# Cabinet finish quality



## CarpenterSFO (Jan 30, 2014)

Every once in a while we do a custom window, or door, or cabinet doors, where for some reason - schedule, matching a wood or finish, using some custom veneer, some custom shape - it seems sensible to make the item in-house. As my contracting business changes, I've felt that I either need to find a way to accomplish the work more efficiently or reliably, sub it out, or stop providing some of the custom touches that have been important for some customers in the past 

A big productivity killer in particular has been achieving factory quality on rail and stile construction, for example on Shaker cabinet doors. I have a nice bandsaw, good jointer, good-enough thickness planer, a decent router (running Amana cope and stick bits) but not a shaper, a mortiser that I rarely use now that I use Dominos, and a good small (10") Performax belt sander, and I don't have any problem getting the stock perfectly dimensioned and straight. I get to shaping the profiles and assembly, though, and things don't quite line up perfectly, so I spend some time (or have an employee spend the time) with sanders, getting things clean and flat. Spraying goes fine. The results are great, but it costs me way too much.

I'm curious about others' experience and suggestions about making that one step up? Is it a mistake to think this can be done efficiently in a small shop? Does it just require more time with a micrometer, adjusting things? Is there a silver bullet (a belt sander wide enough for full doors? a shaper?)?

I'm not planning to expand my cabinet-making business, just trying to figure out how to keep offering the custom details.

I'll be grateful for any advice.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I often add a section of cabinets to an existing set of cabinets and offer to match the tooling but most of my customers would rather have it similar than spend the money for an exact match. I also never build anything onsite. For me it's too labor intensive to build away from my equipment so everything is built and finished in the shop and then delivered. What I normally do to match the color is to remove a door or drawer from the existing cabinets to match the color to. It often takes a lot of tinkering to develop a matching stain color therefore I charge for 2 hours labor just to come up with the formula.


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## Masterjer (Nov 6, 2012)

A drum sander is a perfect tool for making rails and stiles come out perfectly planar with one another. I share your frustration, although all my builds are for myself and not for any clients.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Tablesaw, tenon jig and dado set are all you need for a shaker door. I make them all the time. Mostly my tenon is offset so my panel has a deeper depth than you can achieve by centering it. I have made quite a few different setups so I have samples to start off. But you always need to fine tune it. Make the tenon first and then you can fit the slot to it perfectly.


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## CarpenterSFO (Jan 30, 2014)

Leo G said:


> Tablesaw, tenon jig and dado set are all you need for a shaker door. I make them all the time. Mostly my tenon is offset so my panel has a deeper depth than you can achieve by centering it. I have made quite a few different setups so I have samples to start off. But you always need to fine tune it. Make the tenon first and then you can fit the slot to it perfectly.


Thanks, Leo. I'm not sure when or why I stopped doing exactly that for shaker (possibly after several jobs with ogee profiles). I do get a more consistent result on my table saw than on my router table. I'll spend a couple hours in the shop tomorrow and see how things come out.
- Bob

Edit: I'm probably going to keep wondering about a wide sander, though I really can't justify the investment or the use of the space in the shop.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Find someone nearby with one and make good friends of them. I did. It's not one of the bigger ones, but it's a 36" single belt with a 15HP motor. A little lacking when you start pushing wide panels and tabletops through it. But it sure is about 10000 times better than doing it with a RO sander. But you still have to RO sand it afterwards, or at least you should.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

SFO

I think you would benefit from a mid sized shaper. Doesn't have to be a monster. I cut doors on both router table and shaper. I get better quality and quicker setup with the shaper. Especially the raised panel. If you buy one you will be more empowered to go after jobs you can run on it and it will make you money. 

Is your router on a lift? Is it good sized. If its not on a lift I would buy one or build one. They offer micro adjustments. This cuts the setup and trial and error time down quite a bit. 

Also, are you facing your stock on the jointer? If you face then plane. Your wood will be truly flat. 

Al


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## RoostinRidge (Jan 5, 2013)

Find a shop and pay to use their wide belt sander or pickup or own if you have 3-Phase. Its stupid how fast it goes and what a good job it does. You need to spend 20 sec a door sanding out cross grain scratches. 

Shapers are nice, and produce a good product, but with where you are at the biggest payoff is most likely to decrease sanding time.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You might consider a stroke sander. If you can locate a shop that has one you can try out...you might like it.








 







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