Expert: Jamie Yocono - 8/15/2009

Question
I recently build an overhead cabinet for a friend.  I'm new to the cabinet making but enjoy it tremendously.  The cabinet is recessed between 2 walls above their washer and dryer.  When I took the measurements i measure only from wall to wall where the cabinet would be.  I assumed the walls were square in their house but to my surprise when we tried to hang them, they weren't.  Due to the slight bow in their walls, we cannot get the cabinet back where it needs to be.  Most recent measurement, the cabinet is 58 1/8 in.  The most narrow part of the wall is 58 in.  Due you have any recommendations for shortening the length of the cabinet without disassembling it?  I don't want to take off the side panel and cut the back because I wouldn't be able to cut another dado in the back without taking it completely apart and that is something I want to refrain from.  Also for future reference, when you build a specific piece to fit between 2 walls, how much shorter is the piece than the distance between the two walls.  
Thank you

Answer
Hi Jerry,

Welcome to the "wonderful" world of cabinetmaking. (I actually had a similar bad day today, so don't feel like you're the only one who goes through stuff like this.)

OK, here's the thing - if you don't do something drastic to get this cabinet to fit into that space, it's basically trash, right? So drastic measures are needed. There are a couple of things you could do, and I'll go through them. Neither are easy, nor fun, so be forewarned.

If I were in that predicament, I would consider taking off the drywall, and piecing in a thinner piece of drywall. I'm guessing it's half inch stuff, so I'd draw the outline of where your cabinet side will be, and tear off the drywall underneath it. You can screw in a piece of 1/4" plywood back onto the studs, and then make sure the cabinet slides into place. If it does, then take the plywood off, and patch the opening with 1/4" drywall. Tape an mud it (or not) and then install your cabinet. You may have a bit of touch-up to do, right around the edges of the cab.

The next suggestion is harder, but perhaps your friend prefers that you don't pull off the drywall. Also, this suggestion sort of depends on how deep your cabinet is. If it's a typical 12" deep wall cabinet, it might not be that difficult. I would use a power planer and plane down one side. Mu planer cuts a 4" wide strip, and if your cabinet is only 12" deep, you could plane that side off in three passes. You'd need to remove the fence on the planer so that you could plane that strip down the middle. I recommend a few of shallow passes, rather than a couple of heavy passes. Hey, it's not an ideal solution, but it removes wood fairly quickly and will probably do the job in no time.

OK, those are my two suggestions. You need to either make the opening wider, or make the cabinet smaller. Doh! Who said being a woodworker was dull?

Hope this helps, write back if you need more help, or just a shoulder to cry on.


Jamie in Las Vegas
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Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com