American vs European

[Rocky]

I'm new to woodworking and want to know what the difference is between the two?  Cabinet styles.

 

[peter halle]

I think I know what you are asking, but maybe a little more explanation on your part would be helpful and would get some great responses.

Peter

 

[jacko9]

Rocky, between 3000 and 6000 miles since I'm on the West Coast [wink]

 

[upscale]

Rocky, between 3000 and 6000 miles since I'm on the West Coast.

You beat me to it. I'm closer to the east coast, so I'd say about 5163 miles at a guess.  

 

[Rocky]

Cabinet styles.

 

[Kev]

Well, America is east of Australia and Europe is west of Australia. Tools form Europe are the correct voltage and tools from America are the wrong voltage. America doesn't seem to like the metric system and also decided to come up with their own variations on imperial measurements ... along with their own variations on how to spell words.

There's a few other places on the planet that are a little different too.

[smile]

 

[jacko9]

Well, America is east of Australia and Europe is west of Australia. Tools form Europe are the correct voltage and tools from America are the wrong voltage. America doesn't seem to like the metric system and also decided to come up with their own variations on imperial measurements ... along with their own variations on how to spell words.

There's a few other places on the planet that are a little different too.

[smile]

Kev, I'm shocked that you have electricity in Australia? [wink]

 

[Kev]

Well, America is east of Australia and Europe is west of Australia. Tools form Europe are the correct voltage and tools from America are the wrong voltage. America doesn't seem to like the metric system and also decided to come up with their own variations on imperial measurements ... along with their own variations on how to spell words.

There's a few other places on the planet that are a little different too.

[smile]

Kev, I'm shocked that you have electricity in Australia? [wink]

We import large batteries from China, park them outside near the dry toilet and run bare wires into the house ... On a good day crows land on the wires and we can have crow pie if the dingos don't get them first!

 

[jacko9]

Well, America is east of Australia and Europe is west of Australia. Tools form Europe are the correct voltage and tools from America are the wrong voltage. America doesn't seem to like the metric system and also decided to come up with their own variations on imperial measurements ... along with their own variations on how to spell words.

There's a few other places on the planet that are a little different too.

[smile]

Kev, I'm shocked that you have electricity in Australia? [wink]

We import large batteries from China, park them outside near the dry toilet and run bare wires into the house ... On a good day crows land on the wires and we can have crow pie if the dingos don't get them first!

Looks like I get the "crow pie" [big grin]

 

[fritter63]

Europeans measure with these tiny little ticks that they never reduce, so it sounds like your project is really huge when it's really only like 6 inches long.

Americans measure in a little bit bigger ticks, which we constantly change to different units so that we can make the math harder and insure that we make a mistake.

 

[hobbes]

Europeans measure with these tiny little ticks that they never reduce, so it sounds like your project is really huge when it's really only like 6 inches long.

Americans measure in a little bit bigger ticks, which we constantly change to different units so that we can make the math harder and insure that we make a mistake.

[thumbs up] Very funny!

 

[Timtool]

Gonna try to be a bit serious here so,
From what i know in NA they like to make cabinet carcases out of plywood, veneered or not, with solid wood face frames and doors, assembled with pocket holes or nails.
In Europe cabinets are made of melamine or Formica panels based on the 32mm system, edge banded with PVC and assembled with dowels, no face frames and either solid wood doors or flat panel doors, all with standardized hardware like euro hinges or drawer slides.

 

[Kev]

Gonna try to be a bit serious here so,
From what i know in NA they like to make cabinet carcases out of plywood, veneered or not, with solid wood face frames and doors, assembled with pocket holes or nails.
In Europe cabinets are made of melamine or Formica panels based on the 32mm system, edge banded with PVC and assembled with dowels, no face frames and either solid wood doors or flat panel doors, all with standardized hardware like euro hinges or drawer slides.

Oz leans the Euro way a bit too - quite a lot of the Ikea style "FlatPak" stuff ... I still look at them as "temporary cupboards" ... hate 'em.

Wardrobe systems tend to be mostly melanie carcasses (including drawers - any they're rubbish).

