Plans NOW
®
www. pl ansnow. com
Low-Cost, High-Impact
Kitchen Facelift
AFTER
BEFORE
{ Although this kitchen was quite
usable, the knotty pine cabinets,
worn countertop, and old appli-
ances all needed updating.
ometimes less is more. This kitchen think you ll agree that this relatively small-
remodel was considerably less expen- scale project made a big improvement in the
S
sive, less time consuming, and required appearance of this kitchen.
less demolition than many similar One of the biggest improvements was to the
projects I ve seen. However, if you compare kitchen cabinets. Rather than tear out the old
the  before photo with the  after photo, I cabinets, we gave them a  facelift instead.
From Workbench Magazine page 1 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
SHOP-MADE CLADDING. For of colorful dishes they wanted to display. kitchen remodel than the cabinet facelift.
starters, we refaced the existing cabi- The solution was to convert two of the The water, steam, and spills that are part
nets by applying shop-made cladding. cabinets into display units by adding glass of a kitchen s everyday life demand a tough
The ends of the cabinets are covered doors. Low-voltage lighting installed in finish. To accomplish that, I used a fin-
with 1/ "-thick cherry plywood.And we the display cabinets highlights the dishes. ishing process that included a stain covered
4
glued 1/ "-thick strips of solid cherry to The construction of the display doors with three coats of polyurethane.
4
the rails and stiles on the face frames. is similar to the solid-wood doors. Here The rich, warm color you see is pro-
SOLID-WOOD DOORS. As for the though, we fit a shop-made divider and a duced by a mixture of three parts Zar
cabinet doors, they needed attention, too. glass panel into the door frame. Cherry Stain and one part Wood-Kote
So we built new frame-and-panel, solid- DRAWERS.Another part of this cab- Cherry Jel d Stain.The gel stain minimizes
wood doors. Making solid-wood panels inet facelift focused on the drawers.As it blotching that can sometimes occur with
for the doors takes more time than using turned out, the existing drawers were cherry.
plywood panels. But once the finish is sturdy and well-made, so it didn t make MORE IMPROVEMENTS. In addi-
applied,it results in a much more uniform sense to build new ones. Instead, we cut tion to the cabinets, we also made several
color than using plywood. Solid wood each of the old drawer fronts free on the other improvements to make this kitchen
also mean that the panels look good both table saw.Then, after adding a new front as functional as it is attractive (see Photos
inside and out. for the drawer box itself, we installed a above). For information about these prod-
DISPLAY DOORS. Speaking of looks, false front made of solid cherry ( page 9.) ucts, refer to the Buyer s Guide below.
the homeowners had a special collection FINISH. But there s more to this
buyer's guide
Appliances Handles & Pulls Hinges
KitchenAid Amerock Blum
" Dishwasher (KUDS01FKPA)
Inspiration Series Compact Series 33
" Cooktop (KECC508GBT)
" Drawer pulls (1592-WID) " 1100 - 1/ " Overlay
2
" Vent (KWVU205YBA)
" Door pulls (1583-WID) Self-Closing Hinges
" Oven (KEBC107KSS)
www.Amerock.com www.Blum.com
" Refrigerator (KTRC22EKSS)
www.KitchenAid.com
From Workbench Magazine page 2 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
cladding the cabinets
One of the appealing things about a Getting Started
kitchen facelift is there s no need to As with any project, there are a few
tear out the existing cabinets. By preliminary things to take care of
covering the old cabinets with cladding, before you get started. First of all,
you can make them look brand new. you ll need to remove all the cabinet
MATERIALS. I used two types of doors, drawers, and trim.
material for the cladding. The Once that s accomplished, check
exposed end panels of the cabinets the outer stile (vertical frame piece)
are covered with 1/ " cherry ply- on the face frame of your cabinets.
