Craftsman Tool Cabinet 10 Drawer

Introduction: How to Constitute a Tool Cabinet Workbench Exploitation Reclaimed Natalie Wood for Low-level 100$ - Part 1: the Joyride Cabinet

Hi, in this tutorial I will explain how to make a tool cabinet workbench using reclaimed wood from wood pallets and a couple of different materials for low 100$. The saved wood I utilised is softwoods like spruce and cedar wich is non the best for a running surface as it will scratch and incision very much to a greater extent than hardwoods but with an hevy surface of varnish it should stay ok for a while. And its a workbench anyhow, its normal for it to be familiar skyward, it gives it character!

The instrument cabinet workbench will be made of two seperated modules, for each one along wheels: the tool chest part and the table part. The toolbox is approximately 2 feets by 2 feets with an height of 4 feets. The table will glucinium 2 feets by 4 feets. The tutorial bequeath be separated in two parts, one for each module.

Things you'll need:

Tools:

- Jigsaw

- Miter saw

- Table proverb

- Clamps

- Straps *

- Belt sander

- Wood glue

Materials:

- Woods pallets (quantity ranging from 4 to 10 depending on multiple factors)

- MDF/plyboard sheets

- Draftsman slides

- Furring strip board

- Screws

- Wheels

Disclaimer: This is one of my first large build and my first tutorial so thither will probably be a few unoptimized steps and mistakes made along the way. Take this many as a software documentation of my building project to a higher degree as a tutorial to travel along to make the perfect tool cabinet worbench (because let's face it, its far from perfect)

Disavowal #2: I'm French Canadian so at that place might be a couple of english mistakes Here and there, sorry in rise!

Step 1: Programme Out What You Want Your Tool Cabinet Workbench to Look Like.

For me anyway, this is one of the most fun stairs of any project. Thinking more or less IT, designing it, drawing it out. When I'm out and about and I think of a recent project I will usually use a drawing app on my telephone to draw a quick scetch of what I might be mentation about. But when I bewilder home and the time comes to rattling architectural plan IT out, I usually gor for the good old pencil and newspaper publisher. I will draw some views of it, excuse how some parts will influence and toy with the base measurments of the thing. If you really want to you tooshie even use a 3D drawing package to truly die down all in in the planification phase but I usually like to leave Pine Tree State some jiggle room to change whatever functionnalities of my project and making a 3D drawing is overly more of a consignment to change the design along the way for me.

Advantageously anyway, I went with a design of instrument cabinet work bench wich consists of two unconnected modules. The first one is a 2x2x4 feets tool case on wheels with 4 drawers ranging in sized from 5 inches deep to 14 inches deep. Two five inches happening the whirligig, an peak inches and finally the great 14 inches. The second module is a table with a ledge wich testament atomic number 4 gone on in the second separate of the tutorial.

Atomic number 81;DR: Decide on the SHAPE and dimensions of your toolbox workbench.

Step 2: Find Unrestrained Wood Pallets Online

Endure connected local classified advertisements internet site and search for the great unwashe that are donating wood pallets. I found mine at an hardwood floor manufacturer which was giving departed piles of pallets and (luckily) I even found a hardly a MDF sheets in at that place that they were freehanded away too. Over again I wish say that if you can ascertain hardwoods it would be a lot better as a running surface, but softwoods treated with a in effect coat of varnish will do. The pallets I found were in majority made of spruce and cedar.

You'll of course need a pretty large vehicule to bring them back. A pickup Oregon simply a trailer will do. I had a pickup truck.

The amount of pallets you will need will depend happening a lot of factors: the quality of the Wood, the size of the surface you desire to make, the thickness of the surface you want to make and the nitpickingness with which you will choose your boards. Anyway, I went with about ten pallets, and I ended up with quite very much of surplus, which was nice because I could discard much of boards that were bent or that contained excessively many imperfections.

Once you bring them back, you will want to form them by type of wood and thickness of the boards, it will fare important subsequently.

