Ideal Workshop Cupboard

[Barry Burgess]

It's that time of year again and I took a look at my workshop cupboard - a collection of three cupboards from my friendly kitchen cupboard installer, bolted together and mounted on 4" castors and fitted with two layers of 18mm ply as a top. Its too small and only has 3 drawers and no pullout shelves so it is not easy to find pieces at the back.
I took a look at Norms cupboards and have to have the pullout drawers.
I wanted to make it 2400mm long and mount it on castors but was worried that 18mm plywood would be strong enough for the base or would I have to use the MDF/Ply board??
Its mainly for hand power tools, jigs and other bits and pieces.
What should I build in????
I also need to make it time consuming for thieves to get into it.

 

[LyNx]

Why not build a torsion base like the base to my ultimate workstation. Doesn't seem to have moved and the whole unit weights a tonne.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6258

This could be made from 18mm ply or mdf and skinned in 12mm ply/mdf.

Then just make your units on top of this.

Andy

 

[Waka]

I would agree with Lynx on the torsion box, but there is another option, you could use 6 castors instead of 4, the two central ones will stop any sagging.

 

[LyNx]

the only problem with 6 castors is that if the unit is on unlevel ground, the unit will rock, if you know what i mean, but i suppose this will happen with 4 as well.

To be honest, mine has alot of unit ontop of the base and no sign of sagging. If you use a continuous back panel connecting all the units together, this will help stiffen the whole thing.

Andy

 

[paulm]

I am just completing a mobile router cabinet myself, which is just over a metre wide so smaller than you are proposing, but I made a seperate base for it from 2" x 4" softwood with half lap joins and attached the large castors to this before placing the unit on top and securing.

Would have thought this would translate well to what you are proposing, as a possible alternative to Andy's torsion box approach if you preferred.

Would probably use three pairs of castors for the size you are proposing with 2x4 cross members on the base every metre minimum, or thereabouts.

Full extension drawerslides are an absolute godsend and you can get them in the B&Q warehouse at Farnborough although they cost around £12 per pair. You can get them cheaper online if you plan on getting a few pairs which means the p&p is not so bad as it is spread over the whole purchase. One supplier is as follows

http://www.bullerlimited.co.uk/product. ... 0dff1293a7

Sorry but don't know how to post the link properly, but presumably will work if you copy and paste it into your address bar.

Screwfix might do them as well, but I wasn't entirely convinced their type were true "full extension" slides.

Good luck !

 

[Barry Burgess]

I tried to use 6 castors on the original but I had the uneven floor problem which was not as bad with 4 castors but it was 1800mm long - I feel that 2400mm will need 6 castors but some form of leveling??.
The half lapped 2" X 4" should add enough strength to the frame but I was going to use 9mm MDF as a backing board for the added security. I was going to use the half lapped option to the top??

 

[Barry Burgess]

Full extension drawerslides are an absolute godsend and you can get them in the B&Q warehouse at Farnborough although they cost around £12 per pair. You can get them cheaper online if you plan on getting a few pairs which means the p&p is not so bad as it is spread over the whole purchase. One supplier is as follows

http://www.bullerlimited.co.uk/product. ... 0dff1293a7

I was intending to use Buller and use their 600mm slides but assumed that I would have to make a narrow shelf if I wanted to place a drill press or mortiser(weight over 40kgs) on the shelves

 

[paulm]

Not sure quite what you mean about a narrow shelf Barry, but the runners are rated for 45kgs, so as long as they are fixed with sufficient screws and the shelf material is reasonably strong then should be fine.

Partly depends of course on the width of the shelves as to what thickness material would be suitable, but would probably think in terms of 18mm mdf if not too wide, the same with softwood framing/supports if a bit wider, and/or 3/4" ply or thicker if you are really worried !

Take the point about the uneven floor and therefore problems with 6 castors. Might be able to make do with 4 castors and just inset them some way from either end as they don't have to be in the corners. Say 50cm in from each end, leaving a "castorless" span of 1.4m in the middle ? Might be okay if the base frame is solid enough, although I would probably resort to two smaller units myself for preference which would give more flexibility in useage perhaps ?

 

[Barry Burgess]

Not sure quite what you mean about a narrow shelf Barry, but the runners are rated for 45kgs, so as long as they are fixed with sufficient screws and the shelf material is reasonably strong then should be fine.

