able to get them for 75% off

 

[Chet]

I wonder if you could contact a kitchen remodel business or two.  Maybe you could work a deal when they are ripping something out of a kitchen.

[Brendon_t]

Chet, I know a few remodelersand did reach out.  All three told me when they remove cabinets,  they do it with a sawzall and sledge. Let email know I would come pick up if they had a set and save them the dumpster space and weight.. well see if that pans out.

[Chet]

I wonder if they would let you come and remove them???

[andrew-in-austin]

If I was in a hurry to get it done, I would probably get them from Ikea.  They actually do make decent cabinets.  Before I got back in to woodworking, I remodeled my kitchen and used Ikea cabinets.  The carcass is nothing special, but they are decent quality.  They also have drawer slides that are Blum, and very good quality slide.  We've had our kitchen now for 8 years and not a single thing has worn out or broken, and we have a 6 year old who thinks nothing of climbing up the cabinets and slamming doors and drawers.

[wouldwurker]

I know you don't want to hear it again, but a ply box with a one piece ply door and cup hinges comes together very quickly...you could knock out 3 of them in a day easy.

Skip the knobs, use screws, make the bottoms of the door proud of the case so you can open them with your feet. Throw together riser to leave toekick space.

Done and done.

Homemade Cab:

- plywood cabinets look cool in a shop.

- you'll build your case chops

- a great place to wipe that last ounce of wiping varnish when you're done a finishing project.

- strong as hell

- they'll make you feel happy whenever you look at them.

 

Used cabinets on Craig's list:

- Smell like cat pee

- full of boogers and bad memories

 - made of melamine

- smell like old people

- weak shelves

- won't match the rest of your shop.

- will make you sad whenever you look at them.

 

New IKEA Cabinets in your woodshop:

- when people visit your shop they'll say "ooooh...did you make these?"...and you'll have to say, 'um, I got them at IKEA...but uh...my time is super valuable...I mean...I COULD have built them...better actually...hey look over there! (Point to window, smother his face with chloroform soaked rag, drag back to dinner party and say he drank to much).

..and that only works 7, maybe 8 times before people get suspicious 

Build em yourself.

Edited September 21, 2015 by vinnyjojo

[-MattK-]

perhaps the most eloquent case ever made for "build your own cabinets" - pretty sure I was just convinced to build my own, too.  Well done @vinnyjojo