Shop cabinets - plywood and mounting drawer slides

[Bas]

I want to build some shop cabinets. Nothing too complicated - face frame, drawers, doors. But, I do want them to last a while, and since it's MY shop, I want them to look good too!

I'm going to need quite a bit of plywood. I have not been terribly impressed with the hardwood plywood here at Lowe's or Home Depot. Occasionally there is a really good batch (the HD in Apex had some red oak ply for a while that had ZERO voids), but it's too much of a hit-and-miss. And at $50/ sheet, it's not exactly a bargain either. Someone mentioned some "shop grade" white oak plywood a while back, but I can't find that thread. That sounded like a good fit for what I'm trying to build. Another thought would be to get prefinished plywood that's used for kitchen cabinets. Considering the cost of finishes (even standard poly), buying prefinished makes more and more sense. Are there any local stores that carry prefinished ply?

The last consideration is actually getting it to the shop. I can't haul anything larger than 4'x4' in my car. Cutting full sheets in half works OK for smaller projects, but with 8+ cabinets, that would cause a lot of waste. So delivery would be a plus.

The second question is about drawer slides. I have a couple of boxes of 18" full extension drawer slides that would be perfect for this project. What is the best way of mounting these in face-frame cabinets? I've seen the method of using a bracket in the back of the cabinet and then screwing it to the face frame, but (a) I'd have to buy these brackets and (b) I plan to make some of the cabinets 24" deep to have a larger work surface. I could run a rail inside the cabinet at 18" to attach the brackets, but that seems like a lot of work. The other option would be to build up the side of the cabinet so it's flush with the face frame. Basically a piece of scrap 18" long and ~2" wide. That's a lot simpler, but a lot of extra material.

 

[jerrye]

With a few days notice I have a 5x10 trailer and a somewhat strong back (complete with weak mind) that can be yours to use. Just let me know.

 

[NCTurner]

Regarding PM, this is the matching thread.

 

[Bas]

With a few days notice I have a 5x10 trailer and a somewhat strong back (complete with weak mind) that can be yours to use. Just let me know.

Thanks Jerry! I may take you up on that offer in a couple of weeks. :icon_thum :icon_thum
Oh, I think we really complement each other: you have a strong back and weak mind, and I have a weak back and a...oh, wait...hmmmm....eh... :rolf:

 

[Dudelive]

Good luck on the cabinets and keep us posted as to how it is done and the looks. As to using the 18 inch slides and mounting them: A 4" - 6" strip of plywood for strength or your choice, attached to blocks at the top underside of the top run from top to bottom and spaced the width of the front mounting. There would be one on each side of each the bank of drawers or you could use a 2x4 or 6 between the banks. That would give a solid mounting which is what you are looking I would think.

As to the material, I will get fussed for this maybe but I would consider MDF and paint of my choice to keep the place bright. If it got messed up then a little touch up with spare paint and you are back to new real quick. Now that is for the cabinets.....natural for the work bench.

 

[bluchz]

Ok This is a design question. If you go with face frame cabinets in the shop aren't u going to lose 1.5" of storage width in your drawers? This is in the shop and looks are important, i mean the only reason my better half picked me is because i'm so handsome! Anyway i just thought in my shop the European style drawers and door fronts are simpler and offer larger openings and more drawer space. I really do like the look of face frame cabinets, but for my shop i think i might go with the other style for small practicality it offers.:qleft7:Just wondering if anyone else looks at it this way?

 

[Dan Bowman]

Bas - you might want to visit Meyer Deco off 401 S. in Garner. They have good prices on prefinished ply (Chinese, but they also have Murphy at a higher price) and they deliver for a very reasonable price. I used to buy things at Wurth, but not any more.
here's the info:

1413 Transport Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-661-6678

 

[Splint Eastwood]

For pre-finished plywood,check out

The Hardwood Store of NC, Inc

www.hardwoodstore.com

They deliver for a reasonable fee.

I believe its $39.00 to Raleigh from Gibsonville.

ph 1888 445-7335

M

Good Luck !

 

[MIKE NOAH]

Bas,
With face frames and full extension drawer slides I usually just build out to flush w/ the opening using scrap. I usually run a strip 2 to 2 1/2 wide from front to rear with a little glue and a few brads or staples it's good to go. On larger/deeper drawers I will put in few screws as well just don't put them in the line the slides will be fastened to. Most if not all of my shop cabinets are built this way and I have never had any problems and those drawers don't get babied.
Mike

 

[Russ Denz]

Bas,
I have a fair amount of 1/2 & 3/4 - mostly 3/4 - furniture-grade Walnut & Pecan ply left over from our remodel; bought it all from Steve Wall up in Mayodan, and am not too excited about transporting it all back to AZ when our properrty sells, so I'll sell it for 50 cents on the dollar, and deliver it for gas expense only from Tarboro.

