Hey ya'll,
We've been going thru a rebuild process on a serious budget after the
hurricanes in FL in '04..
We got given an entire kitchen full of wood cabinets, Oak face frames,
and doors, finish 3/4" ply boxes.

Problem is , they style, and wood wise dont fit with anything else we
have allready built. My question is, how would I go about redoing the
face frames? IE: removing them from the ply box's which are all
perfectly configured to our kitchen layout?

I'm good to go about building the face frames and doors, but I wantr
to know how to seperate the face frames from the boxs sans ripping em
all up

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing back

Steve and Barb
@ Creations by Black HAwk

"steve" wrote in message

have allready built. My question is, how would I go about redoing the
face frames? IE: removing them from the ply box's which are all
perfectly configured to our kitchen layout?

Most, if not all, face frame style cabinets are also attached to each other
through the face frame, as well as to the wall through a tack strip on the
back.

There may also be a space between two cabinet sides due to a "scribe"
allowance on the width of the FF themselves. (you can generally see this by
looking at the wall cabinets from underneath)

IOW, even if the FF's are not glued to the boxes, which they would be if the
cabinet maker knew what he was doing, removing them may seriously effect the
stability of your installation.

Someone who has installed kitchens should be able to tell you by looking at
the installation.

That said, it is amazing what you can do to kitchen cabinets by _refacing_
the doors, drawer fronts, side panels, and yes, even the face frames, with a
wood veneer of your choosing.

There are companies who specialize in the very thing, so professional help
is definitely advised ... attempting to remove the FF without some
professional guidance is not.


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 2/20/07

On Apr 12, 6:00 pm, "Swingman" wrote:

IOW, even if the FF's are not glued to the boxes, which they would be if the
cabinet maker knew what he was doing, removing them may seriously effect the
stability of your installation.

I couldn't imagine anybody trying to remove any of my face frames off
any of my boxes without making one helluva mess. DAHIKT, 'k?

That said, it is amazing what you can do to kitchen cabinets by _refacing_
the doors, drawer fronts, side panels, and yes, even the face frames, with a
wood veneer of your choosing.

Or even sanding them down and re-staining. Hinge holes and all that
come into play, but worth trying before applying veneer.

There are companies who specialize in the very thing, so professional help
is definitely advised ... attempting to remove the FF without some
professional guidance is not.

I am shuddering at the thought...*yikes*

Quality work in re-finishing isn't cheap either. The bulk of the cost
is in the doors and hardware as it is. Boxes themselves, although a
solid chunk of the budget, can sometimes be replaced without
surpassing the budget of a proper re-finish.
The emphasis on 'proper'.

I've done this on occasion, but never to a whole kitchen mind you! I simply
clamped down on a stile or rail with one of my 24" Bessey clamps (to make a
lever) and used the leverage to gently break the glue bond to the plywood
case.
I was able to add new face frames to several custom cabinets that were in a
basement. The face frames were replaced to match some new cabinets I
installed. It worked well. Just make sure the frames are not secured to
each other before attempting to break the glue bond. --dave

"Robatoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Apr 12, 6:00 pm, "Swingman" wrote:

IOW, even if the FF's are not glued to the boxes, which they would be if
the
cabinet maker knew what he was doing, removing them may seriously effect
the
stability of your installation.

I couldn't imagine anybody trying to remove any of my face frames off
any of my boxes without making one helluva mess. DAHIKT, 'k?

That said, it is amazing what you can do to kitchen cabinets by
_refacing_
the doors, drawer fronts, side panels, and yes, even the face frames,
with a
wood veneer of your choosing.

Or even sanding them down and re-staining. Hinge holes and all that
come into play, but worth trying before applying veneer.

There are companies who specialize in the very thing, so professional
help
is definitely advised ... attempting to remove the FF without some
professional guidance is not.

I am shuddering at the thought...*yikes*

Quality work in re-finishing isn't cheap either. The bulk of the cost
is in the doors and hardware as it is. Boxes themselves, although a
solid chunk of the budget, can sometimes be replaced without
surpassing the budget of a proper re-finish.
The emphasis on 'proper'.

Subject

I have some dumb questions.

If the F/F are glued, what type of glue is used?

If it is something like TiteBond II, then why not use a 1,500 watt
heat gun to break the TiteBond II joint lose?

Just curious.

Lew

"steve" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey ya'll,
We've been going thru a rebuild process on a serious budget after the
hurricanes in FL in '04..
We got given an entire kitchen full of wood cabinets, Oak face frames,
and doors, finish 3/4" ply boxes.

Problem is , they style, and wood wise dont fit with anything else we
have allready built. My question is, how would I go about redoing the
face frames? IE: removing them from the ply box's which are all
perfectly configured to our kitchen layout?

I'm good to go about building the face frames and doors, but I wantr
to know how to seperate the face frames from the boxs sans ripping em
all up

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing back

Steve and Barb
@ Creations by Black HAwk

I recently had to re-do some cabinets my daughter got from Lowes when I
remodeled her kitchen. They were a high end(from Lowes, yah, right!) line. A
couple of them were not square and it was obvious they were glued together
with hot glue and the glue had cooled before they were clamped. They came
apart with a little coaxing with a heat gun.


--
"shut up and keep diggen"
Jerry

Ok, I guess I should have made myself a little more clear. These
cabinets have been uninstalled from another home by a cabinet maker,
that is replacing them with custom cabinets-so they arent tied
together at present, or mounted.....they are all individual component
pieces that will make up an entire kitchens worth.

Getting at things to attempt to take them apart, or stability with
other cabinets isnt an issue as they are on the ground, adn all
component pieces with their own full box ( no shared sides etc with
other cabinets)

Ok, that said..I may try to take apart one of the smaller cabinets
that probably wont be used in the kitchen, and use it as a crash test
dummy so to speak. If I can get it apart, YIPPEEE, if I cant, im not
going to be out much.

If all else fails, I guess I can strip, and restain the cabinets and
do new doors.

Therein lies my next question......how dimensionally stable is pecan
wood? I've never messed with it, but ended up with about 1500 BF of 7
year air dried 1" and 2" thick stock

Thanks for the suggestions ya'll
Steve

steve wrote:
My question is, how would I go about redoing the
face frames? IE: removing them from the ply box's which are all
perfectly configured to our kitchen layout?

Table saw. One pass on each side to trim the outer edge of the face
frame flush with the plywood, then another pass right along the glue
line to cut the face frame off the plywood.

As for dimensional stability, feel free to google search the list
archives. Note that pecan is basically equivalent to hickory.

Chris