Building Slab Cabinet Doors

Face frames cover plywood edges.

Building slab cabinet doors.

Shaker style doors add a simple and clean look to your cabinets and add a level of true craftsmanship to your cabinet project. Flat slab cabinet doors given the concern over quality of sheet goods what s a practical way to make large flat cabinet doors. But in the world of ready to assemble cabinets the number of choices sharply drops. Too many people building boxes on their living room floor from ikea are the cause.

Overlaps on the sides let you fine tune the cabinet width during installation. Do not glue the panel into place. I like rosecrans myself. A cabinet door with a bare face perfect for various types of kitchen designs.

Because we ll be using tongue and groove joinery to assemble the boards you ll want to account for the half an inch of width for each joint that will be lost when the boards are joined. Extra tall so you can trim their ends after gluing. Kraftmaid for example offers thermofoil wood veneer and solid slab doors each in a variety of solid colors and stains. The 3 4 plywood case eliminates panel jointing planing and glue ups.

Building a slab or flat panel door. The simple flat slab construction that defines this style lets you create designs that range from ultra modern to basic utilitarian. It s a good idea to make your doors 1 8 in. The space balls keep the panel tight while allowing the wood to move or expand.

Begin with the right cabinet dimensions. Step up the look of slab cabinet doors by adding molding to the edge or offset from the edge of the door. The first step to building slab style cabinet doors from solid wood is to cut the boards to length. In particular the slab door lends itself to contemporary styles which often utilize smooth clean surfaces with an emphasis on angles or balance.

For each one you ll need two stiles the vertical parts two rails the horizontal parts and one panel. Get yourself a good quality 3 4 inch particleboard. Figuring the length of the stiles is easy. The sample base and wall cabinets shown below have these features to make building them as simple as possible.

Other than the hinges there is no metal just wood and glue. And if you are starting with wood that is already surfaced and squared then you can build the entire door with just a table saw and miter saw. Make a list of the parts of your diy shaker cabinet doors before you begin. Helpful 0 not helpful 0.

Slab cabinet doors have no frames. Here s a handful of suggestions.