A face frame in

cabinet making A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

is the frame fixed to the front of a cabinet carcass which obscures the edges of the carcass and provides the fixing point for doors and other external hardware. A face frame provides strength to the front of a cabinet and is also considered a visual feature of particular styles of furniture. Face frames are a feature of traditional cabinetry which have been replaced in many instances today by frameless cabinets which make use of edge banding to conceal the edge of the carcass. This is most commonly seen in European modular-style kitchens.

Construction

A face frame is simply a framework made up of stiles (vertical pieces) and rails (horizontal pieces) that’s installed on the front of a case. Face frames are composed of a set of intersecting frame members that are joined to one another using one of a selection of

woodworking joints Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

. most common joints used are the

butt joint A butt joint is a joinery, wood joint in which the end of a piece of material is simply placed (or “butted”) against another piece. The butt joint is the simplest joint. An unreinforced butt joint is also the weakest joint, as it provides a ...

mortise and tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) is a Woodworking joints, joint that connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworking, Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly ...

. The frames consist of vertical stiles and horizontal rails. Individual compartments within the cabinet are divided by mid-stiles and mid-rails. Individual drawers are usually separated by mid-rails and mid-stiles occur between doors and wherever vertical partitions exist within the cabinet (see image ''Parts of a face frame''). The frame members are generally made from plain rectangular stock but are often visually enhanced through the application of

cock beading Cock or cocks most commonly refers to: * Cock, cockerel or rooster, a male of any bird species, especially chicken * Cock (slang), a vulgar slang term for a penis Cock or cocks may also refer to: Names * Cock (surname) * Cocks (surname) ...

or applied mouldings. Typically a frame member will be between 25mm to 50mm in width, depending upon the application and the desired appearance of the cabinet. For built in cabinets, it is common for stiles that are to abut a wall to be cut wider than the final size so that these may be scribed to the shape of the wall. This compensates for out of plumb or uneven walls, which are common in many houses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Face Frame Joinery

Construction

See also

References