Need advice in making own kitchen cabinets

[mcelhane]

I'm planning on making my own kitchen cabinets and I need a few pointers on hardware sources and cabinet drawer material. I was recently moving a Kitchenmaid vanity and, frankly, I was really impressed by their craftsmanship and the drawer hardware. (I hate to say that) The drawer hardware was an under-the-drawer slide (what I'm looking for) . In addition, the drawers were made of Baltic Birch plywood (I think) (w/half-dovetail construction), but it looked to be a better quality veneer on the plywood exterior than what I can get locally.

Two Questions:

1. What are your recommendations for sources for under-the-drawer slides?

1. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives that I should look into? What is Kitchenmaid buying?

Thanks for your comments - all are appreciated

[Swingman]

You will hate that you said it also, once you see/handle/experience custom kitchen cabinets made by a craftsman, even one doing it for the first time who is willing to put forth the effort ... there is no comparison.

Once you have been around a kitchen thusly made for 15 minutes, the next time you walk through the BORG you will immediately recognize, at a distance, what cheap stuff KitchenMaid really is, regardless of the looks and price ... and it ain't that cheap.

Hittich, QuadroV6:

2. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives

As long as you are going to the trouble to invest time, energy and money in your custom kitchen, consider long and hard about using real wood on your drawers. Maple is not that expensive, and poplar makes a fine drawer relatively inexpensively.

You will next be asking about a book. IME getting a few folks started in that direction, there is no better start on the cabinet part than John Paquays' little booklet at:

color photos, no fluff ... just a basic, solid cabinet making methodology to make both uppers and lowers that will give you a good departure point for doing your own design as you gain experience on the first cabinet. If nothing else, use it in conjunction with Jim Tolpin books, which are also excellent and go into greater depth on issues like installation, etc.

[Leon]

2. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives

Not really but yes. Typically Baltic Birch is free of voids in the inner ply's. Plywood sold as Baltic Birch often has softer inner ply's that often have voids.

[stoutman]

Dunno.

[Chris Dubea]

Tell me about it. After the flooding from Kartina, the custom cabinet maker that originally built my cabinets quoted 26 week delivery so we were forced into the pre-built stuff (4-6 week delivery). The total was $10K and they are real crap. The "plywood" is covered in paper and only the fronts have a "finish" if that is what you call the spray paint the put on them. When I protested to the company rep about the roughness of the "finish" he launched into this diatribe about the variations in wood being the beauty of it. WTF?

Then he proceeds to start dissin' the cabinet I built and hung on the wall in the laundry room. At that point I told him to leave.

Never again. I'll take time off of work and build the suckers myself in the future.

=========================================================================== Chris

[Stephen M]

Having built a few of my own, I'm just curious as to what the rep from would have to say in the for of a slam to a presumably well-made DIY cabinet.

How did he dis you work?