Cabinet from junky drawers and junk for storing junk

[@Perennial_Curiosity]

You never know whether Matthias is going to build some amazingly intricate machinery out of wood, or if he is simply going to make junk into slightly better junk. That's why I love this channel!

[@milesparris4045]

I think I prefer watching him make something out of junk. I'm able to do that too.

[@user2C47]

Or, it could be a random experiment with wild mice.

[@TimCortesi]

My favorite is still the shed which was propped up on the edge of a hill by an old bird bath. That was a mix of really clever design while simultaneously completely phoning it in.

[@DustyFixes]

I don't mind the background noise. In fact, I think it's awesome that your kids have the opportunity to learn such a wonderful craft.

[@d.k.1394]

They are just noisy kidz

[@clyde8drive]

Love that you repurpose old furniture (and always have) into useful shop storage. I cant afford Festool and Baltic Birch plywood, so this resonates with the average woodwoorker who enjoys the craft. And many of us also have kids around while we work too!!!! 100% realistic in every sense. Thanks Matthias.

[@1pcfred]

There's a set of drawers in my shop that I just cut off a desk. I didn't have room for the whole desk but I slid the drawers under a bench. I keep pry bars and cold chisels in it so it's handy.

[@ekner]

Don't forget that drywall screws are super cheap too, so you never feel bad about using a lot of them. I just love that you can get a 1000 pack of good quality ones for 15 bucks or so.

[@sdavidleigh6642]

Lovely work and bonus to have your children present. People forget they are always watching and taking things in so a double bonus.

[@nenolabrego]

Your videos refurbishing old kind of stuff are really an inspiration. The other day I found some old mdf next to a dumpster and came back with the car. That is going to be a very awful and useful storage cabinet for my workshop. I really enjoy working with "free" material cause you don't fee any pressure on making a mistake that can be very expensive

[@NormReitzel]

My tenants had MDF bookshelves that ended up rat chewed, then put them outside where they gt rained on. Useless as shelves but a hammer and pry bar let me recover a substantial amount of Formica-covered MDF to use for building stuff - like dust/chip collectors using repurposed vac cleaner blowers and motors. More inspiration from Matthias!

[@orvh5223]

what a great dad! working in the shop, surrounded by playing kids. Family is the building block of society, for sure.

[@NormReitzel]

Plus there is the incalculable benefit of watching someone intelligent be confronted by a problem and then figuring out solutions to it, or how to engineer around it.

[@jamesgender4494]

This might be my favorite Wandel video. Love the informal recycling concept and the family noise reminds me of my home shop.

[@JBALLMORE]

I love your frugal and effective twist on wood working. Keep posting and I'll keep watching :)

[@lkp323]

One of the best videos. Quite a contrast to all those other youtubers proudly making fancy cutting boards of exclusive material.

[@cbalan777]

I think it turned out really nice. You put a lot of work into this. Also, I'd love to get a look inside all those drawers full of junk. I'm always fascinated by all the things people keep.

[@jandavis1523]

You are a hoot! Love the junkier aspects of woodworking, wood junk, junky junk, and junky drawers for-what else-storing more junk!😊

[@leebrown6623]

Perfect when you were describing what was happening and the apprentice popped up in agreement lol. Awesome content as always

[@wimchen]

Love the one deep drawer with two-drawer look design. ingenious idea.

[@luizgueirosbezerra]

Matthias, today I am very happy that my son will acquire your BigPrint program, it is a realization for me. Thanks for sharing your work.

