Drawer slides are expensive. Do this instead.

[@wittworks]

👉Get the DIY Base Cabinet Digital Plans here - wittworks.shop/products/diy-base-shop-cabinet-digital-download

[@bfxavier]

Are the plans available in metric?

[@brucewilliamsstudio4932]

Hi Drew, the router bit bearing picks up some glue and then transfers it to the laminate. If the bearing is seizing it will rotate and bruise the laminate, even burn it on occasion. The best bet is to put the top on, route it, and then put the sides on after making sure the bearing is in good shape and clean IMHO.

[@simonr6793]

😂😅 I think I'm going bold 🤔 welcome to 40's 😅😂just wait until you get to 50 it doesn't get any better 😳🙄, only worse than when you was 40 🫣🤫🤪.

[@justinjones9255]

Bummed there isn’t a sketchup file included.

[@brucewilliamsstudio4932]

@@justinjones9255 You can always make your own Sketchup file Justin. 😉

[@lunhil12]

Retired cabinetmaker and what impressed me most was that beautiful distributor's showroom and stock. That's what I imagine cabinetmakers heaven looks like.

[@partciudgam8478]

that and enough C clamps to cover the whole earth in a mile deep layer (to use sparingly on small projects)

[@angellas.1314]

I love it, and I’m not a cabinet maker. But makes me wanna be one. ❤

[@BasedGodEmperorTrump]

I used to professionally build cabinets. Now, I work in a doormill building interior/exterior doors. My doormill is also a lumber yard as well as having warehouses full of countless doors. It's not as immaculate as the showroom but we make due.

[@henrysiegertsz8204]

Bless you sir, an image I now have for the rest of my years, see you there some day!

[@superdupper01]

Does that mean the isles at HD or L could look like that.they just didn't try?????

[@pcfw]

🤿Great video! So glad you found us! No need for secret passwords - we sell to anyone. We also have glue, sandpaper, drawer pulls, hinges, and drawer slides.

[@spsully2582]

LOL but do you have dominoes? #Drewisfancylikeapplebees

[@stevewitt5559]

@@spsully2582I suspect they do. It seems they also sell Festool products.

[@wittworks]

@pcfw Thanks! I stopped by on Monday to buy more, and Rick brought me to your desk. Someone was out for lunch. 😮

[@marjf7929]

First video of yours I've seen so far.🤿

[@Neptune730]

Good to know even though you're 6 hours away. I'll have to make a trip up there sometime just to look, and drool.

[@jimmydrew491]

CABINETMAKER TIP: If you’re using a trimmer with a flush cut bit (trimmer bit with the bearing) and you’re not adding the edge banding after laminating the top, add a piece of masking tape twice around the bearing. Line up the edge of the masking tape with the edge of the bearing closest to the blades of the bit, wrap it around the bearing twice and then trim off the excess). The bearing should spin freely but you’ve given yourself about a mm of overhang on the laminate that you can then file down to a nice chamfered or rounded edge without digging into the edge banding.

[@MasterKozuko]

Thanks for sharing that tip. I'm looking forward to trying out in the future!

[@simonbriers2170]

Really nice cabinets thanks for the runner idea 🤿

[@frogsoda]

Or just don't set the bearing so low. If you put the bearing just under the laminate, there won't be room for it to cut into the side. Or even better, use a laminate top trimming bit. That's what it's for.

[@jeffskarjune4425]

There is also a product called lami- lube. Spray it on and it will protect the edgeband from the heat of the bearing

[@jamesgalbraith1742]

They make a bevel bit that you can set so that the top veneer hangs out just a tiny bit that you can file off

[@thomaskila3801]

Building and leveling the toe-kick before attaching the cabinet is worth the price of admission alone! Thanks for sharing!

[@theodrummond6518]

We are always learning from others so here's a share. As in your case for drawer slides. Use strips of laminate. Glue one strip to the underside of your drawer bottom and one strip to the upper side of the rail in your cabinet casing. The drawers will slide smoothly and the laminate is a very hard wearing material. You will unlikely need to replace it in your lifetime 😃. You can go as far as doing both top and bottom of the rail. This reduces drag for when your drawer is pulled far out. Excellent workmanship.

[@feyrband]

@theodrummond6518 they also make tape specifically for sliding surfaces. UHMW Advances Poly Tape. Probably others out there as well

[@mikemotorbike4283]

Silicone spray for extra slide

[@jacobs7764]

​@@mikemotorbike4283 Then when you re-up the spray after a few months, your muscle memory yeets the drawer across the shop 😂

[@KaiserTom]

Parrafin wax is a simple alternative to keep a nice good slide.

[@leethorp2164]

I've used PVC stock for drawer slides with good results. The durability has been more than adequate so far. Also in addition to gulf wax bar soap can work in a pinch for lubrication.

[@naasking]

One thing I've done instead of slides that worked: skateboard bearings. You can get 100 packs for $20 or so. They're low quality for skate boarding but should work great for sliding drawers. I used 6 bearings per drawer (3 per side) because they were super deep, and screwed them right into the side of the drawer with a washer for spacing. Buttery smooth drawers. If you used 6 per drawer, that's only 200 bearings for 30+ drawers, so should be less than $50 total. The rest of your build could be mostly the same, just size the tracks to accommodate the bearing diameter, leaving room above so they rotate freely. Good tips in this video, going to look up some plywood companies in my area to see if I can find something better than big box stores for some upcoming projects.

[@wittworks]

That’s interesting!

[@T_Jonesy]

Cool tip.

[@kameljoe21]

Edging vs bearings... Melamine 3/4" X 250' Roll, Preglued cost 40 bucks and you can likely get it even cheaper. I have even heard that people just use it on the drawer bottom and not bottom and drawer holder side. If you just just use it on the bottom you only need 120 feet if you account for each drawer using 4 feet. I also would have dado the drawer just enough to align them. This would make for all the drawers being perfect size. I do like the idea of the entire drawer being a piece of plywood rather than some other form. These drawers are super strong this way and will hold some major weight.

[@beachcrow]

Rollerblade wheels are also cheap to use instead of casters for woodworking projects.

[@elmohead]

I swear, skateboard parts are high quality AF. I replace every castors with skateboard ones. So smooth, so quiet, zero rattling.

[@hlblundell]

As others have noted, the marks on the edge banding is from the router bit burning the laminate. I worked in a cabinet shop in North Carolina. The way we prevented this was by brushing on a thin coating of Crisco shortening before routing laminate or edge banding. It's super quick to brush it on with a small chip brush and easy to wipe it off with a rag and acetone. Keep up the good work. 👍

[@EvulOne42]

This ... or do it freehand.😅

[@klausstock8020]

@@EvulOne42 His dad actually brought the right tool to do this manually. In Germany, that tool has a proper name (okay, two, actually): Stemmeisen and Beitel. In English, it's one of many tools called "chisel". 🤿

[@EvulOne42]

​@@klausstock8020 you can NEVER have too many chisels !😊

[@klausstock8020]

@@EvulOne42 I, actually, do have too many chisels. In addition to the chisels I bought in the 55 years of my life, I also inherited maybe 50 years worth of chisels. Of course there's always that one chisel I don't own yet. But which I need. TL;DR: Yes, you can have too many chisels, but it's still not enough. What? Electro-pneumatic? Glad that you asked. Yes. I got a few of these. Just...not all of them. You need 'em. Trust me.

