Suggestions on edge planing a built-in cabinet frame?

[idratherplaytennis]

Hello all- I have come into a bit of a pickle and was hoping this is the right spot to get some advice.

The too-long, didn't-read version is I need to plane about 1/16-3/32" off the sides of some built-in 3/4" thick poplar face frames on a lower cabinet (which currently do not have a counter top or anything that crosses the top, with a 4" toe kick gap at the bottom). I don't have any block planes, and I am not skilled enough with them from what little use I've had, and I was hoping there would be another easy way (I just purchased an OF 1400, and also have a track saw, RO 90 and ETS EC 150/3 with hard pads) to do this on a frame that has been permanently installed (glued and screwed).

The long version is this:

Rebuilding some lower cabinets on an older 1950's era home for my sister which has doors and drawers that had some nice trim on the door and drawer fronts. Needed to make the cabinet deeper to a standard 24" depth and add a space for a dishwasher so I opted to build the cabinets in place. The walls were quite out of square and the floor had some nice slopes and waves in it so the jigsaw and tracksaw were my friend- everything has basically come out perfectly square, flat and all the face frames in the same plane across the built-ins. I somehow made the faceframe that goes around the dishwasher too tight 23-7/8" instead of 24 for the 23-7/8" dishwasher. They overhang the actual cabinet sides so the only issue is needing to shave off about 1/16- 3/32's on both sides, and I was hoping that since there isn't currently a counter top on the cabinets, there would be some easy to use jig I could set up to use either my router or something else with (I don't really have any place I can clamp my track saw to). The cabinets are paint-grade, so that will hide a lot of the imperfections, but everything so far has turned out beyond my expectations (first time building the cabinets just on my own from scratch) so I wanted to try and keep with that expectation, hah.

My current thought was that it is just 1/16" my best bet might be to draw two plumb lines and just sand down to them with the hard pads on the 150/3 sander... I just know there's more than one way to do things and since I got this shiny new OF 1400... I was hoping there'd be a quicker easier way to do this and get the results as if I were an expert at hand planing...

 

[tjbnwi]

Is the cabinet free of the other cabinets?

This is a job for the track saw.

If you have clamps there is no reason you can’t clamp the rail. Slide the clamp onto the rail, with the clamp facing the top of the cabinet. Set the rail, slide the clamp to catch the the drawer divider rail.

Tom

 

[idratherplaytennis]

The cabinets are already permanently attached to the walls and floor, unfortunately- otherwise I definitely would have used the track saw. This is basically a job for a hand plane which I don't have the time to master for this current job, or the sharpening skills to properly sharpen and hone a new plane- I just thought I might have another easy option beyond just sanding down the sides.

 

[tomp]

If I'm reading your original post correctly, you have a cabinet either side of an opening for a dishwasher and the gap between the edges of the face frame is too small. I'd look at using a flush trim bit in your brand-new router - you would have to put a shim on the face of the box to guide the bearing, the thickness of the shim would be equal to the overhang less how much you need to trim off - over-simplifying, if you have 1/4" projection of the face frame past the cabinet box, and you want to make the opening 1/32" larger on each side, attach a strip of 7/32" thick plywood to the face behind the face frame with double-stick tape and use that to control the amount that the router removes. Don't know about the OF 1400, I've used a trim router to make similar "adjustments".

 

[idratherplaytennis]

If I'm reading your original post correctly, you have a cabinet either side of an opening for a dishwasher and the gap between the edges of the face frame is too small. I'd look at using a flush trim bit in your brand-new router - you would have to put a shim on the face of the box to guide the bearing, the thickness of the shim would be equal to the overhang less how much you need to trim off - over-simplifying, if you have 1/4" projection of the face frame past the cabinet box, and you want to make the opening 1/32" larger on each side, attach a strip of 7/32" thick plywood to the face behind the face frame with double-stick tape and use that to control the amount that the router removes. Don't know about the OF 1400, I've used a trim router to make similar "adjustments".

This could work. The 1400 may honestly be overkill  [big grin]. I could probably very easily do that, and I do have access to a palm router (which is old enough that I swear it's as loud as the 1400). Come to think of it... I believe my pattern bit is 1/2" shank.. might have to go with the big guns... Thanks for the idea- I didn't think about it at the time but that could work quite well.

 

[tomp]

For the cost, I'd buy a 1/4" shank pattern bit ($10 from MLCS, and is very handy to have on hand - no pun intended). The palm router would be safer/easier to control with a larger base since you're working vertically as you don't have much base in contact while fighting gravity, but you can use two hands if needed. Fortunately you won't be making a heavy cut which is going to be a plus.  I have a D-handle P-C router that I've used to cut hinge rabbets in studs (long story) and it's easy to do with this router as it has an elongated base (an old Pat Warner product).

 

[waho6o9]

Easy peasy

Get yourself a high quality Japanese pull saw, like a Gyokucho, this set is cost effective:https://www.workshopheaven.com/set-of-4-gyokucho-japanese-saws-kataba-ryoba-dozuki-kugihiki.html

Run a knife wall and rip it down, if I understand you correctly.

View attachment 1

 

[Naildrivingman]

Have you considered scribing a fat 1/16” line on each side and belt-sanding the edges?  This may be easier.

 

[Farming_Sawyer]

Scribed line and RO90 with hard pad in Rotex mode.... Or screw a lath to the edge of frame 3/32 away from edge and a pattern bit in a trim router....