Basic shop cabinet questions

[Tom Sweeney]

Hey all,
I have determined that I can no longer work in my shop the way it is. To that end I am embarking on a storage / bench building program to get my shop to be - well a shop.

First on the agenda is a cabinet I started tonight. It will be a rolling sharpening station / tool storage cabinet about 21" wide by 32" long X 34" High. I am making it out of 3/4" 9 ply birch ply from the Borg.

1.) can I bolt the casters right to the ply bottom or will it need to be reinforced?
2.) I'm planning on using 2 3/4" MDF panels laminated together for the top. Is this sufficient? I'm planning on some type of laminate covering - is that any problem with the grinder usage? I might put a box behind the grinder as a sandpaper dispenser - I could maybe cover under the grinder & the back of this box, facing the back of the grinder, with sheet metal.
3) What is the absolute cheapest way to make sliding drawers? I was thinking about making dado grooves in the sides & glue & screw 1Xs into those then put corresponding dados in the drawer boxes which would slide on the 1Xs - anything wrong with that?

Anyway sorry for all the questions but believe it or not this will be the first cabinet I have built. If you can think of anything I'm forgetting please let me know. here is a mock up to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.

[Glenn Clabo]

Tom,
Only comment I have besides I hope you have fun fixin up the old shop...is...MDF is not very strong. You may get away with it doubled up...but why not just use the ply all the way through the project? FWIW.

[Alan Turner]

Tom
Your plan for drawer runners is just fine. You don't need 1x however. 1/2" x 1/2" will be fine. I use this style of drawer monting for my shop drawers, and if fit will, the action will be quite smooth and strong. Use a hardwood, maple is good, for the runners, and wax over shellac will keep them running smooth for years. Use a stopped groove in the drawer sides, of course.
32" is quite deep for a single drawer. Can you access both ends, and make two drawers (not necessarily of the same depth), end to end? Don't know what you will store there. Not all of the drawers would have to be the same depths. If you plan on carcase stiffness from using a panel back, then you might use full depth drawers top and bottom, and cut out for the middle ones.
Building shop storage is a never ending process, I find.
Alan

[JayStPeter]

Tom,

I don't see a problem using 2 layers of 2/4" MDF for the top. It will keep costs down and work fine. I have a couple of cabinets done this way, including my 30x48 router table top. I edge banded mine with 3/4x1.5" ash to give strength along the sides and put a cross piece in the cabinet to give support in the middle ... just in case the MDF decides to try and sag. I actually bought some angle iron to beef up the router opening, but it hasn't been necessary and I havent gotten round to it.
MDF will warp if you only apply laminate one side. So, if you plan on using plastic laminate, either put it on both sides, or somehow seal the bottom. I think paint or poly should do the trick, but I have laminated both sides of both my cabinets that use MDF tops.
Grinder shavings come off hot, so the sheet metal is probably not a bad idea. I bolted my grinder to a little cabinet with poly over plywood top. I didn't really intend to put it there when I built it, but it has made a mess of the top around the grinder.

Jay

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hi Tom,

are you planning to use any kind of drawer stop?

Regards,

Christian

[Todd Burch]

Hi Tom. (Corel Draw? Nice round-overs!)

2 layers of 3/4 MDF for the top is fine. Laminate on one side for a shop cabinet this size is fine. Glue & screw/nail it to the rest of the box. Glue/screw both pieces of overside MDF together first, then size the whole unit so your sides and clean and crisp and you don't have to spend any time with alignment.

Drawers don't even need side runners - just let them ride on the bottom of the drawer sides. I've had shop drawers that do this for 7 years and they are fine. (Not an heirloom piece - just cheap and fast. A little wax goes a long way).


32" wide drawers are pretty wide. I would use a center partition and double up on the drawers, unless you really need wide drawers. Another option would be to put drawers in one half and a tall cabinet in the other. Doesn't even need a door right away.

Casters can bolt right to the bottom. 1/4" bolt would be fine. Drill the holes and countersink inside the cabinet before you assemble so that the bolt heads won't interferee with the drawer action (or, raise your bottom drawer up a little bit, and that way you get a full thickness bottom where the casters mount.

For a grinder, sheet metal is good. Cheap roof valley flashing would work fine - just drill and 1/2" pan-head screw it to the ply/MDF.

It needs a back for anti-racking. 1/4" material is fine.

Check the height of where the grinder wheel will be when installed on the cabinet and the cabinet on casters. Set the height of the cabinet box accordingly.

That's about a 4-5 hour project, unfinished, including getting the hardware. So, I'll come back after lunch today and look for the pictures!

Todd.

