need to make a cabinet ⅛" more narrow - possible?

[masraum]

We got a stove, and it's ⅛-¼" too wide for the space. I am pretty sure that with ⅛" I could fit the stove in.

The face of the cabinet is poplar. The side is ¾" cabinet ply. The top is quartzite (natural stone).

The stone is set about 5/64" shy of the surface of the ply on the side of the cabinet that I'd be removing wood from (side up against the surface of the other cabinet). And on the other side, the stone is about 1/32 proud of the surface of the plywood/side of the cabinet.

The stone top seems to be "glued" to the top of the cabinet. Removing the stone to trim down and put onto a new cabinet will likely involve lots of time spent with an oscillating multitool which sounds like a PITA.

I hate to rebuild a cabinet if I could "shave" the existing cabinet down enough to make it work. If I give it a shot and can't make it work, then all that I've done is wasted some of my time since the cabinet won't work as it sits anyway. Saves me having to buy a bunch of plywood and poplar and build a cabinet if it does work.



What do you guys think?

[javadog]

It can be done. Pain in the ass...

Make sure it really will work with an 1/8th off. Measure top, bottom, middle, front, back.

Could also inset it into the wall.

Might be better to trim a little off both sides so you don't notice. Of course, you need to also consider what style of door you're going to use.

[look 171]

Cabinet is already out? Cut the scribe 1/8?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

It can be done. Pain in the ass...

Absolutely!

But MORE of a PITA than buying a bunch of expensive wood, building a new a cabinet, and having to get the countertop stone off of the old cabinet and ready to apply to the new cabinet? I'm not sure.

Make sure it really will work with an 1/8th off. Measure top, bottom, middle, front, back.

The front and top are the tightest. The back near the wall has a bit more space (may not even need the ⅛" removed there).

Might be better to trim a little off both sides so you don't notice. Of course, you need to also consider what style of door you're going to use.

I notice that sort of thing, but can live with it. The missus often notices if things are "off" (crooked, offset, etc...) and that usually drives her nuts. I triple measure everything that I do around the house, and have LOTS of levels and use them because I don't like to have to redo things. She's already said that she thinks this will be OK. If I do it, and we aren't happy with the results, then all that I'd done is waste some time.

I had originally planned to remove both and rebuild both. The first one that I tried to remove is the one that's still in place in the photo. I removed all of the visible screws and cut the caulk with a razor (same process as the one that's been removed in the photo). But, it turns out that the installed, must have put at least one screw through from the other cabinet into that one. To remove that cabinet, I'll have to use a multitool to cut that screw that's coming through from the wrong direction, and hope that it's the only one. The other alternative would be to remove the built in dacor refrigerator that's 7' tall and 650# IIRC from the cabinet to remove the one screw that I know about and any others. I REALLY don't want to pull out that fridge!

That's why we're even considering having a slightly asymmetric fitting.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

Cabinet is already out? Cut the scribe 1/8?

Nothing to scribe, unfortunately, if I understand you correctly.

[look 171]

It wouldn't be nice, you have a power plane? Shave off the entire side 1/8 and shove it back in there. 10 min job

[porsche930dude]

Yeah or even a belt sander with heavy grit. But usually those sides arent very thick 1/4" or 3/8" not that it matters much

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by look 171

It wouldn't be nice, you have a power plane? Shave off the entire side 1/8 and shove it back in there. 10 min job

^^^ This.

You may have to plane, check the oven, repeat as needed.

And if you want it to look pretty, you can stand it afterwards.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

It wouldn't be nice, you have a power plane? Shave off the entire side 1/8 and shove it back in there. 10 min job

No power planer, but...

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

Yeah or even a belt sander with heavy grit. But usually those sides arent very thick 1/4" or 3/8" not that it matters much

I do have a very nice belt sander that would make quick work of it.

I have confirmed that the plywood side of the cabinet that I need to thin is 17.5mm, so 11/16".

I'd forgotten about my belt sander and was thinking about how much time it was going to take with my little cordless ¼ sheet palm sander. Duh, corded monster belt sander FTW!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

^^^ This.

You may have to plane, check the oven, repeat as needed.

And if you want it to look pretty, you can stand it afterwards.

It's going to be the side of the cabinet that's screwed to the other cabinet, so pretty isn't a necessity. I'm sure it won't be pretty anyway, taking that much off of plywood. But as long as I can get it to fit, it's good!

[A930Rocket]

Go to Lowe’s, Harbor Freight, and get a cheap power planner. Don’t forget to set your nails. Even with the most aggressive sandpaper, you’re going be there for a while.

