Cabinet to Wall Question

[Dave Richards]

I'm planning a bookcase for our living room. It would replace a rail along the stairs down to the foyer. The end of the case will but up to a sheetrock wall and the back of the case will be visible from the stairs.

I'm planning two face frames, one with panels for the back. The frames are essentially separated by the ends. My question concerns the end abutting the wall and providing space to scribe the face frames. Should I make this end same thickness as the opposite end and just move it in from the end of face frames or should I make it out of thinner material? Although I haven't measured it yet, I wouldn't expect to need even 1/4" of scribing room. I'm intending to make the ends of oak veneered MDF or oak plywood.

Any thoughts?

[Jim Becker]

I "think" you are talking about the carcass "end"...if I am wrong, sorry. But for structural considerations, especially if you have movable shelfs, I'd leave it made of the same thickness material as everything else. If you inset it slightly so you can scribe both the face frames AND the top, you should end up with a perfect fit to the wall.

[Dave Richards]

You are correct and that was what I was thinking. It would make life easier from a materials standpoint. There would be a divider down the middle which will mean that one set of shelves is slightly shorter than the other but I have a pretty easy time of making boards shorter.

Thanks Jim.

[Alex Yeilding]

An alternative--make the face frame (before scribing) wider on that side, leaving all other dimensions identical. In fact, I'd rabbet the back of the faceframe "overhang", and scribe it so that at its narrowest it is the same width as the other side, rather than at its widest. This will also make any curve less noticable. A face frame that varies from 2"-2.25" on one side, and constant 2" on the other will be less noticable than one that varies from 1.75" to 2", and might even be less noticable (the curve) than one that varies from 1-7/8" to 2-1/8".

[Dave Richards]

Alex, that is a good suggestion. Thanks.