[Bluenote38]

In the begining


In the beginning chaos reigned.

Yep, that about sums up my "shop". Or to quote my wife: "What a mess"! Easily 50% of my time is spent searching for a tool or hardware I know I have and dancing around everything trying not to knock over wood piles or tools.

I had a decent shop once but after several moves and life changes I've never been able to actually pull together another organized workspace. Now I'm staring at another move in 18 to 24 months and I want to be prepared.

After working with toolboxes, drawers, and now piles on flat shelves I've decide that I hate rummaging around for stuff, opening drawers, staring into bins and move something just to get at the item I want.

I really want to be organized in a way that supports my methods of work too. I would like to see/find/reach/pick/replace in an easy and seamless way that doesn't interrupt my workflow and thought process or result in my leaving things piled up so they fall to the floor in cascades of disaster.

Yes, we all want to be organized - who doesn't want something like H. O. Studley's cabinet, a repository for personal treasures that is a work of art too. In executing this project I expect to at least give a nod to Studley and his craftsmanship.

So this is a chronicle of my journey to towards order. I hope in the end to have completed a tool cabinet that will carry 90% of my tools (probably overly optimistic - I have a lot), be easy to work from and support my methods of work, and will be fairly easily movable/transportable so I am prepared for our next journey.

 

[Bluenote38]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

 

[Smitty_Cabinetshop]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

Bill, first and foremost a heart-felt Good Luck on your upcoming build. Aside from that, the biggest caution (if it could be called that) I can offer concerns size. Having recently completed my 'Not Wall Hung' tool cabinet, I'd suggest it met all of my needs BUT only after extra-deliberate consideration was paid as to what would fit into it AFTER it was completed.

The dimensions of my cabinet were based on the dimensions of material I intended to use in construction vs. a more thoughtful analysis of how things would fit. It ended fine, but I'm suggesting it could have gone better. Especially in deciding the depth of the cabinet overall (for nested doors, block plane cubbies, etc.). Books and illustrations don't really give you a sense of scale that's needed, so take some time and play with dimensional layouts to get a true idea of the space needed for your key tools in context of your intended cabinet design.

Looking forward to a blog series of your build!

 

[Bluenote38]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

Bill, first and foremost a heart-felt Good Luck on your upcoming build. Aside from that, the biggest caution (if it could be called that) I can offer concerns size. Having recently completed my Not Wall Hung tool cabinet, I d suggest it met all of my needs BUT only after extra-deliberate consideration was paid as to what would fit into it AFTER it was completed.

Looking forward to a blog series of your build!

- Smitty_Cabinetshop

Roger all - thanks for the tips Smitty. Your comment is exactly what I was hoping for Some feedback and "tribal knowledge" so I can avoid some of the not so obvious pitfalls. I think I'll go layout some tools on cardboard tonight.

 

[glideking]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

I am right there with you on this one. I must be able to get all tools and put them back with one hand. No twisty fasteners to mess with two hands. I am struggling to learn Sketchup while I get some ideas together for mine.

 

[Bluenote38]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

I am right there with you on this one. I must be able to get all tools and put them back with one hand. No twisty fasteners to mess with two hands. I am struggling to learn Sketchup while I get some ideas together for mine.

- glideking

I need to learn Sketchup!!

 

[glideking]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

Biggest beginner tip I can give you on Sketchup is to learn how to use "groups" and "components" early in your struggle! I gave up a year ago but I tried it one more time this week. There is too much I need this ability for. I have already made major changes to this cabinet before making any sawdust.

 

[Bluenote38]

Well that didn't take long

Of course not - I've been thinking about this for about 6 months. And like most have done a LOT of internet searches on "Tool Cabinets"; "Toolboxes"; "Tool Chests" (Yes I have the book); "Hanging Tool Cabinets"; "Tool Hanging"; "Tool Storage" and several more permutations. If you think I may have missed one let me know.

