Cabinet Making Syllabus
Day 1
Morning Introduction, orientation, shop safety and policies.
Afternoon Demonstrations: Laying out cabinet frames, and discuss the cabinet parts list. Joinery for making the face frame. Measure for the other cabinet parts. Begin cutting the sheet stock.
Day 2 & 3
Morning Demonstrations: Cabinet joinery grooving, rabbeting, and dadoing. Prepare cabinet rail stock and cut to size.
Afternoon Cabinet assembly. Selecting door style and figuring door and drawer parts cut list. Discussion of hardware for door and drawer. Rough cut door and drawer supplies. Dinner/ slideshow 6:00PM.
Day 3 & 4
Morning Demonstration on raised panel, cope & style, door construction. Look at different door profiles. Demonstrate making routed half blind dovetails. How to sand. How to clamp. . .Picture day.
Afternoon Hands-on: Getting the door panel ready. Assembling door and drawer box. Demonstrate making top and base moldings.
Day 4 & 5 & 6
Morning Demonstrations: Mitering and attaching the base molding. Biscuit- joining and attaching the trim to top. Making and assembling drawer guides and making necessary adjustments.
Afternoon Demonstrations: Hinging, shelving, alignment, and more adjustments. Address other hardware concerns. Open shop to work on your cabinet–make the best of your time.
Day 5 & 6 & 7
Morning Address any detailing, final sanding needs or finish preparations. Q & A.
Time to fix minor flaws or accept major design changes.
Afternoon Class/Teacher evaluation & critique. This last hour of class is a wonderful experience to share together.
Final farewell at 2:30PM. All class participants will help with shop clean-up.
BASIC CABINETMAKING TOOL LIST
The following list of hand tools will be useful for the Basic Cabinetmaking class. If there is something else you would like to bring, please bring it along. This class has a material fee for the cabinet that you will be working on. We will be using maple for the project. Students will use the wood provided by the school for this class.
You will need to provide your own handles, please bring two. If you have something you like or want to use, bring it with you. There are a few places close to the school were you can purchase the hardware any time during the week, or after you get home.
- Pencil, paper & erasers, a note pad or 1⁄4” grid paper.
- Tape measure and a 6” square
- A few bench chisels 1⁄4”, 1⁄2” or 3⁄4” are the most common.
- Cabinet scraper (flat metal rectangular in shape) and a glue scraper. OPTIONAL
- Low angle block plane or bench plane if you have one. OPTIONAL
- Safety equipment: work apron, dust mask, ear plugs, and safety glasses.
Students will need to make their own arrangements for shipping their work home.