 

[RC]

Just pop by IKEA near you and you'll find European style i.e. stuff that you can screw together once but if you ever need to disassemble something (that's made out of particle board, not ply) you won't be able to ever get anything to not slop and half the screws will have corked themselves out  [mad]

This is one of the reasons (the main one being relaxation) that I'm building my own from proper materials since you cannot buy solid wood or even ply based furniture for less than your first born child here any more. Almost everything is plastic (melamine) covered as was mentioned by Timtool above, only the more expensive furniture and cupboards have real wood veneer on them and even then they are mostly particle board internally.

Just about all cupboards, drawers and book shelves have Blum hinges, 32mm system holes for height adjustment and over-extending drawer slides that fit the 32mm system too. Having slow-close mechanisms on both cupboards and drawers have been all the rage for the last 5 years.

From my personal experience the door hinge integrated slowing mechanisms just plain don't last in use. Tried three different versions from Blum before finally getting the simple (is better) spring loaded slowing pins that are drilled into the cupboard frame instead of attached to the hinges that work better than any of the hinge models and will probably last forever since there is only one spring and a rubber pin that touches the door.

We don't use face frames at all - actually first heard of them here two years ago [huh]

You can get ideas here about what the better quality kitchen companies sell today in Finland.

Edit: In central Europe (Germany, Austria, France, Netherlands) to my knowledge the customers are more picky with the furniture build quality than us Nordics so there you do see more furniture built out of solid wood. Don't know for sure what they build their cabinets out of.

 

[upscale]

From what i know in NA they like to make cabinet carcases out of plywood, veneered or not, with solid wood face frames and doors, assembled with pocket holes or nails.
In Europe cabinets are made of melamine or Formica panels based on the 32mm system, edge banded with PVC and assembled with dowels,

I'll stay with the serious part of this subject. I'd have thought, especially because this is a Festool website, that both camps would be using (or at least mentioning) cabinets and/or face frame built with Domino construction.

In the past six months, I've sold off my biscuit joiner, a box of 2000 biscuits and a Record doweling jig. The Domino does it all and does it better in every area, at least as far as my experience goes.

 

[waho6o9]

3/4 American face frame cabinetry uses 3/4 of an inch hardwood as a face frame, hence the name,  with a plywood carcase.

European cabinetry uses the 32 mm system as stated above, and uses no face frame.

[big grin]

 

[flair woodworks]

Wardrobe systems tend to be mostly melanie carcasses (including drawers - any they're rubbish).

Sounds interesting...

 

[Deansocial]

Gonna try to be a bit serious here so,
From what i know in NA they like to make cabinet carcases out of plywood, veneered or not, with solid wood face frames and doors, assembled with pocket holes or nails.
In Europe cabinets are made of melamine or Formica panels based on the 32mm system, edge banded with PVC and assembled with dowels, no face frames and either solid wood doors or flat panel doors, all with standardized hardware like euro hinges or drawer slides.

Oz leans the Euro way a bit too - quite a lot of the Ikea style "FlatPak" stuff ... I still look at them as "temporary cupboards" ... hate 'em.

Wardrobe systems tend to be mostly melanie carcasses (including drawers - any they're rubbish).

the cheap euro style stuff is crap ie ikea.

The better end of euro style stuff aint bad at all. but it is more suited to modern looking stuff

 

[Kev]

Wardrobe systems tend to be mostly melanie carcasses (including drawers - any they're rubbish).

Sounds interesting...

Sorry - should have used a capital "M" in her name  [embarassed] [sad]

 

[jmbfestool]

Gonna try to be a bit serious here so,
From what i know in NA they like to make cabinet carcases out of plywood, veneered or not, with solid wood face frames and doors, assembled with pocket holes or nails.
In Europe cabinets are made of melamine or Formica panels based on the 32mm system, edge banded with PVC and assembled with dowels, no face frames and either solid wood doors or flat panel doors, all with standardized hardware like euro hinges or drawer slides.

Oz leans the Euro way a bit too - quite a lot of the Ikea style "FlatPak" stuff ... I still look at them as "temporary cupboards" ... hate 'em.

Wardrobe systems tend to be mostly melanie carcasses (including drawers - any they're rubbish).

the cheap euro style stuff is crap ie ikea.

The better end of euro style stuff aint bad at all. but it is more suited to modern looking stuff

+1