Great tip from Nate at the end about building cardboard models! People who work at world-class design firms still prototype this way -- both with miniatures and full-scale models.
Congrats on the Festool sponsorship! That is a dream sponsor, but I can’t think of anyone I follow who is more deserving of it. Everything you do is done with quality, care, and artistry. Love the organization for the cabinets, def using something like that for my next set of cabinets. Garage/shop needs a make over, so it’ll be a chance to use there.
Congrats on the Festool Sponsorship and the wedding! Festool tools are an absolute joy to work with. Cuts through solid hardwood like a warm knife through butter
I'm an architect who has used Autocad (2D) and Revit (3D) for many years to design and document buildings. I wouldn't say either of them is the best for designing /modelling joinery, but they are the software progams that I know. One thing about using a 3D program, is that when figuring out how to model something, you are also figuring out how to build it. I would add that something that is difficult to model is probably going to be expensive to build ~ I've worked on many projects where the design has been over-complicated as well as no thought being put into how to build it.
About to start my architecture degree (sep 2024) and I'm learning Revit but struggling with it- do you have any tips that you'd be willing to share? Thanks!
I just want to say I enjoy your videos. My dad is a carpenter/ cabinet builder. I worked with him growing up installing kitchens, and we made our own cabinets. He is 60 and still doing so to this day. Keep up the good work, your videos are motivating me to keep moving on with my own home projects…that keep stacking up, lol.
sketchup does have a cutlist maker, you have to make every part a component and then it can extract the exact sizes and put them onto sheets for the most optimal cutlist
Perfect timing on this video my friend!! We are kicking over building our own cabinets too. Hope y’all are living in wedding bliss right now and taking a much needed break! ❤
Now that you’ve shown it, the bay division trick is so obvious, but through years of woodworking, it has never occurred to me! Genius! Thank you so much!
Quick note on putting the cabinents in before your flooring, it's important to account for the final flooring thickness or your dishwasher wont fit or will be floored into the cavity
DUDE you have me over here like "THIS is what's separating me from taking my [completely unusable] 1930's shotgun house's kitchen and making it functional?" You make everything look SO EASY. Loving this series-- keep up the good work! Also, congrats on the wedding!
Fellow Seattle woodworker here. I'm considering doing the cabinetry in my kitchen remodel. This is inspiring me. My wife will probably be hunting you down in the new few months. lol
Hey Michael, Excellent video. I am a cabinet maker located in the Seattle area and really appreciate your insights on cabinet making. I've been doing this for many years now and I am always excited to learn new techniques. Such as the color coding...brilliant. Also, I don't use integrated toe kicks either, much better to build separately then level them out. Awesome video my friend, it would be great to meet you sometime. Be well....stay blessed.
Hi! How do you typically connect the Cabinet to the Toe Kick? Screw through the base or is there another method I'm not aware of? Currently building out my first shop so have very little experience! 😅
I’m on my 3rd kitchen and I had to do a 2 piece system like that to accommodate the flooring guys schedule. I put pocket holes on the base and screwed them in with a right angle drill attachment vertically. I also put pocket holes with Tapcons going down into the floor so I can level and secure the base 100% to the floor and carcass. I’m sure more experienced guys have better ways, but that’s mine. Separate 1/4” toe kick across the entire base to hide the pocket holes.
Awesome video and congratulations on Festool sponsorship. With your hardwood edgebanding I would definitely ask them for the MFK 700. We use it all day with great results and no misshaps! We've also adopted the naming convention from our CNC cabinet making software Mozaik for tracking parts. It's very useful in large kitchens and once you get used to it works really well: Each cabinet is numbered starting from 1 Each side is labelled L or R and it's always as you look at it Top and bottom is T or B Nailers and Stretchers are N & S Doors and Drawers are D and DR (and this can be LD and RD if a pair) So for example 8T is the top of cabinet 8, 8N and 8S are it's stretchers and nailers. It saves a lot of writing!
Great video Michael! Love the layout and cut sheet concepts. Time savers for sure! Just a tip, and forgive me if you are already aware of this feature - but you can adjust the depth of the domino mortise on the joiner to allow for a deeper slot which will eliminate the need to custom cut each domino. You can also adjust the width of the mortise which allows a little wiggle room when you assemble. Took me a while to realize the benifit but it helps if your cuts are off even a hair, which is the case sometimes in my assembly process. Cheers!