There are hundreds of solutions, as many as there are Woodworkers, and so many great ideas. These are a few:

Which got me to ask, what do I really want in a cabinet. Several things it seems:
- I want a place for my hand tools and a place for my power tools (Yes, I use them - sorry if you find that offensive)
- I want to be able to actually see 60% to 70% of my tools
- I want to be able to remove and replace oft used tools without having to dig behind something.
- I want tools to hang securely or be able to be secured easily, I hate things that rattle and bang around.
- I want the cabinet to be mobile so 2 years from now I can roll it onto a moving truck.
- I want it to look good! Maybe not H.O.Studley good but at least showcase some of my experience and technique.

This has led me to a Chest on Chest design with the upper chest for hand tools and the lower with doors and slide out trays for power tools

And I think I've decided on a multi-door approach for the upper cabinet

I think I'll do some hand sketching

Biggest beginner tip I can give you on Sketchup is to learn how to use "groups" and "components" early in your struggle!

- glideking

Sweet!! I tried it last night and just about gave up. But then I didn't use a tutorial…maybe I should.

 

[Bluenote38]

Some Initial Sketches

I did a bit of sketching to capture my thoughts - far easier to change lines than recut wood. Here's a start. apologies for the curvature. Apparently my Cell has a 26 or 28 mm fl equivalent lens.

I can also see that my talents as a sketch artist are sadly lacking so I think I'll take a tip from the previous post and start learning SketchUp.

 

[sras]

Some Initial Sketches

I did a bit of sketching to capture my thoughts - far easier to change lines than recut wood. Here's a start. apologies for the curvature. Apparently my Cell has a 26 or 28 mm fl equivalent lens.

I can also see that my talents as a sketch artist are sadly lacking so I think I'll take a tip from the previous post and start learning SketchUp.

Your sketches look fine to me - they don't take long and you can try out new ideas quickly. Once you move to CAD find changes come more slowly.

 

[glideking]

Some Initial Sketches

I did a bit of sketching to capture my thoughts - far easier to change lines than recut wood. Here's a start. apologies for the curvature. Apparently my Cell has a 26 or 28 mm fl equivalent lens.

I can also see that my talents as a sketch artist are sadly lacking so I think I'll take a tip from the previous post and start learning SketchUp.

I suggest hinging the leaf independently from the door. That way the door won't move every time you move the leaf.

 

[Smitty_Cabinetshop]

Some Initial Sketches

I did a bit of sketching to capture my thoughts - far easier to change lines than recut wood. Here's a start. apologies for the curvature. Apparently my Cell has a 26 or 28 mm fl equivalent lens.

I can also see that my talents as a sketch artist are sadly lacking so I think I'll take a tip from the previous post and start learning SketchUp.

I think you'll discover the tool layout drawing suffers from lack of scale; you're not going to fit all that in there. A bank of drawers under a rack of planes (the longest being a 22" No. 7), with scrapers and shaves (and hammers/mallets?) above that, all within an overall cabinet height of 36"?

These wall cabinets can hold a bunch, but possibly not what you might be hoping.

 

[jstegall]

Some Initial Sketches

I did a bit of sketching to capture my thoughts - far easier to change lines than recut wood. Here's a start. apologies for the curvature. Apparently my Cell has a 26 or 28 mm fl equivalent lens.

I can also see that my talents as a sketch artist are sadly lacking so I think I'll take a tip from the previous post and start learning SketchUp.

Take a look at Tyvekboy's cabinet. He offers Sketchup file.
https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/77123

 

[Bluenote38]

Thoughts in SketchUp

Temps dropped, cold in the shop so refocused to more indoor activities. Friday (November 10th), of course, was the U.S. Marine Corps 242nd Birthday - Semper Fi Brothers past, present, and future, and may we serve 300 more with honor. Did the Vets day thing too on Saturday served breakfast to a host of Korea and Vietnam Vets and some of the few remaining WWII Vets too. I have to say that I met a guy who was on the USN Nautilus. The first nuclear sub and the first to sail under the polar ice cap. As a kid I went to sleep with a book on the Nautilus almost every night - the stuff of dreams. It was nice to be able to shake his hand.

