Need advice in making own kitchen cabinets

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:21:29 -0600, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

><[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>> I was recently moving a Kitchenmaid vanity and, frankly, I was
>> really impressed by their craftsmanship and the drawer hardware. (I
>> hate to say that)
>
>You will hate that you said it also, once you see/handle/experience custom
>kitchen cabinets made by a craftsman, even one doing it for the first time
>who is willing to put forth the effort ... there is no comparison.
>
>Once you have been around a kitchen thusly made for 15 minutes, the next
>time you walk through the BORG you will immediately recognize, at a
>distance, what cheap stuff KitchenMaid really is, regardless of the looks
>and price ... and it ain't that cheap.

Tell me about it. After the flooding from Kartina, the custom cabinet
maker that originally built my cabinets quoted 26 week delivery so we
were forced into the pre-built stuff (4-6 week delivery). The total
was $10K and they are real crap. The "plywood" is covered in paper
and only the fronts have a "finish" if that is what you call the spray
paint the put on them. When I protested to the company rep about the
roughness of the "finish" he launched into this diatribe about the
variations in wood being the beauty of it. WTF?

Then he proceeds to start dissin' the cabinet I built and hung on the
wall in the laundry room. At that point I told him to leave.

Never again. I'll take time off of work and build the suckers myself
in the future.


===========================================================================
Chris

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm planning on making my own kitchen cabinets and I need a few
> pointers on hardware sources and cabinet drawer material.
> I was recently moving a Kitchenmaid vanity and, frankly, I was
> really impressed by their craftsmanship and the drawer hardware. (I
> hate to say that) The drawer hardware was an under-the-drawer slide
> (what I'm looking for) . In addition, the drawers were made of Baltic
> Birch plywood (I think) (w/half-dovetail construction), but it looked
> to be a better quality veneer on the plywood exterior than what I can
> get locally.
>
> Two Questions:
> 1. What are your recommendations for sources for under-the-drawer
> slides?

Rockler
www.rockler.com

>
> 2. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives
> that I should look into? What is Kitchenmaid buying?
>

Dunno.

--
Stoutman
http://www.garagewoodworks.com/index.htm
(Featuring a NEW look)

<[email protected]> wrote in message

> I was recently moving a Kitchenmaid vanity and, frankly, I was
> really impressed by their craftsmanship and the drawer hardware. (I
> hate to say that)

You will hate that you said it also, once you see/handle/experience custom
kitchen cabinets made by a craftsman, even one doing it for the first time
who is willing to put forth the effort ... there is no comparison.

Once you have been around a kitchen thusly made for 15 minutes, the next
time you walk through the BORG you will immediately recognize, at a
distance, what cheap stuff KitchenMaid really is, regardless of the looks
and price ... and it ain't that cheap.

> The drawer hardware was an under-the-drawer slide
> (what I'm looking for) .

>In addition, the drawers were made of Baltic
> Birch plywood (I think) (w/half-dovetail construction), but it looked
> to be a better quality veneer on the plywood exterior than what I can
> get locally.
>
> Two Questions:
> 1. What are your recommendations for sources for under-the-drawer
> slides?

Hittich, QuadroV6:

http://www.ovisonline.com/Woodworking_Supplies/Drawer_Slides/under.htm


> 2. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives
> that I should look into? What is Kitchenmaid buying?

As long as you are going to the trouble to invest time, energy and money in
your custom kitchen, consider long and hard about using real wood on your
drawers. Maple is not that expensive, and poplar makes a fine drawer
relatively inexpensively.

You will next be asking about a book. IME getting a few folks started in
that direction, there is no better start on the cabinet part than John
Paquays' little booklet at:

http://home.insightbb.com/~jpaquay/byokc.html

No color photos, no fluff ... just a basic, solid cabinet making methodology
to make both uppers and lowers that will give you a good departure point for
doing your own design as you gain experience on the first cabinet. If
nothing else, use it in conjunction with Jim Tolpin books, which are also
excellent and go into greater depth on issues like installation, etc.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/13/05

> Then he proceeds to start dissin' the cabinet I built and hung on the
> wall in the laundry room. At that point I told him to leave.

Having built a few of my own, I'm just curious as to what the rep from would
have to say in the for of a slam
to a presumably well-made DIY cabinet.

How did he dis you work?


--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Two Questions:
> 1. What are your recommendations for sources for under-the-drawer
> slides?

http://wwhardware.com/


> 2. Are there different grades of Baltic Birch or other alternatives
> that I should look into? What is Kitchenmaid buying?

Not really but yes. Typically Baltic Birch is free of voids in the inner
ply's. Plywood sold as Baltic Birch often has softer inner ply's that often
have voids.