Indeed. Edited by. Updated May 27, 2024. A cabinet maker is a trained craftsperson who creates and assembles wooden cabinets, furniture, and other objects. They use specialized tools to shape, cut, and fit pieces of wood into functional and aesthetic pieces.
Also called: Cabinet Assembler, Cabinet Installer, Cabinetmaker, Frame Builder. What they do: Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters make wood pieces, and design custom cabinets to customers' specifications, then build and install them. Furniture finishers do the finishing work of staining, sealing, and top coating wooden products.
Carpenters. Unlike cabinet makers, carpenters concentrate on large structural projects. Still working with wood, projects include house frames, decking and pergolas. Unlike a cabinetmaker or joiner where the project is constructed in a factory and later installed, a carpenter usually works on site.
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters cut, shape, assemble, and make parts for wood products. They often design and create sets of cabinets that are customized for particular spaces. In some cases, their duties begin with designing a set of cabinets to specifications and end with installing the cabinets.
While there are no formal educational requirements for a career as a cabinet maker, it generally takes at least two years of on-the-job training to acquire the necessary skills of the trade.
These days, a cabinet maker is someone who makes custom-made cabinets and other pieces with various kinds of wood.
Work Performance
Errors or omissions may cause customers to be dissatisfied with their work. Must allow the pace of some of the work to be dictated by the speed of equipment. Often make decisions that affect the look of finished cabinetmakers. Sometimes they check with customers before deciding a course of action.
The 5 best and most popular woods for kitchen cabinets are pine, oak, hickory, cherry, and maple. Pine, oak, and hickory are cheaper and easier to get.
Carpenters create, fix and install either smaller parts of structures such as cabinets or home additions, or build them outright. They handle both indoor and outdoor work using an assortment of tools, making the job versatile as well as physically active.
To graduate from cabinet maker apprentice to journeyworker, you'll complete 7,000 hours of on-the-job training (OJT) and 640 hours of classroom learning. Completion hours may vary depending on the region you belong to.
Cabinet installers in California, for example, report average earnings above the national average, at $51,417 per year .
Building custom cabinets costs between $500 and $1,200 per linear foot. Stock cabinets—those that are pre-built will cost between $100 and $400 per linear foot, and semi-custom cabinets will run from $150 to $700 per linear foot.
Synonyms of 'cabinet maker'
• carpenter, joiner, woodworker.
Finish and trim commercial carpentry consists of all the projects involved with fitting interior doors, trim, and cabinet and molding installation.
White oak is one of the most expensive cabinet materials on the market and can be roughly 40% more expensive than its red-oak counterpart. There are two key reasons for such a stark contrast in pricing. First, there are simply more red oak trees than there are white oak trees, making them readily available.
Experienced, Passionate Staff
A quality cabinet maker truly loves what they do. They draw on this passion and years of industry experience to deliver stunning results every time. This passion should be readily apparent in each interaction.
In addition, cabinet painters choose paints with the optimal shine. High-gloss and semi-gloss paints work best on cabinets because they have a stronger finish when compared to other sheens. They are also easier to clean and maintain than a matte finish.
No degree is required to become a Cabinet Maker. Apprenticeships with a professional or on-the-job lessons provide the training needed to start.
Quality in Construction and Materials
Even cabinets that are produced in factories need some manual effort, which raises the cost of the product. The good news is that you don't need to spend a fortune on high-quality cabinets because factory-made cabinets have superior structure and longevity.
Cabinet makers focus on creating custom-made, often one-of-a-kind pieces, while carpenters are more versatile in their skillset and can handle a wider range of projects.
Building your cabinets is very cost-effective since you get to choose the kinds of materials you want firsthand and you won't have to pay for artistry. If you're not up for a full-blown construction or starting from scratch, you can buy low-priced pre-made cabinets and modify them to suit your style.