[@tomfromoz8527]

Acetone!? Dude, it's only shortening, plain old *rubbing alcohol* is cheaper and won't melt plastics. *Pam* {Tom's wife}

[@timothytimh4321]

Someone showed me that you can shim up your base and then screw in flat scraps like interior legs. This goes quickly, doesn’t show, and keeps really well for a long time. GREAT video! I started to feel like it was moving around a lot, but once I got the rhythm it was actually better than machine gunning all the info for one thing because I was making sketches and notes. The tangents all apply directly to the subject and give me time to notate the parts I really want. THANK YOU for taking the time.

[@rtucker8837]

A laminate trick my dad showed me was to take a candle stick and rub the edges where the bearing will rub. The wax keeps the bearing from burning the laminate and can be cleaned off when you're done

[@LukeMornings]

Fantastic Idea

[@Snaffer01]

Ok, but that wasn't the problem here.

[@takhsisprime]

@@Snaffer01 could have been

[@Andyloveswood]

I think it would be better to use the actual candle, not a candle stick. I don't see how rubbing a candle stick on the runners would do anything at all.

[@rtucker8837]

@@Andyloveswood the candle is for using a router to trim laminate, not for the runners

[@k98killer]

Really cool that the local lumber yard guy did the little skit thing for the video.

[@wittworks]

He’s a cool dude and now we’re good friends

[@thedislikebutton1907]

@@k98killer He probably wanted to come on KZbin.

[@allenstraw1783]

Napoleon Dynamite flashback.

[@GaryKnibbs]

Yeah, but then why not its great advertising for him.

[@AcornFox]

@@allenstraw1783 vote for pedro

[@jeffrudolph1802]

I bought your plans and I was just about finishing up when I realized that the handles I bought (like yours) won't fit because of the height of the drawer gets in the way of the drawer front. I was all set to buy a different type of handle, but then said, "hmmm I wonder how Drew attached them." I went back and watched your video and saw your mortise solution. Excellent solution and saved me having to buy different handles and toss the ones I originally bought. BTW the build worked out very well. I built 6 cabinets. The one change I made was that I really like the look of baltic birch, especially on the edge, so I made a 4" wide baltic birch frame to save on wood costs of solid panel. Then used not so good plywood panels and cut dados/grooves in them with a dado stack on my table saw for the runners. Other than that, I followed your plans and it worked out very well. Thanx!!

[@Will_JJHP]

That duct tape trick is peak best practices, man. Thanks for sharing that detail 🤿

[@ChallengedCustoms]

He never left the duct tape on 🤿

[@VRVitaly]

@@ChallengedCustoms lol caught

[@martaarroyovidal2279]

I think the emoji proves that he knows it... because he watched the full video... @@ChallengedCustoms

[@ChallengedCustoms]

@@martaarroyovidal2279 Thanks for pointing that out, I can sleep better now knowing that

[@alankovacik1928]

a job isn't done until you use duck tape.

[@lasersight70]

A couple laminate tips from someone who works with a pro. First thing you want to do is tape the edge your bearing will ride along before you route. 1-2 layers of masking tape is fine. Step 2 is to cut your material a little closer to size. you never want to be cutting more than half the diameter of your router bit. (i.e if you use a 1/2" flush trim, never use it to trim more than 1/4" of material) it also helps to use bits made specifically for laminate (but they can be kinda pricy) the last step is to either use a laminate file to remove that last little bit, or a "no file" laminate but in a trim router. (this is my preferred method. it's easier, and gives the tiniest radius to the edge so its not as sharp)

[@als1023]

This is an excellent post, and describes the professional approach to laminating. Thanks for posting ! I might add the main sheet should overlapt the front and side edges, to avoid haing any chance of something catching the edge while sliding across the top. Am alternative is to use soft or hardwood edging, which then makes the front and side edges bullet proof. Just rip material on the table saw.

[@nhilistickomrad4259]

Could've just bought the telescopic runners from China or india. I'm india the most cheapest telescopic style runners, a pair can be had for like 2 dollars USD and it's the same shit as off brands ( not like hettich hafflee blum) . For heavy-duty with heavy loads like 100 pounds + always buy hettich cheapest and best, but light load go for local chinesium varietals.

[@keithschuessler3435]

I like the cmt bit with the triangular plastic bearing cap. The triangle means it resists spinning, and the cutter is ground on a tiny taper. Adjusting the height means it will cut closer and closer as you drop the bit. I have hardly used the tiny amana bit since trying this cmt bit, barely touch it with a file and it’s done. I would also extend the drawer faces to cover the raw carcass edges, and scribe the base after it was leveled with the shims. Just cut a scrap block the width of your largest gap, and slide it around with a pencil on top. French cleat the backsplash so you’re not married to the first tool layout. Wax each drawer block before installing, and wax the drawer bottoms.

[@rawhidehat]

We always use a bevel bit and file the last of it with a bastard file (course cut on one side, smooth cut on the other). I think the Festool router attachment for edgebanding would likely work well on this application but I don't have one. On a solid color, the tape is a good precaution. Another tip is that having such a huge overhanging piece of laminate, as in this video has at the end of the top, is risky. It's really easy to go too far with the roller, because you don't realize you are at the end of the top, and then you crack the laminate, making the edge really hard to finish nicely.

[@anthonyhayes3341]

Use parafine canning wax on the edge after you stick sheet. Use a bullet laminate trim bit beveled. Bastard file to take off the sharp edge. Black sharpy if you over cut.

[@duanelunday6025]

I didn't use laminate on my top. One sheet of particle board was part of the structure and screwed down tight. The top was another sheet and painted. It was then attached with one screw in each corner. I wasn't worried about someone breaking in and stealing it. I wanted something easy to replace because I didn't want to worry about cutting or drilling into it. I turned it over every few years and replaced it once in over 25 years of use.

[@totheknee]

Your comment section is surprisingly amazing and civil. Congratulations, you broke KZbin!

[@ComradeStiv]

ikr I had to check the URL . . yup still on youtube, weird

[@alangeorgebarstow]

🤿I'm just a young, 73-year old, apprentice woodworker who is willing and eager to learn. Your videos are hugely entertaining as well as massively informative. I watch them all to the end and have already learnt so much.👍🏻 Bravo, sir.

