Timber options for carcass work?

[ecks79]

Hi gang.

I'm new to furniture making, however I'm familiar with wood and building things. I'm about to start my first draws and cabinet, so very keen to hear about (and see videos / pictures if anyone has or knows of any) of carcass work, methods, techniques and especially choices of timber - and why such timber.

Most of my work initially will be for internal use.

Thanks in advance to any one who can en-lighten me!

Cheers
Tony

 

[Corwin]

It's been awhile, but as I recall, there was a great walkthrough in cabinets here.  Euro Cabinets 101-2 A Beginner's Guide

(I don't know if this qualifies as a "Timber" option)

 

[nickao]

Carcass use plywood.

I would use this system if it is your first time. I still think it is a great way to make cabinets:

http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/st_video1.asp

This is worth the 10.00 for sure!

http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/Cabinetmaking-Made-Easy/productinfo/DVD4/

If you follow this dvd you will have cabinets that are as good as the finest cabinets you can purchase.

 

[Brice Burrell]

It's been awhile, but as I recall, there was a great walkthrough in cabinets here.  Euro Cabinets 101-2 A Beginner's Guide

Corwin, this is one of favorite thread on the FOG, thanks for bringing back out of the beyond. Tony, this thread is an outstanding resource so I would expect you'll be making great cabinet carcasses in no time.  

Nick, I think I remember plywood is very expensive in Australia, so much so that is isn't often used for cabinets.  Tony, I don't have a good recommendation, you'll be better served with info from another Aussie.

 

[mouppe]

Hi, I made my first cabinets from plywood, and then I tried maple, ash and cherry to get a feel for real wood. I do not know what the similar species would be down under. I would suggest a closed-grain wood, and not too hard (oak would not be a good first choice). With plywood, you do not have to worry about seasonal humidity and its effect on joinery.

I used dominoes throughout the construction, with dadoes as well. Nothing too complicated. I also fooled around with frame and panel doors, drawer slides and MDF. There are some photos in the member projects section.

Actually the first thing I ever built was a maple and cherry workbench. Have you thought about a subscription to Fine Woodworking? They have project plans and a massive library of advice, videos, photos etc. available there.

Good luck,
Richard.

 

[Guy Ashley]

Have you thought about a subscription to Fine Woodworking? They have project plans and a massive library of advice, videos, photos etc. available there.

Good luck,
Richard.

I will highly recommend the advice from Richard. Also if you subscribe to Fine Woodworking you can also get an on line membership from which you can access thousands of previous articles and video.

It is almost as informative as the FOG [tongue] [tongue]

 

[ecks79]

Hey gang!

This has been outstanding advice - currently reading all the articles now - thanks!

I subscribed to Fine Woodworking just the other week, it has been great - i just have to renew my account as my CC details didn't go through apparently.

Not sure how expensive plywood is here, i've actually never had to pay for it before (always been lying around). I ordered a load of MDF for some simple projects to setup the workshop because it was cheap as chips... i'm running a CMS TS55 with the CT 36 dust extraction - but only one hose for the moment - and i must say i won't be making that mistake again! the machine and the extraction is great, but while im only running the single hose it was a bit of a dust storm. Ordered the second host this week so will see how that goes.

I will cost up some ply, i assume there are loads of different grades/quality - with the current plans, i intend to dress the outside faces of the cabinet with a 12mm ply, chamfered T&G, and the top/surface with some raw finished hardwood slab - so i won't be looking for any great quality hardwood finish on the ply. Any suggestions there?

I will also go look on some of the local sites for advice on the ply - thanks for the heads up on the plywood.

as always - great advice and very helpful resource. Thanks guys!

Tony

 

[mouppe]

You can get good quality plywood that will have a nice top layer thereby saving you the trouble of dressing it up. I would use solid wood for the face frame, not plywood with an edge banding. Good idea on the solid wood top.

I made a similar rolling cabinet and posted pictures of it in the members section.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/member-projects/workshop-cabinet/

Richard.

 

[ecks79]

Hey nice cabinet Richard! thanks.