Making Kitchen Cabinets

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  • Asennad
    Forum Newbie
    • Jan 2005
    • 15
    • Toronto, Canada.

    Making Kitchen Cabinets

    What should I know to create nice straight and square cuts when I am cutting plywood for cabinet boxes for my kitchen? I plan to use prefinished plywood. How do I ensure I get the best quality cuts without any tear out?
  • Condoman44
    Established Member
    • Nov 2013
    • 178
    • CT near Norwich
    • Ryobi BT3000

    #2
    A good high quality sharp fine tooth blade with minimal set.

    Sometimes putting masking tape on the cut line helps with tear out.

    I fell in love with the Makita track saw a few years back and that is my go to tool for cabinet building.

    Good luck

    Comment

    • JimD
      Veteran Member
      • Feb 2003
      • 4187
      • Lexington, SC.

      #3
      For sheet goods, and for other things, I don't think you can beat a track saw. Mine is a DeWalt with 56 and 109 inch guides. It is SO much easier to put a sheet of plywood on a worksurface, clamp on a guide, and then rip to size than it is to struggle to move a sheet of plywood through the table saw. Cuts on a track saw are also very good with minimal tearout. I like to use a lattice work surface I made several years ago out of 1x4s but don't have it at the new-to-us house so I cut on waferboard last time I used it. I set the depth of cut just slightly through the wood being cut so the piece on the bottom was still usable for subfloor. I've read of others using rigid insulation to cut on.

      So with a couple saw horses, a sheet of 7/16 waferboard, possibly with rigid insulation on top, you have a work surface to rip up all your plywood with a track saw.

      Comment

      • Sawatzky
        Established Member
        • Apr 2005
        • 359
        • CA
        • Ridgid TS3650

        #4
        Cheaper than a track saw is using a standard circular saw with a cutting guide. There are plenty of sources online that tell you how to make one. If you need a super smooth cross-grain cut, you can always cut your piece a tad large, and then cut to size with a straight router bit and an edge guide. I have used this method to ensure a smooth, tear-out free cuts on plywoods.

        Comment

        • JimD
          Veteran Member
          • Feb 2003
          • 4187
          • Lexington, SC.

          #5
          I used a circular saw and guide for decades before getting a track saw. The accuracy of the track saw is much much greater. The saw guide was useful to get to managable size but finish cuts were made on the table saw. The track saw makes finish cuts as well as the table saw with a good blade.

          Comment

          • All Thumbs
            Established Member
            • Oct 2009
            • 322
            • Penn Hills, PA
            • BT3K/Saw-Stop

            #6
            For square cuts, make a large sled than can accommodate 24" wide panels.

            For splinter-free (or at least reduced) cuts, use a decent combination or better blade and set the teeth so they're just barely higher than the wood.

            Comment

            • lrr
              Established Member
              • Apr 2006
              • 380
              • Fort Collins, Colorado
              • Ryobi BT-3100

              #7
              Here is my first project with my new Festool track saw. It is a dog bowl stand my daughter wanted, and a good first track saw project. I bought this saw with one purpose in mind -- to accurately break down sheet goods. Each side panel was accurate to within a fraction of a millimeter. I basically could not see any differences. I used metric because I started out with the top tile that drove sizing of the trim surrounding it, and then the plywood box (which is covered with thin cherry MDF panels). Adding and subtracting millimeters instead of fractions was the way to maintain my sanity on this one.

              All cuts were done on my home-made MFT-style workbench with CNC'd bench dog holes. (The Festool MFT is a portable workbench, mine is 36x48 and stationary.) The bench dog holes accurately position the rail dogs that hold the rail onto the workbench, and standard dogs to support the workpieces for doing the 90 degree positioning for crosscuts. I also use a third party set of parallel guides made for the guide rail. The Festool track saw has a splinter guard for top side tear-out prevention, and the guide rail has the splinter guard for bottom-side tear-out prevention. Absolutely the cleanest cuts I've seen, and on both sides of the cut. The Forrest Woodworker II blade on my BT3100 is as close on the top side, but it should be for a $135 blade and stabilizer. If I cut a new ZCTP, it might be equal. (But the Festool track saw will do this with bevel cuts, too, and more precisely.)

