I need some help here. My wife wants some built in file cabinets and shelves in our home office. I’ve found some helpful videos on building these, but am having trouble coming up with plans that show basic dimensions. Things like drawer and cabinet sizes. I know I will need to adapt it to my application, but I could use help on the basic design.
Any links to plans with dimensions would be much appreciated.
Replies
LMGTFY:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&source=hp&ei=qfSJX43SNsSIggeiwYioAQ&q=file+cabinet+plans&oq=file+cabinet+plans&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgUIABDJAzICCAAyAggAMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB46DggAEOoCELQCEJoBEOUCOggIABCxAxCDAToLCC4QsQMQxwEQowI6CAguEMcBEKMCOgIILjoOCC4QsQMQxwEQowIQkwI6BQgAELEDOgUILhCxAzoLCC4QsQMQyQMQkwI6CAgAELEDEMkDOgUIABCSA1DYEljhOGCEVGgBcAB4AIABQ4gBggeSAQIxOJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXqwAQY&sclient=psy-ab
ouch…
Thanks MJ for the "help". This link gives me a bunch of pictures, plus a few "plans". I drilled down on several and did not get much help. But it was a good joke.
I get the joke, but took a quick peek and saw one from Fww following that link. https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/331718328793172567/
It gives dimensions and likely if you look up the article more detail would be provided.
Cheers,
Making a drawer set like this from plans is not often the best option. For instance, you are building these in, so finding a plan to match the space you have is extremely unlikely.
You can, however, easily create your own. It's a fun thought project so whilst watching the most tedious election special in history, I'll have a go. I have assumed suspension files whilst writing this:
First you need to determine the critical dimensions.
You may have depth limited by the space in which you want the drawers to fit. Find the FULL EXTENSION SLIDES rated 35Kg or more that will fit that space best. Your longest usable slide will be about (maximum front to back length of entire unit) - thickness of face frame material - thickness of any back material - about 6mm for tolerance.
Make your drawer no longer than the longest slide that will fit your space.
You should make your carcass first. It is easier to fit the drawers to the carcass than the other way round. By all means make a mock-up drawer to check dimensions but don't make a bunch of drawers.
The hole in the carcass to take the drawer needs to be the width all the way across the top of a suspension file + 2 x thickness of drawer sides (12mm birch ply is ideal) +5mm for internal drawer tolerance + 2 x space needed for one drawer slide including recommended tolerance (read this off the packet)
The height of the drawer hole needs to be the full depth of the suspension file packet +10mm bottom tolerance + bottom thickness + 6mm +15 mm top tolerance to allow for tabs. If you can find room for 25mm top tolerance, it will reduce the risk of a mildly misaligned file getting caught.
Depth is of course already determined, but to recap, will be total depth of unit - face frame thickness. You may need to deduct any back you fit.
Your drawer maximum dimensions have been calculated, but the minimum height has not - This needs to be the total height of a suspension file plus 10mm + bottom thickness +6mm. I recommend you use 12mm birch ply for the sides and 4mm for the bottom.
As far as I can see, you now have all the critical dimensions for a functioning drawer AND you will have designed it to fit both the space you have and the hardware you can get (which is critical)
I have not done any more, as it seems you know the sort of thing you want to build and it was just the dimensions that were the issue.
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