Kitchen Wall Cabinet

I live in a trailer in the great state of Maine. When I bought this trailer it was old and beatup, so I have been slowly renovating the trailer. One part which was in bad shape were the kitchen cabinets. After looking at low end cabinets, I came up with a price to replace my cabinets for around $3000. I no longer have that kind of money, so had been looking at the option of building my own cabinets.

I have decided that if I was to build my own cabinets, it would need to be out of natural wood.. I have no way of hauling 4' x 8' sheets of plywood from the lumber yard to my place, so decided that it must be made of natural lumber. After looking at the choices I had, I came down with that I could afford either matched pine boards or shiplap, which is also made of white pine. Shiplap was a bit wider boards, less seams to deal with, so that has become my choice of stock.

Shiplap is normally used on the outside of a house for siding and has a rough side and a smooth side. Both sides are decorative, the rough side is made deliberatively rough, but not splintery like rough sawn wood would be and is relatively free from knots. So, it seemed to be a good choice for materials. As an added benefit, I could get it in either 6' or 8' lengths. The 6 foot lengths would be ideal for making wall and base cabinets. I needed 34.5 inches for base cabinets and 30 inch pieces for the wall cabinets.

Step 1 Know Your Equipment

First thing is to determine what you need for equipment. I found that having a table saw and miter saw were necessary. They all need to be set up so that you can be sure to get square cuts. Also, you need to be very accurate in your cuts.

Other tools needed would be a circular saw, power drill, tape measure, etc.

When I cut boards to the same length I like to setup a stop block, so all the boards cut will be the same length.

Be sure to observe safety precautions when using power tools.

Comments

[milesduggan]

Just curious you said it was white wood. Do you mean pine or was it something else?

[nitepagn]

I tried to find an answer on Internet, it appears to be Douglas Fir. But can also be other woods that are straight grained and has reasonable strength. It is not white pine.

[milesduggan]

Awesome! Thank you for your quick and very thorough reply! I will probably be starting my entertainment center in the next couple of weeks and I will post some of the pictures if you like.

[nitepagn]

That would be great. I am thinking about my center of having a divider down the middle and about 6 inches of shelf height. Underneath there would be enough space to put DVDs. I found that using 1.5 inch x #8 screws gave good strength to the corners. In order to use that size screw all around I would rip down 2 x 4's to be square, I think they come out 1.5" square. Loew's has some 2"x2"x8' square furring strips for $1.32 each. That would save a few bucks, too. Usually this stuff is spruce pine, so you have to be careful about splitting. The 2x4's will take the screws a bit easier. You may also need to rip 1x3s for the facing. I found that cutting your pieces to size before ripping made the ripping job easier and safer. I have a miter saw and table saw which I use on these projects. For the legs or casters, I would use the full width 2x4s to give enough space for the leg supports. Also, you may want to splurge and use matched boards instead of the shiplap, would give a nicer look inside and out. I use minwax oil stains and polyurethane. I do not like how the water based products come out.

[nitepagn]

White wood is labeled on the wood from the saw mill, I expect it is spruce or another hard softwood species. All conifer trees are considered softwood, deciduous trees are considered hard wood. There are some relatively hard species of pine, white pine is a very soft wood and generally not used for structural support.

[milesduggan]

Great job! I am going to use your design w/ modified dimensions for a movable entertainment center. If my calculations are correct then it should be a third of the price and better quality over the crap they sell in most stores in my budget range. Thanks again! -miles

[nitepagn]

A 6' piece of ship lap costs $4.28 each. I estimate 9 pieces would be needed at a cost of $38.52 plus 1x2's, etc. I figure the completed project would cost $50 - $60. Don't forget to predrill all holes in the top piece and use kregjig to attach the face frame. Also use the kregjig to assemble the face frame. Make sure your miter saw and table saw is correctly aligned for 90 degree angles.

[nitepagn]

I am in the New England area, shiplap is made out of white pine, which is a soft wood, but when stained and polyurethaned, it comes out looking beautiful. It has a very nice grain that takes stain very nicely. You want to have it well sanded before staining. I have put together a base cabinet. I have also been looking at a tv center for myself. I would make it as a large box, luan panel for the back, with holes placed appropriately for the cables or maybe leave a corner open by cutting the luan panels across the corner at a 45 degree angle. Use 1 x 2 for the corners for strength, use a facing frame to hide the 1 x 2 supports. Shelves for the electronic components need to be 18" wide and probably 6" high. Maybe adjustable shelves are in order here. Don't forget storage room for dvds and games etc. I would buy premade legs or casters for the bottom of the cabinet. You might also want to put a doors on a couple of the cavities to hide the contents, you can use it to store wires and other paraphernalia. The top of the cabinet needs to cover the side panels to give a finished look. You may want to rip 2x4's down the middle to give you 1.75 x 1.75 strips of solid wood to give extra support for the cabinet. I would also put a cross member through the middle, front to back for extra support. I would make my cabinet 42" long, 28" high not including the short legs or casters and 18" deep. By using natural wood, the cabinet will not be excessively heavy, but will still be strong. I would adjust the dimensions so there is a minimum of waste and give you the look you desire.

[DIYfan]

Interesting way to generate material. Did you finish the doors? How did it turn out?

[nitepagn]

Hi, I have built a base cabinet with drawers and have also built the drawers and one of the doors. The main part of the base has been stained and polyurethaned. I will be bringing that piece in tomorrow and set it in it's place. I need to stain and polyurethane the drawers and doors and then the piece will be completed. At that point, I will go back and finish the wall cabinet and update the instructable. I will be building 3 more wall cabinets and 1 more base cabinet. As I gain skill in building of the cabinets, I am changing or updating the way the cabinets are built. These cabinets would be great for a workshop, but stained and polyurethaned, they make beautiful cabinets for the kitchen. One change I would recommend would be to use match boards instead of shiplap, as the rough side of ship lap is difficult to finish. I may make that change on my future cabinets as the sides of the cabinets will not be seen and matched boards are finished on both sides. The only drawback is the cleats used to build the cabinets. I will try to create an instructable on the base cabinet. These instructables take a lot of effort to complete. Thanks for reviewing my instructable. I am available to assist you with suggestions, if you should want to build some cabinets for yourself.