Cabinet sides on CNC

Has anyone done cabinets on their CNC? I’m thinking I’ll put the 31x18 cabinet sides that I cut out on the table saw on the 1F and use it to cut the dados and cutouts for the stretchers.

I’ve done similar.

It would be best to ensure the panel is perfectly parallel with the axis. Using a guide cut straight by the CNC helps.

If in doubt, cut on the slightly larger size and contour cut to get parallel (but then you need to think of how to attach to the table)

With big boards, you may need to keep an eye out for flex/bows in the board where you plan to cut.

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Good point about the guide cut by the CNC itself. Thanks. I think this is a good opportunity for a new spoilboard.

With the Xbox hand controller, how do I lock the movement to only one cardinal axis to cut along the fence?

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I made the sides for 4 base cabinets this week. I cut them to size on the table saw and did the mortices/dadoes on the 1F. I don’t think this was a good use of a hobbyist machine. The dadoes would have been much more easily done on my new router table, and the mortices were a vanity project that barely worked. The problem is that even though I used a fence that was cut to square by the 1F there was still a couple mm of variation. It worked out though, as the tops all seem to be most coplanar when set side by side, and I can shim any problems.

Live and learn, I guess.

Sounds of a setup issue as if the machine is disabled in that wouldn’t have happened

I’ve been making cabinet after cabinet, complete with 32mm system holes and 5mm mortises for Festool Dominos. The OF has not broken a sweat, and everything is precise and entirely repeatable.

Rather than using the table saw to precut the sides, the 4x8 sheets are cut into 3 pieces at 32x48 each. 32x48 then becomes the job size. Sides and other components are then cut from those smaller sheets. It matters not whether the sheet is absolutely square on the spoil board since precise size and squareness are dependent on the squareness and calibration of the X and Y axes.

I draw the left side of a cabinet in VCarve Pro and when all the details are correct I make a mirrored copy for the right side. This keeps everything identical from the left side to the right side - no more wobbly shelves or misaligned joints. I specify a 5mm compression bit for everything, so no need for tool changes and accompanying separate files. The process is time-saving. Again, the OF - while classified as a hobby machine - Does a great job at this and the spindle barely gets warm. I am conservative on number of passes - more is better - and the compression bit handles peck drilling the system holes with no undue heat and no burning.

625 CABINET BASE SIDES.crv (345.5 KB)

A .crv of one of the cabinet sizes is attached - a picture is worth a thousand words.

Jim

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Jim,
When I download this all I get is the cover page
Am I just not downloading correctly,it is on an apple iPad Pro.
I am very excited about this.

Hi Dave, it is a .crv file - you need to open it in VCarve. Does this info help?

Jim

Here is a picture instead of a .crv:

When the OF finishes, I need only fold the two sides together as if closing a book. Everything perfectly aligned, first column of holes 37mm back from the front edge, second column 224mm behind the first to fit Tandem Boxes, and the third row at a multiple of 32mm behind the second. Any 32mm system hardware will work in harmony with this configuration.

Oh - a heads up, if you create a tool path file to try out the .crv, N.B. the material is 5/8" - not 3/4". I use Danny Proulx’s (RIP) metric method to build my carcases.

Jim

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Jim thank you so much for such a wonderful response. I love this concept!

Sure, Dave. If you need anything just let me know.

Jim

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