How to assemble Jarlin RTA cabinets

Jarlin’s own videos are the instructions. Ours is the shop-floor version: what actually goes wrong on a driveway in Travelers Rest, and how long a 10×10 really takes.

What you need

• A blanket or moving pad on a flat floor — not gravel, not grass.
• Wood glue. Cam locks alone are not the joint. Glue is.
• A drill or driver, Phillips bit, rubber mallet, square, damp rag.
• A helper for tall pantries and 36"+ bases.
• The official clip for that box — wall, base, lazy Susan, pantry, and drawer glides are different.

The order that does not fight you

Open one carton at a time. Match the hardware bag to the SKU on the box. Dry-fit the two sides, bottom, and back so you see how the dowels seat. Glue the dowel holes, not a smear across the finish. Seat the cams fully — if a door later sits proud, it is usually a cam that was not turned.

Install drawer glides while the box is on its back. Standing a finished base up and then fishing undermount slides is how people scratch a Dove White side panel. Hang doors after the box is on the wall and shimmed; six-way hinges will not save a box that was racked on assembly.

Time

A straight wall cabinet is 15–25 minutes after the first one. A base with two drawers is closer to 30–40. Lazy Susans and pantries eat an hour and want two people. This Old House’s old “20–30 minutes per box” is honest for a simple run. A 10×10 with 12 boxes is a Saturday with a helper, not a lunch break.

When to skip it

Jarlin will glue and square the same box at the warehouse: $22 for cabinets 42" and under, $44 for anything wider and for tall pantries. That is the August 2026 dealer rate. Assembled boxes still ship LTL; you are buying labor, not a different cabinet.

Watch the clips on our Assembly page before the pallet shows up. Glue is the joint. The cams keep it from walking while the glue sets.