[@dantizzle00]

There's so much character in the video--the build was stellar, but the narration and editing were my favorite 🤿

[@basha9482]

🤿 hilarious. I can only imagine DIY’ers patching their walls with duct tape. Stop. I’m getting a hernia laughing so hard.

[@danwaggoner1006]

Love the Plywood Company, no matter how little you are buying they treat you right. One of my favorite places to shot. First time I went there they had not opened the current layout, so to exit you had to exit to the right through the facilities, was amazed how much stuff they have!

[@matsler89]

I used to work at a professional cabinet shop in Texas and we ordered lots of sheet goods from the plywood company. They are awesome

[@pauldavies8314]

Wahoo! Planning a garage conversion on the cheap, got a bunch of 1/2 inch plywood. This is what I was looking for

[@gregre052]

​@@pauldavies8314no no

[@theprojectproject01]

Flatbed semi driver here! I've actually delivered loads to Plyood Co! Last time it was a full truckload of MDO. Folks, lemme tell ya a secret: Roseburg MDO is their doug-fir boatbuilding plywood with a paper face. Same stock, same assembly line, same adhesives, just with a kraft paper facing. Super-low-void and the paper face takes paint and glue perfectly.

[@mistress24099]

Most likely reason you got that mark on the edge of you laminate is the the bearing had build up of contact cement from your previous trims and it wasn't spinning freely from the bit. I always clean the bearing with acetone or thinner after I make my cuts.

[@jessekruis6698]

This happened to me my first time doing it and bearing getting gummed up

[@briannelson4122]

For sure, THE number one tip for routing Formica, if you think your bit might be gummed up, it was a cut ago! Keep that bearing clean and spinning! Acetone is your best friend.

[@MrCraill]

What also helps is trimming your laminate closer to the final size. As well as the others posted about proper bits and cleaning bearings.

[@SteamvilleQuintet]

Yeah, the bearing is definitely not spinning, but melting the laminate as you go.

[@riggsron]

They also make a solid carbide flush trim bit without a bearing that is made specifically for Formica-type laminates, The recommended usage is to quickly apply some paste wax where the bit would be touching the laminate. Bearings are great except when you have build-up. The solid carbide is simple, easy to clean, and a lot cheaper.

[@dexstewart2450]

No one has any right to bitch bout this video - the man told you what it was about and then made a bloody good job of doing it. For me, the draw slides make more economic sense due to the price of petrol here vs the extra weight of the wood - but that's a classic Opex vs Capex decision. Top job, mate.

[@36736fps]

The drawers will slide more easily and reduce damage to the stretchers and drawer bottoms if you add 3 thumb tacks to each side of the drawer. 1 on top of the stretcher at the front and 1 on the top and 1 on the bottom of the drawer at the back. This eliminates all wood to wood loaded vertical contact. Just be sure to make the stretchers narrow enough so the thumb tacks clear each other when the drawer is fully out. Put the top drawer tack at the very end and the bottom drawer tack a couple of inches from the end so that all three tack are not vertically aligned when the drawer is put in place. You could also put tacks on the cabinet sides at the front and the drawer sides at the back to further reduce wood on wood drag. I did this with cheap store bought cabinets 40 years ago and they still work fine.

[@davelowe1977]

Clever.

[@palarious]

Combine with some powdered graphite on the wood and I bet that would last forever.

[@73124doug]

why not just wax the slides

[@CTRCustomWoodworks]

If you would have made the sides of the drawers 2.5" shorter than the bottoms, and have the bottom extend past the back of the drawer, they would act like full extension slides. You could then access the full inner portion of the drawer. You lose the 2.5" of usable space, obviously, but you cant access the last 1/4 of your drawer for fear of it pulling all the way out. I have 21" deep drawers in a 24" cabinet, and at full extension they carry ~50-70lbs of contents easily, despite the cantilever.

[@StillLifeOutdoors]

Novice cabinet builder here, your cabinets are first class, as are your videography/production skills. Also, as I’ve helped restore our 125yr old Victorian house over the last few decades, I’ve realized the importance of leaving things much better than I’ve found them, even down to the last hidden details. So I was really glad to see what you did with the duct tape! 😅🤿

[@jwickstead]

It’s very relaxing listening to you describe your Reno. You left out any unnecessary blah blah and move the story along with just the right amount of humour. It’s edited at just the right pace to fully comprehend and the b-roll is not only well shot but is not overused. Something simple like the screw comparison side by side shot when your screwing the cabinets together gave me all the info I needed without taking me out of the story. Your good at writing, and have just the right amount of confidence and self deprecating humour that makes your videos aspirational and also attainable so overall worth subscribing too. Cheers

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

You're = you are

[@jwickstead]

@@manolisgledsodakis873thanks for correcting me on a misspelled contraction.

[@JohnDownesacorro]

🤿 if duct tape doesn't work, you didn't use enough

[@WillLeingang]

🤿 man that plywood company sign made me laugh out loud. The deadpan delivery had me rolling. Great build… as usual it was worth the wait!

[@wittworks]

Dead pan, I wasn’t joking the entire video. 100% serious.

[@WillLeingang]

😂@@wittworks

[@5280Woodworking]

Tamar would be so proud of you! Looks great, killer idea on the hardware-less solution. No idea where the snorkel emoji is but totally good idea duct taping the seams, pros do it that way.

[@deawallace3584]

My spouse was a master carpenter/builder, and I have loads of drawer slides, hinges, pulls, etc.,that I was going to donate, but hearing how expensive the good ones are, I think I will use them. I admit I was saying, "Not smart, not smart," at the duct tape part. I have taped and bedded several houses. I was doubting your intelligence, so I'm glad you corrected it at the end. I sure hope that you put a finish on the cabinets! Buying good lumber and not finishing the units after all that labor....Not smart, not smart..

[@ratsalad346]

I need a large number of drawers for nuts and bolts and washers and flanges and nails and ... I think I might try this technique right after I return from my snorkeling trip.

[@romanbatyuk]

Such an easy video to follow for not only the process you followed but background music isn't intrusive, you use simple speech and don't repeat yourself. Great job! I will be following for more.

[@ds61821]

I don't know how to do a snorkel emoji. An idea I learned from TOH about shimming the toe kick rectangle -- Use the shims only temporarily to level the assembly. But then screw some 2x4" material inside the frame to meet the floor. They then removed the shims leaving the 2x4" material to hold the assembly in level position. I used that technique when I built the kitchen island.

[@wittworks]

oh wow I love that!

[@ds61821]

@@wittworks I'll say here too that I struggled with the price of the drawer glides opting for the cheaper side mounted ones. When I built vanity I used undermount glides and really love them, but not their price. I retire next June and look forward to revisiting this video for my garage turned partially into a home workshop. Thanks.

[@Obtuse94]

I like the 2x4 idea, but is there any technical/engineering reason to remove the shims? Or would it just be for aesthetics?

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@Obtuse94that’s a good point and another reason to use composite shims.

