Making some utility room cabinets & need advice on material & joinery.

[Juicegoose]

This weekend I had planned on building some utility room built in cabinets for the wife as we don't have any right now. After chatting with her a little last night she stated she wanted to paint them white anyway so it brought up what material to use. Originally I was going to pick up some oak ply but now i'm tempted to either go with 3/4" MDF or simple 3/4" birch ply from the BORG. What would you guys with experience in installing cabients of different grades recommend? I think MDF would be easier to paint with the edges looking better and not needing a face frame but i'm concerned about it's strength. I had planned on french cleating the cabinet to the wall and using rabbit and dado joints for the joinery.

Also after showing her some doors she decided she wanted a simple frame and panel door. I've made plenty for shop cabinets but have always jsut used my kreg jig for the joinery. I'd like it to look a little nicer and was planning on using half lap joints for the rail and stiles. Would this glue bond be sufficient? If not what should I go with?

Thanks for all your advice

[Dave]

My wife would spill cleaning supplies so for my house I would use birch ply. Went_Postal has some pictures here in the forums of a nice solid cabinet in his post titled "Thee Project". I build my cabinets real close to how he did.

[Rapid Roger]

If it was my job and decision, and its going to be painted anyway....I would use birch plywood and popular face frame and doors. I have used half lapped joints on the doors on a linen cabnet in the bathroom and they have held up fine (for three years anyway). So I would use (as usual) the KISS method again for a utility room.

Rog

[Juicegoose]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. You are talking about getting your popular from the local hardware store? KISS would be simply utilizing my kreg jig picking up some plugs and being done with it but I'd rather hone more skills then do it super super easy. Might even take some of that popular and mortise and tenon a door or two for practice.

One cabinet will be floor to ceiling in length(or probably just 8') and will have a 5'-6" door on the bottom for a broom closet of sorts. Would you guys think the half lap with just a glue bond would still be sufficient or would you rather back it up with some pins or maybe try the mortise and tenon on that door?

[Juicegoose]

Also one of the cabinets the good ole wife wants made will be about 8' tall by 24" wide and fit nicely in a little cubby she wants a single door on the bottom 6' so it will hold brooms and such. With the cabinet going from the floor up what would be the ideal base.

A. just have two sides and leave the bottom open the the tile floor(no bottom)

B. but in a toekick and floor like standard base cabinets.

[Jerry_in_SD]

I would use white melamine with the iron on edge banding. That is what I have done. Drawers out of 1/2" birch ply with false fronts out of MDF. Doors with poplar rails and stiles, flat panels out out 1/4" birch ply or 3/4" MDF for raised panels. Joinery would be biscuit or if top / sides are hidden, I've even used pocket screws. If you don't have a shelf hole jig you can get the melamine with pre-drilled holes.

This is the low end of the spectrum. You could go with a poplar face frame for a more refined look. A more sturdy approach you could go with daddoed joinery on the case.

my 2 cents...

[dryhter]

MDF does not hold fasteners well, if at all, and it is dusty to work with and humidity is a problem, but it does paint up OK, and it is heavy. never have figured why they brought that product to market.. other than it is cheap and a good way to re-cycle waste products from production runs. Go birch.

[PaulMarcel]

One cabinet will be floor to ceiling in length(or probably just 8') and will have a 5'-6" door on the bottom for a broom closet of sorts. Would you guys think the half lap with just a glue bond would still be sufficient or would you rather back it up with some pins or maybe try the mortise and tenon on that door?

Half-lap joints are very strong and resist twisting and racking better than many others. It's all face-grain to face-grain glue-up, which is very strong. If you're gonna paint it anyway, maybe tack the half-laps in place with short pins (pneumatic) from behind mostly to make assembly easier; the paint will fill the minuscule 24ga pin holes. They'd also add unnecessary strength.

But, try the M&T; this is a great practice project.

Also one of the cabinets the good ole wife wants made will be about 8' tall by 24" wide and fit nicely in a little cubby she wants a single door on the bottom 6' so it will hold brooms and such. With the cabinet going from the floor up what would be the ideal base.

A. just have two sides and leave the bottom open the the tile floor(no bottom)

B. but in a toekick and floor like standard base cabinets.

If you had a big cabinet like that with just 3 sides (left, right, back), I think you'll have problems, but this can depend on how you build it. If you want the tile floor revealed inside, at least put a stretcher across the bottom; it would also act like the door stop anyway. With just 3 sides, I'd add some hardwood on the inside edge of the door opening to keep the ply straight over the 6'. If you don't want to put hardwood recessed like that (think of a recessed/inset face frame), then put a decent hardwood banding on the ply for the sides. Something 3/4-1" wide. I do that with all my plywood cabinets and have no problems at all with them even though I tend to use much thinner ply than usual. Naturally the normal base (no need for a recessed toe-kick) would be the strongest.

[Craig]

This weekend I had planned on building some utility room built in cabinets for the wife as we don't have any right now. After chatting with her a little last night she stated she wanted to paint them white anyway so it brought up what material to use. Originally I was going to pick up some oak ply but now i'm tempted to either go with 3/4" MDF or simple 3/4" birch ply from the BORG. What would you guys with experience in installing cabients of different grades recommend? I think MDF would be easier to paint with the edges looking better and not needing a face frame but i'm concerned about it's strength. I had planned on french cleating the cabinet to the wall and using rabbit and dado joints for the joinery.

Also after showing her some doors she decided she wanted a simple frame and panel door. I've made plenty for shop cabinets but have always jsut used my kreg jig for the joinery. I'd like it to look a little nicer and was planning on using half lap joints for the rail and stiles. Would this glue bond be sufficient? If not what should I go with?

Thanks for all your advice

I would use Melamine for the casework( you don't have to paint it and it will hold up to spill of cleaners, detergents, etc.).

Joinery, just simple butt joints on the casework with glue and screws or staples. If an end is exposed, you can make a panel to match your doors. If it is paint grade FF, you can just glue them on nail it to the casework and fill the holes.

[Juicegoose]

Your correct on the part about the cabinet only having three sides but wrong in the assumption that it will be free standing. This cabinet will fit in a small cove built into the wall. My plan had been to simply screw them to the wall on the sides. I will put a floor on the cabinet though probably typical to a standard cabinet cutting a dado in the sides for the base pice 1/2" up then scribing my face fram to the door and leaving 1/4" reveal on the bottom of the cabinet.

[Juicegoose]

so I wasable to get everything cut down for my cases and get them glued up but had a quick couple questions about face frames and mounting the cabinet to the wall.

regarding face frame. Because these are to be painted I bought 3/4" poplar. The cabinet will have the back and one side along a wall and the plan was to make the rails and stiles at 1 1/2" with the door opening to the wall - lets say for clarity the cabinet is hanging on a wall with the left side butted up against a wall and the door hinged t swing to the wall. If I have the rails and stiles set for 1 1/2" and on the side where the hinges go i need the face fram flush would it look odd for that side face frame to be flush yet the other stile be setup to where the outside edge is flush with the cabinet and the inside edge extends in towards the cabinet(confused yet?)

Also I plan on using french cleats for hanging the cabinet(cabinet is 24 wide X 48 tall) My back panel is 1/2"ply and is floating in the carcass. The top is rabbit onto the top of the side panels as well. So if i put the cabinet on the wall I'm afraid the cleat and back panel will pop the top off the cabinet and the remaining bottom and sides will fall to the ground. How is the cleat mounted to the cabinet in floating panel back without the whole thing popping the top off?