The spec says that they will support 45kgs if the shelf is 450mm wide??
The Norm version of slides for shelves vs drawers shows the fitting attaching to both the side and under the shelf for extra strength

 

[Barry Burgess]

Why not build a torsion base like the base to my ultimate workstation. Doesn't seem to have moved and the whole unit weights a tonne.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6258

This could be made from 18mm ply or mdf and skinned in 12mm ply/mdf.

Then just make your units on top of this.

Andy

Your cabinet looks very good for a workshop - I was hoping to produce something a little better than my old kitchen cupboards but not up to your standard - too much work I think???

 

[LyNx]

It's only vecause i had the chance for some scrap formica that i laminated it. If not i would have used MDF and painted it. It's good to make things OTT as you learn a few more skills along the way

Andy

 

[Barry Burgess]

It's only vecause i had the chance for some scrap formica that i laminated it. If not i would have used MDF and painted it. It's good to make things OTT as you learn a few more skills along the way

Andy

I have got to make the OTT things for my daughter and SWMBO
I would get - what is that for?? The Workshop!!!!! Where is my *****

 

[LyNx]

i know exactly what you mean......

 

[engineer one]

seems to me that 2400 is just too long. surely it is better to have units which are individually easy to handle and manoeuvre. 2x 1200 would be
my maximum in any material, since it covers the longest tools,
whilst also allowing flexibility. ok you need 8 casters, but anything over
1200 long(wide) is b heavy in any material, and unless you use the torsion
box, then it will bow.

since i am getting to that age where i can make the grand designs, but not move them i tend to think in smaller units. i know it takes more wood,
but does give you much more flexibility on design and practicality.

as others have said elsewhere, you never make the cupboard big enough,
and with a really big one you will not be happy about changing it or destroying it and starting again.

my intended worktop is over 2 metres long, but the cupboards underneath will be in 600 wide units for ease of both movement and manufacture.

may not be what you want to hear, but practical.

all the best
paul :wink:

 

[Garrett in Victoria BC CA]

I needed tool storage as well as work space. This cabinet achieved both. The dimensions are 60"x24" by 31" high (same height as my tablesaw.) A 5th caster under the centre gable eliminates sag. It moves easily, even though it's got a couple of hundred pounds of tools in it.

Construction is simple. The case material is melamine, the gables sit on the bottom, and the top sits on the gables. A 5/8" back keeps everything square. The drawers are 5/8" baltic birch ply with the sides attached to the fronts with sliding dovetails. Full extension drawer slides give complete access.

Cheeers, Garrett

 

[Barry Burgess]

seems to me that 2400 is just too long. surely it is better to have units which are individually easy to handle and manoeuvre. 2x 1200 would be

I think you are right

my intended worktop is over 2 metres long, but the cupboards underneath will be in 600 wide units for ease of both movement and manufacture.

My problem is that I do not want to attach the top to the wall. I want to wheel the unit to where i want it so 600mm would be a problem for me with the garage floor not being level .

One of the units I want to build is for a mitre saw with an in feed and an out feed

 

[Barry Burgess]

Garrett I like your design - The fully extended drawer slides are what I want to install.
I also want some shelves that will carry a singe piece(ie Mortiser) with a weight upto 100pounds

 

[LyNx]

Mine is 1700x800mm wide. It houses my table saw, router table, clamping slots, mitre saw housing and so on. To be honest, it's a bugger to move as is heavy but i'm pushing from the top as i should be pulling from the base, so i'm making a few grab handles.

E1 is right about 2400 being to long, and 2x1200mm could be a good idea. You just need to be able to lock the two halves together.

Either way, it's the most used item in the garage and won't want to be without it

Andy

 

[Barry Burgess]

Mine is 1700x800mm wide. It houses my table saw, router table, clamping slots, mitre saw housing and so on. To be honest, it's a bugger to move as is heavy but i'm pushing from the top as i should be pulling from the base, so i'm making a few grab handles.

E1 is right about 2400 being to long, and 2x1200mm could be a good idea. You just need to be able to lock the two halves together.

Either way, it's the most used item in the garage and won't want to be without it

Andy

Andy I have been spending time with your original design and noticed you simplified the router /mitre saw option. Was there a reason for this?
I want to make a mitre station and liked your swopable router option

 

[LyNx]

Barry, I'll try and post a few pictures over the weekend of the changes i have made. The original design had a removable section that i could replace with the router section. But after using the mockup for a while, i realised that the router section may as well stay in place, just lowering the cutter and replace the insert ring with a solid disk.

Pity your not local, you could pop in and have a look

Andy