[@msytdc1577]

​@@Obtuse94More points/greater surface area of support in ground contact, reduces the number of tools and parts that disappear underneath through the gaps that need to be retrieved, reduces the amount of dust and debris that can find it's way in.

[@bluesideup007]

Laminate edges that join on the front edge are prone to chipping. A tip for laminate counter tops: Use a solid wood edge on the MDF, then lay the laminate on the top and rout a 45 deg chamfer. That what I did on my shop tops, table saw extensions and large router table 25 years ago and still look like new.

[@wittworks]

True. I thought about adding maple on the front and forgot about it with all the other moving parts. Next time!

[@als1023]

YES to this suggestion !

[@sketchman01]

Thank you for this!

[@flatlander523]

Gotta be walnut!!

[@als1023]

Yep that works great wa y to use up scraps. !!!@@flatlander523

[@chrisnordstrom6652]

I love the project and I love the presentation -- you are a natural. Lots of really really good tips and tricks for us home DIYers. I was not horrified about the Duct tape, but I am glad that you went with tape and mud in the end; it was the right thing to do.

[@wittworks]

thank you

[@rockshot100]

Only HE would ever know it is there. But it would bother me. I like how he added the insulation, it looked easy. He should have used that duct tape on the laminate sides, that probably would have worked, right? Somebody suggested to grease it with crisco first.

[@ShopNation]

Excellent display of shop greatness my friend! Also, that tape trick on the paint can…🤯

[@stevewitt5559]

That tape trick is the bomb!

[@wittworks]

Thank you. Wait till you see the trick in my paver install video.

[@spsully2582]

I was expecting you to say something about not painting or finishing them. LOL you should fly down to help him take them back apart, mask them off, paint them, reassemble and then wear the step brothers t-shirts for the reveal.

[@Witty..UserName]

@@wittworks w/a 1ksqft diy paver patio in my near future... can't wait.

[@lesmundane3497]

Thank you for making the drawer bottom-slide combination a legitimate method. All my future shop drawers will be like yours. Duct tape is a good tease. 👍

[@thejc3]

The contact cement gums up the bearing causing the bearing to spin with the bit which then puts friction and heat on the laminate material and that's where you get your damage on your Edge band. To mitigate this you can use something like Goof Off to make sure that you're bearing doesn't have any residue from the contact cement and then we Grease the bearing with Marine grease or axle Grease. You might have to do this several times throughout a single project but you will get perfect trim without the burn

[@jpcarpentry4199]

There's a lot of great tips in the comments! I'd like to offer one of my own. Before installing your upper cabinets, place an upper and lower 2x4 horizontally to mount the upper cabinets on. Mount the lower 2x4 2-3" higher than the lowest part of the cabinet, this will give you a little nook to hide your LED strip lights in. It's a quick and dirty technique perfect for garages and kitchenettes. You look great for 40!

[@michelleliggitt8821]

Love the message you left for any future homeowner who dives 🤿into the construction!

[@kathypozzuto3627]

🤿 60+ female, no woodworker here, and your cabinets are fabulous! Enjoyed the video to the end!

[@lukmanalghdamsi3189]

no woodworker here. but them right? don't worry we know and we like it

[@lacklustre222]

Love your content! Keep it up. One thing I learned is if you put blue tape around your countertop edge it will keep the bearing just that little bit off and you won’t get that chatter! And you can tune it up with a sanding block! Lastly I always rip my plywood long ways down the center (610mm) and then cut them to the final 600mm which takes off the factory edge! You got a follow from me

[@JoelKouski]

Genuinely impressed! I love that what's needed for this build is regular tools, a steady hand, quality materials, and patience. Oh, and drywall mud 🤿 Thanks for posting this video!

[@noelwrightpersonal]

You have to come down to Australia, just priced an 8x4 sheet of 18mm (3/4 in) birch ply for the bargain price of......wait for it...... $AUD290.40 or $US193! Aussie woodworkers are soo jealous of your ply and hardwood access. I dream about using black walnut or hard maple! Anyway I enjoy the vids, thanks

[@technerd5637]

30 minute commercial for a track saw. I'm sold. Geez. :D

[@Eric998765]

I picked up one brand new in the box at an auction a couple months ago. I'm so excited to pull it out in a few weeks when I start working on my kitchen

[@bostitchrider2026]

No kidding. They are awesome. I should have bought one for making all the moldings in my house.

[@kimhenry5658]

My son has one now and wishes he got it years ago. I use it too sometimes and it’s a game changer. Cheers from Tasmania

[@beckyschneider1157]

I will probably never build anything out of wood- but loved watching this. My dad built our kitchen and bathroom cabinets in two houses when I was growing up. (He used a file to get the edge off the laminate--took some time...). Anyway, two years ago we had a major kitchen reno and our contractor reminded me of the way daddy would have built things. The cabinet company's video was also like that- me thinking if daddy was alive, he would have done it like that. In your video, I kept thinking how much my dad would have enjoyed watching this. Love it that someone put a bunch of time stamps on some really good points. Even though the things I watch are usually sewing or crafting related, I could still get good out of this. (this is great videography!). This method of drawers (btw, in the midwest it's pronounced more like "door" with an "r" in there). This method of drawers could/should have been used in inexpensive chest of drawers that used the bottom center hardware, that is now broken and the drawers almost fall out. I have a couple of small chests (one is a library card catalog cabinet) that the drawers stick and I'm going to try wax, and then, if that doesn't work, I am going to try to find out what that tape is that was mentioned and where to get it. Also- when we did the kitchen, there were a couple of pantry cabinets that the GC ordered without the shelves and he MADE the shelves and some are adjustable and others fixed. One of the fixed ones is for my kitchen aid mixer and it is HEAVY. I love it that these 3/4" shelves are not going to bow and sag. He also trimmed the front edge of the shelves-- (another thing daddy did.). I thoroughly enjoyed your video and the only thing that slightly worries me is if you get another flood- even of minor proportions-- the idea of those cabinets being ruined b/c of being in contact with the floor- scares me. I have never been scuba diving but I did find that *that* is where you find a snorkel being used.... 🤿

[@geofkozel3348]

I worked putting laminate on small jewelry display cabinets back in the day. The order you placed the laminate was spot on. To prevent damaging laminate already placed, we would put a generous coat of bee’s wax on the edge where the trimmer bit rides.

[@kyfarm]

Why can't everyone who has something to teach, teach like this? NO music in the background to distract from the message, or in a lot of cases, drown it out. Keep the message moving, have informative inserts, crack us up (👈 most important). And I love what you did with the duct tape thing. 🤿 New sub. Edit: Stop it! It's pronounced drower (long o) (unless you're from the deep south). 😁

[@topcheese2889]

You missed the music

[@SWEAR2CARE]

Because they can't buy all the production equipment to make the dam video, much less the cabinet making tools. And this guy, 12:51 Once he was a video artist, where he made a mint. Now he's testing what happens to his beautiful wood cabinet DIY drawer channels are when they get wet. Pick a lane.

[@johntallett1943]

I'm a cabinet maker wannabe so this video was a big inspiration. Thank you. Lots of great tips and tricks. Also, I've taped, mudded and sanded 1000's of feet of drywall joints in my time so the duct tape tip is a game changer. I recently went to Punta Cana; lots of highlights but the 2 hours I spent snorkeling one day was near the top. Using a snorkel and mask allowed me to see dozens of types fish you'll never see in the Great Lakes. 🐟🐡🐠 🙂

[@Zac_219]

I know you probably wont see this, but I worked in a cabinet shop for a while. We made mostly laminate counter tops and cabinets. To prevent the mark when you are trim routing the excess off the top, we would always apply a little Crisco to to the edge banding. that helps cut down on the friction from the bearing. Also, you can go really fast with the flush trim bit. Great work, and thanks for the video.

[@matsler89]

Tip on the laminate. Get a laminate flush trim bit that is made for that. Works really well and should not cut into the side piece. Also use a tiny chamfer bit to go around the perimeter and that will break the sharp edge.

[@JBBBBBBBB250]

Laminate flush trim bit, and wipe the surface you are riding on with Johnsons Paste Wax for a little lube....

[@jillheyd7500]

I used to work in a cabinet shop & we always laminated the edging after the top.

[@wittworks]

Johnson’s. Rip.

[@ErichKemper1971]

A really attractive way to eliminate laminate edge banding is use a 3/4” thick 1x2 oak or other type of solid wood as an edge band. Glue and nail then apply laminate on top. Flush bit route as normal..then throw an OG or round over bit on it. Really blows peoples minds. Personal preference I suppose…yet different than the guy next door! Excellent job on cabinets…and videography too! First time viewer.

[@МУЅТ]

@@wittworks I’ve always just used turtle wax on the edge that the bearing rides on.

[@MrDBT85]

I did something similar recently but using Dennis' approach from Hooked on Wood. Standard carcass with an MDF inner liner with slots cut in. Then just glued and pinned 80mm drawer parts glued and pinned to a 9mm MDF base. They are very deep, slide fine and saved me a fortune as I'd have needed nearly 35 drawer slides of whatever flavour. Also I can move them around as desired as all the slide slots are identical, so there are single, double and triple drawers and each can go anywhere. Similarly I also put black Formica on a double 18mm MDF top, but the contact adhesive I had was utterly shocking and formed blobs when I dared to use a brush or a roller. I did eventually sort it all out though and it looks great.

[@paullalekna5478]

I don't know about where you are, but here in Oz, if I go into an Auto parts shop, or a hardware store, I can buy a 'Degreaser Sray Gun' to use with compressed air, and in the past I have found that it also works well for yellow contact adhesive, the same stuff you would use for putting down laminate. It's not a perfect spray, looks almost like a random cobweb effect, but it WORKS, you get a nice even coating of the glue

[@florinsgondea6124]

Your video remands me of Norm Abram, This Old House, an old TV show. You mention your successes and your failures. Thank you making this inspirational video.

[@dr.dialtone8840]

Hey Drew: I'm new to this woodworking world. I'm retiring next year and I'm gleaming from all you awesome cats. I did watch to the end and gotta say, I thought you were slacking till ya came clean. Lol Great looking cabinets kid. You keep on doing you. I hope to enjoy years and years of woodworking. Maybe someday, I'll upload a couple videos for ya'll to have a laugh at. Thanks again Drew.

[@Babs-Veterans-are-Family]

This might be what I've been looking for in my craft cave, sewing room and for my wood working space.

[@PhilR0gers]

That's an impressive set of cabinets for under 🤿 $1500 all-in. When I made mine, I surfaced the counter with wood so that if it got damaged through using it as a workbench. I could either plane it smooth, or replace it when it got really bad. But your laminate looks really good.

[@mmNola]

Cool video. Thanks for the idea and tips. We tend to get heavy rains here in with Louisiana, so only feel thing i would do differently here is build about a 4 inch base (maybe sacrificing a bottom drawrl) with some type of water proof material, plastic, in case the garage floor ever gets wet. Thanks! snorkel 😅

[@jschlensker]

So happy to see new content from you! That tip on the parallel guides and 55" track on a full-rip is something I hadn't seen before and should be made into a "short" on your channel or IG. Include the duck-walk for a little Wittworks flair. Keep passing open windows (The Hotel New Hampshire) and persevere.

[@albertm8576]

Drew you were spot on about the plywood from a big box compared to an exclusive builders supply. And the cabinets turned out amazing. I love em and May be going with this same set up in my shop. Great video 🤿

[@jessicaf6358]

I heeeavily dislike how much space is wasted by traditional kinds of slider mechanisms. Thank you so much for this!

[@mrbmp09]

He lost an entire 3.5" deep "draw" on each cabinet by not using drawer guides. Could have made his own from 1/8x1 aluminum or steel bar stock embedded into each side of a cabinet with matching slots in each drawer. A lot more planning and work though. I would have recessed the top of each drawer front so the pull fit flush on top

[@jatontherun]

I will apply your drawer design to build one for a remodel of an old sewing machine table. I am making it to look like an existing theft of drawers I remodeled last year. Great video for inspiration! Thanks!!

[@echelonrank3927]

@@mrbmp09 what we saw in this twilight zone carpentry video is 6 layers of plywood between the inner spaces of neighboring drawers. its bulky af LOL what i saw before is sane ppl using metal corner stock for slides and not resorting to putting double walls between sections or similar paranormal activities 👻

[@DocScience2]

@@mrbmp09 = if you can, a link to a picture or drawing will help some of us understand the concept. Thankyou.

[@Mad-Lad-Chad]

@@echelonrank3927 Yea some of this seemed a little wasteful space wise to me, but I'm far from any kind of professional lol. I build stuff out of wood sometimes but I'm no cabinet maker.

[@simonr6793]

🤿 Just a quick note about the fungus toekicks. As someone who used to work in the commercial growing of mushroom fungi i just thought you should know something about the plywood that you think has mushroom fungus on the back. You may find that sometime in the future you start to notice a odd odour within your workshop and if you do can i suggest that you remove your fungal plywood and replace it simply because once the spaw's of fungus has started to be able to penetrate into the sheets of ply you will find it has spread across the area of each sheet like vein's, therefore it WILL start to grow into mushrooms again if that's what you had on the plywood in the first place. It's not something you can whipe down and stop from coming back like some molds etc. Just wanted you to know just incase you noticed a strange smell in the next year or so. The cabinet row looks great by the way and a brilliant idea for saving a few pounds/dollars etc even though you didn't actually hit your target. That said I doubt you could have purchased all the cabinets you wanted for the price you actually spent making your own, plus your cabinets will be stronger than the cheap ones you can buy from the DIY stores and last a heck of a lot longer 😊. As always buddy 💯% 👍 🇬🇧.