4
wood (Construction View below). And Sometimes in order to create a more
I applied 1/ "-thick solid cherry to finished appearance,the stile extends
4
the face frames and toekick. past the end of the cabinet, forming
So why not cover the face frames a small lip (Figs.1 and 1a).If so,you ll
with veneer instead of solid stock? have to remove it. Otherwise, the
Two reasons. First, solid wood lays plywood and the solid-wood
flat, so it s easier to glue and clamp. cladding won t fit tightly together.
Second, the joints can be sanded ROUT THE LIP.An easy way to
flush without worrying about remove this lip is to use a router and
sanding through the thin veneer. a flush trim bit (Fig. 1).As you rout,
{ TTThe face frames of the cabinets are
clad with strips of solid wood that are
glued and clamped in place. I used
CONSTRUCTION VIEW
tape to "clamp" hard-to-reach areas.
Cladding Detail
Existing Face Frame
Existing Cabinet
Rail
Cladding
Existing
Cabinet
Stile cladding
covers edge
2d Finish Nail 5
3
of plywood
End
Panel
5
1
End Panel
Rail
(!/4"cherry plywood)
Cladding
2
NOTE:
Stile
Toekick Detail When cladding the
Cladding
cabinet, follow the
4
sequence indicated by
the circled numbers
End Stile
Panel Cladding
Cut notch to
match toekick
3
Rail
Cladding
2
6
Rail
NOTE:
Cladding
All rail, stile, and toekick cladding
Toekick
Stile
is !/4"-thick solid cherry
Cladding
Cladding
Toekick Cladding
From Workbench Magazine page 3 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
the bearing on the bit should ride FACE FRAMES.The next step is
RESAWING ON THE TABLE SAW
against the end of the cabinet (Fig. to add the thin,solid-wood cladding
1a). This way the cutting edges of to the face frames. So where do you
the bit will trim the overhanging lip get thin wood? A quick and easy way
flush with the end panel. is to make your own by resawing a
Just a note about routing the lip thick board into two (or more) thin
on the upper cabinets.The base of pieces (see Sidebar at right).
the router won t allow you to rout When resawing, you ll want to
the lip near the ceiling.To get around work with extra-long pieces that are
that, just pare off the lip near the ripped to final width. I ripped all
ceiling with a chisel. the pieces to match the width of the
CLEAN & SAND.After the lip is rails and stiles on the face frames 
removed, clean all the surfaces that with one exception. To cover the
will be clad with a household edge of the 1/ " plywood end panels,
4
END VIEW
degreaser. Then, to ensure a good I made the side stile near the exposed
Rip fence
glue bond, sand each surface with a end of each cabinet 1/ " wider. Raise blade just
4
above center
random-orbit sander, using either Keeping those things in mind,
Resawing is cut-
80- or 100-grit sandpaper. go ahead and prepare the pieces for
#/8"
#/4"-thick
ting thin pieces of
resawing. Plan on making a few
Stock
wood from a thick
Time for the Cladding extras to allow for mistakes. Then
piece of stock. (In
Now that the cabinets are prepared, resaw the stock and plane the
C
L 1!/2"
effect, ripping on
you can concentrate on the cladding. cladding to its final thickness (1/ ").
4
&/8"
edge.) A quick way
END PANELS. As I mentioned, At this point, it s time to attach
to do this is on the
the ends of the cabinets are covered the cladding to the face frame.I used
table saw.
with 1/ " plywood panels.Each panel simple butt joints where the end of
4
Before you get
is cut to size to fit flush with the one strip meets the adjoining piece.
started though, there are two
front of the existing face frame.You ll So to produce tight-fitting joints,
safety precautions that are a Build a Zero-Clearance Insert
also need to cut a notch for the toe- it s important that each piece of
See our Woodworking
 must. First, to reduce the
kick,as shown in the Construction View. cladding is accurately cut to length.