I don't find dominos to be strong at all for cabinet carcasses, but they are slow and expensive. I can't think of any fastener where a plywood butt joint can't be easily racked and collapsed. The back and the nailers take care of this issue. I build cabinets like you build toe kicks, quick and dirty, plus staples, but I usually skin exposed sides or begrudgingly use pocket holes and never build euro cabinets. I don't know if you own a 700 but through dominos are a neat trick that can save you from trimming them on a bandsaw and this works really well when you need to have shelves line up across multiple boxes on a built in or something. Separate toe kicks are the way to go but next time I do it I'd like to try using a ledger board on the wall with adjustable feet on the front.
Thanks for the tour at Kerf Design, that was interesting! This series is also awesome, Michael, love tagging along and follow you in all the stages of this huge remodel project! And wow - festool as a sponsor.... dream come true!
Fusion 360 is excellent and worth learning. So much more functionality and the killer feature for this kind of work I parametric modeling. For example, you design your entire kitchen but decide on a 36” stove instead of 30”. Or want to change one cabinet width. With parametric modeling you. An make that change and all of the other parts of the project automatically adjust to accommodate it. Literally change one number and everything else changes.
@@richardhaas1989 if that’s what you have in mind then you have it all wrong. Setting up the parameters takes proper planning so it only causes change the way you want, and doesn’t actually cause problems elsewhere. But it’s not hard to figure out, and once you do the time saving benefits are huge.
Congrats on the sponsorship Michael! Well earned and deserved. 🙂 I'm with you on building the toe kicks separate. Much easier to install cabinets that way. Also, genius trick to color code the parts for each component; stealing that and adding to the bag of tricks. 🙂
Minute 28- not obvious! The first time I did a panel wall, I could not wrap my mind around the math of even spacing, it took me so long! Such a helpful tip!!!!
Put domino's in the endgrain first so you don't risk hammering them trough a panel. I learned this the hard way... I think you might save some plywood by using a cutlist optimizer. I never saw the prefin plywood here in Europe. Don't know why, looks very convenient. Cabinets are looking great! I can't wait to see the finished result.
Great job! One tip I would relay, is that instead of trimming down those dominos, you could have just plunged further into the one side, and more shallow in the other to make up the differences.
Okay, that "slot & hook" wall in the office is awesome and brilliant. I had to pause the video for 10 minutes thinking about the possibilities of using that setup in different ways.
Uk kitchen maker here. Kitchen cabinets, typically, are installed and screwed tightly together, so it is perfectly acceptable to end drill and the screw the cabinets together. However crude and simplistic that may seem, it is easy and strong, a covering end panel on open ends conceals any screwheads. No Domino ? No problem.
I think integrated toe kicks when used with the EZ level system are incredibly easy. Granted at an additional cost, but depending on the level of the floor can save you a lot of time vs. leveling with shims.
I just finished my kitchen that's slightly smaller than yours. I did everything (demo'd down to the framing) except the drawers, slide out shelves and countertops. I now know much, much more about plumbing, electrical, drywall, gas, cabinets, floors, tile, painting and appliances. I made the cabinets with inset doors, which added a lot of work to the project, especially with my sloppiness with square carcasses. It turned out pretty well but it was a lot of work. Good luck!
I'll never understand why people tile around the cabinets, especially on a full remodel like this. Do the flooring first then you don't lose that inch or more of cabinet height plus your floor will be level (it should be after tiling) for the cabinets. And it makes tiling easier I think, less cuts to work around.
100% agree! I was going to remodel our kitchen until I found out that the tile did not run under the cabinets into re-tile the house, of course they don’t make our tile anymore, would cost us $60,000. Always, if possible, tile, install flooring And put the cabinets on top of it.
Builders do this to save on material costs which are based on sq ft prices and put pressure on the subs/installers for a cheaper price because of the less sq ft
Tile floors area not supposed to be level, they're supposed to be straight and flat, especially if your doing it in an old house, the foundation is fucked sometimes almost 2 to 3 inches out of level in a span of 5ft
I'm going to be designing and building my kitchen cabinets. BUT FIRSTS... I'm practicing on making cabinets for my shop. So far I have one set of cabinets that I built for my Glowforge. But I hurt my back as I was doing them so I ended up just getting the carcasses done. I still need to go back and add the shelves and doors. LOL. But I needed it to be put in place so I could get my Glowforge up and running again. I learned a lot just making those two cabinets. Thanks for sharing.
New to woodworking but want to make frameless cabinets. This is such a great tutorial. I’ll have a lot of tools to buy but will still save money. I can’t wait to learn to use the app.
Silly question, at around 17 minutes you’re cutting the grooves for the back panels and you mentioned the depth of various cabinets might be different. Wouldn’t it have been easier to set the fence so that your groove starts at 1/2 or 3/4 from the back side, so you didn’t have to keep moving the fence? Or maybe I’m misunderstanding the groove’s purpose.
When designing in Sketchup, I love using grid lines (tape measure tool), because the cursor will snap to the intersection of the grid lines. I know you can click on a starting point and type in the desired size. I created a short cut key (Ctrl+G) to delete any and all grid lines from the work area. What I would do is measure out the space (height, width and length), regardless of the size of the project. I then use the rectangle tool to draw out the width and length. Push-pull tool to to raise it to the height. I then delete all the faces, leaving the outline of the space. Make it a group so nothing else drawn will stick to it. This outline is the parameter or boundary of limits to work within. Meaning, anything I build has to fit within the limits of the boundary/boarder. When designing large projects, I will use/place one of the characters/people in Sketchup as a visual scale reference to a large project. I like using Sketchup when designing a project. From a small box to a large shed. Sketchup allows me to have a visual representation of my idea. It also allows me to see any design flaws in my thinking process, what will work and what will not work. I have also imported house floor plans and build all the walls from the floor plane to get a good visual of what the interior will look like.
I think using 1/2" plywood for the back of the cabinets and putting it on without any grooves makes for a strong cabinet. For joining the panels a biscuit joiner together with some screws could do the job very well.
The only benefit I see to integrated toe kicks is you don't have to drill through the cabinets to attach the cabinets to the kicks. I suppose you could just glue the cabinets down to the toe kicks and screw the cabinets only to the walls.
When you cut the dado for the back panels, you cut on the side away from the fence. Is there a benefit to doing it that way? In the few times I have done back panel dados, I set the side close to the fence and did all my cuts at the same measurement.
I want cabinet maker with 38 years experience. Separate toe kicks are easier to level and it makes you get an extra partition out of an 8 by 4 sheet of plywood Always go loose toe kick
There are some things I like about the Ikea Cabinets, the Plastic Feet keep the wood several inches off the floor, so in case of a small flood you don't have to worry about the cabinets getting wet and I like the Euro-style of no face frame so all you see is drawer faces, makes a more modern look IMO.
The Triangle Kitchen was originally an idea from the three Beecher Sisters. I think they were from Brooklyn, NY and their Dad was a famous preacher. One of the daughters, correct me if I am wrong, was Harriot Beecher Stow who grew up to be a famous author.
For what it is worth, I used 9/8 BCX T&G plywood for my counters, and then applied 1'x2' ceramic tile. Counters should be very strong. A lot of folks use stone, but I am not a rich man.
I wanted to build my new kitchen from scratch. Been there, done that. But my loving wife reminded me that I am an old man. So, I went with unfinished off the shelf cabinets. I didn't like the particle board, so I used clear water base poly on all of the exposed edges. Didn't like the natural Beech color, so we pickled it. I ordered specific cabinets to custom fit in my 1960's kitchen. Building my own kitchen would have probably cost more than what I spent. 16 new cabinets arranged exactly as my wife wanted. Win, Win. But if you plan on building your own kitchen, start buying tools now.
Quick question about when you cut the dado for the back panel. Is the dado a set distance from the back? I see you cut the dado with the front-facing edge against the fence, and that required a fence adjustment when switching to different depth cabinets. Why not reference the back edge and use the same setting for all carcass sides?
As an interior designer and a drafter for an architect I will say sketchup is my go to but we use autocad so I’m constantly using sketchup to make sure I have the spacing right. I’ll use sketchup to extract elevations for autocad. Kitchens are fun but can be tedious.
Wow. You have AutoCAD but use sketchup for some detail stuff? I’d like to hear more about why. I went from manual drafting to AutoCAD back in the day. Used for many years in commercial HVAC, plumbing, civil, etc. There were so many drawing aides included I find it interesting that you’d rather go to a separate package to figure out spacing. Not sure what you mean by using a ketchup to extract elevations from AutoCAD. I am not a sketchup user but after hearing so much about it in this video I’ll have to spend some more time with it. I cant afford AutoCAD now since I’m no longer in that design industry.
@@mikecoughlin4128 time and accuracy. I learned in 3D then learned 2D in college. My eyes are more accurate to 3D planning than in 2D but I’m getting better with planning in 2D.
great video. however, i disagree with you on the toekick point. i much prefer plastic leveling feet. Yea, they are a little annoying to adjust, but they have so many advantages. they are cheap, quick, give you access below your cabinets if you ever need to run a wire or plumbing, cant get water damage, can move into a different place without needing to build another toekick and the clip on face is easily removeable. A normal toekick certainly works fine, but i usually prefer the plastic ones these days.
