Build Cabinets That Are Easy, Cheap, and Strong!

[@nicholasscheuermann6040]

Finally someone showing how to build cabinets without a full woodshop. Thank you! Excited to see how you handle the doors.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

Well, doors and drawers I’m ordering from Nieu cabinet doors to get higher quality and save on time! I don’t have a dovetail joint jig and don’t really care to learn but I want that strength in something that will get used so heavily by all six of us in the house. I hope you still enjoy seeing it all come together! ❤️

[@Timmoyoga]

This is so very helpful. When you put those doors & shelves together with your boxes, please show us how you do it. (We've been trying to decide how to tackle our kitchen cabinet rehab. Your demo here will be the way we do it !) 😃👍 ​@@WelcometotheWoodsBlog

[@Timmoyoga]

(* doors & drawers)

[@tereancecash4395]

Right 😂

[@rockytibby1196]

I appreciate so much how you shown how you hand drawn out your plans before beginning. That it doesn’t take digital planning but that it can be done the old fashioned way with pen or pencils and paper. Your a gift to the DIY world. Thank you. ❤❤❤

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I’ve tried sketchup but it takes so so long! Scratching out my measurements and visualizing in my mind’s eye is good enough for me!

[@mjdiiii]

Very nice. I built cabinet this way. We bought a "tear out" Amish built kitchen that was one cabinet short for our design. I copied their measurements and recreated the style. I don't have a table saw so everything was done by clamping a straight edge, and using a "finish" blade on my circular saw. Still solid seven years later!

[@victoriatur7619]

Hola! Qué hermoso trabajo estoy disfrutando el video! No hice nunca un proyecto tan grande. Me voy animando cada vez más pero el miedo al fracaso me gana. Tampoco estudié nada nunca, así que voy aprendiendo con los videos. Sé que poco a poco lo iré logrando. Te felicito, amé cuando trabajabas y tus hijos estaban dando vueltas a tu alrededor, yo tengo uno de 11, me hubiera gustado tener esa energía de poder tener las 2 pasiones juntas. Un beso desde Uruguay

[@brucecrane9605]

Nice job. You are now a Cabinet Maker. This is just another amazing project in your home and lake house projects. If you haven't followed Melissa and her projects, you are missing some Amazing work. You'll learn so many new techniques and products to make the job easier. Can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks DIY Princes

[@elizabethwaldrop1772]

I didn't expect to learn so much about cabinet construction in just a few minutes. The explanations were so simple and logical that I felt empowered to tackle a cabinet project of my own. Plus, the techniques shared were focused on durability, ensuring that my cabinets would stand the test of time.

[@AniyahTruluck]

I watched this video and it was super helpful! You explained everything in simple terms, making it easy for beginners like me to understand. I loved how they showed affordable ways to build sturdy cabinets without needing expensive tools.

[@flarvonsharley]

I decided to tackle cabinet building after watching this video, and I'm thrilled with the results. The video's clear explanations and visuals made it easy for me to replicate the techniques shown. Now, I have custom cabinets that didn't break the bank and are holding up beautifully in my home.

[@lindaroyal8161]

You make building cabinets looks easy, very good step by step instructions. The cabinet looks nice - I like the pull out cutting board. Sounds like it's going to be a very nice island.

[@allsurf]

Glue your pocket hole face frames, then sand the face frame so that the whole frame is smooth and flat instead of sanding each individual piece. That way the entire face frame is flatter and smoother at the joints especially.

[@richardvelasquez4807]

You’re a very courageous girl, for all your DIY projects.

[@brittawrolson5936]

Another great build Melissa! Btw, your little helper is se sweet wanting to help mommy!❤

[@fredsmith6725]

The wife and me missed you Melissa, welcome back🎉.

[@badgerdog9898]

Wow, you make this stuff look so easy, always impressed how you figure this stuff out and your accuracy with your cuts. I'm brand new to wood working as a hobby and have not attempted to build a cabinet or table yet. All I have so far is a miter saw and a circular saw, with a table saw coming soon.. Anytime I try to pocket hole my peices end up twisting and don't come out at all. Thank you for your videos and thank you for teaching a noob like me.

[@jamesc1283]

Looks great, good job! As someone who's built cabinets before for built-ins, etc. the only advice I'd have for newbies watching are: 1) Use poplar for face frames - it's as cheap as you can get, cuts really clean and paints excellently (don't have to deal with the open grain holes in oak). 2) They do make a couple of specialty clamps for pocket hole assembly, which I use. They definitely help make sure surfaces are flush and tight so they don't shift around as the pocket hole is driven home. Happy building!

[@ronm6585]

Looks great, thanks. I have never built cabinet boxes before.

[@michaelprozonic]

I built wall cabinets for my garage workshop using this face frame method with pocket screws and they are holding up really well considering the heavy power tools inside. One thing I did differently is I used the Kreg tool to make my shelves adjustable with pins rather than making them a fixed height. The tool makes it super simple to align holes and drill to the same depth each time.

