cabinet levelers

[milanuk]

Hello,

I'm looking for advice/feedback on what you have used for leveling permanently installed cabinets.

I've been working on a couple small cabinets based off of some of the ideas in Tom Clark's book; so far everything seems to be working out well. This fall/winter I have intentions (we'll see how far those get me...) of building some larger, longer workbench units along the walls. The small units I've done so far are mostly mobile, or small enough that level isn't much of an issue. For the bigger units, which span a longer distance on the concrete floor of my basement... I'm a little concerned that simply tacking furniture glides on the bottom won't cut it. Maybe they will; not sure I want to experiment on this one as fixing after the fact might be a bear.

I've seen a couple different setups... from making a tubafore base frame and shimming it level then permanently installing it and then setting the cabinet boxes on top, to using some hidden screw levelers to get things level and then tacking on base trim to cover any gaps. Any other options I should be aware of? Pros, cons, etc.?

TIA,

Monte

[cabinetman]

If these are utility cabinets and not decorative cabinets like a wall system, or kitchen cabinets there are several ways to level. The most decorative would be to allow enough on the toe kick (base) to scribe off to make them level.

Or, you could make a separate base, and separate box type cabinets. Set the base and level it with shim stock, and then set the cabinets on top. A 2x4 toe kick (base) is really an overkill. Toe kicks can be made out of 3/4" sheet stock used for the carcasses. If you're concerned with seeing a gap between the toe kick and the floor, a shoe moulding can be applied.

Or, you could split the difference in the height variation and shim part of the difference under the base, and shim the rest between the base and the cabinet.

Or, you could make the base as part of the cabinet, or a loose base and mount levelers. The least expensive way to do that is use the feet with a bolt attached. It looks like a furniture glide on the end with a threaded bolt attached and a thin hex nut on top of the glide, at the base of the thread. They come in 1/4-20, 5/16-18, or 3/8-16 thread. Drill a flat bottom hole with a spade bit at the corners the depth of the flat flange of a corresponding "T" nut. Then drill a hole into the carcass for the depth of the bolt, but the bit would be for the outside diameter of the "T" nut cylinder. Tap the "T" nut into the hole so the flange is seated in the larger hole. Thread in the leveler, and you can use an open end wrench to adjust the height.

Or, you could use one of the many leveling hardware brackets and feet that are available.
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[jonmulzer]

For my shop cabinets I just drill a 3/8" hole with my doweling jig and put a t-nut in it with a nylon leveling foot. Cheap, easy and does the job. I put one front and back on each partition. Plenty of adjustment and it works like a charm.

[poolhound]

for fixed cabinets where the bases wont show I would use shims to level the carcass. Once the kick plate is installed you wont see the shims. If its on an end cabinet then I would plan to add a vanity panel thats cut and installed after the base is level.

[milanuk]

Thanks for the options, guys. Definitely gave me something to think on!

Originally I was planning on doing the long bench/cabinets pretty much straight off of Tom's 18-drawer bench plan - 2 or 3 of those would probably provide all the storage I need for the near future The frame base from 3/4 ply sounds like a pretty decent way to go... give me a pseudo toe-kick area without having to deal w/ the irritation associated w/ 2x stock from the lumberyard twisting and warping.

Thanks,

Monte