Cabinet Press

[erniek]

I'm just wondering if you know of a better way of assembling cabinets. Is there a cabinet press that would suit a one-two man shop?

At the moment I am making parts using blind dado construction, then using pipe clamps to hold the cabinets while the glue sets. And to speed things up I use screws on the cabinets without exposed ends.

[dlcw]

If you use eCabinets and SBLink, there is a new barbed dado joint that works like a fishhook with barbs on it. You push the joint together and the barbs hold while the glue dries. Yes, it does require a barbed dado bit from Thermwood.

I haven't used it yet because business has been too slow to justify getting the bit. If/when cabinet demand goes up, I will go this route to "clamp" my cabinets together.

[erniek]

I think the barbed dado wouldn't be practical unless you had the automatic tool changer.

[michael_schwartz]

How about using pocket screws on the boxes with exposed side panels.

You may be able to find a good deal on a used press, but every one I have seen takes up quite a bit of space.

[Gary Campbell]

Ernie...
Look on Ex Factory, Woodweb or MLS for a used case clamp. They range in size from medium to very large. There should be some that would work in a small shop, but be aware, they take up a lot of room.

[kevin]

We use crown staples and through dados as opposed to blind and instead wood glue, we use PL. The clamps would slow us down. Back in the day, before dados on the CNC, I did it with screws and clamps but now I look back and see it took a long time compared to how we do it now.

[bleeth]

We post laminate our finished ends. No clamps used in construction at all.

[Gary Campbell]

Dave...
Now that I am back in the land of wood, our product line is similar to Ernie's. Casework from unfinished veneer plywood and in most cases, with face frames. Fasteners thru a finished side, wont work. eCabs doesnt support pocket screw/dado combination.

Clamps and glue could be the only options in many cases.

[bleeth]

If you just can't handle the look of a few filled pinholes in the side of a finished end how about pinning by nailing into the cabinet edge through the tennon? After all, you are only looking to hold it together while the adhesive sets up.
How are your face frames designed to be installed?

The thing about case clamps is they are really designed to be used for dowels or biscuits that swell up fairly quickly so the box doesn't stay in the clamp very long.

"Single box" clamps aren't that big but cycle time is the key.

[Gary Campbell]

Dave...
I am sure many do, but visible pins is one of the ways I am able to set my work apart from "the others"

Face frames have a 1/4 deep by 1/2 wide dado. They are pregrooved, pocket screwed, sanded and prefinished prior to being glued to a PF case. Finished with the case if not PF casework.

My experience with eCabs blind dado (mortise & tenon) joinery is that similar swelling of the tenon occurs, so clamp cycle time is short. Its also nice to keep a single joinery method (and seed library) for both clamp & glue UF cases and screwed and glued PF.

[woodturner]

Ernest,

Take a look at a Uhling 3000. We have the "big brother" (4000) and it's a pretty robust machine. The 3000 looks a litter underbuilt, but when shopping for ours, I never heard a bad word about it.

As far as a "better way," we went to dowels. I won't say better or worse. We used to pin and screw (butt joint) with applied finished ends. Popping "through holes" first for screws allowed us to skip pinning. We tried bind dado and it was okay, but doing frameless commercial, we found it slower. Probably software and not committed to it. And, not every part in the cabinet was made from the same material. We cut all of our stretchers and nailers out of off-fall (scrap otherwise). Our yield went up, cycle times went down.

Good Luck!

[loriny]

I thought I was needind a case clamp. I found I am guite happy with a bunch of 36" irwinn quick grip - the good ones- I forget if they have a special name. I use 5 minute Hipur glue. I find working by my self I get probably 5 cabinets an hour going hard. I staple them as well if the end is not exposed. Oh yeah- all blind dadoes
Lorin

[erniek]

Thanks for the tips, I'll have to look for a faster setting glue and a used case clamp.