Tool Cabinet Plans And Blueprints For Portable Storage Case

Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 00 Draft Design

Take a look at these portable tool storage cabinet plans and blueprints that will help you design a compact and mobile storage unit.

The overall design has a large base cabinet that rolls on casters, and a small tool chest that sits on top.

Tool Storage Cabinet Plans And Instructions For Crafting Sides & Back

Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 01 Structure Layout
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 02 Material List

To add rigidity to the case, the sides and back are made of solid wood frames and plywood panels.

Each frame and panel is held together with simple (yet strong) stub tenon and groove joints.

The pieces of these frames are identical in width (31/2″).

And so is the length of the side (A) and back stiles (B).

But since the sides are narrower than the back, the side rails (C) are shorter than the back rails (D).

To accept the plywood panels and rails, there’s a groove cut in each piece.

And stub tenons are cut on the ends of each rail to fit the grooves.

Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 03 Block Cleat
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 04 Back Rail
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 05 Corner Block

PANELS

With the joinery complete, you can add the side (E) and back panels (F).

These are just 1/4″-thick pieces of plywood that are glued into the frames.

At this point, there’s still some work left to do on the sides.

To make the sliding tray (added later) adjustable, I drilled a series of holes in the side stiles (A).

And there’s a rabbet that’s routed in the back edge of each side to accept the back.

BULLNOSE

To soften the front edges of the sides, I routed a bullnose.

But rather than buy a special bit, I used a 1/2″ roundover bit instead and made a pass on each side, see detail in Fig.

This leaves a slight “flat,” but all it takes is a little sanding to smooth it out.

SUPPORTS Before assembling the case, it’s easiest to add supports for a divider, sliding tray, and shelf.

FIXED CLEATS

The divider is supported by a pair of fixed cleats (G) made from 3/4″-thick hardwood.

After posi- tioning each cleat flush with the inside edge of the rabbet, they’re simply screwed to the side stiles.

ADJUSTABLE CLEATS

The sliding tray is also supported by two cleats.

But to move the tray up or down, these adjustable cleats (H) have pins (dowels) that fit into the holes drilled earlier in the sides.

To hold the cleats tight against the sides of the case, the tray sits in a rabbet cut in the edge of the cleats.

This way, the edge of the tray presses against the cleats and holds them in place.

CORNER BLOCKS

One last set of supports is a pair of corner blocks.

Besides supporting the bottom shelf, these corner blocks direct the weight of the tool cabinet onto the casters, see margin.

To help carry this weight, the corner blocks (I) are made by gluing up four pieces of 3/4″-thick stock.

These blocks are simply glued flush with the bottom of each side.

Divider, Tray, & Shelf

Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 06 Sliding Tray
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 07 End View
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 08 Base Piece Detail
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 09 Top Fastener
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 10 Back Edge Detail

With all the supports in place, you can turn your attention to the divider, tray, and shelf.

DIVIDER

The divider separates the cabinet into an upper and lower compartment.

The top compartment houses three drawers.

And the lower one provides storage underneath.

The divider (J) is just a piece of 3/4″-thick plywood with holes drilled in it to attach it to the fixed cleats.

Gluing on a hardwood trim piece (K) covers the front edge of the divider.

SLIDING TRAY

To provide easy access to tools, the sliding tray (L) is a narrow piece of 3/4″-thick plywood that pulls to the front of the cabinet.

A hardwood lip (M) glued to the front and back edges keeps tools from falling off.

SHELF

For storage at the bottom of the case, there’s a shelf (J) that’s identical in size to the divider.

Again, a trim piece (K) creates a finished looking edge.

ASSEMBLY

At this point, you can glue up the case.

To keep things square, I slipped the divider and shelf into the case.

When the glue dries, just screw them in place and install the sliding tray.

APRON

Next, I added a hardwood apron (N).

After cutting a gentle curve on the bottom edge, this apron is glued to the trim piece (K) and corner blocks (I), see margin and Fig.

CASTERS

All that’s left is to add four locking swivel casters.