Finally made some headway with SketchUp. The eBook, "SketchUp: A Design Guide for Woodworkers" by Joe Zeh has been an invaluable companion. I do have some CAD experience (though old) so it wasn't brand new and it really is pretty easy to use.

All that said I created an initial model that is generally equivalent to what I would sketch in my project book (but looks way nicer and has more accurate dimensions). I have to say that based on my methods of work and tools I think this is exactly what I want and what I had envisioned.

The Outer doors are my Saw Tills left and right with about 2" of usable depth and 5 sqft of usable surface. They are for light weight tools that need big areas . And, I'm really not much of a sawyer but I'm working on it.

The Mid-doors have 5" of usable depth and about 7 sqft (including the sides). I'm thinking chisels on the lower half of one door and marking tools and screwdrivers above and Files and drill and auger bits on the lower half of the other door then hand braces and mallets on top.

The main cabinet is 8 1/2" deep and about 10 sqft of area. There is, of course, a plane rack for my #6, #5, #4 1/2, #4, #3 and 3 block planes as well as several rounders, rabbet, and shoulder planes.

There will also be a spot for scraper cards, drawknives, spoke shaves, inshaves, hammers, punches, drifts, a few wrenches, pliers, and the miscellany that collect in any shop.

I'm hoping it warms up a bit next week so I can start breaking down the plywood.

 

[glideking]

Thoughts in SketchUp

Temps dropped, cold in the shop so refocused to more indoor activities. Friday (November 10th), of course, was the U.S. Marine Corps 242nd Birthday - Semper Fi Brothers past, present, and future, and may we serve 300 more with honor. Did the Vets day thing too on Saturday served breakfast to a host of Korea and Vietnam Vets and some of the few remaining WWII Vets too. I have to say that I met a guy who was on the USN Nautilus. The first nuclear sub and the first to sail under the polar ice cap. As a kid I went to sleep with a book on the Nautilus almost every night - the stuff of dreams. It was nice to be able to shake his hand.

Finally made some headway with SketchUp. The eBook, "SketchUp: A Design Guide for Woodworkers" by Joe Zeh has been an invaluable companion. I do have some CAD experience (though old) so it wasn't brand new and it really is pretty easy to use.

All that said I created an initial model that is generally equivalent to what I would sketch in my project book (but looks way nicer and has more accurate dimensions). I have to say that based on my methods of work and tools I think this is exactly what I want and what I had envisioned.

The Outer doors are my Saw Tills left and right with about 2" of usable depth and 5 sqft of usable surface. They are for light weight tools that need big areas . And, I'm really not much of a sawyer but I'm working on it.

The Mid-doors have 5" of usable depth and about 7 sqft (including the sides). I'm thinking chisels on the lower half of one door and marking tools and screwdrivers above and Files and drill and auger bits on the lower half of the other door then hand braces and mallets on top.

The main cabinet is 8 1/2" deep and about 10 sqft of area. There is, of course, a plane rack for my #6, #5, #4 1/2, #4, #3 and 3 block planes as well as several rounders, rabbet, and shoulder planes.

There will also be a spot for scraper cards, drawknives, spoke shaves, inshaves, hammers, punches, drifts, a few wrenches, pliers, and the miscellany that collect in any shop.

I'm hoping it warms up a bit next week so I can start breaking down the plywood.

I see you are making friends with Sketchup. Nicely done. When you get into a 3D controller you will be really fast.

 

[Bluenote38]

Thoughts in SketchUp

Temps dropped, cold in the shop so refocused to more indoor activities. Friday (November 10th), of course, was the U.S. Marine Corps 242nd Birthday - Semper Fi Brothers past, present, and future, and may we serve 300 more with honor. Did the Vets day thing too on Saturday served breakfast to a host of Korea and Vietnam Vets and some of the few remaining WWII Vets too. I have to say that I met a guy who was on the USN Nautilus. The first nuclear sub and the first to sail under the polar ice cap. As a kid I went to sleep with a book on the Nautilus almost every night - the stuff of dreams. It was nice to be able to shake his hand.