Thallium;DR: Find old Sir Henry Wood pallets for free if you can.

Step 3: Break down the Pallets

At this sharpen you have two choices: you send away either disassemble the boards of the pallets and move out all the nails and end up with 30-40 inches segments or you can simply cut them betwixt where they are nailed and end up with 12 to 16 inches segments. I distinct to cut them American Samoa I didn't find out the nail pulling process being very gratifying.

So I first used a saber saw to hack the boards as close as possible to where they are nailed. In the end it took about 1 to 2 hours and I needed to change my barrage fire double. You will want to livelihood them organised as they were before as to not mix different type of woods and heaviness together.

I then took the resulting boards and trimmed the ends straight with a miter saw. Preceptor't look at the distance of the boards, you leave want them to be of wholly distinguishable duration as it will look better (in my opinion) if the lengths are random.

TL;DR: Cut the boards of the pallets and cut their ends straight.

Step 4: Gash Your Boards to Their Inalterable Dimensions

At this point you should receive neet little loads of all diametrical kinds of boards. You will in real time demand to decide the heaviness you want for your working rise up. Be aware, it will finish quite a indulgent so I wouldn't recommend choosing a thickness of more than ii inches. I went with 1.5 inches for mine as it gave me the chance to make two usable boards for the absolute majority of the segments that I had.

Using a shelve saw, you will motivation to cut all your boards to the desired thickness. Be very carefull for your fingers!! I would recommend a pushing hold fast keep your fingers away from that blade. Once again try to preserve the boards of the same thickness together. I ended up with rather a lot of pieces at this point.

TL;DR: Thin your boards to bring their width down to the desired thickness of your working surface.

Step 5: Glue Everything Unitedly

The nice part: putting it together! It's here that keeping the boards of the same thickness in concert volition come usefull, as you will construct rows using the same type of boards to keep everything even and minimize the amount of money of gap that you will need to fill up ascending later.

At this point I would recommend glueing four or five rows at the time. Well, I choose this amount because a a couple of of my clamps didn't extend more than 6 inches. Don't be afraid to discard boards that are to knack or that have to many imperfections. It is ok if you didn't swing your board on the nose to the same heaviness happening the table saw early, as just one side will show. Be aware as you'rhenium gluing them that this side will embody the one connected the level as gravity will force it to be more or inferior even. You can purpose a pencil eraser hammer as you are clamping your rows to create sure all the boards are flat on the establish. Make your rows longer then the length that you need your tool chest workbench to be and try to not align the separtion between 2 boards in two subsequent rows otherwise it will compromise the structure of your shallow. We will cut the exceeding parts later.

Be mindful of the gaps you can create by victimisation not exactly the same thickness of boards. It's ok to have just about simply taste to keep information technology to a minimum. It's as wel here that you can choose the look of the working rise up of your tool cabinet workbench. I would urge to render to alternate 'tween types of wood but to prove to keep some randomness in there to make it facial expression more "organic".

Once your staisfied with the total width of your surface, you will need to glue the sections together. I proceeded to mucilage two halves of the surface at the clip using my larget clamps. Make a point to hold back a while for the glue to really dry as you don't want to screw up at this point.

Finally, to glue the cardinal halves together I had to use straps as my longest clamps were too short by maybe 2 inches wich was unfortunate. The straps terminated up working quite an well but it cared-for make believe the thing trend upwards so I had to put a lot weight on the sides as IT was drying to keep back it straightaway. I used heavy tools that I had about.

TL;DR: Make rows out of your boards, glue your rows unitedly in reduced sections and glue the sections collectively.

Measure 6: Filling the Gaps (literally)

In real time that everything has dried for a day or two, turn that thing upper side down and look after at what you have accomplished indeed far-off! Well, with the glue floater IT might look quite an unearthly but we will remedy that soon. Inevitably, there will be gaps in some places between boards. Don't panic, we will simply fill them.

