It must be that time of year again

[arcadegamenut]

Seems like it was this time last year that I got an itch for this stuff.

In the end I did nothing. There were obvious reasons:

1. I liked the SlikStick cabinets, but they were more expensive then I was willing to pay.

2. I don't own any power tools and the ones being recommended to me were fairly expensive for a one-time use kind of thing.

3. No room in the garage to build it

4. I don't own a truck and would have to rent one to get the wood home.

Last night, I stumbled upon these:

Lowes offers two sizes of MDF:
1/2X49X97" MDF for $15.97
3/4X49X97" MDF for $19.99

Heading over to homedepot.com, I see:
Ryobi One+ Renovator Plus Combo Model P860 for $229.00

This contains:
P201 cordless drill with magnetic bit holder and 2 bits
P500 circular saw with carbide tipped blade and edge guide
P510 reciprocating saw with 2 blades
P520 jigsaw with 2 blades
P400 sander with sandpaper and scrubbing pad assortment
P710 Tuff Sucker

[Quarterhorse]

Must have tools IMO...circular saw, drill (doesn't have to be cordless), jigsaw, router, straight edge, and sander. 

You can MAKE your own sawhorses easily with scrap wood...or buy a cheaper set of sawhorses than that. 

Here in Tulsa they have a place called "Re-Tool" (basically a tools only re-sale shop).  You're only going to use these tools sparingly and can save significant dollars buying used.  Example -- $20 for a router, $10 for a sander, $15 drill, $20 circular saw.  These are all Craftsman type brand or better.  You can rent several of these tools too...although would pay a similar price as if you bought a new one.  I would definitely consider hitting the pawn shops / garage sales or places like these if you're going to go out and buy all of these tools. 

My advice is to take your original budget and plan on doubling it by the time it is done.  You'll never be done with the little trips to Home Depot for another brush for that last coat or some countersinking screws you forgot the first time....

[812MANY]

Don't buy that cordless kit.  My brother-in-law has that and it's a joke.  I tried to cut 3/4" mdf with the cordless circular saw and it can only cut about 3 inches of it before the blades stop spinning.  Definitely not enough power in these tools.  Same goes for the sander and the jigsaw.  Some tools are just not meant to cordless IMO.  If youre on a tight budget take a look at the tools at your local pawnshops and flea markets.  You can usually get a good deal on used brandname tools. 

[miles2912]

Go check out harbor freight's power tools.  They are perfect for one time projects.  You can get a router, jig, drill and circular saw for close to 100.  Sign up for web deals on their site and they will send you coupons.

D-

[arcadegamenut]

Funny you mention Harbor Freight. After reading the previous responses earlier, I searched for used tools on Google, and that was the first entry. Now why I wouldn't mind purchasing something that isn't the best quality (to save money) I wouldn't lay down $100 for something to break after using it once.

[DrewKaree]

Don't buy that cordless kit.  My brother-in-law has that and it's a joke.  I tried to cut 3/4" mdf with the cordless circular saw and it can only cut about 3 inches of it before the blades stop spinning.  Definitely not enough power in these tools.  Same goes for the sander and the jigsaw.  Some tools are just not meant to cordless IMO.  If youre on a tight budget take a look at the tools at your local pawnshops and flea markets.  You can usually get a good deal on used brandname tools. 

I'd venture a guess that you're unfamiliar with the way some tools are meant to be used, rather than how you think they should be used.  Either that, or you're using wild exaggeration to try to make a point. 

If you can't cut more than 3 inches of that material before the blades stop spinning, there are several reasons this could be. 

• You have a bad battery (or you assumed it was fully charged).
• You are trying to push the saw faster than it should be fed into the material.
• You are using the wrong blade for the task

There are many other reasons you have had problems, but being given this saw as a gift from my kids and putting it to use, it's far from useless, and not CLOSE to the fantastic claims of failure you've made.  There's even 2 threads floating around here demonstrating just how outrageous your claim of "3 inches before the blade stopped spinning" truly is.  Both items inside those threads were done with a single fully charged battery in each case. 