Finally made some headway with SketchUp. The eBook, "SketchUp: A Design Guide for Woodworkers" by Joe Zeh has been an invaluable companion. I do have some CAD experience (though old) so it wasn't brand new and it really is pretty easy to use.

All that said I created an initial model that is generally equivalent to what I would sketch in my project book (but looks way nicer and has more accurate dimensions). I have to say that based on my methods of work and tools I think this is exactly what I want and what I had envisioned.

The Outer doors are my Saw Tills left and right with about 2" of usable depth and 5 sqft of usable surface. They are for light weight tools that need big areas . And, I'm really not much of a sawyer but I'm working on it.

The Mid-doors have 5" of usable depth and about 7 sqft (including the sides). I'm thinking chisels on the lower half of one door and marking tools and screwdrivers above and Files and drill and auger bits on the lower half of the other door then hand braces and mallets on top.

The main cabinet is 8 1/2" deep and about 10 sqft of area. There is, of course, a plane rack for my #6, #5, #4 1/2, #4, #3 and 3 block planes as well as several rounders, rabbet, and shoulder planes.

There will also be a spot for scraper cards, drawknives, spoke shaves, inshaves, hammers, punches, drifts, a few wrenches, pliers, and the miscellany that collect in any shop.

I'm hoping it warms up a bit next week so I can start breaking down the plywood.

I see you are making friends with Sketchup. Nicely done. When you get into a 3D controller you will be really fast.

- glideking

Thanks for the tip, I think I'll try to find one tonight. You are doing some great work on yours - can't wait to see it all come together in wood.

 

[Bluenote38]

Thoughts in SketchUp

Temps dropped, cold in the shop so refocused to more indoor activities. Friday (November 10th), of course, was the U.S. Marine Corps 242nd Birthday - Semper Fi Brothers past, present, and future, and may we serve 300 more with honor. Did the Vets day thing too on Saturday served breakfast to a host of Korea and Vietnam Vets and some of the few remaining WWII Vets too. I have to say that I met a guy who was on the USN Nautilus. The first nuclear sub and the first to sail under the polar ice cap. As a kid I went to sleep with a book on the Nautilus almost every night - the stuff of dreams. It was nice to be able to shake his hand.

Finally made some headway with SketchUp. The eBook, "SketchUp: A Design Guide for Woodworkers" by Joe Zeh has been an invaluable companion. I do have some CAD experience (though old) so it wasn't brand new and it really is pretty easy to use.

All that said I created an initial model that is generally equivalent to what I would sketch in my project book (but looks way nicer and has more accurate dimensions). I have to say that based on my methods of work and tools I think this is exactly what I want and what I had envisioned.

The Outer doors are my Saw Tills left and right with about 2" of usable depth and 5 sqft of usable surface. They are for light weight tools that need big areas . And, I'm really not much of a sawyer but I'm working on it.

The Mid-doors have 5" of usable depth and about 7 sqft (including the sides). I'm thinking chisels on the lower half of one door and marking tools and screwdrivers above and Files and drill and auger bits on the lower half of the other door then hand braces and mallets on top.

The main cabinet is 8 1/2" deep and about 10 sqft of area. There is, of course, a plane rack for my #6, #5, #4 1/2, #4, #3 and 3 block planes as well as several rounders, rabbet, and shoulder planes.

There will also be a spot for scraper cards, drawknives, spoke shaves, inshaves, hammers, punches, drifts, a few wrenches, pliers, and the miscellany that collect in any shop.

I'm hoping it warms up a bit next week so I can start breaking down the plywood.

BTW - I have to give credit to the designers that put things in the SketchUp warehouse. The really well done parts in color were done by some very patient and talented designers. No way could I create those yet. Maybe some day

 

[Bluenote38]

Lower Cabinet Design - Tool Packing

SktechUp - what a great tool! I can change things much easier, explore design options, and visualize architectures far easier. After a couple false starts a bit of learning on how SketchUp works compared to its big brothers the lower cabinet literally came together.

