Do-it-yourself furniture from chipboard. Chipboard thickness for furniture. Assembling cabinet furniture with your own hands: the main stages

If you know how to handle a tape measure, a marker, a level and a simple household power tool, then if you wish, you can try to make simple, chipboard and other improvised materials. This will give you a chance to save some money for your home budget. In addition, such products may look non-standard and quite original. Handmade designer furniture has always been highly valued. Such a chair, ottoman, or locker is unlikely to be quickly thrown into the landfill by your descendants, even if they have already gone out of fashion.

How to make furniture with your own hands?

Chipboard or laminated chipboard is very comfortable material for such a thing. It is easily processed at home, even you do not have a complex carpentry tools. The main thing is to make the cut correctly, and you can cut it in specialized workshops. If you have a manual Circular Saw or a jigsaw, then such work is quite within the power to do it yourself. You just need to do it carefully so that strong chips do not form on the cut line. After cutting, the cuts must be sanded, having processed the edges with a file and trimmed.

An example of making furniture from laminated chipboard with your own hands:

For work, we need tools, materials and fasteners. For the manufacture of the frame, we take laminated chipboard. Buying it is not difficult. In addition, if there is a furniture assembly workshop nearby, then you can try to buy leftovers there, which are usually sold at a lower cost than a whole sheet. Small non-standard pieces, which are often simply burned, may well be useful for assembly homemade chair, shelves or cabinet.
One of the most versatile cutting tools is a jigsaw that can successfully process even steel sheet and plastic. It’s good to also have a circular saw, an electric planer, an electric drill, a screwdriver for working with wood, grinding machine. They are always needed on the farm and will come in handy for any repair. In addition, we will need hand tool, namely: an ax, a hacksaw, a hammer, a plane, a chisel, a chisel, a mallet, a tape measure, clamps, a screwdriver, pliers and tongs.

To fasten the parts, you will have to buy special connecting products used by carpenters - corners (metal or plastic), confirmation or euro screws, couplers (eccentrics). Everything here depends on which connection method you prefer. We will also need various accessories - hinges, handles, guides, euro screws, hooks and other products. Before starting work, make a drawing and try to calculate their number as accurately as possible.
Now you can start creating furniture from chipboard with your own hands. In our case it will be small closet. We determine the dimensions and make markings, marking the places for fastening.

For our locker, we take small corners. The larger the product, the wider and more reliable the mount should be.

We will fix the corners on the screws. It is necessary to attach them to the attachment points and mark the center of the future hole with a pencil.

In order for the self-tapping screw to easily enter the chipboard, we drill a small hole in the intended place and screw them in with a screwdriver or screwdriver.

We retreat about 15 cm from the lower and upper edges of the wall, and then mark where the bases of the loops will be attached.

Holes are drilled under them in a special way. First, a hole is made from the end of the wall of the future cabinet. Then a second hole is made - on the plane of the chipboard.

After that, we insert the base of the loop and fix it on the screws. We do the same procedure with the second wall of the cabinet.

Now it's the turn to screw the bottom of our product to the side part.

At the next stage, we install the cabinet lid using the same corners and self-tapping screws.

We turn the frame over so that it is convenient for us to install back wall. It can be made from a piece fiberboard sheet. You can attach it to the frame with small nails.

Let's go to the doors. On each of them we attach the details of our loops.

We install the doors on the frame.

Then we drill holes in them with a screwdriver and fasten the handles.

Now our simple locker is completely ready for use.

Here we have shown a very simple example of how to make a small bedside table or cabinet out of chipboard. If you want to make an ottoman or a sofa at home, then you will have to put in more effort and skill. Here you need to already know how to make furniture upholstery with your own hands. With a strong desire, you can also learn all this, then surprising your friends and neighbors with your unique works.

Budget option for kitchen set is the manufacture of do-it-yourself furniture from chipboard. In doing so, it is necessary to take into account several important nuances.

One of the important items in the kitchen is considered a set. Anyone can create it, even a non-professional. The main thing to remember is that the thickness kitchen furniture must be at least 25 mm. For its manufacture, bars and boards with a processed edge will be required. Making furniture for the kitchen from chipboard is not difficult at all. This will not only save cash on the purchase of a kitchen set, but also to receive an exclusive and original product. In addition, handmade designer furniture is highly valued.