[@ximono]

This! I'd replace that fungal toe kick before it becomes a problem. It doesn't need water to grow, all it needs is the right temperature and humidity levels, and it will keep growing inside the plywood, turning it to mush.

[@jamesgibson3582]

@@simonr6793 former plant pathologist here. I've never seen dry rot in real life, but as soon as I saw thar piece of plywood it screamed 'dry rot' to me. I would suggest (like the others,l to remove that toe kick cover asap. Fungal mycelium can extend a fair ways, and dry rot is insidious, doesn't need free moisture. I would paint some wood preservative treatment on the toe kick board it was nailed to as well just to be sure.

[@ronhansen7717]

🤿 Great video. I built our house including all the cabinets - kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room, everywhere. Unfortunately, I went the expensive route, but they are still in good shape 20 years later. I definitely agree on the toekick. I've done it both ways. After trying the notching of the sides and then facing the toekick area, I scrapped that idea in a hurry. Leveling the cabinets is so much easier with the separate base. I've done a lot of laminate for my garage and for friends. One time I set down a large sheet of laminate in the wrong place and it was stuck! Impossible to get off? Nope. I sprayed automotive brake clean under the edge and peeled it right off, cleaned up the glue and reattached it correctly. I suppose acetone may work as well, but I always have break clean around.

[@geoffmiller3491]

I love the Brake Clean tip!

[@ronhansen7717]

@@geoffmiller3491 I always have 3 or 4 cans around for cleaning almost anything (within reason).

[@jeramiahshastid6041]

I also had bearing marks when trimming laminate. I used paste wax on the laminate where the bearing ram and it solved 99% of the problem. Great job on the build and the commentary was entertaining also. SEMPER FI

[@brucechristensen]

One trick for next time to make your drawers slide like butter: put some ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) tape between the drawer bottoms and the pieces they slide on. It's probably better to adhere to the cabinet than the drawer, but either would work, obviously. The tape is super tough and super slick. It makes wood-on-(UHMW-tape-on)-wood drawers almost as nice as ones with glides.

[@gilbertcabasse6168]

...and if you don't have the room for the tape (it's 2mm thick, right? and you have to put some at the bottom but also at the top of the slot), you can use the following recipe: mix some wax (bee-wax or else) with talc powder. I also used this for the central screw of a piano stool (the one for tuning the height of the stool) that was squeaking like hell, and it works like magic.

[@brucechristensen]

@@gilbertcabasse6168 it comes in lots of thicknesses. Obviously the thicker ones are tougher, but even the thin ones are surprisingly tough. McMaster stocks it down to about 0.1 mm.

[@brucechristensen]

@@gilbertcabasse6168 I've always just put it on one side (tape rubbing on wood), not both (tape rubbing on tape), and it seems to work fine. Wax also works nicely, though.

[@johnnybotz]

3” wide x 90’ = .21 per foot. I cut it on ban saw > 1/2” wide = .06 per foot. = 90 foot rolls for under $. Carpenters use your math skills and Sand properly to save/make money😂

[@NigelBassman]

I’ve used both UHMW tape and wax and was stunned how well the wax worked when using decent quality plywood for drawers like these.

[@dwhonan]

Thanks for sharing your techniques for a slide-less drawer system! I've been considering fabricating my own drawers for an oddly shaped space so I can store snorkel equipment and other gear, and this is a great way of achieving that goal in a cost-effective manner.

[@tessaend]

These were some great tips, especially the paint can one! I know the tips weren't all yours, but I appreciate you sharing them. I'm in Granbury and will definitely be checking out the Lumber Company. I'm glad you shared that experience because I would have turned around and walked right back out after seeing how fancy it looked inside.

[@wittworks]

Thank you! They’re great people!

[@lgconf]

🤿I'm moving to a new shop soon and this video will definitely come in handy. Thanks! Cabinet hardware is ridiculously expensive where I live, Brazil. Plywood prices are also insane, even more so than in the US, and to add insult to injury, it's pretty much impossible to find high quality hardwood ply (and if you do, it costs about as much as a kidney and a half), so you end up spending a ton of money on garbage. There is no such thing as pre-finished plywood, let alone birch ply here. We do have lots of cheap MDF (well, not cheap, but way cheaper than plywood), and it's very common to find sheets of it that already come with a formica veneer applied to it. In fact the unveneered (is that a word?) kind is rarely used. The only thing that you have to do with veneered MDF is apply some edge banding, and we normally buy rolls of PVC edge banding for that exact purpose. Is that not a thing in the US? We don't have any kind of iron-on edge banding. I usually apply mine with a contact glue that comes in the form of a tape that you apply to the edge, then peel off, leaving a layer of water-based contact cement on the edge. It's real handy and WAY easier to use than solvent-based contact cement, which is probably the one substance I hate the most in the woodshop. Anyways, thanks again for the wonderful video. And screw you for making me want to buy parallel guides for my tracksaw. Hope you're happy.

[@wesman7837]

Yes, we have PVC edge banding, but that double-sided tape is super expensive compared to contact cement!

[@lgconf]

@@wesman7837 it's much more expensive here as well, but not having to fiddle with contact cement is worth the price, IMO!

[@sagittariansrock]

🤿 thanks for sharing the build. Fyi we had a relatively minor (hopefully) water leak a few days ago, and that gave me perspective into what you and your family must have endured. Sending positive vibes your way!

[@tomsatterlee8397]

It was August 14, 1955 and we needed a couple of chest of drawer for our bedroom and I built them as you have done and they are still in use. Nice article used properly.

[@brianjensen2923]

If you used 1/2 ply for the draw side rest, that would save money and also make sliding the draws in and out easier. Use a little finishing wax to coat slides also.

[@xxxxMaddnesSxxxx]

Agreed. I would even make the whole drawer out of it. I don't think anything you'd put in those size drawers would need anything stronger than 1/2"

[@charlesclark609]

Nice job! Last time I bought ply it was $150/sheet for Baltic birch. $40 sounds like a steal! 🤿 going to definitely try this drawer slide substitute on my next set of garage cabinets!

[@Ghust2]

For 36 drawers I probably would have made one, place it on a spare piece of wood, and use the same technique you use for the multitool fence. It would give you a template to place the boards in, and be done in minutes :) Excellent video by the way!

[@wittworks]

That’s a great idea

[@dawnmyers5166]

I am so glad I found your channel, I found it from another channel. This one video is going to help me more than you know. I am building a cabin and have to build two shops plus my kitchen. One a wood shop and the other will be for my embroidery business and I need drawer like crazy. Thanks. Plus loved your humor as well.

