CON2130: BOX CONSTRUCTION

MODULE NOTES
Furniture that is meant to be moved and cabinets that are fastened in place have
different types of construction. Furniture must be structurally strong on their own, while
cabinets are fastened to the structure where they are located to give them additional
strength.

Types of Materials Used in Construction:

Wood and composite materials available for use in the woodworking industry are
designated for specific purposes.

Particle board is made from wood ground in to

particles. These particles are the size of big slivers.
They are mixed with adhesive and then put in a press.
Due to the size of the particles, there are little gaps
inside the material, giving it an inherent weakness. This
material is used for cheap furniture and cabinets. It
usually will have a melamine veneer applied at the
factory to make it usable. These sheets are very
inexpensive. Since it does not have any real intrinsic strength, it cannot be used for
shelving unless it is to carry very light loads and is supported somehow. Particle board
can be used for table or desk tops in inexpensive furniture.

Hardboard is a cheaper option than plywood where strength is

not required. Hardboard is made from wood fibre extracted
from chips and pulped wood waste. In the production process
the pulp is exploded under pressure. Heat and steam is applied
to leave fine, fluffy brown fibres. These fibres are transformed
into mats, which are held together with lignum and other glues.
The mats are then pressed between steam-heated metal plates
to give grainless sheets with one smooth, glossy surface and
one textured surface. To prevent warping, moisture is added in
a humidification chamber. Hardboard cannot be used outside
because it absorbs water. There are three basic types of hardboard available -
standard, medium and oil-tempered. Oil tempered boards are impregnated with oil
making them stiffer, harder and more resistant to scratches and moisture. A number of
specialty hardboards are available for specific purposes. These have either embossed,
perforated, plastic-faced or veneer surfaces. Pegboard used to hang tools is a type of
hardboard. Masonite is also a type of hardboard.
Oriented strand board is made from leaf sized slices of wood. These are placed or
oriented in a certain way when they are adhered together to
give the sheet strength in one direction. The manufacturer will
stamp on the sheet arrows showing which direction the sheet
has strength in. The adhesive used in these sheets is water
resistant, making the sheets able to stand up to rain and snow
for a while. Continuous exposure will deteriorate the sheet until
it would have to be replaced. These sheets are used as
subfloor, wall, and roof sheathing.

MDF (medium density fibreboard) is made of wood that has been

ground into fibres and then mixed with adhesive and pressed into
boards. The surface of this product is extremely smooth, but the
material has no real structural strength. It is used mainly for
counter tops and in inexpensive cabinets where it will not have to
carry heavy weight. If used in a cabinet, there must be reinforcing
pieces used to give strength to the cabinet.

Solid stock framing material is known

traditionally by the nominal size (a 2X 4
is actually 1 ½” X 3 ½”). This material is
machined to size at a processing plant
where it is also kiln dried so that it will be
stable. Framing material is used almost
exclusively in building construction to
create the frame making up walls, floor
joists, and roof trusses. Framing material
is made from softwood such as spruce,
pine, and fir.

Solid stock hardwood products are pieces taken directly from a tree. Generally the
wood is cut and kiln dried, but not sized to width. The pieces are cut to maximize yield
from the tree. The material is rough cut to thickness. The thickness of this material is
based on the quarter system where one quarter is ¼”. Generally, the thinnest solid stock
is available in is 4/4. Common available thicknesses are 4/4, 6/4, 8/4, and 12/4.
Hardwood solid stock is used as edge band for cabinets, doors and drawer fronts, and
also for more expensive furniture. The more solid stock in the furniture, generally the
more expensive the furniture.

Most hardwood material is made in to random width boards. When solid stock is
ordered from the distributor, it is ordered by the board foot. A board foot is a volume
measure. One board foot is 144 cubic inches. To get one board foot, three
measurements are needed. For example, a board foot could be 12”X12”X1”. A board
foot could also be 12”X6”X2”. The boards can be in widths from 4” up to 24”. Boards
narrower than 4” are deemed an inferior product and sold for a cheaper price as narrow
stock.

Cedar is classified as softwood that is usually sold by the board foot. It is very soft but
resistant to rot, so it is used for outdoor furniture, decks and fences.

Plywood is available in various grades and for a wide range of uses. Sold by the sheet
(a common size is 4’X8’), the plywood is made of layers of wood held together by
adhesive. The layers are oriented 900 to each other, creating a very structurally strong
and stable product. The specific use of the plywood is mostly determined by what the
outer skin is made from.