How to choose the right material?

In the range of any hardware store you can find a huge number various kinds Chipboard, which usually differ in mass and density. To create ordinary stools, small shelves with your own hands, ordinary stoves are suitable, and for dining table, wall cabinets and pedestals will need quality material.

In addition, during chipboard processing only proven tools should be used to prevent splitting of the slabs. It is also important to take into account next moment if the manufacturer has carried out poor-quality pressing, then the risk of splitting the material increases at the points of cuts. There are several options for the tool used:

Hand saw. This tool should only be with fine teeth. It must be kept under acute angle. After all, it is thanks to this that the cut is carried out more smoothly, without damage.
Circular saw and electric jigsaw. The process is carried out at high speed, and the pressure on the tool should be maximum.

For comfortable work you can also use a variety of special adhesive tapes, adhesive tape or electrical tape. Using a sharp knife, a cut is made so that a small hole remains in the slab.

Immediately after the cut is processed, a file must be walked over the surface. All movements are made towards the center, since it is in this case that it is almost impossible to cause any damage. In the absence of a fine-grained file, you can use the usual zero sandpaper to complete the refinement.

Chipboard must be processed, since this material is very toxic. It is best to purchase chipboard, because the laminated coating is safe and protects in most cases from negative consequences, but the end still remains open. There are four ways out of this situation, such as PVC film, piping, overlay or melamine edging.

Chipboard edge processing

Before you do the markings with your own hands and start assembling the kitchen set, you should do the processing of the edges of the chipboard. Usually they are pasted over with a melamine edge. This tape has an adhesive on one side, so it's ready to use right away. According to the technology, the edge is processed with an iron, while slightly heating the upper part of the strip. In the process, you should be careful and be careful, because the device is very hot. In addition, it is important to regulate the temperature, because when a high indicator is reached, the glue can boil away completely, and at a low one, the edge will not even connect to the sheet.

The thickness of chipboard for kitchen furniture can be completely different. The best option for the headset can be considered 25 mm. After the edge is processed, the excess edges should be cut off. To do this, you can take an ordinary clerical knife and a sheet of paper. Then you need to take sandpaper and walk it around the corners, thereby completing the processing process. It is necessary to glue the edges so that moisture does not get into them, which can destroy the material.

Applying the correct markup

Need to be given Special attention correct marking and alignment of all holes on the chipboard in the center, since it depends on this how the future headset will look like. Be sure to mark all points for attaching sheets and pens. To do this, you need a wooden ruler, to one of the sides of which a rail is attached at an angle of 90 degrees.

Before starting work on it, you need to drill small holes in size. In order to connect the sheets, it is necessary to make a mark of the central holes on both sides, and then fasten them together using a Euro screw.

How to connect the parts correctly?

Making furniture from chipboard with your own hands is not an easy process. After all, it includes a connection a large number details different ways. The most common of them are:

fastening parts end-to-end;
"dovetail".

The simplest connection method is a butt mount. By this method chipboard edges fixed with special glue and all kinds of fasteners, but it cannot be called durable.

Optimal and in a simple way fastening parts of kitchen furniture made of chipboard is considered to be a seam connection. You can make grooves in any direction, both along and across.

Mounting drawers with guide rails

Currently, there are many different guides that are used during installation. retractable structures. They make the boxes easier to move. With their frequent use, only a roller made of metal can guarantee smooth running and durability.

During the manufacture of do-it-yourself furniture from chipboard for the kitchen, photos of the types of rollers for drawers will not be superfluous. Thanks to them, it will be possible to finally decide on the future design. After choosing the guide, it should be properly installed in the cabinet or on the drawer. For fastening, you can use self-tapping screws, which are usually included with the rollers.

In addition, you need to remember that the guides have longitudinal and round holes. As a rule, installation is started directly from the longitudinal ones, since this way you can achieve the desired position.

After adjusting the guide roller, fix it through the round holes. With your own hands, you can make a headset that will not only successfully fit into the room in size, but will also be convenient in all respects. In addition, the price for such furniture is usually much lower than the cost of a factory-made set.

