Cabinet Drawer Question

[tim walker]

I am building a couple of side-by-side cabinets for the shop. They will be 30" wide. The space between the top and bottom inside will measure 34". Should I make all the drawers the same thickness ( about 5 1/2") or would I utilize staggered drawers more, say 4 drawers at 3" depth etc? Recommendations are welcomed on this storage solution. I will be making something separate for my Festool systainer slide outs so not putting much with height in the drawers.

[glenn bradley]

I prefer graduated drawers and prefer FULL EXTENSION . I find graduated drawers more useful for the variety of things I have.

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Even when only slightly graduated the thing that just won't quite fit in drawer 3 will fit in drawer 4.

[mike stenson]

I just built a bunch of cabs for my shop. I've found that, for me, deep drawers tend to gather junk. So I did this. Seems a lot like my metal tool chest that way

[jack duren]

Any drawer that doesn’t have a specific use is a catch all drawer. Same for mechanics tools

[tim walker]

Mike, how deep are your drawers and what bottoms did you use, 1/4 or 1/2"

[mike stenson]

560mm / 22 x 50mm/2", 90mm/3 1/2" and 110mm 4 1/4". Bottoms are 1/4" baltic birch. The narrower drawers on the left are the same, but that's where I store my heavier items. Like the granite reference plate.

[Jim Becker]

In my shop, while there's some utility to having a deep drawer or two, I get the most utility out of shallow drawers because of what gets stored in them. The best answer to your question is to decide what's going to be kept where and design your drawer system to accommodate. Slightly deeper is better than too shallow if you decide that even depths is the best setup for you. And yea...full extension for sure. You will always need 'that thing' all the way in the back more frequently than you expect. It's a natural law or something!

[Carl Beckett]

I just did a cabinet with drawers - almost always do some degree of graduation. This cabinet is 7 drawers in 26 inches.

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I tend to like top drawers for smaller stuff, so depending on depth I sometimes put sliding trays to effectively create another layer. (when I dont want to make additional drawers)

Full extension slides. But be careful, I bought some labeled full extension and they were really 3/4 extension. That cost me since I didnt realize until after opening.

[Jay Aubuchon]

+1 for graduated drawers and full extension slides. Because of the overhang of the top, I wish I had used over travel slides for the top drawers.

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[tim walker]

For lighter drawers(or drawers that may only have screwdrivers or pliers, is it ok to to just use a rabbit and 1/4" ply screwed and glued to the bottom or would you still use a dado unglued?

[mike stenson]

For lighter drawers(or drawers that may only have screwdrivers or pliers, is it ok to to just use a rabbit and 1/4" ply screwed and glued to the bottom or would you still use a dado unglued?

You could probably get away with it. I didn't because I just set up to run all the grooves, for all the drawers, and did em at once.

[Robert Hayward]

For lighter drawers(or drawers that may only have screwdrivers or pliers, is it ok to to just use a rabbit and 1/4" ply screwed and glued to the bottom or would you still use a dado unglued?

As Mike said you might be okay, but..... A year from now or whenever you decide to put something heavier in the drawer and the bottom falls out. Why not use the standard method from the start and not have to deal with it later?

[Jim Becker]

For lighter drawers(or drawers that may only have screwdrivers or pliers, is it ok to to just use a rabbit and 1/4" ply screwed and glued to the bottom or would you still use a dado unglued?

I favor glued for this kind of application.

[Ron Citerone]

I love glue blocks under the drawer bottom.

[Doug Garson]

+1 on deciding what you want to store in a drawer before setting the depth. I have a drawer in my flip top cart for my planer and spindle sander that is 1/2" too shallow to store my ROS upright. Everytime I put it in the drawer on its side I kick myself.