Mitered cabinet carcass

[jeep jake]

Hey guys starting a couple cabinet projects and I want to do miter the carcass corners any ideas I own a domino XL and was thinking about ordering the Seneca adapter or buying/borrowing a biscuit cutter. Is there a good practice way of doing it?

 

[Holmz]

If you could borrow a Zeta-P2 and use Clampex then that would be one way to go.

 

[peter halle]

Because of the depth of cut the mortises need to be close to the inside of the cabinet.  Doable certainly, but ....  I will leave that to others to fill in who have done this.

Peter

 

[Tayler_mann]

My mentor will only build cabinets with mitered cases. In his words, "they look real good that way." He's been building cabinets since the late 70's and I'd say he's gotten good at it. He swears up and down by biscuits because they have a fudge factor.

I on the other hand will do it with dominos regularly. I use 5 mm dominos and place a domino every 80-100mm depending on the size of the case. It works well but I like to only do two tight dominos and the rest loose. For some reason the last few times I tried all tight my case was off a 1/2 mm in lining up and it frustrated me when doing my doors. Good thing I have a track saw and went around all 4 sides to straighten it up again.

Mitered cabinets really do make it look like a custom cabinet build and not prefabs from Home Depot or lowes. If you also miter the face frame into the case with a compounded corner it looks REALLY nice. I haven't gotten there myself but my mentor has done a kitchen full and it made the cases looks carved out of solid hunks of wood. Small details are what matter.

 

[Hurricane Whisperer]

My mentor will only build cabinets with mitered cases. In his words, "they look real good that way." He's been building cabinets since the late 70's and I'd say he's gotten good at it. He swears up and down by biscuits because they have a fudge factor.

I on the other hand will do it with dominos regularly. I use 5 mm dominos and place a domino every 80-100mm depending on the size of the case. It works well but I like to only do two tight dominos and the rest loose. For some reason the last few times I tried all tight my case was off a 1/2 mm in lining up and it frustrated me when doing my doors. Good thing I have a track saw and went around all 4 sides to straighten it up again.

Mitered cabinets really do make it look like a custom cabinet build and not prefabs from Home Depot or lowes. If you also miter the face frame into the case with a compounded corner it looks REALLY nice. I haven't gotten there myself but my mentor has done a kitchen full and it made the cases looks carved out of solid hunks of wood. Small details are what matter.

Interesting.  Got any Pics?  I can see how mitered cabinet boxes and face frames would be very showy on something like a credenza or a side table, but I'm having a hard time seeing how a mitered box would be visible in a face framed kitchen cabinet that gets a countertop on it.

 

[ear3]

I have the DF500 rather than the 700, but it's the same principle -- in your case, though, you would certainly have to get the adapters so you could create a mortise for a 5mm domino, which is the max size one can fit on mitered 3/4 ply.  Make sure when you do it that the fence is at the lowest setting, so that the mortise plunge is as close to the inside face of the material as possible.

Be very careful during the glue up not to get too much glue into the narrow mortises (if you do any on that setting), otherwise they will blow out the mortise from hydraulic pressure.

Hey guys starting a couple cabinet projects and I want to do miter the carcass corners any ideas I own a domino XL and was thinking about ordering the Seneca adapter or buying/borrowing a biscuit cutter. Is there a good practice way of doing it?

 

[Brice Burrell]

If you could borrow a Zeta-P2 and use Clampex then that would be one way to go.

If I could borrow a space shuttle I could go to space... [blink]

 

[tiralie]

If I could borrow a space shuttle I could go to space... [blink]

LOL, always thought you were "spacey".
Tim

 

[tiralie]

Hey guys starting a couple cabinet projects and I want to do miter the carcass corners any ideas I own a domino XL and was thinking about ordering the Seneca adapter or buying/borrowing a biscuit cutter. Is there a good practice way of doing it?

