Modular Shop Cabinets

Extra Features

These are “dream” shop cabinets, and to keep the dream alive, I’ve jammed them full of extra features: 

-Fifteen full-extension drawers with 1-in. overtravel and a self-closing feature that takes over when the drawer is nearly closed (a welcome feature when you have your hands full).

-Angled shelves that put frequently used tools right at your fingertips. 

-Shop-made handles that double as label holders. 

-A worktop shelf that works like an elevated tool tray. 

-A durable worktop that overhangs the lower cabinets to allow clamping to the surface.

Simple Modular Construction

Modular construction allows one person to build and install this entire 6-ft. run of cabinets. These shop cabinets begin as a series of 2-ft.-wide modules or boxes that screw together. Simply add or subtract boxes for a cabinet run that suits your needs. Because all the boxes are the same width, making the doors and drawers is greatly simplified. 

End panels cover the exposed sides of the boxes on the ends of a run. The end panels are extra deep, providing room to scribe the back edge to fit an uneven wall.

You can adjust the 39-in. worktop height by altering the base platform’s height. 

A standard kitchen has a 36-in.-high countertop with 16 in. clearance between it and 30-in.-tall upper cabinets. Because we raised the worktop height to 39 in. to be more comfortable for woodworking, we shortened the upper cabinets to 24 in. to keep their top shelves within reach. 

The self-closing door hinges open 120 degrees and adjust in all directions. Pneumatic door-closing cushions work like magic to softly  close the doors without a bang. Nothing is too good for these shop cabinets.

Build the Boxes

1. Cut all the upper and lower cabinet box parts (A through J). Apply birch iron-on edge tape to all the front edges (Photo 1). Note: Do not ease the taped edges before assembly or the joints between the shelves and the sides won’t look tight.

2. Cut the shelf standard grooves  in the two upper cabinets with doors (Fig. A, below; Photo 2). Finish-sand the inside of all the pieces that form the upper cabinet boxes.

3. Drill and countersink pilot holes at the top and bottom of the upper and lower cabinet sides (Fig. A and C). 

4. Assemble the three upper cabinet boxes (Photo 3). 

5. Assemble the three lower cabinet boxes using a 30-in.-long support tube (Fig. C, below). 

6.  Ease the taped edges of the assembled boxes using sandpaper.

7. Cut the parts for the angled shelves (K, L, SS, VV and WW). Assemble the shelves. Then drill the screw holes in the shelf supports and mount them in the angled-shelf cabinet (Fig. B, below).

8. Cut the cabinet backs (U and V) to size. Apply two coats of oil or varnish to the insides of the upper cabinet boxes and backs.  

9. Screw the shelf standards into their grooves, and then screw the cabinet backs to the boxes. 

10. Mark hinge-mounting plate locations on the two upper cabinets with doors using a hinge-drilling template (Photo 4) (see Sources, below). Attach the mounting plates. 

Frame-and-Panel Doors and Drawers 

11. Cut all the door and lower drawer face parts (GG, HH, MM, NN, PP and QQ). Note: The bottom drawer front is a frame and panel because it’s too big to be made of solid wood.

12. Cut tongue-and-groove joints for the door and drawer frames. 

13. Finish-sand the panels and apply one coat of oil or varnish. 

14. Assemble the frames with glue and clamps, and check for square. 

15. Drill the 35-mm cup-hinge holes on the door stiles and mount the hinges. Center the holes 3 in. from the top and bottom. The hole’s edge should be set back 3/16 in. from the outside edge of the door stile. 

Hang and Fit the Doors

16. Screw together the three upper boxes. Hang the doors on the assembled cabinets. 

17. Make some 1/16-in.-thick spacers for fitting the doors and drawer faces (Photo 5).

18. Adjust the hinges and trim the edges of the doors until the gaps are even. If you’re not comfortable using a hand plane to trim the doors, try a belt sander (Photo 6). No matter how you do the trimming, go slowly and check your progress often.

19. When you’re done fitting the doors, remove the doors and hinges. Label each door on its top edge, so you hang it back in the right spot. Also label each hinge and its corresponding hole to avoid readjusting the hinges. 

Make and Install the Drawers

20. Cut and machine the drawer box parts (W through FF). 

21. Predrill holes in the drawer fronts (Fig. D, page 48). Make sure the holes in the lower drawers are set close to the bottom so the screws catch the lower frame rails (Fig. C).

22. Finish-sand the inside of the drawer parts. Assemble the drawers using an 8 x 8 x 20-1/2-in. support tube. 

23. Finish-sand the outside of the drawers and ease any sharp edges.  

24. Separate the drawer slides into the cabinet members and the drawer members. 

25. Mount the cabinet members in the lower cabinet boxes (Photo 7; Fig. C, below). They are mounted flush to the cabinet fronts. 

26. Mount the drawer members to the drawers on a centerline (Photo 8).

27. Slide the drawer bottoms into the drawers and screw them to the drawer backs. 

Fit the Drawer Faces

28. Screw together the three lower cabinet boxes. Mimic the end panels with scrap plywood tacked onto each end. The mock panels should stick out 13/16-in. beyond the front of each end. Lay the assembly on its back and check for square. 

29. Trim and fit all the drawer faces. Make sure to label the back of each drawer face so you get it in the right spot when you attach it to the drawers later. 

