For cabinetmakers, subcontracting out door construction is a major question that comes up during the course of doing business. It is not an easy question to answer as it depends on many factors. If we first understand the process of constructing a wood door yourself, then maybe it will be easier for you to make a decision.

It sounds simple, but the construction of a door takes many steps. First off, you will be designing the door. Not only the size of the door, but the frame width, router profile, panel profile etc. Unless you had many different bits and profiles, you would only be able to offer a limited number of styles. Outsourcing the doors to a specialized manufacturer would allow you to give an enormous amount of choice to your customer.

Having the solid wood on hand to make the doors is another consideration. If you already have the machinery capable, (jointer, planer, router/shaper) then this is in favor of you building your own doors.

However some cabinet shops who deal with melamine cabinets do not even have these primary woodworking tools. They construct boxes out of melamine sheets and outsource everything else. (Many times their doors will be of made of melamine as well.) They find that the space needed for these tools, as well as their maintainance, makes it more cost effective to outsource the doors. Hiring better skilled workers at a higher wage is also another cost of this kind of shop.

You also have to order, store, and mill the wood. Then you have to setup for the cuts, setup for the profiles, glue, and sand. How many hours of time does this take per door? Also take into account time wasted on mistakes and errors. Now, take your overhead shop rate plus employee time and determine how much it really costs you to make your own doors.

If you are justing starting out in cabinetmaking, I recommend that you buy your cabinet components; doors and drawers for example, from a subcontractor that specializes in building those items. You will probably not have all the equipment necessary to build a quality door or drawer, or else it will just not be efficient given the amount of time you will be taking.

I understand that there may be a craftsman ego factor invloved where you have the desire to build everything yourself from scratch. Most woodworkers have this desire when first starting out, to build every component from start to finish.

The world of cabinetmaking has become very specialized in recent years. This is due mainly to the advent of many new woodworking machines on the market. Technology is a great thing, but it has forced the market to become more niche oriented. Woodworking shops are evolving into manufacturers of specific wood products, this is especially so for cabinet components like doors and drawers.

If you are trying to make money by being a woodworker or cabinetmaker, especially if you are new, focus on those skills that you are good at and outsource the rest of the components. Take advantage of these specialized companies, they are there to help you. Perhaps you will not make as much profit, but you will finish the job much faster, allowing you to work on the next contract.