Making a DIY Cabinet

A DIY cabinet in your home can be a very rewarding experience, and providing you get your hands on a well drawn detailed pattern with clear instructions  you should have no difficulties building a diy cabinet yourself.

However, the question to ask yourself is whether you wish to build a diy cabinet from scratch,  buy an old cabinet and refurbish it, or whether to a buy a flat pack diy cabinet that you merely have to assemble.  Certainly building a diy cabinet from the beginning and then standing back and admiring the finished product provides one with a wonderful sense of achievment.

Alternatively you may decide to refurbish an existing cabinet in the study, a kitchen, bedroom, laundry, bathroom or garage?

DIY Cabinet Books and Magazines

A great place to start  in building your diy cabinet is to either buy books or subscribe to woodworking magazines.  Over the years I have subscribed to Time Life and the Australian Woodsmith magazine.  therefore if you want to build a diy cabinet yourself then a good place to start is to buy (or subscribe) to magazines such as  ”Woodsmith” and  ”Woodcraft” magazines.  Such magazines usually provide detailed plans and instructions on how to build a diy cabinet.    If this is your first attempt at a diy cabinet, take your time, read the instructions carefully and follow them to the letter.   With building anything the golden rule is “measure twice, cut once”  Make sure you have the right tools before understaking such a task as a constructing a diy cabinet from scratch.

I personally have a large range of woodworking magazines and diy cabinet making books all of which provide  plans, measurements and detailed instructions on how to make a particular item. They ARE relatively straightforward to follow if you take your time. Therefore a subscription to a reputable magazine is a wise investment.

Many of my skills in diy cabinet making have been acquired over the years through learning on the job and building items from plans. There is a wonderful sense of achievement in doing-it-yourself especially when you marvel at your finished product.

It is when there is a lack of concentration and not thinking things through thoroughly that a mistakes happen.  The challenge then is how to overcome the mistake.  When this happens to me (and it does) I will generally leave the task and give considerable thought to the issue.  Below is an image of one of the bedside drawers I made a few years back.  Making these were certainly not without their challenges, but as you can see the finished product looks really cool!!

If you are not confident in building a diy cabinet from scratch, then start with buying a flat pack cabinet which requires assembling only. I have tried several of these, and my personal experience has been one of frustration as they invariably took longer than I anticipated simply because the instructions were either not clear, steps were left out, assumed knowledge, or parts missing!  It very much depends on who translated the flat pack kit instructions into English!

A second alternative is to purchase a sold timber second hand cabinet that needs refurbishing.  Many of these such items generally only need holes filled, sanded back to bare timber, knew knobs/handles and re-staining.    See our article on “How to stain furniture“.

Another thing you may like to do is check your local phone book for companies that provide specialized effects for do it yourself projects involving the use of applying new finishes and getting an instant makeover. A professional finish with a special effect can completely transform a tired old cabinet.

Most refurbishing only needs very basic carpentry skills that the average person is capable of learning (including women), so if you have been blessed with patience and want to give it a go …. Then, I encourage you.   It’s the old saying if you don’t give it a go, then you will never, never  know.

I have also included a selection woodworking magazines one (or more) or which you may like to subscribe to through Amazon.

 The following articles may also prove a useful resource for your to read:

Home Tool Kit
Planning Your Workspace
Tool Safety
Woodworking Joints

 

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