SIMPLE DESK WITH DRAWERS

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In this workshop I will show how to make an inexpensive and simple desktop with drawers from plywood, in which you can store tools and other things.

Functionality and table design

The six meter wall in my garage was ideal for setting up a desktop with drawers for storing things.
I need a place for a miter saw and a lot of drawers where you can store tools and tools for gardening.
The desktop will be 1 m high and 60 cm deep.
The countertop will occupy all the space between the walls, under it there is a place for storing a lawn mower, snow blower, circular saw, vacuum cleaner and cyclone.
The desktop will consist of cabinets, each of which will have drawers. The open ends of the countertops will be framed by a 5 x 10 cm board.

Plywood cutting

Case:
I used 2 cm plywood for both the cabinet and the countertop. 5 standard sheets will be enough to make 5 cabinets and a 6-meter countertop.
Using a saw with a disk for cutting plywood, I spread each sheet of plywood into two strips: 60 and 240 cm.
The 3 most successful options I left for the top of the table.
From each part of the sheet, you can make the upper and lower parts of the cabinets. I planned to make 5 cabinets, so at the same time I cut the side parts with a width of 70 cm. I also cut 60 cm of the upper and lower parts of the cabinets.
Drawers:
For drawers, 12 mm plywood was used, polished on both sides. I also divided these plywood sheets into two parts: 60 and 240 cm.
The bottom of each drawer is the same and is 60 x 60 cm. I cut 20 elements of the bottom, and I left the rest of the plywood for the manufacture of sidewalls.
Sawing out guides for drawers

The table was designed in such a way that there are 4 drawers in each cabinet. 3 shallow and one deep for voluminous things.
To cut the guides, I used a milling machine with a mill, which immerses only 12 mm.
The first groove is cut 3 cm above the lower edge in the inner side of the cabinet. The remaining three are equidistant 13 cm from each other, while the upper one is located at a distance of 15 cm from the upper edge. I made a template with which you can direct the router so that the grooves are the same in all cabinets.

Cabinet assembly

Each cabinet has two sidewalls, in which the sides are symmetrically grooved inward. They are bolted with screws on top and bottom.
I did not make the back wall of the cabinets, since it still will not be visible. But at the same time, I fastened the structure in the upper back of the table with a strip of plywood 2 cm thick, through it I will still fasten the table to the wall.
I needed a table for working with a miter saw, so I made one cabinet 8 cm lower than the other 4. In it, two drawers were made 8 cm lower.
After all five cabinets were assembled, I fastened them together and screwed them to the wall with screws. The whole structure is 25 cm from the floor surface.
Because at the bottom there will be the largest drawers for long tools and fixtures. These boxes will rest directly on the concrete floor, and will be pulled out using the semicircular bolt heads. You can use the wheels, but I found that the pan head bolt glides perfectly on the felt furniture sticker.

Putting the bottom on the boxes

Drawers exactly fit the width of the cabinets. Using a grinder, I slightly rounded the corners on the headlamp for the bottom, so that the boxes could fit into the grooves more easily. In some cases, it was possible to use a saw to remove up to 4 mm of excess material. Before fastening the bottom to the drawer, make sure that it fits freely into the slots.

Assembly of the remaining boxes

The sides, front and back of the drawers were made of 12 mm plywood.
With the help of a milling cutter and a homemade device in the front of the drawers, I cut out the handles.
He walked the grinder on all the elements.
Further, with the help of a neiler, I knocked all the parts of the drawers together, and on the front side I screwed in two screws for extra strength.
This stage was the longest, since I had to trim, mill and grind 112 parts.
Below I put the largest boxes. Two 120 cm long and one 60 cm long. The lower drawers are set deeper to provide space for the feet when working at the work table. They are ideal for storing long tools, like clamps, workpieces and hoses for vacuum cleaners.

Countertop Installation

The countertops were made of 20 mm plywood, which was screwed on top of the cabinets.
For the mounted parts, I made a frame from 5 x 10 mm boards and screwed plywood sheets on top of them.
Putting two layers of plywood on top, the countertop turned out to be quite impressive. She can calmly stand my torment.

Polishing

The entire top surface was sanded and I applied a stain to the plywood.
I added a frame of red oak planks, which I also covered with stain.
Then on all wooden surfaces I applied three layers of polyurethane varnish.

Conclusion:

Now I can store tons of tools and materials, and even got the opportunity to throw out some old baskets and boxes. I really like this desktop.
If I happened to make such a table again, I would like to resize some of the drawers. For example, I need more small ones that can be used to store small tools. While medium and large boxes I would have been enough for a couple of pieces. Therefore, before starting work, I recommend thinking about this issue.
Original article in English

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