Kitchen Cabinet Woodworking From a Measured Box to Fitted Doors

Build kitchen cabinets by settling the construction method first, drawing the finished cabinet, and deriving every cut from that drawing. Cut and assemble one square box before making the rest of the run. Fit the back, shelf and door to the actual assembled cabinet, then coordinate the plinth, countertop and installation separately. The difficult part is keeping all those dimensions consistent, not simply fastening four boards together.

This guide develops one small frameless base cabinet in millimeters, with a front view, side view and cut list. It uses a separate plinth and a single overlay door so you can follow the relationship between the parts. The chosen dimensions are an author-developed woodworking exercise, not a tested load-rated cabinet or a NOVARMIA product specification. It is not a wall-hanging or countertop-support design.

Choose framed or frameless construction before cutting

A face-frame cabinet adds a frame of rails and stiles to the front of the case. A frameless cabinet uses the case edges as the front reference. That choice changes the door overlay, hinge mounting, drawer clearances and treatment of the exposed edges. Do not take the box dimensions from one system and the door sizes from another.

Kreg's Introduction to Basic Cabinetmaking explains these two systems and develops a face-frame cabinet through drawings and assembly. Its dimensions belong to its own project. The frameless exercise below uses a different arrangement and independently calculated parts.

If the goal is a whole kitchen, draw the entire run before choosing the width of the first box. Account for finished end panels, fillers, appliance openings, door swings and the thickness of any applied skin. A nominal 600 mm module does not necessarily provide a 600 mm clear opening, and a cabinet against a wall may need a filler to let its door open.

For a first build, choose a plain storage cabinet. A sink base, oven housing or suspended cabinet adds plumbing, ventilation, heat or anchorage requirements that this exercise does not establish.

Before cutting finished parts, have the measured sheet thickness, the selected pocket-hole jig and screws, and a hinge-and-plate combination for the intended overlay on the bench. Keep their setup sheets with the drawing. Confirm the shelf-support hole size and drilling depth, and choose back fixings that suit the receiving panel edges. These choices determine the holes and connections; the dimensions below do not supply them.

Define the cabinet using finished dimensions

For the exercise, use a 600 mm wide, 720 mm high case. The side panels are 548 mm deep, and a 12 mm applied back makes the case 560 mm deep overall. An 18 mm door sits in front of that case. It adds to the depth; it is not hidden inside the 560 mm dimension.

The case sits on a separately designed 100 mm plinth. Its top therefore reaches 820 mm above a level floor before any countertop is added. Select the actual countertop and required working height separately.

The bottom fits between two full-height sides. Two horizontal top stretchers also fit between the sides, one at the front and one at the rear. They leave the center of the top open. The back covers the rear edges of the assembled case. One removable shelf rests on suitable shelf supports.

Derive a cut list from the actual board thickness

The following list assumes the case material actually measures 18 mm and the back actually measures 12 mm. All listed dimensions are finished sizes. If edge banding adds thickness at a finished edge, allow for it when sizing that part; do not add the band and inadvertently move the front reference forward.

The between-side width is 600 − 18 − 18 = 564 mm. If your board measures 17.5 mm, keeping the 564 mm bottom would make the outside width 599 mm. To retain a 600 mm case, the bottom and stretchers would instead be 600 − 2 × 17.5 = 565 mm. Recalculate the shelf, hardware positions and door relationship as needed.

The shelf is deliberately narrower than the 564 mm opening: it leaves 2 mm on each side for insertion in this exercise. Its 510 mm depth allows it to sit 20 mm behind the case front with 18 mm remaining at the rear. Check the chosen support heads and hinge intrusion before using those clearances. A nominally fitting shelf may still collide with a hinge arm.

The door leaves an assumed 2 mm reveal at each outside edge. Its 596 mm width overlaps a 564 mm opening by 16 mm on each side. This is an overlay target to check against a hinge application, not an instruction that any full-overlay hinge will produce it.

Do not treat this cut list as a sheet-yield diagram. Saw kerf, the first squaring cuts, defects, grain direction and edge treatment all use material. Draw a separate cutting layout on the actual sheet size before purchasing or cutting the whole batch.

Select the sheet material and a repeatable cutting method

Choose flat material with sound edges, appropriate faces for the intended finish and a thickness you can measure consistently. Inspect each sheet for bowing, damaged corners and defects where hinges or screws will land. Use the same thickness group for parts intended to match.

Veneered plywood can keep a visible wood face across large panels, while paint-grade sheet goods suit an opaque finish when their edges are prepared appropriately. Neither description establishes a shelf load, moisture rating or fastener holding value. Those depend on the actual material, span, connections and use.

Prepare a stable cutting station, a guided saw suitable for the sheet material, a square, a reliable rule, clamps, a drill/driver and the selected joinery tools. Use the saw's guards and dust collection as directed. Support the sheet and offcut so neither can drop, twist or pinch the blade during a cut.

Establish one straight reference edge and one square end. Cut a test rectangle and check its opposite sides and both diagonals. Matching diagonals are useful only when the sides are also the intended lengths; a distorted or incorrectly sized assembly is not made correct by one measurement.

Cut both side panels using the same verified setup, then label left, right, top, bottom, inside and front. Record the finished measurement after each setup. Changing the fence for each nominally identical part makes small differences harder to find later.

