Corner Repair - Particle Board Cabinet

Phetishboy

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I had a little time and access to a camera while I fixed the broken corner on my Rampage, so I thought I'd share. Tools/Materials needed:

Power drill
5/16" bit
Wood Glue
2-3 48" bar clamps
2, 4-5 inch 1/4" hardwood dowels
wood blocks

Now, in most cases, you can use a slot cutter or biscuit joiner and biscuits to add strength, but that only works if the break is nearly straight/flat, or you cut the cab straight and patch in a new piece of wood. In this case, the corner had broken off at an angle, higher toward the inside, lower toward the outside. Since the broken piece was still there and completely intact, I decided to use it. This goes pretty quick, even though the description seems dragged out.

Apply wood glue to each broken surface to be joined. Next, fit the broken piece into the void, making sure you get it lined up as close to perfect as you can. It's kinda like putting the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle together, so it's not too hard to get it to fall into place. Now that it's in place, grab one of your bar clamps and get it set it to length. Now place a small block on the front edge of the broken piece. Butt one side of the clamp against that block. Now hold that block in place and place the other side of the clamp at a spot on the back cab edge in a horizontal line from where the front of the clamp will rest. Begin to tighten until glue begins to ooze out slightly. Don't tighten too much just yet. Now get 2 more blocks ready and we will be clamping the front of the cab, from one side of the CP to the other, to pull the broken piece in line with the plane of the cabinet side. Get your second bar clamp and set it to length on either side of each block, which should be on the outside of either side of the cabinet, on either side of the CP edges. Tighten until the block on the broken side sits parallel to the cabinet plane. You may have seen in the tools/materials list I mentioned 2-3 bar clamps. Why didn't I use a 3rd bar clamp? What happened to it? Well, you may need a 3rd bar clamp for vertical pressure. You'll know if you need one when tightening the Horizontal clamp. If the piece begins to rise as you tighten, you'll need to use another clamp placed vertically to secure the top of the CP cutout to the bottom of the cabinet edge. This keeps it from rising vertically as the H clamp is tightened. I didn't need one in this case, but you might. Now that we have the piece secure and in place, it's time to break out the drill. You'll wanna drill 2 holes, one toward the top of the broken piece, one toward the bottom. You need to make sure your bit stays parallel to the inside and outside planes of the 3/4" particle board slab, but you'll wanna angle the bit depth-wise. I usually angle both holes at a 45 degree angle, pointing the drill bit toward the lower back cabinet corner. Hole depth should be 4-5", or deep enough to have drilled at least 1.5-2" beyond the break line. Now fill the holes about 1/3-1/2 full of wood glue. Now get out those 1/4 dowels that you cut to 5 inch lengths and slather the glue on them as well. Now place each dowel into it's corresponding hole and push them in, tapping them with a mallet for the last inch or so. Now let dry overnight. Next morning (or 6-8 hours later within the same day) remove all clamps and blocks and you're left with this:

Side View:

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Top View:

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Front View:

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3/4 View:

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Tune in next week when we cut off the excess dowels, bondo the crack and voids and cut a new t-molding slot.
 
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Using dowels in that situation works great.
The break is straight enough to cut slots for biscuits but the cp makes that not an option.
I personally think the dowel method is a lot stronger than biscuits,especially since the material is particle.
Either way I would go with this method over using biscuits whenever possible.
 
Cool! Looks very effective. You could probably do this instead of biscuit jointing for adding wood too. I bet it would work just as good. Thanks for posting!
 
Using dowels in that situation works great.
The break is straight enough to cut slots for biscuits but the cp makes that not an option.
I personally think the dowel method is a lot stronger than biscuits,especially since the material is particle.
Either way I would go with this method over using biscuits whenever possible.

Yeah I really like the lateral strength the dowels give the repair. It is easier than slot cutting and adding biscuits. While not many average schmoes have a biscuit joiner or router, nearly every schmoe, average or not, has a cordless drill. I just find this method seems to work well and is easy enough to do in 10 minutes time. It may not look like much now, but when the bondo, sanding and slot cutting is done, it will look like new.
 
Yeah I really like the lateral strength the dowels give the repair. It is easier than slot cutting and adding biscuits. While not many average schmoes have a biscuit joiner or router, nearly every schmoe, average or not, has a cordless drill. I just find this method seems to work well and is easy enough to do in 10 minutes time. It may not look like much now, but when the bondo, sanding and slot cutting is done, it will look like new.

It looks like an easy cosmetic repair now.
That method would be great for stand alone corners where there is a chance for them to get hit by people of objects.
 
It looks like an easy cosmetic repair now.
That method would be great for stand alone corners where there is a chance for them to get hit by people of objects.

Yep, I agree. Save maybe a 10 lb sledge hammer blow, this repair should hold up for many years.
 
Subscribed. This is going to be fun and educational. I know that I can use this on a few cabinets I've got and have been unsure of the best method to fix. Thanks phet!
 
I have not forgotten about this thread fellows, in fact, I have already cut the dowels and begun the bondo process. Pics tonight.
 
Here we go. Bondoed, sanded and groove cut. I will add a little bondo to the edge to fill in the tiny voids that remain, but this corner repair is basically done:

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wow. that is a very well done repair. thanks for the dowel tip. i've never done that before, and that sounds like a good way to add some extra strength to the joint.
 
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