Can I really build one for less?

[DavidF]

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=97463-84396-17182757&lpage=none

I need a small wall mounted shop cab and was a) wondering if anybody out there had one to get rid of, b) anybody bought one of these cabs and c) could I build one for less than $45 - not sure I could.

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

I seriously doubt it. It will just all depend on the look you are trying to achieve in your shop. It would certainly cost at least that much to build the same.

 

[Bas]

You probably can't build one for less, not unless you count material you already bought as "free". But we'll have to throw you out of the Authentic Woodworking Craftsman Club if you buy it. You're supposed to make your shop cabinets out of mahogany plywood, using dovetails and haunched mortise-and-tenon construction, then finished using five coats of tung oil.

Go for it!

($45? I smell a coupon user )

 

[DavidF]

I seriously doubt it. It will just all depend on the look you are trying to achieve in your shop. It would certainly cost at least that much to build the same.

Brandon! you're still out there??? I haven't seen you around in a while unless I have missed your posts - how are things?

I am not too bothered about the "great looking shop" thing. I already have a mix of metal shelving and old desks around the place. I like to concentrate my limited shop time on making furniture, unless I can do it really much cheaper than the bought version.

 

[DavidF]

You probably can't build one for less, not unless you count material you already bought as "free". But we'll have to throw you out of the Authentic Woodworking Craftsman Club if you buy it. You're supposed to make your shop cabinets out of mahogany plywood, using dovetails and haunched mortise-and-tenon construction, then finished using five coats of tung oil.

Go for it!

($45? I smell a coupon user )

Ah, all this in preparation for the next shop crawl eh - nope shop cabs are for storage and a bit like jigs, they have to do the job and that's all. Oops, I feel the ejection letter coming already:rotflm:

 

[ptt49er]

David, I have to follow your train of thought. I wish I had time to make my shop magazine purty, but right now I need functional so that's what I go for. You would probably have more that $45 worth of your time tied up in building a cabinet.

 

[rickc]

Only other option I could see would be something from Habitat Reuse. I picked up a set of 4 or 5 for about $30 each. Some a little more, some a little less. Those de-constructed kitchen cabinets work quite nicely.

I mounted mine on slats so I can move them along the wall as the mood strikes me.

 

[Mike Davis]

David, I have to follow your train of thought. I wish I had time to make my shop magazine purty, but right now I need functional so that's what I go for. You would probably have more that $45 worth of your time tied up in building a cabinet.

I would have more than $45 worth of my time thinking about building a cabinet.

 

[Ncdawgs1882]

Only other option I could see would be something from Habitat Reuse. I picked up a set of 4 or 5 for about $30 each. Some a little more, some a little less. Those de-constructed kitchen cabinets work quite nicely.

I mounted mine on slats so I can move them along the wall as the mood strikes me.

Agreed I picked up a set of old kitchen Cabinets for 20 bucks gave them a coat of paint & you could never tell they were used or old!

 

[DavidF]

Only other option I could see would be something from Habitat Reuse. I picked up a set of 4 or 5 for about $30 each. Some a little more, some a little less. Those de-constructed kitchen cabinets work quite nicely.

I mounted mine on slats so I can move them along the wall as the mood strikes me.

That could certainly be an option for sure, although the Pittsboro store doesn't seem to have that sort of thing very often.

 

[DavidF]

Agreed I picked up a set of old kitchen Cabinets for 20 bucks gave them a coat of paint & you could never tell they were used or old!

PAINT! there you go, that's the equivalent of building them! In fact maybe even harder:no::gar-La;

 

[SteveColes]

I'll throw out my $.02, Of you might want to throw it out too:rotflm:
Having completed my shop cabinets, just in time for the shop crawl, I have an opinion. I made mine out of Baltic birch. Nothing fancy, just utilitarian. And I can tell you that I could bought some pretty nice fancy cabinets for what it cost me to build my own.

BUT, I could not have found the sizes that best matched my desires and needs, without going to a "custom cabinet" shop. So from now on, if I can find what AI am looking for, premade, I'll buy it, if not then I'll make it.

If you find what will serve your needs already made at a reasonable price. Buy it.