A good elbow room to fill these gaps is to mix paste with sawdust to pull round fewer liquid and more pasty, and apply that glue paste in the gaps. IT wish dry and settle in these little nooks and crannies.

For big holes, you can even put little pieces of wood in there arsenic filler and apply the equivalent glue paste Here.

In my case at some point I used the sawdust from my belt sander, whick I forgot was recently put-upon to sand steel. The library paste turned black when drying wich ended raised looking quite good so I didn't sweat IT.

At this manoeuvre your surface testament look like a glue mess, which brings U.S. to the next step.

TL;DR: Function glue and sawdust to fill out the gaps betwixt the boards.

Tone 7: Sanding It Down, Cleaning It Up

You testament now even the superficial out victimisation a portable b sander. Assume your time and use an heavy sand of about 80. I ended up going direct 3 belts before I was satisfied.

You can past lift in sand grit to 120 and as high As you want it to be. I stopped at 120, because I quite liked the scabrous await. This step was quite long, I over up sanding for about 3 hours.

Arrive at trustworthy to purpose a proper respirator, as sawdust is very bad for your lungs, and you will belik acquire quite lot in the process.

You can now cut your edges to the final length of your tool cabinet worbench. I used a circular saw to cut mine.

TL;DR: Sand the surface to desired smoothness and perforate the extruding ends slay.

Step 8: Varnishing the Working Surface and Newspaper clipping IT

I chose to put a floor varnish on the Sir Henry Joseph Wood to give IT a bit of protection and to give it a good look. You can use up unusual type of wood auspices if you deprivation or smooth simply oil color information technology to give it some shine and make those colors soda water, its really a question of taste at this point.

I made almost 4 layers of that 32oz can and used IT complete. Im quite bright with how it turned out in the end, not too glossy but not too rough either.

After my first layer I made my cut at 2 feet to split my come out into my two modules. I ready-made sure to seal the sides to yield it an even look.

Let IT dry over again for unrivalled or ii years to really let it indurate. Your working control surface is now done!!!

TL;DR: Treat your surface with oil, varnish or whatsoever protrctive coating you want to give IT, and skip information technology down to the dimensions you chose.

Step 9: Building the Tool Cabinet Physique

It is now prison term to start working connected the tool cabinet itself. I was lucky enough to get a few MDF and plyboard sheets donated to me with my pallets. I used 1/2 inch thick sheets for the sides and 1/4 for the back and I victimised 1 inch plyboard for the keister, which gave satisfactory weight down to the instrument locker and lower its center of gravity. This will prevent it from tipping impertinent when an backbreaking drawer might be opened the whole way.

Initiate by press cutting your 3 sides and the bottom using a table sawing machine.

I used furring strips of 1x3 lumber to make the frame of the tool cabinet. Cut the strips to fit the limn of the two sides and to spend a penny reinforcement for the slides of your drawers. Make space for two strips to fit a the top of the tool case which you will use to screw your working surfsce on top.

Erst the strips are thin out, glue them to the sides and screw them. You can also chicane the drawer slides in situ.

TL;DR: Cut your sides and bottom and gum and make love your frame reinforcement to the sides.

Step 10: Assemble the Creature Cabinet Frame

We will now assemble the draw up of the tool cabinet. This step is jolly straight forward. You simply take your 3 sides, your bottom side and your two top strips and screw together the resulting box.

Make sure to drill a hole before piece of ass otherwise the MDF and strips might split.

You can now chicane the working surface from the bottom victimisation the circus tent strips arranged on top. The bottom of your working surface might be crinkled depending happening how well you cut your boards in the first place but by screwing it this way it wont matter likewise much.

TL;DR: Assemble and screw every last the sides together, and the jailer your working turn up.

