# Help from the experts......



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi All,

Some time ago, I made a rolling base for my table saw which is now used as a base for the thickness planner.

As you can see, the shelves are getting untidy and I want to make some drawers to hide the mess.

I do not want a single, large drawer at the top and would like to put 2 or 3 smaller drawers on the top.

As the height of the space is too small to get my pocket screw driver in that space, I would like some suggestions from the members as to an easy way to put dividing frames in there....?


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

James
Put center divide in cabinet,you can screw and glue from top and bottom,
Than build face frame with the number of drawers you want mount front of cabinet and install drawer guides build drawers to fit. same way kitchen cabinets are built


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

jw2170 said:


> As the height of the space is too small to get my pocket screw driver in that space, I would like some suggestions from the members as to an easy way to put dividing frames in there....?


use a smaller driver...


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

K.I.S.S. IMHO- You guys are making that more difficult than it needs to be. 

Think of the base as a cabinet carcass. Visualize that a carcass for a cabinet with drawers is completely open inside , with the drawers suspended between the face and the back panel. I use HD drawers slides to hold lots of weight.... then use rollers to help them slide easier.

Make a face frame that will mount the the front of your base. Add another rail to go between the stiles, to divide between the upper large drawer and the 3 smaller upper drawers. Add 2 stiles to divide between the three upper drawers.

Mount two rollers for each drawer to the face where the drawers will be. They are inexpensive. The drawer slides go between the back of the face to back panel at the rear of the carcass. You can mount them either under of above the drawers. For the large drawer, I would use at least 2 slides to hold the weight of that drawer.

Besides being functional... It will also look more "finished."


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Geez
Mike thought I said the same thing just did not take 3 paragraphs


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## aaronhooks (Oct 12, 2013)

Hi James,

Could you attach the stiles to the rail before attaching the rail in the opening? That would leave you with having to drive the pocket hole screws on the end and you would have the 9 inches for your driver? 

I may not be understanding the problem completely - if so - disregard!


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

James looking at your space then I can see a lot of drawers, they keep out the dust and that makes the contents better to sort through, the easiest way would be to make a kit interior, false sides out of 10mm play would not take away that much space from the width so you could make the whole thing up as an insert that you just slide into the space you have. once it is in then screw it in place, looking at the space then you have tons of room so you could design it any way you want, just make it all up out of the unit then slide it in, simple, best regards N


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

James this is a shop cabinet, not a piece of furniture. Add a strip of wood to the bottom of the top, and to the shelf of the cabinet. Then you can attach the divider from the side with brad nails and glue. This will not interfere with your drawer slides at all. Your drawer fronts are going to overhang the front of the drawer and the plywood anyway. I would suggest adding 4 shallow drawers in the space you have.

Dick


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## john60 (Aug 30, 2014)

Make the frame and drawers to fit then slide into the cabinet


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

john60 said:


> Make the frame and drawers to fit then slide into the cabinet


You beat me to it


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## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

Make a blank for either side of the top area. Make the drawers with slides to mate to the blanks. Contact cement (or white glue with pin or 18ga nails) the blanks to the sides and then insert the drawers. Have used this technique (in metal) in switchgear cabinets during a fast turn-around. At most you will lose an inch on each side.

Thank you for a truley interesting question, we need more of these - Baker


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## richjh (Jan 14, 2013)

Building on what Dick said, you could add a narrow strip of wood on top and bottom and then dado the divider to match the strip and slide into place. Glue would hold this permanently or you could brad it from the side into the center strip.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

build an insert in the configuration you want and insert it...


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I agree with the multiple suggestions to build the drawers as an insert and slide them into the opening. I've found that shallow drawers with dividers and full-extension drawer slides work well. The drawer in the photo is 20" wide x 23" long x 2.25" deep and holds a lot of stuff neatly and easy to find.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You may not need to drive screws in a tight space depending on which suggestion you go with but when needed I consider this a must have tool. Reversible Ratchet Screwdriver - Lee Valley Tools With a short bit in it you can drive a screw in a 2" space. Of course it helps if you are using Robertson square drive screws with it.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for all the responses. 

I did not think my problem would raise so many solutions.

At this stage, I tend to favour Dick's (Willway) response. 

This is so simple, I do not know why I did not see it......LOL. Maybe I was locked into a pocket hole mentality.......

I will also try a face frame approach. I did not have this in mind, but it will be good practice...


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> Thanks for all the responses.
> 
> I did not think my problem would raise so many solutions.
> 
> ...


James it's real easy to overlook the obvious. The reason I suggested 4 drawers for the space you have is most kitchen cabinet drawers are only 3 inches deep (3-1/2" sides with a dado for the bottom), with a 5 inch drawer front. With the space you have the strips will not interfere with your drawers, and will never be seen.

Dick


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## John Bradshaw (Sep 12, 2010)

Make 3 boxes 9" wide. That leaves a inch spare for easy separation. Any depth and height is your choice.

