Cabinet Basics
Part 5: Elements of a Lifetime Cabinet

Some cabinets are made better than others. While price is some indication of the quality of a cabinet, high price is not always a guarantee of high quality. Nor is a low price a sign of poor quality. The only way to tell if a cabinet is made well is to study the materials and the construction techniques used to build the cabinet.

Cabinet manufacturers have spent years balancing cost and quality. Wherever possible they reduce cost, without doing much harm to quality. But over the years some bad practices have crept in.

Here is a comparison of how we build cabinets compared to a typical large-scale cabinet manufacturer. Keep in mind, however, that not all manufactured cabinets are the same. Some are worse than average and some much better. The best rival custom cabinetry.

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Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet

(A) Back Panel
Only the inside of the back panel is ever seen, but it is structurally important because it gives the cabinet rigidity and resistance to racking (twisting out of square). 1/2" cabinet grade hardwood plywood, finished on both sides. May be finished in Melamine on the inside for easy cleaning. This rigid structure helps prevent racking and other cabinet deformation. 1/4" thick 48 to 50-pound density particleboard veneered with printed vinyl to simulate wood grain, or with Melamine low-density laminate. Essentially a dust shield, 1/4" particleboard can be easily bent and deformed using only manual pressure and provides little structural support.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(B) Bottom Panel
This is the floor of the cabinet. In base cabinets with drawers or slide-outs it is never seen, but it is very important to the structural integrity of the cabinet. A weak bottom panel allows the cabinet to twist out of square during handling and installation. 1/2" veneered hardwood plywood, finished on both sides, joined to end panels with dado joints, cabinet-maker’s resin glue and cabinet screws. 1/2" thick 48 to 50-pound density particleboard, veneered with printed vinyl to simulate wood grain, or with Melamine low-density laminate, joined to end panels with dado joints and hot-melt adhesive. Screws (which do not hold well in particleboard) are rarely used.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(C) Corner Gussets
Corner gussets add strength to the entire cabinet and are used to anchor the countertop to the cabinet.
3/4" veneered hardwood plywood or hardwood lumber. Up­grade­able to full front-to-back I-beam braces. 1/2" thick 48 to 50-pound density particleboard or stapled-on plastic moulded gussets.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(D) Drawer Guides
In a modern cabinet, the drawers are suspended on glides. Also called "guides" or "slides", these are metallic roller bars that allow the door to open and close smoothly. They come in several grades. The least expensive are 3/4 glides. These allow the drawer to open about 3/4s of the way. Full access glides allow the drawer to open all the way so everything at the back is visible. These are considered premium slides by most cabinet manufacturers. Full access soft-closing guides with up to a 150 lb rating. These catch the drawer when it is about 2" from closing and bring it to a soft close. This prevents the breakage possible if a drawer is slammed. This drawer cannot be slammed. Automatic opening drawers are available. Some high-end factories use full access glides, but the standard glide is a partial extension 75 lb. rated glides. Upgradeable tofull access glides for an additional charge.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(E) End Panels (Sides)
3/4" veneered hardwood plywood, finished on both sides, joined to front frames with carpenters resin glue and pocket screws for a tight, strong joint. If the end is exposed, then it is made of plywood veneered in the same hardwood as the doors. Optionally, it can be made with an integrated panel that resembles the cabinet's doors. 3/8" – 1/2" 48-pound density particleboard upgradeable to 1/2" plywood with laminate interior and veneered exterior, joined to the face frame with hot-melt glue and staples. If the end is exposed, some manufacturers glue on door blanks to dress up the end. These look like something that was glued on, and is a "tell" that immediately identifies a cabinet as a factory rather than a custom cabinet.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(F) Shelves
Photo:Sawtooth Shelf System

An alternative for our heritage cabinets is the traditional "sawtooth" adjustable shelf support. 		3/4" hardwood plywood on steel shelf pins.

The front edge is reinforced with a 1" strip of hardwood. These shelves will nver sag. If they do we'll replace them. 		1/2" to 5/8” thick 48 to 50-pound particleboard veneered with printed vinyl to simulate wood grain, or with Melamine low-density laminate, often supported on plastic shelf pins. Upgradeable to 3/4" particleboard and to plywood in premium lines.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(G) Face Frames
3/4" or 7/8" hardwood dowelled, biscuit jointed or joined with pocket screws and cabinet-maker’s aliphatic resin glue for maximum strength. Upgradeable to 1". 3/4" hardwood dowelled or biscuit jointed together with hot-melt adhesive. Some are stapled and glued and some are joined with special metal fasteners (used in Ready-To-Assemble cabinets) that are only as strong as the frame material itself.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(H) Drawers
Drawer boxes undergo a lot of abuse and need, therefore, the strength that results from quality construction.
1-2" to 3/4" sides, depending on the size of the drawer, joined with full dovetails to the front and back. 3/8” or 1/2" bottom fully rabbited at least 3/8” into sides, front and back or an equally strong machined overlap drawer joint. Drawer sides are either hardwood (better looking) or cabinet-grade 7-ply hardwood plywood (stronger) unless otherwise specified.
1/2" thick 48-pound particleboard wood lap joined with adhesive and stapled. ¼” particleboard bottom. Usually upgradeable to plywood drawers. Some better manufactured cabinets feature drawers with full dovetail joinery.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(I) Drawer (False) Fronts
The drawer “front” you see on a well-made cabinet is actually a false front that is attached to the drawer with screws. This permits the part you see to be adjusted independently of the drawer itself so it aligns with the other elements of the cabinet. 3/4" hardwood without exception. (OK, there is an exception. Thermofoil doors are medium density fiberboard – we don’t make these and cannot get them any other way. MDF is the standard for Thermofoil and because of the strong, heat-bonded vinyl foil surfacing, is plenty strong enough.) 3/4" thick 48 to 50-pound particleboard veneered with printed vinyl to simulate wood grain, or with Melamine low-density laminate; or solid hardwood. Raised panel doors are usually hardwood, flat doors particleboard. Many less expensive cabinets do not have separate drawer fronts.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(J) Cabinet Doors
We offer 100s of standard door styles and can custom make any door style you can imagine. See Cabinet Door Styles for just a few of our many door styles. Our doors include 3/4" hardwood flat panel doors, hardwood frames and plywood insets (solid wood available) on flat panel doors, hardwood insets on raised panel doors. Thermofoil doors are available. 1/2" to 3/4" thick 48-pound density particleboard or medium density fiberboard (MDF) on flat panel and Thermofoil doors, hardwood frames and plywood insets on flat panel doors, hardwood insets on raised panel doors.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(K) Roll-Out Trays
Hardwood (maple is standard) sides, back and front, plywood bottom. Full dovetail construction. 1/4” to 1/2" thick 48 to 50-pound particleboard lap joined to wood sides with adhesive and stapled. Usually upgradeable to plywood, but only top line cabinets offer full dovetail construction.
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(L) Hinges
Six-way adjustable 95° opening, self-closing concealed hinges upgradeable to 170° opening hinges. Both come with a lifetime factory warranty. Same
Component StarCraft Custom Cabinets Typical Factory Cabinet
(M) Toe Kick Dust Panel -
Reach up under your existing cabinets' toe kick and you will feel a large gap. It leads directly to the empty space under your cabinets. This gap permits the infiltration of dust and grime and provides a secure hiding place for roaches and other pests. The gap serves no purpose. Its merely a by-product of the way cabinets are made. We don't like to include roach highways in our cabinets, so we block this gap with a thin panel to keep the bugs, dust and dirt out. As far as we know, we are the only cabinet maker to routinely provide this feature. We use 1/8" plywood panel securely attached to the bottom of the toe kick with staples and adhesive so that all gaps are closed. All joints are sealed during cabinet installation with elastomeric caulk. Bye-bye bug highway!. None.





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