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[email protected] krw@notreal.com is offline
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Default Fast, Inexpensive, Strong Drawers

On Sat, 05 Oct 2019 09:17:32 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

Leon Fisk on Fri, 4 Oct 2019 16:38:54 -0400
typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
On Fri, 4 Oct 2019 13:24:29 -0700
Bob La Londe wrote:

This might be metalworking or wood working. I'm seriously thinking
about removing the work benches from along the back wall in my shop and
replacing them with a single continuous monolithic steel plate top work
bench. Beveled, welded, and ground flat at each joint. Apx 54' long.
Ok, that part is definitely metalworking.

Here is the part I am undecided about. I want drawers from the bench
top to about 3 inches above the floor from end to end. No. not a 54'
long drawer. LOL. Banks of drawers, to eliminate all my roll away tool
boxes and sort a lot of tools with their related parts. ie: Snap rings
with snap ring tools, etc...

Appearance is a non issue for me. Strength and speed of assembly
probably rank 1 & 2 for importance with cost coming in at number three.
Not all drawers would need to be super strong of course, but I would
like to make them all the same. Right now I am thinking about wood
drawers or folded/welded sheet metal drawers. I have a decent finger
brake and various metal cutting processes in my shop. I also have all
the wood working tools I could need for making wood drawers. No matter
which way I go I'd want to make them all the same way.

I looked at roll away bottom cabinets as an option under the bench, but
they are either way to light duty, don't have drawer configurations that
I like, or way to expensive.


My "workbench" is a thrift store office desk. Cost me ~$15.


Mine is a solid core door. Actually, I have two, free for the
hauling.
And two more which are top and bottom half of a "Dutch door"
configuration.
Now if I just had the space to deploy all of them.


Two of mine are solid core doors. The one I use for assembly has a
3/4" sheet of melamine as a "dress" top. The benches are wrapped in a
1x4" ash band, holding the finished top in place (glued to the door,
not the "dress" top. The other, for cutting (track saw, usually) has
a loose MDF top that sits 1/4" proud of the banding. The "dress" tops
of both are loose, so they can be replaced easily.

Has a large shallow drawer above my legs and over the right side drawers. Two nice
sized drawers on the right and two on the left. At work I had a nice
(Haworth) two drawer filing cabinet which was the same height as my
workbench. These all have heavy duty roller slides. Bottom drawers in my
desk have drill motors, angle grinders, socket sets, impact tools...
and still work great.


Neat.
So... I would watch for used office furniture on the cheap that
satisfies your bench height. Lateral files could work for larger items.


I've several sizes of file cabinets. Two of the two drawer size
work well to hold "Yet Another Door" bench top. That one is in the
back serving as a shelf for storage.


I've done that for my computer desk, in the past. The one I have now
just has hair pin legs. I wish I could find a decent used office
furniture store. All of the used office furniture I've seen lately is
incredibly expensive. The crap the office stores sells would never
hold up in a shop.