CAREER & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES

CON2160: CABINETMAKING 1
WEB & FACE FRAME
MODULE NOTES

Construction Methods:

On-site construction:
This type of construction involves constructing the elements for a particular piece
where the piece is to be installed. This is utilized when there may be an odd
location or custom sized installation. An example of on-site construction could be
a built-in bookcase. The cabinet maker brings all necessary tools to the job site
and custom fits each piece to fit.

Modular construction:
Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities are
generally built using the modular
construction method. These are assembled
in a shop or factory and then shipped to the
job site for installation. These components
are made to common sizes and then the
architect/designer will specify what elements
they want to see in the project. The
components will be bolted/screwed together
and then fastened into position on site. This
helps to keep costs down since the
components are “mass produced”.

Components of a cabinet:

On a typical cabinet, web frame

construction will be used for
components such as the frame seat
around the top of the cabinet to
support the counter top as well as
components to support drawer slide
hardware. Most cabinets built now
do not rely just on carcass or web
frame construction, but a hybrid system
is used employing the most
effective elements of each.

Joinery used in web and face frame construction:

Cabinet Joinery:

Butt Joint:

When a cabinet is assembled by a cabinet making company, they

will use butt joints for the majority of the joinery. The butt joint has
to be reinforced in order for the cabinet to be strong enough to
hold a load and withstand day-to-day use.
Dowels are a common method of strengthening a cabinet butt
joint. With the widespread use of CNC (Computer Numerical
Control) machines, the locations of dowel holes can be identified on a CNC
cutting file and drilled with a great deal of accuracy. The assembler then just has
to apply glue, insert dowels, and clamp the cabinet case.
Biscuits are used when a cabinet is built on site, or only one or two of a particular
cabinet is needed.
Conformat Screws are also used in limited production runs as they require a
specialized drill bit for the pilot hole and need both pieces to be lined up before
the pilot hole is drilled.

Rabbet Joint:
Rabbets are used to attach cabinet sides to the bottom
of the cabinet. The edge of the bottom is hidden by the
side that the rabbet is cut into. The rabbet adds strength
to the cabinet as the gluing surface is in two planes, a
horizontal and a vertical contact surface.

Groove/Dado:
Cabinet backs are set into a groove/dado. The hanging rails
sit at the very back of the cabinet at the top and bottom and
the back sits in front of these to hide the rails.

Face Frame Joinery:

Face frames are constructed with a variety of joints. As the joint becomes more
complex, the cost charged to the customer also goes up as these are considered
premium products.

Cross-Lap:

A cross lap joint adds considerable strength to a face

frame due to the large contact surface and the joint
being glued on two planes.

Mortise and Tennon:

Very seldom used, these are considered a high end premium joint. These are
used when the cabinets are to have the appearance of being furniture as
opposed to cabinets. These are very strong joints.

Dovetail:
Dovetail joints are usually reserved for only the most high
end cabinet face frames. Dovetail joints are the strongest
and most visually appealing of the joints used in a face
frame.

Cabinet Edging:
There are two main ways of facing a cabinet edge. It can either have a face
frame attached, or edge banded.

Face Frames:
Face frames are attached to the
cabinet case using either biscuits
or dowels.
Dowels are commonly used by
cabinet companies that have line
boring machines (bores several
holes at once that are all lined
up) or CNC routers that can be
programed to cut out the pieces
and drill the dowel holes.
Biscuits are the most common due to the ease of machining the biscuit holes and
the ability of a biscuit to slide and move allowing minor adjustments at the
clamping stage.

Edge finishes other than face frames:

The majority of cabinet case edges are covered with edge
banding. Edge banding is thin wood or plastic laminate
strips that are glued onto the exposed front edge of the
cabinet case.

In a cabinet shop, a machine is used

to apply the edge banding. The edge
band is purchased in big rolls and
loaded into the edge band machine.
The machine heats up and applies
glue to the strip and applies it to a
cabinet piece that is fed into the
machine. The edge banding is
trimmed and the piece just needs a light sanding of the edge band to have a
finished surface.
For small production jobs and small shops that don’t need
an expensive edge bander, small portable edge banders
will perform the same task but at a slower rate. Edge
banding that has hot melt glue already applied is fed into
the bander, a hot air gun heats and melts the glue, and the
cabinet edge ia passed along the edge bander, pressing
the strip onto the edge. More labour is required to finish
the edges of the cabinet piece, but in a low production job,
there isn’t a huge increase in time.

For people who can’t justify spending money on an edge bander, the banding
with the hot melt glue can be applied using an old iron and a flat block of wood.
The strips are precut and placed on the edge. The iron is passed slowly over the
strip so that the glue will melt. The flat block immediately follows the iron and is
used to press the edge band onto the cabinet piece to adhere the strip. The edge
band is then trimmed as needed to make it flush with the cabinet piece.

Attaching table and counter tops:

There are a number of methods that can be used to attach a table/counter top.
The reasons why a certain method is used include:
a) Quality of the cabinet
b) Customer specifications
c) Type of top that is being attached
d) Availability of specialized tooling
Wood blocks:
One of the most common methods of attaching a wood top is to
use wood blocks. These blocks are usually ¾” X ¾”. They are
screwed to the sides of the cabinet and then to the top. These
are cheap to use, but since they take up space and get in the
way of drawers, they are generally used for attaching table tops.

Metal brackets:
Metal brackets are commonly used in commercially
purchased cabinets and furniture due to their ease of
use and are relatively inexpensive. They sit close to
the edge, so will allow a drawer to slide past.

Figure 8 fasteners:
These are specifically designed to attach table tops. They
have the advantage of being well hidden as half the fastener
is under the rail along the edge.
Adhesives:
Adhesives applied with a caulking gun (such as silicone or
PL adhesive products) are used extensively to attach
cabinet counter tops. They allow for slight movement when
installing the top but have a very firm hold once cured. This
is the preferred method of attaching cabinet tops in cabinet
installations.

