Cabinets, what thickness and size oak do you use? More...

[ajliquidation]

I came into some really nice dimensional oak yesterday. True 2x6 and 2x4 stuff, it was used as framing in a house being torn down that I was driving by in smithville, MO yesterday. The bull dozer guy said I could have anything I wanted. He also said the house was built in 1880. I have a guy that can cut it down and plane it for me. What dimensions should I have it turned into for my cabinets? I'm not to that stage yet but free lumber now will sure help my budget! Any input is always appreciated! Thanks Adam in KC

Ps.... It says my iPhone images are invalid??? So no photo sorry

[KCStudly]

All of my cabinet frames are 1x2 nominal (3/4 x 1-1/2 actual).

Most people don't use a lot of oak because it is one of the heavier woods. However, due to it's strength and ability to hold screws it is a great choice for your hatch hinge spars; mine are 2x2 nominal (1-1/2 x 1-1/2 actual). Due to cost and lack of availability I ended up gluing my hatch spars from two 1x's each (I envy your find in that regard ).

Depending on how much you have, you might consider using it for all of your roof spars.

[Pmullen503]

Even your old lumber will move with seasonal humidity changes. I would suggest you use oak veneer plywood for the cases and save the solid wood for the doors. Assuming it's pretty enough to be worth the effort, 3/4" door frames with 1/4" panels would be plenty sturdy.

[Tom Kurth]

Is your guy gonna cut and plane for free? Is it red or white oak? Red oak is really cheap these days--may not pay to rework old stuff unless there's a personal commitment to re-use, etc.

Best,
Tom

[KCStudly]

^^ Good point about the plywood. I was referring to the face frames, and perhaps cabinet door frames. Ply would be better for the panels. On mine I only have cabinet floors out of 5mm ply, with no dividers behind the face frame mullions. I guess I thought that was assumed.

[ajliquidation]

Great advice on just using it on cabinet frames and doors also for my roof spars.I know it's oak but I don't know enough about wood to tell if it's white or red. My buddy is going to cut and plane it for free for me. He said the old oak is better in quality normally but we won't know for sure until we open it up. If I can use some of it on my teardrop it would be cool, if not I will use it some way I have a whole Chevy S10 bed full. Two hours of pulling nails is all I got invested in it. What do people normally use for cabinets if oak is too heavy??? Thanks to all of you for your replies, Adam in KC

[backstrap bandit]

Normal house cabinets frames on rails and stiles are 2 1/4 widep

[MtnDon]

Poplar gets used a lot if the grain appearance is not all that important. It is best painted, rather than stained. Here's a link with some common north american woods listed; weights, grain with pictures.

http://workshopcompanion.com/KnowHow/Wo ... able_1.htm

Red oak vs white oak.... the big difference can be seen in the end grain. Look at a fresh, smooth cut end. Red oak has open pores whereas white oak has closed pores. White oak makes good barrels, not so red oak. You can actually blow air through short lengths of red oak, like a straw. Info on red vs white here....

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-artic ... white-oak/

[Chuckles]

I would use 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch ply for the boxes. For the face frames and doors the thickness you use depends more on the joinery than the strength of the boards. If you are using pocket screws you can go as thin as 1/2 inch. If you use lap joints for the corners you could go even thinner but you will have issues mounting hinges. I went with 5/8 inch face frames and pocket screws.

For my frame and panel cabinet doors I went with 5/8 inch stock for the rails and stiles and joined the corners with bridle joints. The panels are 1/4 inch solid ash lumber.



Good luck on your build. Be sure to post lots of pictures.

Chuck