ANy tips for Kreg-screwing large face frame?

[john bateman]

I have to assemble a 36" x 42" face frame, with openings for 2 doors and 2 drawers. I don't even have a flat surface large enough to lay this all out at once.

So can you offer any tips? Do I attach all the horizontals to one vertical, then to the next vertical and hope it all comes out square? I plan to glue each joint, so there's no turning back once I get started.

I'm already aware that each joint has to be clamped as you drive the screws, so it doesn't slide out of alignment. Seem rather tricky to keep each stick aligned to it's mate when they're nearly 4ft long.

Thanks for any advice.

[Anthony Watson]

I have to assemble a 36" x 42" face frame, with openings for 2 doors and 2 drawers. I don't even have a flat surface large enough to lay this all out at once.

Do you have a sheet of plywood you could lay on a couple of sawhorses, or even lay it out on the shop floor?

Do I attach all the horizontals to one vertical, then to the next vertical and hope it all comes out square?

The key to making square face frames is making all your cuts square and true. Use stop blocks with your saw to ensure all equal length pieces are truly equal in length.

As to the order, I try to assemble my face frames from the center out, and avoid situations where I have to squeeze a frame piece in between two others. For example, if I have two rails with a center stile between drawers, I'll attach the center stile to the two rails first, then attach any end stiles later.

I plan to glue each joint, so there's no turning back once I get started.

Lay everything out as a dry fit first, making index marks where needed to ensure everything lines up properly when you get to the gluing and screwing stage.

Anthony

[Craig Coney]

Do one joint at a time.

I'd do the perimeter first, then the inside stiles and rails.

If your glue sets, just use a heat gun to weaken it so you can pull it apart and redo it.

If your stock is square, then it should come out square if you take a few precautions.

[Dewey Torres]

John,
Do you have any idea how strong these joints are without glue? VERY!!!
Unless you are planning on mounting a swing set to these face frames don't glue them. I promise they will be plenty strong once you attach them to the casework.

I used to glue all my Kreg joints until one day I got lazy and didn't. Man oh man... once these parts get fully screwed in they are super strong without glue. Face frames only bear the weight of the door and that weight is mostly along the style on the side where the door is mounted vs the corners where the Kreg joints are. As for the drawers, the face fame is just for looks and bear no weight.

Try a test scrap with no glue and try to break it if you don't believe me. In this case your life will be made much easier without having to cleanup squeeze out on your face frames and you can lay it out on you floor and assemble it to ensure it is square without panicking about glue drying.
Just a recommendation.

[Lee Schierer]

I have to assemble a 36" x 42" face frame, with openings for 2 doors and 2 drawers. I don't even have a flat surface large enough to lay this all out at once.

So can you offer any tips? Do I attach all the horizontals to one vertical, then to the next vertical and hope it all comes out square? I plan to glue each joint, so there's no turning back once I get started.

I'm already aware that each joint has to be clamped as you drive the screws, so it doesn't slide out of alignment. Seem rather tricky to keep each stick aligned to it's mate when they're nearly 4ft long.

Thanks for any advice.

You can assemble the pieces one at a time and build the entire frame without glue. Then carefully remove the screws and add your glue to each joint once you check it for squareness.

The key to square assemblies is in the cutting of the parts. If the cuts are square, the assembly is more likely to turn out square.

[Chip Lindley]

I have a couple of old hollow-core doors I throw over saw horses to make an instant work table for just such as this operation.

Gluing FF joints is an extra unneeded step that may get glue on the faces and cause extra cleanup before staining and finishing!, IMO its a waste of time. One half of the joint is end grain! Pocket hole joints are plenty strong just screwed. Overkill is not needed, as the FFs are attached to a carcase. They only need support their own shape plus the weight of doors hung on them. *Just Screws* do this *Just Fine*