with cutbacks i am tempted to make cabinets/sideboards !!!! am i crazy

davgtrek

hi all.
times are getting tight and whilst i was seriously thinking of getting some nice storage sideboards/cabinets made for dining/sitting rooms i am tempted to make them myself. am i crazy. i possibly can get access to some workbench's but not much else. i have some very basic tools, drill,circ saw,jigsaw but no router or jointers etc. i see units in showrooms and think they are a carcass with nice doors and a nice top that ic sould nearly do myself. in most cases these units have gammy cheap closing mecks and don't feel any great shakes.

any tricks. i know haefle and realise nice closers,hinges, handles are available quite reasonably.

as an example of my thoughts for a simple nice sideboard:
buy/make a simple 900mm high by 1200mm wide double pine shelf.
buy a nice bit of bullnosed oak "plank/counter top" to fit on top...and buy 2 pre made press doors.
hang them. stain the oak top and paint the rest a colour.

would i actually save anything. what i need in dining room is roughly:

freestanding about 1800mm x 900mm x 450mm deep sideboard. say 4 doors. no drawers. with a nice stainable worktop. on half of this unit then a 2 glazed door 900 wide x 1200 h x 300 deep display unit with a few shelves.

i know theres a lot of options in carcass etc.etc but the overall affect is that all but the worktop would/could be painted.

i have some rough prices from good professional cabinet makers but recent changes in take home have shrunk the budget.

any ideas for a semi trad look. not ikea or that euro style look that is becoming popular. has anyone tried and succeeded or failed. its not worth it if my missus busts my chops over it looking like her granny's social group woodwork project !!!

sorry for long post.

SpitfireIV

davgtrek wrote: »

hi all.
times are getting tight and whilst i was seriously thinking of getting some nice storage sideboards/cabinets made for dining/sitting rooms i am tempted to make them myself. am i crazy. i possibly can get access to some workbench's but not much else. i have some very basic tools, drill,circ saw,jigsaw but no router or jointers etc. i see units in showrooms and think they are a carcass with nice doors and a nice top that ic sould nearly do myself. in most cases these units have gammy cheap closing mecks and don't feel any great shakes.

any tricks. i know haefle and realise nice closers,hinges, handles are available quite reasonably.

as an example of my thoughts for a simple nice sideboard:
buy/make a simple 900mm high by 1200mm wide double pine shelf.
buy a nice bit of bullnosed oak "plank/counter top" to fit on top...and buy 2 pre made press doors.
hang them. stain the oak top and paint the rest a colour.

would i actually save anything. what i need in dining room is roughly:

freestanding about 1800mm x 900mm x 450mm deep sideboard. say 4 doors. no drawers. with a nice stainable worktop. on half of this unit then a 2 glazed door 900 wide x 1200 h x 300 deep display unit with a few shelves.

i know theres a lot of options in carcass etc.etc but the overall affect is that all but the worktop would/could be painted.

i have some rough prices from good professional cabinet makers but recent changes in take home have shrunk the budget.

any ideas for a semi trad look. not ikea or that euro style look that is becoming popular. has anyone tried and succeeded or failed. its not worth it if my missus busts my chops over it looking like her granny's social group woodwork project !!!

sorry for long post.

Hi davgtrek!

Just a quick reply to your query, I'll have to mull over it a little while longer later though! :P

You have the basic tools alright, especially the circular saw, once you use that in combination with a good straight fence you'll be able to get good, clean (if its a good blade of course!) straight cuts and she'll do the most of the work that a table saw will do. You just need something to work on! A black and decker workmate or their cheaper equivilent would be ideal (in Lidl this Thursday!) or a couple of trestles to support the piece while cutting.

Have you taken a look at your average kitchen unit press? There's nothing fancy to the carcass of them, no internal structure, certainly no joints or cabinet making skills required just various sizes of chipboard screwed together, its how its finished then, eg the doors, worktop that set it off and more or less hide the carcass underneath.

I think you could do a lot after you have constructed a fairly simple base! Its all about being precise and clean with your work, it may be simple, but if it looks well put together and thought out that'll go a long way for it! So just how proficient are your woodworking skills??

If you are going to be painting the units then you could construct them from 18mm plain MDF, just a matter of setting down on paper your sizes, making up a cutting list and chopping them out and gluing/screwing them together, no fancy joint required really. Then for the top you could get your bit of Oak veneer MDF and finish with some Oak molding!

davgtrek

hi croppy.
my woodwork skills are fairly good. In my job i use CAD and other 3d visualisation software all day every day. My plan for carcases would be to draw up cutting list. I did some built in wardrobes for my newish house and in hindsight learned to buy the sheets of MDF from local supplier who will cut them up any way you want for a €5 extra. I lobbed them the cutting list and collected them ready to fix together.

I hear you on the well put together and well thought out aspect. thats key alright. I would minimise the use of MDF to carcases. I'd throw some real oak or something as top.

I suppose the likes of a local noyeks or similar as a supplier of doors.

anyone know any particularly good alternatives to the usual kitchen/wardrobes chainstores who maybe stock a better selection of doors and stuiff that ship around ireland. ideally if they had a website where i could get a feel for cost of doors etc. that would be handy.

Alternatively anyone who would make up this furniture for me at a good non celtic tiger cost then PM me !!

silasrat

hi davgtrek, your on to winner here, ive done a couple of jobs like this for people who wanted fitted units,one-off furniture to suit alcoves etc,even fitted couches and that sort of thing.....
its easy peasy! you can just get yourself some 18mm MDF for carcassing,shelves,uprights,supports etc,and if you like some veneered MDF for worktop areas,or bits that will remain exposed.
the best advice i can give would be to get yourself a half decent router with 3/4'' collet. of all the power tools you can get the things you can do witha router and a couple of different bits are the things that give you the WOW factor at the end.
good luck!
message me back if you want any specific pointers or tips,i love those kind of jobs!

cork1

the panelling centre have a good range of doors.

http://www.in-house.ie/styles.asp?cat=1

Tradnuts

If you need any wood or help/advice, Larrys DIY in drumcondra were so helpful when i decided to make my own built in wardrobes. I had never done much woodworking at all really, but they talked me through every step and cut the wood exactly etc. couldn't have been more friendly and helpful to me.