Measure Twice, Cut Once… The Corner Cabinet Saga

Last Spring, I started remodeling my kitchen. Why I thought it would be a good idea to take on this project (mostly by myself) while going to school, working, and raising two kids is beyond me. My time was limited so I had to build the cabinets a piece at a time. I started with the base cabinet under the sink… So far, so good. I decided I wanted to build corner cabinets for the upper and lower corners so I didn’t have wasted space like I did before. I came home from school one day and decided to assemble the cabinet so I could move it in the house. I had already pre-finished the pieces so I thought it would be a piece of cake. It was stunning, I was so proud…

…until we tried to move it into the house. Guess what – It wouldn’t fit through the door! Seriously? Why didn’t I check that? My son and I tried every possible turn, twist, etc. and it still wouldn’t fit. Ugh! What do I do now??

Lucky for me, it was a rainy day and the glue didn’t set properly. I was able to disassemble the cabinet, move the pieces inside, and reassemble it. No wonder the saying “Measure Twice, Cut Once” is so heavily repeated… It certainly fit this situation!

“Measure Twice, Cut Once” No-Brainers…

1. Measure the doorway – duh, but I didn’t do it which lead to this post!

2. If in doubt, assemble it in the house.

3. If its been awhile since you took measurements for that cabinet door or whatever you’re building, measure it again. Ask me how I came up with that one… (a future post, possibly?)

4. Don’t sweat it if you make a mistake. Being a good carpenter or woodworker is not about how perfect your piece is but how you make the mistakes work.

Have questions? Leave a comment below!

Originally posted 2011-12-10 10:56:00.