Building garage cabinets

[markdoddridge]

Wow, i just got outta the marine corps and 3 months ago i bought my first house with the money i saved. My garage is very important to me, as i will be spending most of my time in there working on various projects. I want to build a wooden cabinet system with a decent sized workbench area, but me and my buddies will be spending alot of time in there so i want it to look pretty cool. I also am dead-set about building this myself. Anyone know where i can get some plans to build some really good looking cabinets with materials i can buy at home depot? I just ordered a full kit of Epoxy-coat thats going down this weekend, ive already mounted a plasma tv on the wall, and i embedded a nice surround sound system in the walls. If i can get some plans ill start building the cabinets immediatly, and ill put up pictures shortly.
thanks!

 

[TRTOOLSUPPLY]

First off welcome to the GJ site.
Secondly thank you for serving and protecting our great nation!


As far as the cabinets go ,keep asking and someone will help you out with them.The guys on here are full of good ideas.

 

[dustym]

While I had no plans to build these I copied a design I seen in a magazine. To buy them they were made out of metal but I made them out of pine, fir, and some coated 1/4 in wood sheets. All of which I purchased from Lowes. I built 2 large cabinets 4'x6' x11" and 2 wall cabinets (forgot size) for less than $100.00.

Just pick up some how too books at lowes or homer depot, you can find all kinds of projects in those type of books.

 

[buening]

You may check out a thread that I started awhile back here. I'm still working on the garage and haven't made it to the cabinets yet, but I'm still planning on making my own. I have a sketch of the cabinet/workbench on that thread as well for what I'm planning on. Hope it helps!

 

[ddawg16]

Ditto on your service to our country.....

First you need the proper equipment to build them.....like a good table saw....You are NOT going to get good results trying to use a circular saw.....

What you do depends a lot on your woodworking abilities....one can get real carried away real quick.....

If you plan on buying the material from Home Depot then I would suggest melamine....easy to cut....easy to keep clean....seal the edges with iron on edging.......

I would suggest using Blum hinges....you can get the socket cutter at Rockler.....well worth the money.

 

[iajonesy]

Thanks from an old Viet Nam vet and welcome to the Forum. Most home improvement centers will have a way to help you with your plans, either on computer or with books on hand. But if you want inovation, just wait for replys here or look at old threads for some of the most interesting building ideas ever. Good luck with your project.

Mike

 

[sammerdog]

Welcome aboard markdoddridge, and Thank You for serving our great country Sir.

A source for some ideas is a magazine called "Family Handyman". If you have a local library, odds are they have a subscription you can check out for free. Seems like they have good garage organizer plans every other month.

Otherwise, be sure to crawl through the garage gallery in this forum - man, some of the guys in there have great ideas - heck, look at dustym's work above.

And again, Welcome aboard.... post some pictures as you go!

 

[obeney]

I built these. The larger cabinets are 8'x4'x24" deep. The upper cabinets are 36"x144"x18" Deep. They are all plywood boxes with MDF doors. I used 1/2" overlap concealed hinges. The work bench I built, not in the photos, is made from 2x2 16ga square tubing and will have a laminate top.

Building cabinets isn't hard. I used a table saw and a nail gun and built these. You can even have Home Depot or Lowe's rip all your plywood to length and width if you don't have a table saw. Then its just a case of nailing it all together.

Sorry about the mess. I am in the process of doing the garage and have stuff everywhere. I got it painted this weekend so I will upload some new photos soon.

Good luck

 

[nadogail]

Welcome Aboard, pour youself a beverage and join the party.

Nadogail
in Coronado, CA
Chief Petty Officer, USN Retired

 

[rickairmedic]

Mark welcome home . I would say before you go out and start buying a bunch of wood and stuff to make cabinets try getting them for FREE . I picked up all the cabinets in these pictures I am linking to for FREE by simply placing a wanted add on Craigslist and picking them up . I have maybe $100.00 intp paint and countertops. They are mostly 1950's metal kitchen cabinets made by Geneva.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9084&page=2&highlight=Houston+problem



Rick

 

[markdoddridge]

wow guys thanks for the warm welcome. I got the Epoxy-coat today and it should go down this weekend, with pictures to follow. As for the cabinets, there are a lot of great ideas on here, thanks for the help. While it would probably be easier to get the cabinets for free from craigslist, i really want to build them myself, dont know why, i just think it would be fun. I have never worked with wood in my life by the way but im pretty handy and im sure i can pick it up. I was just gonna get all the wood cut to length at home depot when i bought it, since i havent invested in any tools yet. Thanks for all the replies guys, and ill check back in when the epoxy is down.

