# Shop storage



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I have a fairly small shop, and storage has always been an issue. When I bought the shop, the previous owner had built a workbench in the shop sometime in the 70's. While not elegant looking, he built it to last out of a frame of 4x4 and 2x6 framing. He topped it with a solid 2 inch top, and the oddly enough, placed a sheet of plywood over the front, with three odd sized drawers and two different sized sets of doors in the front. Now none of the drawers were terribly useful, and the doors just hid the dust under the bench, so yesterday I decided to do something about it. 

I ripped the front off, tore the drawers out, and made two spots under the bench 33 inches tall by 30 inches wide. I had always kinda planned on buying two rolling toolboxes to fit under the bench, but I'm a woodworker, so why not build my own. 

To anyone that's interested, I'll post progress images as I go. 

For now, I picked up two sheets of 3/4 inch sanded ply from Home Depot, and using my excel layout, ripped it down into 4 sides, 2 tops, 2 bottoms and 2 backs. 

I always try to layout my plywood cuts to minimize waste, and I've found an excel spreadsheet works well for my purpose.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

cut plans are color coded. Green is scrap


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Plywood cut to rough sizes.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I trimmed all the pieces to final sizes...








Then using a sacrificial fence cut the dados on the side pieces for the tops, bottoms, and backs


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

You are making progress, THAT'S GOOD!

Dale in Indy


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## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

Cool to see your project..


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

One box glued up. I'm sure glue and clamps would hold it forever, but since it's imported plywood of unknown quality (nothing that's worrying me so far) I also shot around 20 brads from various directions. Since I only have enough long clamps to do one at a time, it's all the progress I made tonight.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I've now added 3/8 thick edging to the front edges....glued and nailed....and then nail holes filled. I'll sand tomorrow.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So they've been sanded, and two coats of poly brushed on. Varathane no odor poly is my finish of choice for shop stuff. It's easy to put on in the house, and is fairly durable.


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## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

Doing nice work..That ply is not bad looking..How was it to work with?


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Not bad at all....

I was a bit bummed as I thought it was the plywood I'd used to build my router table, and therefor would match. But after cutting it all, I realized I'd used it to build my father in laws planer stand and my router table was maple ply.

It matched the cherry trim fairly well.


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## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

ryan50hrl said:


> Not bad at all....
> 
> I was a bit bummed as I thought it was the plywood I'd used to build my router table, and therefor would match. But after cutting it all, I realized I'd used it to build my father in laws planer stand and my router table was maple ply.
> 
> It matched the cherry trim fairly well.


 Thanks..I was think of trying some for shop stuff also..


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So two coats of poly are on, and I've started attaching casters. This is one of the few things I buy from harbor freight, as I've not had any issues with the few dozen casters I've bought there.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

With casters attached, the cabinet fits into the previously under utilized space. I do need to remove the randomly placed 2x4 from behind the cabinet so they slide back further. 

Next for drawer construction.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

If it were mine, I would take the two shells you just made and put two or three drawers in each one. I don't see the benefit of the two big boxes for my small shop.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Toolman50 said:


> If it were mine, I would take the two shells you just made and put two or three drawers in each one. I don't see the benefit of the two big boxes for my small shop.


I am......they're getting 4 drawers each. Hopefully I'll get started on drawers tomorrow. 

They'll have 2 x 8 inch drawers, 1 x 6 inch drawer, and 1 x 3.5 inch drawer each. 

I've ordered gliderite full extension drawer slides.....and the drawers will be made out of 1/2 inch baltic birch.


The overall goal is to have home built roll out tool boxes. I had intended at one point to buy 2 craftsman tool boxes, but decided I could do this cheaper, and they'd fit better.


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## mat 60 (Jul 9, 2012)

ryan50hrl said:


> I am......they're getting 4 drawers each. Hopefully I'll get started on drawers tomorrow.
> 
> They'll have 2 x 8 inch drawers, 1 x 6 inch drawer, and 1 x 3.5 inch drawer each.
> 
> ...


 They will look way better in your shop than the tool boxes....Like the job your doing and fit nice under the bench..


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I'm running low on supplies to finish the project. I only have one sheet of Baltic birch for the drawers, and no maple or cherry for drawer fronts so until I make the 4 hour run over to my lumber supplier in a few weeks, progress is going to slow a bit. 

Tonight I did start carving up the one sheet I had into 4 drawers worth of material. 

2 x 8 inch deep, 1 x 6 inch deep and one a bit over 3.5 deep.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

The box of drawer slides also showed up, so while I can't do much with them, at least their here now.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Using a stop block clamped to the fence on the radial arm saw, I've ensured that all drawer lengths and widths are the same. I did adjust the blocks position between cutting the 8 sides and moving on to the 8 front and backs.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I now have a full set of fronts and backs as well as sides. Sadly I only had enough material for one cabinet, so I'll end up repeating this again in a few weeks.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Looking good.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Well I had enough 1/2 inch material to make one cabinets drawers, and I cut all the bottom dados in them tonight, however after digging around my wood stash, I only had enough 1/4 inch material for 2 bottoms.....that is until I cut it wrong!!! So I'm officially out of material for a few weeks until I can go find some more Baltic birch.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Well I'll be back in business soon!! $600 bucks of lumber loaded up!!