 

[DavidF]

I'll throw out my $.02, Of you might want to throw it out too:rotflm:
Having completed my shop cabinets, just in time for the shop crawl, I have an opinion. I made mine out of Baltic birch. Nothing fancy, just utilitarian. And I can tell you that I could bought some pretty nice fancy cabinets for what it cost me to build my own.

BUT, I could not have found the sizes that best matched my desires and needs, without going to a "custom cabinet" shop. So from now on, if I can find what AI am looking for, premade, I'll buy it, if not then I'll make it.

If you find what will serve your needs already made at a reasonable price. Buy it.

That's good advise Steve, and I apply that to all sorts of things, be it furniture or shop cabs. If I can buy exactly what I want then I buy it, if not then I make it.

 

[SteveColes]

That's good advise Steve, and I apply that to all sorts of things, be it furniture or shop cabs. If I can buy exactly what I want then I buy it, if not then I make it.

Me with good advise:swoon::swoon::swoon::elvis::elvis::elvis:

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Brandon! you're still out there??? I haven't seen you around in a while unless I have missed your posts - how are things?

I am not too bothered about the "great looking shop" thing. I already have a mix of metal shelving and old desks around the place. I like to concentrate my limited shop time on making furniture, unless I can do it really much cheaper than the bought version.

I'm still here....just busier than ever. I still check out the site on a regular basis but lurk more than I post at this point. I'm sporadic with posting at best these days. Maybe i'll try to latch back in and see if I can get a few more projects going and pitch in a little more. Things have been going pretty well for me.....so I can't really complain much at all.

 

[DavidF]

I'm still here....just busier than ever. I still check out the site on a regular basis but lurk more than I post at this point. I'm sporadic with posting at best these days. Maybe i'll try to latch back in and see if I can get a few more projects going and pitch in a little more. Things have been going pretty well for me.....so I can't really complain much at all.

Good to know things are still going well, keep in touch.

 

[Mike Davis]

Me with good advise:swoon::swoon::swoon::elvis::elvis::elvis:

Yeah, you're full of it, Steve! :rotflm:

 

[JimD]

FWW has an interesting article comparing a store bought table versus a shop built one. The purchased table was cheaper but also cheaper made. FWW's verdict was that the shop built would last and the store bought would not. I suspect the store bought cabinet would not be as well made but I would have to inspect it to be sure. Inexpensive cabinets tend to be particle board stapled together. Dados and rabbets glued and screwed in 3/4 plywood would be sturdier than most store bought, even relatively expensive cabinets. In shop cabinets, sturdy is also important (at least in my shop).

In my shop, I built cabinets of 3/4 AC plywood - about $30/sheet. It is sturdy but not so pretty. I built flat panel doors out of scrap softwood and 1/4 luan plywood using cope and stick bits. When I had some left over Resisthane, I primed them with Kilz and sprayed them with Resisthane. The doors cover the plywood most of the time so I don't have to look at it. Simple to make, sturdy, cheap. They also fit the space.

Jim

 

[Bas]

PAINT! there you go, that's the equivalent of building them! In fact maybe even harder:no::gar-La;

Not really. With all the money you save, you can buy a professional paint sprayer. Since it's a shop cabinet, just mix whatever paint you have left over (it will become sort of drabbish) and spray it on! :wink_smil

Of course, you'll have to spend a little time making a spray booth with a ventilator, and learn how to use the gun, upgrade the compressor (unless you're going with a turbine of course) for which you'll need to run a new circuit etc. :new_blowi

 

[DavidF]

Not really. With all the money you save, you can buy a professional paint sprayer. Since it's a shop cabinet, just mix whatever paint you have left over (it will become sort of drabbish) and spray it on! :wink_smil

Of course, you'll have to spend a little time making a spray booth with a ventilator, and learn how to use the gun, upgrade the compressor (unless you're going with a turbine of course) for which you'll need to run a new circuit etc. :new_blowi

Bas, go and lie in a darkened room somewhere and have a good rub down with a damp copy of the sporting life:gar-Bi

Noooo. I am not building these cabs, even it it would mean I could use my biscuit joiner for the first time....