# Cabinet general construction



## JimInFL (Jul 1, 2011)

First post here. Just looking to stir thoughts in like minded folks.

I've been pretty fixed in my ways about carcass construction. 3/4 birch ply, butt joints, and glue. Backs rabbeted in. Never have had any problems. One of the nice things, is that setting up to cut the floors, you can use the same stock from those cuts for all your hang rails and stretchers at the same time. Something comforting about knowing all these pieces are exactly the same width during assembly - 1 less variable, saw setup, etc.

Now I'm about to try some pre-finished (don't like finishing insides). Assuming I don't want to experiment using different glues, I'll need to rabbit the sides for the floors. Not a big deal - my stretchers can still be cut as before, as they will sit in the rabbets. But what about the hang rails ? Now I have to measure and cut them for the inside dimension. Something about that bugs me.

Yea I know - no big deal - in fact almost trivial. Sounds like I'm lazy. But even though I don't do this for a living, I still find a lot of enjoyment in efficiency in building - minimizing setups, cutting parts in a very 'production shop' kind of way. Just the way my mind works.

So, I guess the question I pose, is what to do with the hang rails without using a separate setup/operation. One example would be to cut the back rabbet 3/4 deeper and move the rail outside the back. Not acceptable though - not giving up 3/4" of cabinet just for efficiency in building.

Thoughts ?

Jim In FL


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

JimInFL said:


> So, I guess the question I pose, is what to do with the hang rails without using a separate setup/operation. One example would be to cut the back rabbet 3/4 deeper and move the rail outside the back. Not acceptable though - not giving up 3/4" of cabinet just for efficiency in building.
> 
> Thoughts ?
> 
> Jim In FL


Since you didn't specify wall or base cabinets there are differences. Since you don't want to give up interior space, rabbet the top to the ends of a wall cabinet to accept the top of the cabinet. The back edges (all 4) get rabbeted to accept a 1/4" back. On the inside, mount the hang rail (side to side), and screw down through the top of the cabinet.

Or, rabbet the back of the cabinet to accept 1/2" ply (in a species to match the interior), and mount the cabinet to the wall through the 1/2" back.

For base cabinets, I rabbet the top edges of the ends, and mount a 3/4x 2.5" as a stretcher, and then under it, a 3/4"x 2.5" as a hang rail. That top rail and hang rail can be made up as a together piece. I make them up in 8' sections.












 







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