Shop cabinet questions - advice needed

[Steven DeMars]

I have read every thread I could find on shop cabinets. Purchased the November 2003 # 152 of WOOD, read everything I could find on french cleats.

Questions:

Are two (2) french cleats (upper & lower) required to support all cabinets, or to provide flexibility with elevation location for different size cabinets?

I am trying to put everything on wheels, removable like furniture or hung on the walls so that I can best utilize shop space since I do not have any real wood shop experience and do not know what works best for me yet.

NEED: Plans, measurements, ideas, etc . . . on best size for wall mounted cabinets to get the most out of a sheet of plywood. My intention is to use utility grade 3/4" for sides, shelves & doors - 1/2" for back panel.

Any suggestions appreciated . . . ..

[Brian Hale]

To get the most out of a sheet of plywood, i use CutList. There is a free trial download to try it out.

http://cutlistplus.com/default.aspx

One pair of cleats is all that required to hang a cabinet on the wall. I make mine from a ~6" wide strip of 3/4" plywood ripped down the middle on a 45* angle.

Brian :)

[Nancy Laird]

Steven, we make our French cleats from a piece of 1x4, about 6 or so inches shorter than the width of the cabinet, and ripped at a 45-degree angle. Attach one piece to the wall (into studs please), and the other to the back of the cabinet near the top. That way, you have some side-to-side play in positioning the cabinet. You will want to put pieces of the 1x4 on the bottom corners of the cabinet to keep it plumb so things don't fall out from the tilt when you open the doors.:eek:

Just a suggestion: we managed to buy some discontinued kitchen cabinets at one of the BORGs - paid less than $200 for 5 cabinets :) and put them in the shop. They've been up about 10 or so years, and two of them have been moved twice, and they are still doing the job. You might check at your local BORG for something you can use.

Nancy

[Gary Lange]

I was thinking as I was reading this thread that this would be a nice way to nhang some shop cabinets. I was also thinking that if I put a 1"X4" along the whole wall and then attached pieces to the top and bottom of each cabinet I made I could slide them along the wall and add them as I needed ot built them. Sounds good to me as it would add ultimate flexibility.