Question about building wood cabinets

[ExpoMike]

Hi all,

I am looking to change the direction of how I build out my M1010 camper conversion. Originally I was going to use mostly all aluminum and composite panels for the cabinet build outs. With the cost of materials through the roof, I am considering switching over to birch ply for most of the build. I do most of my fab work in metal and have done some wood over the years but it's not my thing.

For a camper, that obviously bounces around, it is recommended to glue the corners and joints? I might use pocket screws to join things but I also have a crown stapler that works good at joining corners. I am just not sure if gluing them would make things too stiff and break or add extra level of protection.

I am thinking of using 1/8" angle aluminum with screws in the primary corner joints, to reinforce them.

Thoughts?

 

[Herbie]

Mike, I did the galley cabinet on my Astro van in 1/2" birch ply with pocket holes and glue. The cabinet was fairly stiff (and bolted to the van in two places), but not so stiff that I ever saw any issues in the ~7 years that I had that cabinet installed. This included a fair amount of trails that twisted the van somewhat (pop-top conversion didn't strengthen the van against twisting, though it's hard to say how much it hurt it). The cabinet was tight enough to "ring" like a bell prior to bolting it to the van (and installing the fridge, etc.), but could still flex a little. The fact that it was basically "five sided" with very little installed bracing at the front of the cabinet (only at top and middle), probably dictated this property.

I did not feel I needed corner/joint strengthening, but you can see from the photos at the link that I was able to include bracing panels in the middle (where the fridge mounted) and on the back to prevent racking, etc.

Construction process:

Astro Fridge Cabinet ver3

53 new items · Album by Mike Herbst

photos.app.goo.gl

The negative of this approach is that even in 1/2" thickness, that was not a small amount of wood, so the cabinet wasn't as light as I would have liked (~43lbs empty). That said, somewhere along the line I worked up a spreadsheet and calculated what I could save weight-wise if I rebuilt the cabinet using 16g 1" aluminum tubing and 1/8" luon-style ply (specifically "RevolutionPly") as paneling, and it would have only saved ~30% of the weight, IIRC.

If I were doing a LOT of cabinets, then I'd probably run the numbers using coarse estimates of the cabinet sizes to see if the weight savings was worth the more difficult construction process. (Not counting measurement/design and finishing, the pocket-holes and glue on ply wood cabinet was basically a 1-day project, which was nice.)

 

[ExpoMike]

@Herbie Thanks for that real world info. Checking out your pics. I am likely going to do some lightening holes like you did on panels and I can do and even thought about routing out about half thickness on backside of facing panels, for a little extra reduction. I have about 3400 lbs to play with but would like to keep everything light where possible.

 

[Herbie]

@Herbie Thanks for that real world info. Checking out your pics. I am likely going to do some lightening holes like you did on panels and I can do and even thought about routing out about half thickness on backside of facing panels, for a little extra reduction. I have about 3400 lbs to play with but would like to keep everything light where possible.

Yeah, you're in better shape. My nominal payload prior to pop-top conversion was ~1300lbs, so of course I was playing a very different game!

 

[NatersXJ6]

If you’re using a CNC router or laser cutting system, 3/8 Baltic birch can be slot-tabbed or finger jointed to make some ridiculously strong glued joints that take up very little space and need no internal structure. I finger jointed my chuckbox completely with a home made sled in a table saw…. It was a bit nuts and required near machinist levels of precision in woodworking… but it looks awesome!

 

[ExpoMike]

If you’re using a CNC router or laser cutting system, 3/8 Baltic birch can be slot-tabbed or finger jointed to make some ridiculously strong glued joints that take up very little space and need no internal structure. I finger jointed my chuckbox completely with a home made sled in a table saw…. It was a bit nuts and required near machinist levels of precision in woodworking… but it looks awesome!

Yeah, that is way beyond my skill or tooling. I am very basic when it comes to wood work. I am all setup for metal fab.

 

[IdaSHO]

10+ years and 75k+ miles later, our very simple and very lightweight VG fir and 1/8" birch panel skinned cabinets are just as sturdy as when they were built
Skeletons were pocket screwed and PL premium glued together, skins were applied with PL and stainless 18GA brads
Doors are just 6mm Baltic birch. So thin that hinges were riveted to them to hang
And skinned this way with the very thin ply, as apposed to building face frames for every cabinet was super simple, cheap, and fast.
Rough cut a skin, glue and brad nail to the frame, and once dried you just zip off the extra and cut the opening, all with a flush trim bit and router.

All in, I bet there is less than 50# of cabinets in the entire camper.

 

[1000arms]

10+ years and 75k+ miles later, our very simple and very lightweight VG fir and 1/8" birch panel skinned cabinets are just as sturdy as when they were built
Skeletons were pocket screwed and PL premium glued together, skins were applied with PL and stainless 18GA brads
Doors are just 6mm Baltic birch. So thin that hinges were riveted to them to hang
And skinned this way with the very thin ply, as apposed to building face frames for every cabinet was super simple, cheap, and fast.
Rough cut a skin, glue and brad nail to the frame, and once dried you just zip off the extra and cut the opening, all with a flush trim bit and router.

All in, I bet there is less than 50# of cabinets in the entire camper.

@ReluctantTraveler Making sure you see these photographs of IdaSHO's camper cabinets.

 

[ExpoMike]

10+ years and 75k+ miles later, our very simple and very lightweight VG fir and 1/8" birch panel skinned cabinets are just as sturdy as when they were built
Skeletons were pocket screwed and PL premium glued together, skins were applied with PL and stainless 18GA brads
Doors are just 6mm Baltic birch. So thin that hinges were riveted to them to hang
And skinned this way with the very thin ply, as apposed to building face frames for every cabinet was super simple, cheap, and fast.
Rough cut a skin, glue and brad nail to the frame, and once dried you just zip off the extra and cut the opening, all with a flush trim bit and router.

All in, I bet there is less than 50# of cabinets in the entire camper.

Wow, that is some great work!!! Definitely like the idea of narrow framing pieces then skinned with thin sheet versus using full sheet pieces cut out. Great ideas!

 

[NatersXJ6]

Much easier to install before the roof is placed too!

Rivets for the thin wood are a solid idea. I made storage crates from frames and very thin plywood walls and I had a fight with the tee nuts.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

@ReluctantTraveler Making sure you see these photographs of IdaSHO's camper cabinets.

thanks for making sure I saw this!

 

[1000arms]

thanks for making sure I saw this!

You are welcome!

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

You are welcome!

I have, unfortunately, decided to put my project on hold for a bit to save up a bit more until I can do it properly. We're spending about $10k to upgrade our exiting travel trailer (a Wolf Pup 16BHS) into something more long-distance travel (though not offroad) capable.

 

[1000arms]

I have, unfortunately, decided to put my project on hold for a bit to save up a bit more until I can do it properly. ...

That seems like a very smart choice to me, and probably cheaper in the long run!

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

That seems like a very smart choice to me, and probably cheaper in the long run!

Thanks! Figured it’s better to be on the road in an imperfect vehicle than at home waiting for the perfect one.