Starting Cabinet building and mounting, need some advice on construction methods

[Iceni John]

A different idea?  We had some success using aluminum square tubing and angle for the supports and framing and paneling in the cabinets using bathroom plastic wall and shower panels.  Lots of textures and colors available.

Very light weight.  Finished already.  Stiff with added aluminum angle.  Loctite.

All bolted together.  All fashioned to the floor and not the walls and ceiling.  No squeaks.  One could lay his eyes against the walls and see a 1/8 inch gap all the way to the rear.  The cabinetry never touched the walls or ceilings.

No wood inside the coach at all.  Ex Crown School bus.

I've been thinking of doing something broadly similar, but using IKEA cabinets instead of FRP sheet.   I would make aluminum frames using 6063 angle bolted to the floor, then use IKEA's cabinets on the outside.   They would look like standard IKEA cabinets, but would have a skeleton inside that takes all the load.   Has anyone here done anything like this?

My overhead cabinets in the kitchen will be entirely metal.   A length of steel angle rebent to about 60 degrees will be bolted to the roof ribs using jack nuts (rated at over 800 lbf each), and vertical hangers of 1" wide aluminum will drop down to support the cabinet floor made from aluminum plate that's also bolted to the side wall above the windows.   Top-hinged doors with struts to keep them open against the ceiling, and LED lights inside, should make a very strong cabinet that won't ever fall down!

John

[sledhead]

not a fan of ikea . there screw attachment system sucks they always come loose . use lots of white or carpenters glue and screws and clamps if you have them 

plywood lasts longer then particle board . price is a small amount more

dave

[Iceni John]

not a fan of ikea . there screw attachment system sucks they always come loose . use lots of white or carpenters glue and screws and clamps if you have them 

plywood lasts longer then particle board . price is a small amount more

dave

Yup, I know their funky little quarter-turn locks are a poor design especially in a vehicle, thus my idea of reinforcing with an internal skeleton.   Unfortunately I have no woodworking equipment to make cabinets, and I hate making anything out of wood anyway!   It's easier for me to hold a few thous tolerances in metal than to try and make something to a 16th out of wood.   Splitting and warping and shrinking and knots and oozing resin  -  yuck.   That's one reason I'll have very little wood in my bus.   I do however like the look of simple clean minimalist Scandinavian-meets-Bauhaus, and IKEA is a cheap and easy way for me to get that look.

John

[lvmci]

One of the issues newbys don't think of, is safety in an accident, the flying drawers, sofas, dishes and refrigerators. And where they might go in an accident. I have to move my sofa, for my kids to sleep. Ive rigged up a heavy rachat strap bolted to the passenger seat rail, with just one hole in the base of the jack knife sofa. Yes I have to release the strap move it, but it's safe during travel, lvmci...

[neoneddy]

Seeing ikea or even other cabinetry from home stores makes me sick. I won't ever ever never ever buy particle board furniture or cabinets if I care about longevity.

Sure my 5 year olds desk? Whatever ikea is fine.

Moved the project along a bit and adapted the design some. I'm angling both front cabinets toward the center following the window curve. This will also give more head room near the stairs. Will post pics when tap talk behaves.

[Zephod]

Nothing made of particle board should make it onto a bus.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[richard5933]

I agree about particle board and will also stay away from OSB if at all possible. The big problem with these is moisture take-up. At the first sign of a water leak into the bus from a plumbing problem or window leak, these will soak up the moisture. They will swell up in size and become very weak.

Furniture-grade plywood with a hardwood veneer is nice for making cabinet panels. We avoid the stuff at the box stores though, as there is a huge difference in quality between what places like Lowes and HD sell and what can be found at lumber stores. Here in Milwaukee I go to Alpine Plywood. Places like this carry a much nicer stock and it comes in a variety of types, including some really nice pre-finished panels.