Techniques Series
chance of kickback, use a  zero-
By the way, don t worry about the To accomplish that, follow the
clearance insert with a splitter
exposed front edge of the plywood. sequence in the Construction View, www.PlansNOW.com
(see Photo above). Second, be
It will be concealed by the cladding cutting each piece of cladding to fit.
sure to use a push block when making a cut.
on the face frame (Cladding Detail). As you glue on each piece (I used
When resawing, set the rip fence so you end up with
The end panel is glued on with yellow glue),make sure the clamping
slightly thicker workpieces than needed. That way you
panel adhesive.Apply the adhesive to pressure is evenly distributed across
can sand or plane pieces to final thickness.
the cabinet and press the panel into the cladding (Fig. 3). To get more
To avoid bogging down the saw, I use a two-pass
place (Fig.2).Tack  reach, remove the clamp pad from
method. Start with the blade raised just over half the
brads at the cor- the inner jaw (Fig. 3a).
width of the piece (End View). Then make two passes
ners of the panel SAND FLUSH. After gluing on
a.
Flush
at this setting, flipping the piece over between passes.
to keep it from the cladding, sand the faces flush
trim bit
Cabinet
Note: Always keep the same face against the fence.
shifting as the with each other. A random-orbit
End
adhesive cures. sander makes quick work of this.
Face
Frame
2d Finish nail
1 2 3
Remove lip
End
Face Frame
Panel
Stile
Trim
Cladding
a.
overhanging
Panel
lip flush FIRST: Remove rubber pad
adhesive
Sand face from clamp for
frame and better reach
Cabinet
end of
Use masking
End
cabinet
tape to "clamp"
outer edge
SECOND:
of cladding
Attach
end panel
From Workbench Magazine page 4 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
building solid-wood doors
The cabinet doors for this kitchen JOINERY.To simplify construc-
facelift feature frame-and-panel, tion, the frames are assembled with
solid-wood construction. For ease stub tenon and groove joints. Both
of installation, I decided to make ends of each rail have a short tenon
overlay doors,which means they lay that fits into a groove in the stile (Rail
on top of the face frames. The & Stile Detail). And a tenon on each
amount of overlay is 1/ " on all sides, end of the center stile fits into grooves
2
so the doors are 1" wider and taller in the rails (Center Stile Detail).
than the openings in the face frame. CONSTRUCTION. After taking
the joinery into account,cut the rails
Build the Frames and stiles to size from 3/ "-thick hard-
4
The first step in building the doors wood.Be sure to label each piece to
is to make the frames that surround avoid getting them mixed up. Also,
the solid-wood panels. mark the outside face to use as a ref-
As you can see in the Door erence when machining the parts.
Assembly illustration below, each CUT GROOVES. Now you re
{ ThTo glue up frame consists of three vertical stiles ready to cut grooves in the rails and
a perfectly flat (two sides and a center stile) and two stiles.I mounted a 1/ " dado blade in
Rail & Stile Detail 4
door, clamp a horizontal rails. Note: For narrow the table saw to do this (Fig. 4). For
!/4"
straight scrap doors (less than 12" wide), I left out consistent results,run the outside face
!/2"
of wood the center stile. of each piece against the fence.
across each
Side Stile
end. Use wax
2"
Top Rail
DOOR ASSEMBLY
paper to
(#/4"x 2")
avoid gluing
Stiles ands rails are
the scrap to
Top Rail
assembled with stub
the door.