John Bradshaw [email protected]


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestion, John.

The project is still on the back burner at the moment....Getting to warm to work outside at the moment...


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

James...sometimes the "do nothing" option might be simplest...

I would build a face frame as you might desire for the drawers (2 vs 3)...do not put in dividers and use bottom dovetail slides between the face frame and the backing of the cabinet. Pocket holes for the front and screw in from the rear for support. You can do the same for drawer support or use two dovetail slides(one on each side of the drawer)...no dividers...the dovetail slides will need to be sufficiently thicker to accommodate rising above the face frame.

...just a thought...


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

James, is this something like you want to do. I couldn't figure out the height, but I did create three top drawers and a split for the bottom.

If you use ball bearing drawer slides, they take up 1 inch of the width for each drawer.

This is all you need if the cabinet has a back on it at least 1/2 inch thick.

Make the face frame using pocket hole construction and attach it to the cabinet.

Attach the drawer slide fronts to the face frame opening. Use a rear mount bracket and screw it to the back (that's why I say at least 1/2 inch thick). You can add an internal piece for additional support.

By using 1 1/2 inch rails and stiles, and 1/2 inch overlay for the drawer fronts, everything will look good.

Note: I am not so sure about the bottom rail. Will it hit the casters and keep them from turning. If so, just make the bottom rail the width of the shelf and nail it in place.

Those drawer slide have 100# rating and they work great under a load. The drawer under my workbench is loaded and it works just fine. There is no need for a side support board for the drawer slides.

Here is my sketch. Let me know what the actual dimensions are and I will make the corrections.

I also included a few pics of the drawer slides used in the baby changing station, the big drawer under my workbench and the 28 inch drawer slides in our kitchen corner cabinets.
Hope this helps.
Mike


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

*Option 2*

I changed the bottom rail to 3/4 inch so it wouldn't interfere with the casters. Basically it is a 3/4 inch edge band for the bottom shelf.

Or, you could keep the original layout and add a 3/4 inch pad underneath the cabinet for each caster.

If you are interested, shoot me the actual dims for your cabinet and I will try to draw it up. I need to practice. 

Mike


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

*Option #2 - Two Drawers*

I like this layout. The drawers would be wider making it easier to store/retrieve tools.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Some time ago, I made a rolling base for my table saw which is now used as a base for the thickness planner.
> 
> ...



Hi James,
I did the same thing you did under my two table saws and the jointer/planer. So I had bought some under drawer slides and pulls when they were on a year end sale and used some of them.

I put a 3/4" plywood partition in each cabinet and on the bench put the slides on before I attached the partition in the carcase. Also installed the slides in the carcase sides before the partition. 

The built the drawer boxes and installed the other part of the slides while on the bench, then slid them in place inside the cabinet. Then I built a face frame from poplar and pocket holed it together and face screwed it to the carcase and plugged the holes. 

The built the drawer faces and installed them on the drawer boxes while they are in the cabinet. 

Then installed the pulls on the drawers.

TADA! See the pictures.

Herb


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Darn, I did it all wrong, I should have read all these post first before writing mine.

Don't want to give you any bum steers here James.
Herb


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

No problem, Herb.

I take into consideration all suggestions, then do it my way.....LOL.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Gaffboat said:


> I agree with the multiple suggestions to build the drawers as an insert and slide them into the opening. I've found that shallow drawers with dividers and full-extension drawer slides work well. The drawer in the photo is 20" wide x 23" long x 2.25" deep and holds a lot of stuff neatly and easy to find.


Oliver I'm building a new workshop and I will post photos when I can, a friend of mine has a lot of open shelves in his workshop and his area is a disaster, its impossible to keep the shelves clean, dust everywhere so I have learned a lot from his experiences, all my storage will be behind doors and in drawers, your drawers are neat and tidy, but they are also clean, when you have doors and drawers then close them and the dust does not get in, it just takes far too much time to clean up, so doors will happen. N


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

neville9999 said:


> Oliver I'm building a new workshop and I will post photos when I can, a friend of mine has a lot of open shelves in his workshop and his area is a disaster, its impossible to keep the shelves clean, dust everywhere so I have learned a lot from his experiences, all my storage will be behind doors and in drawers, your drawers are neat and tidy, but they are also clean, when you have doors and drawers then close them and the dust does not get in, it just takes far too much time to clean up, so doors will happen. N


use sliding doors...
shelves behind...
wheel track them and then you can use the door as wall space...
or containerize and clearly label...


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Some of my doors will be sliding doors Stick, its a big project, I'll post some photos when I have decent ones, just now its still a mess. N


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

neville9999 said:


> Some of my doors will be sliding doors Stick, its a big project, I'll post some photos when I have decent ones, just now its still a mess. N


all the doors pictured are sliders...
(open the pics to the max)...
those wheels are SGD replacement wheels riding on ½x½ angle iron... 
the doors are birch ply... tried OSB but it couldn't handle the weight... (see the clamp rack)


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