Workshop Organiser for fixings and fiddly stuff

[SawdustMaker]

Hi All,

I would like some constructive feedback on this small workshop project i have in mind. My project is to make a storage unit for 100 of these little green boxes as demonstrated by my little helper. The tubs will help me reach my inner nirvana for organisation of fixings and fiddly bits around the workshop.

The location for the unit is the workshop so it does not have to be a masterpiece just functional and strong. As my workshop is only a standard garage wall space is at a premium so my plan was to construct something along the lines of the photo below, fixed to the workshop wall and having two hinged parts.

The outer carcase being made of 18mm plywood with the individual dividers out of say 12mm ply. The front would hinge open to reveal the remaining 50 tubs behind. The unit would be made of 4 identical sub units.

Overall the unit would take up 1.28m x 0.58m on the wall and be 346mm deep.

So to my questions.

1) Have I over engineered the carcase (18mm ply) / divider(12mm ply)
2) Does anyone foresee any issues with hinging the front units. I was planning to use normal steel butt hinges but did consider that perhaps a piano hinge would be better.
3) For the carcase corner joint. The following drawing shows a basic lock joint

My main concern here is the cantilever load on the carcase and figuring the lock joint is stronger and more resistant to racking due to the load. I also have a back on the unit made from say 3mm hardboard. To help with taking the load I intend to add supports to the underside of the fixed units so that they support the hinged part when closed (abit like door supports)

However at the same time I have considered just a butt joint with biscuits as this would be much faster than me having to rout out the lock joints.

Any comments / recommendations etc would be most welcome.

Thanks

 

[Shultzy]

Hi SawdustMaker, the lock joints are ok but I would suspect that biscuits are just as strong. I would use french cleats to hang the unit on to the wall. The piano hinge spreads the load out and is probable easier to fit. I would use 18mm for the rear box sides and 12mm for the fronts with 6mm for the dividers if you use halving joints. I think a dowel (or biscuit) would be sufficient to locate the front units when closed.

 

[OPJ]

I agree. The joints would work well but, it's a lot of extra work when you could do it with a biscuit jointer.

 

[SawdustMaker]

Thanks Shultzy & Olly

I was hoping that the biscuit joiner was strong enough. I will go with that and fit a piano hinge.

Thanks guys and have a great weekend

Regards

 

[SPinonit]

Would it work for you if you swapped around the front units so that they open outwards and the hardboard 'backing' then becomes a face? This would mean the units are covered, which may held to reduce dust / debris etc, but would also mean that you could get to all 100 individual compartments when the fronts are opened out. At present, it looks as though you sacrifice 50 compartments in each configuration - ie when the fronts are closed or open?

Steve

 

[SawdustMaker]

I had considered the dust aspect as then I can also mount some tools or whatever to the flat front. One point against is that for every item I need to open the unit up whereas in the original plan I only need to open up the unit for the back 50 tubs.

It's a good thought and to be honest I have not fully decided. Guess my decision will be made when it's hinge fixing time.

 

[RussianRouter]

A rack that revolves and can be fixed to the wall at waist height,each compartment will hold 25 of those boxes so that means a four sided rotating rack...this will then have less impact on space than a long high rack affixed to the wall.

 

[hivisvest72]

Hi, firstly excellent diagram of the problem, a baby buried in green boxes, "a picture really does paint a thousand words". Also, kudos on your sketchup design - I'm still trying to get to grips with the finer points of designing something on there (and working out how much I could actually have got built by the time the model is done).

Anyway, onto your predicament - I would have thought there would have been a fair strain on the wall mounting and hinges if the doors opened as in your diagram, especially if you have a fair amount of weight accumulated in the boxes in the doors.

How about the option of having the doors slide from left to right on runners, that way you would still be able to hide the back containers, but not have the whole thing leaning out to the front straining the fixings.

You could either split the doors and have them slide each way, or have one big door.

May not be practical for the space you are working in but thought it worth raising as an idea.

Of course, if you really wanted something a bit special, then how about something like a vertical carousel (like the image below but without the blue boxy bit around it), but that might be pushing it a bit!

http://www.verticalcarousel.biz/Images/Vertical Carousel.jpg

Cheers

Alan[/url]