# BAse Cabnet Advice needed



## basser (Sep 15, 2008)

Gentleman
I am planning a built in wall unit for my rec room. The bottom will be a set of base cabinets from wall to wall, a wooden counter top, and above bookcase units. Regarding the base cabinets. ...the center base is 6' wide and 21" deep with 2 end cabinets on either side which are offset... 36" wide but only 18" deep. I was considering making 2 identical 36" center base cabinets to fill this 6' space....which would , when married together, have a "center" wall of 2- 3/4" ply. 
First off is this overkill? and if I just made ONE unit, the "center" would be 3/4" ply and I would like to dado the shelves into it, which would remove 1/2" for each dado. See the enclosed pict....the smaller cabinet of the right would be duplicated on the left.
thanks. how would you handle this?
Andy

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/memb...pictures/1774-overall-base-cabent-diagram.jpg


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## edp (May 25, 2007)

*I would build it just the way you have it shown.*

Makes it much easier to move, finish etc. The only change I would suggest is reducing the depth of your dados to 3/8" rather than the 1/2" you mentioned.

Ed


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Basser425 said:


> Gentleman
> I am planning a built in wall unit for my rec room. The bottom will be a set of base cabinets from wall to wall, a wooden counter top, and above bookcase units. Regarding the base cabinets. ...the center base is 6' wide and 21" deep with 2 end cabinets on either side which are offset... 36" wide but only 18" deep. I was considering making 2 identical 36" center base cabinets to fill this 6' space....which would , when married together, have a "center" wall of 2- 3/4" ply.
> First off is this overkill? and if I just made ONE unit, the "center" would be 3/4" ply and I would like to dado the shelves into it, which would remove 1/2" for each dado. See the enclosed pict....the smaller cabinet of the right would be duplicated on the left.
> thanks. how would you handle this?
> ...



If I'm understanding what you're asking, balance wise it might look better with a center cabinet and two outside cabinets. Dadoes only have to be 1/4" deep. The center cabinet could be one cabinet with one floor, one divider, and that divider dadoed from both sides.


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## Conner (Sep 14, 2008)

You could do it either way, with the center in two pieces or one, but two will be easier to transport assuming you are going to build these in the shop and move them into the room. 
Use 3/4" plywood for the sides, bottoms, and shelves. You can use 1/2" plywood for the backs. 
Also are you sure you only want this thing to be 2' high? That is awfully low. 
I have just built a bunch of carcasses for my new kitchen cabinets, if you haven't done this before and want some tips from someone who is still somewhat a beginner let me know.


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## basser (Sep 15, 2008)

*More assistance*

By all means, your comments are welcome. Here is the original concept:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/members/basser425-5955/albums/pictures/1776-shelving-plan.jpg

The "unit" will fit the entire wall, bookcases above the base cabinets, but only on the right and left sides. The center area is open, with the existing window (it is high and narrow) and below the window is an area for the TV. Yes, the cabinet height is low, because of the TV more so than for a workspace height. Center area base cabinets are wider than the cabinets immediatly under the bookcase units, but at the same height. Back to all units will be bead board.
As a side note to the design, the frames are going to be ply, painted. face frames and cabnet doors are oak, counter top is 6/4 natural (actual thicknes is open) finished sycamore.
...note... the base cabnets will sit on a 6" platform to accomodate a hot air vent underneath, so the OVERALL height of ther base cabnets will wind up being 30" plus the counter top thickness.
Andy


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## Conner (Sep 14, 2008)

Now that I see your sketch the shorter base makes sense. The proportions look good to me. 
Here are some tips because you are going to need to machine a lot of parts before assembling them and if you can minimize the number of set-ups (rather than having to change and change-back set-ups) you will do this in a fraction of the time and also get all your pieces perfectly identical in dimensions, which is important. 
I'd start by ripping down sheets of 3/4" to 21" and then rip a couple more sheets to 18". Then you can crosscut the 21" and 18" widths all to 24" for the sides and crosscut some more of the 21" and 18" widths for your shelves. I draw out on a piece of paper which pieces I'm going to cut out of each 4x8 sheet of plywood before turning on the saw so I know the order of pieces I'm cutting, again to minimize the number of set-ups. Also cut the sides of your upper shelves at this time. 
After all the sides, bottoms, shelves, and tops are cut, set up your dado cutter and fine tune it to plow dads that fit just snug to your plywood. Then rabbet the sides for the bottoms and then dado for the shelves. Set up the fence and then run all the pieces so you get uniform spacing of the dados. 
This may have been obvious to you, but I've found it easiest to spend time planning and then run all my pieces through at one time. Makes it less likely you'll get confused when you start making cuts. I like to label the cabinets and then write on the pieces what they are (i.e. A Right Side or B Bottom). 
Good luck. :no:


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## TheRecklessOne (Jul 22, 2008)

I didn't really read a lot of this thread because you're getting a lot of great advice from people who know.

I did see the drawing of the tv under the window, and just a fore warning the light coming through the window may affect the home theater quality. 

I did a job similar and instead of blackout curtains we made two small "acoustic" panels that hung on a french cleat over the window for movie or game time.

Just something to consider.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

The only thing I would be concerned about would be if you plan to use a super wide drawer in the middle section. Getting it to fit would be a nightmare. I made 44" wide drawers..getting them to fit right was less than fun.


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