John M Preston 6
12-17-2021, 9:10 PM
As a new member of the Sawmill Creek community I thought I might offer a design others might use a jumping off point for their design.
This is my effort to maximum storage space while providing easy access. I started with the Woodsmith Sliding-Door Shop Cabinet (2009). The cabinet is made from white melamine coated particle board, the rails & stiles for the panels, doors and face frame are primed pine and white pegboard for the interior to reflex light and brighten the shop. Looking the Woodsmith article I thought, if one set of sliding panels is good, two sets are better and doors only improve on that. The width corresponds to an existing workbench against the wall. I used standard sliding door hardware, but with two sets of sliding panels I cut the track in half lengthwise to provide clearance between the front and rear sets of panels. I figured the roller brackets would provide the smoothest action. To keep the panels from swinging back and forth at the bottom I epoxied two pieces of aluminum flat bar in a groves in the bottom of the cabinet and cut corresponding grooves in the bottom of each of the panels. The panels are standard frame & panel construction. To break up the pegboard used for the cabinet back I added vertical dividers with holes for adjustable height. Of course I thought I could measure and install the dividers evenly so the shelves would be interchangeable, but since it is a shop cabinet having custom width shelves isn't a show stopper. I'm guessing a better / more accurate way to ensure equal spacing would be to use spacer stick(s) that could be moved as each divider is secured. I used biscuits for the verticals dividers and I'm not sure how spacer sticks would work in that situation. I figure every project is an opportunity to learn and improve my skills. This project also represents my first attempt at edge banding. It worked, but practices will help.
For the doors I stayed with frame and panel construction, but used dry erase board for the panels so I can make notes as needed. The only problem was I built the doors and assumed I could use some cup hinges I had on hand; however, standard 35 mm cup hinges don't work with 1 1/2" stiles. Fortunately I was able to find some 26 mm cup hinges that worked along with butt hinges for the interior door panels.
And now to the features not on the drawing. I mounted a 4' LED shop light on the bottom side with a pull chain for the workbench. As the design progressed I realized the interior would have a lot of shadows and dark corners. I wanted to mount a light inside the cabinet, but knowing myself I knew I wouldn't be the best at remembering to turn off the light. I found a pair of normally closed switches (i.e. refrigerator light switches). The plan is when either door is opened the light turns on and closing the doors turns it off. I added magnetic catches for a more positive stop, but the switches are still a work in progress. Behind the face frame and the first set of sliding panels wound up being enough room to mount socket strips (metric on one side and SAE on the opposite side). I also mounted tape belt clips on the inside and outside. My slightly more precise tape measure stays on the inside and exterior belt clips holds my speed square scabbard with my heavy duty tape measure. A second 4' LED shop light got mounted on the bottom of the cabinet to provide light on the workbench. The cabinet is hung with a pair of french cleats. I realize using upper and lower cleats introduces alignment problems, but I went with the belt & suspenders approach. Also, the lower cleat provided a furring strip for a strip of pegboard between the cabinet and workbench. Using french cleats had an unexpected benefit, it made the cabinet easier to move. A new job meant relocating, but fortunately the cabinet was able to come with us. In the new garage I rigged up a block & tackle thinking I'd be able to hoist in place by myself; no such luck. But it is mounted and getting filled up with tools and stuff.
This is my effort to maximum storage space while providing easy access. I started with the Woodsmith Sliding-Door Shop Cabinet (2009). The cabinet is made from white melamine coated particle board, the rails & stiles for the panels, doors and face frame are primed pine and white pegboard for the interior to reflex light and brighten the shop. Looking the Woodsmith article I thought, if one set of sliding panels is good, two sets are better and doors only improve on that. The width corresponds to an existing workbench against the wall. I used standard sliding door hardware, but with two sets of sliding panels I cut the track in half lengthwise to provide clearance between the front and rear sets of panels. I figured the roller brackets would provide the smoothest action. To keep the panels from swinging back and forth at the bottom I epoxied two pieces of aluminum flat bar in a groves in the bottom of the cabinet and cut corresponding grooves in the bottom of each of the panels. The panels are standard frame & panel construction. To break up the pegboard used for the cabinet back I added vertical dividers with holes for adjustable height. Of course I thought I could measure and install the dividers evenly so the shelves would be interchangeable, but since it is a shop cabinet having custom width shelves isn't a show stopper. I'm guessing a better / more accurate way to ensure equal spacing would be to use spacer stick(s) that could be moved as each divider is secured. I used biscuits for the verticals dividers and I'm not sure how spacer sticks would work in that situation. I figure every project is an opportunity to learn and improve my skills. This project also represents my first attempt at edge banding. It worked, but practices will help.
For the doors I stayed with frame and panel construction, but used dry erase board for the panels so I can make notes as needed. The only problem was I built the doors and assumed I could use some cup hinges I had on hand; however, standard 35 mm cup hinges don't work with 1 1/2" stiles. Fortunately I was able to find some 26 mm cup hinges that worked along with butt hinges for the interior door panels.
And now to the features not on the drawing. I mounted a 4' LED shop light on the bottom side with a pull chain for the workbench. As the design progressed I realized the interior would have a lot of shadows and dark corners. I wanted to mount a light inside the cabinet, but knowing myself I knew I wouldn't be the best at remembering to turn off the light. I found a pair of normally closed switches (i.e. refrigerator light switches). The plan is when either door is opened the light turns on and closing the doors turns it off. I added magnetic catches for a more positive stop, but the switches are still a work in progress. Behind the face frame and the first set of sliding panels wound up being enough room to mount socket strips (metric on one side and SAE on the opposite side). I also mounted tape belt clips on the inside and outside. My slightly more precise tape measure stays on the inside and exterior belt clips holds my speed square scabbard with my heavy duty tape measure. A second 4' LED shop light got mounted on the bottom of the cabinet to provide light on the workbench. The cabinet is hung with a pair of french cleats. I realize using upper and lower cleats introduces alignment problems, but I went with the belt & suspenders approach. Also, the lower cleat provided a furring strip for a strip of pegboard between the cabinet and workbench. Using french cleats had an unexpected benefit, it made the cabinet easier to move. A new job meant relocating, but fortunately the cabinet was able to come with us. In the new garage I rigged up a block & tackle thinking I'd be able to hoist in place by myself; no such luck. But it is mounted and getting filled up with tools and stuff.