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Tools for cabinet building

L

lcampbell89

New Member
Wondering what the basic tools for cabinet building are as I am considering building some cabinets instead of buying the Dayton ones.

So far I figure I will need:

Drill
Router
Router Buddy/Jasper
Circular Saw
Clamps
Screws
Glue
Silicon

What else am I missing here?
 
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Measuring devices :D
A straightedge for cutting and a square come in darn handy. If you're planning to use MDF, a vacuum cleaner is a must if working indoors, there will be dust (lots). I can't do any sanding with out a powered sander but it isn't necesary.

Good luck on the cabinets, it's a pretty straight-forward deal.
 
Make sure and get a router with a 1/2" chuck and use the appropriate bits. I've learned over the years that 1/4" bits just wear out way too quick and are not really worth sharpening. Especially with plunge cuts where your routing out holes in the cabinet for your drivers, this will wear through even the best 1/4" bits incredibly fast. On my present project I routed 16 pretty large holes in 24mm baltic birch with a single 1/2" upspiral bit before it needed to be sharpened. This would have taken at least 3 1/4" bits from my experience.
 
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I can't saw straight without a fence (table saw). With a table saw, you can make 45 degree cuts for mitered corners too.
 
and I'll make one more comment on the router itself. Depends on the wood your using but the speed is important. When routing plywood it is important to have a router that you can control the rotation speed. Anything over 12,000 rpm will cause burning when your routing your holes or trimming. With MDF it's not as critical so you can get away with rpm's over 20,000. To ensure your router is good for all future projects I recommend getting a variable speed with a dial adjusting rpm's between 10,000 and 30,000. Personally I use a Ridgid. Also a comment on a jig, don't get hoodwinked into paying those horrible prices for a store bought jig. If you like I'll send you an email and tell you how to make one from a $5.00 piece of plexiglass. It's not as pretty but works just as good.
 
and since I haven't seen anyone else bring this up on this form I'd like to point out that store bought hole jigs only work with straight fluted router bits, which are horrible bits to use for plunge hole cuts (they wear out really quick). Upspiral or Downspiral bits are what you want to use, they tear up wood way more efficiently then straight fluted bits and leave an incredibly clean edge (as long as your speed is correct). The thing is that all the store bought hole jigs assume that your bit shank is in line with the cutting edge, like with the straight fluted bit. Well with a Upspiral bit the shank is offset from the cutting edge about 1 or 2 mm all around therefore the jig will prove to be inaccurate when you use the measurement guide. You can compensate for this when you measure your hole jig size so it's not a big problem... if you know about it and compensate. I avoid all this pishpash and just make my own jig and use manual measurements.
 
If you want something cheap I recommend one of the Hitachi 1/2" plunge routers, they are easy to set up and use and pretty powerful. Also if you can afford them tungsten carbide tipped bits last a long time, I wouldn't bother with high speed steel especially on MDF.
 
If your planning on building cabinets that have face frames I would add a Kreg pocket screw jig and a Porter Cable biscuit joiner.

If you planning on building lots of cabinets and other projects over time a table saw and a miter saw a good investment. Also a Senco finish nail gun that uses 4d to 6d nails is great for the cabinet box assembly and a Porter Cable 18 gauge staple gun is great for attaching cabinet backs.
 
Hopefully when you're talking circular saw, it's a table saw, as much better controlled cut's, and the blade teeth face downward into the table. A hand held unit's teeth face upward, and will chip the wood's top surface, unless you cut everything up side down.
 
shawnra said:
Upspiral or Downspiral bits are what you want to use, they tear up wood way more efficiently then straight fluted bits and leave an incredibly clean edge (as long as your speed is correct).
Click to expand...

A little side note here since Dayton stuff was mentioned. If you're using the Dayton pre-finished baffles an upcut spiral can chip the finish. IME a straight cut worked much better on those baffles.
 
A 50" clamp and tool guide will handle most of your needs. Basically make your Skilsaw cuts oversize and then clean them up with the router using this guide. For initial lengthwise cuts save an 8 foot factory edge from a sheet of MDF to guide your router. Of course if you have way more coin than space then look no further than Festool plunge cutting saw and guide system.

http://www.amazon.com/Bora-540950-Clamp-Guide-50-Inch/dp/B002UQZDYA

http://www.festoolusa.com/products/plunge-cut-circular-saws/
 
Skip the circular saw and look for a good table saw. You can pick them up used at pawn shops or thru CL. Circular saws just can't make the precise cuts you'll need/want to make.
 
Sovereign said:
Skip the circular saw and look for a good table saw. You can pick them up used at pawn shops or thru CL. Circular saws just can't make the precise cuts you'll need/want to make.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. Breaking down full size sheets of 3/4" sheet goods on a contractors table saw isn't going to yield the accuracy of a Skilsaw/Router/Straightedge combo. Especially working solo. If he's going to have to cut everything twice on a TS what's the point, unless he want's a TS. I started out with a Crapsman TS and soon had to upgrade once I got serious. A cabinet saw with a 50" fence and an outfield table (like mine) ain't cheap.
 
Sovereign said:
Skip the circular saw and look for a good table saw. You can pick them up used at pawn shops or thru CL. Circular saws just can't make the precise cuts you'll need/want to make.
Click to expand...

Something like this:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=25384
can work wonders. Mine has a protractor type clamp on one end so you can do angle cuts. When working with a big chunk of wood I'm much more likely to use it than to try running it across the table saw.
 
a kreg kit $20 is really nice, a quality lock mitre bit ($75) for a router is really nice,
a brad gun comes in handy and a really nice big workbench
 
Re tablesaw option, if the plan is to get into woodworking as a hobby sure but...

If this is a project just to build a set of speakers or two I would have the sheet goods ripped down to near size at Home Depot / Lowes (assuming that's an option) and do the final finish work at home with tools already mentioned. It's also much easier to get a 4x8 sheet into my Prius that way :D

by the way, I'm all for a T/S if there is a plan to use it. I've had mine for over 20 years, bought when I decided to make my own kitchen cabinets. It's paid for itself many times over.
 
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You can't have enough pipe clamps.. I see you mentioned clamps, but pipe clamps will be your best friend when assembling.
 
shawnra said:
I avoid all this pishpash and just make my own jig and use manual measurements.
Click to expand...
I've done pretty well with the haphazard method of mounting the router on a board (with a big hole for the bit) and measuring from the blades to a point where I drill a hole for the pivot and drop the drill bit into that. Better than pretty well, actually - no problems at all. I haven't gotten around to building a proper adjustable jig yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm not buying one.

Since I also lack a table saw, I get pieces cut a little large at the store, planning it out so that I'll be able to use a flush trim bit on as many corners as possible. Sometimes I even rough cut with a jigsaw, but that's brutal.
 
Here is an easy solution for circle cutting, 1/8" acrylic piece I had laying around. The sheet has a center line scribed and hash marks representing inches from center of the router base. The base of the router is attached to the three holes around the large center opening. This width is pretty good for cutting speaker baffles. The jig spins on a finishing nail that is the pivot.
 

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