Diagram of the construction of a custom cabinet door


Should you make your own cabinet doors and drawer fronts or buy them? It's a good question to ask yourself, whether you are a professional cabinetmaker, a weekend woodworker, or just someone who has a kitchen that needs a little updating.

There's no clear-cut answer. You may save a little money building your own, but you'll save a lot of time if you let someone else do it for you. You just need to ask yourself whether you're the type of person who has the time and temperament to set off on a rewarding but fairly involved project.

Maybe you didn't know that you could buy custom made doors and drawer fronts. Yes, you can, and furthermore, Rockler's Custom Door and Drawer Front program makes the process easy.  You can have custom made hardwood or RTF (rigid thermo-foil) doors and drawer fronts delivered to your home or shop, ready to finish and install.  It's a refreshingly simple woodworking solution - here's all you have to do:

1. Measure your existing cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

2. Head to our Custom Door and Drawer Front Program and let our custom door and drawer order configurator walk you through the process of choosing the style, wood species and sizes you need.

It's a great solution for people who want to get a cabinetry project underway and completed, but want to - or have to, because of time constraints - limit their shop-time involvement. If the project is to update your kitchen cabinets, the custom door and drawer front program makes the door and drawer issue so easy, you may even decide to reface your existing cabinets with veneer or RTF laminate, and then pick out a few swanky new knobs and pulls to top off the project. That's a fairly simple process, too.

The custom door and drawer program isn't just for updating existing cabinets; it’s the best way to get a cabinetry project completed when you don't have the time or inclination to build every single thing yourself from scratch. And it takes a load off your mind; your cabinet doors and drawer fronts are built by woodworkers who do a lot of that sort of thing, so you can rest easy, knowing that when your new doors and drawer fronts arrive, they'll be just about perfect and ready to hang.

What about making your own doors and drawer fronts? Do you have the skills and tools? Contrary to what you might think, frame and panel construction doesn't require expensive production machinery and years of woodworking experience. As a matter of fact, beautiful raised panel doors are made every day by hobbyists with only a modest shop and intermediate woodworking skills. But you will need a few things, and a little information.

The true benefit of making your own doors and drawer fronts is that it can be an extremely enjoyable and satisfying process, if you have the right tools and a good method to follow.