what's up guys, i'm brad rodriguez from fix this build that and today i'm gonna show you how to make this diy base cabinet. it is awesome storage for the garage or workshop. it has drawers as well as doors that have pullout trays in them you can configure it however you want it as many drawers as you'd like. i'll show you exactly how i did it stay tuned. i started off the project by breaking down two plywood sheets into smaller sizes for easier handling. i just got the accu-cut track from kreg tool, the sponsor of today's video, and it's an awesome pairing with my cordless circular saw. the non-slip track lets me just put it down on the plywood make my cut and move on quickly no cords, no clamping, no problem.
i took the sheets to my table saw and i followed my cut list to cut the sides to size and rough out most of the other pieces. i cut the parts to a known width and i'll size them later to length to fit the build as i make it. i have plans available for this build that include a full cut list to help you minimize waste during cutting and layout you can check the link in the description for more details. the sides are connected with horizontal supports on the top and the bottom. to get all the pieces the same length. i clamp them together and i can cut them over on the miter saw. the toe kick plate is an inch and a half longer than the supports, and i cut it to size as well.
speaking of the toe kick i cut notches on the bottom of each side to accept the kick plate. i used the jigsaw to cut the recess out. just try to keep it straight of a line as you can on the sides of the kick plate will reference. all the horizontal supports will be attached to the sides using pocket screws. so i drilled two pocket holes on the end of each piece. i highly recommend using the dust attachment for the k4 and k5 jig as it captures the chips coming out and almost eliminates cleanup time. to attach the supports, i laid one side down on the floor and began attaching the pieces vertically. after i have the top and lower back support in place i turned the pieces upright and attach the other side.
because i'll have drawers or pull outs all across the cabinet i didn't use a solid bottom panel. the lower horizontal supports are screwed into another support piece turn on edge which will carry the weight of the cabinet. now this setup shores up the lower supports and gives a place to attach the center dividers, which will be added later. i worked my way around the cabinet flipping and moving it and attached all the lower supports as well as the toe kick plate, which is actually a structural piece. with the frame of the cabinet established i moved on to cutting the pullout trays which will be on both ends of the cabinet. i set up the stop track on my miter saw stand and cut all the pieces to size for the four pull out trays. next i cut the cabinet dividers to size on the table saw from the sheets that i had cut the width earlier.
each divider is attached to the upper and lower horizontal supports with pocket screws and gets pocket holes on all four corners. to position the cabinet dividers, i use the pullout drawer fronts in the drawer slides as spacers to get the exact placement. i attach the dividers with screws, and then i measured for the center drawer widths. cutting the drawers now vs. at the beginning of the project is a good idea because at this point the width of the drawers is going to be bound by the dividers. with the varying thicknesses of plywood and the possible error in measurements you could easily have a bad fit if you cut the pieces in advance. with all the pullout tray and drawer parts cut to size
i took them to the table saw and i cut grooves for the bottom panel. i used a similar method as i do with most of my drawers. first cutting a full kerf eighth of an inch groove a quarter inch up from the bottom then moving the fence over and making another pass to size the groove to my quarter-inch plywood. i raised the blade and i cut the bottom of the back pieces off so that i can slide the panel in after assembly. you'll see that later. the pullout trays go together really easily, i just squared them up and used glue and brad nails to join them. i assemble them upside down to make sure that all the grooves are aligned and even with that underside of the back piece. since the drawers will have false drawer fronts
i use pocket holes on the front and back pieces for joinery. a pair clamps here holding the drawers tight makes assembly a breeze. all the trays and drawers get a quarter inch bottom panel. i cut the panels to size and then i slid them into the grooves i cut earlier. each panel then gets screwed into the back of the drawer with some panhead screws. it gives you a nice solid drawer that is quick to build. before installing the drawers i went back and attached some mounting cleats to the corners of the cabinet back to shore it up from racking and give an attachment point for the wall. each side of the cabinet will get two pull out trays one on the bottom and one near the middle. i shimmed up the bottom slides with quarter inch plywood and gave them an eighth of an inch setback.