[@Jared_Albert]

Thank you for doing this in your garage with the car and the clutter like 99% of the rest of us who don't have table saws with sleds

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

Or giant workshops where there’s space to maneuver sheets of plywood easily 😒

[@Bourbon-Guitar]

Great idea on the cutting board!!!

[@shewolfe2]

Hi Melissa, First off, Kudos to you on a lovely cabinet and fantastic channel. My husband and I built a custom kitchen with every bell and whistle due to the DIY savings, after letting go of our cabinet maker who kept making specification errors. Before we took this on a handyman made 1 in-wall cabinet with presanded plywood..After that I discovered Columbia prefinished plywood. It's gorgeous, only slightly more expensive; totally worth it for the time saved and perfect look. Sanding vibration kills my hands and arms too. Hope this helps. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your kitchen renovation!!

[@shewolfe2]

P.S. Columbia prefinished plywood was a gamechanger. In Canada, it was a special order item from Home Depot, but I found it (or comps.) at various local wood dealers. One thing, though, the finish is pretty durable, so I'm not sure you could ever sand it if you wanted to paint it without sanding through the finish layer. If you're painting, then I'd stick to presanded plywood or MDF depending on your application. MDF takes paint better but is heavy, has toxic particulates, doesn't take screws well and is awful near water. That said I made our painted MDF shaker drawer fronts near water work by sealing the edges and panel with automobile Bondo. Take care.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I haven't heard of that before, I'll look it up!

[@j.b.8767]

Great job! Thanks for sharing. God bless, bless you, and yours, especially your little one, and his helping hands! : ) Very cool....

[@redscortgt93]

I see you upgraded the ole miter saw! Nice. Great job as always.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

That first one I used for years cost me $5 at a garage sale 🤣 this one is definitely an upgrade!

[@sivacrom]

Well done, Melissa. Coincidentally, I was going to build my own cabinets for a new home we bought waaaay outside Minneapolis (we finally moved, I'm so ready for quiet). It was for my kitchen and... I just was too intimidated by the design and measurement part of it that I opted to hire a cabinet builder. We put money down and now all I can do is wait. But I will be making cabinets one day for my shop. You're always biting off stuff that's very apropos!

[@ptech88]

Used to build cabinets for a living in the early 80s. In our shop we had a jointer, table saw and radial arm saw. Thats it. We could make any style with those tools. To this day i dont understand how they get so much for cabinets now.

[@andrewbrown8148]

That's a really good idea for the drawer enclosure~! I'm about to build some shop cabinets and I think I'll use that method for my bank of drawers (2 or 3). Thanks for sharing this~!!

[@djmarc]

The cabinet boxes look terrific. My latest DIY job was built ins bookshelves with base cabinets and I decided to go with the Home Depot pre built base cabinets. For the price it didn't make sense to build my own. I know, the quality certainly isnt like building my own out of solid wood, but i think they turned out really nice and i used two eight foot slabs of european walnut as the countertop. They turned out fantastic. Yours look great and definitely inspiration to build my own next time. 🙂

[@robertkerby2581]

I enjoyed your easily understandable method of building cabinet boxes! Well done!

[@designsinorbit]

Really nice work...and lots of it! You rock, as usual.

[@Mike-sh2cb]

Great work again Mel!! Been away for a bit but am glad to still see that you are a.... Superstar!! All the best to you and your fam. mike-barcelona

[@dankelly-e6x]

Looks you're doing superbly with Kreg system (which I used bldg our log cabin cabinets in MN). A couple ideas one told me was to put a smidgeon of glue on junctions where Kreg screws go to strengthen the joint (minimizing damage from contraction/expansion -moisture/temperature) & using :coarse screws for soft woods & fine screws for hard wood. Know you knew all this though. Did that slide out cutting board you showed (made my marriage stronger). LOL

[@mpi5850]

Awesome job!

[@garrettguitar]

I really like the painter's tape no-tearout trick! I haven't tried that for crosscuts (though I have for drilling). I build electric guitars and don't use a lot of plywood except for fashioning templates. Next one I do, I'll give this a test! As for the 12 hours of sanding -- definitely a lot (kind of like guitars 😁)! Pneumatic sander might be a good choice for you to eliminate so much vibration going forward. I have done cabinets in my more ambitious past; I think you put more love and care into yours than I did to mine, lol. Very nicely done! Thanks for the tape tip! I look forward to seeing more!

[@dabeast7404]

Great job!! Your work is fabulous! Love watching you!!👍

[@samme5513]

Very very nice great job

[@deanolerich1750]

Well done ! And a great example for you son.

[@gerricampbell6479]

Wow ! I have always been afraid of the saws needed for construction. I wish that I had pushed back on that fear. Your work is amazing.

[@afpitbull60]

Great job!

[@IrishJenHealy]

I want to be you when I grow up!! 😊 But honestly, great job! I’ve watched tons of DIY cabinet videos and this was the most informative.

[@jhold7553]

Oh damn. Love the pullout cutting board idea. Pretty genius. I can't believe it's been that long since you were pregnant. Wow I'm getting older a lot faster than I thought

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

Time flies by!

[@kevinjohnson4418]

I love watching your video and I learn a lot from them

[@DorothyOzmaLover]

Looking good so far and hoping it turns out how ya want cuz it's cute!

