WW cl@ss - fliptop cabinet part 1: Measurements & Material list

[Bas]

Pictures of the completed stand
Preamble to this WW class

The measurements for this project are more of a guideline, since you will have to tailor it to your tools and preferences. See diagram 1 below.



Diagram 1

I measured the width of my miter saw, added ½”, and determined the width of the platform should be 21”. That should fit most 10” chop saws. The disc/ sander combo was much narrower, so there was no real concern there about width. Every measurement that depends on the shelf width is marked with (a). I was tempted to make it a little wider, in case I ever upgraded a tool, but the whole point of this stand is mobility and conserving space.

The next critical measurement is the distance between the middle shelf and the underside of the platform. Here, the miter saw was not an issue, since in its “folded down” position it is only 15” tall. The sander on the other hand needed a little more room. I ended up using 18” as the maximum height; all related measurements are marked (b).

The final measurement to consider is the height of your miter saw bed. Mine was roughly 3 ¾”, so I went with the platform 4” down. I figured it would be easier to shim the saw to get it to the right height than trying to make the platform exact.

See diagram 2. I made the shelf 18” deep (18 ½” with trim, see below), which should fit most 10” miter saws. Note that it only needs to be deep enough for the bottom of the saw; a handle that sticks out in the front or a dust collection bag on the back is not an issue. Overall, these measurements felt “right” – not too tall, not too narrow. Stability is somewhat important when dealing with spinning saw blades.




Diagram 2


My workbench is 35” high, which is the right size for me, although I found the miter saw handle to be slightly too high to be truly comfortable. I wanted the platform on which the miter saw would sit to be roughly 34”. Subtracting the height of the casters, the 18” for the tool and the thickness of the bottom and shelf, that left me with about 8” for the shelf area. That worked out great, since I wanted the drawer to be 6” deep (any deeper and you will be tempted to stack stuff, and you’ll never find anything….). The casters I had bought were the bolt kind, not the screw-on kind (oops…), so I needed a little room at the bottom for the nuts and washers. The final height of the cabinet is 37¾”, with the platform at 33¾”.

Tall people may want to increase the measurement (b), and if you go with the screw-on casters you can save an inch by lowering the middle shelf (since you don’t have to account for the nuts & washers). Again, keep the proportions in mind. Consider making the cabinet deeper and wider if you make it taller than 40”.

Note that all the measurements are for the plywood panels. I trimmed the plywood with ¼” strips of beech to hide the raw edges. So, for example, the final width of the cabinet is 23” (22 ½” + ¼” + ¼”). If you go with edge banding, the increase is marginal of course. Since the trim is done afterwards, it won’t matter for the construction.

For those of you who don’t know, the thickness of plywood varies quite a bit. Even though it’s called ¾” plywood doesn’t mean it’s actually ¾” thick. That would be too easy. One of my first projects was a bookcase that required dadoes for the shelves. I ended up with a lot of scrap…. Any time the thickness of the plywood matters I marked the measurement as “approximate”. For example, the platform is composed of two pieces of plywood, with 1” thick strips in between. If the plywood is 23/32” instead of ¾”, the final height of the platform will be 2 7/16”, not 2½”. Likewise, the bottom is listed as 22½”, but will probably be 22 7/16”. The good news is that you can always make the panel shorter.

Material list below...

[Bas]

Material/ part list

1. Sheet of plywood. You’ll need almost a full 8x4 sheet. I used ¾” Birch plywood. You could go with construction grade plywood of course, but you may want to spend the extra money and go with something that is a little easier to work with.
2. Hardwood trim. I went with Beech because that’s what I had, and I wanted to do a shop project to get some experience with it. Any kind of hardwood will work, but I recommend Beech, Oak, Ash, hard Maple etc. Something that will stand up to some abuse. But Cherry or Walnut would be fine too.
3. Hardwood supports and strips. Besides the hardwood support on top (where the wings will be attached), you also need two small blocks to mount the axle, some strips to make the platform, a few pieces for the wing supports, and some thin strips for edging and decoration. I used a combination of Beech and Oak. You only need a few board feet.
4. Drawer bottom. I used ¼” Birch plywood; you’ll need roughly 21”x18”.
5. Drawer front. I suggest you use the same material as for the trim.
6. Back panel. This is to cover the drawer area only. I used ¼” birch plywood, this was the cutoff from the drawer bottom.
7. Axle. I used ½” steel bar, 24” in length (approx.). You can get it at Home Depot in 3ft lengths; the cutoff piece is actually useful during assembly.
8. Piano hinge. You’ll need a total of 32”. It usually comes in 3ft. lengths.
9. Barrel bolts, the type of latch you slide side-to-side. You’ll need four of them.
10. Drawer pull.
11. Casters. I used four swivel casters from Grizzly. As mentioned before, I accidentally bought the threaded kind, not the one you attach via screws. But both kinds will work. Don’t skimp too much on the casters. Again, the whole point of this stand is mobility. These casters are double-locking, i.e. when locked they won’t swivel or roll.
12. Washers, bolts, screws, scrap metal hardware, glue etc.

Here are the measurements for the plywood panels (part #, description: length x width (quantity):

1. Side: 32 1/2" x 18" (2)
2. Bottom: 22 1/2" x 18" (1)
3. Shelf: 21 3/4" x 18" (1)
4. Platform: 21" x 18" (2)
5. Drawer side: 17" x 6" (2)
6. Drawer front/ back: 19 1/4" 6" (2)
7. Wing: 24" x 11" (2)

[sapwood]

Bas,
This is so good, it's almost scary

Roger

[Makinsawdust]

This is the first time I've see a consultant build something before he told someone else how to build it. It must be the "a". Consultants are known for their ability to bandsaw. In this case its B"a"S. Keep up the good work cyber professor.



Rob

[WoodWrangler]

Okay, I'm impressed.

[woodrat]

I predict that there will be a lot of these "Bas Cabinets" around.

Thanks for all the hard work Bas.