After getting settled into our new house and performing a lot of renovations, I was able to sneak in a shop project. My new shop is a bit larger than my old one (24X20 instead of 20X20) and allows me a dedicated out feed table for my table saw. Previously, I was using my workbench as the out feed table, which worked well, but reduced the usefulness of my workbench. Below is the finished product with a matching drawer and large lower cavity on the other side.
The Plan and Material
As with all projects, it begins with a plan. The portion on the right shows the dado cuts in the sides.
The cabinet will be made from 3/4″ plywood and have 1/2 plywood for the upper drawers. The top will be made from laminated 3/4 MDF making the top 1 1/2″ thick. The top will get attached through 6 horizontal stretchers that sit flush with the edges of the cabinet. The top will be 58″ wide X 36″ deep and have a 6″ overhang to allow the (4″) dust collection hose to run to my table saw. I purchased 3 sheets of 3/4″ plywood, 2 sheets of 3/4″ MDF, 1 sheet of 1/2″ ply and 1 sheet of 5mm underlayment since they didn’t have 1/4″ MDF for the drawer bottoms. I used web application called “cut list optimizer” to lay out my pieces, which worked really well.
YouTube Video
Cabinet Construction
The process started by cutting the large pieces to size and rough cutting the smaller pieces to be refined on the table saw later. I started by cutting out the large sides and then flush trimming them to be the exact same. Then I cut the four shelf pieces on the table saw. Next, I cut the dadoes in the large side pieces. It took my a “few” tries to get it perfect.
I started by cutting the center dado (vertical) in the sides, then the upper and lower dadoes (horizontal). Then I moved on to drilling some pocket holes. The pocket holes are used for “clamping” the shelves to the center divider and to later attach the face frames.
I need to cut the recesses for the top stretchers in the large side pieces, so I used a combination of Forstner bit, coping saw, router jig to do so. Those recess are shown below on the right side of the picture. Once the recesses were cut, I glued up the cabinet. The cabinet is on its side in the picture below
Once the glue dried, I attached the horizontal stretchers and leveling feet
Face Frame and Table Top
It was time to turn my attention to the face frame. I started by ripping some oak to width, milling, and cutting to length. The joinery was half lap joints for strength and simplicity.
In parallel, the top was being constructed. I cut one piece of MDF to the finished size and left the other about 1/8″ larger and will be flush trimmed later. One piece was drilled for 6″ on center screws that will hold the pieces together while the glue dries. The picture below is after the glue had dried. I was about to start milling the edging material, which was ash and maple.
The top was flush trimmed and the edging was added with glue and brad nails. The edging was rabbeted from some added strength in the corners (not much). Then a large chamfer was added so things wouldn’t get caught or chip anything out. It was sanded to 120 grit and a coat of shellac was added. Later it will get 2 coats of water based poly.
The face frame was attached to the cabinet. I utilize some pin nails and the pocket screws for attachment. Also some “packer” strips were added to the cabinet where the drawer slides will go. These strips make the drawer slides flush with the face frame. The face frame gets flush trimmed with a router on the top.
Drawer Construction
The drawers were constructed from 1/2 plywood with reinforced rabbet joints. The left and right pieces receive the rabbet and then the front and back can be cut to get a perfect drawer width. Once the drawer is glued and dries, I drilled some 7/32″ holes and pounded in 1/4″ dowels to reinforce the rabbet.
The drawers were going to be inset, but I need to create a false front to hide the drawer slides and fill the face frame
Spraying Finish and Screw Removal
After getting everything constructed, I performed sanding up to 120 grit. Then I applied a coat of shellac to bring out some color and then sprayed 2 coats of water based polyurethane on everything.
The next step was to layout the T-Track and Miter Slots. I used screws to hold the two pieces of MDF together, so I had to know which screws to remove, so I wouldn’t hit them with the router bit. The picture below shows my T-Track plan and I am removing screws from the underside.
T-Track and Finishing Touches
The next step was cut the miter slot grooves and the grooves for the T-Track. I utilized my plan, saw track with router adapter and 3/4″ router bit.
I did hit a few brad nails and just kissed a few screws, but not bad overall. After all the grooves were cut, I cleaned them up a bit with a chisel and then installed the T-Track
I am happy with the way it turned out and can’t wait to start putting through its paces. I want to create some type of cross cutting station with my track saw on top of the out feed table, so I will have to figure that out shortly.