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My apprentice asked me why I always cut my drawer fronts to exact size before assembly. I told him it's just how I was taught, and he said 'But what if the carcass moves a little?'
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olivia_hill7mo ago
That "what if the carcass moves" question is a good one. I read a forum post once where a guy said he builds everything a hair oversized, like an eighth inch, and then trims it flush after assembly. He said it's his cheat code for when glue-up or clamping pulls things a tiny bit out of square. It made sense to me, because you can always take more off, but you can't add it back.
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matthew_ward87mo ago
My first real cabinet build I cut everything to exact size and the glue-up pulled the face frame out of whack. I spent hours trying to fix it with a block plane. That forum guy's advice about leaving an eighth inch is a total game changer. I've been doing it on every project for the past two years and it saves so much headache. It feels wrong at first to not cut to the final line, but it's the right way to work.
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umabailey6mo ago
Yeah, that "cheat code" olivia_hill mentioned is how my shop teacher always did it too.
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