Tooling (Re)Organization

[lilscorpion]

Ok now that I've read your reply, you set your shelves or spreaders at the location with dominos to hold the location square and then pocket screwed into place. But no glue with the dominos? If so that's interesting.

Close. If I have access, I prefer to screw them together like in the pic below.



I prefer this method to pocket holes because they’re easier, faster, and stronger. In situations where I do t have access to do so, like in the first cabinet where I have spreaders on both sides of the board, I do one side while I have access and then use pocket holes on the other. Just so happens the first pic I showed only showed the side with the pocket holes.



You are correct on the dry assembly part. I do not use glue on cabinets. I will use glue for very specific things but avoid it if possible. Glue is final, my organization strategies are, as I've learned, temporary.

Thanks for the tips on epoxys, looking forward to seeing what I can do with them.

 

[karoc]

What a great thread,I see that I am not the only one who thinks so.This is over the top with lots of good ideals,which I am going to copy the tap storage design once I find an online source for HDPE that doesn't have ebay prices.Got to be a place with good sq ft prices.

 

[lilscorpion]

lilscorpion, Just spent the day reading your whole thread as the Colorado snow fell.

Outstanding job!! I am now in the early process of getting my two new shops setup and will be duplicating some of your efforts. Hope you don't mind. Original plan was not to get to involved with projects till I had things moved in and setup. that didn't quite work out as planned.

I'm South in Parker and we got maybe 4" but the roads made things seem a lot worse. What part of town are you in?

Don't mind idea sharing at all. If you come up with some stuff, I'd appreciate the share back.

Plans just keep us feeling like know what we're doing. Sometime you gotta get in it before things start to really make sense. All of my organization efforts have been in a shop that I already moved into. If I move again, I'll build the cabinets and storages solutions into the new shop before I move in as to avoid having to move things around a thousand times to make space in the area I need to build. Its just really hard to do a complete buildout before you move in unless you have a place to stage your stuff.

 

[lilscorpion]

What a great thread,I see that I am not the only one who thinks so.This is over the top with lots of good ideals,which I am going to copy the tap storage design once I find an online source for HDPE that doesn't have ebay prices.Got to be a place with good sq ft prices.

I've found that Amazon actually has better prices. Search 'HDPE Sheet 1/2' and you'll find a variety of colors and sizes. You can also search 'Seaboard Sheet 1/2' as well. There's a piece on there right now that's 1/2-inch thick, black, and 12"x12" for $16 prime (shipping included if you have prime). You could make 3 tap trays (for smaller taps like 3/8" and smaller) out of that one piece.

If you have a local woodcraft (woodworking supply) you can usually get a piece that's 24"x24" for $30-something.

Another option is to look up plastic suppliers in your area. Most of them sell by the foot and, as a result, have drops that they would likely sell you for scrap costs in the sizes you'd need. If they don't have any, let them know what you're attempting to do and they may just save a few for you as they run jobs over the next bit. Once you make friends with the guys in the shop, you'll probably end up with more scraps than you'd know what to do with.

 

[lilscorpion]

Where is everyone finding pre-finished plywood? Not only would I like pre-finished birch but I want to find a source for high-pressure laminate plywood. The finishing is the most daunting task of building things haha!

Can’t believe it but at HD this morning I spotted some pre-finished in the partial sheet section (2x4x3/4). Appears to be clear coat on a single side with sanded no-patch on the other.



Much better ply stack than typical HD ply.



Here’s a closeup if the tag should you be interested

 

[Bob Heine]

I thought I made a mistake this morning. I searched for Birch Plywood and Home Depot popped up. Sure enough the one you show was there. In a recent visit it wasn't there but maybe they are turning over a new leaf and offering real lumber.

 

[Zippercat]

My local HD has carried 4x8 sheets of birch ply for at least a couple years. But you have to inspect it carefully. I’ve found several with bubbles from glue voids.