Construction grade plywood usually has outer skins

made from spruce or fir. These skins can be sanded,
but are usually left rough. This keeps the cost of the
sheets down without affecting performance. These
sheets are used mainly in building construction for
sub-floor and wall and roof sheathing. If you were to
build a shelving unit to be used to store oil and such
on in your garage, this would be a good choice as it
is inexpensive while still having very good strength
characteristics.
Paint grade plywood will have smooth outer skins that are
meant to be painted. These are usually used for furniture that
is to have a coat of paint that hides the wood grain. The
appearance of the wood grain may have flaws that need
repair patches to make them usable. The repair patches are
put in at the factory reducing the grade of the plywood sheet
from furniture grade or cabinet grade to paint grade. This
product would be good to build cabinets or furniture for store
rooms, mud rooms, and the like.

Cabinet grade plywood will have one good face that will be seen, and one face that may
be another species of wood that will be hidden. By only having one high quality skin, the
cost of the plywood can be kept down, keeping the cost of the project down as well.
This is used for cabinets and lower priced furniture where the interior is not seen or
critical to aesthetics.

Furniture grade plywood is the most expensive of the plywood types as the two outer
skins are both made from a premium quality skin (also known as veneer). These sheets
are used in high end furniture and could have veneers such as walnut, maple, cherry,
and other hardwoods. Furniture such as cabinets to display items in a living room would
be constructed from this type of product.

Plywood can also have particle board or MDF cores, but they
are not as structurally as strong. These core types are much
cheaper. Inexpensive furniture and cabinets that are attached
to the building structure are often constructed using these
core types.

Melamine is a plastic product applied

to a core (usually particle board or
MDF) at the factory. This surface is
water proof and slightly heat and
chemical resistant. Melamine is used
for cabinet boxes. The melamine will
either be a solid colour, or have a
wood grain pattern formed in to it.
Since the cores of melamine are not
very structurally strong, this would not
be a very good product for shelving
unless there is some sort of reinforcing support. Melamine sheets are used extensively
in cabinetry where they are attached to building structure to give additional support. The
melamine sheets would have either a plastic or wood veneer edge band applied to hide
the core material.

Components of a Cabinet Box:

A cabinet box consists of two

sides, a bottom, sometimes a
back, and boards called nailers
which are used to fasten the
cabinet to a wall or other structural
component. Cabinets either sit on
adjustable feet for levelling or are
placed on bases. European
designs utilize adjustable feet
while North American cabinet
constructions use bases. A base is
built to support an entire row of
cabinet boxes. The base is
levelled and then secured to the floor. When the cabinet boxes are secured to the base,
they become one solid unit. A face frame is added to the basic cabinet box to create the
holes or openings for doors and drawers.

Joinery Used In Cabinet Construction:

The sides of a cabinet can be attached to the bottom using various types of joinery. In
commercial construction, dowels are often used to attach the sides to the bottom. This
is accomplished accurately by using a line boring machine or a CNC Router. There are
several other fastening methods, such as confirmat screws and biscuits. A cabinet box
on its own does not have a great deal of torsional strength. That is achieved with nailers
when they are attached to the structure. The nailers are built into the box at the bottom
and top of the back of the box.

If the cabinet is to have a back, it can be hidden by locating the back in a dado groove
just in front of the nailers. A cabinet back can either sit in this groove in front of the
nailers or be rabetted in at the very back edge of the cabinet. In the case where it is
rabbeted in, the nailers will be visible and should be of a material to match the rest of
the cabinet case.

Generally, fixed shelves are either biscuitted or dowelled into place. Movable shelves
are held in place using shelf pins and sets of predrilled holes.
Additions to a Basic Cabinet Box:

A cabinet box can be customized and individualized using

an assortment of items. The minimum finish that can be
added to hide the edge of the cabinet front is edge
banding. Edge banding is thin wood or composite
material that is stuck to the front of the cabinet edges
using a pre-applied adhesive. This adhesive is heat
activated by hot air and the edge band is stuck to the
cabinet pieces before assembly. The edge banding is made in rolls and can either be
applied by hand or loaded in to an edge banding machine that will feed the material,
coat the edge banding with glue, apply the strip to the material, and then trim the edge
banding to finish the process. Edge banding can also be made from thicker solid stock
to give a more expensive finish to the cabinet. This material is generally 3mm thick and
is glued to the cabinet edges. This is much more labour intensive and will command a
premium price for the cabinet.