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So back in biz....started gluing up drawers tonight. I know some will say these won't hold up, but I've made dozens this way over the years and never had one come apart. (Knock on wood). 

If they weren't for shop cabinets, I'd dovetail them, but for simple shop cabinets, glue and brads work for me.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I glue the bottom panels in for added strength.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Glue the edges...


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

And then pop a few brads in....using a small scrap for keeping everything lined up


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Using a square in the corner to ensure the drawer is square, I then nail the bottom down to the back panel, keeping it square.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

Looking good, YOU are to neat and tidy for OLD me, hehe.

Keep on, keeping on,

Dale in Indy


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

First coats of poly on the first set of drawers...


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

And now another set of drawers to get built....


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Drawers being installed...


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Each drawer is installed using a spacer off the last one.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

All the drawers installed.....


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## ron.morrissey (May 1, 2016)

Man that is some quality work there buddy! You and I would get along great being organization freaks lol


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks!! The funny part is organization is not usually my strong suit!!


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Nice work. Hope it works out for you. At work we are not allowed to build cabinets,etc under tables,etc because they eventually get cluttered . We have to build all cabinetry above table height mounted to the wall. This so we can keep the floors clean. At first I disagreed but now it's starting to make sense. I'll try this in my shop garage as soon as I get it cleared out...

Lookin good:thumbsup:


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

In a perfect world id prefer storage are eye level, but my shops pretty small, and there's no room for wasted space.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

And more finishing on drawers....I really wish I had a spray booth here....hand finishing sucks!!!


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## new2woodwrk (Mar 16, 2015)

That's a great looking cabinet - thanks for sharing - mind explaining exactly what kind of poly you used? I need to finish a few things and I like the look you got out of your cabs.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Here's the poly I've used on all my shop cabinets and stands...easy to put on, good cleanup, and no odor. 

https://www.menards.com/main/paint/...452928405-c-7967.htm?tid=-5734930200263646705


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## new2woodwrk (Mar 16, 2015)

Thanks ryan - of course our local stores don't carry this LOL


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

It's available on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Y4IJLO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_kFlkxbZVCMGMR


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## da hammer (May 3, 2016)

I hope this isn't considered a hijack, as I have been following this build and being a new woodworker I learn a lot from posted projects like this. 

I have a question for you or the masses that follow this site. When you cut your dado on the base of the cabinets with the sacrificial fence, how do you keep the plywood flush to the fence without it "drifting" away from it and messing up your straight line dado? I find when I cut larger pieces of material keeping the material consistently against the fence can be an issue. I know feather boards help, but for large pieces sometimes you can't get a feather board on the table. Is this something that I will simply get better at with practice? 

Thanks in advance


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Practice.....and if needed an extra set of hands to allow mine to guide the work rather than move the weight or support it. 

But mostly practice.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

If you look in post 4, one thing that really helps is to ensure your sacrificial fence isn't any more cut up than necessary. If you've used it for a 1 inch deep dado, and then you switch to 3/8 inch deep, there's a gap between the blade and the top of the groove on the fence that can be problematic. Make your sacrificial fences cheap and quick to replace.


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## da hammer (May 3, 2016)

Thanks for the tips!


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So all the drawers are now installed in both cabinets....










And I've moved onto gluing up drawer fronts. They'll have to be multiple pieces as they're too wide for one board. 











I'm really going to be glad to get this project done as the shop looks like a bomb went off since I took the old drawers out.


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

ryan50hrl said:


> Here's the poly I've used on all my shop cabinets and stands...easy to put on, good cleanup, and no odor.
> 
> https://www.menards.com/main/paint/...452928405-c-7967.htm?tid=-5734930200263646705


This stuff is great. It's my favorite water based poly. It goes on very nicely, and dries quickly. I like it much better than Minwax.


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

Oh, and the cabinets are looking good, Ryan!

I just made a bunch of shop cabinets, but I used white 3/4 melamine. No finishing!


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

These cabinets are looking great!! I'd love to build new shop cabinets this summer,but I don't see it in the budget.

I really need to tear out everything the previous owner built in and then replay/redesign my entire shop.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks!! 

I have a bit more into these than I had planned, but they'll be worth it to me in the end. 

Case plywood $80
Drawer plywood $120
Drawer slides $60
Casters $32
Drawer fronts $30
Drawer pulls $10
Edging $6
Polyurethane $20
Misc hardware $3 

So at roughly $180 a unit, they're about on par with a mediocre metal rolling drawer set, but they fit where I want them, they match my other shop cabinets, and they were proudly built in the good ol USA (although of lots of foreign materials) 

I had this little epiphany the other day, these drawers were built using materials and tools from all over the world. 

Woods from Asia, South America and North America

Tools from Europe, Asia and North America 

Hardware from Asia and North America 

And who knows where all the components of the tools came from. It really is a small world these days.