 

[topcok88]

Now if only they readily carried 4’x8’ sheets of pre-finished birch plywood. Part of me would like to special order some but I wonder if it will be as painful as trying to get appliances that aren’t damaged... [emoji23] Thank you for the heads up!


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[cojeeper]

Lilscorpion,
I am east of Parker out in Elizabeth.
I have a bunch of new Huskey cabinets just waiting to get filled up. right now I am lacking counter and storage space. have a big pallet rack but not sure I like where I put it.

I started building a Stevo bench but ran out of metal. need to make a run tomorrow so I can finish that up.

 

[lilscorpion]

I thought I made a mistake this morning. I searched for Birch Plywood and Home Depot popped up. Sure enough the one you show was there. In a recent visit it wasn't there but maybe they are turning over a new leaf and offering real lumber.

Would be nice however I did notice that 3 of the 6 pieces they had On the shelf had been labeled right in the middle of the clear coat and the sticker was not going to come off nicely. Not sure the employees know how to handle real lumber.

My local HD has carried 4x8 sheets of birch ply for at least a couple years. But you have to inspect it carefully. I’ve found several with bubbles from glue voids.

The stuff I bought today has a few voids that are visible on the edge so it’s not nearly as high quality as the Baltic birch I get from the supply stores.

Now if only they readily carried 4’x8’ sheets of pre-finished birch plywood. Part of me would like to special order some but I wonder if it will be as painful as trying to get appliances that aren’t damaged... [emoji23] Thank you for the heads up!

Oh they’ll be damaged. The clear scratches easily. At the supply houses customers can’t rummage through the stack which keeps it in good shape. At HD, if they don’t use similar methodologies, they’ll have a mountain of garbage that’s useless to everyone.

 

[Cruzan80]

I’ve heard you can special order pre-finished ply at Home Depot but haven’t tried to personally. I get mine at a local lumber supply who stocks it in Denver - Austin Hardwoods. There’s another called Paxton who sells it as well but they have to special order it.

I’d google wood supplier in your area and call around. Usually if one can’t get you something you need they’ll refer you to someone who may be able to. That’s how I ended up finding the two in Denver I know of.

Lilscorpion, what exactly do you get at Austin Hardwoods? Went on their website, and show Russian birch prefinished at 5x5' Sheets, and maple at 4x8. Do you just work around the odd sizing?

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[GrayFlattop]

Our local Menards stocks 3/4 pre-finished plywood:
"This plywood features a clear, thick semi-gloss epoxy acrylate finish and a four coat ultra violet coating system.

Ultra violet cured for extra durability
CARB 2 compliant and SEFA 8.0 certified
Great for cabinet boxes, store fixtures
Nominal size
Factory applied 4 coat UV-cured finish 2 sides"

Not Birch, but it is referred to as "Radiata Pine" never heard of that, but the exposed veneer is rotary cut. Normally $50/sheet - on sale now for $44. The finish looks decent and they have 25 4 x 8 sheets in stock at our local store.

Oak plywood is $78 / sheet for prefinished 2-sides., but the oak appears to be quarter sawn, but is not always in stock. Not quite the variety of a wholesale lumber yard.

We have another small distributor about 12 miles away that carries prefinished Maple & Birch plywood in 1/4" and 3/4". They are a lot more friendly to a small order of 3-4 sheets. I wish you luck in finding one near you.

 

[Cruzan80]

Lilscorpion, what exactly do you get at Austin Hardwoods? Went on their website, and show Russian birch prefinished at 5x5' Sheets, and maple at 4x8. Do you just work around the odd sizing?

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Nevermind, called and they have both a domestic birch 4x8 and Russian 5x5. Guess this is one place where USA made is cheaper.

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[lilscorpion]

Lilscorpion, what exactly do you get at Austin Hardwoods? Went on their website, and show Russian birch prefinished at 5x5' Sheets, and maple at 4x8. Do you just work around the odd sizing?

Short answer is yes. For a long time I only built with 4x8 material because that’s what I was used to. The fore mentioned providers only stocked the the good stuff (Baltic Birch) material I wanted in 5x5’s and they only wanted to bring in full pallets on custom orders. So, you can get the Russian stuff in a 4x8 (I think) but you need to order 75 of them to do so.

