Got a trick for this? How many drawers will fit in a given carcass?

[Alex Gauthier]

I keep running up against a problem which I assume there must be a trick or a better way of doing. I've been asked to create a small rolling cabinet for someone to replace an ugly plastic unit. It doesn't need to be fancy, just has to fit in the space. I'm trying to maximize storage for her inside. There will be two columns of drawers. I figure 4 drawers per column. Taking into account, reveal, drawer faces etc. I keep messing up the math of how many will fit and what size they should be. Am I approaching it the wrong way?

Does anyone have a way to make this easier?

[Matt Day]

Are you drawing by hand or computer? Sketchup is my go to for designing.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

Try drawing it full size on a story stick.

[mike holden]

You know the opening in your carcase. You know the number of drawers you want, four. You need to decide how tall the dividers will be, multiply by 3 (number of drawers minus one), subtract from carcase opening, and then divide by four. That will give you four equal depth drawers.
Mike

[Dave Richards]

I would also use SketchUp. If you do it correctly you can make adjustments as need to the drawers to maximize efficiency, too.

[Edwin Santos]

For a project like you are describing, there is a casual way of making a carcase with drawers that is illustrated in an article in FWW Jul/Aug 1998. I have made utility drawers in this way many times. They function well and look good in Baltic Birch. The trick is the drawer bottom is the partition, so you are basically eliminating one component and gaining back that space, plus the drawer bottom runs in a dado so there is no expense for drawer slides. Here is a link to a preview for the article: http://www.finewoodworking.com/1998/08/01/versatile-plywood-drawers

If I knew how to use SketchUp I would use it. Since I don't, I would lay out the project on a story stick with a pair of dividers and build from that.
Otherwise, the method Mike described is straightforward if you plan on equal drawer heights. Somewhere online there is a calculator called The Drawer Sizer that is very good, especially if you want a progression of drawer heights.
The only other advice I have is to size your drawers so they are deeper than they are wide, unless you are using ball bearing metal drawer slides in which case it doesn't matter. If you're doing two columns of drawers, you're probably fine.

[andy bessette]

I would also use SketchUp...

No one needs a computer program to figure this out. :)

Make a simple freehand sketch of what you wish to build. Assign values to the top and bottom frames, and to the spaces between the drawers. Add all these up and subtract that total from the overall height. Divide by 4 for 4 equal height drawers.

[Wayne Lomman]

Andy and Mike are on the right track. Design this on a computer?! Cheers

[Rich Engelhardt]

Four drawers is about what it works out to for a "standard" height (cart level with counter top) cart.
The drawers are usually a mix of 5 and 5.5" high using a 1/2" reveal.

I really prefer to use doors though since the doors can be on both front and back - that greatly increases access to the shelves inside.

Here's a couple I did. One is for our kitchen -the one with the drawers on top. And the other was one I threw together from scraps left over from the kitchen I did at a rental.

You can see the way it's open on both sides in the one picture & the other one shows it w/out the bottom skirt & drawer fronts so you can see the dimensions of the drawers vs the openings.
The drawers are 4 inches high & the openings are 5 inches high.

[Dave Richards]

No one needs a computer program to figure this out. :)
.

You're right. No one needs a computer program to figure it out. If the drawers are to be of different heights, I would use it anyway because it would be faster. Let the tool do the math a tell me what I need both with dimensions and graphically. And if I decide I want to use a different progression, I don't need to erase or redraw. It's a simple matter of a few clicks and then read the new dimensions.

[Jim Becker]

I take the available space and divide by the number of drawers, assuming they are even sized. (if not, i determine the ratios for stepped sizes and jigger from there) I do this without accommodating the typical 1/16"-1/8" reduction for clearance and deal with that as part of the fitting process.

[Bill Adamsen]

Another vote for a story stick. Stacked drawer dimensions can be tricky if working backward from the shown face and using undermount drawer slides, and then trying to hit the "inch and 3/16 +/- 1/16"" most drawer makers spec for dovetail height. A 2-d or 3-d drawing program that uses full-size measurements works great, but there is nothing like holding a story stick in your hand on site to boost confidence.

[Robert Engel]

Drawer boxes: Available space divided by # of drawers less 1-2" for each drawer (consult instructions for whatever slide you're using)

Drawer fronts: Overlay fronts: needs to take into account case overlaps top and bottom drawers. On applied overlay fronts I just start at the bottom and stack them up with 1/8" spacers in between.

Inset fronts: I lay out the cab box full scale on plywood then figure out the front dimensions.

Oops, forgot to mention if you are installing dividers that complicates things a bit. The full scale layout is the trick, tho no matter what you do.

[glenn bradley]

http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/drawer-sizer/

give this a try