[@glennirwin4710]

Very nice job.

[@riaankruger8181]

Great video, thank you. What make are the clamps you used in the frame assemble?

[@tonys602]

If I could make one recommendation on tool selection, if you do a lot of sanding do yourself a favor and get a good sander. Believe it or not it makes a huge difference. Your sanding will go a lot faster and there’s minimal vibration and there much quieter. I didn’t think they were worth the price until I used one. I recommend festool or Mirka.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I’ve been looking into a sander where I don’t hold the tool, instead I hold the material. Do you have experience with something like this: workprotools.store/products/workpro-belt-disc-sander-4-in-x-36-in-belt-6-in-disc-sander-with-6pcs-sandpapers-cast-iron-base-for-sanding-woodworking-diy-decoration?_pos=5&_sid=4371c0262&_ss=r

[@tonys602]

@@WelcometotheWoodsBlog I have not used those. I’m sure they have their place. if I’m not mistaken I believe they are great for more aggressive sanding like shaping. Probably not great for fine sanding.

[@redrooster1908]

Good job.

[@Brian0686]

looks good

[@libertyvilleguy2903]

Nicely done!

[@BenM81]

How come you won’t get a track saw? It’s a game changer. I have the makita and love it.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

That's a good question I don't have the answer to lol. I should get one.

[@anthony01571]

OUTSTANDING ; o .....

[@JodyHebert-m4g]

Love those cabinet boxes! I thought making pocket hole joints was something really hard to do but thanks to watching the way you make yours over the pass few months it gave me the confidence to give them a try so I did and they are so much fun and they make such a strong joint. I was wondering if I use pocket holes on drawers would it be necessary to use glue or are they storng enough without glue? Especially here in south Louisiana where its so humid. Go Tigers! Thanks 🍻

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I’ve always done them without glue on drawers! If your house isn’t air conditioned against the humidity perhaps you should glue

[@JodyHebert-m4g]

Thanks a bunch!@@WelcometotheWoodsBlog 🍻

[@jaclynsimpson3599]

Great job! Love the color of the cabinets, what stain did you use?

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I started with a white wash I tinted with green oil paint to neutralize the red oak. Then I applied a little weathered oak oil stain over that. :)

[@jaclynsimpson3599]

They look fantastic thanks for the info.

[@Chris-bn5cv]

I found sometime that when i pocket holed the face frames on using oak they would split, so i stopped even trying.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

Do you do biscuits or what do you do?

[@Chris-bn5cv]

@@WelcometotheWoodsBlog Hi Again! Now I domino and clamp. Before that I used a dowel jig. Oak was the only wood I had problems with cracking though, so the rest I pocket hole.

[@nestornot]

Which type of wood did you use?

[@solangeherault7038]

Good job❤

[@OldHouseRenovation]

What a great video.

[@mikeletson1962]

I notice you didn't glue up the pieces before assembling. Is there a reason for this?

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

I didn’t feel it was necessary except the face frames which feel the strain of door hinges. I glued all face frames as well as screwed through pocket holes. For the box assembly I didn’t glue, kreg screws are strong enough imo

[@mianzel]

Great job! New on your channel and I like your video, but I would recommend to use minimal protection for you, like eye protection, some mask, etc.. Your future diy son should also learn that from you.

[@minixmearg3004]

Love your work and great job with these. Though PLEASE do not leave your hair loose when using any drills or similar tools. Seeing your hair hang near the drilling/screwing was scary.

[@oscaramaya8599]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@JGerm]

You don’t ‘ rip crosscuts .’ You either crosscut or rip . Ps - great video .

[@durangodave]

if my shop is not warm, the project can wait. working with tape n glues n the cold not for me

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

lol, I was working in 20 degrees F!

Superwoman.

[@ScottyDrake]

Very, very nice work. I feel kinda sorry for you, though; it looks like it's f-f-f-freezing there!

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

It is! I was working in 20 degrees F in some of these clips, but actually we’ve had a warmer winter than normal in Minnesota this year. I’m lucky any of the days were sweatshirt weather :)

[@rhettabney2838]

Rhett

[@robertkat]

They are only cheap if you have all the power tools and free wood.

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

The wood was pretty inexpensive, for all six cabinets I used 3 sheets of sanded plywood at $65 each (Home Depot). Then I bought five 8 foot long 1X4s on sale for $16 a piece at Menards. So all in all the wood was under $300! I don’t like getting the comment about tools because I worked for years with secondhand tools that were very inexpensive and when you ask someone how expensive a recipe is, do you also complain that they have the best pots and pans to cook with? Or do you ask how much it costs for just ingredients?

[@Maria-jm1cd]

Please drink water. You sound so dehydrated

[@garyglenn3654]

She sounds fine. Relax TROLL!!!!!🤣

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

😂 you win dumbest comment

[@BebeDaull]

@@WelcometotheWoodsBlog the weirdest comment at least! lol

[@rockytibby1196]

That is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard or read.

[@JodyHebert-m4g]

As my dad would say " If you have nothing nice to say don't day anythig at all"