More sawdust...toe kick drawer

[JAG2955]

So our house is small, with very little storage space. I suppose that it's partly due to the open floor plan. One of the worst offenders is the kitchen. This is a pretty run of the mill house, so it doesn't have nice things, like corner cabinets, appliance garages, or even deep counters. The counters are just over 20 inches deep. I'll also add that this house was built fairly poorly, by a bunch of maroons.

Anyways, I decided that I wanted more storage space in the kitchen, as well as increasing the desirability of our house, I built and installed the first of (likely) three toe kick drawers. I built it all out of scrap that I had accumulated in the garage. Total dollars spent on it was only $18, as I bought a pair of heavy-duty glides and a piece of hardware for the front. If you are building one, be sure to get full-extension or extra-extension glides for the drawer, since most cabinets overhang the floor by a few inches.

I first pulled off the quarter-round molding on the front of the cabinet, and then luckily the veneer on the bottom of the cabinet came off very easily. It was just nailed on with a few finishing nails. I cut through the base of the cabinet with a drywall saw, making it the same width as the rest of the drawers in the kitchen. I hate manufactured wood products, by the way. Despise them. Melamine, particle board, chip board...all garbage. I hate working with them. I'm okay with plywood though. I actually like hardwood faced ply for lots of projects.

I built a "sled" out of some leftover 1/2" ply; bottom, sides, and a back that would fit under the cabinet all the way to the back. I put the glides on the sides, and built a drawer to match, out of 3/4" birch-faced plywood. I used some iron-on banding on make it look like hardwood. I had the banding left over from the last bookshelf I did. I had a piece of 4" red oak that I used for the face of the drawer. I gave up trying to find a creative and strong way to attach it, so I just glued and face-nailed it on with finishing nails, sinking the nails with a nail set. I'll fill them before I stain it. It's not like you're going to lay on the kitchen floor just to check out my handy work. You hardly notice the drawer when it's closed, even less once it's the same color.

Once everything fit and moved smoothly, I attached the "sled" to the back of the cabinet with screws, and re-installed the veneer and quarter round. Then I filled it with a lot of the junk that we don't use often, and pushed it shut with my foot. I really need to get a table saw and miter saw, but the garage doesn't have enough room either. Everything here was cut in my driveway on a sawhorse with a circular saw. I clamp on a piece of wood on to use as a guide, but that's it. It's a pain in the ass, especially when I do angles. Long rip cuts especially suck, though I do have a cutting guide I made from a piece of 10' cheap pine. When I'm ripping boards that long, I'll actually use my tailgate as one support, and my sawhorse for the other. Luckily I didn't have to do any this time.

Attached is a pic for viewing pleasure. It's much easier to take a picture with an iPhone, then email it to myself than find that damn mini-usb cable for my digital camera. So excuse the quality.

[blackeagle603]

If space it tight consider a radial arm saw. They're not as fashionable these days but still a terrific combo tool.

[arctictom]

Good use of space, nice.

[JAG2955]

If space it tight consider a radial arm saw. They're not as fashionable these days but still a terrific combo tool.

Do they even make new ones? That's what I learned to use when I was young. I think I remember hearing someplace how they were considered the most dangerous wood tool. I never had any problem, even when I was trying to rip a piece of wood backwards. It would seize up the saw.

They are a pain to set up for ripping, but they are very multi-purpose, you can even plunge cut with them if you're crafty. I just don't have the room, unless I feel like setting it up outside.

[TheIrishman]

If space it tight consider a radial arm saw. They're not as fashionable these days but still a terrific combo tool.

Do they even make new ones?

Sears still makes one under the Craftsman name.

ETA: If you have a little storage room and would like a table saw, Dewalt makes a portable unit.

[blackeagle603]

Yeah, everything's a tradeoff. I've got a 12" slide comp mitre, table saw and router. It's great but the versatility of a radial arm is hard to beat in a space constrained shop. I especially would like the quick setup and thru put dado ability for knocking together basic shelves, boxes and cabinets. A tight one will do fine on most DIY work.

The tool/garden shed is a capital idea. I certainly wouldn't be buying a new radial arm saw. Craigslist is your friend. Estate sales from old guys passing on with complete sets of blades, tooling addons show up if you're paying attention.

[Dedicated_Dad]

This is a SPEC-FRICKIN'-TACULAR IDEA!

It's actually a pretty awesome place to hide stuff you wouldn't want easily found, too - provided you did a good enough camo-job...

THANKS for sharing!

[Netpackrat]

I don't think I would ever choose one, but my grandfather had a radial arm saw as his main stationary tool in his one car garage/woodshop, and he did some amazing wood working in there.