Given the constraints, I’ve learned to design my cabinets out of the 5x5 sheet. For a while I hated that I couldn’t make an 8’ long cabinet if I wanted to but, as luck would have it, 5’ cabinets are barely manageable. Ever try to take an 8’ cabinet up the stairs, around the corner, and in to a bathroom in a house that has 8’ ceilings and conventional doorways < 30” wide? Being only able to make the 5’ long forced me to learn how to splice 5’ cabinets together and make them look like one piece.

 

[lilscorpion]

Nevermind, called and they have both a domestic birch 4x8 and Russian 5x5. Guess this is one place where USA made is cheaper.

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I’ll have to look at the USA stuff next time I’m there. If memory serves, the Baltic is a higher quality and that’s why I prefer it. Honestly it was long enough ago I don’t remember exactly.

 

[lilscorpion]

Our local Menards stocks 3/4 pre-finished plywood: "Radiata Pine" never heard of that, but the exposed veneer is rotary cut. Normally $50/sheet - on sale now for $44. The finish looks decent and they have 25 4 x 8 sheets in stock at our local store.



Oak plywood is $78 / sheet for prefinished 2-sides., but the oak appears to be quarter sawn, but is not always in stock. Not quite the variety of a wholesale lumber yard.



We have another small distributor about 12 miles away that carries prefinished Maple & Birch plywood in 1/4" and 3/4". They are a lot more friendly to a small order of 3-4 sheets. I wish you luck in finding one near you.

Nice to have all those options. Like the idea I’d having a pre-finished cleared Oak too.

Mernards is an awesome place. In some regards better than what we have here in Denver. Doesn’t surprise me they have materials like that in stock.

 

[andrewordrew]

All this talk makes me long for a Menards. They have them in IL & WI where I grew up, but there’s nothing even close here in GA.
I miss Farm & Fleet, too. Dangit.


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[BoilermakerFan]

Menards is slowly moving south. We have them in SW IN and there are a few in Western KY and in Louisville.

 

[Mecha]

In KC, they have a lumber yard called Paxton that supplies Baltic birch. There are different levels of quality for it. There is a medium and a high quality style. The difference is the high quality should not have voids.

 

[boiler7904]

...Ever try to take an 8’ cabinet up the stairs, around the corner, and in to a bathroom in a house that has 8’ ceilings and conventional doorways < 30” wide?...

Not quite but I did try to sneak a pair of 44" wide x 92" tall x 14" deep bookcases through a doorway, hard right turn down a 42" wide hallway, and then a hard left into my son's room a couple of years ago. Long story short, the cabinets were disassembled to get them into the room and re-assembled in the room. What should have taken 20-30 minutes took 3+ hours.

 

[kf4zht]

All this talk makes me long for a Menards. They have them in IL & WI where I grew up, but there’s nothing even close here in GA.
I miss Farm & Fleet, too. Dangit.


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For decent plywood try Peach State Lumber near Kennesaw. Good selection and decent prices.

 

[tboy]

lilscorpion, what a great thread. I admire what you are doing here, but I think it does border a bit on an obsession! I have different obsessions so please don't take that negatively! I've been through most of the thread, and have enjoyed it!

You've inspired me to build some cabinets! If you have a couple minutes I'd appreciate your thoughts. I have a shallow garage (18 ft deep) and so just after refinishing the wall cabinets, I've decided I do not want to re-use the old kitchen cabinets that were in there. I am a big fan of drawers (have them in our kitchen) and it does not seem to make sense to re-configure the old kitchen cabinets to hold drawers and I don't want them so deep anyhow.

I'm planning 14" deep cabinets at 30 inches wide. I would make three units, and a 15 in wide unit as well (have 105" of wall space) I'm planning on building in a similar fashion as you have, including the unistrut base. I really would like to ability to lift the cabinet with a floor jack and put it on a mover dolly (or a few) and roll it out if my way if I need more depth (like bringing a cherry picker in for an engine removal).