A face frame is a type of edge finish where all of the exposed edges
of a cabinet are covered by a solid wood frame that is machined and
assembled as a separate element from the cabinet and then added
after the cabinet is assembled. This is considered a premium finish
as these are generally made from solid hardwood that is 19mm thick.
A reinforced butt joint is used to join these pieces. A butt joint is weak
structurally, so some type of strengthening technique must be used. A common practice
is to use dowels. To make a reinforced butt joint with dowels, all of the frame pieces are
machined to final size. Next, the dowel locations are marked and a dowel jig is used
with a drill to locate the dowels in exact location n. the frame is then dry fitted with
dowels and checked against the cabinet it is for. If no adjustment is needed, the frame
can be glued and clamped, scraped and sanded, before attaching to the cabinet box. A
common attachment technique is to use biscuits between the frame and the cabinet
box.

Plinth blocks can also be added to give a more traditional look to the
cabinet. Plinths are used primarily as a finish product at the top or bottom
corners of door frames to eliminate the need for mitre cuts. Even though
a plinth is a premium product, the use of them will speed the installation
process as all cuts will be straight and not mitred.

A cabinet case can also have doors and drawers added to it.
The addition of these is determined by the end use for the
cabinet. If you are building the cabinet for a client, they will get
the final say on which of these are to be installed as well as the style and the quality
they want these elements built to.

Joinery Used in Cabinet Making:

A butt joint is weak structurally, so some type of

strengthening technique must be used. A common practice
is to use dowels. To make a reinforced butt joint with
dowels, all of the frame pieces are machined to final size.
Next, the dowel locations are marked and a dowel jig is
used with a drill to locate the dowels in exact location n. the
frame is then dry fitted with dowels and checked against
the cabinet it is for. If no adjustment is needed, the frame can be glued and clamped,
scraped and sanded, before attaching to the cabinet box. A common attachment
technique is to use biscuits between the frame and the cabinet box.

In the travel trailer industry and in less expensive construction,

corrugated fasteners are used as they can be inserted with pneumatic
tools, making them a quick strengthening device.

Mitre joints are used on cabinet doors and though they look
good, it is a very weak type of joint. Mitre joints can be
strengthened in a number of ways. The joint can be biscuitted,
it can be dowelled, and corrugated fasteners can be used as
well. A premium reinforcing technique that is used in high end
cabinet doors is to apply a spline to the mitre. The spline is
usually a contrasting material to the rest of the cabinet door
frame. These are visually highlighted while adding a great
deal of strength to the joint. Reinforcing a mitre joint has a
similar procedure to making a reinforced butt joint. The pieces
are machined to size, the reinforcing machining is completed, the pieces dry fit, glued
and clamped, then scraped and sanded.

Rabbet joints are typically used to attach backs on to

cabinets. It is used so that the edge of the back panel
cannot be seen when looking at the side of the cabinet.
They are sometimes used to attach cabinet sides on to the bottom as well. This helps to
support the sides without the need for dowelling.

A dado joint is used mainly for fixed shelving where strength of

the shelf is very important. If the shelf is to carry a lot of
weight, this type of joint is the strongest option. To cut a dado,
a special set of blades on a table saw called a dado set can be
used, or a router can be set up to cut the joint as well.

Finger joints, also known as box joints are used mainly in

drawer construction and small box construction. It is an
alternativefor a dovetail joint, being somewhat simpler to make. It
can be made using a dado set of blades on a table saw or
machined on a router. Due to the large surface area of contact
between the two pieces of wood to be joined, once glued, this
becomes a very strong joint. It’s repetition of pattern and strength makes it appealling.
Drawers built using a finger joint are considered a more premium product.

Mortise and tenon joints are among the strongest

of all wood joints. One of the pieces goes at least
part way through the other, creating a very
structurally stron joint. Mortise and teno joints are
used in timber framing and where larger pieces are
to be joined. Visually the through mortise and tenon
adds an aesthetic element to the piece with the end
of the tenon being visible.

Dovetail joints are considered among the most visually

appealling joints. Not only do they look good, they are very
strong. Dovetails can be produced either by hand or with a rou
ter jig and a dovetail bit. Hand cut dovetails are considered a
premium product. Machine cut dovetails are also highly valued in
cabinet construction. Dovetails are most often used in decorative
boxes and drawers.

Common Fasteners used in Cabinet Construction:

Brad nails are a member of the nail family used primarily for finishing
purposes. Brads are generally 50mm or less in length and have small
heads so that they are easily hidden. The most common use for brad
nails are attaching backs on cabinets. For instances where pieces cannot be clamped,
such as attaching trim pieces on cabinet tops or face frames, brads can be used to
secure these pieces until the adhesive sets (glue dries).

Metal brackets are available in a wide range of shapes and

styles. In cabinet making, the most common uses of brackets are
for attaching elements together such as countertops to bases,
attaching mullions under sinks, supporting shelves and drawers,
and adding extra strength in areas where there may be stress on
the cabinet.