For a long time, chipboard (chipboard) has been used as the basis for furniture. For those who have minimal skills in working with wood and carpentry tools, homemade furniture will make it possible to significantly save the family budget. Do-it-yourself furniture made of chipboard will be exclusive and will take its rightful place in your apartment. Everything you need for work can be found in specialized stores.

To repair or assemble chipboard furniture yourself, you need a small set of materials and tools. Everything you need can be found at home, or bought for a small price.

For work you will need the following tools:

Small drill or screwdriver. Of course, it is better to use a small and not heavy drill to assemble furniture;
Circular saw, milling cutter, electric jigsaw. If these tools are not available, then they can be rented;
Level, square, tape measure;
A set of hex keys, countersinks, drills;
Conductor.

The materials you will need are:

Chipboard boards;
Wax of the desired color;
Felt pen for retouching or a marker of the desired shades;
wax melter;
Felt fabric;
Staple.

With such a small set, you can both update the furniture and make a new one.

Manufacturing process

Cutting chipboard is carried out independently or they turn to professionals who have the necessary equipment. In addition to chipboard, in the manufacture of furniture, you will need fiberboard (fibreboard), lumber from natural wood, fittings, fasteners.

To make a simple update, the master class of which is offered by experienced specialists, is quite within the power of everyone. The result is a beautiful, brand new product, and the family budget will not suffer. by the most important details structures that need to be given the most attention and time are:

Facades - the front, part of the furniture and its doors, are made of a more attractive material. Do-it-yourself furniture made of laminated chipboard should look attractive. The facade is a separate piece of furniture, it is usually made to order. There are many different types facades for furniture, they differ in the material used and design;
bottom and side walls drawers - these pieces of furniture, as some other parts are made, are easiest to make from fiberboard. Some craftsmen prefer to fix fiberboard furniture stapler, But it's not right. After a while, the brackets will loosen, and then the entire structure can be skewed. fiberboard is better just fasten with screws or nails, it is good to install self-tapping screws with special washers;
A tabletop is a horizontal surface where you can write and read. Most of the tables made at home (photos below) are made from the same chipboard. The weak section of the countertops is the saw cut of the surface. They are most often protected with a melamine edge, for this reason they begin to break in the first year. To prevent this trouble, the edges are closed aluminum profiles. They fix the tabletops from below, using small self-tapping screws, so as not to damage the front surface.

Choosing the right fasteners and fittings is no less important than quality materials. Furniture fasteners - products necessary for connecting individual parts. Basically, all elements are connected at right angles.

Dowels - schemes for their installation, involve the use of pre-prepared holes. They are used for preliminary fastening and increasing the strength of the connection;
Furniture corners are a common, but already outdated type of fastening. They don’t look very nice, they loosen up after a while;
Euroscrew - screws for connecting furniture parts.

Holes are made right in place, using a special drill that can drill a groove of the required diameter. The question of how to make furniture with your own hands requires control of the perpendicularity of the drilling direction so as not to spoil the furniture element. When connecting elements, you need to consider the subtleties:

Furniture screws are screwed in with a hex key. Heads designed for a Phillips screwdriver cannot be fully tightened;
The main disadvantage of this mount is that fully screwed heads remain visible. To hide them, the holes are closed with plastic plugs of a suitable color;
Eccentric couplers - convenient, modern method mounts. It allows you to make a hole on the inside of a piece of furniture.

To make holes right size, use a Forstner drill. It is not rational to buy it only for the assembly of hidden elements, but they are convenient for installing doors. With how to repaint furniture at home, even a novice master should not have problems, and step-by-step recommendations will help to assemble new products.

table top

Bookshelf

Every person who loves books is faced with the need to store a library. Easiest to buy ready cabinet, but you can save a lot of money and independently make or restore furniture from chipboard. The easiest thing to do classic version cabinet with open shelves that can easily fit in any room. The ideal depth for this furniture is 400 mm, the overall dimensions are 2000x800x400. (height width depth). Most of books will easily fit on such shelves.

You need to start work by drawing up a drawing, separately depicting all the details. Then transfer the details to the chipboard. Next come cutting and other stages:

Assembly must be done on a flat surface so as not to warp the structure;
We connect the top of the cabinet and the side walls. It is necessary to use a special square so that the corners are even;
With the help of fasteners connect all the elements;
Having installed the top of the cabinet, they fix the bottom, controlling the correct connection with a square;
Do not rush to fix the back wall, it is more convenient to install the shelves first. It is better to fix them with a confirmation in several places. This will give reliability and increase the life of the shelves;
At the end, the back wall is attached;
In conclusion, the supports are mounted.