[@jmannUSMC]

This is one of those woodworking vids that just makes you feel good. Funny and insightful all while in the middle of moving house and recovering from a flood damage. Added plus that i realized i can't spell snorkel in my 30s

[@wittworks]

Hahahaha. Thank you

[@micahmurray1466]

oh man, what way to realize you might be balding. I'm new to DIY woodworking but, after I recently finished my first project -- a lofted queen bed for my daughter's bedroom -- its quickly becoming my latest mid-life crisis hobby. I've been binging a lot of carpentry videos lately and your content and production value is great! You just got a new subscriber 🤿

[@CalvinoBear]

Was just about to post about Plywood Company! The place ROCKS, my kitchen is built from their material. Glad you found it!

[@42blairika]

I gotta find a company like theirs up in north Idaho or eastern Washington... this setup looks amazing... now I want to build my cabinets in my house

[@grantandre79]

for your cabinet base, I would've used treated lumber and trex-style decking material for the kick plate (both safe for concrete contact and possible water in the garage 🤿). this drawer slide idea/design is awesome! will be using. thx!

[@u2bist]

I love this project, and you're a natural narrator! I totally agree with you on drawer guides vs dadoes. Recently I made a small 9-drawer cabinet out of scrap lumber, same size as one of the units you made here, but foolishly used dadoes - holy tearout, Batman! Next time will use your method, but probably with 1/4" plywood. It's plenty strong for the drawer bottoms, slightly cheaper, and there isn't enough slop for the runners to jump the grooves. About the pocket screws, which seem to be the new hotness lately - honestly, I've been making drawer bodies using simple flat joints with wood glue and brads for 30 years (amateur), and none of my drawers have ever come apart in use, even heavy shop drawers. They also go together faster and easier than using screws. I think you worked a little harder than you had to there. Applying the laminate with your dad took me back to building our kitchen and bathroom with my dad many years ago - our last big project together. We did it the same way with the wood strips and it came out great. Painter's tape on the front edge would have saved it from scoring by the router bit bearing. Anyway it's really cool that you included him in your video. I got a lot out of watching this. First time I've ever seen that expando work surface thing you setup at the beginning, and also the parallel guides - will look into those. Big thanks for posting!

[@tombACIM]

Great build, never considered to build the drawers this way with the wooden sliders,I like the lament counter top, but for my workshop I used 3/4” MDF because when it gets too cut and marked up I turn it over and I have another clean smooth surface. 🤿

[@chrisp7957]

Not sure if you got the answer about your laminate yet but funny enough I just watched a video tonight that addressed that very thing. If you pull up todays craftsman he shows a demo of routing laminate and he uses a square plastic bearing in place of the metal bearing that most of us know about. His explanation was the fact that the round metal bearings can heat up and do exactly what your did. Hind sight is always 20/20 but really nice cabinets

[@wittworks]

I’ll check it out!

[@kevindavis8607]

This is my first video of yours. Nice build. Great design for the drawers. I enjoy the fun jabs at Jason and Mark, iykyk. I definitely appreciated the humor and editing. 🤿

[@Jaymc63b]

I went through building cabinets for my shop many years ago and I bought the slides. They tend to gum up with all the dust but I really like the way you did it. Very nice! 🤿🤿

[@KevinCoop1]

We have a cabinet in our dining room that was given to my mother 55 years ago. The top part is solid oak with leaded glass and came from Europe. It has adjustable shelves each side of opening has V cut wood slats, an insert strip that fits into the V then the shelf sets on top of strip with notches in the corners. The solid oak base was made in Missouri in Early 1900’s. The drawer glides are made of oak. There are three parts. One attached to the cabinet, one to the drawer, and a third sets on the cabinet piece and the drawer sets inside of it. And yes, it is extremely heavy.

[@Mark-jd1fr]

You used a lot more wood than what was needed. A row of cabinets could be made with a single wall separating the boxes.Also you have essentially added a third wall with the spacers you designed as drawer slides. If you wanted to make the cabinets separately as you did and since they are attached to each other than 1/2" plywood wood suffice for the box sides.The savings would be significant.

[@wittworks]

thats a good way to approach it too

[@MrBertstare]

I think a lot of time its missed on YT builds that if you are making shop projects you dont need individual cabinet boxes. just build a box as big as you need or as big as you can man handle for install. use dados for the dividers. I dont think either way is right or wrong but for a shop build I think it makes sense.

[@kameljoe21]

@@MrBertstare if you are using the single wall approach then using dados is not ideal. using the strips is ideal. Though using melamine edging will help with the sliding effect and this would allow you to gap it a bit more. Plus dado the drawer slide this way all you need to do is glue in and brad the drawer. Biscuit or dowel the drawer rather than pocket screw. Glue everything and it will be a very strong drawer. The drawer front can be made from anything. Doing it this way will allow you to set up three drawer sizes 12 inch 8 inch and 4 inch. Which will allow you to mix and match these drawer regardless as to how or where they are. Provided they are all build the exact same way. One might even opt to build the box stronger to have a floating cabinets. Which is the approach I may do. I intend to build two 20 foot long desks with seating for 2 people per desk with drawers much like this. Along with 5 foot tall and 2 foot deep by 20 foot long upper cabinets with some cabinet doors and shelf with plywood build cubes. Along with 2 swing out mounts for 85 inch tvs. I currently have my desk which is 12 foot and change that is a countertop and dual 55 inch screens above.

[@MrBertstare]

@@kameljoe21 I meant for the dividers/walls not the drawers. so the dado would be on the top and bottom, slid pin the walls then mount the drawers.

[@kameljoe21]

@@MrBertstare Sorry I might have lead you to the wrong statement. if the vertical walls were doubled up as in the way this cabinet was built then dado could work. If I were doing it I would do single wall with strips of plywood instead of dados. I think a full width would be ideal for example using 3/4 plywood. Building this way one might consider using melamine to add to either the bottom of the drawers or the slats of wood or both. Though I do wonder if adding melamine to the top and bottom of each slat would be well worth the effort. One could also add in drawer stops to prevent drawers from fully coming out. As long as you do not install one for the bottom of the drawer then you should be able to reach with a drill to remove the screws holding. I do like this idea and I do think in the end it could be a fraction of the price for bought cabinets with drawers. I want to make two 20 foot desks from it with 2 sitting areas for both. In total 40 feet with 4 desks along with full depth and height upper shelves along with plywood cubes. (i hate all of the cheap cube out there) With stain one can stain pretty much to any color they want. Butcher block counter tops are quite cheap and can make any desk/cabinets look nice. I have a lot of ideas and doing these types of plywood cabinets could save me a 10s of thousands and still end up with some high end cabinets that are built to last. My kitchen cabinets will be an island and possible a wall oven combo. Other than that the rest is just hood vent for cooking appliances, sink. commercial dishwasher and those upright combo fridge freezer. I do wish they offered hot water connections to compressor to preheat the water. There is so much wasted energy in appliances that I wish it could be sent to preheat water. Either way I think we are planning to hire someone to build these on site as there will be several other projects as well. Fully built in king beds with under storage and full 12 wide by 10 tall headboard cabinets type thing. I will have them made up in to plans first. Fiver is good for that kind of stuff. I am not skilled in it.

