Wall of cabinets

The space

A wall 120" wide and 96" high, filled wall to wall. In the wizard's first step: Cabinets, Run width 120, Space height 96, and The run fits: Wall to wall. Space height only matters for uppers, which hang from the top of the space.

The decisions

Each one is a wizard answer. Most were already filled in with a sensible value; these are the ones that make this wall.

• Stock. 3/4" birch plywood for the carcasses, the doors and drawer fronts, and the run top; 1/4" birch plywood for the backs and the drawer bottoms; 1/2" hard maple for the drawer boxes.
• Three lowers, each 40 × 34 1/2 × 24, frameless, on a toe kick notched into the sides, 4" high and 3" back, with a full top panel and the back in a rabbet. Together they fill the 120 with nothing left over.
• Fronts: two overlay doors on Cabinet 1 and Cabinet 3; three drawers on Cabinet 2, their front heights left empty so the wizard makes them even, on 21" undermount slides.
• Run top: a plywood top across the whole run, 1" past the front and flush at each end, since the run fits wall to wall. The wizard cuts it in pieces no longer than a sheet and seams them over a joint between cabinets.
• Three uppers, 40, 40 and 35 wide, each 30 high and 12 deep, with two overlay doors. Where each one hangs is the next section.
• Joinery: the Joinery step's first answers, kept as they are: dadoes and rabbets for the carcasses, butt-jointed drawer boxes with the bottoms in a groove, and pocket screws to lock the run top pieces together.

The uppers and the distance field

In the Sections step, Add upper cabinet adds an upper. An upper hangs from the top of the space wherever you place it, and never counts toward the run width or Split evenly: the three lowers fill the 120 on their own. An upper has no toe kick, and its height and depth start empty for you to type.

Distance from left is how far an upper's left side sits from the left end of the wall. Leave it empty and the upper starts where the upper before it ends, the first one at the left end; the empty field shows that number in grey, so you can see where it will land.

• Upper 1: left empty, so it starts at the left end of the wall, over Cabinet 1.
• Upper 2: 45. It is 40 wide, so it hangs across the joint between Cabinet 2 and Cabinet 3.
• Upper 3: left empty, so it starts where Upper 2 ends, at 85, and its 35 takes it to the right end of the wall.

Line up with, beside the distance field, copies the start and width of a cabinet below. Choosing Cabinet 1 for Upper 1 gives the same answer as leaving it empty here: the left end, 40 wide. The elevation below shows all six in place.

Step back through the wizard

Open the example, then choose Edit design in the top bar (on a phone it is in the More menu, the ⋯ button). The wizard opens on its last step, Review, with every answer in place. The steps sit above it, each with a one-line summary: 1 What are you building, 2 Stock, 3 Sections, then one step for each cabinet and upper, named for it (4a Cabinet 1 through 4f Upper 3), 5 Joinery and 6 Review. Tap any step to open it and see the answer that made each number.

Try the uppers: open Sections and type a different Distance from left for Upper 2, and the elevation moves it as you type (beside the steps on a wide screen, under Drawings on a phone). Same as and Copy another section copy only between sections that hang the same way, an upper from an upper and a lower from a lower.

Change any other answer and the drawings follow the same way. Generate cut listPro makes the parts again and lays them out on the sheets. If you have moved or changed parts by hand since, the wizard asks first: Keep my changes updates the sizes and leaves your layout, Find the best layout again starts the layout over. Back to planner closes the wizard; your answers are kept, and no part changes until you press Generate cut list.

Free can open every example and look through all of its answers; changing a wizard example and generating it again is Pro.

The cut list

Every plywood part grouped by size and material, then the drawer box lumber, then the install notes for each cabinet and upper. In Cut mode the lumber appears under its own Lumber heading after the sheet parts.

