cabinetskitchenswoodwoodworking
The side wall of the cabinet is slightly warped after I used the high temperature self-clean feature on the oven. This cabinet has three large drawers in it and now they won't close. The wall of the cabinet is warping in slightly (a few millimeters) and is squeezing the drawers enough that they scrape against the side of the cabinet.
How should I repair this cabinet?
Just to stop the ugliness, I would just get a can of Rust-Oleum gloss enamel (black, white, whatever), then remove the hinges from the cabinets.
Clean them thoroughly, and if there's any existing lacquer or hardcoat, try roughing them up with a bit of steel wool. If you can completely disassemble each hinge, that would be ideal; otherwise, work a small amount of silicone lube or grease into the action, to help keep the paint out of the hinge itself (keep the outer surfaces clean, though).
Then, simply give them a couple good coats of the enamel spray; each coat should cover well, but don't go too thick or you'll get runs, drips, etc, as well as having paint over the tops of the moving parts (which will then crack the first time you move the hinge). Let dry, flip and repeat. When both sides are done, reassemble and reinstall the hinges. The enamel should cure into a nice hard shell that should last you until you can spend the money to replace the hardware, or redo the whole kitchen.
Have you considered one of the portable workbenches such as the Workmate?
They fold to a pretty small package and come in a variety of sizes and prices.
Black and Decker used to make several Workmate vises in a benchtop and toolbox version such as these
They appear to be discontinued. I found mine at yard sales, but they show up online occasionally.
If one of these suits, you may be able to continue to use your preferred tools.
Best Answer
I decided to try to install a cross brace inside the cabinet to spread the walls enough so the drawers would fit.
I made a trip to the hardware store and picked up:
Then I:
It works perfectly. I was prepared to add a second cross brace underneath the middle drawer, but all the drawers are working well without it.
Here is a picture of the repair with a red circle around the board that I added.