WHAT IT TAKES
Time: 1 day
Skill level: Beginner
This handsome cabinet is actually made from two inexpensive, unfinished cabinets purchased from a home center. The two cabinets are joined together with oak plywood and strips of solid oak, turning them into a new, larger cabinet. Use it to store books, small appliances, games and more. Assembly is amazingly fast and easy when you use a brad nailer and glue. Materials cost about $175.
First, screw the face frames of the two cabinets together. Drill pilot holes and drive screws through the lower face frame into the upper. Then lay them on one side and hold a straightedge across the fronts of the face frames to be sure they form a straight, flat surface. Slip a strip of cardboard between the two cabinet boxes to get the face frames aligned.
Next, add spacer strips that match the thickness of the protruding edge of the face frames. Cut strips just a hair thicker than 1/4 in. from a 2x4. Cutting thin strips on a table saw can be tricky, even dangerous. For tips, go to familyhandyman.com and search for “ripping safely.”
Fasten the strips with plenty of glue and a few brad nails. Then add the side panel (Photo 1). Make sure the front edge of the panel is perfectly flush with the face frames, and remember that the panel overhangs the lower cabinet by 1 in. Follow the same steps on the other side.
Lay the unit on its back and check that the doors are centered on the cabinets and in line with each other before you add the legs and rails. The doors on these cabinets were a mess—we had to slip paper spacers behind one of the hinges and completely reinstall another.
Now you’re ready to glue and nail on the legs and rails (Photo 2). Glue front leg parts (L, M and N) together, then add them to the cabinet. The top rail (T) is too thin to nail to the face frame, so just nail it to the center stile (S) and clamp it in place until the glue sets. Then remove the doors, finish-sand the whole chest and add the top, which is just two layers of plywood edge-banded and glued together (Photo 3).