Arcadegamut, that kit will be just fine for what you're going to do.  I'd recommend that you buy one additional battery, which will add to the cost, and you may wish to buy another blade better suited to your purpose than the all-purpose blade they supply you with. 

I'd generally recommend corded tools to start building your tool collection, but that kit will serve you just fine for now, plus you'll gain some insight into what you like and don't like about a particular tool so that should you decide to replace it or buy another (it'll happen eventually), you'll know what to look for in a new item.

The difference between that kit and all the other high-dollar cordless kits you'll see at Home Depot is the build quality, targeted use, and run time of the battery.  If you really dig a cordless circ saw and end up wanting to buy a nicer one, expect just the saw to run you about what that entire kit cost you (the difference in power and battery run time is dramatically different, but not necessary in a "first tool" purchase).

[PCtech]

Also, has anyone ever built their cabinets with cam locks rather then screws? That was one thing I really liked about the SlickStick...in that you could actually take it apart easily and move it around if needed.

I have heard fo this being done (for easy dissassembly), but sometimes it not as sturdy.  Unless you plan on taking it apart, I would just go w/ screws & nails & liquid nails.

Good luck!

[RetroACTIVE]

Also, has anyone ever built their cabinets with cam locks rather then screws? That was one thing I really liked about the SlickStick...in that you could actually take it apart easily and move it around if needed.

Yes... I've done the cam lock thing... and it is very sturdy.  It takes too much time and is not really worth it IMHO.  I really like the fact that I can take it apart but have no intentions on ever doing so... it was more of an exercise for me to see if I could do it.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43594.0

[Noobert]

As far as renting a truck to get the wood home, the Lowe's where I live will cut big plywood and mdf sheets down to size for free (small fee per cut if a bunch of cuts).  I don't know if all Lowe's stores do that, but if so maybe that would help you fit your wood into your car?  I can get a lot of what I need into my hatchback that way.

[dpz147]

I had a pretty tight budget and virtually no tools.  I bought a few used off of craigslist and borrowed the rest from family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  I knew I wouldn't use them enough after I was done my cab, in order to justify buying them.

[arcadegamenut]

@retroactive: Dude! Sweet cabinet! The only reason I thought of the cams would be that I would really like to have the cabinet upstairs in the "game room", but no way do I wanna drag the thing up there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have any intention of taking it apart either (aside from when/if I were to move).

@noobert: I forgot to mention that it appears that Lowes will deliver the wood to your house...so I'd save on any kind of truck rental.

[unclet]

I built both of my cabinets (4-player standup and 6-panel rotating) with the following tools only:

1) Drill
2) $40 Hand-held scrollsaw (which can cut at an angle)
3) Metal filer used to file down wood edges
4) Phillips and flathead screwdriver
5) My hands (and some say my brains .... )

Getting more tools then this will make you life easier, but if you got the time, then you can achieve the same results.

Of course, I did not "route" anything .... if you intend to recess mount some controls then you will need a router/bits.

Also, I believe Lowes and Home depot rent their own trucks for like $20 to people who need them

[ahofle]

I built both of my cabinets (4-player standup and 6-panel rotating) with the following tools only:

1) Drill
2) $40 Hand-held scrollsaw (which can cut at an angle)
3) Metal filer used to file down wood edges
4) My hands (and some say my brains .... )

I never seem to be able to get wood screws all the way in using just my hands. 

[unclet]

this is why I used a drill ........

I used screwdriver drill attachments, although I probably used two ordinary screwdrivers as well .... some of the times  ..... I updated my list for you   

[Tahnok]

My kits use cam locks, and I can tell you that they are every bit as sturdy as screws, if installed properly. Actually, it was RetroACTIVE that turned me on to cam locks.

If you are building a full cabinet with cam locks, expect it to take a long time and to be expensive (the hardware is not cheap when you start buying enough for an entire cabinet). The result though will be a cabinet that you can take up and down stairs by yourself. With a normal cabinet, moving along level ground can be a tough job for one person.