Kitchen Cabinet Case Parts

The front frames usually are made of hardwood, 1 to 1.9 cm thick. Rails, stiles, and mullions are doweled (or mortise-and-tenoned), as well as glued and stapled for rigidity Lap joints and screw joints are also used. End or side panels typically consist of 0.3 or 0.6 cm plywood or hardboard, glued to 1.9 cm thick frames, or 1 cm and thicker plywood or particleboard without frames. The end panels frequently are tongue-and-grooved or dovetailed into the front frames. The mortise-and-tenon, butt joints, rabbet, dado, and dowel are also used to affix the end panels to the front frames. Furniture-grade plywood and particleboard with veneer facings are the most common materials for end panels.

The backs of cabinets range in thickness from 0.3 cm to 0.6 cm and are of plywood or hardboard construction. The backs are fastened to the side panels by insertion and with glue blocks that are pinned with staples. The ledger at the back of the cabinet provides a solid surface through which screws are driven to anchor the unit to the wall. The tops and bottoms of cabinets also vary from 0.3 to 1 cm in thickness, and they are thinner on the sides and fastened with glue blocks. Base cabinets generally do not incorporate tops; however, some manufacturers still use the dust caps as cabinet tops on the base units. Shelving in both base and wall units vary in material composition from plywood to particleboard with or without wood or plastic-banded edges. Thickness varies from 0.95 to 1.9 cm. Shelving in wall cabinets is either fixed or adjustable with the trend toward adjustability, using either plastic or metal adjusting hardware.

There are many elements of case parts not discussed in this article that will be addressed in later publications. This article is aimed at beginners but there is enough information included to intrigue experienced kitchen fitters.