For the carcass I am planning this:

With an 1/4" MDF Back stapled on and maybe a few spreaders (not shown) depending on my drawer layout. Notice also the 28.5 dimension is approximate since I don't know the thickness of my stock yet (shown is nominal).

Questions: If I am using a 13.75" drawer slide (here) is the 14" depth sufficient?

I'm not quite sure about drawer sizes as well. I assume they would be ~28.5 minus 2X slide thickness? How deep are they? are they actually the same depth as the carcass? Last one, how tall do you usually make the sides of the drawers? I was thinking of building four drawers, two larger and two smaller (the fronts would be something like 10" tall and 4.5" tall). Can you provide any more direction there?

Thanks for your help, and the great work!

 

[tboy]

Nice to have all those options. Like the idea I’d having a pre-finished cleared Oak too.

Mernards is an awesome place. In some regards better than what we have here in Denver. Doesn’t surprise me they have materials like that in stock.

Just swung by Menards on my lunch break. That 44$ pre-finished ply is very nice. What I saw had no knots and voids, and was really slick.

I will be using it for my project. Seems perfect.

I was hoping Menards had a panel saw and could rip a sheet into the right widths for me. No such luck. Looks like I will be borrowing dad's truck and putting the kreg rip fence to use!

 

[drivesitfar]

Bob: a few years ago Home Depot ran a special on BIRCH PLYWOOD for $31 a sheet and they sold out quick and last time I looked I think the 4x8 sheet went up to $48.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob: a few years ago Home Depot ran a special on BIRCH PLYWOOD for $31 a sheet and they sold out quick and last time I looked I think the 4x8 sheet went up to $48.

Drives, around here that's a $53.48 sheet.

 

[lilscorpion]

lilscorpion, what a great thread. I admire what you are doing here, but I think it does border a bit on an obsession! [emoji4] I have different obsessions so please don't take that negatively! I've been through most of the thread, and have enjoyed it!

You've inspired me to build some cabinets! If you have a couple minutes I'd appreciate your thoughts. I have a shallow garage (18 ft deep) and so just after refinishing the wall cabinets, I've decided I do not want to re-use the old kitchen cabinets that were in there. I am a big fan of drawers (have them in our kitchen) and it does not seem to make sense to re-configure the old kitchen cabinets to hold drawers and I don't want them so deep anyhow.

I'm planning 14" deep cabinets at 30 inches wide. I would make three units, and a 15 in wide unit as well (have 105" of wall space) I'm planning on building in a similar fashion as you have, including the unistrut base. I really would like to ability to lift the cabinet with a floor jack and put it on a mover dolly (or a few) and roll it out if my way if I need more depth (like bringing a cherry picker in for an engine removal).

For the carcass I am planning this:

With an 1/4" MDF Back stapled on and maybe a few spreaders (not shown) depending on my drawer layout. Notice also the 28.5 dimension is approximate since I don't know the thickness of my stock yet (shown is nominal).

Questions: If I am using a 13.75" drawer slide (here) is the 14" depth sufficient?

I'm not quite sure about drawer sizes as well. I assume they would be ~28.5 minus 2X slide thickness? How deep are they? are they actually the same depth as the carcass? Last one, how tall do you usually make the sides of the drawers? I was thinking of building four drawers, two larger and two smaller (the fronts would be something like 10" tall and 4.5" tall). Can you provide any more direction there?

Thanks for your help, and the great work!

