Work Bench Cabinets

 

My skills at building quality cabinets isn’t where it should be. I intentionally decided to build real cabinets under and above my workbench. My workbenches of the past have always been 2x4s with open shelves. I took some simple plans I found in my Wood magazine and of course like we all do adjusted them to fit my requirements. Each cabinet is 33 inches long and 23 inches deep with two draws and two doors. I used 3/4 inch birch plywood for the sides and oak 1.5x.75 to frame the front. Since I preinstalled the dust collection hoses on the floor, I had to cut a 4 inch square at the bottom back to give it proper clearance.

As you can see by this picture I have spaced my 4 33 inch cabinets out with 3 12 inch openings. This will serve two purposes. 1) Allows me to have a workbench 13 feet long. 2) I can now create 3 full size pull outs that will hold hardware and consumables. You can also see the dust collection hose coming to the top of bench.

The bench is 1.5 inches thick, I did this by gluing to 3/4 inch thick MDF. I intent put a 1/4 inch sheet of hard board on top and trim it out with red oak. This will allow me to replace the top once I finishing abusing it. The bench is 24 inches deep, once trimmed it will be just short of 25 inch.

I will be taking a break from my shop for a couple weeks. Next week Donna and I have a business trip to Fredericksburg, TX and next weekend we will be off to Hawaii, where we will celebrate our 30th anniversary. When I return I will continue work on the drawers and doors, yet another skill of many that I am weak on. It is a good thing I have so many weaknesses, otherwise I be extremely bored.