[@gusser2121]

Love that the materials you used were all repurposed from something else. There was already an investment in time and energy (despite the crappy build quality and materials). You saved it from being lost. If you have some old candles or bar soap lying around, you can use them to rub onto the rails and slides. Won't prevent them from wearing out, but it will slow the erosion process. 😃

[@richbuilds_com]

I'm a parent, and I know a kid in the workshop is a *pain*. (He was obviously taking notice and asking questions. He learned more from that from 10 hours on an ipad) I'm a parent, and I know a kid in the workshop is a *joy*. Tips aside, these sorts of videos is what keeps yours real and grounded. Long may they continue

[@warrenwerks]

I’m sure I was a pain too but I’m beyond grateful that my parents embraced it. When I turned 5 I was given a cardboard box of basic hand tools which my dad and I made a toolbox for out of a wine crate. Twenty some odd years later I’m self employed as a full time woodworker. I’ll always be extremely thankful to my family who’ve supported my interests all along the way

[@14Mechatronics]

Matthias, I really enjoy your videos because they come with so much creative problem solving (or rather problem solving unique problems arising from using a lot of repurposed materials). I think it lodges some new ideas in my brain, even if I usually use new stock from the hardware store. Thanks!

[@charliemason4355]

I loved your son's response to your stating what you were going to do next. "Oh"

[@ohhiguy]

Love to hear all the kids. Love all your projects.

[@rogerdudra178]

I'm glad you pointed out "they don't make 'em like they used to". I'm glad they don't.

[@flatlinesup]

2:22 glad to see you finally getting some help around the shop 😁 Awesome reuse/rebuild. Works and you didn't strip/paint/distress and add it on marketplace... that's a huge bonus. Thanks for sharing

[@pattysherwood7091]

This has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drawers. Thank you!

[@NormReitzel]

As a father of two girls, I just Love your DApprentice! Good Going!

[@fngrusty42]

There perfect for what they are . Built a few draw sets for my children fort one time they lasted about 8 years longer than the fort was wanted. Man they grow up so fast.

[@Rusty_ok]

Great use of old stuff. This could be the best video of your that I have seen. Good sense of humor, good use of tools and material, good results. I was repurposing things when people thought I was just to cheap to buy new ones.

[@SuperVoodude]

Seeing the shot at the end showing your previous drawers reminded me that's how I found your channel 😁

[@MatchaMakesThings]

Great way to use old furniture! Love the kid cameos as well! Thanks for posting and keeping stuff out of the landfill!

[@jameshopkins1919]

You ability to make the most of anything never ceases to amaze me.

[@boastboy]

Great video, reuse, reduce, recycle! I enjoy using old things but you’ve taken it to another level. Great job.

[@OldAndGettingOlder]

I really enjoy your trash to treasure videos. All of your videos really. You're amazingly real.

[@amconsole]

Love projects like these. It's a cabinet for storing junk, it's made from curb side trash drawers and thrown out plywood, drywall screws and that's pretty much it. It's a half day build and will serve intended purpose reliably for years. A good contrast to woodworkers with shop fetish who design 3D models and animate them of dressed up shop furniture with contrasting walnut inlays and moodlight LEDs, and fit expensive kitchen grade hidden drawer slides. Why? If it's a real shop not an infomercial studio - the thing will be covered with dust, tools and crap. I much more appreciate the ingenuity of using stuff people threw out to make a functional piece of shop furniture for next to nothing in materials, fast and efficient. It'd take me a whole day and half a sheet of good plywood just to make the drawers from scratch. Maybe the warped drawers can be straightened out more permanently? Steaming them in a sauna while forcing into shape with some wedges and clamps? :)

[@edwardtse8631]

I love these videos, I get tired of other youtubers using sheets and sheets of plywood to build stands and drawers to store junks. Plywood is $60USD a piece.

[@TheChipmunk2008]

yeah LOVE Matthias's habit of reusing old furniture etc. Another channel that's good for that (UK based) is Rag n Bone Brown, he collects furniture also

[@NormReitzel]

I would never have thought of slicing a drawer in half - brilliant. Oddly enough, some time ago, I bought a scrapped out old desk for a worktable, it has a lot of solid walnut, so I'm not going to scrap it, and it comes with a modestly useless two-unit drawer that I will cut down. I have six empty slots for drawers ant dear sir, you've given me a way to fill tweo of them. ant Thanks.

[@Hunterhunter-ir9nz]

Matthias, would you mind doing an in-depth video about dust control in the basement. Like separating shop from furnace room and stopping dust intrusion into the rest of the home. I could use the help and I'm sure it would get good interest for views. I can't be the only one interested in this.

