c/cabinetmakers

Heard a guy at the lumber yard say he never uses a dado stack for plywood, just routers and multiple passes.

I mean, I get the clean cut argument, but my Freud stack saves me hours on a big cabinet run, so I'm curious if anyone else thinks the extra setup time is worth it for the speed later.

1 comments

fiona_sullivan29•1d ago

Update: I realized I've been cutting all my plywood dados at 3/8 inch for years because that's how I was taught, but a client's antique hardware needed a true 1/2 inch and my whole jig was off.

I only figured it out after I couldn't get the drawer slides from a 1950s dresser rebuild to fit, and now I'm rethinking every cabinet box I've built since my apprenticeship.

2 comments

the_tessa•2d ago

Heard a guy at the lumber yard say 'good enough' and it made me cringe

I was picking up some maple for a built-in last week and overheard another guy talking to the yard guy. He was buying some pretty rough ply for a cabinet box and said, 'It's fine, it's just the inside, good enough.' I get it, we all cut corners sometimes to save a buck or time. But it hit me that 'good enough' for the stuff nobody sees is how you end up with a drawer that sticks in five years because the box racked. My old boss in Seattle drilled into me that the unseen work is what holds up the show piece. That plywood is the skeleton. If you wouldn't put your name on the face of it, why put it in the guts? Has anyone else had a project fail because the 'good enough' hidden part gave out?

2 comments

johnthompson•3d ago

A weird thing I saw at the historic hotel in Galena

I was on a trip last weekend and stayed at this old hotel in Galena, Illinois. I couldn't stop looking at the built-in cabinets in the lobby, they were these huge, ornate things. The weird part was the drawer fronts, they had this crazy, wavy grain pattern that looked almost painted on, but it was real wood. I'm pretty sure it was some kind of crotch mahogany veneer, but the way they bookmatched the panels was just wild, you don't see that level of detail much anymore. Has anyone else run into a historic piece that used a wood figure in a way that made you stop and stare?

2 comments

troy_fox•4d ago

Saw a kitchen island in a Denver Airbnb with a waterfall edge that looked off

I was staying there last weekend and the granite top had a visible seam right at the miter on the corner. It looked like they used a basic adhesive and didn't color match the epoxy right. What's the best method you guys use to get those seams to disappear on a thick stone waterfall?

2 comments

sarah198•4d ago

My old boss told me to never use pocket holes for face frames

He said they would always shift and look bad over time, so I spent years doing mortise and tenon on everything. Then about three years ago I tried pocket holes with glue on a small built-in, just to see. That thing is still rock solid with no gaps. I think maybe the old glues and screws weren't as good. Anyone else have an old rule they finally broke with good results?

2 comments

taylor.jordan•5d ago

Cut a drawer front 2 inches too short on a big built-in job

I was working on a built-in for a house in Bellingham, cutting the last maple drawer front. Measured it at 14 inches, but my brain must have been fried because I cut it at 12. Realized it right when I went to fit it. Had to stop everything, glue on a new piece to the back edge, and re-run it through the planer. Took me an extra hour and a half to fix. Anyone have a good trick to avoid dumb measuring mistakes when you're tired?

2 comments

oliver_mitchell•7d ago

Read a study that said 70% of cabinet door failures happen at the hinge, not the panel

I was looking at some old trade journals online and saw a report from a woodworking lab. They tested a bunch of doors and found most give out at the hinge screw holes, not the center of the door itself. Has anyone switched to a specific hinge or mounting method because of this?

2 comments

the_elizabeth•10d ago

Finally tried a different way to cut my drawer fronts and it saved me hours

For years, I've been cutting all my drawer fronts on the table saw with a crosscut sled. It was fine, but I always had to clean up the edges with a block plane after. Last week, I had to make 24 identical fronts for a kitchen job. I decided to try using my track saw with a fine-tooth blade and a simple stop block setup on my bench. The difference was huge. The track saw left a much cleaner edge right off the cut, almost no tear-out on the plywood core. I didn't need to plane a single piece. What would have taken me a full afternoon of cutting and planing was done in about two hours. The track saw was just quieter and easier to handle for this one job. Has anyone else switched up their drawer front method and been surprised by the results?