[Tom Sweeney]

I'm having a hard time typing because I'm laughing too hard at Todd's 4 to 5 hour comment - I'm not the cabinet master like you are, you've obviously never seen me work in the shop :D .

Good ideas all - -I mistated the dimensions - it is actually 21" deep. I like the idea of shortening the drawers & making a tall cabinet in one side - I think I have enough ply left to do this so I will.

Christian I'll put some type of stop - maybe just a stopped dado will work.

I'm not sure if I have enough ply to do the top in it - I'll check - I had the MDF in stock & I bought a bunch more & a bunch of 2X & 1Xs from the Borgs cull box for 51¢ each in 4' lengths to help with my storage plans. This all has to be done on the cheap so I'm using what I have as much as possible, though I am toying with banding the MDF in some curly maple I have in stock - also from the Borg.

Well I just got back from Church & walking the dog - so I'll be back before dinner to post the completed pics ;) :rolleyes:

Thanks again guys - the Creek comes through once more.

PS: Forgot to answer Todd's question - mockup was done with Ulead's Photo Impact -nice graphics program almost on par with photoshop but only cost $80.

[Jim Becker]

Drawers don't even need side runners - just let them ride on the bottom of the drawer sides. I've had shop drawers that do this for 7 years and they are fine.

When I was visiting my friend Fred the other day, he showed me in interesting thing he did with the drawers in an oak chest that he recently completed...he used those clear plastic corner guards they sell for drywall on the bottom edges of his drawers to "slick up" their movement. Cheap. Effective. Almost invisible. No wax needed. Really good for Tom's application, too. I think I'll be doing that for my next shop cabinets!

[Christian Aufreiter]

Christian I'll put some type of stop - maybe just a stopped dado will work.



This might be a dumb question but how should that work? If you have a stopped dado how can you pull it out? :confused:

[Tom Sweeney]

In hind sight I didn't think my answer through - I guess this wouldn't work. I'm not sure I'm visualizing Todd's suggestion right - what would the drawer bottoms ride on & what would be the best way to put a stop in? Then again I'm only working on 2 cups of coffee & I woke up too early this morning so my brain hasn't kicked in fully yet. :rolleyes:
I'll do a little more research before I head back out to the shop.
Thanks again


This might be a dumb question but how should that work? If you have a stopped dado how can you pull it out? :confused:

[Todd Burch]

Tom, here are a couple pictures to show you what I did.

The first shot is the drawer bank itself. All MDF with pine face frames. (OK, I cheated - I glued and nailed each piece on separately. Who can tell?)

Next is the drawer pulled out slightly. You can see an ever-so-slight gap at the bottom. If the drawer were pulled out further, it would not fall down, as the "roof" of the drawer box acts as a kicker.

Thirdly, there is the inside of the drawer box opening showing the white oak (or hardwood of your choice) guides/runners, glued in, that I use to:

1) provide the proper side-to-side clearance to keep the box from racking and
2) provide enough clearance on the bottom so that the drawer front and drawer rear to not rub, and the drawer sides will not rub on the face frame, or MDF carcase.

You can still see saw marks in the white oak, and on the last picture, you can see saw marks on the bottom of the drawer side. Over 7 years of use and the saw marks have not worn off yet. I used parafin wax to lube everything up, and they slide better than my factory kitchen drawers do on nylon roller slides. Go figure.

Note the box joints on the drawer box. You need good joinery with this system, since all the stress is on the box itself.

The only drawer stop I use is the back of the case. I glued a small thickness of stock to the back of the drawer. Low tech works.

(I have PhotoImpact too! Oh, and do't laugh at the knobs. 32 porcelin knobs, with screws, & a zip lock bag, for $1 at a garage sale.)

[Jim Becker]

All MDF with pine face frames.

Todd, that's great looking pine on the face frames...it really makes them interesting. I really do like shop cabinetry that looks like a woodworker made it. These are exceptional. Jerry Todd's oak cabinetry in his shop is just as striking. I guess I'm going to have to plan something nice for the cabs I'm planning for my own shop!

[Todd Burch]

Jim,

It's all in the color scheme !!

That's birdseye pine - straight from the "depot". Amber shellac.

[Tom Sweeney]

Now I get it. This is gonna sound really dumb but I was thinking I could get away without using face frames - since it's a shop cabinet- that's why I wasn't able to picture what you originaly posted. I guess if I sprung for drawer slides I could get away with it but since I can't face frames it is. Now I have to use all my curly maple to keep up with those cool birds eye face frames you used. :cool:

I think this is gonna take me more like 6 or 7 hrs - & since I obviously haven't even headed out to the shop it could be a long night :rolleyes: