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Show Me Homebuilt Storage Cabinets

bshusted

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Jan 1, 2014
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219
Location
Kirkland, WA
I made mine with cheapo HD plywood to the dimensions of the IKEA BESTA cabinets. This way I could pick up the doors at IKEA and paint the cabinets. Here are a couple of pics before the cabinets got painted.


 
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buening

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Dec 17, 2007
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1,338
Location
Decatur, IL
What paint did you use? Looks easy to wipe down. Any issues with degrading with chemical contact?

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Rustoleum Enamel from a quart can, sprayed via HVLP gun. Charcoal Gray I believe was the color. Its the darker of the two grays they offer. Very easy to wipe down. Don't really expose them to chemicals outside of a cleaner on a rag, but am sure it won't handle brake fluid or carb/brake cleaner exposure.

@Buening your cabinets and bench are nice. What are the cabinets constructed from?
What kind of paint did you use? The finish looks flawless. Thanks.

Especially love the idea of using square tubing as mount for your grinder and vice. Absolutely brilliant idea!

Thanks for the compliments. They are good 10'ers, I really needed to color sand and buff but for a garage they look good enough. The top, bottom, sides, and shelves are 3/4" oak plywood. The back is 1/2" plywood, and the doors are 3/4" MDF. Glued and screwed together for a tight fit. Shelves have 1"x1"x1/4" angle iron screwed to the fronts for added stiffness, since they are 4' spans on the large cabinet.

Tubing for grinder and vice work great, thanks! I still need to make one for my buffer yet. The only downside is the grinder and buffer sling **** on my bench and cabinet. I need to create a dust shield to catch most of it.
 

greasyfingers01

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Apr 6, 2015
Messages
143
Rustoleum Enamel from a quart can, sprayed via HVLP gun. Charcoal Gray I believe was the color. Its the darker of the two grays they offer. Very easy to wipe down. Don't really expose them to chemicals outside of a cleaner on a rag, but am sure it won't handle brake fluid or carb/brake cleaner exposure.

I was thinking more of accidental drips and residue. I'd hate to get some atf or something on it, wipe it off and have the paint come up with it. Is there a particular reason you went with mdf for the doors? Btw, they look sharp!
 

Bunk

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Oct 25, 2008
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Location
Alexandria, VA
Is there a particular reason you went with mdf for the doors? Btw, they look sharp!

First of all,+1 on your great looking cabinets buening.

@greasyfingers01, not to speak for buening, but MDF is a better choice for cabinet doors than plywood as its more dimensionally stable and will stay dead flat. Large unsupported panels of plywood can warp over time.
 

buening

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Dec 17, 2007
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Location
Decatur, IL
Exactly. Plywood, when its edges aren't supported or braced, will warp over time. MDF will not, however you want to make darn sure you get MDF fully painted/sealed otherwise it will swell like a sponge. One of the edge corners of the upper cabinet didn't get fully sealed with paint, and it looked like it had enormous growths (like a mushroom).

Also, if you go with the frameless hinges like I used make sure you use 3/4" doors. I started out with 1/2" trying to save one weight but the depth of the forstner bit pocket for the hinges ended up being somewhere around 1/2"....so I had a lot of 1/2" doors I ended up not being able to use :( Thankfully that was before paint.

I've had grease, oil, and others splattered on it before and it just wipes up (thanks to the gloss finish). Anything that will eat enamel like brake fluid, will cause issues. It also scratches pretty easily, just a heads up. I used lots of primer first and a few topcoats of the dark gray. I also used a hardener from Valspar, hoping it wouldn't scratch easy. Since it is plywood and MDF, the substrate is pretty soft and therefore scratches/dents easier than say sheet metal.
 
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Blazinzuk

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Mar 13, 2016
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637
Location
Afton Wy
I love this thread.

Cabinets don't seem overly difficult to build even for a beginner like me.

Not saying they are easy but I think I could accomplish some and get some tools in the process. AND save some money. Plus getting exactly what I want
 

Slednut

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Dec 20, 2012
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2,550
Location
Washington state
I've posted these pictures before on other threads. I like just building boxes and using melamine for the face frames and doors. I don't like painting cabinets, but I do paint the sawed edge of the melamine. I have used the iron on edge tape but it's not rugged enough for a garage cabinets.
 

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jrod60

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Apr 11, 2006
Messages
75
Location
Katy TX
I have two sets. The first is three units of 30"w, 18"d, about 7' tall. 3/4" plywood with Dado grooves for the shelves. Top bottom and middle shelves are screwed in place, the rest are adjustable. One cabinet has full width shelves, one is split in half, on is about 40/60. I have doors that will get hung one of these days. Those were a practice run before we made a while room full of shelves in the house.


The second set uses 2x4 base and verticals with 2x2 horizontal beams and 3/4" ply shelves. I have plans to add sliding doors to the front of this one, but at the time I just needed to put stuff back inside. These are 30" deep to hold totes and larger stuff (like the miter saw, blast cab, ice chest, corvette door...what?!) that won't go in the 18" units.
 

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Badboybuggy

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Nov 4, 2014
Messages
8
Location
Rock Hill, SC
I just built this shop it really took all the money I had. So work has plenty of pallets that they pay to have hauled away any chance I get I bring them home.
Most if not all the lumber used on the cabinets is free. I took pallets apart to make the cabinets. I went to the Restore in town and picked up hinges for $.50 each.
Not real pretty but at least they are functional..
 

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jimgood

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Aug 4, 2014
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Location
Marshall, VA
I just built this shop it really took all the money I had. So work has plenty of pallets that they pay to have hauled away any chance I get I bring them home.
Most if not all the lumber used on the cabinets is free. I took pallets apart to make the cabinets. I went to the Restore in town and picked up hinges for $.50 each.
Not real pretty but at least they are functional..
I like that. Makes me wish sometimes I had not discarded all the pallets that were in my barn when I first moved here.
 

PFSard

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Sep 12, 2013
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Location
Mesa, AZ
I just built this shop it really took all the money I had. So work has plenty of pallets that they pay to have hauled away any chance I get I bring them home.
Most if not all the lumber used on the cabinets is free. I took pallets apart to make the cabinets. I went to the Restore in town and picked up hinges for $.50 each.
Not real pretty but at least they are functional..

Great job. They look pretty to me.
 
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NedNorton

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Jul 14, 2012
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608
Location
Colorado, USA
Great DIY cabinet examples above.

Here are mine. Plywood doors and boxes w/ pine face frames and Blum soft close hinges. Simple shelf standards on the inside and outdoor carpet on the shelves to keep things from scratching. They are painted inside and out. It takes more time but well worth it.







Cheers,
Chris
 

fleeders

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Joined
Jul 17, 2007
Messages
9
Rustoleum Enamel from a quart can, sprayed via HVLP gun. Charcoal Gray I believe was the color. Its the darker of the two grays they offer. Very easy to wipe down. Don't really expose them to chemicals outside of a cleaner on a rag, but am sure it won't handle brake fluid or carb/brake cleaner exposure.



Thanks for the compliments. They are good 10'ers, I really needed to color sand and buff but for a garage they look good enough. The top, bottom, sides, and shelves are 3/4" oak plywood. The back is 1/2" plywood, and the doors are 3/4" MDF. Glued and screwed together for a tight fit. Shelves have 1"x1"x1/4" angle iron screwed to the fronts for added stiffness, since they are 4' spans on the large cabinet.

Tubing for grinder and vice work great, thanks! I still need to make one for my buffer yet. The only downside is the grinder and buffer sling **** on my bench and cabinet. I need to create a dust shield to catch most of it.

Quick question for buening...I really love the finish on your cabinet and just to make sure I understand the step you have done....you have 1st prime the mdf, then spray it with Rostoleum enamel with HVLP gun then you add the Valspar hardener.....did you mix the hardener with the last coat of the Rostoleum or only spray it after?

Thanks
 

Double J

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Sep 27, 2008
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143
Location
Springfield, OH
Built these two years ago for the detached garage. The following year I lined both walls in the attached garage. Hides the junk nicely.
 

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cagullett1

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Sep 29, 2013
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North Texas
For the guys painting the inside of the cabinets, are you painting prior to final assembly in order to get even coverage?
 

Bunk

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Oct 25, 2008
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262
Location
Alexandria, VA
....you have 1st prime the mdf, then spray it with Rostoleum enamel with HVLP gun then you add the Valspar hardener.....did you mix the hardener with the last coat of the Rostoleum or only spray it after?

fleeders-
Hardener gets mixed in with the paint before you apply it.
 

Crusarius

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Aug 22, 2013
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383
Location
Upstate NY
This is a little less garage related but really happy how it turned out. Unfortunately since it was built in I left it at the old house. Oh well, there is always more...

The dark stained material was an existing built in cabinet that I converted from fixed shelves to pullout DVD storage. I think I had about 700 DVD capacity. One of the sections was double sided since I did not have enough space to do 3 singles.
 

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hchinaski

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Nov 4, 2012
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63
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I made some simple cabinets out of 3/4" plywood, with 1/2" plywood doors and 1x2 furring strips for the face frames (had to weed through a ton to find some straight ones). I figured out that if I kept the depth to 16", and the width to 32", I could make a whole cabinet out of one sheet of plywood including the shelves.