2 comments

the_eva•12d ago

Vent: I was out of my usual wood filler and tried mixing sawdust with a bit of carpenter's glue for a quick patch on a maple face frame.

The client's dog chewed the corner of a finished cabinet door, and in a panic before they got home, I mixed the fine maple dust from my sander bag with some Titebond III, slapped it on, sanded it smooth, and you literally cannot tell, which feels like a weird, forbidden magic trick, right?

2 comments

johnson.jade•12d ago

Back in the day I fought with drawer slides for hours, then a guy at the lumberyard gave me a tip.

I used to install undermount slides by measuring from the bottom of the cabinet box, which was never perfect. About five years ago, this older guy saw me struggling and said, 'Just use a 1/2 inch spacer block on the cabinet floor, set the slide on it, and screw it in.' I tried it on a kitchen job the next week and it cut my install time in half. The block automatically gives you the right reveal at the bottom of the drawer front. It's so simple I felt dumb for not seeing it sooner. Anyone have other old-school shortcuts for drawer installs that still work great?

2 comments

patricia_wells•14d ago

I thought pocket screws were just for quick fixes until my kitchen remodel

For years, I saw them as a shortcut that would not hold up over time. Then, on a big kitchen job in Asheville, the client wanted all the face frames done that way to save on labor costs. I built a test cabinet with them and stressed it for a full week, loading it with about 150 pounds of old tile boxes. The joints did not budge at all. Now I use them for a lot of casework where it makes sense, and it has cut my assembly time nearly in half. Has anyone else found a good balance between when to use pocket screws versus traditional joinery for built-ins?

2 comments

riverhill•14d ago

Shoutout to the guy who showed me his drawer slide jig at the Tacoma wood show

I used to measure and mark each one by hand, but after seeing his setup I built a simple plywood template that locates the holes in under a minute. Anyone have a better jig for full extension slides on inset cabinets?

2 comments

hannaht29•14d ago

Question about using a water-based finish over oil stain

For years, I was told you could not put a water-based polyurethane over an oil-based stain without a mess. My old boss in Grand Rapids swore by using an oil-based topcoat every single time, saying the water-based stuff would not stick right and would look milky. I finally tried it on a small maple cabinet door last month, after the stain had dried for a full 72 hours. I used a light coat of General Finishes water-based poly, and it went on perfectly clear with no issues at all. The finish is hard, clear, and has held up just fine. It saved me a ton of cleanup time and smell. I guess the old rule was based on older products that weren't as good. Has anyone else switched over and found the same thing, or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

mia_singh24•15d ago

Unpopular opinion: I used to think a biscuit joiner was a waste of money, but after a client in Charlotte complained about a wobbly table I built 6 months ago, I finally bought a Porter Cable one.

Now I use it for every single miter joint on face frames and haven't had a callback since, but am I just overdoing it on simple boxes?

2 comments

grant728•17d ago

A client said my drawer boxes looked 'cheap' because I used 1/2 inch plywood.

He pointed out the sides felt flimsy compared to the solid maple fronts, and he was right. I switched to 3/4 inch for all my drawer boxes after that, even though it costs more. Has anyone else had a client call them out on a material choice that you later agreed with?

2 comments

mason.charlie•18d ago

I was using my router table backwards for a solid year before a guy at the lumberyard pointed it out.

I was picking up some maple in Springfield and mentioned how my dados were always a bit rough on the back edge. This older guy loading my truck just said, 'You're feeding the stock the wrong way, son. The bit spins clockwise, so you push from right to left.' I'd been doing the exact opposite the whole time. My cuts are so much cleaner now. Has anyone else had a basic tool technique they were totally backwards on?