-Semper Fi

 

[usmc_noma]

ooh rah!

post up the pics when the epoxy is set. i just bought my home at the end of last year and i'd like to put a floor coat down eventually too.

 

[wagonmaster]

Another Devil Dog! Good to see. Thanks for your Service. Have you joined the Marine Corps League yet? May be a bit early for that...Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine!
Semper Fidelis,
Joe Reed
USMC 1966-1970
RVN 1967-1968

 

[pixelmonkey]

might want to check a thread i posted with my garage cabinets... i need to update the photos.

photos and info are linked in the thread

chris<pixelmonkey>

 

[fomocoforrester]

For a really professional looking finish, another solution might be as follows -

- Design and make all the cabinets as a custom design to meet your requirements and the space available, but base the design on industry standard modular sizes for doors, drawers and flaps etc.

- Source the door and drawer fronts etc. from standard domestic kitchen furnature.

For the plain gloss radiused edge design - which I think works best in a garage environment - it would take an age to achieve the standard of finish available on mass produced items. A machine generated flat, fair surface is especially important cosmetically, when using a gloss finish.

You could then fabricate your own handles or, again use mass produced standard items.

 

[1320stang]

....I was just gonna get all the wood cut to length at home depot when i bought it, since i havent invested in any tools yet....

Oooo.... usually first cut is free, thereafter $0.25 per cut. If you're having them make ALL your cuts....

Look for table saws and other tools on craigslist. You might even post that your recently out of the Marine Corps and you are wanting to purchase some tools and give a list. You might find an old retired Marine wanting to 'thin the herd' and might even give you a saw.

 

[JOHNMAN]

I have some rudimentary plans, but they really aren't needed. I'm currently working on these. They are similar to my last shop.

My dad came down and helped me build 38' last weekend. These will have stainless tops installed this weekend. I also am building 16' worth across the back wall. I will be painting the wood white with oil based paint.

 

[sparky1562]

Welcome and thanks for serving!

My first cabinet/bench was Norm Abrams workbench, you can buy the plans and DVD on the New Yankee workshop. I built my overheads from my own plan after that.

I agree you need a decent table saw. I would also get a 4ft straight edge clamp for using the skill saw, and an 8ft version. A good router for cutting rabbits is also a good idea.

For face frames I used a Kreg pocket screw jig.

I even built a jig for my table saw to make the door inserts, but a router table with a panel bit is the only way to go if you want it to look good, or just buy the doors.



It's all about the tools you know..

 

[JOHNMAN]

Here is the 16' section of benches still in progress. This weekend, the stainless tops should be in place and I should be painting them.

 

[Kevin54]

Dustym....at the bottom of the doors......are those drop down drawer fronts or actually small drawers? Very nice looking cabinets!!!

Johnman...........Lots of studs, and twice as many outlets Can't wait to see this finished. Are you going to have more shelves than what you show so far? Looks good What do you plan on doing in there or did you just want that many outlets just in case?

 

[chrislehr]

Man, that is a WHOLE lot of storage space. Now I want to do something like this. This site is not helping me narrow my ideas!

 

[JOHNMAN]

These are for storage as much as they are for work tops. I really like to be able to wipe the work surface down and have a clean dry area to work.

The only shelves (in the lower base cabinets) will be the ones shown.

There will be upper cabinets (with shelves) hung on the walls above the base cabinets.

These benches (and the storage space below) are sized for the space they occupy as well as for the items to be stored (mostly boxes, totes, and crates).

My new shop(pole barn) has no attic (trusses are 8'-0" O/C), so I need the storage space for items I used to store in the attic.

When dirt becomes an issue (and I know it will), I may look at doors more closely, but at the present, I have no plans. I need the storage space more than I need cleanliness right now.

As far as my outlets go, I will never want for more (at least in these areas). I dislike extension cords, and some items may remain plugged in taking one or two sockets. These are all 20A and the voltage drop from the breaker is minimum.

When the upper cabinets are hung, I will run my air lines (which will be tight up against the bottoms of the upper cabinets).