Preparing the elements

Connecting the back and sides

Installing skids

We fix the shelves

We make additional supports

Ready product

TV table

Although there are TV models that are easy to mount on the wall, there are many devices that require special stands. After all, you need to find a place not only for the TV, you may want to install a home theater, a remote control, find a shelf for a collection of discs. Having made it yourself comfortable cabinet under the TV, you will not only save money, but also be able to take into account all your desires - style, how to paint furniture from chipboard with your own hands.

For the product, the most convenient dimensions are 600x400x1850 mm (height - depth - width). The bedside table is placed directly on the floor, it is able to withstand serious loads. Making furniture of this size will allow you to easily place even a large TV, and next to it - the rest of the necessary equipment.

First, the frame of the TV cabinet is assembled;
Make marks for fastening the middle shelf, make holes and install it in place;
From elements of 0.12x0.45 mm, assemble frames for drawers. Then fix the plywood bottom on them, on glue or nails;
Install fittings for moving drawers;
Fasten the handles on the drawers;
By milling, prepare a place for installing the doors, and fix them;
At the end of the assembly, fix the top panel.

Preparing the details

We twist the bars on the sides

Fixing the front

Fixing drawer shelves

We make a box, fix the elements with self-tapping screws

Computer desk

The computer, after the refrigerator and TV, is the most popular item in the house. For this reason, the table at which we work must be suitable. A computer desk is a piece of furniture with different devices and details that can be adjusted if necessary. In addition, a self-made version will cost much less than in a store.

When making a table, you can simplify the work and limit yourself to straight lines in its design. Additional shelves, holes for wiring, a place for the system unit can be made as you like.

There are a huge number of designs of such tables, there are special tables used for a netbook or laptop. In small apartments, transforming tables are convenient. A narrow object does not require much space, and if necessary, it turns into a normal one computer desk, with all the necessary elements.

For independent performance, it is better to choose simple model, rectangular shape. After completing the drawing and cutting out all the details with a circular saw or electric jigsaw, you can start assembling:

Holes are prepared in the central and side walls for attaching the lower shelf. After that, fix it with confirmations;
Also attach the top shelf;
After that, the back wall is installed. It is on the same level with the upper parts of the central and side walls;
Now you need to screw the guide elements for the sliding console under the keyboard;
The tabletop is attached to the side walls with dowels. It is impossible to make through holes in the countertop;
If you plan to make shelves on top of the countertop, they are also attached to the dowels.

Cut out the details

Safe finishing rules

Chipboard needs to be sawn into pieces slowly, for this better fit saw with small tooth- so you get a straight cut line. You need to drill smoothly, using only a sharp drill and turning on the high speed of the drill. It is necessary to control the perpendicularity of the drill entering the material, otherwise you can make a chip in a noticeable place. To remove irregularities, a rasp and a planer are needed, the tool is moved from the outside of the workpiece to the inside. It is important to prevent pulling out of the fibers - so the cut of the part will turn out neat;
Laminated chipboard does not need to be further processed, it is only necessary to smooth the edge. The rest of the surface is painted, varnished or glued with a special film. Adhesive tape is used to protect the surface from splitting when sawing. If you are cutting by hand, then you need to position the saw with an inclination. The edge of the part covered with teeth is an unpleasant sight, this is especially noticeable on fiberboard boards white color. Saw the material slowly, excess haste will cause an ugly joint between furniture elements;
Blunt or slow-rotating drill bits tend to break out the edges of the hole in most cases. Only with the help of a sharp and high-quality drill, you can make smooth hole. At good cut no additional processing required. A circular saw at work leaves irregularities on the edge, which are removed with a planer. He is carefully led along the edge, to inside to make the edge neat. For laminated boards, do not use a rasp;
You can finish the surface of furniture from fiberboard in 2 ways - how to paint furniture from chipboard, and veneer with decorative material or varnish;
Often, cladding is carried out with a special film, which has an adhesive coating on one side that simplifies furniture finishing. It is unusually thin, for this reason the surface must be well sanded before gluing. You can stick laminated plastic, it is stronger and noticeably thicker. It is glued with a special glue, such a coating makes furniture made of chipboard beautiful and at the same time protects the surface from external influences;
Wood products are usually varnished, particle boards are varnished very rarely, only if it is necessary to “ennoble” the unattractive appearance of an ordinary board. Before varnishing, the surface must be leveled with putty. Even after factory processing (without lamination) it needs to be leveled. The smallest defects will be visible under the lacquer film, and this greatly impairs appearance furniture. After putty chipboard should be very Smooth surface, and one layer of varnish should be enough for it. If after varnishing defects are noticeable, then it will be necessary to sand the surface again sandpaper and again varnish;
The layer of protective varnish should be thick, it prevents harmful fumes. You need to pay attention to the joints - you need to make them as dense as possible. For chipboard finishes wallpaper and matter do not fit, this porous materials, which are not capable of serving as protection. Also skip harmful substances maybe carpet;
The edges of the fiberboard board can be trimmed with thin wooden planks. The wood is selected in a suitable color, the material must be in harmony with the coating of the piece of furniture. When you have glued the required number of wood planks, you need to varnish them, as well as the entire surface, or completely repaint the furniture. Even strips with a thickness of 5 mm will protect the edges of the slab well. If you stick a wide bar, it will prevent the countertop from bending.

