TECH DIRECTIONS ONLINE PROJECT 1© 2001 Prakken Publications, Inc.

What Is the 32mmCabinet System?Following World War II,Europe had to face the

mass number of housesthat had been destroyed. Because solidlumber was not abundantly available,European engineers devised an integratedsystem of hardware, materials, and ma-chinery to use the particleboard sheetsthat were available. The result of theirinnovation has come to be known as theEuropean cabinet system, or 32mm cabi-net system.

This new system more than modifiedformer systems. It represented a new di-rection in philosophy, hardware, fasten-

ers, materials, joinery, and constructiontechniques. The European system maxi-mized the efficient use of materials, time,equipment, and labor in producing resi-dential and commercial cabinets that wereboth functional and attractive. As a resultof the 32mm system, Europe’s cabinetindustry could manufacture thousands ofwell-built cabinets that met universal speci-fications (Levine, 1988).

Several fundamental differences sepa-rate European-style cabinets from tradi-tional American cabinets. The European-style cabinet has no face frame and isoften referred to as “frame-less.” The boxis generally constructed of 5/8"- or 3/4"-thick melamine-coated particleboard

A Curriculum for Teaching32mm Cabinet Construction

Philip Lundgren teaches woodworking at Skyline High School, Salt Lake City, UT. Kip Christensen and Ronald Gonzales are Professors ofTechnology Teacher Education at Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.

Although the European style of cabinetmaking has longbeen adopted by American manufacturers, it has not been

taught, by and large, in U.S. woodworking classes.By Philip Lundgren, KipChristensen, and Ronald Gonzales

joined by butt joints and Confirmat screws(Fig. 1).

The particleboard’s exposed edges aregenerally edged-banded with wood or plas-tic (Photo 1). The toe kick is usually aseparate frame, built independent of thecabinet and joined to the cabinet duringinstallation. European-style door hingesare adjustable on three axes, which makesdoor alignment very simple and quick.

The most fundamental difference, andfrom where the term “32mm system” de-rives, is the fact that European cabinetdesign and construction is based on a gridof 5mm holes drilled on 32mm centers. Aline boring machine drills these holes(Photo 2), drilling several holes at once

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and easily indexing for another set to bedrilled in perfect alignment. The holes areused for quick and accurate alignmentduring assembly and when workers attachdoor hinges, drawer glides, and adjustableshelf pins.

Streamlined construction procedures,efficient use of materials, and the look ofthe finished product have all contributedto the popularization of the European stylein the United States. Since World War II,many American cabinet manufacturershave implemented the concepts of the32mm cabinet system.

The results of a survey given to exhibi-tors at the 1997 Kitchen/Bath IndustryShow in Chicago showed that approxi-mately one fourth of the custom cabinetsthat the presenters produced were in theEuropean style (Moss, 1997). The ratio ofEuropean-style cabinets to traditional cabi-nets is likely to be even higher in commer-cial applications.

The Makingof a Curriculum

With the cabinet industry widely usingthe European system, it is somewhat sur-prising that few of today’s high school

woodworking teachers of-fer instruction in Euro-pean cabinet design andconstruction. Further-more, those high schoolcabinetmaking teacherswho do teach the Euro-pean system apparentlydo not use a standard cur-riculum.

One of us (Lundgren),a woodworking instructorat Skyline High School inSalt Lake City, completeda thorough review of theliterature in search of apublished curriculum ortextbook designed forclassroom instruction us-ing the European cabinetsystem. Unable to find anyavailable, he determined to develop hisown. What began as a few instructionalhandouts developed into a comprehensivecurriculum supporting a popular and well-attended high school cabinetmaking pro-gram.

Some fundamental concepts and criti-cal dimensions that Lundgren uses as he

teaches high school studentsabout 32mm cabinet design andconstruction follow below. Notethat some adjustments to the Eu-ropean system must be made forthe cabinets to fit standard Ameri-can appliance and cabinet sizespecifications.

Lundgren’s cabinet designembodies the European philoso-phy and components while in-corporating customary Ameri-can measurements wheneverpossible. Calculating or memo-rizing conversion factors is un-necessary. Metric measure-ments are necessary only whenusing specialized metric equip-ment, such as the line boringand hinge machines.

For a standard Americankitchen, base kitchen cabinetsshould stand 36" high, includingthe countertop and the toe kick.A standard toe kick is 4" high anda standard counter top is 1-1/2"thick. This leaves 30-1/2" for theheight of the base cabinet itself.Base cabinets are generally 24"deep. A standard size upper cabi-net is generally 12" deep and 30"high with 18" of space betweenthe bottom of the upper cabinetand the countertop (Fig. 2).

Basics of the EuropeanCabinet System

The basic European cabinet consists oftwo sides (also called standards), a top(usually not included in American cabi-nets), a bottom, and a back. (All of thesepieces are made of 3/4" cabinet-gradeparticleboard coated with fused melamine,also called MCP (melamine-coatedpanel).)

For the two sides, top, and bottom, thelength of the piece equals the dimensionparallel to the cabinet’s exposed front edge.The length of the sides equals the cabinet’sfull height, top to bottom (not includingthe countertop or toe kick). The length ofthe cabinet’s top and bottom pieces equalsthe cabinet’s width minus 1-1/2", or thethickness of the sides.

The width of the sides, top, and bottomequals the cabinet’s depth minus 3/4", orthe back’s thickness. The back of the cabi-net covers the back of the whole box, so itsdimensions equal the overall width andheight of the cabinet (Fig. 3).