Thanks for the compliments, they’re greatly appreciated. [emoji482]

Best I can tell, the slides you’re looking at are the Knape & Vogt 14” slides that extend 13 3/4-inches. I can’t find references to them by the listed part numbers anywhere else so it’s a partial guess. In general, side mount slides are true to extension length - meaning that if they’re 14-inch slides, you need a minimum of 14-inches of internal cabinet clearance to mount them. I always add 1/4” more just to be safe. Undershoot the dimensions by 1/16th and slides won’t fit in the case and the drawers won’t appear to close fully...first time I had this problem was the last time I cut to exact dimensions. [emoji4]

Drawers - if you add .25 (as mentioned above), the drawers can be a full 14-inches deep (outside dimensions). For width, you are very close - subtract 2x the slide width + 1/16. Why? When you measure the slides with calipers they will likely be closed and the bearings will be loaded (in friction). If you use that number the slides won’t have space to smoothly glide on the bearings. I’d recommend dry-fitting (assembly without glue) the first drawer to make sure the drawer slides correctly before cutting and assembling all of them. Making a bunch of drawers that don’t fit is another lesson to avoid.

Also, I’d recommend building the carcasses to completion before building the drawers. That way you can take an exact internal finished width for defining the width of the drawers.

Depth of drawers - thats a tough one. I based the drawer dimensions on what I intended on putting in the drawers. All 4 sides are the same depth.

E.g. - my hammer drawer had no hammers taller than 2-inches so the hammer drawer only needed to be 2-inches deep.

E.g. 2 - hardware drawers were going to have bins of nuts, bolts, and screws in them. The drawers only needed to be 1/8 deeper than the deepest bin

Now when I when I talk about drawer depth and say 2-inches deep, that means inside depth. Your drawer design determines what the total outside height is. For drawers that have the bottom attached to the bottom of the sides the overall drawer depth is the depth + thickness of the bottom. Here’s a video that shows this technique - https://youtu.be/cvl5istZ7_U

Here’s a video that shows how I assemble drawers by inserting the bottom using a dado - https://youtu.be/sKVo-rLv-W8

Vertical space between drawers - unusually use at least 3/8-inch.

Drawer fronts - I wait until the drawers are fully installed in the carcasses and then I measure for the fronts for each drawer individually keeping 1/8-inch between faces. Here’s a video which shows how to make nest fronts - https://youtu.be/2YJ4P7SbPGo

You can make all measurements on paper but inevitably the machining process creates subtle variations from the plan. Taking measurements at each stage avoids unforeseen deviations from the plan impacting the final fit and finish.

 

[lilscorpion]

Just swung by Menards on my lunch break. That 44$ pre-finished ply is very nice. What I saw had no knots and voids, and was really slick.



I will be using it for my project. Seems perfect.



I was hoping Menards had a panel saw and could rip a sheet into the right widths for me. No such luck. Looks like I will be borrowing dad's truck and putting the kreg rip fence to use!

Does Menards rent trucks? Home Depot has the $19.99 rental. I use one about once a months. $20 is cheaper than a truck payment..

$44 per sheet is cheap! 4x8 right?

 

[joeysh03]

lilscorpion, do you have any pictures of the unistrut base that was talked about a few post back? I am building my own cabinets for my garage out of the menards 4x8 birch but my carcass is only 30”h. My garage floor slopes a lot that I am trying to figure out a strong and efficient way to make a base to put the cabinets on that stretches 8-12ft. I don’t have a welder to something that bolts or screws together is ideal.

I started to use 2x6 on edge with t-nuts and carriage bolts but I’m not too happy with it and not sure how stable it will be so I am rethinking everything.

As others have said, thanks for taking the time to document your builds and answer questions. It’s posts like yours that make this site so good.

 

[tboy]

lilscorpion, do you have any pictures of the unistrut base that was talked about a few post back? I am building my own cabinets for my garage out of the menards 4x8 birch but my carcass is only 30”h. My garage floor slopes a lot that I am trying to figure out a strong and efficient way to make a base to put the cabinets on that stretches 8-12ft. I don’t have a welder to something that bolts or screws together is ideal.

I started to use 2x6 on edge with t-nuts and carriage bolts but I’m not too happy with it and not sure how stable it will be so I am rethinking everything.

As others have said, thanks for taking the time to document your builds and answer questions. It’s posts like yours that make this site so good.

