On 1/6/2016 8:20 PM, OFWW wrote:

Any preferred method as to making the FF first and then the cabinet,
or the cabinet 1st or does it even matter?

Very astute of you to ask that question. The answer, IME, is a
resounding YES, it does matter ... following are some excerpts from some
of my previous posts on the subject:

~ First a bit of philosophy: The holy grail of cabinet making is "SQUARE".

Making a _perfectly square_ cabinet insures that all doors and drawer
fronts will fit and be easy to install, and that the cabinets
themselves, even when hung on a wall that is not plumb, will be easier
to shim to that wall, and that those doors and drawers will always work
because the cabinets will remain square even if the wall moves, which
all walls will do.

The easiest way to achieve "square" in your cabinet making is to _batch
cut_ all the component parts.

IOW, set the table saw fence ONE TIME ONLY, and cut ALL the component
pieces that are going to be 1 1/2" wide at that time BEFORE moving the
table saw fence to another setting; Set the table saw fence to 30", and
cut ALL the component parts for ALL cabinets that are going to be 30"
long, BEFORE you move the table saw fence to another setting.

Repeat as often as necessary to batch cut all your cabinet parts, rails,
stiles, end panels, floors (which includes the top in industry parlance
since they are the same size), and backs.

The same goes for router setups for dadoes and grooves.

Back in the 60's I got a good start on both appreciating, and learning
how, to build cabinets by working with a cabinetmaker in England whose
family had been in business just a few hundred years.

When it came to building kitchen cabinets with traditional face frame
cabinetry I dissected what the cabinet factory industry was doing,
figuring that a mix of my two learning experiences would allow me to
build a superior cabinet, in an efficient manner, and in a one man shop.

This is the method I have adopted in my business and it works quite well
for me. Others may have their own methods, thus the plethora of books.

Indeed, I've read them all, take a little from here and there, and
depart from them in various ways. One way is as you have noted, building
the face frame first ... this is basically what many cabinet factories
do, because, when you analyze the fabrication process, it is both more
efficient, less labor intensive than trying fit a face frame to a
carcase, and also guarantees a square product.

I'll take two birds for that one shot any day.

The idea is to take the time to make the face frames FIRST, with
meticulous attention to making the face frames as perfectly square as
possible (easily achieved with _batch cut parts_ ), AND then assemble
the casework on top of that square face frame, basically insuring a
square cabinet.

Route the necessary dadoes into the backside of the face frame to accept
the ends of the casework.

Route the necessary dadoes/groove into the _end panels_ of the cabinet case.

Assemble the face frames using pocket hole screw joinery.

Once your face frames are completely assembled, with due attention to
them being squa

Lay the face frame, dadoes up, on a flat surface and assemble, and glue
and/or nail the previously dadoed case work plywood component ON TOP OF
THE ALREADY ASSEMBLED, SQUARE FACE FRAME.

Doing it this way, and only this way, absolutely insures that you have
the squarest possible cabinets; cabinets that will not only attach to
each other easily for a cabinet "run", but cabinets in which the doors
and drawers will always work until the house is torn down ... something
that can only be achieved, with any assurance, with properly made, _shop
built_ cabinetry!

Let me know if you have any questions.

--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)