              Does the track saw replace my table saw? No. But for accurately cutting sheet goods, it is incredible. I justified it for making cabinets in my home. It is expensive, but worth every penny (and it takes 58500 pennies to get one, and almost that much in all the accessories I've bought!)
              Attached Files
              Lee

              Comment

              • LinuxRandal
                Veteran Member
                • Feb 2005
                • 4889
                • Independence, MO, USA.
                • bt3100

                #8
                Originally posted by JimD
                I used a circular saw and guide for decades before getting a track saw. The accuracy of the track saw is much much greater. The saw guide was useful to get to managable size but finish cuts were made on the table saw. The track saw makes finish cuts as well as the table saw with a good blade.

                This one confuses me. In the early 90's, after buying my home, I remember seeing a sawboard (didn't know the name at the time) where they carpet taped a piece of hardboard to the saw. (eliminated tearout, both sides) When I saw Eurekazone's stuff in 04 (maybe 03), it was the same thing to me, plus clamps, and more weather resistant (bed of pickup truck).
                I've seen people do the oversize and cut down thing, but if one took their time, seemed easy enough to skip with large boards.

                There is still the whole argument about if it can replace a table saw, and I personally believe it mostly depends on the type of work you do and are willing to go a bit slower in some area's and faster in others.
                She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

                Comment

                • JimD
                  Veteran Member
                  • Feb 2003
                  • 4187
                  • Lexington, SC.

                  #9
                  I have a saw board for my Milwaukee made of two pieces of luan plywood. Actually I have two, one 8 foot long and another about 56 inches long. The current ones are the third or fourth ones I've made. The problem with them is the edge of the luan bottom layer gets chewed away and you don't know exactly where it will cut. Even with a 40 tooth blade on the Milwaukee it doesn't cut as smoothly as the DeWalt track saw. I don't know how much of the "chewing" and rougher cut are a difference in blade quality and how much is a little wobble in the Milwaukee starting up and slowing down. I've seen it eat into the sawboard before during startup and shutdown so I know that happens. The DeWalt does not do this. The only time I've contacted the soft insert (which is replacable) I wasn't on the guide part of the rail properly.

                  Another difference is a saw board only guides the saw in one direction. You can wander away from the guide. I don't blame that for inaccuracy but it does make it more challenging to use than the track saw. With the track saw, both sides of the cut will be fine and usable.

                  The track saw costs about twice what a good circular saw costs. Price is not always and indication of quality but I think it is in this case. Circular saws are not normally precission woodworking tools, they cut up framing and sheet goods for houses where 1/8 inch is often good enough accuracy. There may be better brands of circular saws but my tendency is to think my Milwaukee is representative.

                  I think you can get within 1/16 or so with a circular saw and guide but you may need to make a new guide board for each project. With a track saw, there seems to be no erosion of accuracy with use. It also has nice little quick action clamps which speed up the setup, grippy bottom that can be used without clamps, nice plunging action that is a lot easier to set than depth on a circular saw, soft startup which may help with the blade wobble, and good dust collection. It's just a much nicer tool.

                  Jim

                  Comment

                  • capncarl
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 3564
                    • Leesburg Georgia USA
                    • SawStop CTS

                    #10
                    As recommended on many woodworking instructions, I have scored my cut line with a razor knife to prevent the usual chipping and tear out of thin plywood veners. A side note, has anyone noticed that the finished surface vener on cabinet grade plywood seems to be getting thinner? One of two swipes with sandpaper and you are down to the brown stuff.

