If you have an old bookcase or open shelves that would look better if enclosed, why not learn how to build cabinet doors for them. This woodworking project is easy, and yet it renders magnificent results. The bookcase featured with this article was open, allowing all the mess on the shelves to show. But with a little plywood, cheap wood and hinges, new cabinet doors now shut out the open shelves from sight. Here’s everything you need to learn about how to build cabinet doors yourself.
Here’s What You’ll Need to Build Cabinet Doors
– Plywood
– 1×1 lumber
– Heavy duty liquid nails
– Wood filler
– Hinges
– Cabinet clasps
– Wood knobs
– Wood screws
– Stain or paint to match your cabinet
– Paint brush
– Saw
– Drill
– Measuring Tape
– Painter’s plastic sheeting (to protect work area)
Tip: You can find everything you need to build cabinet doors at your home improvement store.
Here’s How to Build Cabinet Doors Yourself
Step #1: Measuring
To build beautiful cabinet doors, begin by taking careful measurements. Measure the opening you wish to enclose and divide the number in two. Though you’ll want to create a crack between the cabinet doors for easy opening and shutting, the saw itself will create the added space by whittling away some of the wood.
Step #2: Buy Wood
By plywood to match the combined measurement of the doors (which is equal to the measurement of the opening). Use the store’s cutting services to cut the plywood to the right width and length of the cabinet doors you are building.
In addition, buy 1×1 lumber to form a frame around the edge of each section of plywood. In this way, each door will have trim around it, making it seem like a custom built cabinet door.
Step #3: Cut the frame over the plywood
You don’t need to miter the 1×1 lumber to build cabinet doors. Straight cuts will do very nicely. Place the lumber over the plywood and mark where you should saw to create 2 pieces for the length and 2 for the width. Cover the work area with painter’s plastic sheeting for protection, then glue the wood over the plywood in the shape of a square frame around the edges. Use wood filler to fill any gaps between the wood pieces where they join.
Step #4: Stain or Paint the Cabinet Doors
Now that you have built the cabinet doors, paint or stain them to match the cabinet itself. It’s best to work in an open area and leave the cabinet doors to dry there for a day or two. Be sure to remember to paint or stain the door knobs also, so they match the cabinet doors you are building.
Step #5: Install the Hinges
Hold the cabinet doors in place to and mark where they should sit on your cabinet. Slip a hinge in place to make sure you know where it should go, then put the doors down and attach a hinge at the top and bottom of where the first door should fit. Once the hinge is attached to the cabinet, measure its exact position so as to duplicate hanging hinges on the opposite side of the cabinet for the second door. Install these hinges as well.
Now that the hinges are installed, hold the first door up and mark where the hinges should attach to it. Drill holes into the door, then hold it up and attach it to the hinge with screws (the pre-drilled holes will make it easy). Do the same for the other door.
Step #6: Install Cabinet Door Clasps
At this point, the cabinet doors you build will likely swing a little open. Install door clasps inside the cabinet at the bottom, with the tongue clasp attached to the door. The claps will fasten the cabinet doors in place.
Finish building the cabinet doors by drilling holes for the door knobs, then installing them.
When you build cabinet doors yourself, you can turn an ugly piece of furniture into a finished cabinet or bookcase. The cost of building simple cabinet doors is far lower than buying a new piece of furniture, and by using the same stain or paint as the original piece, you can make it seem as if the doors had come with the furniture in the first place. Best of luck to you, as you build cabinet doors for your old furniture and shelves.
