Several firsts represented here - first go at mock-up in sketchup and my first proper cabinet. So, any & all feedback most welcome! Have been reading over a ton of posts here and absorbing useful suggestions, but still a long way to go. This will be the first of a whole lot of cabinetry as I'll be doing a whole kitchen and a ton of built-ins, so happy to hear comments re: best practices in joinery as well.
This filing cabinet is meant to hold A4 files on a steel frame insert (still need to sort out hardware - any suggestions?). This unit is made to have another stack on top of it (stay tuned for another set of plans coming soon), which will hold a printer on top and several open shelves to hold various kinds of paper and a single short drawer for supplies. I'd welcome suggestions on how to arrange stacking. I've been thinking I might set some dowels in the top of this cabinet which would match up with holes on the bottom of the additional unit and could be removed and plugged if needed in the future.
In terms of timber, I've settled on 18mm birch ply all around with a 12mm stile rather than a full back. I'll be making drawers out of 12mm ply with 6mm bottoms. Joinery-wise, I'm trying to keep this simple as I haven't yet tackled dovetails or mortise and tenon joints. My plan is to assemble most of the frame using pocket screws with holes drilled into the underside of inner pieces (stiles, shelves, bottom, top). I've got a properly tuned track saw for cutting down sheets and plan to use a router (recently acquired Hitachi with 1/2" bits) for dadoes and rabbets. For the back, I'm planning to do pinned butt joints to keep things simple (I've got 16ga and 23ga nailers).
For drawers, I'm planning to use 12mm birch ply, again, using pocket screws, but with a rabbet at the back (sort of shown in diagrams). I'm thinking I'll dado out a 6mmx6mm groove at 1/2" from the bottom and slide in a plywood panel.
That's pretty much it - will be grateful for advice from anyone who has tackled something like this before!
This filing cabinet is meant to hold A4 files on a steel frame insert (still need to sort out hardware - any suggestions?). This unit is made to have another stack on top of it (stay tuned for another set of plans coming soon), which will hold a printer on top and several open shelves to hold various kinds of paper and a single short drawer for supplies. I'd welcome suggestions on how to arrange stacking. I've been thinking I might set some dowels in the top of this cabinet which would match up with holes on the bottom of the additional unit and could be removed and plugged if needed in the future.
In terms of timber, I've settled on 18mm birch ply all around with a 12mm stile rather than a full back. I'll be making drawers out of 12mm ply with 6mm bottoms. Joinery-wise, I'm trying to keep this simple as I haven't yet tackled dovetails or mortise and tenon joints. My plan is to assemble most of the frame using pocket screws with holes drilled into the underside of inner pieces (stiles, shelves, bottom, top). I've got a properly tuned track saw for cutting down sheets and plan to use a router (recently acquired Hitachi with 1/2" bits) for dadoes and rabbets. For the back, I'm planning to do pinned butt joints to keep things simple (I've got 16ga and 23ga nailers).
For drawers, I'm planning to use 12mm birch ply, again, using pocket screws, but with a rabbet at the back (sort of shown in diagrams). I'm thinking I'll dado out a 6mmx6mm groove at 1/2" from the bottom and slide in a plywood panel.
That's pretty much it - will be grateful for advice from anyone who has tackled something like this before!
