I have the Woodsmith with that tool chest and love it. I have LOTS of wall space and want to use it to free up floor space, though, so a hanging cabinet will work better for my space.
Brad,
Back in 2008 I built a hanging tool cabinet that features double doors that are about each 26" wide. I think that is the maximum I would make them. I have tool hangers built into each door and they are fully loaded with saws, chisels and measuring tools. I have them on piano hinges that they haven't sagged yet. And I've used the living hell out of that cabinet.
I will say this, the comment about a large door intruding on your work space is spot on. I have to close the right hand door of my cabinet to work at my work bench.
See ya around, Dominic
------------------------------ Don't you love it when you ask someone what time it is and to prove how smart they are, they tell you how to build a watch?
For what it is worth: Over the years, I fabricated two tool cabinets, thinking each one would be The Right One. Now designing the third.
This time though I took a page from some of the Fine Woodworking articles and made a full scale drawing. I just cut up a piece of 1/4" Masonite to accommodate a sheet of builder's/craft paper and drew a 28" X 42" outline of the box. Found a full size drawing is much easier to visualize; problems are easier to see and identify. Used Masonite as I could not find a large appliance cardboard box.
Next I started to lay out the spaces for drawers, planes, ec. Revised it a few times as what I thought would work, did not. Placing the too(s) on the drawing really showed how things would/would not fit.
It is a bad idea to make a door wider than 22-24". If you factor in the doors bearing weight that makes it even more problematic. The ones I made for my tool cabinet are a little over 16" each and they handle the weight of several sets of chisels without a problem.
Ray, you should check out this drafting paper. In general when I make a drawing I make a half drawing. I usually draw the left side to the center line. Of course this is assuming the two sides are mirror images. The good thing is once the drawing is done it is easy to roll up and store incase you build the piece again.
This is my fourth or fifth depending on what I count as my first one....changed to a shelf design this time, because it holds way more planes overall. Closed it's 34" wide and 42" high, and 76 or so inches wide with all doors open
It's a work in process and the inside doors in the photo are temporarily, just testing designs right now. There is also a separate section that goes under it, 68 inches wide by 14 inches high with a combo of drawers and doors....
Noticed that I don't have a photo with it completely open all the way, but here's a few...
09-04-2017, 09:18 PM (This post was last modified: 09-04-2017, 09:19 PM by Ray Newman.)
Dave D: I prefer a full scale drawing as I can then stand it up, step back, and have a better idea of what it will look like. I found that after looking at it for a day or so, an error or a "that's not right" will come to the fore. For example, on this new drawing, I found that the plane cubby spacing was off and would look better if they were all the same width.
Thanks for all the input and experience, folks. After mulling over it *and* your advice, I think I'll just stick with the original design. After all, I'm a noob when it comes to this stuff and the dude who designed it appears to have just a *bit* more experience than I do.
If I find I need something different in the future, I'll just build another.
01-21-2018, 04:25 PM (This post was last modified: 01-21-2018, 04:25 PM by ®smpr_fi_mac®.)
So, I finally got around to building it. Made a few mistakes, learned a few lessons, and figured out some changes to incorporate into the next two or three that I build for my shop as it comes together. I even hung a couple of tools in it.
Still needed: Peg board on the faces of the doors to hang wrenches and four drawers to fill in the two spaces at the bottom.
It isn't the prettiest, but I'm super excited that I actually built *something* for my shop.
(01-21-2018, 05:24 PM)hbmcc Wrote: That looks nice. Done?
Mostly. Still needs the drawers built for the bottom shelf and peg board on the outer faces of the doors for hanging wrenches, but other than that, yes.
...and then hours of figuring out which tool gets hung where!
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