Staples are used where a quick fastening technique is required. Staples can be applied
using pneumatic staplers. When a staple is used, it has very good holding strength.
Staples can only be used in areas where their presence will not affect the aesthetics of
the project. Staples can be used to attach cabinet backs, or for securing upholstery.

Screws are used extensively in cabinet making to provide a semi-permanent

connection. Due to their nature, pieces screwed together can be taken apart again as
long as adhesive has not been used. They can be used to attach handles, hinges, as
well as other hardware. Screws are also used with mechanical hardware such as angle
brackets to attach table tops. Since wood does expand with changes in humidity, large
surfaces like a table top cannot be glued on. When it expands it can pop joints in the
table frame like those holding the legs on to the apron rails.

There are two main types of screws used in cabinet work. These are pan head and flat
socket screws.

A pan head screw is meant to be used where the head of the screw
sits on top of a surface and applies a squeeze pressure between two
pieces. With this type of screw, a clearance hole is drilled in the first
piece to be joined. The clearance hole is sized to allow the screw to
pass through without the screw threads grabbing. A pilot hole is drilled
in the second piece of wood. A pilot hole is sized so that the threads of
the screw will grab on to the wood. This pulls the pieces of wood together, acting like a
clamp.

Flat socket screws are used when the head of the screw must be flush
with or below the surface of the material. In situations where the screw
head is to be covered with a plug or button to hide it, these are generally
the screws used. The angle on the underside of the screw head allow it to sink in to the
wood. If the screw is to be sunk in to a hard wood, then a countersink must be used to
make a conical recess for the head of the screw to fi in to.

Confirmat screws are a specialized flat socket screw

developed to be used in cabinet assembly. These are used
where they will not be seen. They have a large diameter
shank as compared to conventional screws and a smooth
shank diameter just under the screw head. These screws
are designed to apply very good holding pressure in
manufactured materials such as particle board or MDF.

Corrugated fasteners are used where a strengthening device is needed

in wood joinery. These are generally used in economy type cabinetry and
the recreational travel trailer industry. Corrugated fasteners have a wavy
pattern and a sharpened edge. These are either hammered in by hand or
shot with a pneumatic nailer across the wood joint to hold it together and
add additional strength.

Why a Glued Joint is Clamped:

The clamping process serves three purposes when performing a glue-up. The clamp
pressure forces the glue into and around the wood pores, creating a lock after the glue
cures. The clamps also will press the joint closer together if the surfaces were not
perfectly machined. Third, the clamps immobilize the joint until the glue dries. Wood
glue reaches 50% of its bonding strength after 1 hour, but takes 24 hours to reach its full
bonding strength. If the glue-up is completed correctly, the glue joint will be stronger
than the wood around it.

Types of Cabinet Door:

A fall flap door is one that is hinged at the bottom. By placing

the hinge at the bottom, the inside door surface can then be
used as a working surface if there is some means of keeping the
door from swinging all the way down. This accomplished by
using chains or specialized hardware that limits the swing of the
door to the horizontal position when open. Fall flap doors are
used in dry bars built in to shelving units and secretary desks.
Sliding doors are commonly seen on wall closets but have been used extensively in
commercial furniture as well. These types of doors are used when a swing door on
hinges may get in the way or block traffic flow. The doors slide in two tracks, one for
each door. The tracks can either be machined in to the bottom and top, or track
hardware is commercially available that is held on with screws. Since the doors slide in
front of or behind the other door, ½ of the cabinet can be open at a time. Since these
doors do not hang open, there is no risk of getting hit in the head or shins if they are left
open.

Tambour doors are made of multiple pieces that follow each

other in a track similar to a
train. The tambours either
interlock with each other
or are attached to a
canvas backing. Specialty
router bit sets are
available that produce the profile necessary for the
tambours to fit together.

Flush fitting doors are used in furniture to give a smooth appearance to

the front of the cabinet. These doors fit flat with the front frame or surface
of the cabinet. These type of doors have to be built to exacting
measurements to assure that the door will look balanced and have an
even gap all around between the cabinet frame and the door. The hinges
for this type of door can either be an overlay hinge that is visible, a
mortised hinge where just the pin portion of the hinge is showing, or a
concealed hinge that is not visible when the door is closed.

Overlay doors are used extensively in cabinetry that is attached to the building
structure such as kitchen or bathroom
cabinets. An overlay door will either
completely cover the face of the
cabinet, or cover a portion of the face.
These doors most commonly are
attached to the cabinet with European
hinges. These hinges are hidden and
allow the doors to swing open, clearing
the frame as they open.