Rolling Shop Cabinet

[Larry Frank]

I am in the process of building a rolling shop cabinet with drawers and this is how far I have gotten.

The cabinet is made out of 1/2" plywood with oak edging. The cabinet has 3 horizontal frames made out of planed 2x4s. The 1/2" sides are screwed to the frames. The frames are pretty hefty for the size of the cabinet but they work well to pull the 1/2" plywood straight and flat.

The drawers are also 1/2" plywood put together with the Kreg Micro Jig and it worked extremely well. I pre-made the drawer sides from 48" lengths with a groove and the edges slightly rounded and finished before putting them together. It was a bit challenging to use the smaller Kreg screws on 1/2" plywood and I did several trials and built a jig to hold the pieces while driving the screws. I also found that it is extremely easy to over drive the screws in the 1/2" plywood and had to set the clutch on my drill way low to avoid going too deep. The bottoms are 1/4" MDF which is fitted fairly tight in grooves.

I was looking for some economical full extension drawer slides as I can not stand to spend $20 a pair for slides.. I ended up getting some from Woodworkers Hardware that were about $6 a pair and work great. I kind of waited too long to order the slides but was pleasantly surprised at how fast I got them. The UPS guy struggled as the box was heavy but well packed. I think they are a good source for hardware and worth checking out.

Shop Cabinet B.jpg

[Bryan Lisowski]

Larry

that is a sharp cabinet. I am thinking of making something similar to mount my bandsaw to and get some extra storage. Custom Service Hardware is a good place for slides.

[Shane Copps]

Nice. I think it would work great.

[Charlie MacGregor]

Larry, Very nice. I have been playing with a design very similar but maybe closer to 48" tall to maximize the storage to footprint ratio. My concern is that the sides will carry the weight of the drawers and all their contents so how to maximize the strength of the side to bottom joint. Did you rabbet the bottom as with the top so the sides partly rest on the base?
-Charlie

[Larry Frank]

There are three horizontal frames that were made from 2x4 stock planed to 1.3875 x 3.25. The sides are 1/2" Aruaco plywood and not thick enough for a rabbet joint. They are glued and screwed into place. When I made the back and side panels, I carefully laid out where they will go and then taped with blue painters tape before I finished them. I stripped the tape off and then glued them, screwed them and tightly clamped them. They will not come apart. I made another one like this earlier and it has had no problems.

I also pre-mounted the drawer slides before I assembled it.

When it is finished, I will post pictures.

[Rick Potter]

I built one pretty much like it, but without the 2x4's. Six drawers. Made it all out of 5/8 particle board scraps. Dados glue and screws. It is loaded with tools, and has lasted about 20 years so far, with no racking or sagging. Love it, and someday I will build a couple more.

Nice job,
Rick Potter

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Larry,

Nice looking rolling cabinet! I have built a couple for my shop and love them as they can rolled out of the way or to the place nearest where the tools in them are needed.

I, too, like www.wwhardware.com for slides. I use them frequently for drawer slides.