You didn't mention the stock thickness for the carcass but I am assuming 19 mm or 3/4" so you can use a domino, but you do need to domino close to the sort side of the miter so you don't break through the other side.
Glue up is more of an issue than type of joinery (domino or biscuit) the joint is difficult to close up perfectly and you can end up with a very wavy looking edge. Make sure you are prepared with the proper blocking to close up the miters.

Below is a stair rail I glued back together with dominoes.
[attachimg=1]

Tim

 

[justinh]

For this application I'd use a lock miter vs domino's/biscuits. Face frames lock mitered to carcass is a pretty common detail in the custom boxes I have been installing lately.  Clean and seamless if done correctly.  The one pictured is a walnut frame to a mdf core walnut side panel.

 

[junk731]

First question that should have been asked is what material are you planning to use and how thick is it going to be. Many options available with some not needing a domino/biscuit. Miter fold works good of sheet good with veneer. Solid wood I like to 4mm dominos in 3/4" material.

John

 

[jeep jake]

3/4" plywood. Maybe mdf, I have heard lock miters don't work very well with plywood I am also worried about routing them. I have a feeling it's going to be tough. I was thinking about picking up a cms, do you guys think there would be a issue using it for this. My concern is running the vertical carcass side, vertical through the router.

 

[Tayler_mann]

3/4" plywood. Maybe mdf, I have heard lock miters don't work very well with plywood I am also worried about routing them. I have a feeling it's going to be tough. I was thinking about picking up a cms, do you guys think there would be a issue using it for this. My concern is running the vertical carcass side, vertical through the router.

Lock miters work very well however if you do not have the router/shaper setup to do it it will be difficult. I borrow a powerfed shaper to do them myself. I believe if you use a router you would need a good table to do it. I've never seen a bearing guided lock miter before I also don't know how that would go as that's a lot of material to remove.

My mentor will only build cabinets with mitered cases. In his words, "they look real good that way." He's been building cabinets since the late 70's and I'd say he's gotten good at it. He swears up and down by biscuits because they have a fudge factor.

I on the other hand will do it with dominos regularly. I use 5 mm dominos and place a domino every 80-100mm depending on the size of the case. It works well but I like to only do two tight dominos and the rest loose. For some reason the last few times I tried all tight my case was off a 1/2 mm in lining up and it frustrated me when doing my doors. Good thing I have a track saw and went around all 4 sides to straighten it up again.

Mitered cabinets really do make it look like a custom cabinet build and not prefabs from Home Depot or lowes. If you also miter the face frame into the case with a compounded corner it looks REALLY nice. I haven't gotten there myself but my mentor has done a kitchen full and it made the cases looks carved out of solid hunks of wood. Small details are what matter.

Interesting.  Got any Pics?  I can see how mitered cabinet boxes and face frames would be very showy on something like a credenza or a side table, but I'm having a hard time seeing how a mitered box would be visible in a face framed kitchen cabinet that gets a countertop on it.

I do not have any pics as it wasn't my work it was my mentors. I just helped hang them. The mitered cases and frames are for the hanging cabinets and exposed edge cabinets on the floor. Also the compound mitered face frames for some of the lowers as well.

 

[Holmz]

I forgot about those folded joints.
When you have tool-X then everything looks like a problem designed for it.

If you could borrow a Zeta-P2 and use Clampex then that would be one way to go.

If I could borrow a space shuttle I could go to space... [blink]

I don't have a shuttle.
The only vacuum is a CT-26, but where would the chips go in space? Would the vacuum even work?
You would also need a pilot or crew.

Pittsburg is large enough that some shop probably has one, if the OP was headed towards that particular fastener solution.

 

[ear3]

As long as your edges are good, the domino will work just fine. The biggest challenge will be getting a clean square cut on the mitre. Strap clamps will work for glue up.

3/4" plywood. Maybe mdf, I have heard lock miters don't work very well with plywood I am also worried about routing them. I have a feeling it's going to be tough. I was thinking about picking up a cms, do you guys think there would be a issue using it for this. My concern is running the vertical carcass side, vertical through the router.

 

[GhostFist]

I'm only thinking about woodworking in space now.