Make New Doors for Kitchen Cabinets
If you're in the mood to give your kitchen a new look but can't afford a full-on renovation, you could look at making your own kitchen cabinet doors to achieve a brand new kitchen makeover.
06/04/2020
If your kitchen has melamine or SupaWood doors and you are looking to give your kitchen a new look, consider making your own kitchen cupboard doors rather than forking out for expensive doors. This way, you will get the new look that you want and will be able to brag about your handcrafted doors.
Kitchen renovations are expensive, not quite as expensive as ripping out and installing a new kitchen, but still fairly pricey. But if your kitchen cabinets are in good condition and it's only the doors that you want to replace, making doors for kitchen cabinets is not as difficult as you might think.
The tool that makes assembling your own kitchen cupboard doors is the Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig. This amazing tool lets you easily assemble framed, wooden doors for your cupboards far faster and easier than any other method.
YOU WILL NEED:
32mm coarse-thread pocket-hole screws
Wood glue
Wood filler
Kreg pine wood plugs
Concealed hinges and screws
TOOLS:
Drill / Driver plus assorted bits
Kreg concealed hinge jig
Kreg hardware jig
Orbital sander plus 120- and 240-grit sanding pads
Router and straight or rabbeting bit
Hammer and sharp wood chisel
Clamps
Tape measure and pencil
HERE'S HOW:
1. Measure up the size of the kitchen cabinet doors to have all your PAR pine and plywood cut to the exact sizes. This makes it easier and quicker to assemble the doors. Take your measurements along to your nearest Builders Warehouse and they will cut everything for you. Just be sure to check that all your pieces are cut to the right size before you leave.
2. The frame sections are joined together using 32mm pocket-hole screws. Drill [2] pocket-holes in all the top and bottom frame section pieces - as shown below.
3. Use wood glue and 32mm screws to assemble all the frames you need for the doors.
4. For this next step, you need to route a ledge on which the door panel will sit. You can do this with a router and straight bit set to the correct depth and width. Set the depth at around 8mm, which will allow for the 3mm thickness of the plywood board for the centre door section, as well as a furring strip to hold the door panel in place. Note: You can adjust this depth should you wish to install a thicker door panel.
5. Use a sharp wood chisel to square the corners, as these will be rounded off after using a router.
6. Now you can fit the Kreg wood plugs using wood glue. Once dry, fill any holes with wood filler and sand smooth.
7. Kreg has a variety of jigs that make fitting hinges, handles and drawer runners a breeze, and you can use the concealed hinge jig to drill out and install your concealed hinges on the cupboard doors.
8. To finish off the door assembly, drill out for your choice of handles or knobs for the kitchen cupboard doors.
better homes and gardens magazine