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It’s a 24’ long back bar former beer cooler. It extends across all but 4’ of the north wall of my shop. It was put in the shop before there was siding between the poles. It isn’t going anywhere. I haven’t been in the shop for the last several days due to a medical procedure my wife needed on her back. Now that has been successfully completed, I’ll be getting back to the shop. Going to try the cold chisel idea.
Jim
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Best of luck with the project Jim.
Keep us updated with pictures
Gary
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Liberty, Freedom and Individual Responsibility
Say what you'll do and do what you say.
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Dear wife had a bad day in her recovery process from the back procedure so I had no shop time today. Looking forward to her having better days so I can hit the shop. Will post pics as I progress on this. I’ve gotten really po’ed that such a nice work area has become such a mess of a catchall. Maybe posting pics will also cut down on my procrastinating.
Jim
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The why I want drawer space:
Took Gary’s advice and started with a cold chisel. It was working. Then discovered no metal behind lip. Took the reciprocating saw and opened the space up. It is now a 17 1/2” opening. Will build a box for the drawers and slide it into the space after I put a false bottom in the old cooler.
Jim
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Made a first drawer today out of 1/2” OSB. I just used pocket holes but did not glue the joints. While not a thing of beauty it should function quite well as a drawer for shop storage, it is solid. OSB was chosen because I have a couple sheets left over from when the shop addition was built. Am I correct in assuming gluing the joints will significantly increase joint strength for what will be lightly used drawers?
Outside of looks and my being cheap is there any reason not to use OSB for at least a portion of these drawers?
In addition to these inserts in the old back bar I’m making a 5 drawer roll around supplies cart. Those drawers will be made from plywood due to expected heavier use. Figure I should know how to make drawers by time I get done.
Jim
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Well, Yes of course, the glue will help. OSB, especially pocket holed OSB seems like a really bad choice. OSB is good in compression and shear, and really nothing else. Meaning you can stack stuff on it and it won't crush (anymore, since it is already just crushed wood chips and glued together.). You can use it as sheathing on a house and it will resist racking.
Pocket holes require a certain structural integrity to pull tight both from the pocket side and the piece that it is going into. OSB provides neither. I would say that you are better off using the osb for the drawer bottoms than for the sides, and if you must use them for the sides, butt joints with brad nails and glue would be stronger than pocket holes. That way you are not sacrificing the structural integrity of the laminations the way pocket holes do. (at least in one piece).
I have also learned over the years that we as woodworkers overcomplicate things like drawer construction. ALL of the drawers in my shop have been butt joints with glue and brad nails. They have been going strong for a very long time and show no signs of coming apart. Dovetails, box joints, dado and rabbets, even simple rabbeted drawer joints, while they do add strength, are mostly for decoration and provide no more functionality than butt joints and brad nails when used with modern glues. Back when glues weren't as strong or as available, mechanical joints were a must, no longer.
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I realize this OSB is not the best choice. But out of the three dozen drawers I’ll be making many of the drawers will be opened a couple times a year. I may end up using 1/2 or 3/4” plywood for more rigid bottoms. I also have a large pile of those scraps.
Jim
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First and fore-most it is your shop. But...you did ask. I would never (never say never) use OSB for drawer sides. Using OSB for a prototype only, is a good idea.
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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Bill, I ask simply because I’m not a confident flat stock woodworker. Give me a chunk of wood to spin and I’m reasonably confident. So I expect to be questioned on some choices. I figured I’d use the OSB for drawers that would store stuff not used very often. I need to sort through all my wood and do some figuring on how much wood I need for the drawers and how much I have. Some of the plywood is from my wife’s dad’s stock who died in 1971.
Jim
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Broccoli doesn’t like you either.