tenon and groove joints
Cut !/4"-wide groove,
!/2" deep centered
on inside edge
Pull
Center Stile Detail
1!/2"
Height and width
!/2"
of finished doors
is 1" larger than
!/2"
Door door opening
Panel
!/4"
Door Stile
Center
(#/4"x 2")
Cut !/4"-wide
Stile Door
NOTE:
grooves,
Panel
2"
All rails and
!/2" deep
(!/2" x custom
stiles are
in both
width and
custom
d
length)
lengths
Door Panel Detail
Door
Door Stile
Front of
Frame
(#/4"x 2")
Door
Rabbet forms a tongue
Tongue
that fits into groove
#/4"
Center Stile
Door
(#/4"x 2")
#/4"-wide
Panel
Rabbet,
Bottom Rail
!/2"
!/4"deep
(#/4"x 2")
From Workbench Magazine page 5 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
TIME FOR TENONS. The next
4 5
step is to cut stub (short) tenons to
fit the grooves.The tenons are 1/ "
2
Auxiliary
long. So here again, I used a dado Door Rails
rip fence
Miter gauge
and Stiles
blade, setting it up to cut roughly
fence
%/8" Dado
5
/ " wide. To ensure consistent- !/4" Dado
8 blade
blade
length tenons, use an auxiliary fence
as a stop and  bury part of the blade
in the fence (Figs. 5 and 5a). Door Rails and
Cut a !/4"-wide groove
Center Stile
A handy way to establish the
!/2" deep,
centered on edge
thickness of the tenons is to use one
Auxiliary
of the grooved pieces as a gauge for
a.
fence
setting the blade height (Fig. 5b).
Set height of dado
b.
Check the setup by making test cuts.
blade to match groove
!/2"
Then cut tenons in the actual work- bined depth of the grooves. When
pieces, using the miter gauge to the door is assembled,this will allow
guide each piece through the blade. the panel to expand and contract
Making two passes,one on each side, with changes in humidity.
should result in a tenon that fits snug. TONGUES. If you look at the
Door Assembly illustration again, you
Solid-Wood Panels can see there s a tongue on all four FINAL ASSEMBLY.When assem-
With the door frames complete, it s edges of the door panel that fits into bling the doors, keep in mind that
time to start on the solid-wood the grooves in the frame pieces.The only the rails and stiles are glued
panels. Instead of going with a tra- tongue is formed by cutting a rabbet together  the panels should  float
ditional raised-panel look, I wanted in the back of the door panel. in the frames to allow for wood
the door panels to be flat on the To cut the rabbet, I used a two- movement. Also,be sure the door is
outside for a clean, simple look step process on the table saw. First, square and flat while the glue dries
(Door Panel Detail). with the panel lying flat, cut four (see photo on page 5).
GLUE UP PANELS. The door shallow,crisscross kerfs (Figs.6 and 6a). MOUNT DOORS. After
panels are made by edge-gluing 1/ "- Second, stand the panel on edge and removing the clamps and sanding { ThTo ensure
2
thick cherry. It s best to start with run it against a tall auxiliary fence to the doors smooth,the next step is to that all the
panels that are about 2" larger than remove the remaining waste material, drill two large holes in the back of doors align,
you need in length and width, then leaving a 1/ "-thick tongue (Fig. 7). each door to hold the hinges (Fig.8). set each one
4
trim them to size after the glue-up. After sanding the tongues This requires a 35mm drill bit that s on an L-shaped
To determine the final size of the smooth, dry-clamp the doors to designed for just this purpose. block that s
panels, dry assemble the frames, check for final fit before glue-up. If Finally,after staining and finishing clamped to
measure the openings,and then add you plan to stain the doors, now is the doors, I installed the hinges and the face frame.
7
/ ". That s 1/ " less than the com- a good time to do it.This way, if the mounted the doors to the cabinets, Then screw
8 8
panel shrinks a bit, it won t expose using the alignment tip shown in the hinges to
unstained wood. the margin. the cabinet.
#/4"
a.
