I'm considering doing my own kitchen cabinets. One of the things that has me worried (quality and time) is putting a good, durable finish on everything. Anybody ever use this stuff?
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it the best thing that I have found to meet my requirements for case work. I don't mind finishing the face frame, doors, and drawers with a HVLP, but I don't want to have to finish the case interiors.
I haven't found a distributor yet so I have no idea on the cost. It would be really cool if this stuff came already cut to standard widths. Can anybody discuss their experiences with this stuff?
Use a "door" grade melamine for the cases. Do not use a "cabinet grade" melamine (that is what is typically is available at Home Depot and such outlets). There is a price difference but in the long run it will ware far better. Melamine is a better product for the cases as compared to plywood as it dose not need any finishing and is easy to clean and comes in a variety of colours. Also avoid Iron on edge tape as it becomes brittle and chips very easily try to find a vinyl edge tape and use contact cement to glue it on the edge. The vinyl will not chip as easy and is well worth the extra steps involved in contacting it.
If it is already prefinished it would be hard to putty holes and stain and finish anywhere the saw blade splintered the edge. Also, sanding a face frame flush with the carcase would be impossible. If you were doing frameless cabinets and used a really good blade, being careful to cut good side up, it might not be bad. Especially if you aren't set up for finishing. You would still have to finish the taped edges, hoping the heat doesn't affect the finish. Be careful of the cost difference.
I am using "Prefinished one side" cabinet grade birch plywood for my extensive kitchen cabinet project. This is my first experience with prefinished sheet goods and as you speculate, it has saved me so much work I can't even imagine using anything else in the future.
I had my millwork supplier rip them in half and then I finished ripping them to 23". They were delivered to me on a flat bed truck and even after cross cutting them ( see my cross cut jig on my website) and biscuit slotting all the case components, the finish is just as nice as when it left the plywood factory. I am sold for sure.. and at a 20% premium, it was worth every penny of $12 per sheet extra.
i've seen it. i've used it. not sure why chris started talking melamine. maybe he didnt understand that the uv ply is prefinished. also not sure why edgeband came into play when you are clearly planning on putting in framed cabinets. but as far as the uv goes... works just fine. used it twice for cabinet carcasses. we really fairly careful not to beat it up as i wasnt sure what kind of abuse the finish would take.
i pay $74 for a 3/4" 4x8 maple one side and $79 for two side. not sure why second side is only 5 bucks, but whatever. only problem i have here is that my sheet good supplier only sells the uv in "shop grade". i usually use A1 for all my sheet goods. i pay $89 for 3/4"
Do you recall the manufacturer of the material you used? I have seen it from Georgia Pacific and Columbia.
I would like to use RTA fasteners because they seem the fastest, but I'm not sure how that would hold up in the long run. How did you fasten yours? I wouldn't expect glue to hold very well on the finished surface.
Does the finish require anything after construction or are you good to go for case interiors after construction?
Thanks in advance. The more I learn about this, the more I think I can do my own cabinets... I must day that it is a daunting task for a hobbyist and I remain nervous. But I priced cabinets of a quality that I am pretty sure I can surpass and that I can save 2/3 even after I buy some new tools...
not positive right now, but leaning heavily toward GP
The way i cut my carcasses, there arent any finished edges butting up. dado sides to accept the bottom. cut edge unfinished into cut dado, unfinished. rabbit both sides to accept back panel. same thing. never put a box together with RTA fasteners. seems like alot of work though.
build the box and go. like i said, we didnt beat them around too much. brought the sheet goods in, cut them up, threw face frames on and got them out asap. another nice thing is that glue that gets on surface (i glue my face frames on) wipes right off. no glue shadows in finish from glue in raw wood.
not sure what tools you have, but even if you make the boxes and order everything else, you'll be way ahead of the game. the nice thing is that you'll have ply boxes. i'm sure you've done some homework and know that cab manufacturers get quite a premium for APC (from $70-$150 per cabinet). if you are not equipped to do your doors and even your face frames, i've got a catalog from walzcraft industries. i havent used them yet, but we are so backed up in the shop right now that i am thinking about ordering doors and face frames for a few vanities going in a house next month. their prices are reasonable. they have any style you could possibly want. probably 30 or so species of wood for options. they even finish for you if you like. they do doors, face frames, drawer boxes, and sell rough or surfaced lumber (their lumber prices are high, but if you wanted a few pieces to mill for fillers or trim at least you know the wood would match the other parts. never used them though, maybe someone else on the wreck can lend some info on them.
Not sure why RTA is a lot of work, predrill and screw as far as I can tell. Maybe I'm confusing RTA with the confirmat type of screw...??
What then? Glue and screws? I'm leaning towards just making square boxes - without the built-in toe kick. Then either using a frame on the floor that I will then level as a base for the cabinets which will provide the toe kick. This seems like the easiest way to get a level base. Or attaching feet to the bottom of the cabinets to provide easy leveling and toe kick as I have seen in Jim Toplin's book.
I have a tablesaw, router table, drill press, jointer, and planer plus various hand tools. Not sure that I need anything else for the job. If I decide that I want to go with dovetail drawers, I will pickup a jig suitable for half blinds. I will probably buy an HVLP to speed up finishing - not sure if this provides for a better finish, but it should be alot faster...
If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do as much of it as I can.
Most of the major companies offer a prefinished plywood. Columbia and GP both have similar products...
I think a pretty melamine would work just as well and be a LOT cheaper. This requires NO finishing inside and the box will be much easier to clean in the long run.
Your trick is to find the dealer that carries the product. Columbia offers a "dealer finder" on their site.
RTA fastners require "precision drilling and boring" that most folks aren't willing to do. Do you plan on taking these cabinets apart ???
Those cab> Not sure why RTA is a lot of work, predrill and screw as far as I can
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