For the best in stability,  Baltic Birch plywood is the way to go. It's the stuff our school furniture was made of in the pre-plastic days. Baltic Birch is the plywood made of lots of very thin layers, and each layer is actually birch and not junk wood. We've made some really nice furniture using it without veneering it. The end result has the look of the high-end 'Scandinavian' furniture for sale.

A great tip for cutting large panels cleanly without a stand-up panel saw is to lay a 1-1/2" pink foam insulating board on your workbench or floor and use it as a large cutting board. Set your blade for about 1/8" deeper than the material thickness, lay the wood panel on the foam board, and then make the cut. Doing it this way means the cut-off piece doesn't need to be supported and has no way to fall off and tear the veneer on its way down. No need for someone to hold the cutt-off piece for you. If you've got access to a track saw (like a Festool) then you will end up with glue-ready cuts.

Hope this helps.
Richad

[neoneddy]

For straight cuts I have a (nice to me) delta table saw with a 30" rip capacity and I made some outfeed tables.   So nice having square cuts.

This is where I got last night. The 2x3 below is just to support the outer edge until I get the face panel up.

I'm not doing a normal face frame on this one because of the curved roofline.  

[Zephod]

OSB is waterproof if it's painted and having observed OSB in the wet and rain, it takes a few weeks of constant soaking to affect it. Eventually though, it's just a case of shoveling up the OSB once it's wet enough. I'm not too worried. I dealt with all my leaks.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[daddysgirl]

One of the issues newbys don't think of, is safety in an accident, the flying drawers, sofas, dishes and refrigerators. And where they might go in an accident. I have to move my sofa, for my kids to sleep. Ive rigged up a heavy rachat strap bolted to the passenger seat rail, with just one hole in the base of the jack knife sofa. Yes I have to release the strap move it, but it's safe during travel, lvmci...

Yep. VERY important. I even have velcro on all sides of everything that hangs on the wall. The first time a pot goes into the windshield because the lock wasn't there...I know someone who had an accident because of that.

Whatever cabinet design you decide on, mount it to the frame, and have a place to secure everything...even the dog.

And...Is it just me, or is that emergency access hatch leaking...or did it used to leak?

[neoneddy]

Hatch Is not leaking , never has.

I'll attach to frame where I can, also have 3/8 ply over everything. Some anchors will be 2x3 that are in turn attached to frame.

[Zephod]

Yep. VERY important. I even have velcro on all sides of everything that hangs on the wall. The first time a pot goes into the windshield because the lock wasn't there...I know someone who had an accident because of that.

Whatever cabinet design you decide on, mount it to the frame, and have a place to secure everything...even the dog.

And...Is it just me, or is that emergency access hatch leaking...or did it used to leak?

Yes. You need everything secure but you also need to be much more vigilant than with a car. The vast majority of the bad driving I see comes from car drivers on their blasted cellphones.

Allow a safe braking distance. If something gets in your safe braking distance, drop back. Rinse and repeat if necessary. If somebody is tailgating you, reduce speed.

Be aware of everything around you and likely to be around. I was able to swerve a schoolbus in an instant when somebody pulled out of the turn lane without looking because I knew the right lane was clear. Had the right lane not have been clear, that guy would have been dead by his own hands. I can't stop a bus loaded with school kids on a dime.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[daddysgirl]

Yes. You need everything secure but you also need to be much more vigilant than with a car. The vast majority of the bad driving I see comes from car drivers on their blasted cellphones.

Allow a safe braking distance. If something gets in your safe braking distance, drop back. Rinse and repeat if necessary. If somebody is tailgating you, reduce speed.

Be aware of everything around you and likely to be around. I was able to swerve a schoolbus in an instant when somebody pulled out of the turn lane without looking because I knew the right lane was clear. Had the right lane not have been clear, that guy would have been dead by his own hands. I can't stop a bus loaded with school kids on a dime.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I totally agree and would add that anyone driving a bus that does not know this... needs to stop driving a bus.