Drawings and diagrams

Laminated chipboard, literally immediately after its appearance in building supermarkets, has gained immense popularity, since it allows you to make furniture no worse than that offered by the average hand furniture showrooms. Which is not surprising, because if you order the manufacture of furniture in the salon without assembly, then they simply bring you a set of cut boards from laminated chipboard and fasteners for them. Many are afraid to assemble furniture on their own, and so try to make it, but there is nothing difficult about it.

Making furniture with your own hands: where to start?

You need to start, of course, with the project of the future product. It doesn’t matter what you plan to assemble: a table, a cabinet or a whole wardrobe - you can’t do without a project. If you have good spatial and abstract thinking, you can draw your future table simply with a pencil on paper. If you want more naturalism and a 3D look, you can use special programs for designing cabinet furniture, for example, Pro100, K3-Furniture and others.

How to cut chipboard for cabinet furniture

After our project is ready, we go to the store for laminated chipboard and all necessary fittings. You should also be concerned about purchasing decorative elements for future furniture (mirrors, glass, etc.). We strongly recommend asking at the same place where you buy chipboard about the possibility of cutting and edging it on the spot - this will significantly save time and nerves. If you decide to cut the slab yourself, then before starting work, you should consider a few points:

It is better to apply the pattern in advance on the sheet, so as not to be mistaken in size

Chipboard needs to be sawn with a fine-toothed saw at an acute angle.

When sawing with an electric tool, adjust the pressure and power in such a way that breaks do not form (since the material is quite fragile)

When bumps and chips are formed, they are ground with a file - from the edge to the center

Electric saws “eat” approximately 5 millimeters of the sheet during each “cut”, so it is better to leave a small margin.

In general, working with chipboard is quite simple; the simplest set of home tools is suitable for sawing it. The material itself is quite tightly pressed, however, it can crumble in places of cuts and fractures - this is worth remembering. The edges of the slab, which will be end and noticeable, are recommended to be edged with special tape(sold in the same stores as furniture fittings or on the market) or painted over to protect them from destruction over time.

How to assemble cabinet furniture yourself

After the slab has been successfully sawn and edged, and the fittings have been purchased from required quantity, you can start assembling. It is necessary to pre-mark and make all the necessary holes and recesses in the plate (through for tightening with eccentrics, recesses for hinges, etc.).

It is best to start the assembly with the largest parts, for example, for a cabinet, this will be the assembly of the box itself on the floor; for a table-book - the connection between all parts of the table top and so on. At the next stage, we connect the main elements together, hang the doors, fix the mirrors, and so on. At the very end, we install shelves in the closet, collect drawers and the like. Until the assembly is completed, we recommend that you do not tighten the screws and screws to the end, so that later you have the opportunity to trim or adjust certain elements.

The cost of furniture made of laminated chipboard, assembled at home, does not exceed 50 - 60% of the store price finished product. Is this really so and what you need to know to get such a significant "discount"? I will try to make out all the subtleties and features of making furniture with my own hands using the example of my own experience.

