How to build the 60″ Ikea cabinet doors with your table saw

Welcome to part three of this diy Ikea custom doors series. In part one I taught you how to use a table saw to build your own shaker door and drawer fronts for Ikea kitchen cabinets. Part two I gave you all the information you need in order mount your drawer fronts. In this post, part three, I’m going to show you how to build the 60″ tall doors.

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Next week I’ll teach you how to resize a cabinet so you can get those fancy spice rack pullouts everyone loves next to their ranges.

You need three hinges on the taller 60″ Doors

The cup hinges for the top and bottom doors are all on the same location 1 5/8″ from the top and bottom aligned to the KREG jig cup hinge jig we talked about here. However, there are three cup hinges for the 60″ tall doors. The third one is actually pretty easy to place. It’s located smack dab in the middle of the door. Center your cup hinge at 30″ and bore it just like you did the top and bottom. Don’t install your tall doors with only two hinges. You need the extra support.

You will need a center rail

Remember this picture?

The rails are the horizontal parts of the shaker door. For tall doors you need one extra rail so that the inner panel doesn’t cause the door to bow or twist in the middle. You make this rail the exact same way and at the exact same time that you make the other rails on your table saw…with one caveat: you have to make a dado on both long sides of the rails vs one side like you would for the shorter door fronts. Ikea centers their middle rail at 28 3/4″. However, the beauty of custom doors is you can put your center stile wherever you like. Common spots for the center rail are 15″ from the top and directly in the middle, or like Ikea a little above center. No right or wrong, just be consistent.

You can use glass as a center panel

When you use glass, you want to be able to remove the glass easily and replace if it ever breaks. I buy my glass from Lowe’s. They have it in stock and cut it to the size I need right in the store. It’s so convenient. You can also ask a glass dealer to cut you a piece I you want a thicker glass than what Lowes has…or you could use plexiglass.

The difference with the rails and stiles is, once you make your dados, you trim them off of the back sides so that only 1/16″of the dado remains. This gives a little bit of back support for the glass but also allows you to remove it if you ever need to. Set your saw to a cut depth of 1/4″ and your distance from the fence 3/16″ to the left side edge of the blade. This will cut 3/16″ off of your dado and leave you with the little lip. Just run your rails through with the f side up. For your stiles you will need to use your rails and mark where your tenons will go, then you can trim the dado between your marks so that your tenons will still join normally. If you have a router and a straight quarter bit it may be easier to start and stop with it, it’s just a little trickier with the table saw.

Special considerations for assembling a glass panel door

People use glass clips to keep the glass in place. Other people use clear silicone. Neither way is wrong. Just choose the one that will work best for you in your situation. I used the clips in the girls bath and silicone in ours. I honestly prefer the silicone better because the glass doesn’t shift and it looks cleaner without the clips. When assembling the door frame you only glue the tenons into the dados and then once that is dried and stable you add the glass. I usually do this the next day.

FAQ

Are the top and bottom hinges installed the same way as the other doors?
The top and bottom hinges are installed the same way as the other doors, the only change is the middle hinge.

What about the horizontal doors, how do they install?
These doors are made just like the drawer fronts. They install with the hydraulic hinge Ikea sells and those hinges use the drill holes we talked about. Just make sure you buy the right size hinge. They make two depending on the weight of the door.

Can I installed glass panels on the shorter doors?
Yes, just follow the same steps above for trimming one side of your dado.

How do you make doors out of plywood? Doesn’t the plywood edge show?
I veneer the interior of the rails and stiles with iron on veneer in the same wood specie before I cut my dados. Then I veneer the outside of the door/drawer frame after I assemble them. I may do a separate tutorial or just a video to clarify. I’ve had great success with using maple, oak and walnut.

Where are the drawer pulls from in the bathroom cabinet?
All of the sources for the girls bathroom can be found here 🙂

How many hinges does the 40” tall door need? Two, the 60” tall needs three hinges. I don’t start using four hinges until we get to the 8’ tall doors on the pax closet system. Anything up to 80” I’d say three hinges will handle it.

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