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How To Build Modern Kitchen Cabinets

Fitting of the doors is the next operation. If the cabinet is to take a single door which is listed as (DK) in the bill of materials, this door has a 3/8" x 3/8 rabbet cut on both edges and ends. If the door is marked (DK) for a double-door cabinet then a 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet is cut on the two ends and along the edge that is to meet the stile. The other edge which is to meet the left-hand door has a rabbet 3/8" deep and '/i" wide cut on the same face as the other three rabbets. The door marked (DL) which is the left-hand door of a double-door cabinet has a 3/8 x 3/8" rabbet cut on the two ends and along the edge that is to meet the left-hand stile.

Along the edge of this door that is to meet the right-hand door, a 3/8" x 1/2" rabbet is cut on the opposite, or outside, face. The outer edges and ends of the doors may be finished quarter-round by running the stock through a spindle shaper or a drill press equipped with a quarter-round molding cutter.

Since these cabinets will be required to support considerable weight, care must be taken to install them properly. In all houses of frame construction type and in many that are of stone, the inside walls are built up on studs. In most cases, these studs are placed 16" on centers and in some cases they may be 12" or 24".

The first step is that of locating the wall studs. This can be done by marking off a space 16" wide on the wall, in the center of the space in which the cabinet is to be hung. With a small drill about Me" in diameter set in a hand drill, holes are bored in the wall every inch until the drill point hits a stud. When this spot is located holes are bored every half-inch to establish the width of the stud. The center of the stud can be located once the outside limits have been established. At this center, a plumb line should be dropped from the ceiling to obtain the center of the stud throughout its length. The next stud should be 12", 16" or 24" from this center line.