Fence
!/4"
!/2"
6 7 8
Tall auxiliary
Drill a
fence
35mm
hole,
Table saw
#/4"
!/2"deep
for hinge
Door
#/4"
#/4"
Door Panel
Fence
Panel
#/4"
!#/16"
FIRST:
3!/2"
Cut saw kerfs in
Featherboard
panel (Fig. a)
Stop block
Raise saw blade
SECOND:
#/4"above table Door (facedown)
Trim waste (Fig. 7)
From Workbench Magazine page 6 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
display doors & dividers
As an option, you may want to the glass in the frame,the back lip of
make glass display doors for your the groove must be removed. This
kitchen cabinets. By installing a forms a large rabbet in the back of
wood divider and a piece of glass in the door frame that holds the divider
the door frame, it s easy to convert and glass (Door Frame Detail).
a kitchen cabinet into an elegant RABBET THE BACK. An easy
display case (Photo at left). way to trim off the back lip is to lay
the frame face down on a bench and
Frame First use a hand-held router with a rabbet
The frame for the display doors is bit (Rabbet Detail).Just a word of cau-
similar to the other doors. It s an tion here.The lip is fairly thin,which
overlay door that s 1" larger than the could cause it to split as you re
cabinet opening. Here again, it s routing.To avoid that,make a couple
assembled with stub tenon and of light passes, routing from left to
groove joints (Display Door Assembly). right.Then, with the bearing riding
Of course, the thing that s dif- against the lower lip, make a full-
ferent about this frame is it s assem- depth cut.
bled without a solid-wood panel. The bit will leave rounded cor-
{ This easy-to-build, elegant display door is What s not so obvious is how the ners, which are easily squared up
made using simple techniques that can be wood divider and the glass fit into with a chisel.This is also a good time
applied to any kitchen remodeling project. the grooves in the frame.The answer to drill holes for the hinge cups,using
is, they don t. Let me explain. the same method shown on page 6.
In order to insert the divider and
Door Frame Detail DISPLAY DOOR ASSEMBLY
NOTE:
Arrange muntins to form
a.
Door four square openings
Frame
Door
Frame
Rabbet
to fit recess Divider
2"
in back of
Silicone
door frame Top Rail
sealant Divider
(#/4"x 2")
2"
Glass
Stiles and rails are
assembled with stub
Rabbet all
tenon and groove joints
four edges of
Divider
(see page 22)
divider
Door Stile
(#/4"x 2")
Rabbet Detail
STEP 1:
Assemble door frame
without center panel
STEP 2:
Rout a !/2"-wide
Rout a rabbet around
rabbet, !/2"deep
back side of door
Double-strength glass
(see Rabbet Detail)
(cut to fit inside rabbet
in door frame)
Assembled
Door Frame
110º-!/2"Overlay
Bottom Rail
Remove back
self-closing hinge
(#/4"x 2")
lip of groove to
form a rabbet
35mm Hole, !/2" deep
From Workbench Magazine page 7 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
Simple Division ASSEMBLY. Now it s just a place, apply a small bead of clear sil-
Once the frame is complete,the next matter of gluing and clamping the icone sealant around all four edges
step is to build the wood divider that divider together, as shown in Steps 1 (Door Frame Detail). Be sure that the
creates what appears to be the indi- and 2 in the Divider Assembly below. sealant is forced down into the small
vidual panes of glass.The divider is CUT RABBET.After sanding the gap between the edge of the glass
made up of narrow strips of hard- divider smooth, it s time to cut the and the door frame. Let the door
wood that are assembled with half- rabbet in the front face of the divider and glass sit until the sealant cures
lap joints (Divider Assembly). that I mentioned earlier.Here again, fully, usually at least 24 hours.
SUB-FRAME & MUNTINS. As a handheld router with a rabbet bit
you can see, the divider consists of a makes quick work of this task (Figs.
9
rectangular sub-frame and several 9 and 9a).
Rout a rabbet in
individual muntins (a fancy word for FINAL DETAILS. At this point,
front face of
window dividers). All of the pieces you re almost ready to install the divider
for the sub-frame and muntins are divider in the door frame. But first,
made from 3/ "-thick hardwood. you ll need to have a piece of glass
8
Divider
Although their thickness is iden- cut to fit into the rabbeted opening
tical, the width of these pieces is dif- in the back of the frame. (I bought
ferent.The rails and stiles of the sub- double-strength glass.) To allow for
frame are 1" wide while the muntins wood movement, it should be 1/ "
8
are only 1/ " wide. smaller in length and width than the
2
To understand the reason for the opening in the door frame.
different widths, take a look at the To install the glass, lay the door
!/2"Rabbet
a.
