Step 1: Plan Your Cabinets

Pick your desired wood. Plywood is a good choice for your cabinet frame, melamine (Image 1) is a durable and inexpensive material for the sides and maple is a good choice for the doors.

Tip: Cabinets are a challenging project for anyone, so pre-measure your space carefully and consider making blueprints to help guide your design (Image 2).

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    Image 1

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    Image 2

Step 2: Build Your Side Frames

First build your cabinet frame to size (Image 1), attaching with wood glue and a nail gun.

Using a table saw, cut dados into your cabinet sides. This will give your sides a tight fit.

Fit the sides together and use wood glue and a finish nailer to secure (Image 2). Use a framing square to ensure that the cabinet structures are square.

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    Image 1

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    Image 2

Step 3: Build the Front Frame

Build your face frame and cabinet doors to size from maple. Cut your wood and drill holes with a pocket hole jig and assemble the frame using wood glue and pocket screws.

Step 4: Rout Out the Back Edges

Use a hand-held router to rout out the back inside edges of the panels.

Step 5: Finish the Cabinets

Drop ½” melamine pieces into the panels and use wood glue and a finish nailer to secure.

Sand and then paint or stain to your desired color. Attach doors with hinges, drawer with drawer tracks and add desired hardware.