Monthly Archives: April 2017

Tool Cabinet for Zeek

Posted on by
Reply

I bequeathed my ShopSmith to Zeek to free up space in my overcrowded shop. He needed some additional storage space to for the various accessories that went with the saw.

We started with the top and bottom of the cabinet. 2x4s were laid flat and screwed onto the 3/4 plywood. An 1/8 inch space was left between the 2×4 pieces to allow for expansion. The 2x4s provide the structure to attach the castors to the bottom and the melamine top. Notice the dado cut in the plywood to accept the center divider between the two drawer compartments.

Next step was to attach the 3/4 inch plywood sides and center divider. The center divider was cut shorter (by the thickness of the back) than the 1/2 inch back. Also the rear of the top and bottom plywood panels were 1/2 inch shorter than the 2×4 frame at the back, to provide allow the back to overlap the top and bottom plywood panels.

We used the leftover melamine particle board from the wash/dryer pedestal project for the top. We were a little short, so we edge jointed two pieces of melamine together with a 1/4 inch piece of oak sandwiched between them.

To dress up the front of the cabinet, 5/16 inch solid oak strips were re-sawn and attached to the exposed plywood edges with glue and 22 gauge brads.

2x4s laid flat on the underside of the top were expoxied, screwed, and allowed to cure overnight. Screws driven from the under side of the top of the drawer compartment secure the top to the cabinet.

Full extension slides were attached to the sides of the drawer compartments before attaching the back. Note the the slides are 1/2 inch higher on the right side than the left, so that the screws attaching the slides to not interfere with each other in the center partition.

Next the 10 drawers were built. Front and back of the drawers are 3/4 inch plywood, Sides are 1/2 inch plywood. Bottoms are 1/8 inch hardboard. Sides were glued and nailed to front and backs. A 1-1/2 inch wide piece of 1/4 pine was attached to the center of the underside of the bottom with screws from front to back to increase the rigidity of the bottom.

Now the slides were attached to the drawers. Drawer sizes: 6, 5-1/2, (2) 4, and 3-1/2. Drawers were spaced about 3/8 inch apart .

Finally, the 1/2 inch false fronts were attached to the drawers. The drawer above was removed to allow the f-style clamps room to be attached while the glue dried. A penny and a nickle were stacked under each side of the false front on top of the drawer beneath to give the desired spacing between the drawer fronts. After 1/2 hour of clamping, four screws were run from the inside of the drawer front into the false front. The maple drawer fronts and cabinet sides were lightly sanded and a natural Danish Oil finish was applied.

Washer Dryer Pedestal

Posted on by
Reply

Shop built washer / dryer pedestals with two drawers. Finished dimensions: 56 1/2 inch wide, 16 inches tall, 27 1/2 inches deep. This one built for Zeek.

The frame was made from 2×4 construction lumber with extra support in the center to help support the weight of the two machines.

Six 1-1/2 inch rubber feet were counter-sunk under the frame where the weight of the appliances would be concentrated – 2 on each end and 2 in the middle. They were secured with a 1/4 inch lag bolt.

Top, sides and front were made from melamine covered particle board to provide protection against spills. 1/4 inch oak trim was glued and pinned to the exposed particle board edges to enhance its appearance and to protect the particle board.

2×4’s were glued with epoxy and screwed to the inside faces of the melamine components to provide a secure method to attach them to the frame. This attachment method obviated the need for unsightly screws on the finished surfaces.

Rabbets were cut into an added center 2×4 to make a convenient place to mount the full extension slides.

Here you can see the front being attached to the fame. 2×2’s were glued and screwed to the inside of the front face, and after the epoxy dried overnight, were screwed to the frame using a right-angle attachment to the driver.

The drawer fronts were made from the waste cutouts from the front. The addition of the oak trim to the edges made them large enough to be used. They were sized to provide an 1/8 inch gap between the drawer front and all edges. We used pennies and dimes to elevate the bottom of the front and then stuck it to the drawer with double sided tape. This allowed the pilot holes to be drilled from the inside of the drawer into the back of the drawer front.

Anti-Vibration pads were placed under the feet that came with the appliances to protect the top surface of the pedestal and to provide vibration dampening.

Here is another one I built for my wife’s Laundry Room. I used oak pulls on the front of the drawers.