Drawer Height Sizing

[tim walker]

What is the overall height of the opening where these drawers are going to go?

Inside dimensions will be 32.5" tall (changeable) and 30" wide. Side mount self-closing drawer slides at 1/2" thickness each, so the outside dimension of the drawer will be 29" and the slides are 24". Right now I have three sets of cabinets that I will build to have drawers. For one I am thinking 3.9" tall that leaves me with a slightly greater than 3.18" drawer height above the bottom. That allows for 7 drawers in one cabinet. The other two cabinets will probably have a 10" drawer on bottom, and a combo of somewhat larger drawers to the top. maybe 6 or 7" and a couple of 4/5"

[jack duren]

I take I ou I’ll probably be using full extension drawer guides?

not using a face frame in between and will be framesless in between..

when I do something like that , I go to my work bench, clear off the dust and figure my inside dimensions and break down my drawers in between with gaps between and see what works and what I like.

This should be easy..

[Lee Schierer]

Inside dimensions will be 32.5" tall (changeable) and 30" wide. Side mount self-closing drawer slides at 1/2" thickness each, so the outside dimension of the drawer will be 29" and the slides are 24". Right now I have three sets of cabinets that I will build to have drawers. For one I am thinking 3.9" tall that leaves me with a slightly greater than 3.18" drawer height above the bottom. That allows for 7 drawers in one cabinet. The other two cabinets will probably have a 10" drawer on bottom, and a combo of somewhat larger drawers to the top. maybe 6 or 7" and a couple of 4/5"

With a 32.5 inch height you can have one 10 inch drawer one 6, and three 4 inch drawers. That would be nominal sizes not taking clearances into account.

[Tom Bender]

Drawers are wonderful tool organizers. This is an opportunity to optimize. A 4" deep drawer full of chisels and screwdrivers will be a disaster so don't do that. Planning takes a little time and effort.

Tape off a spot or three on your bench the size of the drawer interior and fill it with the tools and hardware you plan to put in it. Take pictures and maybe print them for quick reference. Measure the minimum depth required and add a bit. You may be surprised to learn that you need a few 2 1/2" deep ones. Yes you will have to buy more slides but the cost and extra work will soon be forgotten.

To get the maximum interior volume I glue the bottom into a rabbit so it is flush underneath. This makes sturdy drawers and stuff from the one below won't get hung up on the one above, well not so much. 1/4" baltic birch would be adequate but 3/8" might be better, especially for a deeper drawer.

Shallow drawers at the top and maybe a deep one at the bottom for routers and power saws.

Tool Cabinet.JPG

[tim walker]

Tom, how deep are those drawers? Mine will be 24" deep w full extension, soft close slides.

[Tom Bender]

Slides are 22" full extension, wish I had gone for soft close.

Drawers are 40" ID wide and 22 1/2" deep. The fronts are bowed about an inch.

17 drawers provide 106 square feet.