The lower cabinet is expressly to house most of my power tools - the ones I reach for regularly. The multi-tool and biscuit joiner will stay in their respective cases because they just don't get used much. The rest will have a sweet new home.

Getting the drawers right is always a challenge for me and this was no different. Originally it was 3 equally spaced pull out trays behind each door. Locating and dropping in similar tools from the SketchUp Warehouse (Thanks to all the makers and creators out there) showed me that I had a lot of "crashes" where tools just wouldn't fit. Because of groups and components moving things around was very easy and in about 30 minutes I had it down.

The result is a 24"D x 33"H x 42"W case with a face frame on 3 1/2" casters. With two drawers over two doors and 6 full extension pullout trays give me just over 20sqft of storage space. I'm thinking I can probably squeeze a couple more feet out of it too.

Next will be to layout my actual power tools on cardboard and see if the theory of the design will work in practice.

 

[glideking]

Lower Cabinet Design - Tool Packing

SktechUp - what a great tool! I can change things much easier, explore design options, and visualize architectures far easier. After a couple false starts a bit of learning on how SketchUp works compared to its big brothers the lower cabinet literally came together.

The lower cabinet is expressly to house most of my power tools - the ones I reach for regularly. The multi-tool and biscuit joiner will stay in their respective cases because they just don't get used much. The rest will have a sweet new home.

Getting the drawers right is always a challenge for me and this was no different. Originally it was 3 equally spaced pull out trays behind each door. Locating and dropping in similar tools from the SketchUp Warehouse (Thanks to all the makers and creators out there) showed me that I had a lot of "crashes" where tools just wouldn't fit. Because of groups and components moving things around was very easy and in about 30 minutes I had it down.

The result is a 24"D x 33"H x 42"W case with a face frame on 3 1/2" casters. With two drawers over two doors and 6 full extension pullout trays give me just over 20sqft of storage space. I'm thinking I can probably squeeze a couple more feet out of it too.

Next will be to layout my actual power tools on cardboard and see if the theory of the design will work in practice.

Cabinet doors above table hight is fine but having them below table hight in addition to drawers behind them is questionable. It is just one more unnecessary layer to open between you and the tool you need. 2 cents.

Look how far you have come along with Sketchup!

 

[Bluenote38]

Lower Cabinet Design - Tool Packing

SktechUp - what a great tool! I can change things much easier, explore design options, and visualize architectures far easier. After a couple false starts a bit of learning on how SketchUp works compared to its big brothers the lower cabinet literally came together.

The lower cabinet is expressly to house most of my power tools - the ones I reach for regularly. The multi-tool and biscuit joiner will stay in their respective cases because they just don't get used much. The rest will have a sweet new home.

Getting the drawers right is always a challenge for me and this was no different. Originally it was 3 equally spaced pull out trays behind each door. Locating and dropping in similar tools from the SketchUp Warehouse (Thanks to all the makers and creators out there) showed me that I had a lot of "crashes" where tools just wouldn't fit. Because of groups and components moving things around was very easy and in about 30 minutes I had it down.

The result is a 24"D x 33"H x 42"W case with a face frame on 3 1/2" casters. With two drawers over two doors and 6 full extension pullout trays give me just over 20sqft of storage space. I'm thinking I can probably squeeze a couple more feet out of it too.

Next will be to layout my actual power tools on cardboard and see if the theory of the design will work in practice.

Cabinet doors above table hight is fine but having them below table hight in addition to drawers behind them is questionable. It is just one more unnecessary layer to open between you and the tool you need. 2 cents.

Look how far you have come along with Sketchup!

- glideking

Thanks for the direction on the 3D Navigator - GREAT help. And I do agree to some extent on the lower doors but I'm looking for a large field to do some relief carving, inlay, or painting on. So the exterior doors well be framed panels of Bass (any other suggestions on carving woods).

The cabinet is birch ply (no way I can cut dovetails like you are) and I'm thinking of trimming in Walnut or Paduk but I'm not sure about the heavy contrast though the idea was more of a picture frame concept.

Btw - I'm no artist, I don't really have the eye for it. I'm an engineer by trade