[@RattlebrainProductions]

Good work. Here's a few laminate tips: 1. Use water based contact cement. Doesn't have the overwhelming odor, goes on white, dries clear. But it does dry slower. 2. Use a solid carbide laminate trimmer bit and spread a little bit of vaseline along the laminate edge to prevent any burning from the bit. 3. Cut your laminate as small as possible. Maybe 1/8" overhang but no more than 1/4". 4. Use pieces of conduit instead of boards to lay on the surface when you place your laminate. They do the same thing but you end up with less surface area touching the contact cement. 5. If possible, use a trim router. Nice and small and easy to manage while trimming.

[@AlrightThanks]

I am tying to learn from this video to build a scaled down version of this. Could you please tell how have to made sure that the draws do not fall out if pulled beyond the length of the drawer ? Very cool build and I hope to make it this Christmas break. Thank you.

[@undaware]

There are few ways to avoid those router marks. One is go in reverse. The cutting force going forward flexes the bit into the edge. If you go slow going forward you can get away with it. You can also counter the forces somewhat, but reverse solves it but feels less stable. Also make sure you dont have more cutting edge showing than needed though that is a double edge sword with glue clogging the bearing easier. Lastly there are laminate trim bits with tapered flutes that help keep the bit off the edge and also saves time filing.

[@MrStrizver]

Since there are no runners, the drawer can be pulled out too far. One way to prevent that from happening is to place a false back in, which does two things: 1) prevents contents from migrating to the very rear of the drawer which necessitates pulling it out too far and 2)Provides a visible queue when to stop pulling. You could easily retrofit all your drawers with false backs.

[@fishhuntadventure]

You can more easily build limits into those. Don’t overthink it.

[@MarcusBuer]

Just use a string and two screws. One screw on the back of the cabinet, one screw on the back of the drawer, string tied on the two screws setting the length the drawer can go out. If you ever need to remove the drawer just unscrew the screw on the drawer to set it free.

[@ewong7492]

Jer Schmidt uses this method

[@NWGR]

@@ewong7492 Jon Peters uses it for drawers in his projects as well.

[@SarahHorner]

But the point is that you can easily move drawers out and around with this system. 🤿

[@chrisw1462]

Separate Toe Kicks: Make your short pieces and the back rail about 3/4" thinner. That way if there are any irregularities in the floor, you only have to scribe the front edge to get it level end-to-end. Then you shim under the back to level it front-to-back, then shim to the wall to keep everything straight and screw it to the wall. Done. No scribing four miles of rails just to get one wall done, and no huge gap under the front rail.

[@wittworks]

nice

[@craigburghardt8604]

Do not even have to shim under the back rail with this method. Just shim it plumb and screw it level into your studs.

[@kameljoe21]

I might opt for no toe kick and wall hang the cabinets yet this requires them to be built stronger. which is not all that much more plywood when you consider it.

[@deadlazlo]

I have had this style drawer in the past. Works well, and rubbing bar soap on the drawers and slot keeps them moving smoothly when the drawers get heavy. Nice job! Going to have to try Plywood company of FW.

[@meadsg]

Love the video, the ideas and the end result. Definitely going to consider building these for my space. The only thing I would add would be to make the drawers a 1/4” longer and put a 1/4” of trim on the front of the walls between the drawers. The entire project would look more professional, even though its only shop furniture. Thanks for the time and effort that went into filming this!

[@johnl9943]

Yeah...The front walls need to be trimmed for aesthetics in my opinion. Everything else, I do mean everything, is on point. I'm one of the 6 people and I got the scuba gear ready to go!

[@wittworks]

Thanks! I actually preferred the look of seeing the ply exposed.

[@tubastuff]

For the concrete-contact toekick, you might consider using composite lumber, such as Timbertech or Trex. It won't absorb moisture and slowly delaminate or rot from the moisture that inevitably diffuses from the concrete.

[@Snaffer01]

It will be absolutely fine my man.

[@DanielRichards644]

or use the adjustable plastic leveling feet they make for cabinet boxes that cost a buck or 2 per foot then your finish toe kick clicks onto those and you never have to worry about even a few inches of water on your slab.

[@knotemployedwoodworking]

🤿 Great work on the cabinets Drew! Love the idea of using the plywood over slide hardware.

[@chucknSC]

Some of my first shop drawers were built like this using a 3/4 bottom that protrudes onto slip runners. Those were 40 years ago and have seen all kinds of dust,grit and abuse. I’ve had to add some new paste wax a couple of times, but never had to clean and oil like ball slides. Great job. 🤿

[@msytdc1577]

One thing I didn't see mentioned is that it is a good idea to accommodate thermal/humidity expansion, warping of the material under load, as well as possible swelling of the plywood/MDF after liquid exposure when cutting the width of the drawer bottoms and when spacing out the side drawer supports. Otherwise you may find your drawers sticking until you bust out a tool and do some material removal. Having tight tolerances might seem more professional, but reality is messy and your pristine new material won't be perfect years down the line. Choosing an even more sizeable gap above the drawer bottom also helps that the drawer will tilt down when it approaches being pulled out all the way, both as a signal to stop pulling, and the increased friction from the back top of the drawer bottom jamming itself into the bottom of the rail supporting the next drawer up.

[@crazycdn8327]

I had plywood cabinets almost identical to these for about 10 years in the pacific north west in an unheated garage. I had zero movement or expansion. I also used plywood for the top and put hard maple trim to hide and protect the edges. Your mileage may vary though.

[@jeramybyford4793]

Project was well thought out. Video and audio production was A+. Keep it 🤿. Cheers

[@1234sure1234]

The details behind this build and the excellent use of duct tape just made me a subscriber 🤿

[@wittworks]

Thanks for the sub!

[@BustedKnuckleWoodworks]

I so badly want to leave a snarky comment but I just can’t think of one. Nice video man. I’ve built drawers like this and one suggestion that would really improve these is 1/2” UHMW tape on the “draw” bottoms and runners. Makes them much slicker to open and close.

[@JeffDM]

Snarkel

[@wittworks]

no snark? you've lost your edge. I guess its time for you to retire!

[@palkokity8235]

The Duct tape idea was genius. In fact, I think you should have finished the cabinets with it to help protect it from any future water disasters even though you may need a 🤿 to get to your tools. And, you can use it to secure your tools to the backsplash. Awesome video!

[@shaunnasworkshop]

Brilliant idea! 🤿

[@Thomllama]

Just a tip for next time (cuz you know you will 😅) install uppers before lowers! Makes it a butt load easier to install and zero chance of damaging lowers or counter

[@wittworks]

Oh yes. Now that you mention it, we did this with our kitchen. Certainly easier