30. When the drawer fronts are all aligned, dismantle the cabinet run down to the three boxes.

Add Final Details 

31. Rout the beaded-edge profile on the doors and drawer faces (Photo 9). Ease the edges with sandpaper.

32. Make the worktop (T, TT and UU, Fig. F, page 52), backsplash (R), worktop shelf (S), base (M through Q, Fig. G, below) and ledger (RR). 

33. Do any remaining finish-sanding and apply oil or varnish to the rest of the exposed cabinet parts. 

34. Make the handles (see “Shop-Made Handles, below”) and screw them to the doors and drawer faces. 

Install the Cabinets

35. When you hang cabinets, it’s important that you drive the screws into wall studs. Locate the studs and transfer that information to the cabinets. 

36. Start the installation by attaching the ledger to the wall so its top edge is 55 in. up from the floor. Make sure it’s level. 

37. Set the first upper cabinet in place on the ledger and screw it to the wall (Photo 10). Attach the other two cabinets and install the angled shelves (Fig. B, below). 

38. Scribe the upper end panels so their back edges fit tightly to the wall and the front edges protrude 13/16 in. from the cabinet face. Then screw them in place.

39. Level the base and screw it to the wall (Photo 11). Scribe the base fascia parts to the floor and wall and screw them in place. Set the lower cabinet boxes on the base, screw them together and then to the wall. Scribe and attach the end panels.

40. Working from the bottom up, insert each drawer and attach its drawer face (Photo 12).

41. Attach the backsplash to the worktop, then the worktop to the lower cabinets. Scribe the worktop shelf to the back wall if necessary, and screw it to the top of the backsplash.

42. Install the shelves and rehang the doors on the upper cabinets. Cut and install the fill strip (JJ) to the lower cabinets (Photo 13). 

42. Finally, mount two 24-in. under-cabinet lights on the upper cabinets to light the worktop.

These cabinets are built with box or modular construction: All the units are simply 2-ft.-wide butt-joined boxes. Because  the boxes are all the same width, the drawers and doors are, too. This streamlines machining and assembly. Each box or cabinet is installed one at a time, allowing one person to build and install a run of cabinets of almost any length.

Photo 1: All the visible cabinet edges are covered with iron-on edge tape, which goes on fast and looks great. Trim the tape with a double-sided edge trimmer. Cut the tape ends flush to the plywood prior to trimming. 

Photo 2: Cut grooves in the upper cabinet sides to house the metal shelf supports. When installed, the standards stand proud of the grooves by about 1/16 in. 

Photo 3: Assemble the boxes using a support tube to hold the top and bottom steady. The support tube for the upper cabinets is just an 8 x 8 x 22-in. box. It’s like having a second set of hands for assembly. 

Photo 4: Lay out holes for the hinge-mounting plates with a commercial template. Screw a 6-in.-long guide stick to the template to set the hinge plates 3 in. from the cabinet top and bottom. 

Photo 5: To check the fit of the doors, first screw the cabinets together as they’ll hang on the wall. Use 1/16-in.-thick spacers to set the gaps. Adjust the hinges and trim the doors (Photo 6) until all the gaps are even. Be sure to mark each door so you can remount them later in the correct order.

Photo 6: Some doors and drawer fronts may need a little trimming for a proper fit. Use a belt sander with a wide support board clamped to the face of the door so only the area to be trimmed is exposed. Squiggle pencil lines on the support board and sand until the lines start to disappear.

Photo 7: Use a support board to align the drawer slides as you screw them to the cabinets. Start at the top drawer slides and work your way across all three cabinets. Then, cut the support board shorter to set the slides for the next level of drawers, and so on down to the bottom set of drawers. 

Photo 8: The drawer slides are mounted 3/32 in. back from the drawer front to leave a little cushion between the drawer and the cabinet. A simple stick with a flat head screw works great as a setup jig. Adjust the screw until the setback is correct. Then butt the slide up to the screw head and screw it in place. 

Photo 9: Rout a beaded edge on the top and bottom of the doors and the drawer fronts. A tall fence and a featherboard steady the door for a smoother cut.

Photo 10: Install a ledger strip on which you’ll hang the cabinets. Position the cabinet on the ledger strip and drive #8 x 2-1/2-in. screws through the cabinet into the wall studs. Put screws near the top and bottom of the cabinet. 

Photo 11: The lower cabinets are set on a separate base. Use shims to level the platform front to back and side to side. Screw the base to the wall and trim the shims.

Photo 12: Clamp the drawer faces to the drawers using 1/16-in. spacers to maintain an even gap. Then pull the drawer out and attach the fronts with screws. The predrilled holes in the drawer box are slightly oversize to allow you to make minor adjustments to the drawer fronts. 

Photo 13: Nail the fill strip in place. The drawers do not go all the way to the top of the cabinet because the overhanging worktop would prevent access to the back of the top drawer. 

Shop-Made Handles

These shop-made handles add a striking visual element to any cabinet. The handles are as easy to make as they are good-looking, and they’ll save you money. The slotted fronts allow you to label each drawer’s contents. You can adapt the design to suit more formal cabinets by simply dropping the dovetailed cardholder slot. 

1. Cut 16 ft. of handle stock (XX). This is nearly twice what you need, but it gives you plenty of extra for testing your router setups.

2. Shape the handle stock following the steps shown in the figure, at right.

3. Cut the handles to length on your bandsaw with the table set at 15 degrees. The first end is cut with the stock face down (label slot on the table) and top edge forward. The second cut (see photo, above) is made with the label slot still on the table but the top edge against the miter gauge.

4. Drill the countersink holes and the pilot holes on a drill press with a fence.