Pocket holes:
A pocket hole is used to attach table tops. Generally, pocket
hole jigs are used to guide a drill bit into the wood side. The
specialized drill bits drill a pilot hole as well as a flat landing
hole for the screw head to rest on. These holes angle up and
allow the screw to “hide” in the hole so it cannot be seen or
protrude into the cabinet or furniture inner cavity. Pocket hole screws are
designed specifically for this type of joinery. Having the screw sit inside the
pocket allows drawers to pass without catching on the screw head.

There are jigs available that are copies of the original that
make this type of joinery affordable. Due to the ease of
construction, these are used in all levels of construction from
economy to premium. These joints are very strong.

Fastening systems used in construction:

Corrugated fasteners:
These fasteners are commonly used to draw mitred joints together.
They were used into the 1980s for both solid and plywood joints. As
the quality of plywood decreased and alternate materials were being
used as the core for plywood, these haven’t been used as much. The
fastener is hammered into the wood so that it spans the joint (goes
across it). Half the fastener will be on each side of the joint. These
are used extensively in the recreational vehicle industry to join door
stiles (vertical pieces) and rails (horizontal pieces) for cabinets.

Knock down hardware:

There are many different types of knock down
hardware. Furniture that is bought that needs to be
assembled by the consumer generally uses some type
of knock down hardware to attach pieces together.
One of the common types is a pin and cam lock. The
pin is inserted in one piece of wood and the cam lock
is in another piece. When the pin is inserted into the
cam lock and the cam lock is turned, the two pieces are locked together.
Inexpensive furniture and cabinets such as Ikea type furniture uses knock down
hardware to assemble the product.

Hinges:

Hinges are a specialized attachment fastener

to allow movement of parts. There are a wide
range of hinges that are designed for both
appearance and function. Hinges are used in
all cabinet and furniture types from inexpensive to high end pieces.

Metal brackets:
Brackets are manufactured for a wide range of attachment
situations. These can also be used to strengthen joints. Metal
brackets are usually fastened with screws. These can be
used in all furniture and cabinet applications to attach parts
and add strength to a joint.

Screws:
There are wide assortments of screw types. These have been designed for
specific applications as well as general purpose types.
One type of specific purpose screw is a confirmat screw. This was
designed to be used in cabinet construction to hold components
together. It is specially designed to hold in MDF and particle board
and is much superior to traditional screws to accomplish this.

The two general purpose screws we use are pan head and flat socket.
Pan head screws are used with metal brackets as they
have a flat landing surface (the part of the screw that
holds the parts together.

Flat socket screws are used when the head of the screw is
to be level with the wood surface. These are commonly
used in deck and building construction as well as in
furniture and cabinet construction when the fastener has to be hidden.

Brad nails:

A brad nail is a skinny nail generally 2” or less in length. Brad

nails have very small heads so that they can be easily hidden
with a little bit of wood filler, or wood plugs. Brad nails are
used in cabinet and furniture construction to attach backs and
pieces that cannot be clamped while the glue is drying. A
brad nail will not have a great deal of holding power on its own.
Types of Cabinet Maker
Production Cabinet Maker:
A production cabinet maker will work in a
shop producing cabinet components.
The worker may only complete one task
out of a series of tasks needed to
complete a cabinet. The cabinet maker
will not necessarily see or be involved
with the finished product. A production
worker may specialize in one particular
aspect of furniture or cabinet
construction. A large number of
production jobs are now considered
unskilled labour as the person is hired and trained to complete one or two tasks
an doesn’t really have a way of advancing themselves as they are not indentured
as apprentices.

Custom Cabinet Maker:

A custom cabinet maker is usually involved in a
project from start to finish. They will either be a
journeyman cabinet maker or an apprentice
working with and being trained by the
journeyman. The projects constructed by cabinet
makers can be built in a shop setting or built on
site.

Cabinet construction procedures:

Procedure for constructing a web and face frame product:
a) Cut all sheet stock to size
b) Machine all joinery required to assemble the box.
c) Dry fit the box.
d) Glue and clamp the box making sure it is square.
e) Measure the assembled box to confirm face frame component sizes.
f) Cut all face frame pieces to size.
g) Machine all joinery required.
h) Dry fit the face frame.
i) Glue and clamp the face frame, checking for square.
j) Remove all excess dried glue from the frame and sand if required.
k) Machine the joinery needed to attach the frame to the cabinet case.
l) Dry fit the frame to the case.
m) Glue and clamp the frame to the case.
n) Remove excess glue and sand as required.

Procedure for constructing a frame product:

a) Machine all pieces to dimension (smoothen and cut to size).
b) Machine joinery.
c) Dry fit.
d) Glue together sub-assemblies (such as side frames).
e) Glue together sub-assemblies.
 f) Remove excess glue and sand as required
g) Apply finish

Areas of weakness in web and face frame construction:

Any butt joint in a cabinet is an inherently weak joint. One example is attaching a
face frame to a cabinet case. This joint is a butt joint and since hinges are
mounted on face frames, the joint has to be strengthened. By using either dowels
or biscuits, this butt joint can be made a lot stronger.
Most joints in case construction are butt joints, so dowels, biscuits, splines, or
conformat screws are used to strengthen these.

Material Take-Off & Estimate:

A material take-off is used to size all the components required to construct a

cabinet. Headings needed in a take-off include part name, number of pieces
required, length, width, thickness, material type, and cost. For a shop job, we
leave off the cost as we do not need this to construct the product.

PART # OF LENGTH WIDTH THICKNESS MATERIAL COST

NAME PIECES TYPE