Door Frame Detail on page 7.Notice frame face down on a padded sur-
bit
that the divider is rabbeted to fit into face. Then fit the divider and glass
the rabbet in the back of the door into the rabbet. To hold them in
!/8"
frame.This accomplishes two things.
First,it positions the divider closer to
Divider !/2"
DIVIDER ASSEMBLY
the front face of the door frame.
Second,since the wider pieces of the
sub-frame are partially concealed
STEP 1
behind the door frame,they will ulti-
STEP 2
Assemble sub-frame
mately appear to be the same width
Glue muntins to sub-frame
!/2"-wide Half-laps,
as the muntins (1/ ").
2
#/16" deep
CONSTRUCTION. Once you
Muntins
1"
(#/8" x !/2")
understand how the divider goes
together, construction should go
Sub-Frame
fairly quickly. Start by planing the
Top Rail
stock for the rails,stiles,and muntins (#/8" x 1")
1" !/2"
to thickness. Then simply rip the
pieces to width on the table saw.
!/2"-wide
To determine the length of these
NOTE:
Half-lap,
1"-wide
pieces, measure the shoulder-to-
Layout half-laps
#/16" deep
Half-laps,
!/2"-wide
shoulder distance of the rabbets in to form equal size
#/16" deep Half-laps,
openings in divider
the back of the door frame. Then
#/16" deep
Sub-Frame
cut the rails and stiles of the sub-
frame and the long vertical and hor-
!/2"
izontal muntins to match.As for the Sub-Frame Stiles
(#/8" x 1")
short muntins, I wanted them to
form four square openings at the top
of the divider,so I cut them to length
accordingly (Display Door Assembly).
Half-laps
Muntin
HALF-LAPS.Once the pieces are Sub-Frame
(#/8" x !/2")
Bottom Rail
cut to length,you can lay out and cut
(#/8" x 1")
NOTE:
the half-laps.To get consistent results,
For information on cutting
I used a simple jig that attaches to the
half-laps, see page 60
miter gauge on the table saw. (For
more on this, see page 11.)
From Workbench Magazine page 8 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
adding new drawer fronts
Building all new drawers for an entire more involved.The old drawer front
kitchen can be expensive and time has to be trimmed off and then
consuming. Fortunately, I didn t replaced with a new one (Construction
have to build new drawers  I just View below).Then a new false front
reused the old drawers and installed is added to the drawer box.
new false fronts, as shown at left. REMOVE FRONTS. To remove
The type of drawers you have the old drawer fronts,start by taking
determines how to replace the drawer off the slides and pulls.Then use the
fronts. Some drawers already have a table saw to trim off the front, fol-
separate false front mounted to the lowing the three-step process shown
drawer box. In that case, just replace in the illustrations below.
the old false fronts with new ones. ADD NEW FRONT. The next
But if the drawer front is an inte- step is to add the new drawer front.
gral part of the box like mine,it s a bit This is a piece of 1/ "-thick hard-
2
Existing Drawer CONSTRUCTION VIEW
{ TTTo align the
#8 x 1" Rh Woodscrew
false fronts,
!/2" Clearance holes
temporarily
for machine screws
screw them to
%/32"
the drawers.
Mounting
Then simply Drawer pull
hole
machine screws
open the
!/2"
drawer and
install perma-
Drill !/4"holes,
1&/16" deep
nent screws.