[A930Rocket]

$39 on Amazon

https://a.co/d/08AVDg3

[look 171]

No sander. You will end up with valleys and hills and you will want to throw both sander and yourself out the window after a couple hours covered in dust.

Someone made those cabinets, not bought from a bog box store.
Lets split hair for a second. That side looks to be an imported plywood so its more then likely a little thinner then 3/4". You need 11/16, so that's only 1/16 you need to shave down. Technically that will work, but somehow, the gods ain't with people like us on such horrible product, plywood, so you are correct, 1/8 is what you need ( doesn't matter thickness of plywood at this point). I know you have a router, but if you really want to abuse yourself, make a carriage along with a 3/4" straight cutting bit and set the router to cut 1/8 off after 1000 passes to achieve the 1/8" off the side of the cabinet. Its actually more accurate then the power plane. Me, I buy the plane and have everything in place, be done before dinner.

[unclebilly]

You could set your skilsaw to a 1/8” cut (or 3/16”) and make a bunch of parallel cuts 1/4” apart, then remove the ridges with a chisel. This way you would remove exactly the depth of your cut. Once you go to town with a belt sander, you have no idea where you are at. You can then finish it with the belt sander if you want.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

No sander. You will end up with valleys and hills and you will want to throw both sander and yourself out the window after a couple hours covered in dust.

good to know, thanks. Of course, once sanded, it'll never been seen again.

Someone made those cabinets, not bought from a bog box store.

Yes, 100% custom. I am not/was not impressed with the work that was done, but they are sturdy.

Lets split hair for a second. That side looks to be an imported plywood so its more then likely a little thinner then 3/4". You need 11/16, so that's only 1/16 you need to shave down. Technically that will work, but somehow, the gods ain't with people like us on such horrible product, plywood, so you are correct, 1/8 is what you need ( doesn't matter thickness of plywood at this point). I know you have a router, but if you really want to abuse yourself, make a carriage along with a 3/4" straight cutting bit and set the router to cut 1/8 off after 1000 passes to achieve the 1/8" off the side of the cabinet. Its actually more accurate then the power plane. Me, I buy the plane and have everything in place, be done before dinner.

Yes, the plywood is 11/16", and yes, it's cabinet plywood, but probably the cheapest available.
I do have an old router, but don't want to go that route (no pun intended). I'd rather take my chances with the belt sander than use the router. One the cabinet is thinner, the side that I alter will never be seen again because it'll be screwed up against the cabinet next to it. I'll look into the planer. Wouldn't the planer be more likely to chew up the cheap ply?

[Scott Douglas]

I've got some 80 grit belts for my dad's old belt sander that could take that down so fast it'd make your head spin.
You are taking it off the side that goes up against the wall to the left, not the stove side, correct?
There's room for error there is so.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

You could set your skilsaw to a 1/8” cut (or 3/16”) and make a bunch of parallel cuts 1/4” apart, then remove the ridges with a chisel. This way you would remove exactly the depth of your cut. Once you go to town with a belt sander, you have no idea where you are at. You can then finish it with the belt sander if you want.

Yeah, that's one way. I could probably combine the two methods, make the series of cuts with the saw (could probably even go 1" or 2" apart), and use those cuts as the telltale to tell me when the planer/sander has taken enough off, when the saw kerf disappears, I stop thinning.

[gregpark]

I've done it. Marked my lines with a sharpie and used a power planer for the face frame of the cabinet and my 4½" angle grinder for the granite. The granite went slower than the wood but nothing was too painful

[look 171]

No. You will be amaze at how well it remove the materials. We use the plane and belt sander to scribe many projects.

The task here is to remove a calculated amount each and every pass, roughness aside. Accurate amount is a very loose term here as long as you can take a different cut and not over the same planed path then it should accurate enough. Most plane will remover up to 1/16 materials at each pass. It can be set to 1/32 to not stress the tool or blades. Buy an extra set of blades if available and you will use the plane on other projects. It should do the entire side without issues. Personally, I would remove 3/16 near the back for less fighting with stove and everything else back there.

Cheap ply or imported plywood? Look at the top layer of veneer from the edge. It looks to be some type of Birch or Maple from Asia, more then likely made in Viet Nam or Indonesia. The last ply or veneer is literally paper thin and it often comes off by peeling with one's finger nail. Its inexpensive compared to a domestic (shop) Maple, at half the cost. We don't use it. Call back on a 30k kitchen cabinet job would be a nightmare due to de-lamination of a piece of plywood. No thanks.

[look 171]

There's plenty of room or material to be removed so don't be afraid to plow the plane through it. Its 3/4 (sorta)

What you must watch for is nails if the cabinet is made with dados for the shelf or rabbited for the bottom. Often a nail is shot to keep everything in place upon glue cure.