2 comments

murray.grace•19d ago

Saw a wild cabinet design at a hotel in Nashville

I was staying at a hotel downtown last week and the built-in bar cabinet in the lobby caught my eye. The doors had this crazy curved glass front, like a big bubble, set into walnut frames. It looked cool but all I could think about was the nightmare of fitting that glass and keeping the doors from sagging. Has anyone here ever built something with curved glass panels before? How did you handle the joinery?

3 comments

dakota_king3•19d ago

Question about that new 'fast set' epoxy for miter joints

I tried a bottle of that 'Rapid Bond' stuff on a maple frame last month, cost me about $45. It set up way too fast before I could get the clamps square, and I had to scrap the whole piece. What do you guys use for tricky glue ups that gives you more working time?

2 comments

jordansmith•20d ago

Can we talk about the week I had to build a kitchen with no right angles

Last month in this old Boston house, every wall was off by at least half an inch. I spent three full days just scribing filler pieces and cutting custom shims, not building cabinets. The client kept saying 'just make it work' but wouldn't pay for the extra time. Has anyone else had a job where the prep work took longer than the actual install?

2 comments

alice242•23d ago

My uncle in Spokane said to always pre-drill for pocket screws in maple, even with a jig.

I argued that my Kreg jig should handle it, but I tried it on a maple face frame last month and got a nasty split. He was totally right, the wood is just too hard and dense. Anyone have a go-to bit size for pre-drilling in hardwoods like that?

2 comments

charles_cooper•24d ago

Watch out with that new 'fast cure' epoxy filler on figured maple

I was finishing a set of drawer fronts for a client's kitchen last month, using some really nice curly maple. I had a small tear-out near a knot and grabbed a tube of that new 5-minute epoxy wood filler I saw at the store, thinking it would save time. Big mistake. It set up way too fast to work it smooth, and once I sanded it flush and applied my usual oil finish, the patch turned a weird, cloudy gray. The whole piece looked like it had a bruise. I had to re-mill a new front from scratch, which set me back a full day and about $80 in material. I learned that some fillers just don't take stain or oil the same way, especially on tricky woods. Has anyone found a reliable filler for light woods that actually finishes clean?

2 comments

kai_bennett•26d ago

Serious question, how do you guys handle scribing for really uneven walls?

I just finished a kitchen install in a 1920s house here in Portland, and the back wall was out by almost an inch and a half over the eight foot run. For years, I would just cut a big, ugly filler strip and call it good. About two years ago, I saw a guy at a trade show use a contour gauge, and it blew my mind. I bought a General Tools one for about thirty bucks, and now I trace the wall profile directly onto the cabinet side. I still use my jigsaw to cut it, but the fit is so much cleaner. It takes a bit longer, but the client's face when they see that tight seam is worth it. What's your go-to method for dealing with walls that are nowhere near straight?

3 comments

zara166•29d ago

Heard a guy at the lumber yard complaining his drawer fronts were bowing after a month

He was blaming the wood, but when I asked, he admitted he'd been using 1/4 inch ply for the backs and skipping the center guide on his undermount slides. That's a guaranteed warp. Anyone have a go-to method for keeping wide drawer fronts flat?

3 comments

emma768•1mo ago

My drawer front glue-up came apart after a week in a humid garage

Honestly, I'm a bit annoyed at myself. I built a set of garage cabinets for a client in Portland last month, and I used my usual Titebond III for the maple drawer fronts. I did a simple edge glue-up, three boards each, clamped them overnight in my shop which is climate controlled. They looked perfect. Installed everything, got paid. Got a call yesterday that one of the big drawer fronts on the bottom cabinet just split right down the middle of a glue joint. It's been sitting in their uninsulated garage, and we've had that weird wet, humid weather for the past week. I think the wood moved way more than I planned for, and maybe my joint prep wasn't perfect that day. Part of me thinks I should have used dominoes or at least some biscuits for a panel that wide, but another part thinks a well-made glue joint should hold regardless of seasonal movement. Has anyone else had a glue joint fail specifically in a garage or shed environment? Wondering if I need to change my method for those jobs.

3 comments