Nailers & Stretchers


In this section you enter specifications regarding nailers and stretchers. Nailers refer to the structural pieces of the cabinet that fasten it to the wall. Stretchers refer to the structural pieces in the tops of the cabinets that replace the tops. The thickness of nailers and stretchers is entered into the "Material Thickness" standards window. The program determines their overall lengths based on your construction methods. In this section you will need to enter the width of the nailers and stretchers when they are in different positions. For some of you the widths will all be the same. Please fill out all the entry fields.

If you only use 1 nailer, Cabinet Solutions will place that nailer in the top of the cabinet. If you use 2 nailers, Cabinet Solutions will place one nailer in the top of the cabinet and one in the bottom. If you use more than 2 nailers, the additional nailers will be placed in between the top and bottom and will use the Middle Nailer Size.

Note: If a nailer falls behind a shelf, the shelf is dominant and the nailer never gets dadoed.

Stretchers are done in a similar fashion. If you use 1 stretcher, it will be placed in the front of the cabinet. If you use 2 stretchers, 1 will be placed in the front of the cabinet and the 2nd will be placed in the back of the cabinet. If you use more than 2 stretchers, the additional stretchers will be placed between the front and the back and will use the Middle Stretcher Size.


  • Remove Nailers: Click this button to remove all the nailer values on the screen. (By placing 0 in each of the edit fields.)
  • Remove Stretchers: Click this button to remove all the stretcher values on the screen. (By placing 0 in each of the edit fields.)
  • Partitions Notch Nailers: Check this check box if you want vertical partitions (ex. behind mullions) to notch nailers (instead of nailers notching vertical partitions) when there is a dado to be made.
    • NOTE: This only affects exporting to CNC software using the Cabinet Solutions CNC version. This will NOT change the sizes of either the nailers nor partitions. However, you can view the dado in the View / Delete Boards when clicking on the check box "Show CNC Dadoes". The dadoes will appear in RED.
  • Dado the Stretchers: Check this check box if you dado your stretchers into your sides. In the box that then appears, enter the depth of that dado.