(see Photo on page 27)
!/4" Dowels,
!/8" Hole
Remove existing New False
1!/2" long
drawer front Drawer Front
Drawer Pull
(see Illustrations below) (#/4"-thick x custom
NOTE:
width and length)
Make false drawer fronts 1"
New Drawer Front
larger than face frame opening
(!/2"-thick, cut to fit)
TRIMMING OFF DRAWER FRONTS
STEP 2: STEP 3:
STEP 1:
Trim drawer front flush with Trim drawer bottom
Trim drawer
ends of the drawer sides flush with ends of
front flush with
drawer sides
drawer sides
Drawer
Rip fence
Front
Drawer Side
Existing
Miter gauge Miter gauge
Drawer Front
fence fence
Drawer Drawer
Drawer
Drawer Drawer
Side Front
Side
Drawer
Front Side
Bottom
From Workbench Magazine page 9 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
wood cut to fit between the drawer FINISH & INSTALLATION.
Drawer
sides.To make it easy to attach the You ll want to apply a finish on the
Use tape as
Side
depth stop
false front later, drill a couple of ends of the dowels, as well as the
mounting holes now.Then glue and drawer front. Then reattach the
clamp the front flush with the ends drawer slides and install the drawers.
New
of the drawer sides.
Drawer
DOWELS.To strengthen the con- Adding the False Fronts
Front
nection, I used 1/ " dowels to  pin All that s left to complete this kitchen
4
the joints.This requires drilling holes facelift is to add the false fronts.
Fence
through the drawer sides into the Like the doors, the false fronts
front. To drill these holes quickly are made from 3/ "-thick hardwood.
4
!/2"-thick Spacer
and accurately, I used the drill-press Here again, they re 1" larger than
Blocks
setup shown in the Photo at right. the opening in the face frame.
Notice that a fence and stop block Design Note:If a drawer is directly
Stop Block
are used to position the drawer. I above a door, it s more important to
also used four spacer blocks to index match their widths since even a small
the location of the dowel holes.To difference is quite noticeable. attach it to the drawer (Photo on page { TA set of
1
accomplish this, set the drawer ATTACH FALSE FRONTS.After 9).Next,open the drawer and screw / "-thick
2
against the spacer blocks and drill cutting the false fronts to size, the it to the false front from the back. spacer blocks
the first hole.Then remove a spacer final step is to attach them to the Now remove the temporary screws makes it easy
and drill the second hole. Continue drawers.To ensure proper alignment, and drill the mounting holes for the to index the
like this until the box is against the I used an old trick here. pulls all the way through the drawer holes for the
1
fence and then drill the last hole. Start by drilling mounting holes with an 1/ " bit. Finally, using the / " dowels.
8 4
After drilling the holes, glue in for the drawer pulls in the false front. points where the tip of the bit breaks
the dowels. They ll stand a bit Then hold the false front in posi- through as centerpoints, drill 1/ "
2
 proud at this point, so after the tion and temporarily install screws clearance holes for the machine
glue dries,just sand the ends smooth. through the mounting holes to screws used to mount the pulls.
custom dishwasher panels
NOTE:
Side View Detail
Glue drawer fronts
and spacers together,
Mounting Panel
and install drawer pulls
Spacer Dishwasher
before attaching
Mounting Screws
Door
to dishwasher
(supplied)
Pull
Dishwasher Door
Drawer
Face
Upper Spacer
Drawer
(#/8" x 1")
Faces
(#/4"x 6")
Metal
Mounting
Panel (supplied)
We chose a dishwasher for this project beted on the top and bottom
that s designed to accept a shop-made, edges to hold 3/ "-thick hard-
8
Drawer
front panel (a fully-integrated dishwasher). wood spacers. Note: To make
Spacers
Most dishwashers like this use a the drawer spacing work out, I
(#/8" x 1!/2")
large plywood door panel.But to tie the also added a spacer strip at the top
kitchen together, I made a panel that to reach the top of the dishwasher
appears to be a bank of four drawers. door (Side View Detail).
