# Shop Cabinet with Dado Drawer Runner



## niagarabuzzsaw (Feb 27, 2018)

Hi,

I would like to make some simple shop storage. A plywood cabinet with drawers than run in a dado is a really appealing plan - simple, modular and inexpensive. I've had my eye on this type of construction after seeing it first in Matthew Teague's "Projects for Your Shop" and more recently on YouTube in a work bench build by Jeremy Schmidt 




I'm eager to start a build but I am concerned about the strength of 1/4" ply for the dimensions that I am considering. I have a particular spot in the shop in mind for this cabinet and drawers would end up 25"W x 17"D. I'll be cutting dadoes every 1.5" in the cabinet and plan on a combination of 1.5", 3", 4.5", and 6" drawers. Drawers would all be glued and stapled. Smaller drawers would get bins and store hardware. Larger drawers would hold infrequently used tools i.e. biscuit joiner. I have considered 1/2" ply for the drawer bottoms. Ron Paulk uses 1/2" ply in his work trailer. Appropriate for a professional contractor but it seems overkill for my needs.

So - would 1/4" ply on a drawer measuring roughly 25"W x 17"D hold up? Especially since the 1/4" ply supports the drawers in the thin dadoes on the side.

Appreciate the help!


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Yes, use 1/2" ply.

Hardware can get heavy. Plus 1/2 allows for dados in bottom if desired.


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## AlmostRetired (Jun 11, 2016)

1/4 inch would work but the cost to go up to 1/2 from GOOD 1/4 stock isn't enough to make me tale the chance.

Roger


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## EvanRyan (Mar 6, 2018)

Watching this thread, I also want shop cabinets


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

I would think 3/8" would be plenty for that size drawer (which I think is what he used in the video). But, nothing wrong with going 1/2" so you can store anvils and such. Because the drawer bottom is firmly attached to the sides, and not just floating in a dado like a common drawer construction, the bottom will be much stiffer making it sag less.

That's a clever concept for some functional storage with the ability to arrange the drawers in any order. One thing I wonder about is how easily they can be pushed and pulled if loaded with something heavy like hardware.

Something else to consider, if you made the drawer box a bit smaller with 1/2" of clearance on each side, you could easily add standard drawer slides in the future if needed.


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## niagarabuzzsaw (Feb 27, 2018)

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I gave it a lot of thought and decided to go with 1/4" ply. 1/4" dadoes in the cabinet sides gives me the most flexibility for the drawer depths that I'm looking for and I decided to build the cabinet from 1/4" x 5 'x 5' Baltic Birch plywood. The stronger plies of BB should provide all the strength that I need across 24" of drawer span.

I'll post after the build with my impressions. It will either work out as I hope or I'll cry as I roast marsh mellows over an expensive plywood fire


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## niagarabuzzsaw (Feb 27, 2018)

Update…

Finished building, but went in a little different direction. After looking over my shop I decided to build a bank of drawers under my workbench instead of a cabinet with drawers. I ended up with 15 decent sized drawers. Drawers are 15.5" wide x 17.5" deep. They run in dadoes cut every 2" which gave me 2", 4", and 6" drawer heights. And all drawers are interchangeable. If anyone is planning on doing this in the future 1/4" BB ply bottoms are plenty stout.


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## scribble (May 17, 2012)

I really like this setup. I may have to adopt this in place of my old worn out kitchen cabinets in my shop.


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## CW22 (Nov 7, 2021)

Any chance for a 3-year update on this? How are those quarter inch rails holding up?


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## niagarabuzzsaw (Feb 27, 2018)

CW22 - drawers and rails are just as good as when I finished the project in 2018. In fact the drawers slide easier now that they have been broken-in and waxed a couple of times. As "Clin" mentioned in post #4 - "Because the drawer bottom is firmly attached to the sides, and not just floating in a dado like a common drawer construction, the bottom will be much stiffer making it sag less." I've experienced zero sag and have no regrets at all using 1/4" ply bottoms.


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

Drawers look great. Thanks for sharing…really nice design.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

Once upon a time I made a cabiet with 1/2" sides, dadoed drawers. about 30"high bbirch

worked fine, but I ended up storing metal working tools in it. read "lots of weight"into that equation. taps/dies/reamers

So what happened is this….pulling the drawers in and out, the sides of the carcase would bow out, the drawers would drop off their dadoed slides near the frontand jam up

fix was to put in spacers between sides to prevent sides from bowing fixed the problem

Naigras beautiful under bench drawers,the one that is open don't show much weight in them

ergo, sides bowing is something to keep in mind so factor that into your design

I've yet tofigue out how the drawers goso full!!!

Eric


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## CW22 (Nov 7, 2021)

> CW22 - drawers and rails are just as good as when I finished the project in 2018. In fact the drawers slide easier now that they have been broken-in and waxed a couple of times.
> 
> - niagarabuzzsaw


Awesome, thanks for sharing. It seems like so many people use much heavier and more material than is necessary in non-critical applications, and the thriftiness in me makes me use the cheapest material until proven otherwise.

In my specific application I'm looking at under table storage for tools, and currently almost everything under there is contained in stacks of cardboard. I'm certain that correctly built quarter inch material is going to be sturdier than cardboard.


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## CW22 (Nov 7, 2021)

> Once upon a time I made a cabiet with 1/2" sides, dadoed drawers. about 30"high bbirch
> 
> worked fine, but I ended up storing metal working tools in it. read "lots of weight"into that equation. taps/dies/reamers
> 
> ...


Helpful contexr, thanks Eric. Seems like density is important factor to consider, and the dividing line seems to be solid steel tools that weigh more than probably 5 lb a piece. Good rule of thumb for me to think about


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