Needless to say it’s been a while since I posted. Today’s discussion in going to be on types of cabinets. There are two main types of cabinets you can build; face-frame and Eurpean (frameless).
Before you start cutting parts you will need to decide which one you want because the materials you will need and the dimensions for your parts will be largely determined by the type of cabinet you are building.
Face-frame cabinets are made up of a box, usually made of melamine or some other particle or plywood sheet good, with a frame (typically ¾” thick hardwood) that covers the face; hence the name face-frame. The frame gives the box strength and covers the particle board or plywood edge you would otherwise see on the box. The easiest way to make face-frames is with pocket-holes and screws on the back side of the frame and a common width for the stiles and rails is 1 ½”, but when you’re building your own you can customize to fit your needs and preferences. The doors are mounted to the frames and typically leaves a 1” reveal on the sides and bottom. The top reveal can vary depending on if it is a base or wall cabinet and again based on preference. There are as many different ways to build this type of cabinet as there are cabinetmakers.
European, or frameless cabinets, are likewise made up of boxes constructed of sheet goods, but have no frame. Instead, the particle board part of the melamine is covered with a thin tape called edge banding. Edge banding is usually between ½ millimeter and 2 millimeters thick and comes wider than ¾” so it can be trimmed to just cover the edge of ¾” thick sheet goods. The doors cover the boxes leaving an 1/8” reveal on the sides and top with no reveal on the bottom (unless there is a trim of some sort).
There you have it. Two styles of cabinets that give you endless possibilities. Which one is better? I’ll weigh in on that in the next article.