then i use pilot holes and screws to secure each slide to the cabinet. i use the plywood spacers to support the tray and then it pulled out the slide arms and secured them to the sides. after attaching a front and center screw, i remove the tray and installed a third screw in the back. to secure the middle slides i use the kreg drawer slide jig. i mark where i wanted the bottom of the slide and the tray to go and then i clamp the jig to the side of the cabinet. the jig gives a large surface for the slide to rest on while you attach the screws. but the real beauty of the jig here is that when you reverse it it acts as a support to hold the tray while you attach the slide arms to the sides. i really like the jig for this application.
i mount the slides for the drawers in the middle bay by using similar methods as the trays. then i did the same thing for the far end of the cabinet to finish off installing the drawers. since the cabinet's gonna be in my garage, i wanted to be off the ground. i need adjustable feet so i can level it for the sloped floor. i cut mounting blocks to size and i attach them with glue and brad nails to the front and back supports on the bottom. i drilled a 7/16 of an inch hole in the bottom of the two pieces to accept some hardware. i'm just gonna use three-eighths of an inch t-nut and carriage bolts here for the levelers. this is a trick i picked up from jay bates, which he used over on his miter saw station.
while the cabinet was on its back i cut the doors on the drawer fronts to size. this makes it really easy to layout the doors. you can just take some measurements cut the drawer fronts to exactly the size you need them. i used an eighth of an inch spacer to establish the reveal between each drawer here. i'm using concealed hinges to mount the doors to the cabinet now kreg has another jig for this and it might be my favorite one. you line up the jig on the cabinet door and then you attach the drill to the included forstner bit and drill out the hole for the cup. the coolest part is the depth stop on the bit so you can't drill it too deep.
and now you can just remove the whole piece and then drill the pilot holes for the hinge screws using that same jig. it gave me perfectly aligned holes for mounting the hinges and honestly, it was just kind of fun to use. i attach the hinges to the inside of the cabinet, and then i realized something was no bueno. okay, guys. i messed up pretty big here, so i made sure that the drawers would not hit the hinges but i did not make sure that the slides would not hit the door. so you see here that this is not going to work. do not make that mistake if you're using 110 degree doors. make sure that you shim out the drawers and make your drawers a little bit smaller to fix this little mess up i went back and installed a quarter inch shim on the outer sides of the cabinets. in retrospect
i'd recommend using two layers of the quarter inch or a half inch shim because my fit was still really tight. and yes this meant i had to remake all the trays. ugh i attached the false drawer fronts to the drawer by drilling quarter-inch through holes and using pocket screws from inside. after that i mounted the pulls to the drawer fronts and doors. i spaced the handles near the top of the drawers for easier access for those lower drawers. i want to replace these handles later on with some shop built ones out of maple, but these are gonna look nice for now. the final piece of the cabinet is the top. i made everything to this point out of just two sheets of plywood. i used a portion of a third sheet for my top, but you could make a solid wood one or use an off-the-shelf countertop as well.
to give the top a beefier feel i trimmed it with an inch and a half thick piece of maple hardwood. i used glue and pocket screws on the underside of the top to attach the trim to the front. i left the front piece long to cut to size after the side trim is on. i mounted spacer strips on the underside of the top to raise it off the base and give a spot to attach the screws from underneath. i just attached it with glue and inch-and-a-quarter screws. i flipped the top over and cut the front trim flush with the sides using my flush cut saw. then i took the top out to the driveway rounded over the edges with my router and sanded everything to 180 grit. i applied two coats of water-based poly to the cabinet and three coats to the top before taking it back inside. i removed the upper pullout trays and secured the top of the cabinet with screws from below.
and i was all finished now. this cabinets gonna be an awesome addition to my mid and long term storage in the shop and the possibilities are just really endless with this design. you can size it and number the drawer and door combination to fit your needs i wanna give a big thank you to kreg tool for helping me out with this project. their jigs made this project go a lot faster, and the pocket hole joinery makes the case go together super quick. there's links down below in the description to all the different items that i use today you can go check them out. if you want plants build your own base cabinet, there's a link down below in the description. it'll take you to my plans, and they have 3d diagrams cut lists as well as step-by-step instructions.
i want to give a big shout out to all my patrons over there and the builders club. thank you guys for supporting me! if you're not subscribed in the channel i'd love to have you as part of the channel. and until next time guys get out there and build something awesome!