How to avoid mistakes in the manufacture of furniture

For the first time, the thought of self-manufacturing furniture, visited me in an Ikea store about 10 years ago. Considering the options for furniture for the living room, I stopped at one of the "walls", quite a decent look and the functionality I needed. She suited me according to her size, having a length just created to stand at my house. Its color scheme suited the general style of the interior, and the design stepped far ahead of Romanian furniture from Soviet life, but not so much that it would become a kind of decor that lost one of the properties of furniture of this kind - being, among other things, a place to store things. That is, my choice was by no means a similar option:

But no matter how good that wall was, it categorically did not suit me for the price. If I'm not mistaken, then full set they asked for about 53 thousand rubles, which for 2005 was a very significant amount. Here it is worth clarifying what "complete set" means. In the Ikea store, furniture is sold in the form of a designer, consisting of various elements and allowing you to buy any fragment separately - at least one shelf, at least one drawer.

It was the peculiarity of this form of sales that prompted me to think about the possibility of significantly reducing the cost of purchasing furniture. Carefully examined on the exhibition sample internal organization walls, I came to the conclusion that the "box" itself, that is, everything that is hidden behind the facades, I can do on my own. In Ikea, I will only buy doors, glass, fittings and drawer fronts and then the terrible 53 thousand will turn into a wonderful 25 thousand + material for making the insides.

Since I came across chipboard material and imagined how much it costs (at that time less than 1 thousand rubles per sheet at retail), my plan seemed to me just a super-idea, and the prospects for filling the apartment loomed in my mind new furniture at ridiculous prices.

It is curious that at that moment I did not think at all about how to connect the parts, calculate the mounting holes and install the fittings, and all I was worried about was how I would deliver the laminated chipboard to the apartment. For me, the most urgent problem was the skidding of sheets of 2800 * 2070 * 16 format, each of which weighs about 65 kg, to the 4th floor. I even thought about delivering laminated chipboard to the entrance and sawing it myself right on the street ... In general, now I’m even sorry that I didn’t realize this then " brilliant idea". Purely for pictures. Well, neighing, what's there ...

It is clear that the approach was wrong and should not be done this way. How did I do this time and in what order? Firstly, by the 2010s, the Runet was filled with a lot of information, including sometimes useful information. I drew all the instructions and decisions from him, since in Perm I simply do not have acquaintances whom I could consult regarding furniture.

The second and most important thing is the presence of firms specializing in the sale of components for furniture assembly. They also provide services for sawing laminated chipboard to specified sizes, edge processing and delivery. Working with these firms is the basis economic benefit For home master. In a nutshell, for example, a cabinet designed independently and ordered in the form of separate parts from a similar company, then assembled at home with your own hands, will cost half as much as buying a finished one.

Theoretical basis

As far as I know, from 2006 to the present day, the only person who made an attempt (very successful) to transfer his knowledge about the creation of cabinet furniture into the sphere of information business was and remains Andrey Lappo. His brainchild KMSR 2 (do-it-yourself cabinet furniture) is a textbook study guide in this area and allows anyone who has learned to make furniture on their own. It has been tested by thousands of users and it works!

Despite the fact that the course was written several years ago, its relevance will not disappear for a very long time. It's like writing a manual for brickwork- no matter when it happens in 1915 or 2015, new materials appear, but the principle remains the same. I strongly recommend this manual as a very high-quality start.

The profile forum can serve as the second most important source of information. In its open spaces you can find answers to almost all your questions about the creation of cabinet furniture. But if, for example, you have no idea how two parts are connected, then you should not try to figure it out with it. Therefore, first, basic knowledge with the help of Andrey Lappo's course, then clarifications on the forum.

Furniture design software

Existing for today computer programs for the design, calculation and visualization of furniture can satisfy the needs of home craftsmen to large industrial production. The need to study them in search of the optimal, and even more so to acquire, on initial stage No. There is a proven, translated and well-studied program that is just right for our case. It is called PRO100 and even the name itself seems to hint that to use it there is no need to be a programmer and an advanced IT specialist.

In order to start using it, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the manual, and in order to master the techniques of rapid design from standard elements, it is enough to watch a couple of lessons that are widely presented on youtube. Of course, the possibilities of the program are very diverse, but for home use enough basic skills. If I'm not mistaken, it took me less time to learn how to use than to find where to download a good, working version.

