New cabinets for my workshop's "Tool Crib"

Jan 18, 2010

Over the recent holiday break I got out my hand dandy Kreg Jig and built 16 linear feet of tool storage cabinets for my workshop's "Tool Crib". Here are the base units. Notice the pocket holes in the drawers;

Here are the upper units;

Here are the units painted and installed looking down the room to the left. Notice the pocket holes up under the cabinets;

And here is the cabinets looking the other way;

My 77 year-old father-in-law helped and fell in love with the Kreg Jig. Thanks for looking! Randy Caswell Merrimack NH

Derek

Holy cow. That might be the most beautiful garage storage I've ever seen. Great Kreg Jig project!

Jan 18, 2010
Chris L

Nicely Done. Those will come in quite handy.

CtL

Jan 18, 2010
DAVID CZUPRYN

Nice work! My shop's gonna be jealous.Like the color combination too. The bench top really adds a beautiful finishing touch. Dave.

Jan 18, 2010
Randy Caswell

The benchtop is just a double-up'd piece of MDF with a 6" MDF backsplash that I then painted with the new countertop paint from Rustoleum.

Jan 18, 2010
Joseph Scharle

Whoa! That's a body of work. Nice!

Jan 18, 2010
David Roberts

those are nicer than my kitchen cabinets. what kind of wood did you use?

Jan 19, 2010
Randy Caswell

Cabinet grade 22/32 inch plywood that Home Depot sells for $24 a sheet. The entire project including hardware and paint came to a little under $500. Cheap compared to buying tool boxes.

Jan 19, 2010
Chuck M

Awesome project.

Thanks for showing how you used the pocket screws on the drawers. I will file that method away to use later.

Jan 19, 2010
Mark Werle

These are fantastic!! Did you have designs for these or did you design everything yourself? I would love to install something similar in my garage.

Jan 19, 2010
Randy Caswell

They were of my own design. I just followed basic cabinet building rules.

Jan 19, 2010
Glenn Whalen

Ok now that's Awesome....I now officially have..... Garage Envy.

Nice Work..

Jan 19, 2010
Marty

Great project!

Jan 19, 2010
Jim Carroll

That is so cool now I have shed envy.

Only one thing I would add is lighting under the overhead cupboards because when you stand in front of the bench the overhead light is behind you so you will be casting a shadow over your work area.

Jan 19, 2010
Larry Barnett

Did you use a 3/8 roundover bit for your drawer fronts and doors on your great looking cabinets.? Your cabinets is every shop owner's dream.

Jan 19, 2010
Veronica

AWESOME! I think I found my next project!!!! :-)

Jan 20, 2010
Randy Caswell

I used a 1/2 roundover for the drawer fronts and doors. I also plan to add halogen lighting under the upper cabinets.

Jan 20, 2010
Jim Carroll

Just another thought.

Dont worry still love this set up and have started making plans to make something similar.

With the bench top could you have come out a couple of inches so you are not rubbing up against the handles and also somewhere to clmap down any projects etc

Jan 21, 2010
Randy Caswell

I thought of having the benchtop stick out a little further for that purpose or to attach a vice, but decided against it. This is a 6' x 16' are that I created off of my workshop this summer and its purpose was to serve as a tool crib and to free up a lot of space in the shop, and it did. If I need to clamp or work on something in a vice I can do so on one of the benches in the shop. Also, having the countertop stick out past the larger end cabinets would inhibit thier doors being able to fully open.

Jan 21, 2010
Larry Barnett

Still in awe over your cabinets. The plywood used 22/32 ,Was it 5 ply or 7 ply? also what is the width of the three sets of drawers..

Jan 21, 2010
John Magee

Great job, thanks for showing us! Those drawers are awesome tool storage. Did you make the handles yourself?

Jan 24, 2010
Randy Caswell

The plywood is 7 ply. The inside dimensions of the drawers are 22" x 16". I chose that size because it is the common size of drawers for a normal tool box. This would enable me to use the various after market tool organizing trays that are available.

Jan 25, 2010
Rosemarie Wood

That is a professional job, just beautiful.

Mar 15, 2010
Ken

WOW!!!! Great job. I am through procrastinating about buildinng mine. Thanks for sharing.

Mar 15, 2010
Rod Lowell

Great Job! That almost makes me want to buy another house just so that I can do that!

Mar 15, 2010
Bruce Matasick

Excellent job. I'm actually starting on a similar but much smaller project, and you've given me good ideas. Did you use the plywood for the drawer sides as well as the cabinets? I can't tell from the pictures. Good wood for drawer sides hasn't been easy for me to find.

Mar 15, 2010
Kim C

I am glad St. Patrick's Day is in a couple days because I just turned green.

Mar 15, 2010
Randy Caswell

Bruce, I used regular 1" clear pine that I pulled from the cull pile. It takes a little time, but it saves you a lot of money in the long run.

Mar 15, 2010
NickM

Randy, that's scary good! Excellent craftsmanship. Now I'm depressed and intimidated. Thanks and lot! LOL

Mar 15, 2010
Mike Nelson

O M G!!!
I think i'm ub luv...
Absolutely Terrific, CONGRATS on the envy of us all.....

Mar 15, 2010
Dale Carpenter

Wow! Those are great cabinets. I've been putting off mine, because I couldn't come up with a
layout that seemed to work. You just settled that for me. Thanks

Mar 16, 2010
Jack

Great Job. I need to do something simular for behind my home bar. Just not as many.

Mar 16, 2010
robert lindh

GREAT JOB!!!

Mar 16, 2010
Geoff Guenther

Can you share the height dimensions that you used for the bottom cabinet drawers and spacing? They seem perfect for any garage or shop.

Mar 16, 2010
Ron Stanko

Randy...nice job. Looks like what I need to build in my shop. Thanks for the inspiration!

Mar 17, 2010
John Bizianes

Love it. Did you just glue the drawer fronts to the drawer or did you use any other joinery?

Mar 17, 2010
Joe Amato

I can only wish that some day my garage will look like this. Now all I need to do is build a garage.

Apr 1, 2010
John A. Stone Sr.

Great job!!

Apr 1, 2010
Matt Tennant

Nice Job!!! Especially the scarlet and gray...

Apr 2, 2010
Frank Mince

That is so nice I would to make something like that for my kitchen but without the paint

Apr 18, 2010
Loren Westenskow

Thanks you for showing me this project. Did it start out on this scale or did it grow as you went along? If there is a bug to be caught here, I hope to catch it soon. This certainly pushes back the frontier of thought. Anything is possible.

May 1, 2010
pauk d. kingsley

great job love it

May 29, 2010

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New cabinets for my workshop's "Tool Crib"