Cabinet doors

[john_hartman]

I'm thinking about out sourcing a batch of raised panel doors. I have never done this but fortunately the economy in my area seems to have taken a major up turn; which has lead to more work than I can handle. I'm trying to speed up the turn around time without having to tell prospects that I'm more than 3 months out...

I have Walzcraft's profile/pricing catalog and the total's I'm coming up with seem pretty high for what I consider to be a simple door to make. My question to everyone that is outsourcing doors is: what company are you using? How is the quality as far as grain matching and warping? And what, if any, are the pit falls to outsourcing doors and drawers?

[wberminio]

John

I have been outsourcing cabinet doors/drawers for 15 years+

Waltzcraft has been my principle supplier.They have excellent customer service.
The few times I have received a damaged and/or warped door it was immediately replaced.They arrive ready to finish.
I have found that outsourcing seems to cost more than fabricating in-house,
but,consider the time to sort material, setup,cutting,sanding,cost of endless tooling necessary to supply various profiles-it may be more cost effective to
make a call with your sizes/styles/profiles and a few weeks later open your packages-door/drawer ready to finish and install.
Let me know if you need more info.

Erminio


Erminio

[thewoodcrafter]

I have always outsourced my doors.
I think Decorative Specialties has a plant in the mid-west.
Seven days for cope and stick doors and about 10 days for mitered.

Some doors can be very expensive. But I pay about $8/ft2 for oak flat panel and about $10.50/ft2 for cope and stick raised panel.
If you order "select" the color match is pretty good.

I would not consider making my own doors when I can pickup the phone and have them delivered and ready to finish in a week.

[dlcw]

John,

You've got a PM.

[bleeth]

John:
I wrote this reply last night but got distracted and did not post it. I see that there have been a cvouple of other replies from others who know the same suppliers well. So here you go:

Waltzcraft has a pretty good rep and their prices are not always the cheapest but they are generally well spoken of. A couple other American companies I have dealt with who also put out a good product is Meridian and Decorative Specialties. Sometimes one's price will be better than anothers on 1 particular style and worse on another so it is worth comparing exactly apples to apples. Another company I deal with (Canadian) is Custom doors and drawers.

The biggest pitfall is to make triple sure you are ordering the size and material you need. They will all make good on their errors but your mistakes will cost you dearly. The other is that some of the "discount" houses make a poor product that needs so much sanding it is pathetic. The other thing is if you are used to matching your rails and stiles on adjacent doors or stacked drawer fronts you are out of luck. None of them will do that. Also do not forget to factor in the shipping.

If/when you contact their rep directly you may very well be able to negotiate a percentage factor to deduct from book pricing. I don't remember off hand which companies do this but it is done.

[john_hartman]

Thanks for the info guys. I so used to controlling every last piece that leaves my shop that I'm having difficulty letting go of the responsibility. I'll get over it.. :) The shipping is what really worries me. For that reason and just general shipping time I would like to use a regional company. Again thanks for the feed back!

[bill_lumley]

Keep looking John . Doors is the first thing most cabinet makers outsource . I am in the process of trying to outsource finishing and next will be install if I can find the right person . We can only be really good at so many things and the life of the cabinet maker involves several unique specialized skills . By giving up doors you are making yourself available a week or two sooner for that next job that will likely pay more than you are making on your doors . We tend to think of ourselves as cabinet makers first and business people last:) . Good Luck Bill

[dlcw]

John,

Did you get the private message I sent you?

[cip]

John:
I've been using Kendor Wood in Kentucky for my doors for a really long time. The quality is great and the turn around time is usually around 10 days. Little or no sanding for prep. Great service even on a shipping damaged piece.
www.kendorwood.com

Mike