Install notes

1. Cabinet 1, left side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
2. Cabinet 1, right side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
3. Cabinet 1, bottom. Sits in a dado in both sides, raised 4" for the toe kick.
4. Cabinet 1, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
5. Cabinet 1, back. Sits in the rabbet.
6. Cabinet 1, bay 1, door 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the left.
7. Cabinet 1, bay 1, door 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the right.
8. Cabinet 2, left side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
9. Cabinet 2, right side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
10. Cabinet 2, bottom. Sits in a dado in both sides, raised 4" for the toe kick.
11. Cabinet 2, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
12. Cabinet 2, back. Sits in the rabbet.
13. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Attach to the box after fitting; 1/8" reveal above and below.
14. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 1 bottom. Slides into the groove in the box, behind the front.
15. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Attach to the box after fitting; 1/8" reveal above and below.
16. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 2 bottom. Slides into the groove in the box, behind the front.
17. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 3. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Attach to the box after fitting; 1/8" reveal above and below.
18. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 3 bottom. Slides into the groove in the box, behind the front.
19. Cabinet 3, left side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
20. Cabinet 3, right side. Dado for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
21. Cabinet 3, bottom. Sits in a dado in both sides, raised 4" for the toe kick.
22. Cabinet 3, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
23. Cabinet 3, back. Sits in the rabbet.
24. Cabinet 3, bay 1, door 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the left.
25. Cabinet 3, bay 1, door 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the right.
26. Upper 1, left side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
27. Upper 1, right side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
28. Upper 1, bottom. Sits in a rabbet in both sides. Visible from below: good face down.
29. Upper 1, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
30. Upper 1, back. Sits in the rabbet.
31. Upper 1, bay 1, door 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the left.
32. Upper 1, bay 1, door 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the right.
33. Upper 2, left side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
34. Upper 2, right side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
35. Upper 2, bottom. Sits in a rabbet in both sides. Visible from below: good face down.
36. Upper 2, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
37. Upper 2, back. Sits in the rabbet.
38. Upper 2, bay 1, door 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the left.
39. Upper 2, bay 1, door 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the right.
40. Upper 3, left side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
41. Upper 3, right side. Rabbet for the bottom; rabbet along the back edge for the back.
42. Upper 3, bottom. Sits in a rabbet in both sides. Visible from below: good face down.
43. Upper 3, top. Sits in a rabbet in both sides, flush with the top.
44. Upper 3, back. Sits in the rabbet.
45. Upper 3, bay 1, door 1. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the left.
46. Upper 3, bay 1, door 2. Full overlay: covers 21/32" on the left, 21/32" on the right; 1/8" reveal. Hinges on the right.
47. Run top, piece 1 of 2. Seam over the Cabinet 2/Cabinet 3 joint; lock to its neighbour with pocket screws. Overhangs 1" at the front; flush at the left end.
48. Run top, piece 2 of 2. Seam over the Cabinet 2/Cabinet 3 joint; lock to its neighbour with pocket screws. Overhangs 1" at the front; flush at the right end.
49. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 1 box, undermount slides 21". Notch and locating hole in the back for undermount slides.
50. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 2 box, undermount slides 21". Notch and locating hole in the back for undermount slides.
51. Cabinet 2, bay 1, drawer 3 box, undermount slides 21". Notch and locating hole in the back for undermount slides.

The sheets

The parts nested with Max yield, a 1/8" kerf left open between them. In Cut mode, when a sheet is done, a button takes you to the next one with parts left.

The drawings

The front elevation of the whole wall with the uppers where they hang, a section through Cabinet 1, and the plan from above. They print with the shop report.

Build order

1. Break down the plywood one sheet at a time, following the sheet layouts, and tick each part off in Cut mode. Cut the drawer box sides, fronts and backs from the maple on the lumber list.
2. Build the three lower carcasses: the toe-kick notch in each side, the dadoes and rabbets from the install notes, then glue up, square and fit the backs.
3. Build the three drawer boxes for Cabinet 2: groove the sides, fronts and backs for the bottoms, cut the notch and locating hole the undermount slides need at the back, and assemble around the bottoms.
4. Set the lowers along the wall, level them, screw them to each other and to the wall.
5. Lay the run top pieces on, seamed over the joint the install notes name, pocket-screw them together, and fasten the top down with 1" over the front.
6. Build the three uppers. Their bottoms show from below, so put the good face down.
7. Hang the uppers with their tops at the top of the space: Upper 1 at the left end, Upper 2 with its left side 45 from the left end, Upper 3 tight against it. Screw through the backs into the studs.
8. Fit the fronts last: hang the doors, mount the slides and drawers, then attach each drawer front to its box once the box runs true, keeping the reveal even.

Make it yours

Open the wall, choose Edit design and change the run width to your wall, then move the uppers to suit your windows. The how-tos walk through the wizard and uppers.

• Add upper cabinets to a wall
• Work out the sizes from a bare wall
• Pick your joints: dado, rabbet, groove, butt, pocket screws
• See and move parts in 3DPro

Open this example