Danny Proulx's Cabinet Doors and Drawers

DANNY PROULX’S CABINET DOORS AND DRAWERS

A COMPREHENSIVE HOW-TO GUIDE

POPULAR WOODWORKING BOOKS

CINCINNATI, OHIO

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Danny Proulx’s Cabinet Doors and Drawers. Copyright © 2005 by Danny Proulx. Printed and bound in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Popular Woodworking Books, an imprint of F&W Publications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. First edition.

Visit our Web site at www.popularwoodworking.com for information on more resources for woodworkers.

Other fine Popular Woodworking Books are available from your local bookstore or direct from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Proulx, Danny, 1947-

      Danny Proulx’s cabinet doors and drawers.-- 1st ed.

            p.     cm.

   ISBN 1-55870-739-5 (alk. paper)

   ISBN-13: 978-1-55870-933-1 (EPUB)

   1. Cabinetwork.    2. Doors.    I. Title: Cabinet doors and drawers.    II. Title.

TT197.P75962    2005

684.1'6--dc22

2004060056

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR: Jim Stack

EDITOR: Amy Hattersley

DESIGNER: Brian Roeth

LAYOUT ARTIST: Kathy Gardner

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Jennifer Wagner

PHOTOGRAPHER: Danny Proulx

PHOTOGRAGHIC CONSULTANT: Michael Bowie, Lux Photographic Services

COMPUTER ILLUSTRATOR: Len Churchill, Lenmark Communications Ltd.

WORKSHOP SITE PROVIDED BY: Rideau Cabinets

METRIC CONVERSION CHART

READ THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE

To prevent accidents, keep safety in mind while you work. Use the safety guards installed on power equipment; they are for your protection. When working on power equipment, keep fingers away from saw blades, wear safety goggles to prevent injuries from flying wood chips and sawdust, wear headphones to protect your hearing, and consider installing a dust vacuum to reduce the amount of airborne sawdust in your woodshop. Don’t wear loose clothing, such as neckties or shirts with loose sleeves, or jewelry, such as rings, necklaces or bracelets, when working on power equipment. Tie back long hair to prevent it from getting caught in your equipment. People who are sensitive to certain chemicals should check the chemical content of any product before using it. The authors and editors who compiled this book have tried to make the contents as accurate and correct as possible. Plans, illustrations, photographs and text have been carefully checked. All instructions, plans and projects should be carefully read, studied and understood before beginning construction. Due to the variability of local conditions, construction materials, skill levels, etc., neither the author nor Popular Woodworking Books assumes any responsibility for any accidents, injuries, damages or other losses incurred resulting from the material presented in this book. Prices listed for supplies and equipment were current at the time of publication and are subject to change. Glass shelving should have all edges polished and must be tempered. Untempered glass shelves may shatter and can cause serious bodily injury. Tempered shelves are very strong and if they break will just crumble, minimizing personal injury.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danny Proulx is the owner of Rideau Cabinets and is a contributing editor for CabinetMaker magazine. He also contributes freelance articles for Canadian Woodworking, Canadian Home Workshop, Popular Woodworking and other magazines. His books include Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets, How to Build Classic Garden Furniture, Smart Shelving and Storage Solutions, Fast and Easy Techniques for Building Modern Cabinetry, Building More Classic Garden Furniture, Building Cabinet Doors and Drawers, Build Your Own Home Office Furniture, Display Cases You Can Build, Building Frameless Kitchen Cabinets, Building Woodshop Workstations, The Pocket Hole Drilling Jig Project Book, and Danny Proulx’s Toolboxes and Workbenches.

Danny’s Web site address is www.cabinetmaking.com and he can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This is another book of projects that I’ve enjoyed building, but I never could have accomplished it alone. The people close to me are, as always, a big part of this book. My wife Gale is constantly helpful and supportive, as is my father-in-law and assistant, Jack Chaters.

Michael Bowie of Lux Photography is the person I rely on for photographic expertise. He advises and guides me as I shoot the digital photos for each project. His concern to produce the best possible results contributed greatly to the final product.

