How to Build Cabinets with Cushions or Shelves

Set your tablesaw rip fence to 14-1/4 inches. Have someone hold the unsupported end of the sheets; rip five pieces from two sheets of 3/4-inch particleboard. If you don't have a tablesaw or helper, use a circular saw with an 8-foot straightedge jig.

Crosscut the 14-1/2-inch-wide pieces into the lengths shown in the Cutting Diagram to make parts A and B. When cutting across full-length rips, it's easiest and safest to use a circular saw with straightedge jig. You can crosscut shorter rips with the miter gauge on the tablesaw. Label all parts.

With the tablesaw or straightedge jig, rip the sheet of 1/2-inch particleboard to 35-1/2 inches as shown in the Cutting Diagram. Now use a shorter straightedge jig to crosscut four backs (C) to 16-1/2 inches wide. Label the parts.

Rip-cut two 15-1/2-inch pieces from 3/4-inch particleboard to make the two bench tops (D). Crosscut the tops to 72 inches. To make the eight door panels (F), rip-cut two 13-1/2-inch pieces from the sheet of 1/4-inch plywood. Crosscut the pieces to 13-1/2 inches.

Need to crosscut several pieces from boards of the same width? For example, the tops, bottoms, and sides in this project all come out of 14-1/4-inch pieces. Here's an easy way to modify your straightedge jig to speed the work.

Put your straightedge jig across the first piece to be cut. Make sure it is square to the edges of the workpiece and clamp it in place as you normally would. Now turn over the workpiece with the jig. Cut two 24-inch-long 1x2s, sandwich the workpiece between them and screw both to the bottom of the jig. Now you can just pop the jig onto the workpiece to make each cut without squaring and clamping the jig.

When ripping with a circular saw near the middle of a 4-foot-wide panel, it can be difficult to reach over sawhorses to guide the saw. Instead, lay the panel on the floor, good side facing down, atop two 8-foot 2x4s positioned to support the part of the panel you will use. Crawl along that part of the panel to make the cut.