I just went back and dug this up as well so I can share the posts:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7051680&postcount=210

and

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7099295&postcount=263

I did look on McMaster and there is a ton of Unistrut type accessories. You could clearly do what Lilscorpian is doing without welding. I think welding would be cheaper of course, since you don't need additional hardware. I'm going to try my hand at welding, I have a welder, and don't use it too much, we will see how it goes! If I don't feel good about it I will get the hardware out!

 

[tboy]

Does Menards rent trucks? Home Depot has the $19.99 rental. I use one about once a months. $20 is cheaper than a truck payment..

$44 per sheet is cheap! 4x8 right?

Yes, 4x8, and it is $49.99 but menards always does that 11% rebate thing (making it 44.49 afterwards).

They do rent trucks, but I can borrow my dad's truck. I was just hoping to pop by and get them to do a majority of the work! Ripping full sheets is the thing I am the least comfortable with. I dont feel I can handle them well on my table saw (think jobsite table saw) and don't have a track saw (but would love one). So I use a Kreg Rip Fence. It seems to work pretty well, but it is a little cumbersome.

 

[tboy]

Thanks for the compliments, they’re greatly appreciated. [emoji482]
.
.
.
.
.
You can make all measurements on paper but inevitably the machining process creates subtle variations from the plan. Taking measurements at each stage avoids unforeseen deviations from the plan impacting the final fit and finish.

Thanks so much, super valuable info here. I will spend some time on this today and digest it some more. Again, really appreciate you sharing your talent!

 

[lilscorpion]

Yes, 4x8, and it is $49.99 but menards always does that 11% rebate thing (making it 44.49 afterwards).

They do rent trucks, but I can borrow my dad's truck. I was just hoping to pop by and get them to do a majority of the work! [emoji4] Ripping full sheets is the thing I am the least comfortable with. I dont feel I can handle them well on my table saw (think jobsite table saw) and don't have a track saw (but would love one). So I use a Kreg Rip Fence. It seems to work pretty well, but it is a little cumbersome.

Totally get your apprehension with the smaller table saw. I do break down a lot of full sheets on mine but it’s heavy enough to stay put.

Before I purchased a track saw I’d break down larger sheet goods using a circular saw and a long piece if angle iron as a straight edge/saw guide. I think the angle iron was just over 8-feet long and maybe 2 x 2 x 1/8 steel angle. It worked really well.

 

[lilscorpion]

lilscorpion, do you have any pictures of the unistrut base that was talked about a few post back? I am building my own cabinets for my garage out of the menards 4x8 birch but my carcass is only 30”h. My garage floor slopes a lot that I am trying to figure out a strong and efficient way to make a base to put the cabinets on that stretches 8-12ft. I don’t have a welder to something that bolts or screws together is ideal.

The bases are fairly simple and could be built without welding. I build an H-frame but the location of the cross beams isn’t critical since the side panels (which run perpendicular to the side to side runners) really take the load of the cabinets anyway.



Instead of welding the cross-beams I think you could drill holes and run a piece of all-thread through a pipe as the spacer between the two...follow what I’m saying?



The feet are super simple as weld-ons, didn’t really put a whole lot of thought into the design.



A weld-less frame could be done like this - flip the uni-strut over so the open side is up. Run the largest bolt that fits through the hole head side towards the floor, a nut above and below the uni-strut using the bottom as the height adjustment and the top as a jam nut.



The bolts would need to be longer than the ones I used, like 4 1/2-5 inches long, but you could easily accomplish a 6-inch base and those big bolts will support plenty of weight. Maybe space them out every 3-4 feet over the 12-foot length?

Think you cane get uni-strut in 12-foot lengths though you could probably get away with making the base slightly shorter if the carcasses are screwed together, attached to the top, and the end cabinets have at least 2/3rds support under them.

Totally doable.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Sometimes I wish Menards had a panel saw too, but the ones at Lowes and HD have such course teeth counts that they splinter and tear out so much material. If you need good edges on the ripped sides, DIY is the way to go anyway.

