First shop cabinet complete!

[Cameron Handyside]

Just finished my first shop cabinet, a sharpening station for hand tools, and thought I'd share a picture. I bought Tom Clark's book on building shop cabinets and it demystified the process for me. I used 3/4" oak ply from HD for the sides and drawer fronts; a variety of scrap 3/4" ply for unseen parts; 1/2" ply for the drawer sides and 1/4" oak ply for the drawer bottoms. The top is 2 layers of 3/4" mdf w/ a hardboard top and trimmed in Sassafras (of which I have too much). My only deviation from Tom Clark's method is I used pocket screws and glue in a few places.

254081

Thanks for looking

[Michael W. Clark]

Looks great! I noticed you used inset drawer fronts and it looks clean. Was that a personal preference? I may be re-working my router table and it has overlay doors and drawers. From a functional standpoint, I get a lot of dust and chips in the areas from time to time and think inset construction may be better. (Along with better DC of course).

Mike

[Rod Sheridan]

Cameron, that's a very nice cabinet, well done...........Regards, Rod.

[Brian Brightwell]

Nice job on the cabinet. I like Sassafras but don't have any. All the Sassafras trees on the farm get about 6 inches in diameter and die. I thought I had one big one but when I cut it and the wood was snow white I realized it was a Cottonwood. Now I don't like Cottonwood,the only thing I will use it for is sticking my wood stacks.

[Sam Murdoch]

And so it begins :). Looks great. Keep 'em coming.

[Tom Clark FL]

Cameron,

Your first shop cabinet came our looking great. Congratulations!
Careful now, or you will end up with a shop full of them. <grin>

Tom

[Brian Brightwell]

Wow, what a set of cabinets. It would take me awhile to make those. I got mine from work when they replaced the cabinets in the lab. I had to retrieve them from the dumpster. Dumb contractors. They are metal. Don't look as good as yours. A wood shop should have wood cabinets.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy11/bebrightwell/DSC_0734.jpg

[John Marshall]

Nice looking cabinets. I am in the process of building a new outfeed/assembly table. BTW, what is the title on that book referenced?

[Cameron Handyside]

Mike, I went with the inset drawers for simplicity. "Tolerance" issues crept into some of my cuts. I don't have a table saw yet so was using my skill saw/ripping guide and my bandsaw. We'll see if I have much dust intrusion but it'll be orders of magnatude better than everything sitting on the floor (which is the current situation). I may venture with some overlap drawers on the next set of cabinets. Thanks for the comments!

[Cameron Handyside]

I purchased ~500 bdf from a sawyer in TN. He was my cedar supplier and had cut the Sassafras first to learn how to use his bandsaw mill. Smells like root beer when you cut it. I'm saving the best cuts for a canoe in the very near future if I can get my shop set up. In the old days, Sassafras was used for small boat ribs and other pieces.

[Cameron Handyside]

Thanks! I highly recommend your book. And my wife is very appreciative since every cabinet clears a little more woodworking clutter from her garage. My next big cabinet will be a long bench that will double as a miter saw station.

[glenn bradley]

Came out looking great. Congrats.

[John Marshall]

Thanks Tom. I will look it up.

[Vincent Branton]

Really nice cabinet! I wish I could have that!

[Carl Beckett]

And my wife is very appreciative since every cabinet clears a little more woodworking clutter from her garage.



Obviously, you need to do more woodworking then! And given its really to benefit her, you probably need some new tools also....... ;)

Great cabinet.

[Joseph Tarantino]

to the OP, nice first cabinet. oak plywood? not exactly scrimping on the materials, are we?

[Cameron Handyside]

Yes, I used the oak ply. It was a tough choice and I've made a number of other shop items from basic ply. But I though the cabinets deserved a little upgrade. Besides, a woodworking buddy built me a nice wall cabinet, using oak ply so he set the bar for the rest of the cabinets.

[Cameron Handyside]

Obviously, you need to do more woodworking then! And given its really to benefit her, you probably need some new tools also....... ;)

Great cabinet.


Thats whatever I said! And the ensuing silence said it all:rolleyes:

[Bernie LeBlanc]

Nice job Cameron - and to think you made those inset drawers with a circular saw and guides. That takes talent and it's folks like you who have given the name of circular saws aka skill saw. Nice job

[Don Bullock]

Looks great! That's one of my projects for this spring. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Ole Anderson]

Cameron,

Your first shop cabinet came our looking great. Congratulations!
Careful now, or you will end up with a shop full of them. <grin>

Tom

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=254239&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1360726385 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=254239&d=1360726385)




Tom, that is a real sharp pic you have of those cabinets. Would you care to respond in this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?200815-Posting-pics-how-do-you-do-it regarding posting your photos?

[Steve Barksdale]

Not as elegant as yours, Cameron but I, too, have apparently caught the dreaded TCPSC fever:

258180

Rolling miter stand with storage.

[Steve Milito]

Not as elegant as yours, Cameron but I, too, have apparently caught the dreaded TCPSC fever:
What's TCPSC?

[John M Wilson]

What's TCPSC?

Tom Clark's Practical Shop Cabinets

A "must-read"!

