sean_in_limerick
Established Member
Greetings All - i am about to embark on a new kitchen - replacing our existing kitchen that we inherited when we moved in (the quality of which i will not comment on). As i have a full-time job as an engineer and two babies to contend with, this may take a while. I hope to keep this topic going throughout as a forum for my own questions/comments and to serve as a reference for anyone else attempting this in the future. This forum if a great place for me to visit as i don't know anybody in the cabinet-making trade and i have lots of questions!
First of all a little of myself - i have been woodworking for a good few years and have built numerous cabinets and things for the house here - i have a penchant for hand-tools were practical but i am no luddite. I have never attempted a project as big as this one but i know if i paid someone to do it i would only be griping about it for years to come. I have a small garage which is relatively well equipped - table-saw, band-saw, planer, thicknesser, router-table etc, but lacks space (who doesn't) - plus far too many hand-tools and gadgets to mention. - to the kitchen.
We have been looking at websites, catalogues and shops locally (limerick, ireland) to get some ideas. I have a few books on kitchen/cabinet construction but these all have an American bias, which is problematic sometimes when it comes to the hardware and materials they use. However i have no problem with the fact that they all have a preference for face-frame construction. I love the look of face-frame construction and will almost certainly go in this direction. I have made rail and style doors before with raised solid wood panels and again, like the look so we will probably go with this. Anything visible (doors, drawers, face-frame, end-panels , mouldings etc) will be made from red-oak, which is available locally and matches much of the rest of the house.
And now to some questions for all you kitchen gurus...
Nearly all of the kitchens that i have seen locally use melamine faced chipboard for the 'boxes'
: Is this a risk due to the high moisture content of kitchens?
: Is MFC structurally strong enough for the full cabinet 'box' - (if for example i mount a granite work-top on top?
: Is plywood a better option?
: Since none of the MFC will be seen from the outside is it ok to just pocket-hole screw everything together
: I am concerned about chipping of the MFC when i cut it - how do people get around this without investing in a new table-saw with a score-cutting blade? (is the festool saw good enough to justify it's ludicrous price?)
: What is the conventional way of attaching shelves when using MFC - normally i have used 'haunched' dado's cut with a router - but i imagine dado's will weaken 18mm MFC too much (i have never wished i had made a shelf adjustable)
Sorry its a bit long and thanks for reading.
Sean
First of all a little of myself - i have been woodworking for a good few years and have built numerous cabinets and things for the house here - i have a penchant for hand-tools were practical but i am no luddite. I have never attempted a project as big as this one but i know if i paid someone to do it i would only be griping about it for years to come. I have a small garage which is relatively well equipped - table-saw, band-saw, planer, thicknesser, router-table etc, but lacks space (who doesn't) - plus far too many hand-tools and gadgets to mention. - to the kitchen.
We have been looking at websites, catalogues and shops locally (limerick, ireland) to get some ideas. I have a few books on kitchen/cabinet construction but these all have an American bias, which is problematic sometimes when it comes to the hardware and materials they use. However i have no problem with the fact that they all have a preference for face-frame construction. I love the look of face-frame construction and will almost certainly go in this direction. I have made rail and style doors before with raised solid wood panels and again, like the look so we will probably go with this. Anything visible (doors, drawers, face-frame, end-panels , mouldings etc) will be made from red-oak, which is available locally and matches much of the rest of the house.
And now to some questions for all you kitchen gurus...
Nearly all of the kitchens that i have seen locally use melamine faced chipboard for the 'boxes'
: Is this a risk due to the high moisture content of kitchens?
: Is MFC structurally strong enough for the full cabinet 'box' - (if for example i mount a granite work-top on top?
: Is plywood a better option?
: Since none of the MFC will be seen from the outside is it ok to just pocket-hole screw everything together
: I am concerned about chipping of the MFC when i cut it - how do people get around this without investing in a new table-saw with a score-cutting blade? (is the festool saw good enough to justify it's ludicrous price?)
: What is the conventional way of attaching shelves when using MFC - normally i have used 'haunched' dado's cut with a router - but i imagine dado's will weaken 18mm MFC too much (i have never wished i had made a shelf adjustable)
Sorry its a bit long and thanks for reading.
Sean