There is a certain percentage of people who, due to many years of habit, find it more convenient and easier to make sketches and working drawings on paper. This does not affect the quality of the future product in any way, since the main thing is only the mathematical accuracy of dimensions.

I am of the opinion that the time spent on mastering the program is more than compensated by the convenience and speed of creating subsequent projects. And the possibility of 3d visualization clearly speaks in favor of the program.

Tool

The most pleasant thing is that the assembly of furniture is carried out with a minimum set of tools. If you have to purchase anything specifically for these works, then this will be a very insignificant cost, in comparison with the savings obtained by refusing to purchase finished products.

In fact, the main tool is a drill. Moreover, it is desirable to have a drill, and not a screwdriver (although it is more convenient for them to perform some operations) - because of the difference in reception. The electric drill should be reversible, preferably with variable speed and devoid of crazy excesses such as "blow". Comfortable in the hand, 350-500 watts of power and not too heavy.

From other power tools, you may need: a jigsaw, manual frezer and a circular saw. But these devices are necessary for isolated cases and may well be rented.

The measuring tool is a tape measure (with normally readable divisions), a metal ruler, a square and a building level (600 mm is enough). Caliper - very convenient in some cases.

Plus, you will need high-quality drills, countersinks, an L-shaped hexagon key (or an asterisk) and other miscellaneous small things, the purchase of which can be made at a time, having previously written out for yourself the entire necessary set. But one device, which is very important and affects the entire assembly process, unfortunately, you can’t buy it just by going to the store. This is a template (jig) for drilling holes for connecting elements, that is, under confirmations:

The task of the conductor is to ensure drilling of holes at a given distance from the edge of the part and, no less important, to perform it strictly vertically relative to the plane. It seemed to me that it would not be difficult for me - to mark and drill chipboard without deviating from the vertical, I am able without a jig ... Understanding that drilling without a jig is only suitable for a small number of connections (when the cost of acquiring or manufacturing it is not justified ), I continued to suffer. Do not repeat my mistakes and immediately start looking for how to provide yourself comfortable conditions for work, that is, find a convenient conductor.

There are several options:

1. Buy a "branded" conductor, factory-made. Here, perhaps, there are more minuses than pluses - a quality product from a well-known manufacturer costs so much that it casts doubt on the very idea of \u200b\u200bmaking furniture for 50% of the store price. And the simplified, Chinese versions will not give the proper accuracy and reliability in operation.

2. Purchase a fixture made by our craftsmen. Enthusiasts with access to metalworking machines create quality and well-designed products in terms of ease of use. You can find ads for sale, for example, this is what the search showed:

This is a universal jig that allows you not only to drill holes for confirmations, but also for minifix, rafix, TAB and door hinge. It is clear that such a product is oriented primarily to those who are engaged in the manufacture of furniture on an ongoing basis. Although for assembling furniture for one apartment, it will pay off and save you from numerous mistakes. And selling such a tool when it is no longer needed is not a problem.

3. Homemade conductor. A huge variety of options have been developed, from the simplest devices from three pieces of chipboard to universal and multifunctional ones. Look on the forum for the experience of other users, there are plenty to choose from.

Whichever option you choose, it will be much more correct than working without using a conductor at all!

About saving

"All this is good, I realized that first it is best to study the theory on the Lappo course, then study the forum, study the PRO100 and go to order a cut in one of the offices of the city. And finally, start assembling furniture for yourself. How about the money? Is it really twice the price? - asks the reader. I answer - indeed, the price in the store and the cost of the materials necessary for the manufacture of a similar product differ twice.

True, you will have to work as a designer, designer, technologist and assembler. At times - a loader, electrician and plumber. Scary? I think not, even interesting. Actually, the difference of 50% of the finished product is your salary as a temporary representative of these professions. In addition, you get furniture that is designed specifically for your apartment, calculated according to the size and your individual preferences. color solution and with the accessories you want.

To date, my modest experience is a sliding wardrobe, desk, with bookcases and a kitchen set, allowed to "save" more than 100 thousand rubles in prices of 2013-2014. What happened as a result of my efforts, I will tell in the following.