Carpentry and Woodworking - Is your cabinet square?
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Furniture Bldr
01-04-04, 04:22 AM
For those of you who build your own cabinets, here is a tip to find out if it's square without using any kind of square.
Lets keep in mind here, that no matter how many screws, glue or staples you use to make your cabinets, it will never be as strong as when a back is applied.
The back essentially is what makes your cabinet square.
When cutting the back to your cabinet, make sure that one corner is square. There could be a chance that your square isn't really "square" Yes, it can happen, even with a brand spankin new square. By now, you're asking yourself, "Well, how do I know if my square is square? Here's how...
take a piece of wood with a nice straight edge to it and draw a line with your square. Essentially so you have a line that is perpendicular to the edge your square is against. Next, flip your square over end for end with the same edge of the square against the same side. Just like below.......
-
-
-
-
--------- then flip it over so it looks like this
If the line you drew lines up perfectly parallel with the edge of the square, then you know it's square. If not, it's a trip to Home Depot to buy a new one. Keep in mind, a brand new one could be out of square too.
I recommend you bring a piece of wood with you to check it. say 15x20. I went through 8, count it 12345678 8! squares before I found one that was right on the money.
You could be using your square to check if the cabinet or line you drew is square and what looks to be square may not really be.
Believe it or not, you can find out if your cabinet is square just by using your tape measurer.
As you're applying your back onto the cabinet, go around to the front of the cabinet and take a measurement on the face from corner to corner, then do it the with the opposite corner to corner. If the dimensions are EXACTLY the same, then you know your cabinet is square. Keep checking it as you're applying your back.
For smaller cabinets, you can simply take the square corner of your wood and staple the back on flush with one side and either the top or the bottom. Don't worry about how the rest of the back sits, as it doesn't matter. I would still check for square with a tape anyways.
If you try to find a square corner on your back and you cant find one, dont be alarmed, nor should you have to recut the back. put one staple or screw in and then go around the front and measure from corner to corner. Tweak the back right or left, depending on what way you need to go in order for the cabinet to have an equal dimension from corner to corner.
I'm sure this will help a lot of people, as no matter what trade it is, it's always nice to get advice and tricks from the professionals who do it every day for a living like me.
Lets keep in mind here, that no matter how many screws, glue or staples you use to make your cabinets, it will never be as strong as when a back is applied.
The back essentially is what makes your cabinet square.
When cutting the back to your cabinet, make sure that one corner is square. There could be a chance that your square isn't really "square" Yes, it can happen, even with a brand spankin new square. By now, you're asking yourself, "Well, how do I know if my square is square? Here's how...
take a piece of wood with a nice straight edge to it and draw a line with your square. Essentially so you have a line that is perpendicular to the edge your square is against. Next, flip your square over end for end with the same edge of the square against the same side. Just like below.......
-
-
-
-
--------- then flip it over so it looks like this
If the line you drew lines up perfectly parallel with the edge of the square, then you know it's square. If not, it's a trip to Home Depot to buy a new one. Keep in mind, a brand new one could be out of square too.
I recommend you bring a piece of wood with you to check it. say 15x20. I went through 8, count it 12345678 8! squares before I found one that was right on the money.
You could be using your square to check if the cabinet or line you drew is square and what looks to be square may not really be.
Believe it or not, you can find out if your cabinet is square just by using your tape measurer.
As you're applying your back onto the cabinet, go around to the front of the cabinet and take a measurement on the face from corner to corner, then do it the with the opposite corner to corner. If the dimensions are EXACTLY the same, then you know your cabinet is square. Keep checking it as you're applying your back.
For smaller cabinets, you can simply take the square corner of your wood and staple the back on flush with one side and either the top or the bottom. Don't worry about how the rest of the back sits, as it doesn't matter. I would still check for square with a tape anyways.
If you try to find a square corner on your back and you cant find one, dont be alarmed, nor should you have to recut the back. put one staple or screw in and then go around the front and measure from corner to corner. Tweak the back right or left, depending on what way you need to go in order for the cabinet to have an equal dimension from corner to corner.
I'm sure this will help a lot of people, as no matter what trade it is, it's always nice to get advice and tricks from the professionals who do it every day for a living like me.
Tom_J
01-04-04, 01:44 PM
Furniture Bldr,
Enjoyed your tips, particularly on checking a square for "square".
I'm hardly an "elitist" when it comes to tools but, like most of us, try to buy the best my budget will allow for. I have to admit, though, that the bar gets raised on my tool budget when I burn through expensive lumber, with less-than-optimum results, only to find that measuring devices that I trust, squares among them, are out of whack.
(I'd much rather have errors due to the "Indian" and not the "arrow". I can correct the Indian. :D )
Thanks,
Tom
Enjoyed your tips, particularly on checking a square for "square".
I'm hardly an "elitist" when it comes to tools but, like most of us, try to buy the best my budget will allow for. I have to admit, though, that the bar gets raised on my tool budget when I burn through expensive lumber, with less-than-optimum results, only to find that measuring devices that I trust, squares among them, are out of whack.
(I'd much rather have errors due to the "Indian" and not the "arrow". I can correct the Indian. :D )
Thanks,
Tom