# Cabinet Design?



## colsanders (Jan 23, 2012)

Hello all,
I am currently in a building construction program at a local community college, and we had a class on cabinet building last year. I enjoyed that class very much, as i built a bar. I would like to learn more about building actual cabinets, as well as how to design them. Do any of you have any good resources on cabinet designs?
Thanks!


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Cabbie?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

What type of cabinets are you interested in?. The style of cabinets can go from a modern commercial look to an old world look. If your not sure you might go to google images and get a feal for what suites you.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*there are 2 basic cabinet types*

The first is the Eurpoean type, where the box is made of sheet goods, Melamine, MDF, MDO, plywood etc. and the doors are similar, plain with little or no trim and no frame on the perimeters.

The second type is more ornate, the doors and the cabinet have frames, with rail and stile or mitered corners, recessed panels, trim and moldings around the perimeters. More like fine furniture and may have sculptural elements.

What is your preference? The internal construction is similar with dados for the bracing or shelves and rabbets for the intersections of sides, backs and face frames. Design is personal, but construction techniques are similar.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

colsanders said:


> Hello all,
> I am currently in a building construction program at a local community college, and we had a class on cabinet building last year. I enjoyed that class very much, as i built a bar. I would like to learn more about building actual cabinets, as well as how to design them. Do any of you have any good resources on cabinet designs?
> Thanks!


There's not much science to cabinets, as for the most part they are just boxes, which can be made from different materials. Design features enter the picture for what happens to the exterior of the box. That would be visual aesthetics like panel ends to match doors. Or, door/drawer front design done with profiles, wood species mixture, trim design, colorization and finish.

So, basically, there are different ways to make the box, it's just how its adorned. The overall look should visually fit well to where it will be placed. It may be a centerpiece, or a conversation piece that doesn't necessarily have to match anything else. Or, it could be planned to enhance existing decor. It's a matter of being creative but keeping form and function in mind. 










 







.


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## jhony (Dec 5, 2012)

I would like to learn more about building actual cabinets, as well as how to design them. Do any of you have any good resources on cabinet designs?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

jhony said:


> I would like to learn more about building actual cabinets, as well as how to design them. Do any of you have any good resources on cabinet designs?


There's a bunch of people here that can help you with anything you want to know about building cabinets. You would just need to be more specific in what you need like if you want a more commercial faceless look or whether you want a more traditional look. You might go to google images and get a picture of the type of cabinet you would like to do.


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## dougpke (Nov 16, 2012)

Assuming you are referring to "kitchen" cabinets, There are quite a few books out there by the late Danny Prolux (I believe I spelled that right) on construction of both face frame and frameless cabinets, along with cabinet drawer and door construction methods. You can purchase the books on amazon, in both hard copy and "kindle" versions. There are also books by other authors as well, that may be available in the Borgs.....


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## colsanders (Jan 23, 2012)

Thank you for all the insight. Do you have any preference in joinery? When i built my bar, the face frames and other frames were all joined via pocket joint. I know there are many ways to join the wood, but is there an "industry standard"? I prefer a traditional style cabinet, however i do like the look of frameless too.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I prefer mortise and tenon joints for faceframes. I have also worked places where they used dowels, kreg screws and corrugated fasteners.


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