The base cabinet with one drawer is thesimplest of base cabinets. It is the basicEuropean box with a piece called a stretcheradded. The stretcher separates the drawerand door areas and strengthens the cabi-net.

For discussion purposes an 18"-widecabinet will be used. As noted earlier, thebasic cabinet consists of a top and bottom,two sides, and back; a standard kitchencabinet should stand 30-1/2"; the side stan-dards equal the cabinet’s height; and theside’s width should equal the cabinet’sdepth of 24", minus the 3/4" back. Thisresults in a side or standard of 23-1/4" × 30-1/2"—the size for all standard kitchen basecabinet sides.Photo 1—Student uses an edge-banding

machine

Photo 2 —Line boring machine

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The top and bottom share the 23-1/4"dimension in common with the sides. Theother dimension is based on the cabinet’swidth, in this case 18". The remainingdimension for the top and bottom equals18" minus 1-1/2" (the thickness of two 3/4"sides), or 16-1/2". The back covers thewhole cabinet so that its size measures 18"× 30-1/2". The stretcher piece is 4" to 5"wide and 16-1/2" long, the same as thevariable dimension of the top and bottom.Table 1 lists these pieces.

Base Cabinet Layout andDesign

The simple method described below“Americanizes” the European system to fitstandard American specifications whilemaintaining the European cabinet’s pri-mary features.

Start the first hole at 4mm on centerfrom the standard’s bottom inside face. Onthe top side, the holes end at some odd(and insignificant) increment. This is

known as the float. The 4mm setting as-sures that the doors and drawer frontsmount properly to the cabinet, as shown inFig. 3. This setting also provides for simplealignment of standard drawer heights, doorheights, and drawer front heights.

Note that the base cabinet with fourdrawers has drawer fronts with widths of6", 7-1/4", and 9". There is a 1/4" spacebetween drawers and doors. The drawerglides and the hinges fit nicely betweenthe stretchers. Hinges and drawer glidesare designed to have a 37mm backset to theline-bored holes.

Drawer glides for standard kitchen basecabinets measure 550mm (22") long. Thedistance between the front and back mount-ing holes is 480mm. Adding the 37mm setback to the 480mm equals 517mm. Sub-tracting 517mm from 590mm (the width ofthe side panel) leaves 73mm. 73mm is theback set from the back of the side to theholes. Of course these holes are also refer-enced 4mm from the bottom.

1. Cabinet Case Planninga. The American Kitchenb. The Basic Box

i. Components of the Boxc. Base Cabinets

i. Base 1 Drawerii. Base 4 Draweriii. Sink Cabinetiv. Lazy Susan

d. Upper Cabinetsi. Basic Upper Cabinetii. Corner Cabinet

2. Cut Listsa. Sheet Goods

i. Cabinet Case Cut Listii. Drawersiii. Shelves

b. Lumberi. Door Sizingii. Drawer Front Sizing

Instructional Outline:European 32mm Cabinet Curriculum

This is an outline of Lundgren’s curriculum. The complete 106-page curriculum, which he developed into amaster’s project, is titled A Curriculum Model in 32mm Cabinet Construction for Secondary Woodworking Students (1998).It is avail-able on the internet at www.et.byu.edu/tte/32mm and on the Utah woodworking teachers website atwww.softcom.net\users\woodteacher\woodteacher\.

3. Sheet Goods Layout andOptimization

a. The Planning Sheets4. Rough Cutting

a. Parts Labelingb. Double-Sided Melamine

5. Edge Bandinga. The Edge Banderb. Trimming

6. Finished Size Cuttinga. Cutting Lower Cabinets to

Finished Sizeb. Cutting Upper Cabinets to

Finished Size7. Line Boring

a. Base Cabinetsb. Upper Cabinetsc. Machine Setupd. Line Boring Operation

8. Cabinet Assembly

a. Kitsb. Confirmat Screwc. Order of Construction

9. Drawer Constructiona. Cutting Drawer Sidesb. Cutting Drawer Bottomsc. Drawer Kitsd. Assemblye. Drawer Glidesf. Finish Cutting Shelves

10.Door and Drawer FrontInstallation

a. Base Platesb. Hinge Holesc. Door Adjustmentd. Drawer Front Installation

11.Toe Kicksa. Layoutb. Assemblyc. Corner Braces

Once the sheet components are cut tosize, use a special stepped drill bit to drillpilot holes to receive the Confirmat screws.Then edge-band the exposed front edgesand assemble the box. A wide variety ofdoor and drawer styles may be used.

The result is a custom cabinet producedwith standard materials, equipment, andprocedures.

Using the cur-riculum he has devel-oped, Lund-gren has worked with severalgroups of students at Skyline High Schoolto successfully build custom cabinetworkin a number of new homes. All of thesehomes have had asking prices of over$300,000; one even sold for over $400,000(See photo at beginning of article).

ReferencesLevine, P. (1988). Making kitchen cabinets.

Newtown CT.: Taunton PressMoss, A. M. (1997, July/August). Kitchens

combine style, quality. Cabinet Maker,53-60.

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Fig. 1—Confirmat screws

Fig. 2—Standard Americankitchen cabinet dimensions

Right side cross section

Base cabinet with four drawers, right side Base cabinet with one drawer, right side

Fig. 3—European base cabinet design

A Curriculumfor Teaching 32mmCabinetConstruction

Qty. Thickness Width LengthSide 2 3/4" 23-1/4" 30-1/2"Top and bottom 2 3/4" 23-1/4" 16-1/2"Back 1 3/4" 18" 30-1/2"Stretcher 3 3/4" 4" 16-1/2"

Table 1—Cut list for base cabinet with four drawers