I put them together with a Kreg jig and screws. The door handles were the same 1x2 furring strips rounded off with a router, I made them long to stiffen the thinner plywood doors (the art deco look was just a bonus).
 

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buening

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Dec 17, 2007
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Decatur, IL
I personally painted the inside after assembly, because I glued the joints in conjunction with screws. Glue doesnt stick well to painted surface, so I would have had to tape off the contact area
 

FIRE UP

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Oct 9, 2010
Messages
33
Location
Ramona. CA
Gentlemen,
I for one, certainly commend all of you who've taken the time, the effort and have the tools and equipment to build all of your cabinets for your Man Caves, work areas, garages etc. I did all that, several times over the years in three different homes. I've built miles of cabinets using plywood, particle board, MDF, and a few hundred Melamine sheets too.

In my younger years, (way back a few decades ago), when I had the strength and the ability to man-handle all those sheets of material, cut them all up, then cut, drill (reverse side pocket holes) and assemble the face frames, then put all of them together and paint what needed to be painted with white glossy lacquer, it was very, very rewarding to see the end finished product.

But, as all of you know, THAT'S A TON OF WORK!! And, I'm not nearly as agile as I used to be so, when we recently moved to a brand new home here in Lake Havasu City AZ, I knew I'd need MORE CABINETS. But, I was not about to do that whole process over again. So, the wife and I cruised on down to Ikea in San Diego and picked up, a whole bunch of kitchen cabinets.

We transported them over to here and, assembled them all. Guys, again, I've done it all and, I wanted something really nice, just like all of yours but, I did not want put out that kind of effort, AGAIN. So, this message is for the few that might not have the tools, talent, effort, etc. to build their own. These Ikea cabinets are by far, some of the best I've ever seen, as far as commercial, end-user assembled, cabinets.

They are all modular. You can set them up in multiple sizes and, organizations, in as many ways, as you like. The company has designed them so that, with minimal effort, in the end, it looks EXACTLY like they're home built, and fit EXACTLY in your spaces. A brief example of the versatility of a lower section, say 36" wide and standard lower cabinet height is, you can set it up as multiple drawers, or, two large drawers or, single, dual, multiple shelves or, even one side is drawers and the other is shelves with a door on that side. It's incredible on the combinations you can create.

I'm only participating in this particular thread so that again, if some of you don't have the tools or ability to construct your own cabinets, this is a viable alternative for not all that much money. I picked a semi-flat white vinyl finish on the doors and drawer fronts. I knew I'd be wiping them off regularly. Ikea offers multiple types and colors of finishes faces for all of their cabinets.


And, we chose a darker, Granite looking counter top. Again, they have multiple colors and styles of countertops to suit anyone's taste. Here's a couple of pictures of how they look, just for those that might be thinking of purchasing some instead of building them.

Again, to those that have shown your ability and talent to create your own, you have done an outstanding job, you should be ultra proud.
Scott
 

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bajones238

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Sep 6, 2011
Messages
60
Location
South Carolina
Pegboard, plywood and 1x2 lumber, plus a lot of strap hinges. I built these 25 years ago. If I'd had the money, I would have used stainless tops instead of galvanized sheet metal.

DSC_2932-M.jpg

The "clean" shop for electronics work.

DSC_2945-M.jpg

The "dirty" shop for everything else (cleaned up, since we are selling the house).

DSC_2949-M.jpg

The old Hallowell metal table for the really nasty stuff (engines, transmissions).

I'll have to start all over again at the new place, and am looking to this board for suggestions. Some great ones so far!
 

buening

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Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
1,338
Location
Decatur, IL
Quick question for buening...I really love the finish on your cabinet and just to make sure I understand the step you have done....you have 1st prime the mdf, then spray it with Rostoleum enamel with HVLP gun then you add the Valspar hardener.....did you mix the hardener with the last coat of the Rostoleum or only spray it after?

Thanks

Sorry I just noticed this. Yes, prime the MDF/plywood first. I went an extra step and used Varathane wood primer first, then used Rustoleum Gray primer over that (likely overkill). If you want woodgrain to show then go to next step with topcoat, if not then prime again and sand till smooth. Then mix Valspar hardener with Rustoleum (or whatever brand you choose) paint according to the directions on the hardener can, thin accordingly and spray from HVLP gun. I used hardener on both coats (did 2 coats of paint). Hardener obviously makes the paint harder and increases gloss. I got the hardener from my local Farm & Fleet, but am sure its available online if you don't have those kind of stores.
 
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