Measure 11: Make Your Bloomers

Your tool chest is at once starting to look like something, but there is still an serious step: the drawers. To behave this I had some 1/4 and 3/8 MDF sheets left. To make it heavy duty enough I glued two 1/4 sheets for some of my sides or simply used 3/8. For my bottoms I used 1/4 for my two 5 inch drawers and 3/8 for my 8 and 14 inch ones.

To leave enough blank space for your drawers to go around and open, you will want to make the sides 1 inch smaller than the sized you want the draftsman to take in your instrument locker. That is to say that your 5 inch drawer mightiness stimulate 4 inches sides plus the bottom heaviness that makes about 4 1/4 inch high.

I started by gluing the sides and prat conjointly using clamps then drilled and screwed each side to make it really worthy. My drawers over up quite heavy, I power have went a little overkill on the heavy duty side but thats ok.

For the slides, I put them in the heart of where I deficiency my front panel of the drawers to be. That agency that for my five inch drawer, I screwed the slide at 2 1/2 column inch from the bottom even if the height of the actual sides are merely 4 1/4 inch high.

I situated the drawer in the toolbox holding it in place to see where to screw the slide so that the actual drawer comes flush with the front of the tool cabinet. That means that when I put my figurehead panels on the drawers they fare and sits on the front.

TL;DR: Cut your MDF, mucilage and screw information technology to makes your bloomers. Jam your slides so that it is centered for each draftsman.

Step 12: *Optional* Make up a Stencil to Stylize Your Front Pannel

I chose to put the Dewalt logo on my stern front panel because I'm quite fond of their tools. To do the logo, I printed it and and then Drew 2cm squares on it. I then took an old piece of 1/8 ticktack plastic shrou that I had and drew 1inch square on that to scale the impress up a bit.

I then copied the content of each square to make the dewalt logo using a permanent marker. Make a point to leave a strip of material for each letter that has a center part in it like the D, this will hold the stencil together.

The side by side step is too cut kayoed for each one letter using an xacto knife. This power be very long depending on the thickness of your stencil. Information technology took me about 2 hours.

Once every alphabetic character is turn out out, you can use epithelial duct tape to fix where the plastic might have failed and your stencil is forthwith done.

To use it, paint your jury entirely in your downpla color. Let IT.dry, and then paint terminated your stencil holding it as close as doable to the shallow. If the stencil lift in places the letters underneath will look blurry.

TL;DR: Make a stencil out of plastic and use it to stylize your front panels.

Step 13: Finish Your Front Panels and Screw Them

It is now metre to make the last contribution of the tool chest: the front panels. To do so I used a 3/4 inch plywood that came with the pallets.

The look panels need to come taboo to the left and right-hand of the draftsman to come flush to the sides of the toolbox. It besides needs to amount unconscious at the pass to about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the draftsman happening top of it. This means that your movement panels will make an even front side for your tool cabinet.

To open and close the knickers you can use drawer knobs or handles. I chose to put metal bars in a u shape that i painted xanthous and cut to the width of the too cabinet and screwed to the front man panels. I find handles to sometimes nonplus in the way when you work in front of the tool cabinet.

One time your panels condition is done you can blusher them if you deficiency, and even up use the stencil that you made previously to stylize them.

Later on that you backside screw and glue the control board. Make a point to put your screws from the inside so that they are non visible from the outside. This will be Sir Thomas More esthetically pleasing.

TL;DR: Make and paint your frint panels. Put handles or any other way to wide-open the drawers on them. Screw them on the straw man of the drawers.

Step 14: Enjoy Your Brand New Homemade Tool chest

This is it, the tool cabinet part of the tool case workbench is through!! The table will be pretty even forward but it bequeath have to wait for me to relocation to my revolutionary place in few months because I don't have the space for IT right now. I also still hold to paint the outline of the sides yellow.

If you have some tips for how to improve this chassis surgery if you successful one yourself, I would like-minded to have your feedback and see what you ended up with!

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Craftsman Tool Cabinet 10 Drawer

Source: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-Tool-Cabinet-Workbench-Using-Reclaim/