Shop Cabinet Advice

[Vince Shriver]

I'm constructing a cabinet next to my workbench 17" wide inside, 9" deep. I'm using 1/2" baltic birtch (it's what I've got) for the shelves dado'd into the 3/4" sides. Some of the items can weigh as much a 25lbs. Should be looking for beefier shelves? Appreciate your thoughts. Vince

[Mel Fulks]

What you are doing is fine . You could store a anvil on one of those shelves !

[Richard Coers]

Mel is right. Personally I find shelves a real pain in the back to use. To get to items on the bottom shelf, you will need to get on the floor to reach in. Drawers are far superior.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Put your shelves on full extension drawer slides and have the best of both worlds.

Cut 3/4" sides about 2 inches tall for the sides and put dados in the middle. Glue your shelf to those dados and then attach the slides.

Now when you want something from the back of a bottom shelf, you just open the door and pull the shelf out - like a drawer, but, it's a shelf.

Rev-A-Shelf 2-Tier Pull Out (Google it) - best thing I ever bought for my wife. No reason at all you can't duplicate the idea for shop cabinets.

I did similar for a couple of pull out shelves I put into a pantry I made for my sister in law


(tip of the day - - drinking beer can make you stupid...whatever you do, when you have a belly full of beer, don't open your mouth and tell people, "I can make that for pennies on the dollar for what they want"! Your heart of course is in the right place, but, you beer soaked brain in on vacation and it just wrote a check your beat up old body has to cash...)