Make and inspect a trial joint

For this exercise, the bottom and stretchers can be joined to the sides using an appropriate pocket-hole system, with the pocket locations on surfaces that will be concealed or unobtrusive. A dadoed case is another construction method, but it changes the parts: the bottom enters grooves instead of simply fitting between the sides. Recalculate it rather than adding dados to this cut list unchanged.

Select the jig setup, screw length and thread for the actual boards. Kreg's screw selector distinguishes the drilled piece from the mating piece and asks for actual thickness. An 18 mm panel is not automatically the same setup as every board sold as three-quarter-inch plywood.

Use offcuts from the project to make a joint with the same orientation. Clamp it flush, drive the specified screw without overdriving, and inspect both faces. Look for a protruding tip, splitting, a pulled-up face or a screw that spins without tightening. Adjust the setup before drilling finished panels. Glue must also be compatible with the actual bonding surfaces; a coated face may not behave like bare wood.

The trial establishes whether your setup makes a clean joint. It does not certify the finished cabinet for a stated load. A heavy stone top, wide shelf or unusual attachment requires a design suitable for that application.

Assemble the case without locking in a twist

Lay one side on a flat assembly surface with the inside face up. Position the bottom with its lower surface flush with the side's bottom edge. Clamp the front edges to the same reference line and secure the joint according to the selected system.

Fit the front and rear top stretchers with their upper surfaces flush with the side's top edge. The front stretcher occupies the first 80 mm of case depth; the rear one occupies the last 80 mm before the applied back. Keep the stretcher faces and pocket locations consistent. Then bring the second side into position and clamp the assembly before fastening it.

Measure the outside width at the top and bottom, and the opening width at the front and rear. A correctly sized bottom with a stretcher cut short can pull the case inward near the top. Check both front diagonals and verify that all four case corners sit in the intended plane. If the box rocks on a flat surface, investigate the assembly instead of tightening more screws at random.

Position the back only after those checks. It should cover the rear outline without forcing the case into a new shape. Mark a fixing line over the centers of the receiving panel edges, check the fixing lengths and pilot requirements for the chosen material, and avoid driving a fastener through the inside face. Use an appropriate fixing schedule for the cabinet design rather than assuming that the thin back alone can carry installation loads.

Fit the shelf before drilling the door

Choose shelf supports intended for the panel material and the shelf's use. Lay out matching front and rear support positions from the same bottom reference on each side. A drilling jig helps keep the holes perpendicular and consistently spaced; set a depth stop so the bit cannot emerge through the outer face.

Try the shelf in its intended position with the supports fitted. Check that it sits on all four points, comes out without forcing and clears the future hinge area. A rocking shelf can come from mismatched hole heights, a warped panel or a poorly seated support. Do not solve it by loading the shelf until it settles.

Shelf span and support capacity remain design decisions. The 560 mm shelf width in the list describes geometry, not an approved load for cookware or appliances.

Size and hang the door around the actual hinge application

Recheck the assembled case before finishing the door blank. Confirm the outside width and height, the intended reveals, the side thickness and the clearance to neighboring fronts. Finish the door edges before taking final hinge measurements if the edge treatment affects those dimensions.

Select a hinge and mounting plate combination that can deliver the intended overlay with the chosen door thickness and opening angle. Use its boring drawing for cup setback, depth, fixing positions and plate position. Hinge count also depends on the door's size, weight and construction; the cut list alone cannot decide it.

Blum's CLIP top BLUMOTION assembly information shows why this needs the actual hardware instructions: its hinge family has defined boring requirements and separate side, height and depth adjustments. Adjustment can refine a correctly prepared door; it cannot reliably rescue the wrong cup position or an incompatible mounting plate.

Make a drilling test on equivalent scrap first. Support the door while mounting it, check the hinge action, and then inspect the reveals with the case square and level. Open the door fully to check the shelf, adjacent front, wall and handle clearance.

Finish the cabinet and check the complete assembly

Decide which surfaces to finish before assembly limits access to them. Test the stain, primer or clear finish on the actual face and edge material. Protect glue surfaces and hardware interfaces where the coating system requires it, and follow its drying and curing schedule before stacking parts or closing finished faces together.

Inspect the cabinet under ordinary room light and along the edges. Look for unfinished end grain, sharp banding corners, exposed screw tips, glue residue and a door rubbing the case. Operate the door repeatedly and remove and replace the shelf. Label the cabinet's intended position so a later installer can relate it to the room drawing.

Installation needs its own decisions: plinth construction, leveling, connections between cabinets, wall restraint, appliance interfaces and support for the selected countertop. A floor that slopes can change the finished working height even when every box is identical. Do not turn a storage-box exercise into a universal installation detail.

Kitchen cabinet woodworking questions

Should the door be cut before the box is assembled?

Rough-cut material can be prepared early, but finalize the door against the actual case and the selected hinge application. The intended reveal, finish thickness and neighboring doors matter as much as the nominal opening.

Can the same plan be used for a wall cabinet?

Not unchanged. A wall cabinet needs an anchorage and load path suited to its contents and wall construction. The applied back and top stretchers in this floor-standing exercise are not a hanging system.

Why does a square cabinet still have uneven door gaps?

Check the door dimensions, cup boring, mounting plates and the level of the case. Also check the neighboring cabinet: a consistent reveal cannot be judged from one tilted module in isolation.

Can these dimensions be converted into inches?

Yes, but work in one system throughout the build. Divide millimeters by 25.4 for inches and retain enough precision for the hardware and cutting method. Rounding every part to a convenient fraction can change the between-side width and cumulative door gaps.