                    Capncarl

                    Comment

                    • bigstick509
                      Veteran Member
                      • Dec 2004
                      • 1227
                      • Macomb, MI, USA.
                      • BT3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by JimD
                      I have a saw board for my Milwaukee made of two pieces of luan plywood. Actually I have two, one 8 foot long and another about 56 inches long. The current ones are the third or fourth ones I've made. The problem with them is the edge of the luan bottom layer gets chewed away and you don't know exactly where it will cut. Even with a 40 tooth blade on the Milwaukee it doesn't cut as smoothly as the DeWalt track saw. I don't know how much of the "chewing" and rougher cut are a difference in blade quality and how much is a little wobble in the Milwaukee starting up and slowing down. I've seen it eat into the sawboard before during startup and shutdown so I know that happens. The DeWalt does not do this. The only time I've contacted the soft insert (which is replacable) I wasn't on the guide part of the rail properly.

                      Another difference is a saw board only guides the saw in one direction. You can wander away from the guide. I don't blame that for inaccuracy but it does make it more challenging to use than the track saw. With the track saw, both sides of the cut will be fine and usable.

                      The track saw costs about twice what a good circular saw costs. Price is not always and indication of quality but I think it is in this case. Circular saws are not normally precission woodworking tools, they cut up framing and sheet goods for houses where 1/8 inch is often good enough accuracy. There may be better brands of circular saws but my tendency is to think my Milwaukee is representative.

                      I think you can get within 1/16 or so with a circular saw and guide but you may need to make a new guide board for each project. With a track saw, there seems to be no erosion of accuracy with use. It also has nice little quick action clamps which speed up the setup, grippy bottom that can be used without clamps, nice plunging action that is a lot easier to set than depth on a circular saw, soft startup which may help with the blade wobble, and good dust collection. It's just a much nicer tool.

                      Jim
                      Thanks Jim for the info and insight related to the Dewalt track saw. I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the dewalt and hope to do some test cuts this weekend.

                      Mike

                      "It's not the things you don't know that will hurt you, it's the things you think you know that ain't so." - Mark Twain

                      Comment

                      • JimD
                        Veteran Member
                        • Feb 2003
                        • 4187
                        • Lexington, SC.

                        #12
                        Mike,

                        I am confident you will be happy with the purchase. I have the router guide too but haven't used it. The one accessory I am sure you will want is the clamps. They are like typical composite quick acting clamps but one jaw is metal and shaped to fit a slot on the bottom of the track. They are very useful - and will fit in the plastic storage box the saw comes in.

                        The longer track shipped in a wooden box I kept it in for awhile. But I quickly decided just to make storage boxes for both tracks of scrap luan plywood and solid wood (for side spacers). One end screws on and off. If you have a good spot to hang them on the wall or something, you might not need the storage boxes - but I don't.

                        Comment

                        • Asennad
                          Forum Newbie
                          • Jan 2005
                          • 15
                          • Toronto, Canada.

                          #13
                          I was hoping you guys were going to tell me how great and easy it was to set up the BT3100 and I wouldn't need a track saw and I could save a few bucks. Now it looks like I'll be a little bit poorer.

                          Comment

                          • capncarl
                            Veteran Member
                            • Jan 2007
                            • 3564
                            • Leesburg Georgia USA
                            • SawStop CTS

                            #14
                            You can use the BT3 for cutting plywood. It can do a nice job. It is just hard to feed any tablesaw a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Since you will have multiple sheets to cut it would be a good idea to fabricate a good outfeed table and a stable infeed table. I would recommend stretching your rip fence for good line ups using something like a full length of unistrut. It is still a good idea to have an extra set of hands for this job. Costs? as low as $100.
                            capncarl

                            Comment

                            • JimD
                              Veteran Member
                              • Feb 2003
                              • 4187
                              • Lexington, SC.

                              #15
                              I built one kitchen without a track saw but I am glad I won't have to again. I was younger then too. You would need extension rails on the BT3100 and then the saw gets quite big. Lots of advantages to the track saw - but price isn't one of them. At least unless you compare a relatively cheap table saw (the BT3100) + a track saw against a nice table saw with extension rails. In other words, if the track saw keeps you from wanting a higher end table saw maybe it isn't so bad in price.

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