This is my latest project, workshop cabinets for DIY workshop with drawers and organizer boxes to store small parts.
This is the 3D file included in the plans for sale on my website, you will find them clicked on the button below.
The sides of the modules measure 620mm in depth. If the boards you can get are smaller than the ones I used, you could consider making the sides 600mm deep and cutting the back part of the bottom which sticks out. This is the first reason I designed it this way, so I could adapt the design to different board measurements.
In the second photo you can see the interior measurements of the drawers. I think few fastener storage cases are over 70mm high, but yours might be deeper or wider.
If it’s deeper, you only have to move the middle part of the drawer as much as necessary. If it’s wider, you have to cut or lengthen the affected parts–the bottoms, the middle parts and the back of the drawers.
The cabinets have to be able to hold quite a lot of weight, so I made them with hard birch plywood. To lighten the total weight of the project a little, I used light poplar plywood to make the drawers.
To open and close the drawers, I used the same system I had used in my Modular Workbench and my Mobile Workbench. I cut some dados on the sides, where the drawer bottoms will slide.
This system allows us to open the drawer almost completely. I’m going to remove the top so that we can take a better look at how it works. It’s a simple but effective system that will reduce the weight and the cost that come with having to install common drawer slides.
Other advantages of this system are that we can move the drawers around the workshop, or change their positions in the cabinets. In the back of the drawers I installed two removable dividers to store all kinds of fasteners.
To join the bottom of the drawers to the sides, I used quite a few screws, especially where the organizer boxes are placed. This is the place that has to bear the most weight, but I don’t think it will be a problem if done this way.
In the third photo you can see that the back of the bottom juts out a little from the drawer, this will help me open the drawer even more and is the other reason why I designed the drawers this way. In the fourth photo you can see that I can open it almost completely.
A way to make the drawers slide more smoothly when opening and closing them is to apply some beeswax on the part of the bottom which slides along the side of the cabinet. If the drawer is very heavy, this trick will be very useful. If, however, the drawer doesn’t have a lot of weight, this step won’t be necessary.
In these photos you can see how easily and quickly I can place the nine drawers I’ve installed in each of the cabinets.
I designed these modules so that the organizer boxes can be opened and closed inside the drawers. To open the drawers, we can use the organizer’s handle, or the handle I machined on the bottom of the drawers.
The organizers can also be removed so that you can take them somewhere else without needing to open the drawer. To do this, simply raise it a little so that it will clear the small wooden stop I installed in the bottom of the drawer.
The plans also include a printable template that you can glue onto the board to help you machine the drawer handles. Since we’re dealing with a lot of drawers, I’ve come up with a system to speed up the construction and machining processes. If you’re interested, you can see this in this video.
To join the modules together, I used screws. In the first photo you can see the floor of my workshop is not square with the wall. To correct these kinds of errors, I installed some height-adjustable legs that you can see in the second photo.
I stored all kinds of fasteners, sorted by purpose and size. In some compartment cases the screws I use most often by sizes. In the back, I placed cases to refill the organizers as I go through all my fasteners.
It wasn’t easy to make this many drawers, but I think it’s a job worth doing. I used to waste a lot of time looking for fasteners, and sometimes I couldn’t find them. This way I can always keep them on hand and know where they are.
I’m planning to make new cabinets similar to these ones to be used with drawer-like plastic storage boxes. If you’re interested in this project, let me know in the comments of this article.
