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Required tools for building a cabinet.
hyiu:
ok.... if you're saying BARE MINIMUM tools required...
then I would like to ask....
what kind of cab are you building ??...
will the surface be laminated ??
are you going to have t-molding ??
ok.... let's start...
I have a drill.... (cord or cordless are both fine... actually, I prefer corded drill because I never remember to charge the battery anyway....)
you can get by ALL the cuts with 1 jigsaw, and a guide....
(but you'll need to buy new wood blade....) I use a 4 ft metal ruler as a guide....
and 4-6 spring clamps
you'll need to buy a spade bit for the button holes.... (or some other form of hole cutting bit that can cut 1 1/8 in holes...)
if you do NOT plan on having t-molding and laminate...
you are set....
but... if you're planning on doing t-molding or laminate the surface.... you'll need a router with the appropriate bits...
now.... a sander will also help getting the job done faster, but I would say if you're young, and you have strong arms... (or you want to train yourself to have strong arms...) or you have NO budget whatsoever.... you can get by without it...
FractalWalk:
Certainly you could build a cab with just a router. You could also do it with just hand tools. Hell, you could probably build the pyramids with a hammer and chisel (and some slave labor). But when placing a value on time, labor (and frustration avoidance) certain tools are a must.
I don't absolutely need a drill press, but I had to drill well over 300 holes for my cab and a drill press is a god-send for that. In fact there are things I drilled that wouldn't be possible with a hand-drill.
I don't absolutely need a table saw, but to cut 3 panels EXACTLY the same size, each with a 17 degree bevel, required multiple attempts with a circular saw, but just a single pass on a table. In fact every cut I made with my circular saw, I re-did with a router, jig-saw or table saw, so in effect, I never used my circular saw for my cab.
I don't absolutely need a dremel, but to cut 4 piano hinges and metal brackets down to usable size was much easier, quicker & cleaner than using a hack-saw.
Doc-:
I built mine with the following and I have no real woodworking skills:
2 hand clamps (more would have been better)
A $15 Jigsaw from K-Mart
A $13 hand sander from K-Mart
Power Drill
Circular saw - hand held
Cordless drill
Good Metal T-Square - at least 24" long
Crimper/wire cutters for wiring
1-1/8" hole drill bit
Mitre box and hand saw for trim/molding
I used a folding table as my workbench in the garage. I built the cabinet 24" wide because I could buy 24" wide wood precut from the hardware store.
The Cordless drill is actually optional - you can always use the normal drill as long as its variable speed.
Cheers!
Brad
DougHillman:
As hiyu intimated, I think what's obvious here is that what tools you NEED is dictated by a buncha variables.
[*]What are the requirements of your cabinet? (ie. curved cuts? Angled joints?)
[*]What can you afford to buy?
[*]What can you justify buying? (ie. what will you possibly use again.)
[*]What are the tools you already have capable of doing?
[*]What do your skills allow you to do? (these last two points - I had to make a handful of bevel cuts for joints on one of the CP's. Just as easy for me to change the angle on my trim saw to 50 degrees and make the cuts with that as it would have been to run them through my table saw. Maybe not 1/64" of preciseness, but more than good enough for the job.)
[/list]
There's no one right answer for everyone. I didn't want to put across the idea that some of the more expensive fixed tools are useless. I love my drill press & table saw. They definately make certain jobs much easier. Just want to make sure no one thinks they're a necessity. They're not, for the majority of cabinet builders. Particularly those who may never use these tools again. A great cabinet can be built with a very bare minimum of tools.
300 holes FractalWalk? You have a swiss cheese replica cabinet? ;)
D
FractalWalk:
--- Quote from: DougHillman on April 21, 2004, 06:00:05 pm ---
300 holes FractalWalk? You have a swiss cheese replica cabinet? ;)
--- End quote ---
One would think, but just for my 1Up style rotating control panel:
4 holes x 6 2x2 joins
6 holes x 9 fasteners to join control panel to backsplash
2 holes x 6 safety fasteners to hold control panel down
5 holes per joystick x 4 joysticks
4 countersink routs per joystick x 4 joysticks
1 hole per button x 22 buttons
1 spinner hole
6 holes x 2 plexiglass sheet retaining screws
8-10 holes x 3 piano hinges x 2 sides
3 holes x 3 CP kickstands
4 mounting holes x 2 interface cards
That's over 200 right there and that's not even including my cabinet!!
I agree that not every tool is needed by every person. However in my case a drill press and table saw cost a total of $150 and I have saved at least 30 hours of work so far because of them. That comes to about $5 an hour and dropping.
I don't know about the rest of you but my time is worth much more than minimum wage (at least that's what I tell my boss).