New cabinets and suggestion request

[Keep]

Okay after looking around for new cabinets and not finding what I wanted I decided to build my own. But the thing I am stuck on is the doors.

I do know they will be sliding doors since I do not want to have to worry about keeping the area in front of the cabinets clear so they can open. But I am stuck between using whiteboard or chalkboard. Maybe even one of each. There will be two doors, 1 to cover each cabinet.

Anyway on to the cabinets. They are large, each used just under a full 4x8 sheet of 3/4 plywood. They are 48 inches tall, 16 deep and 34 wide. The shelves are varied in height, 14, 12.5, 11, 8.5. I also used a 1/8 of hardboard for the back. The shelves were, rabbited, dado ed, glued and screwed into the sides. Its overkill but I do not like wobbly things.

I used a double french cleat system to mount them to the walls, then they were screwed into the studs and each other. I grabbed onto the top of them and hung on so I am sure they are not going anywhere. One thing about the french cleats, if your wall is not straight it will certainly let you know! I found out the back wall had a nice vertical seam that made me have to shim the right cabinet 3/8!!

So on to the pics:

Here are the cleats I used:

This gives you a look at the shelf height:

Here they are mounted on the wall, the compressor should give you a sense of the size:

I do plan on painting/sealing them just not sure what color, or I might just use varithane and seal them up.

 

[usmc_noma]

cabinets look good. are you going to attach a track for your sliding doors? imo you should've added a lil extra to the top and sides so it sticks past the shelves a little, then add slots for a track.

 

[cheyenne10]

Very nice so far. I also agree on sliding or what I call 'By-pass" doors. Haven't got up the nerve to start mine yet. Woodworking supply stores sell a track system that will accept 1/4" material I believe. Might be too light depending on door size.

I am not familiar with double cleat system. Will these hang without fasteners? Easy to remove to add finish? Keep us posted on progress.

thanks for sharing.

 

[jake00]

french cleat
http://www.newwoodworker.com/frenchcleat.html

 

[usmc_noma]

only thing i don't like about cleats are they sit up from the wall. on the other hand, they're very sturdy.

 

[Kevin54]

But I am stuck between using whiteboard or chalkboard.

I'd go for the "dry erase" board. Chalk ends up getting dropped to the floor, is harder to get the board clean when you erase it, and you have chalk dust.

The dry erase, you can drop the markers and not break them, you can use a tissue, shop rag or whatever to clean the board, and the white just makes things look a little cleaner.

 

[Keep]

cabinets look good. are you going to attach a track for your sliding doors? imo you should've added a lil extra to the top and sides so it sticks past the shelves a little, then add slots for a track.

Yeah I thought about that, but I plan on using an aluminum track and I wanted it to be one piece all the way across.

The cleats allow you to mount them without hardware, I just decided to screw them into the wall for piece of mind. It does make for easy removal, reconfiguration. I used them a lot in my basement woodshop, I have rearranged them cabinets to many tomes to count.

I was leaning toward the dry erase board, but having markers dry up, leak or get smashed moved me toward the chalk, at least when chalk breaks up its easy to clean. But if you drop chalk it tends to shatter.

 

[Keep]

french cleat
http://www.newwoodworker.com/frenchcleat.html

WOW those cleats are huge. I used the same 3/4 plywood when I built mine.
Using a 2x4 is way to bulky, though they are probably pretty strong.

 

[Keep]

So I ended up going with the white dry erase board. I ended up doing 3 sliders instead of 2, more because sourcing dry erase board over 24 in width means going to Staples, paying $45 for a white board and cutting it up. No thanks I went to Home Depot bought the last 3 panels of 24x48 "markerboard" for $7 each. Only complaint is it only comes in 1/8 thickness. I have to add a stiffener to the backs but for now they are functional doors.

Fully Closed

One panel open

Two panels open

All in all I am very happy with the way they turned out. Now to move everything back to the back of the garage and start on the other end.

 

[Jack Olsen]

The dry erase surface should come in handy. Smart idea.

 

[crewchief888]

The dry erase surface should come in handy. Smart idea.

i have a couple of dry erase boards in the garage. makes it easy to keep notes, and leave myself reminders of where i'm at during a project.
most times after getting back from wheeling trip, something's broken, ior a problem has come up. we list everything on the board and as it gets done it gets checked off.

we started using this "system" back when we were racing. myself and the driver worked full time jobs, and just keeping track of what we were doing was a PITA sometimes. when 1/2 of our race vehicle was torn apart for repairs/ modifications.
worked out good, when everything was crossed off we were done