[@matthiaswandel]

No different from dust control in general. just make sure every machine has a dust collector on it that comes on when the machine comes on

[@ardianhysenaj]

A big 👍 just for the yong woodworker!!!!! So cute!

[@Xlaxsauce]

Your helpers are coming in to learn from Dad. One of my favorite parts of my childhood

[@CJWarlock]

A surprisingly relatable video. :) Sometimes readily available, used drawers are the best and fastest solution for storing stuff. Building a simple cabinet around them - a very good idea. Cheers. :)

[@burstofsanity]

Survivor bias is why everyone thinks that older things were made better. Most of the junk already fell apart. I hope those junky drawers are up to the challenge of holding junk.

[@victorhopper6774]

plus most truely old stuff started out being made with better wood. imagine foot wide baseboards made with knot free wood in a old farm house.

[@thefack149]

Survivor bias might be a thing, but those surviving specemins can help us make good choices when we build stuff now

[@dragofand]

That or the product was fully metal. Like I know someone who's amazed at an old stovetop kettle and nail clipper they still have from the early 40's. Like of course those will survive.

[@1pcfred]

@@victorhopper6774 I don't have to imagine it because I've seen it. 20 foot long boards a foot wide without a knot in them. It wasn't in a farmhouse though. Was a more substantial structure than that. Place is on the national historic registry.

[@dorvinion]

Nostalgia plays a part as well That you see 'classic' pre-1960s cars around is not because they were built well, its because just enough people had fond memories and disposable income enough that they chose to sink a bunch of money into fixing them up. Bonuses for finding one that was only on the road for a year or two, and then spent the last decades in a protected environment. No mechanical or electronic reason a modern car (which frankly has 2-3x the functional lifespan of a 'classic' ) couldn't be on the road 100 years from now. Main reason you won't see nearly as many restored 2020 Honda Accords rolling around in 2050 or later is by and large folks won't have any sort of fond memory/nostalgia reason to dump money into keeping them around.

[@apdj94]

I love that even the handles are crooked on some of the drawers

[@Wailaner]

Matthias, I really liked this video! I liked the project because I feel like its just a little above my experience level, repurposing is great, I need to do something similar to this for my shop, plus the kids in the background give me hope that I one day I can return to my shop when the kids are a bit older. Thank you.

[@richlagger507]

I love all the videos, but the "scrap bin" videos are always entertaining.

[@davidwalters8225]

Great job. Love that cabinet and your helpers.

[@captbuscemi]

+1 on using drywall screws 👍🏻. Been doing it for years, they are pretty much universal, they work for structural renovations, furniture and pretty much anything.

[@justonyoung6049]

Interrupted by the best thing ever...KIDS!! Great job!

[@awogbob]

This is peak Matthias content to me. Nothing glamorous just screwing some shit together, little guy interrupting and agreeing with you is so funny. Cozy vibes.

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

"They don't make these like the old ones" does mostly derive from the fact that antiques and "vintage" furniture hold up over time the longer the better they were made - so the eldest antiques usually were about the best pieces, with "normal" or economic softwood furniture from the same era probably didn't make it to today, at all. I love the more economic Bavarian and Tyrolian "peasant's" chests though for the extremely economic craftsmanship You would find in those: often clearly made from leftovers, sometimes differing woods where You wouldn't do that in a piece for any better-off customer, each part exactly chosen and used the way that none of the sometimes vast defects would disturb the function. So, building from mundane furniture from "scrap" (or leftovers) ever was a thing for sure I reckon. Thanks for sharing!

[@christopherleblanc9599]

a friend came to my shop and was in aww, that every tool had a stand, im like well their just junked together, ,,, then i had to explain junked together,,, no joinery no fit and finish , this video sums it up , perfect example

[@qwertytwerty7293]

I can’t believe you used a hammer and a handsaw. Two hand tools in one video. Pretty rare that! Excellent work by the way.

