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A-4 Performs routine work practices
Foundation skills used throughout the trade, often before other tasks. Jigs, templates and prototypes make work faster and more accurate, while prototypes and dry-fitting help visualize and refine the final product.
Sub-tasks
- A-4.01 Handles materials, supplies and products
- A-4.02 Fabricates jigs and templates
- A-4.03 Builds prototypes
- A-4.04 Dry-fits components
- A-4.05 Selects hardware
- A-4.06 Selects adhesives and fasteners
Performs routine work practices
Foundation skills used throughout the trade: handling materials, making jigs, templates and prototypes, dry-fitting, and selecting hardware, adhesives and fasteners.
Key points
- Jigs, templates and prototypes help cabinetmakers work more efficiently and accurately. Prototypes and dry-fitting help them visualize and refine the final product.
- Products are checked for quality: moisture content, type of cut, species of wood, board dimensions, wood defects.
- Jigs and templates are produced for accuracy, repeatability and safety. Listed materials: MDF, acrylic, plywood, plastic.
- Whether to build a prototype depends on time, labour and material considerations.
- Tolerances of dry-fitted components are verified to avoid inaccuracies and compounded errors.
- Hardware safety considerations: weight restrictions, tipping hazard, fall hazards. Durability considerations: repetitive use, finish, hardware quality.
- Adhesives listed: contact cement, wood glues, resin, hot-melt glue. Fasteners listed: biscuits, staples, screws, nails, anchors.
Overview
This task covers foundation skills that are used throughout the trade. They have to be kept up, and they may come before other trade tasks. Jigs, templates and prototypes help cabinetmakers work more efficiently and accurately. Building prototypes and dry-fitting components help them picture the final product and refine it. Task A-4 has six sub-tasks: handling materials (A-4.01), jigs and templates (A-4.02), prototypes (A-4.03), dry-fitting (A-4.04), selecting hardware (A-4.05), and selecting adhesives and fasteners (A-4.06).
A-4.01 Handles materials, supplies and products
What you do
- Check products received against the purchase order so that the project is not delayed.
- Check products for damage and quality so that the supply for projects is adequate.
- Take apart the required sections of the final product and label them, so that site assembly and installation are easier.
- Pack and wrap products with materials that prevent damage in transport and hold them secure in the vehicle.
- Load products in the transport vehicle and secure them with restraints.
- Assess the size and weight of products, to allow for handling limitations and to prevent injury and product damage.
- Protect products temporarily after installation so they are not damaged.
- Store supplies, and move them around the shop, in ways that prevent injury and damage.
What you need to know
- Materials, supplies and products, their storage requirements, and company policies for material handling and shipping.
- Handling procedures for supplies during fabrication, and acclimatization requirements of supplies.
- Why products should be temporarily protected after installation.
- Procedures to verify products received, disassemble and label sections, temporarily protect products, store supplies, and transport materials and supplies in the shop.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Quality (what products are checked for) | moisture content, type of cut, species of wood, board dimensions, wood defects |
| Materials (for packing and wrapping) | plastic wrap, blankets, cardboard, skids, corner protectors |
| Restraints | cargo jacks, straps |
| Supplies | sheet goods, solid lumber, veneer, laminate, adhesives, finishing supplies, chemicals |
A-4.02 Fabricates jigs and templates
What you do
- Choose jig and template material according to project requirements.
- Select and use layout and machining tools according to industry standards.
- Produce jigs and templates that are accurate, repeatable and safe.
- Test jigs and templates for accuracy and durability according to industry standards.
- Label and store jigs and templates so they can be used again.
- Make templates on site to carry site dimensions back to the final product in the shop.
What you need to know
- Jigs and templates: characteristics, applications, safety considerations, accuracy and limitations.
- Jig and template materials and hardware.
- Layout and machining tools and equipment used to make jigs and templates, and the procedures to fabricate them.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Jig and template material | MDF, acrylic, plywood, plastic |
| Industry standards | AWMAC, AWI, WI, CKCA, shop-specific standard |
A-4.03 Builds prototypes
What you do
- Choose prototype materials to suit visual and functional needs.
- Recognize and resolve potential construction challenges so that client requirements are met.
- Test and modify prototypes and hardware according to manufacturing and client requirements.
- Decide whether a prototype is worth building, based on time, labour and material considerations.
What you need to know
- Prototypes and prototype materials, and their characteristics and applications.
- Tools and equipment used to build prototypes, and procedures to build and test them.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Prototype materials | actual, simulated or equivalent material |
| Potential construction challenges | inability to access, obstacles, services, obstruction of utilities, conflict between function and appearance, conflict within specifications |
A-4.04 Dry-fits components
What you do
- Use devices to make sure joints are tight, parts are square and the fit is correct.
- Identify and correct construction defects/faults according to industry standards.
- Measure and verify the tolerances of dry-fitted components, to avoid inaccuracies and compounded errors.
What you need to know
- Why dry-fitting components is important.
- Clearances and tolerances; metric and imperial measurement systems; assembly systems; finished product dimensions and requirements.
- Devices used to dry-fit components, and procedures to dry-fit.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Devices | clamps and case clamps, squares, tape measures, mallets |
| Defects/faults | incorrect size, missing parts, out-of-square |
| Industry standards | AWMAC, AWI, WI, CKCA, shop-specific standard |
A-4.05 Selects hardware
What you do
- Make sure hardware meets project specifications.
- Make sure hardware meets safety considerations (per jurisdictional regulations) and durability considerations (per industry standards).
- Do a hardware take off from drawings and design, so that enough hardware is in stock and on order.
- Evaluate specialty hardware against project specifications.
What you need to know
- Types of hardware, their characteristics and applications, and specialty hardware.
- Safety considerations and durability considerations.
- Procedures, tools and equipment for a hardware take off.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Safety considerations | weight restrictions, tipping hazard, fall hazards |
| Durability considerations | repetitive use, finish, hardware quality |
| Specialty hardware | electronic hardware |
| Industry standards | AWMAC, AWI, WI, CKCA, shop-specific standard |
A-4.06 Selects adhesives and fasteners
What you do
- Determine the project materials required, according to project specifications.
- Determine which adhesives are compatible with the project materials.
- Select adhesive according to considerations and industry standards.
- Determine fasteners compatible with the application, and select fasteners, according to industry standards.
What you need to know
- Adhesives and their characteristics and applications, including adhesives used for substrates and edge treatment.
- Fasteners and their characteristics and applications.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Adhesives | contact cement, wood glues, resin, hot-melt-glue |
| Considerations (adhesive selection) | customer specifications, strength, project considerations, availability, price |
| Fasteners | biscuits, staples, screws, nails, anchors |
| Industry standards | AWMAC, AWI, WI, CKCA, shop-specific standard |
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard – Cabinetmaker, Task A-4 (pp. 47–54).
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Glossary terms for this task
- Adhesion
- Adhesive
- Architectural Woodwork Institute
- Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada
- Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association
- Cohesion
- Dispersion adhesive
- Finishing
- Glass transition temperature
- Hot-melt adhesive
- Jigs
- Layout
- Medium density fibreboard
- Prototype
- Shelf life
- Template
- Thermoplastic polymer
- Thermosetting polymer
- Veneer
- Woodwork Institute
Reference articles for this task
Sources cited on this page
- Red Seal Occupational Standard – Cabinetmaker, Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) (2021 (Cat. No. Em15-3/37-2022E-PDF, ISBN 978-0-660-44580-9)). Where: Task A-4, pp. 47–54.