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I am a cabinet installer and have been using a pair of cabinet jacks, as shown in the accompanying drawing, for years.

They work better than an extra set of hands when it’s time to hold the upper cabinets in place before I screw them to the walls — and they are easy to make.

All that’s required to build a hinge are two pieces of 3/4-inch plywood — one 14 inches long and the other 17-1/2 inches long — a 3-1/2-inch gate hinge and some old bicycle inner tubing to protect the finished countertop.

The key is the hinge, of course, which allows me to make minute adjustments up or down by simply changing the angle of the upright.

Also, if I need to install upper cabinets before the base cabinets are in place, I simply screw a couple of extension legs to each jack.

 — Kenny Eident, Fort Mill, S.C.

Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2010 The Taunton Press

To contact Fine Homebuilding, e-mail Christina Glennon.

Get NAHB BuilderBooks 2010 Virtual Publications Catalog Online

The NAHB 2010 Publications Catalog from NAHB BuilderBooks is available online.

Presented in a virtual format as part of the NAHB BuilderBooks effort to go green and streamline delivery, the catalog includes publications and products to help building industry professionals ramp up for a successful year as the industry and the economy begin to recover.

The materials in the catalog, written by industry leaders in various fields of residential construction, feature publications and products about accounting, estimating, business management, green building, sales and marketing, safety, construction codes, 50+ housing, multifamily housing, construction management remodeling and more.

Some of the newest publications in the catalog include “Social Media for Home Builders,” the “National Green Building Standard Commentary” and “Paper Trail: Systems and Forms for a Well-Run Remodeling Company, Second Edition.”

To view the virtual catalog, click here.