How To Cut Ikea Cabinet Doors Like A Pro?
IKEA cabinet doors are the top of the market particle board doors in North America. But, many people are reluctant to use these cabinets because they find it hard to resize and cut IKEA cabinet doors.
So, how to cut IKEA cabinet doors like a pro? The simple answer to that is one can just use a run-of-the-mill hand saw to trim cabinet doors from IKEA.
However, to neatly conduct this job, a detailed guide is necessary on cutting particle board doors. And that’s what we will be explaining in this discussion.
Here, we have elaborated on how one can safely and professionally cut and shorten IKEA cabinet doors. So, bear with us till the end!
Tools And Materials Required For Cutting Ikea Cabinet Doors
Although it might seem like a very simple job to trim or make IKEA cabinet narrower, it actually is not. You’d need a wide range of tools/items to cut IKEA doors.
Luckily for you, we have listed down all of the required items in one place:
- Workman hand gloves
- Adhesive tape
- Marking pencils
- Working goggles
- Hand saw or circular wood cutting saw
- A platform to put the IKEA door on
- Sanding papers
How To Cut Ikea Cabinet Doors?
Can you cut IKEA cabinet doors to size just like wooden doors? Yes, sir, you can. But, since IKEA doors are not plain wooden doors, you need to be extra careful when cutting these.
The nature of particle boards is that whenever you attempt to cut them, they sprinkle a lot of particles your way.
As a result, during the time of cutting and trimming, it’s extra difficult to handle particle board doors (such as from IKEA).
However, if you follow our steps below, you won’t ask again why are ikea kitchen cabinets good. Here we go.
1. Laying The Board On A Platform:
First of all, you need to make sure that the IKEA cabinet stays stable while you are cutting it. Therefore, we suggest that you lay it on a flat platform such as a table.
Note:
While laying the door on the platform, remember to put the back side of your IKEA cabinet door facing upwards.
2. Marking The Cutting Line:
Once you have laid down the IKEA cabinet door in a stable position, you should use a marking pencil and a scale ruler to draw a marking. You will be following this marked line while cutting with the saw.
3. Laying Adhesive Tape:
At this point, you should stick adhesive tapes along the marked cutting line. After that, you will be using your saw to cut through the adhesive tapes.
This will make sure that the particles sprinkling while making the cut will be minimal.
4. Using Your Saw To Make A Cut:
Now, you have to firmly hold your hand saw and drive it through the adhesive tape (that you just laid down in the previous step).
And, you’ll have to continue cutting while making sure that you are cutting just within the adhesive tape.
This way, it is ensured that you are only cutting in a straight line (rather than in a spiraling manner).
5. Sanding and finishing:
Once the cutting job is done, you have to take off the adhesive tapes from the IKEA cabinet door. Then, you’ll have to use standard sandpapers to smoothen the edges of the cut end.
This way, the edges will not be sharp enough to cause any injury while you handle the cabinet door. During this process some like to remove the cabinet knobs. But you must know how to install cabinet knobs if you are attempting to remove it.
Congrats! You have finished cutting your IKEA cabinet doors.
What Saw Is Best For Cutting Ikea Cabinet Doors?
The best saw to cut IKEA cover panels, and cabinets differ from person to person.
For beginners:
For a beginner who is approaching to cut IKEA cover panels/doors for the very first time, it’s better to use a hand saw to cut the door. It’s because the margin of mistake while using a handsaw is very minimal.
Plus, using a hand saw is much safer than electric saws for someone who doesn’t have any prior experience in cutting doors.
For Professionals:
For those people who have experience cutting IKEA doors before, I suggest using a circular woodcutting saw. More specifically, a circular wood cutting saw with a 42-teeth precision blade is the perfect weapon to conduct this job.
However, if you can get a circular blade with more teeth, it’s even better for the job.
Now, if you are willing to do more sensitive jobs like to reducing the depth ikea cabinet, you will have to use a miter saw, or table saw. But, to have a precise cut, you need to make sure that the blade has more than 40 teeth.
Remember, the more teeth you have in your blade, the more precise and neat the cut will be. And this especially applies when you attempt for cutting down IKEA SEKTION cabinets.
Things To Consider When Cutting IKEA Cabinet Doors Without Cripping
In addition to following the steps above, you also have to consider a few additional things to stay safe while cutting:
1. Using Sharp Tools:
The first and foremost thing in cutting any type of wooden material (including IKEA particle board cabinets) is that you should have the tools properly sharpened before starting to cut.
Plus, if you are using an electric wood cutting saw to cut IKEA cabinets, you have to be sure that the machine settings are optimized as well.
2. Using Goggles:
Specks of wood can hit your eyes at the time of cutting a particle board. This phenomenon is especially common in the time of using electric saws. That’s why you should always use work goggles while cutting IKEA cabinets.
3. Wearing Gloves
No matter which type of saw you use, the chance of slitting your hand is always there. So, never attempt to cut a particle board without wearing workman hand gloves.
3. Make A Straight Line While Marking:
Your cuts will be as precise as you make your markings. That’s why you have to ensure that the markings you are doing on the cabinet door are indeed straight.
Final Thoughts
The DIY aspect of Ikea has made it the swedish giant it is today. But the manuals are not enough. So, if you are asking how to cut Ikea cabinet doors, it is not a big deal.
Follow our instruction in the article. And get the best tools you can get your hands on. And you should have no problem getting the best ikea cabinets for your kitchen.