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## new2woodwrk (Mar 16, 2015)

They look great - I'm going to be using this thread as a sort of design reference for some small drawers I'm going to install in my rolling carts.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I cut all the drawer fronts to size one at a time, using shims to set gaps. As this will be in my dusty shop, I set all gaps at 1/16 or less to minimize dust intrusion.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So it's time to finish the drawer fronts. First step is to get the handles drilled. I wanted to set them all 2 inches down from the top of each drawer to match the router table, so I set up the combo square to mark the 2 inch line. 









Next I needed to mark the center point of the drawer. Set the combo near where you think the center is, Mark it, flip it around and Mark again. Then move the square to the center of those two lines and Mark your center. 









Finally set a compass at 1/2 the handle drill width, and using the center point you just marked, Mark your drill points. 










As always, test a scrap piece first. 











Drill the holes and then move on


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Moving to the router table, set the roundover bit up, and start with end grain on all sides. 


















Keep in mind, end grain splits out easier when routing, so by routing the end grain first, if you end up with this....










You can go back when routing the edge grain and fix it. 










If I had routed the edges first, I'd have been screwed.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

One last set of things to polyurethane...


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## da hammer (May 3, 2016)

Awesome looking and very helpful tips!


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

Looks too nice for a shop project! Jealous...

My shop projects are made of scrap mdf/ply/whatever....is usually just nailed/screwed and glued. #ghettoshop


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

My shop projects used to be, but I decided recently if it was important enough to build, it was important enough to build right.


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## new2woodwrk (Mar 16, 2015)

Ryan thanks so much for this - I made 2 of my drawer boxes yesterday using this thread (not as perfect as yours) and this thread as a tutorial is a great resource!


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

With the last coat of poly going on drawer fronts, I got to thinking and decided the top drawers need dividers as they will be filled with lots of little shop tools and supplies. 

Since I don't know quite how they'll be used yet, I decided they should be adjustable....


10 strips ripped slightly shorter than the drawers, one set the width and one the depth...


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I then create logs of the dividers using painters tape. By cutting them all at once, I ensure they'll go together when assembling the dividers. 









I then set the dado blade at just over the width of the plywood, and set it against a sacrificial fence. 









Cutting the ends where they'll mesh together in the corners

















I opted for 3 inch apart dividers toward the sides, so I moved the fence 3 inches out (plus the sacrificial fence, since I didn't zero the indicator). Then did another cut, by flipping the log and cutting again, I ensure the dividers aren't directional specific.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Moving it another 3 inches, and then finally making one cut in the center of the width wise dividers, I'm left with these. 









Then on to assembling in the drawers.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Drawer fronts have been installed with the handles...


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

They turned out great. I really like your approach to the adjustable drawer inserts. Neat idea.

Mark


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks. I may redo some of them, as some of the spaces don't quite fit the things I'd like them too.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

Are you SURE these aren't 'night stands' for the master bedroom????????

Very NICE!

Dale in Indy


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## new2woodwrk (Mar 16, 2015)

That is one sweet project - and the level of detail of your posts are incredible and greatly appreciated.

If I understand and have read correctly - you used 3/4 ply for the cabinets and 1/2" ply for the drawers?

What about the bottom of the drawers and the fronts - what thickness did you use on those - did I miss it?


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks! 

I did use 3/4 for the cabinet, 1/2 Baltic birch for the drawer sides, 1/4 Baltic birch for the drawer bottom, and planed the drawer fronts to 5/8. 
5/8 on the drawer front leaves a profile I like using the roundover but I have, but no reason they couldn't have been more or less.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I went back and added some additional cuts in the dividers to make them more adjustable...









And then drilled out the backs of the front most divider to allow for the drawer front mounting screws. 









Then started installing dividers.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

With that....I do believe the cabinets are now complete.


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

Great build thread & great build in general. Thanks for the ride. I enjoyed it.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks!! I got them in place tonight and started loading them up. 









It will be great to get the shop cleaned back up.


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

Nice thread Ryan! I think I'll steal the idea for dividers so I can organize my screw and nail drawers.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks!! None of the ideas were terribly original on my part. While there were no "plans" used, my whole build was a combination of things I've seen before, all rehashed to fit my needs and sizes. 

I do think I'll be making more dividers as I've started filling the drawers, and more dividers would come in handy for other drawers.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

YOU have it all WRONG.

They belong under a vanity in the BRIDES bath for all her jewelry, etc. 

Good job,

Dale in Indy


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## pikeman56 (May 18, 2011)

What are the dimensions of those cabinets? I'm in the process of planning some of my own and like the size of those.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

They're 27 wide, 24 deep, and 33.5 tall including casters.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

pikeman56 said:


> What are the dimensions of those cabinets? I'm in the process of planning some of my own and like the size of those.



I'd note that I could have made them a bit deeper under my bench, but they were partially designed for sheet good efficiency. I wanted to use as much as possible without wasting materials. For example, they're 24 deep rather than the 27 they could be so I could split a 48 inch wide sheet of plywood for the cases. After adding edge trim, 24 was the most efficient depth I could have.


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## pikeman56 (May 18, 2011)

Thanks!


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