I have now crafted custom cabinetry for a number of decades, and for many of those years, I have had two desires which conflicted with each other. The first was to produce cabinetry that was not constructed of plywood. (you can read about why HERE) The second was to produce quality cabinets that the average person could afford. You can readily imagine why these were in conflict. Plywood was relatively cheap and involved less labor to produce a box (which is really the essence of any cabinet). Eliminating plywood tended to push the cost of my cabinets beyond, if not the reach, at least the desired budgets of my clients.

A combination of new tools and fasteners coming from Europe and a change in life that allowed more time to reflect has led me to a satisfying, if not perfect, solution to my dilemma. This new tooling has allowed me to produce the equivalent of strong traditional joinery in solid wood at a much faster rate and hence a reduction in the cost of labor.

My reflection has led me to see that I was letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. While my solution does not eliminate plywood, it reduces its use by over 75% in volume, not counting reductions in waste. My other realization was that a great deal of my time in producing custom cabinetry was spent on the computer, designing, drawing, and calculating sizes for many parts and for the amounts of the various materials necessary to purchase.

Modular design and construction are the keys to producing high quality cabinetry at a reduced cost. Using repeating elements reduces both times required for sizing parts and for tooling setup in the shop.

Modular components allow for sizing elements to make more efficient use of lumber sizes which reduces waste and material costs. When these components are assembled, they combine to form modular cabinets which simplify design and installation

There are answers to some questions you might have below, but you can ask anything else HERE.