Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Posted: **Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:03 pm**

I am giving serious consideration to buying pre-made cabinet doors and drawers to save time and to ensure higher quality than I probably can make myself. There are a number of companies making them I can find on the internet. Has anyone here bought pre-made doors and or drawers?

If you did what company did you use?

Are you well satisfied with your doors and or drawers?

Are there any gotchas to look out for?

I probably will use shaker style doors.

To make my own dovetail drawers I'd need to invest in pricy tools I may not need again. So paying for pre-made drawers may be a wise investment for a higher quality drawer than I know how to make.
It would be a considerable time saver too to buy doors and drawers. One that can help me get my teardrop "finished" in time to go to IRG this summer.

Posted: **Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:36 pm**

Here are a couple of companies, among others, I am considering:

Lakeside Moulding lakesidemoulding.com/dovetail-drawer-boxes priced from $17 each
Lakeside Moulding lakesidemoulding.com/shaker-cabinet-doors priced from $34 each

Western Dovetail drawers www.drawer.com starting at $29.00 each

Barker Door dovetail drawers barkerdoor.com/Dovetailed-Drawer-Boxes starting at $13 each
and doors barkerdoor.com/Wood-Cabinet-Doors starting at $13.95 each (paint grade) or $24.95 maple

FastCabinetDoors.com fastcabinetdoors.com doors start at $11.29/sq. ft.

Posted: **Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:27 am**

One problem is ensuring their construction is moisture resistant. MDF under a veneer would fall apart in high humidty.

Posted: **Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:53 pm**

Here's the one I've used occasionally over the years when I didn't have the time or desire to build my own.
http://www.decore.com/
I worked in a Southern California cabinet shop in the early 80's that bought from them exclusively as we could produce more cabinets that way.
If they made a mistake sometimes thy would send down a couple workers to correct the problem, great company.
Not sure if they sell retail or not.

Danny

Posted: **Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:22 pm**

Thanks Danny, I don't see a way to order from "your" supplier.

I plan to have 5 drawers in my galley. I anticipate ordering them from Lakeside Moulding. They do not charge more for long drawers. I expect to have one 30" long drawer for the cooler. One 24" long drawer for the Camp Chef Oven. Three 28-30" long drawers for the middle bank of drawers. Western Dovetail drawers are too pricy (a big upcharge) for the long drawers I want.

I am undecided which company I may order the doors from. I plan to use six doors. Both Barker Door and FastCabinetDoors look nice. Will need to finalize my design, then price them from both companies, to see if one seems better than the other.

I may also contact a local cabinet maker or two. I have used several in the past to custom make kitchen and bathroom cabinets. To my surprise custom cabinets are very cost competitive with big box stores, and the quality is superior.

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:58 am**

Esteban wrote:I may also contact a local cabinet maker or two. I have used several in the past to custom make kitchen and bathroom cabinets. To my surprise custom cabinets are very cost competitive with big box stores, and the quality is superior.

I think you answered your own question.
Why not give your business to a small cabinet shop that you've done business with in the past.

Danny

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:29 pm**

halfdome, Danny wrote:I think you answered your own question.
Why not give your business to a small cabinet shop that you've done business with in the past.
Danny

I called both cabinet makers I used in the past.
One said they need a 4 week lead time. That might be too much time for me.

The other said to call a local hardwood supplier that makes (outsources to a manufacturer elsewhere) their doors and drawers.
I told them (2nd cabinetmaker) that I have a supplier that can make baltic birch dovetail rta drawers for $17 each plus shipping. He said his drawers are typically $50 to $75 each and that he cannot compete with that price.

I bought 1/8" birch plywood from the hardwood supplier. Need some more. They have sample doors in the store so I can see the wood and workmanship.

I'm beginning to think that few cabinet makers make their own doors and drawers any more.

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:04 pm**

A 4 week lead time for a busy cabinet shop is reasonable.
You can't expect them to be waiting for any job that might walk in the door or they would be out of business.
Some won't even bother with a small job like yours.
I've turned down several myself.

$17 each plus shipping sounds like a bargain.
Ruckman's Cabinet & Door (local) gets more than that for a dovetailed apple plywood drawer, plus $10 for a clear finish.

If you have a table saw you could make butt joint drawers with a plow for a 1/4" bottom.
Use that new pin nailer to assemble them.
You could make panel back doors with a pocket screw jig and apply a 1/4" back with your pin nailer.
Go to your library or the internet and learn how to make them and pocket the difference.
Then you have learned a new skill.

Danny

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:51 pm**

For small quantities you can make the slots by making a couple of passes on the table saw; save having to buy and/or setup a dado head (plow?).

Don't forget, even if the price is tempting, you still need to spend the time to specify exactly what you want, coordinate with the maker, pick-up or pay shipping, etc. It may seem easier at first, but it does not happen by magic. Then if there is a delay or some other issue (maybe you made a mistake in your spec's, or they interpreted something wrong, shipping damage, etc.) you are still behind the eight ball.

If it were me, I would make the thing campable first, and worry about drawers later when I have time to make exactly what I want. Building a rectangular box is a far easier thing than building a TD, so we know you can do it when you are ready. You may even change your mind on what you want after the first couple of trips.