Cut !/2"-wide
This panel starts out as four drawer After gluing the spacers to the Drawer
rabbets, #/8"deep
Pull
faces made from 3/ "-thick hardwood drawer faces to form the panel, it s
4
(Illustration at right). To create a gap screwed to a metal mounting panel
!/8"Mounting hole Lower Drawer Face
between the  drawers, the faces are rab- that s supplied with the dishwasher.
(drill !/2"counterbore, (#/4"-thick,
!/4"deep on back) height custom fit)
From Workbench Magazine page 10 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved
In The Shop
Cutting Half-Lap Joints in Thin Stock
Cutting half-lap joints in narrow,thin PROPER SETUP
stock on the table saw poses a few Getting a snug-fitting joint is simply
more challenges than working with a matter of shimming the dado blade
thicker stock. Namely, the blade on to match the width of your stock.
the table saw has a tendency to make You don t want to have to force the
thin pieces chatter or bounce more joint together.The pressure can cause
than thicker pieces as you make a the thin stock to bow (Joint Too Tight).
cut.This can cause an inconsistent Likewise,there shouldn t be any vis-
{ To use the cutting jig, butt the workpiece against depth of cut, creating a joint where ible gaps between the shoulders (Joint
{
a stop block clamped in place and use a scrap piece the faces don t fit flush. Too Loose).
to hold the stock firmly against the base of the jig. CUTTING JIG. One solution is SET DEPTH OF CUT. Next, set
Then use the miter gauge to slowly guide the jig over to use a shop-made jig that attaches to the height of the dado blade so it s
the dado blade to cut the half laps. the miter gauge to support the work- a little less than half the thickness of
pieces and raise them off the table the workpiece.Then make some test
during the cuts (see Photo above). cuts in a piece of scrap (scrap should
The jig consists of a hardboard be same thickness as the final stock)
> END LAP base screwed to an auxiliary fence. A to sneak up on the final depth of
>
Half laps that stop block clamped to the fence lets cut (Fig. 1).
join the ends of you maintain consistent cuts. To do this, make a cut on one
two boards pro- Another advantage of using the end of the test piece, using the jig
vide plenty of jig is that it bridges the throat plate on and miter gauge to guide the test
face-to-face sur- the table saw.This provides a smooth, piece. Now flip the piece over and
face for a good flat surface for the workpieces to rest make a second cut on the same end.
glue joint. on all the way through the cut. At this point,you should have a thin
Once the jig is made,you re ready sliver of material remaining.
to cut the lap joints. Depending on Next raise the dado blade a hair
where the cut is made in the work- and repeat the process. This time
piece, this can be an end lap, a T- around, remove a little from each
> "T" JOINT shaped lap joint, or a cross lap (see side of the sliver until it completely
>
A half lap on the Photos at left). disappears on the second cut.
end of one piece Regardless of the type of lap CHECK THE FIT. Now before
fits into a dado joint, the goal is the same. The cutting the final half-lap joints in
in the middle of mating pieces should fit snug (not the actual stock, double-check the
the mating piece tight), and the faces should be flush. blade setup by cutting a half lap on
to create a T Both of these are accomplished with the end of a couple of test pieces.
joint. the proper setup. Then check the fit to make sure the
faces are flush.
If everything looks good and you
JOINT TOO TIGHT
don t have to force the pieces together,
Dado width too narrow
go ahead and cut the final joints.
> CROSS LAP
>
Pressure Pressure
Mating half laps
Check blade height
cut in the Forced joint can cause bowing
in two passes,
middle of two
flipping stock
between cuts
pieces are often
used to create a
JOINT TOO LOOSE
Shimmed
strong grid.
Dado width too wide
Test piece dado
blade
Gap
Gap
Hardboard Base
Loose fit makes a sloppy joint
1
From Workbench Magazine page 11 ©2003 August Home Publishing
One copy permitted for personal use. Other copies prohibited. All rights reserved