New to woodworking - seeking advice

[Fred]

I'm new to woodworking and need some advice on my first real project. I'm building some cabinets for my garage and haven't found any good plans to go by so here's what I'm thinking of doing and my questions:

I'm going to build the cabinets out of ¾ in. birch plywood. If they come out nicely I'll put a finish on them, otherwise I'll just paint them. I want to make dado cuts in the sides for the top and bottom and use 1/4 plywood for the back and set it in the width of the plywood (I forget what you call this cut). The doors will be very simple. Just

3/4 inch plywood with hidden hinges. I'm going to finish the exposed edges with iron on veneer. Here are my questions.

1) How deep do you cut the dado for the top and botton and for the inset for the back panel? For that matter is it structurally sound to make dado cuts in plywood?

2) What is the best way to cut the holes to set the hidden hinges in the sides? 3) What is the best way to cover the exposed edges of the plywood. I've seen the iron on veneer used on a TV show but not sure if another solution is available.

Thanks Fred

[e-mail]

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Rabbet

If the material is 1/4", make the cut 1/4". Actually if you make the cut a true 1/4" the plywood is about 1/32 u nder and will fit nicely.

Using the Euro style hinges? Thee is a Forstner bit made for just that.

The veneer works pretty well. You can cut them undersize and trim with wood, but for a garage cabinet, I'd go with the iron on.

[Fred]

Thanks Ed, I don't think I was very clear on my question regarding the depth for the dado and rabbet cuts. The sides will be 3/4 in. plywood. How deep into the 3/4 in. should the rabbet and dado cuts be?. Should I remove 1/4 inch of material, leaving 1/2 left in the side panel?

THanks Fred

[B a r r y]

Resources for you, check your local library:

I use 1/4 to 3/8" deep dadoes in 3/4" plywood. Inset the back panel so it's flush. For example, if the back is 3/4" thick, you'd inset it 3/4" thick.

No problem!

35mm bit. Like this ->

Iron on edge banding or thin strips of solid wood both work well.

Don't forget to build in hard points for hanging cabinets. You don't want a heavily loaded cabinet hanging from a 1/4" thick back.

Barry

[gpdewitt]

Also, any cabinets that hang, you might want to use a french cleat system (google this group for a pic and plan). Gives a lot of flexibility as your shop inevitably expands.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I cut them half way, or in this case 3/8".

[Fred]

[Fred]

[Dave Balderstone]

If I'm understanding coorrectly...

1/4" back, and you're making a rabbet cut into the end of the sides.

So your cut is 1/4" deep to handle the thickness of the back panel, and you're asking how much of the 3/4" thickness of the side panel to cut away?

I'd take 3/8" to 1/2" depending on my mood. Taking 1/2" isn't going to hurt.

[Mike G]

1 - I cut Dad's 1/4" deep but 1/2" will work and yes, it is structurally sound. 2 & 3 - I would go with a face frame and Blum 35mm euro hinges for face frame cabinets.

The hinges, a convenient and inexpensive jig and special drill bit can be found in the Rockler's on line site or catalog. If you decide to go with the euro style, no face frame, and banding the jig to cut the 35mm holes will still work for the doors.

Note, face frame or no face frame I'd still go with a solid wood edge for the carcass.

Good luck.

[B a r r y]

As usual, there are many ways to do it, but what's worked for me are

3/4" ply or 3/4" solid wood, like oak or birch, rails 2-3" wide along the top and bottom of the back, or a solid 3/4" ply back plate.

Danny Proulx's books are excellent for learning this type of stuff.

Barry

[Ron Truitt]

I built garage cabinets out of plywood and used 3/4 screen molding to cover the front edges of the shelves.

On the doors I just used my router to but a roundover and bead on them. The soak up extra varnish so they look darker than the faces of the doors but I was happy with it.

RonT

[Jim]

I saw a lot of other people giving advice on the cabinet construction so I'll pipe up on the edging. If you have a decent table saw, just cut your own edgeing about 1/8" thick and glue it on. I don't know of anything wrong with the ironed on stuff, but it is pretty easy to just glue the banding on as well.

Jim