Coop Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Probably too late to be an influence. Pocket holes have their place and this would certainly a good one. However, I like using rabbets as it gives me a chance to hone my skills for later projects. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 On 3/2/2024 at 6:30 PM, Coop said: Probably too late to be an influence. Pocket holes have their place and this would certainly a good one. However, I like using rabbets as it gives me a chance to hone my skills for later projects. Funny you say that and not too late. I decided I’ll do rabbets and I edge banded the top and bottom panels to rabbet and accept the side panels I wanted to put in some fasteners to strengthen the glued rabbets and I don’t want to mess with hiding fasteners so I starting thinking this would be a good spot for pocket holes. That’s how my ruobo cabinet was built and it worked good 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I wanted to get some feedback on workbench storage. What kind of storage do you like? Drawers or doors, deep or shallow, a combination of all? I was staring at my bench and an idea popped in my head for storage. I always wanted to do both a full width cabinet and I do like the wagon wheel vise hardware but decided on the classic handle so I could do a full width cabinet because the wagon wheel sticks out 6” into the cabinet cavity. Also I’ve added some festool tools and was thinking about a little bit of systainer storage and wondered how I could incorporate all. There will be two equal width cabinets covering the 49” of width because there are two different depths due to the sander cabinet on the side. I thought about putting a vertical partition 6” in from the vise side and then match it on the other side. Based on vise measurements, up to 13” from the bottom would not interfere with the vise so I thought about filling that space with 2 or three 5 to 6 inch wide drawers for more purpose storage for small items. The rest would be open storage or shelves. That leaves about 17.5 inches of width in each cabinet towards the middle. I thought about putting some systainer storage on the bottom with two drawers on the top. Questions are: Would the narrow drawers be useful for smaller items or wasted space? Do you find open shelving space useful? How about storing systainers here? Would I be better with the the original design of two banks of 4 drawers? This obviously complicates the build but I thought I’d throw the idea down to visualize. If it seems not as useful I’ll just go back to the original design and move forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 I think additional Festool storage is a great thought! However, if you're using side glides, those 5" drawers would become 4" drawers. Not really wide enough for useable drawers but, perhaps some taller vertical pullouts might be a better option.. Just depends on what you want to store I suppose. Sorry you didn't get much feedback on this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 I personally don’t like the narrow drawers. Speaking from experience, it sure limits what they can hold. It would offset the symmetry but I would locate the sustainers to one side instead of the center and combine the smaller drawers into larger ones. Is there a reason for the double stiles down the middle on the side that we are talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 On 3/5/2024 at 6:37 PM, Coop said: I personally don’t like the narrow drawers. Speaking from experience, it sure limits what they can hold. It would offset the symmetry but I would locate the sustainers to one side instead of the center and combine the smaller drawers into larger ones. Is there a reason for the double stiles down the middle on the side that we are talking about? Yeah I scratched this design and decided to go back to my original two banks of 4 drawers. The double stiles aren’t actually there but the picture depicted that there are two separate cabinets that meet in the middle. Due to a sander cabinet on one side I have about 19 inches of depth for the front cabinet on the right side and with the CT parking on the left side I have 24” of depth for the front left cabinet so I built two separate cabinets at different depths. I have updated pics I’ll post later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 I’ve been slowly working on my outfeed table. I scratched the new design and just going with the two banks of 4 drawers. A deeper bottom drawer about 7” and three 4” drawers. I got some new woodpecker clamping squares to try out and really liked using them and got some nice square cabinets after glue up. Did I use enough clamps? Haha! I then got the cabinets installed under the bench and had some shimming to do to make sure both cabinets were level with each other due to not having perfectly level supports they were resting on. It was a pretty tight fit and had to tap in with a rubber mallet. Next I cut up my material for the face frame and rough cut all the drawer fronts. In fall of 2022 I bought a 12ft long by 18inch wide board of African mahogany. Was purchased for my ruobo bench and I had a 76” long piece left over. I had to be careful with my cuts because I had just enough to do my face frame and all drawer fronts with this one board. I got to utilize a feature of my bench by removing the tool tray to use the opening for my track saw to crosscut the board to rough lengths because as of now I don’t have a crosscut sled or anything to do that cut on my table saw. Finally last night I got the face frames installed. I installed them piece by piece and going back and forth to my miter saw to sneak up on a perfect fit. Everything came out pretty good. Next I’ll be building drawers, installing drawer slides and drawer fronts. I’m going to try inset drawers and have never attempted this on my own before but I learned enough with Kev that I think it should go well. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Nice job on the cabinet boxes! That really filled up the base nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Very well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 I know, I know, very slow progress on my outfeed table. I’ve been working super long hours at work including late nights and weekends so I had to take a hiatus from the bench. I managed to sneak in some time last night to cut some drawer box parts and snuck out into the garage today while my 3 year old twins were occupied watching a cartoon to assemble one box. Tonight I installed a pair of slides and trimmed a drawer front to fit in the opening. I still need to trim it up a bit to increase the gap a little to allow for seasonal movement, etc. I’d say the gap on each side is about 1/16” in the pic but was thinking maybe a 1/8” gap? For inset drawers, how big of a gap around the drawer front do you like? So far it’s looking good and this is my first time doing inset drawers on my own and I remember the process of doing it with Kev on my ruobo bench so I’m confident it will turn out good if I take my time. I had a big 18” wide board of African Mahogany left over from the drawer fronts on my ruobo so I had just enough to get all the face frame and drawer fronts from the same board which I think will look pretty cool. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 28 Author Share Posted May 28 I think your side gaps are great! I would allow a little more (1/8) on top and bottom to allow for wood movement. Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 My thinking is that with inset drawers, that the spacing, top to bottom and left to right should be the same. But with Kev’s comment about wood movement, top to bottom on a panel/drawer front this size, I agree, as long as you keep it uniform. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Finally found some shop time and got all 8 drawers built. I thought about doing some nicer drawers but decided to just make it simple and built them out of 1/2” baltic birch with an 1/4” panel for the bottom and joinery is just screws. Only the bottom drawer slides are installed. I planned for 1/4” gap between each drawer but if it’s cutting it too close I may have to trim the drawers a tiny bit. I’m pushing to get this bench done by the end of the month. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 10 Author Share Posted July 10 Progress is progress! Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 I think those are “nice” drawers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 11 hours ago, Olie said: I thought about doing some nicer drawers but decided to just make it simple and built them out of 1/2” baltic birch Nothing wrong with that decision. Every drawer in my shop is baltic birch with the exception of the cabinet that my drum sander sits on, they are pine and are in need of being replaced. Your outfeed bench is coming along nicely. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Over two evenings I got both banks of drawers installed. It was a tedious process down on the floor installing and a little more difficult than having the cabinet up on a workbench without the back panel in place like how me and Kev installed the drawers on my ruobo. It was in the upper 90’s the two days I installed these and I was dripping sweat! The results seem good which is the important part. I have a question for the group. I joined the drawers with just screws that are exposed and visible. I figured it’s a work bench but since this bench is not a normal bench and made out of African mahogany and maple, do you think I should plug the screw holes with an accent wood so screws are not showing or just leave as is? At this point I’d have to take out one screw at a time and recess with a 3/8” bit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 41 minutes ago, Olie said: Over two evenings I got both banks of drawers installed. It was a tedious process down on the floor installing and a little more difficult than having the cabinet up on a workbench without the back panel in place like how me and Kev installed the drawers on my ruobo. It was in the upper 90’s the two days I installed these and I was dripping sweat! The results seem good which is the important part. I have a question for the group. I joined the drawers with just screws that are exposed and visible. I figured it’s a work bench but since this bench is not a normal bench and made out of African mahogany and maple, do you think I should plug the screw holes with an accent wood so screws are not showing or just leave as is? At this point I’d have to take out one screw at a time and recess with a 3/8” bit. Bench is really looking great! Nice job on the drawers! If this were my bench, I would plug them. If for no other reason that it would bother me every time I opened one of those drawers knowing how much I put into it and didn't take that extra minor step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Olie, between you and me, (Kev’s not listening), Kev has no idea what a 90* shop feels like! I would leave them as is and if bothered the heck out of you in October, then consider the plugs. If someone says something about the screws before October, show them the door! 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 14 hours ago, Coop said: Olie, between you and me, (Kev’s not listening), Kev has no idea what a 90* shop feels like! I would leave them as is and if bothered the heck out of you in October, then consider the plugs. If someone says something about the screws before October, show them the door! 😁 All of what Coop said. In my experience when opening a drawer, unless you are standing off to the side, you don't see the edges anyway. Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Tonight I had a bit of time so I roughed to length the drawer fronts I’ve had milled up for a while and fined tuned the bottom two drawers to size. The Harvey miter gauge with the micro adjust was super helpful to go back and forth to make a cut, check fit, micro adjust and cut and repeat. I used playing cards to determine how big of a gap and what I liked was 7 cards. I checked with my digital calipers and it measured to be a hair over 1/16”. I took 14 cards and pushed the drawer front all the way to one side and kept making micro cuts until 14 cards fit. That way the gap is 7 cards on each side. What do you think about the size of the gap accounting for wood movement, etc? Too small and make the gap bigger or leave it be? In Montana we are in more of the wetter months so as we move into dryer months it will shrink and not expand so it seems good. This is my first cabinet I’ve built on my own with inset drawers so I’m slow and probably being pretty meticulous, but this bench has come this far and I want it to turn out the best that it can. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Looking good! I think your gaps are good. They may open up a bit as we head into winter. Next summer will be the test when they expand again. You might to have a hand plane one or 2 of them if they expand a little more than they're sitting this year. But, that's just woodworking so, normal stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 I got all the drawers cut to size last night. I probably should have installed one row and then cut the next level in case I have any movement while installing, but I’ll just have to be careful attaching to drawer box. I still need to sand the drawer fronts and drill for the pulls. After I get these drawers done then it’s on to vises. I’ll be ordering a veritas inset vise for the tail vise and a benchcrafted classic leg vise for the front. You can see the stock I bought for the my chop in one of the pics. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 Going to look awesome when it's done! Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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