They were simple to build, are plenty strong (strong enough to support a complete engine or trans), and with the exception of the stainless tops, were reasonably economical to build. A skill saw (circular saw), an 8' straight edge, a table saw, a chop saw, electric screwdrivers, hammers, and a nail set were the major tools used to build. Other items like glue, clamps, stud finder, would be useful as well.

Find a buddy to loan you tools you don't have. (I'm borrowing the chop saw and 8' straight edge). That way, when the project is done, you don't have to store the tools and you don't have a bunch of money ******* in tools you may not use enough to justify the expense.

Good luck with your project.

An old thread with my old shop is here:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13954&highlight=stainless&showall=1

 

[bowanna03]

yea man that is alot of cabinet and countertop space what are you planning on doing with all that space.

 

[herrmannryan]

JOHNMAN, I really like your cabinets here. I realize this was FOREVER ago but I have a couple of questions.

1) How did you mount the 2x6s that support the front of the bench up and down? Did you toe nail them into the bottom or nail up through the plywood and into the 2x6?

2) How did you fix the shelves that you have to the 2x6s. I see they are supported in the back by the 2x4 mounted to the wall but how did you do the front?

Thanks for any help!

 

[leiterch]

These are for storage as much as they are for work tops. I really like to be able to wipe the work surface down and have a clean dry area to work.

The only shelves (in the lower base cabinets) will be the ones shown.

There will be upper cabinets (with shelves) hung on the walls above the base cabinets.

These benches (and the storage space below) are sized for the space they occupy as well as for the items to be stored (mostly boxes, totes, and crates).

My new shop(pole barn) has no attic (trusses are 8'-0" O/C), so I need the storage space for items I used to store in the attic.

When dirt becomes an issue (and I know it will), I may look at doors more closely, but at the present, I have no plans. I need the storage space more than I need cleanliness right now.

As far as my outlets go, I will never want for more (at least in these areas). I dislike extension cords, and some items may remain plugged in taking one or two sockets. These are all 20A and the voltage drop from the breaker is minimum.

When the upper cabinets are hung, I will run my air lines (which will be tight up against the bottoms of the upper cabinets).

They were simple to build, are plenty strong (strong enough to support a complete engine or trans), and with the exception of the stainless tops, were reasonably economical to build. A skill saw (circular saw), an 8' straight edge, a table saw, a chop saw, electric screwdrivers, hammers, and a nail set were the major tools used to build. Other items like glue, clamps, stud finder, would be useful as well.

Find a buddy to loan you tools you don't have. (I'm borrowing the chop saw and 8' straight edge). That way, when the project is done, you don't have to store the tools and you don't have a bunch of money ******* in tools you may not use enough to justify the expense.

Good luck with your project.

An old thread with my old shop is here:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13954&highlight=stainless&showall=1

I like those benches. I think, I'm going to steel your ideas. There are some great ideas on this site.

 

[WanderingSol07]

I just putting the finishing touches on my web page documenting how I built some garage cabinets. Here are a couple pictures of one, closed and opened.

and

here is the link to my page
http://www.wanderingsol.comule.com/Pages/GarageCabinet.html

 

[vette66bob]

Simper Fi Brother; welcome to GJ I am sure you will find everything you want and a lot more. This is the best place for research for anything to do with a garage.
USMC 1970 - 1976

 

[JOHNMAN]

JOHNMAN, I really like your cabinets here. I realize this was FOREVER ago but I have a couple of questions.

1) How did you mount the 2x6s that support the front of the bench up and down? Did you toe nail them into the bottom or nail up through the plywood and into the 2x6?

2) How did you fix the shelves that you have to the 2x6s. I see they are supported in the back by the 2x4 mounted to the wall but how did you do the front?

Thanks for any help!

1. The 2x6's.. They are actually 2x4's with a 1x2 covering the faces. They are screwed (toe nailed) into the 2x4 base board under the plywood. I preferred to use screws as they were available and they allowed me to remove them if one happened to move out of place.

2. The shelves on a few of the base cabinets are built the same as the bases. There are short 2x4's supporting the plywood shelf and there are 2x4's on top of the shelf supporting the plywood top. At each of the uprights, there are 2x4's extending back to the cleats on the walls.

They were all shot in with a laser to keep everything level. My floor is not. Too bad I always seem to have too many projects going at one time and I can't keep the area as clean as it once was. The stainless tops are holding up perfectly.