How to Build a Bathroom Vanity Cabinet

By Chris Baylor, About.com Guide

Next, we'll move onto the side panels of the cabinet. While we're building these panels out of plywood, one could easily use glued-up hardwood panels for a much more elegant look.

As noted in the plywood cut diagram on page 5 of the free woodworking plans you downloaded in step 1, we'll be cutting two cabinet sides, two identically-sized shelves (unless you anticipate a lot of weight on the shelf above the drawer, in which case you'll want to check the note in step 8) and a couple of support pieces.

Begin the cutting of the sheet of 3/4" sanded plywood by cutting the two cabinet sides, which are two pieces at 32" x 23". Then, cut a notch out of one corner measuring 3" in height and 3 3/4" wide (see page 2 of the detailed drawings). This notch can be cut most easily using a jigsaw and a Layout Square

Next, cut two shelves measuring 34 1/2" x 22 1/4". Set these aside for the moment.

Finally, cut out two support pieces from the remaining plywood: one measuring 35 1/4" x 12", and the other measuring 35 1/4" x 5 1/2". These will be used as backs to support the structure of the cabinet.

Before moving onto the next step, cut a piece of 1x4 at 34 1/2" in length for the top piece on the face of the cabinet.