Getting ready to head for home now, but I'll inventory it in the morning and let you know what I have; actually I need to do that anyway, so thanks for the incentive to do it now.
Russ
yeah, still jealous of all the hair!:gar-Bi

 

[Bigdog72]

+1 on Mike Noah's comments above. It's not a lot of work and you will have plenty of scrap for this purpose. If you build dust frames to separate each drawer installing these spacers is pretty easy. If you don't use a dust frame you just draw a line for the scrap.

On the other question: The one good thing about buying from the BORG is they can cut a sheet of plywood lenghtwise. Whole lot handling a 2x8 rather 4x4 or 4x8 especially is space challenged shops. I know Lowes sells Aruaga (sp?) ply which is pretty good and HD had some Poplar ply that I liked.

 

[bobby g]

Bas,

I buy most of my plywood at Horizon Forest Products off of Poole Road in Raleigh. http://www.horizonforest.com/index.php?page=raleigh-nc They have several grades; Asian as well as US made. I unknowingly bought the Asian once and returned it all for a refund. I've used a lot of the prefinished white maple for the closet systems in our house and really like the results. See the photo in my gallery of the guest closet dresser. Pretty pricey... 3/4" runs about $95 a sheet and then you have some additional expense for the edge tape. But when you're done with the assembly, you're done!

They will deliver but I don't know the cost.

I just build out for the slides in face frame cabinets with strips from the plywood scraps.

Bob

 

[Joe Scharle]

Basically a piece of scrap 18" long and ~2" wide. That's a lot simpler, but a lot of extra material.

Right, if you pad out for the slides you wont need anything in the rear to hold the slides. I glue and pin nail the spacers using a square with the cabinets laying on their backs and install the slides the same way (gravity is my 3rd hand). And 18" drawers will be fine in a 24" box for that matter. Kitchen/shop cabinets go together real quick using the Kreg system. Kreg has/had a little booklet for building cabinets with their system. Basically using a web frame and the bottom to square and attach the sides, back and face frame.
Very good and fast; in fact, I made a roll around shop cabinet (including the drawers) using all Kreg.....NO glue.

 

[Skymaster]

Bas; Plus upteen on padding out for the slides: Just do your math to your advantage: make sure that the faceframe overhang INSIDE the cabinet is a stock size :}:} IE 1/2" or 3/4"
as far as setting your slides make yourself a set of story sticks to set the slides ONTO then screw em on. If you are using the normal slides, the kind that wrap the side and bottom, you can make your life a whole lot easier by applying the bottom of the drawers over the sides since the slides cover the Ply edge. If I can help just holler :gar-Bi

 

[JackLeg]

Basically a piece of scrap 18" long and ~2" wide. That's a lot simpler, but a lot of extra material.

Right, if you pad out for the slides you wont need anything in the rear to hold the slides. I glue and pin nail the spacers using a square with the cabinets laying on their backs and install the slides the same way (gravity is my 3rd hand). And 18" drawers will be fine in a 24" box for that matter. Kitchen/shop cabinets go together real quick using the Kreg system. Kreg has/had a little booklet for building cabinets with their system. Basically using a web frame and the bottom to square and attach the sides, back and face frame.
Very good and fast; in fact, I made a roll around shop cabinet (including the drawers) using all Kreg.....NO glue.

That's how I built the recent shop cabinets. ALL Kreg joinery. Slides were ones I bought from Trufire. Attached directly to the drawer, with a spacer inside the cabinet. Pics in my gallery. Serving my purposes well. Planning to build 2 more soon.

 

[Matt Schnurbusch]

Not sure what type of wood you want but recently there was a thread on here about borg pine plywood, for $24/sheet. I looked at some briefly at the HD in Garner, and it looked pretty good, I didn't see any voids in the edges of the sheets they had in stock. Hard to beat the price.

 

[gdoebs]

I'll be starting on some new kitchen cabinets soon... They are face frame too and to handle the drawer slide issue, I'm building them with the face frame flush with the carcass side so I won't need fillers at all.

 

[Woodburner]

If you have the time (and work out your transport issue) you should consider auctions. As an auction hound, I constantly monitor the auction circuit for wood products business closings (cabinet shops, manufacturing, etc.). I usually find at least one auction within easy driving distance each month, where I go to load-up on whatever I need/want at a deep-discount. In November I attended an auction in Greensboro and purchased over 30 sheets of ½” “cabinet-grade” maple plywood (for less than $12/sheet). I’ve used over half of them on my shop cabinets. Here’s a couple of links:
http://www.irsauctions.com/ (No, it’s not the Fed's site!)
http://www.auctionzip.com/ (Use this site to find auctions near you)

 

[Bas]

A 4" - 6" strip of plywood for strength or your choice, attached to blocks at the top underside of the top run from top to bottom and spaced the width of the front mounting. There would be one on each side of each the bank of drawers or you could use a 2x4 or 6 between the banks. That would give a solid mounting which is what you are looking I would think.