[@fabiolutzbr]

Now you made some stuff like my father use to make: reuse something without caring for the looks -> cheap, quick and very useful stuff🙂

[@cygnusx7]

Looking forward to more advice/comments from your small advisor. Always fun to see. :)

[@G-gnome]

Boss came in on a tricycle and you didn’t even break a sweat! 🍻close calls.

[@kevola5739]

Very efficient! Now in ten years when you start cleaning up and tossing out all your junk you can also toss out the cabinet and junk with no regrets.

[@unteacher1]

You are a creative person and your work is very perfect. I suggest that you establish a carpentry academy and grant certificates to apprentices.

[@thedeloachsdoyoutube8377]

It’s videos like this that has inspired me to be a maker from the curb. Thanks again man. Make On

[@willchoate7072]

I use old industrial filing cabinets I buy at the Goodwill store for almost nothing. They are heavy duty with really good slides. I usually wait until I find the ones that are about 5ft tall. You can rattle can paint them to match your other stuff like the big red roll around tool boxes everyone has.

[@warrenwerks]

Totally agree with your comment about “they don’t make stuff like they used to.” There’s plenty of well made things today most people just aren’t willing to pay for them. Everything being disposable is the real issue

[@kaboomer13]

Love it. Love the kids in the background too.

[@brantlers]

Back to your roots. Love it. More junk drawers please. Plus how many times do you think these drawers will be opened over the course of their life, or your life? They won’t wear

[@Norfeldt]

I would argue that transparent storage holder (plastic) is a better solution since it's easier to get an overview and avoid junk piling up. But good work as always 👏

[@matthiaswandel]

And also very flimsy. Not good for metal stuff

[@Norfeldt]

You are right it can have the downside of being flimsy. I have some IKEA SAMLA in a rack. It's seems stable enough for my usage, but agree that it might not be optimal for all use cases

[@harlanbarnhart4656]

My, your empire of stuff is coming along quite nicely.

[@JonnyDIY]

What clearance gap on the drawer slides do you leave for expansion? 🤔 PS- great job, even your "junk" drawer from junk wood is nice 💕👍

[@roncooper6302]

It’s good to see you have some expert help at last. Regards.

[@stevenhines5550]

awesome...I loved cutting the deep drawer in half

[@ScottWalshWoodworking]

When people say 'they don't make them like they used to,' they're perspective is usually biased on only the good stuff that has lasted through the years. All the old crap has already been trashed and forgotten about.

[@hpda44]

This is what you excel at. For what you tried to accomplish great job.

[@drewnoakes]

I've found that rubbing an old candle on the sliding surfaces of wooden drawers makes them open and close a lot more easily, and it seems to last for a long while. Worth a shot on old drawers like this.

[@renaldohendricks1670]

Thanks, will try it out. Can I use new candles as well? The cheaper kind?

[@drewnoakes]

I guess so. I usually use tea lights, which are just cheap paraffin wax as far as I know.

[@SweSuf]

To mitigate drawer runners chafing I have used "iron on" edge banding, once on the drawers, once in the carcass. That banding is very smooth with very low friction. The full width wasn't necessary, so with a sharp utility knife, a ruler, and some patience I could rip it to half width.

[@EngineerMikeF]

You can improve the drawer friction on the slides by applying UHMW tape to the bad contact side of the runners, in this case the drawer bottom. If req'd you can do the carcass runner also, or maybe just the front 4" or so to save on tape. Cheap drawers last a long time this way

[@anders4674]

time 8.20 are those festool cases? Then I remembered what channel I was watching, and looked closer, no they are not. Good video Mathias😊

[@tombelanger5489]

Happy to see kids in the shop. Can Soapbox Racecars be coming in a few years??

[@HiVizCamo]

Try layers of parrafin wax rubbed onto the contact surfaces of drawer glides and drawer bottoms. Comes in blocks, easy to apply cold. Reduces drag and prevents those unpleasant screeches you get from bare wood rubbing and binding, I've used it on several old crummy wooden drawers 😀

[@projekt6_official]

"They don't make them like they used to" is sometimes a very GOOD thing :)

[@killiemon]

"This is 3 layer plywood, but it actually started as 5 layer plywood..." Absolutely amazing 🤣 nothing surprises me from Matthias anymore. Love it, this is the sort of shit I like to do, except executed way better.

