Kitchen cabinet construction: The rabbet joint

The rabbet joint as used in kitchen cabinets is similar to the dado joint, except the grove is cut on the edge of one of the pieces (see picture) rather than  in the middle.

This joint is required when an edge connection is needed.

It is commonly how the backs of cabinets (and bookcases) are held in place.

The joint is typically glued, with very small nails or staples around the edge of the back as it’s necessary to ensure the small nails or staples hit the little wood lip created by the rabbet cut.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Cupertino.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Holding kitchen cabinets together: The dado joint

A dado cut is where a long groove is cut into one piece of wood for purposes of (generally) inserting another.

In your kitchen cabinets this is typically how your bottoms and built in shelving is installed.

As you can see from the picture on the right, the grove is cut into the side piece, and the bottom or shelf sits in the groove.

This makes the shelf much more secure than it would be with just nails or screws.

It also provides a much greater surface area for glue, which in and of itself helps make the joint stronger.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near San Jose.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Holding kitchen cabinets together: The mortise joint

The mortise joint is really the mortise and tenon joint, which is a very sturdy way to join two pieces of wood and is sometimes used in cabinets to join the sections of the frame together.

It is a very old variation (it’s known to have been used for at least the last 4,500 years) of the concept of “insert tab A into slot B”.

The slot cut into one piece of wood is the mortise.

The tab cut out of the other piece of wood is the tenon.

It is an incredibly durable joint, but is typically found only in very high end cabinets, probably because it’s easier to cut circular holes than to cut square holes.

With modern glues, this joint doesn’t necessary need any nails or screws.

It’s that strong.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Palo Alto.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Holding kitchen xabinets together: The dove tail joint

A dovetail joint is very likely used in your cabinets for making the box which is the drawer.

In one piece “tails” are cut (in the picture the piece on the left has the tails), while in the other piece matching “pins” are cut.

This is a very strong joint that can only come apart in one direction.

For your kitchen cabinets, the pins are in the drawer front and the side pieces have tails.

This allows the drawer to open without the front ever pulling off.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near San Jose.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets: How cabinets are joined

How your kitchen cabinets are constructed has a big impact on how sturdy they are.

The various pieces must hold together and there are various ways of doing so.

They have what may seem like funny names (see below).

This is a level of detail you do not really have to know when making your selection, but on the other hand, when you receive conflicting information from different people, it’s always nice to have unbiased information to help you make your decision.

We do not sell cabinets, and we do not have a strong vested interest in where you get them (although we do know a great shop in San Jose), and the information provided below is strictly factual without embellishment.

Dove tail

Mortise

Dado

Rabbet

Doweled

Butt

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Milpitas.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets Materials: Plywood

Kitchen cabinets made of plywood are the most durable and high end cabinets easily available.

The doors and drawer fronts are made of solid wood, and the cabinet boxes are made of plywood, which is real wood, not particle board, not fiber board.

The wood grain on plywood is not a veneer, it’s the outer ply.

It’s real wood.

The biggest advantage of plywood cabinets for your kitchen remodel is they are the most durable and long lasting.

The biggest disadvantage is they are the most costly.

Plywood is a very durable form of wood because the different plys are applied in different directions giving it tremendous structural strength in every direction.

Plywood comes in many different woods or finishes, cherry, maple, birch, even teak and mahagony.

If you plan to remodel your kitchen once then enjoy it for twenty or thirty years, you definitely want plywood cabinets.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Mountain View.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets Materials: Solid Wood

When you are told the kitchen cabinets are “solid wood”, what that really means is the doors and the draw fronts are solid wood, and the cabinet box is made of good quality plywood.

Once upon a time cabinets were made of pieces of oak, or maple, or cherry.

These days you can find plywood made of these wood types (at Southern Lumber in San J0se you can also find plywood made of teak and mohogany).

High quality plywood is a better solution than old fashioned solid wood as the way plywood is constructed gives it strength in every direction.

At no karate tournament will you ever find someone trying to break plywood with their hands or head and it because plywood is very difficult to break.

So when you are told “solid wood” and you later learn the box is plywood, don’t worry.

It’s a better solution anyway and the designation “solid wood” generally indicates a very high quality of plywood with lots of plys.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Mountain View.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets Materials: Fiberboard

Medium density fiberboard should no be confused with particle board.

It’s much denser, and is called fiberboard because there are fibers in the wood material which help give it strength.

Kitchen cabinets for your kitchen remodel made of fiberboard will start up much better over time than particle board.

The exterior surface is still a thin veneer, but as fiberboard is a much smoother surface than particle board it tends to adhere better and will stay on indefinitely.

When you want good quality cabinets but find the plywood ones are too much for your budget, medium density fiberboard is probably the best choice for you.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near San Jose.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets Materials: Particle Board

Particle board is the lower end material for kitchen cabinets for your kitchen remodel.

The biggest advantage is they are less expensive.

The biggest disadvantage is they are the least durable.

It is wood particles (wood chips, sawmill shavings, saw dust) pressed together with a resin or other binder, which is pressed and extruded (which means it is squeezed out of a machine).

Please do not confused it with fiber board, which is different.

All particle board cabinets are covered in a veneer, which is a very thin layer of wood (almost a paper) that is carefully glued onto the wood, giving it the desired look and feel.

If cost is your greatest concern in the selection of your kitchen cabinets, particle board is the way to go.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near Redwood City.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

Kitchen Cabinets: Materials

The kitchen cabinets you select for your kitchen remodel will very likely be built of one of four likely materials, each of which has it’s advantages and disadvantages.

Particle board

Not to be confused with fiber board, which is different.

Advantage: Least expensive

Disadvantage: Least durable and long lasting

MDF (medium density fiberboard)

The fibers make it stronger and more durable than particle board.

Advantage: Inexpensive

Disadvantage: None really

Solid wood

Very uncommon these days, but some older cabinets are build of solid wood.

Modern “solid wood” really means high quality plywood boxes with solid wood doors and drawer fronts.

Advantage: Sturdy

Disadvantage: None really, except if you insist on sold wood you pay dearly for it.

Plywood

Most durable material in wide use today.

Advantage: Very durable

Disadvantage: Most expensive type of cabinet readily available.

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For more detail about each material, select the links above.

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I hope this information is useful to you. Other details about cabinet construction is available in other articles.

And speaking of your kitchen remodel project and your need for kitchen cabinets ….. we would love to be of service to you when you live in or near San Jose.

Please see our customer testimonials, then contact us today for a no obligation consultation.