Keep plugging away at it, the build is the biggest part of the journey!

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:36 pm**

I'm doing the same thing. Here are a few sites I found:

http://www.cabinetdoormart.com/?gclid=C ... 7AodNF0Aug
http://www.cabinetdoorworld.com/
http://horizoncabinetdoor.com/products.php?cat=13
http://www.cabinetdoordepot.com/

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:18 pm**

halfdome, Danny wrote:A 4 week lead time for a busy cabinet shop is reasonable.
You can't expect them to be waiting for any job that might walk in the door or they would be out of business.
Some won't even bother with a small job like yours.
I've turned down several myself.

$17 each plus shipping sounds like a bargain.
Ruckman's Cabinet & Door (local) gets more than that for a dovetailed apple plywood drawer, plus $10 for a clear finish.

If you have a table saw you could make butt joint drawers with a plow for a 1/4" bottom.
Use that new pin nailer to assemble them.
You could make panel back doors with a pocket screw jig and apply a 1/4" back with your pin nailer.
Go to your library or the internet and learn how to make them and pocket the difference.
Then you have learned a new skill.
Danny

Danny, your ideas are very good and valuable. The hardwood store charges about twice the price per square foot than I would pay to get a similar door from one of the cabinet shops I linked to above. I have competing needs for my time. I want to "finish" my teardrop this summer so I can go to IRG.

I also have a (rental) house to renovate. I will hire out most of the work on it, do some work myself, and supervise, make hardware store runs, etc. My time is not unlimited.

So if the cost is not too much more for doors and drawers that are made for me it is well worth it to save time better spent elsewhere. I will feel good that I built my teardrop with parts professionally made by others. The quality will probably be (much) better than I can made myself. I think it may cut weeks off the teardrop project.

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:28 pm**

Somebody recommended this site a while back and I saved the address:

http://www.rawdoors.net/

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:46 pm**

Tommy2tone_1999 wrote:I'm doing the same thing. Here are a few sites I found:

http://www.cabinetdoormart.com/?gclid=C ... 7AodNF0Aug
http://www.cabinetdoorworld.com/
http://horizoncabinetdoor.com/products.php?cat=13
http://www.cabinetdoordepot.com/

Thanks for the links. I can easily find door styles I like. My preliminary choice is to use shaker doors because I like the look, they cost less, and they are light weight. Doors with a beadboard panel might add an interesting texture.

Prices from your links are about half what I was quoted today at the hardwood store...which is about a 70 mile round trip drive from home. The people in the hardwood store were very helpful today. I picked up a nice color catalog of doors they sell by DreesWoodProducts.com. They stock 1/8" birch plywood in 4x8 and 5x5 so I probably will make a lumber run there sometime soon. However their doors, and drawers, are probably out of the running.

There is a Lowes nearby that I checked out too. I think they will get some of my business. The product selection was good. The store was well laid out and the staff were helpful. I browsed the store and picked up a few things today.

Posted: **Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:49 pm**

If you have shopped the brick and mortar stores and they have influenced your purchase, IMO you should do your business there; at least initially. There is a cost associated with offering you the chance of personal attention (guaranteed personal service would be better, but...) and a hands on opportunity. If this influences your purchase and you then take your business to an online provider that does not offer this service, you are essentially stealing from the B and M provider by taking advantage of their services.

I suppose you can justify it as the risk they take in trying to get your business, but we all complain about the loss of the mom & pop service and the bane of the big box stores, when we have only our own behavior to blame.

Jobs are going overseas and our economy is suffering because we want it cheap and fast... unregulated.

Sorry for the rant. I am sure that (at least some of) the businesses linked are great to do business with, but I think there is merit to doing business locally.

Peace.

Posted: **Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:17 am**

KCStudly wrote:If you have shopped the brick and mortar stores and they have influenced your purchase, IMO you should do your business there; at least initially. There is a cost associated with offering you the chance of personal attention (guaranteed personal service would be better, but...) and a hands on opportunity. If this influences your purchase and you then take your business to an online provider that does not offer this service, you are essentially stealing from the B and M provider by taking advantage of their services.

KC, I previously bought hundreds of dollars of plywood from the hardwood business. More than half of my time today in their B&M store was looking at and getting current prices for plywood that they carry. I was the only customer there. I quite likely will buy more plywood from them. To insinuate I am stealing from them is not true and is offensive. They have some products I want and need at fair prices. Some other products may not meet my needs, or preferred style, and are much too costly.

Their doors are about twice the price I can buy them elsewhere. Nor do they sell rta drawers, or drawer making materials, close to the price I can purchase them elsewhere. So I will not buy these products from them. I was very open about the "mail order" cabinet shop that makes rta drawers for $17.00 each.

They will get some of my future business for plywood purchases. One product they carry, 1/8" 4' x 8' birch plywood, is unique in my area. I will buy more when I need it. In my hometown there is another hardwood supply company that, also, stocks baltic (Russian) birch in 5' x 5' sizes. It's good to have a choice.

I had never been to a Lowes. I liked the well organized feeling of the store, the merchandise, and the helpful people working there. So I may go considerably out of my way to purchase hardware and building materials there instead of closer stores.

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Buying pre-made doors and drawers?

Buying pre-made doors and drawers?

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