To provide a sturdy mounting platform for the casters, two base pieces (O) are attached to the bottom of the case.

After routing a bullnose on the sides and front of the base pieces, they’re screwed to the corner blocks and sides.

Then just attach the casters with screws.

With the case complete, I started on the top of the cabinet.

To provide a sturdy platform for the tool chest, the top (P) is a solid wood panel that’s made by gluing up pieces of 3/4″-thick hardwood (oak).

But a solid wood top creates an interesting problem when attaching it to the case.

It has to be held tightly in place.

But to keep the top from splitting, it still has to expand and contract with changes in humidity.

To secure the top and allow for wood movement, I used metal figure-8 fasteners.

The small end of these fasteners attaches to the sides (or back) of the case, see details in Fig.

The large end fastens to the top.

This way, when the wood expands or contracts, the fastener pivots and keeps the top from splitting.

POCKETS

The figure-8 fasteners are recessed into shallow (1/8″- deep) “pockets.” After laying out their location, I drilled the pockets with a 11/2″-dia. Forstner bit, see Figs. 7 and 7a.

But you can also drill overlapping holes with a smaller bit, see photos below.

Before attaching the top, there’s one more thing to do.

That’s to rout a bullnose on the front and sides only.

INSTALL FASTENERS

At this point, you’re ready to install the fasteners.

Installation is just a simple three-step process, see box below.

Note: To provide easy access to the case when working on the drawers, it’s best to wait until the drawer slides are installed to attach the top.

Drawers

Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 11 Drawers Detail
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 12 Drawer Extension Slide
Tool Cabinet Plans Blueprints 13 Door Rail

To provide storage for different sizes of tools and materials, I built three progressively deeper drawers for the upper part of the tool cabinet.

Strong locking rabbet joints hold the drawers together.

And full-extension drawer slides provide easy access to what’s inside.

There’s nothing complicated about building the drawers.

The drawer fronts (Q, R, S) are made from 3/4″-thick hardwood (oak).

And I used 1/2″-thick stock (maple) for the drawer sides (T, U, V) and backs (W, X, Y).

Note: These pieces are sized to allow 1/2″ clearance for the drawer slides and an 1/8″ gap all the way around each drawer front.

With the pieces cut to size, you can concentrate on the locking rabbet joints.

Then just cut grooves for the plywood bottoms (Z).

Before gluing up the drawers, it’s easiest to install the brass pulls on the drawer fronts.

DRAWER SLIDES

Now it’s just a matter of adding the drawer slides.

These slides have two basic parts.

One is centered on the width of the drawer sides.

It lets you adjust the drawer up and down, so you’ll be able to “fine tune” the drawers for a consistent 1/8″ gap all the way around.

The other part attaches to the side of the cabinet.

By adjusting this part, you can position the drawer fronts farther in or out of the cabinet.

Note: Since I wanted to recess the drawer fronts about 1/8″ back, I located the slide 5/8″ in from the top of the bullnose.

Now all that’s left is to attach the top (see opposite page) and slide in the drawers.

Doors To keep dust and chips out of the lower part of the tool cabinet, I added two doors.

Like the sides and back, the doors are simple wood frames and plywood panels that are held together with stub tenons and grooves.

In addition to the joinery, I also wanted to maintain a consistent appearance between the different parts of the cabinet.

So the stiles (AA) and rails (BB) are the same width (31/2″) as the stiles and rails on the sides and back.

And to match the spacing of the drawers, these frame pieces are cut to length to allow an 1/8″ gap all the way around.

Now you’re ready to cut the stub tenon and groove joints.

Then, cut the door panels (CC) to size and glue up the doors.

Before installing the doors, I added a stop (DD) that keeps them flush with the front edge of the divider when they’re closed.

This is a strip of hardwood that’s glued under the divider.

INSTALL DOORS

After adding brass pulls (see box below), you can install the doors.

They’re held in place with 125° European-style hinges, see Figs. 10a and 10b.

This requires drilling a 13/8″- dia. hole in the door stile to accept the hinge clip. 10b.

Then attach the mounting plate to the side.

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