Two Ways to Make Shaker Style Cabinet Doors

The kitchen cabinets in my house are the original ones from when it was built. They are almost as old as I am. While we like the layout of the kitchen, the style of the doors and the exposed hinges needed some updating. My wife and I like the simplicity of shaker style doors, so I decided to tackle the project of redoing all of them. In all, there are 40 doors and drawer faces to make.

I know two different ways to make the shaker doors. One is with a table saw. This would make sense for me since I already have mine set up and ready to go. But with that many doors, it just seemed like using a router table was going to be a much faster option. This is one of the big reasons I recently decided to make the stand-alone router table. I knew it was going to be put to work!

I got some special bits for the job, and using the router table, made quick work of cutting out all the rails and styles. It helped using some test pieces first to get the bits adjusted, but router lift helped make that process painless. I used 3/4“ maple for these pieces, since its relatively hard and should resist dings and dents well. The center panels I cut from MDF. I used ½” for the drawer faces and ¼” for the cabinet doors.

After the glue up, it was time for some sanding. This took much longer to do since I did not have a planer until about halfway through. Unfortunately, some of the rails and styles were slightly different thicknesses, so it took me a while to sand them even. Then we used some jigs to install the concealed hinger and drawer pulls. Finally, some primer and a urethane enamel pain finished the job. In the end, it turned out great! I have a YouTube video on my channel showing the build and going over the details of how to make the doors using both methods.

I have the build video on YouTube if you want to check it out: https://youtu.be/gibIp_0B1zI

Affiliate links for tools, I make a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Tools:

JessEm Rout-R-Lift II: https://amzn.to/3aEv5UF

DEWALT Router, Fixed Base: https://amzn.to/3DLkovV

DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw (DWE7491RS): https://amzn.to/3z4vcDU

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Freud Diablo 10" 50 tooth ATB blade: https://amzn.to/3pnPCDz

Dewalt Dado Throat plate: https://amzn.to/3pn3wG9

Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Drill/combo: https://amzn.to/2Rqy50V

Dewalt Palm Sander, 1/4 sheet: https://amzn.to/3ikKa2U

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Supplies:

Blum CLIP top BLUMOTION Soft Close Hinges: https://amzn.to/3oBLAss

Mohawk Epoxy Putty Stick: https://amzn.to/3EGiKN5

Painting Stuff:

Fuji Mini-Mite 4 Gravity HVLP Spray System: https://amzn.to/3IyNtOA

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