Len Churchill of Lenmark Communications is the talented illustrator who produced the amazing project drawings. He is one of the best illustrators in the business and has an impressive understanding of the woodworking projects he’s asked to draw.

As always, the Popular Woodworking Books staff continues to be unbelievably supportive. It’s a team with great depth and knowledge; editor Jim Stack, Amy Hattersley, Brian Roeth and so many others are a part of every page in this book.

Luc Rousseau, a talented woodworker and cabinetmaker, has assisted me while building all the projects in this book. I also appreciate his help with other necessary — but not very glamorous — tasks around my shop.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

A number of companies are major players in the creation of my books. They are always helpful and are valuable sources of information, supplies and advice. I’ve listed them in the back of this book under the heading of Suppliers. I’d appreciate your support of these fine companies.

I would like to offer special thanks to two companies who have been very supportive in producing this book: General & General International for their great woodworking machines and LRH Enterprises, Inc. for their technical support and high quality router bits, as well as the table saw molding head cutter, the Magic Molder.

CONTENTS

Title Page

Special Offers

1 Joinery Terminology and Techniques

2 Door and Drawer Hardware

3 Building Slab Doors

4 Frame and Flat Panel Doors

5 Raised Panel Doors

6 Cope-and-Stick Doors

7 Glass Door Frames

8 Pocket, Flipper and Tambour Doors

9 Cabinet Drawers

10 Inlaid Door and Drawer Faces

11 Tips for Building Doors and Drawers

INTRODUCTION

SUPPLIERS

INTRODUCTION

This book, as the title implies, is all about building your own cabinet doors and drawers. I’ll describe as many door-construction options as possible, explain the joinery techniques, review the hardware and go over many of the possible drawer-making procedures that you might use for your cabinet projects.

The first chapter will discuss and illustrate joinery techniques, their applications and various ways to cut the same type of joint. I’ll show you several methods so you can pick the one that works best for you. Drawers and doors can be constructed with a number of different joints, so I’ll also show you joinery options for each application. There isn’t a right or perfect joint for any particular situation; again, you can decide which one you like most.

Chapter two is devoted to some of the door and drawer hardware that’s available. Drawer slides and hidden hinges are explained; styles as well as installation instructions are included.

Chapters three through eight deal with different door-construction methods. There are many Shop Talk sections that explain the various techniques, jigs and procedures needed when building doors. You’ll find out how to build a pattern-routing jig that can be used to cut decorative patterns or inlay grooves. You’ll also find tips for increasing the safety of potentially dangerous woodworking procedures such as router work. Safety must be your number one concern in the shop!

Chapter nine is all about building and installing drawers. There are dozens of ways to build cabinet drawers, and I’ve attempted to show you as many as possible. Detailed calculations and formulas are provided so you can accurately build great drawer boxes with assurance that they will fit every time.

Chapter ten is about inlay work and the beautiful results that can be achieved using the pattern-routing jig. You’ll find that inlaid doors are unique and strikingly beautiful. Everyone will want to know how you made them!

The final chapter is a review, dealing with some of the issues and techniques discussed in the book. There are also step-by-step instructions for building an adjustable router-table fence.

I hope you find this book useful and have as much fun building some of these doors and drawers as I had writing about and producing them.

CHAPTER ONE

1

Joinery Terminology and Techniques

Joining pieces of wood to form a strong connection is the central theme of woodworking. That’s what it’s all about — joining sticks in a prescribed way so they will remain together for years into the future. Sometimes our plans go wrong and the joint fails. Did we use the right joint for the application? Was it formed properly? Are we working to proper tolerances for the conditions our furniture project will be subjected to?

There are numerous joints that we’ll use in this book to build doors and drawers. They include the butt, miter, lap, rabbet, groove, dado, mortise-and-tenon, dovetail and finger joints. Many of these joints have strange-sounding names and appear difficult to make; but when you get down to the basics of each joint, you’ll discover that they are relatively simple to build with a few tools.

Shear, racking, compression and tension are all forms of stress that act on joints. It’s wise to know which forces may affect your joinery, because some act to a greater degree depending