@@Obtuse94 yea, its pretty neat if you just want to run one wire for a kitchen applience or so. but to me the more important thing: one singular water spill from a dish washer could be a massive problem, if you have all wood cabinets... or it could be half an hour of mopping and maybe changing out the clip on boards of the feet.
Omg this is a dream come true Michael!!! Lol for you and me, I’m so excited to see your version of a bespoke kitchen and your house just offers that history and I don’t know it’s beautiful and I love that you’re renovating it yourself and especially building your own kitchen! This house deserves a bespoke, well thought out kitchen! You’re the one to do it and I’m so thrilled to watch along the way. Like what wood choices are you going with? I’m building a solid hickory vanity and love the grain details but I can see white oak or walnut or something entirely different maybe pecan? Either way look forward to what you go with and any surprises like if you decide on using patterned ply or patterned hardwood for the edges or somewhere in your kitchen or bathrooms? So exciting
Re: the integrated toe kicks, I think that was a feature of mass produced cabinets that us craftspeople copied because we assumed it was the *proper* way to build them. There are some aspects of IKEA cabinets that it makes sense to borrow, but I agree, it looks far easier to use a separate plinth.
Great video! Very similar process to mine. I started doing the color coding recently when I started using sketch up and it's a lifesaver when putting the cutlists together, so easy to see at a glance what everything is. I haven't tried edge banding before cutting everything down, that might be worth trying sometime. But often for me the fronts of the panels are on interior cuts so that wouldn't be possible anyway.
Great video. For me, your labeling system was of interest. I especially liked your color scheme and the labeling with the dimensions at the edge. I use MaxCut myself for the automatic distribution of the individual parts on the sheets. It can happen that I cut a large piece and have to split it into 3 or more different parts. I then label the parts with tape and structure my parts like the structure in a book. So for example 1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2. Further I give the parts names (side left..). Question to the community: How do you do that? 🙂
How does particle board break down over time? Never heard of that, in my area lots of kitchens are build with particle board. High-end kitchens even, 20-50k. It can last for decades. edit: unless you mean bare particle board, but i dont think anybody is using that for kitchens
MDF that isn't moisture resistant, is likely to go like weatbix of time if in high humidity environment or repeated wetted. Also, a lot of older particles board didn't have decent resin to bond the chips together
@williammaxwell1919 MDF isn't particle board, though, right? I'm sorry English isn't my native language. The particle board we use here is new and covered in melamine and sometimes the edge banding is glued on with waterproof glue. Ain't no way that stuff is rotting away. So cool how we all have access to almost the same materials, but we build in different ways.
@@dukkiegamer1733 MDF has finer wood chips than what most people call chipboard/partical board and typically is pressed to a high load, but basically they are all engineered boards using similar manufacturing processes. Most joinery is made with MDF. MDF, chipboard/partical board are susceptible to moister and water, especially if they haven't been manufactured to be moisture resistant
My only concern about the prebuilt toe kick idea is that they all have to be the same level as each other especially for countertops in longer kitchens, but a laser solves that
There are a couple techniques that you can use to solve this. In Europe they often use height adjustable feet instead of base boxes. You align every cabinet to a string or laser, ensuring that they're all matched smoothly with each other. The last step is to measure the exact height toe kick and install. They often can be screwed directly to part of the leg bracket. Not sure how he plans to solve the doe kicks and do leveling with this approach.
Great video as always. Looks like you included a “booth” in your design. Think about making that a U shaped banquet instead. More convivial design with 4 people and you can probably seat 2 more on the outer side of the table. I installed an L shaped fully upholstered unit in my San Francisco apartment and wouldn’t change it for anything. This design also lends itself to stretching out while reading with a great cup of Seattle joe. Thanks for all your videos.
In the design iterations in the beginning you can see one or two versions that had a U shaped banquette. The depth required for the end bench can be a limitation, and often doesn't end up working in those smaller kitchens which were only designed for facing benches originally.
Nice cabinet build. I also like separate toe-kick. We are designing a kitchen remodel and plan to build the cabinets. I am considering French Cleats to hold the cabinets. On your cabinet with the "custom Dominoes", instead of cutting them shorter, did you consider making "through floating tenons"? It would have required actually making the tenons, not just cutting ready-made Dominoes shorter, but would add strength instead of lessoning it.
In my upcoming tiny house build (never enough storage in most tiny houses), I'm going to make the toe kick about 10" high so I can use it for deep draws for large it kitchen items, especially those not frequently used.