[Cameron Handyside]

Thanks for the comments. It's not perfect but I plan to build better saw guides for the next cabinet. I don't have a table saw yet but now am thinking of a track saw too!

[Ray Newman]

Another vote for Cark's "Practical Shop Cabinets".

[Cameron Handyside]

Not as elegant as yours, Cameron but I, too, have apparently caught the dreaded TCPSC fever:

258180

Rolling miter stand with storage.

Steve, that is nice! I'm drawing up a long cabinet/miter saw station based on TCPSC now. I built a bench based on Tom Clark's design and it was so straightforward that I ended up making it too big for my shop! As far as elegance, I have to tell you that the black pulls on my drawers were "stolen" from our bathroom cabinets. They were the standard brass and a couple coats of Rustoleum later... The top is just MDF w/ hardboard. It's trimmed out with Sassafras only because I have a whole bunch from a local sawyer.

[Ed McEowen]

I built these cabinets a few months ago after reading Tom Clark's book. If building cabinets seems overwhelming to you, Tom has the remedy.

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/sawyered/shop/027_zpsbc76758c.jpg
http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/sawyered/shop/022_zpsdc3e8930.jpg

[Michael W. Clark]

Very Nice Ed, you set the bar very high for Cameron!

Tom should pay you commission. I'm going to have to order his book now.

Mike

[Ed McEowen]

Thanks, Mike. It really was Tom's book that made me feel confident enough to proceed. Those were the first cabinets I ever built. I figured the shop was a good place to experiment. Now it's on to the house -- kitchen cabinets, etc. Of course, it helps to have a sawmill and all the oak, walnut, cedar, and oddball species I can use. The drawers have post oak false fronts, varnished but not stained. I could have done a better job of matching shades on my sanding station. My next challenge is to learn to use the Leigh dovetail jig I just bought for the house cabinets.

[Glenn Kotnik]

I also found Tom's book very helpful. He stresses the need to construct the cabinets accurately and measure carefully so drawer slides will be kept parallel and coplanar to allow drawers to operate smoothly. This can be a lot of repetitous measurement. What I did is to make a few spacers to use for exact placement of components rather than measure and mark everything.

[Dave Jensen]

Color me envious of all you guys that have so much room for your shop... I share a 2-car garage with a car and assorted yard items. Makes things a challenge, for sure.

[Ed McEowen]

I also found Tom's book very helpful. He stresses the need to construct the cabinets accurately and measure carefully so drawer slides will be kept parallel and coplanar to allow drawers to operate smoothly. This can be a lot of repetitous measurement. What I did is to make a few spacers to use for exact placement of components rather than measure and mark everything.

Ditto that Glenn. I wish I had been more accurate. I ended up using several drawer widths and many shims to make the drawer slides work right. It all turned out o.k., but could have been a lot easier.

[Joseph McDade]

Tom, I saw a reference to your book, Practical Shop Cabinets from a gentleman who posted something on Instructables. I want your book, but unfortunately PayPal link doesn't work. I called PayPal and they said it was a problem with the price on your end. Please let me know if there is an alternate way I can get the book. My shop needs the help...I need the help.

[iyacyas price]

I too would love to get this book but the PayPal link does not work. Any idea how to get in touch with Tom?

[mike mcilroy]

Nice job on the cabinet. The only thing I could suggest for future builds is recessed pulls. I find in my shop every hand held power tool, extension cord and clothing pockets catch on exposed pulls.

[Tim Janssen]

Wow, this thread started 3 years ago!

[glenn bradley]

Wow, this thread started 3 years ago!


And it's still totally viable ;-)

[Dave Kelley]

I too would love to get this book but the PayPal link does not work. Any idea how to get in touch with Tom?

From his website:

Only $13 plus $3.50 shipping to your US address. Please mail your check or money order for $16.50 US to:

Tom Clark

13720 Butterfield Trail NW

Deming, NM 88030

PayPal orders No Long accpted.

Canadian orders - US funds via PayPal only. Checks not accepted. $19.00 Thank you!

[Tim Janssen]

Nice job on the cabinet. The only thing I could suggest for future builds is recessed pulls. I find in my shop every hand held power tool, extension cord and clothing pockets catch on exposed pulls.


Very valid point. That's why I used closed drawer pulls
344331
Cheers!

Tim

[Chris M Pyle]

I sent the money through paypal with a few extra bucks to cover the fees in hopes it would expedite shipping since I need to knock out a few cabinets in short order. 3 weeks later and still nothing. Perhaps he doesn't monitor his paypal account anymore but it allowed me to send the money.

[Thomas Bank]

I sent the money through paypal with a few extra bucks to cover the fees in hopes it would expedite shipping since I need to knock out a few cabinets in short order. 3 weeks later and still nothing. Perhaps he doesn't monitor his paypal account anymore but it allowed me to send the money.


From his website:

Only $13 plus $3.50 shipping to your US address. Please mail your check or money order for $16.50 US to:

Tom Clark

13720 Butterfield Trail NW

Deming, NM 88030

PayPal orders No Long accepted.

Canadian orders - US funds via PayPal only. Checks not accepted. $19.00 Thank you!

Seems he’s no longer accepting PayPal and says so on his website.