Thanks Dude. Someone once described that construction in a deep bank of cabinets that had room for DC/ compressed air behind the drawers, but he didn't do a very good job at providing details.

As to the material, I will get fussed for this maybe but I would consider MDF and paint of my choice to keep the place bright. If it got messed up then a little touch up with spare paint and you are back to new real quick. Now that is for the cabinets.....natural for the work bench.

MDF is flat, cheap, and easy to paint, so you'll get no fussing out of me. If I ever build cabinets for the garage, there's a good chance I'll use that. But for the shop, I want something that looks woodworkingy. Plus, it will be an excellent opportunity to experiment with cope and stick construction, maybe even doing some raised panels.

Ok This is a design question. If you go with face frame cabinets in the shop aren't u going to lose 1.5" of storage width in your drawers? This is in the shop and looks are important, i mean the only reason my better half picked me is because i'm so handsome! Anyway i just thought in my shop the European style drawers and door fronts are simpler and offer larger openings and more drawer space. I really do like the look of face frame cabinets, but for my shop i think i might go with the other style for small practicality it offers.:qleft7:Just wondering if anyone else looks at it this way?

I've thought about that several times as well. I'm fortunate enough that my shop is big enough I can afford a little waste. I like the look of face frame cabinets too, and construction wise, I'd rather make face frames rather than gluing strips to the carcass edges. Getting that perfectly flush is always a little finicky, and I've already done that on several projects. I do need to build a cabinet one day for the sink in the finishing area, that one will most likely be frameless.

Bas,
With face frames and full extension drawer slides I usually just build out to flush w/ the opening using scrap. I usually run a strip 2 to 2 1/2 wide from front to rear with a little glue and a few brads or staples it's good to go. On larger/deeper drawers I will put in few screws as well just don't put them in the line the slides will be fastened to. Most if not all of my shop cabinets are built this way and I have never had any problems and those drawers don't get babied.

Mike - and everyone else who provided advice on the buildup: I think this is the way I'll go, at least for the cabinets where you have one drawer over two doors. For a full bank of drawers, I might get creative. That'll depend on whether that's the first of the last cabinet...if the last I'll probably look for the "time efficiency solution" (a.k.a. I'm so sick of this project I need to get it done!)

Thanks for the great advice everyone.

 

[Bas]

Bas - you might want to visit Meyer Deco off 401 S. in Garner.

For pre-finished plywood,check out The Hardwood Store of NC, Inc

I buy most of my plywood at Horizon Forest Products off of Poole Road in Raleigh.

Boy it's nice to have options

If you have the time (and work out your transport issue) you should consider auctions. )

Yeah, I've seen some of the prices - boy you could make a killing there. Of course, investing in a trailer hitch + trailer means buying a LOT of plywood to break even But $12/ sheet, wow....

On the other question: The one good thing about buying from the BORG is they can cut a sheet of plywood lenghtwise. Whole lot handling a 2x8 rather 4x4 or 4x8 especially is space challenged shops. I know Lowes sells Aruaga (sp?) ply which is pretty good and HD had some Poplar ply that I liked.

I think you mean Auraco. And yes, the Poplar ply (or any of their hardwoords for that matter) are pretty decent at times, it's the hit-and-miss part that makes life difficult. I'd hate to arrange transport and find out someone at the factory was having a bad lamination day.

As for handling large sheets - you got that right! If I move my workbench I have a big enough area to break down a full sheet with a circular saw, but only barely. I've heard of the trick of putting a sheet of insulation beneath it so you don't have to mess with sawhorses. But a panel saw sure would be nice. As much as we complain about the BORG at times, this is definitely where they have a plus.

Not sure what type of wood you want but recently there was a thread on here about borg pine plywood, for $24/sheet.

Any kind of hardwood. Ideally white oak, but maple, birch well almost anything really. I never even thought of Walnut, but the idea is growing on me.

Bas,
I have a fair amount of 1/2 & 3/4 - mostly 3/4 - furniture-grade Walnut & Pecan ply left over from our remodel; bought it all from Steve Wall up in Mayodan, and am not too excited about transporting it all back to AZ when our properrty sells, so I'll sell it for 50 cents on the dollar, and deliver it for gas expense only from Tarboro.

Thanks Russ - glad I can help Let me know when you get your inventory done. I had never even heard of Pecan Ply (almost as fun as Apple Ply :slap!

I guess I now need to start figuring out how much I actually need....

Thanks everyone! You've been singularly unhelpful by not all saying "Go to X, they have the best material at a good price, nobody does better" Who says you can't find good plywood anymore!