 

[lilscorpion]

Sometimes I wish Menards had a panel saw too, but the ones at Lowes and HD have such course teeth counts that they splinter and tear out so much material. If you need good edges on the ripped sides, DIY is the way to go anyway.

Yeah, good point. I’ve noticed that too. I also watch in amazement as the guy cutting rams the saw blade through as fast as he can which makes tear out even worse.

 

[joeysh03]

The bases are fairly simple and could be built without welding. I build an H-frame but the location of the cross beams isn’t critical since the side panels (which run perpendicular to the side to side runners) really take the load of the cabinets anyway.



Instead of welding the cross-beams I think you could drill holes and run a piece of all-thread through a pipe as the spacer between the two...follow what I’m saying?



The feet are super simple as weld-ons, didn’t really put a whole lot of thought into the design.



A weld-less frame could be done like this - flip the uni-strut over so the open side is up. Run the largest bolt that fits through the hole head side towards the floor, a nut above and below the uni-strut using the bottom as the height adjustment and the top as a jam nut.



The bolts would need to be longer than the ones I used, like 4 1/2-5 inches long, but you could easily accomplish a 6-inch base and those big bolts will support plenty of weight. Maybe space them out every 3-4 feet over the 12-foot length?

Think you cane get uni-strut in 12-foot lengths though you could probably get away with making the base slightly shorter if the carcasses are screwed together, attached to the top, and the end cabinets have at least 2/3rds support under them.

Totally doable.

Thanks for the drawing makes sense. Problem I was having is I was using the ledge from the blocks that are resting in the footings for my garage side walls like you were doing as that is level. But over a 12ft span the garage floor drops 2-3 inches. So having these long bolts sticking out I was afraid that it wouldn’t be very stable. I hate to rebuild my cabinets so I have less of a base to make. I will have to weight out my options. I’m sure it will change down the road.

 

[tboy]

Sometimes I wish Menards had a panel saw too, but the ones at Lowes and HD have such course teeth counts that they splinter and tear out so much material. If you need good edges on the ripped sides, DIY is the way to go anyway.

Yeah, good point. I’ve noticed that too. I also watch in amazement as the guy cutting rams the saw blade through as fast as he can which makes tear out even worse.

True True. I have also noticed that none of the people there know how to actually use the saw, or it is not set up correctly. I've seen them remove the vacuum port and pear down the inside at the blade to line up there mark on the wood completely ignoring the scale on the saw guides. I'd love to have a panel saw, but there is no room to have one in my garage. With good track saws, I wonder what the need is as well.

 

[lilscorpion]

Thanks for the drawing makes sense. Problem I was having is I was using the ledge from the blocks that are resting in the footings for my garage side walls like you were doing as that is level. But over a 12ft span the garage floor drops 2-3 inches. So having these long bolts sticking out I was afraid that it wouldn’t be very stable. I hate to rebuild my cabinets so I have less of a base to make. I will have to weight out my options. I’m sure it will change down the road.

My cabinet doesn’t actually rest on the footer, it clears it by a few inches and is fully resting on the uni-strut base with just the front 2/3rds of the cabinet. The overall base is also up against the wall and attached to it with screws which makes it un-moveable.

A 1/2-inch bolt is extremely strong even against lateral forces. 4 bolts could easily support a significant amount of weight, more than you could put over them in a cabinet.

 

[JustinS]

Just realized you are on Instagram.

 

[lilscorpion]

True True. I have also noticed that none of the people there know how to actually use the saw, or it is not set up correctly. I've seen them remove the vacuum port and pear down the inside at the blade to line up there mark on the wood completely ignoring the scale on the saw guides. I'd love to have a panel saw, but there is no room to have one in my garage. With good track saws, I wonder what the need is as well.

Lol, I can only imagine.

I think a panel saw is really good for fast rough dimensioning of material with minimal handling. In that aspect, better than a table saw or track saw but only if you can trust the scale and alignment. Soon as you have to measure, it’s worthless. I don’t think one could replace a table saw or track saw.