[@uwepolifka4583]

When the wood slides on wood it produces a lot of wood dust over time. My grandpa solved the problem with soap or candle wax on the sliders. It works great.

[@rayjohn4444]

Matthias - Love your videos. You have an endearing lack of concern for aesthetics - I think the woodworking-in-house-shoes market is all yours - keep on keeping on!

[@milbournema]

Yup, you use the junky stuff to store junk! I built a bin to help hold and organize my collection of potentially useful scrap wood, but you don't want to use your good scraps for that. So it got built out of the "scrappiest scrap" I had and in particular helped make use of otherwise fairly useless/nasty laminate over particleboard sides of a dresser I'd trashpicked (which did yield some decent drawers and other internal solid wood).

[@josegonzalez-wb1lv]

Felicidades Matthias por tu canal y admiración a tu pequeño hijo que está atento a lo que su papá hace, llegará a ser un genio como su padre.

[@ASB-One360]

I always like to see Matthias build. But for whatever reason, it relaxes me when I see him build tables and drawer cabinets :) Would be nice to see him build a woodworking table once I would be curious to see what type he would choose.

[@Judahmangi]

The virgin making all your shop furniture out of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood vs. the Chad making your shop furniture out of garbage.

[@robinsonees]

Ha! I have that same desk in a corner in my living room, and I have to say your description of those drawers is accurate.

[@jamie_23]

you really are the master of recycling!!!

[@aaronb483]

A friend made long drawers for the bed of his pickup. The runners where oak. He used bees wax for lubricant. I would have thought he used ball bearings.

[@Thesaltymaker]

Appropriate for storing junk. It’s good to reuse when you can. We do the same at my makerspace. Only we wax the runners/ bottom of the drawers. Cheers.

[@akiriwas]

The kid interruptions make your videos even better!

[@Derek_Lark]

Very timely, I have to do exactly this.

[@wass77]

thanks for sharing love recycling videos

[@esepecesito]

Love to see junk converted in useful things.

[@physicsguybrian]

The little guy breathing in sawdust?! Nice!

[@PayneMaximus]

Junk to store junk? Excellent!

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Good project! One can never have too many drawers 🙂

[@1pcfred]

Drawers are the highest order in the hierarchy of storage. Which goes piles, shelves and drawers.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@1pcfred Yep 🙂

[@johannes.f.r.]

People remember only the good stuff from the past, because that is what survived and has been in their life forever.

[@Mrcaffinebean]

My oldest son is about the age of your child in this video. He LOVES doing shop projects with me.

[@PeteLewisWoodwork]

Haha, great to see the kiddie taking an interest in what's going on! I used to love having my kids around me when I was working when they were young used to take them with me to the furniture factory and and show them how I made frames and so on, then out for trips in the lorry when I was tasked with driving duties delivering around the country.

[@jaswats9645]

Junky, but respectable. And just as useful as any beautiful piece of furniture.

[@pogan1983]

Let me advise you: 1. you can lube the drawers with a lot of candle wax. It works if you don't skimp on it. However... ...2. You can use PET strips cut out of a 2/2.5 litre bottles. If you glue them to the slides, even double-side them, and lube, the result will satisfy your need for a compromise.

[@SimpleElectronics]

"They just don't make them like they used to" is a sentence uttered by someone who doesn't understand survivorship bias!

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

Very amusing. I've always wanted to take a garbage dresser and slice all the drawers into multiple shallower drawers so I can make my own flat file cabinet

[@matthiaswandel]

That may not be worth it compared to making new drawers.

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

@@matthiaswandel Fair point. At least I could reuse the frame and the drawer fronts

[@tonybaggett1984]

Matthias is the dad we remember from our child hood.

[@SteadyRed]

This video is peak Matthias. I love it!