Storage cabinet for the bed or back of your SUV

[Flyin6]

This build is of a storage cabinet featuring two long drawers and two compartments the size of small dresser drawers. The intent is to store things out of the way in an organized manner, and still retain the floor space for cargo, or in this case, turn it into a sleeping area with a foam mattress

First up, I created the base from 3/4" pine

The vehicle is a 2002 Suburban

The build thread for that is here:

http://real-man-truckworks-and-survival.com/index.php?topic=3703.new#new

[Flyin6]

The kreg company makes some cool jigs for furniture grade joinery. Here one of their jigs helped create some recessed holes where special screws could hide below the surface and provide for a strong joint

[Flyin6]

The access holes should be familiar if you have ever examined cabinet construction techniques

[Flyin6]

Using screws and a lot of wood glue, the base was assembled and allowed to dry overnight on a flat surface

[Bigdave_185]

Don, I don’t think that jig was designed to have the holes that close on every board.   I would spread them out so you have more consistent tension.   


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[Flyin6]

With that dried up, I added the sides

[Flyin6]

Don, I don’t think that jig was designed to have the holes that close on every board.   I would spread them out so you have more consistent tension.   


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Used it according to directions...

Worked fine...

[Flyin6]

Then I cut out the drawer sides, notching the bottoms to recess the 3/8" plywood bottoms

[Flyin6]

Then I framed in the two storage compartments in the front of the cabinet which will be accessed from the back seat

[Flyin6]

One drawer is wider than the other. The smaller one fits Bosch tool carrier boxes, which I use for medical kits, a tool box and a recovery kit.

[Flyin6]

I screwed the drawer sides to the backs, made some notes and went shopping for plywood

[Flyin6]

That plywood fit like a glove. It, too, was glued and screwed through predrilled holes

[Bigdave_185]

Don, I don’t think that jig was designed to have the holes that close on every board.   I would spread them out so you have more consistent tension.   


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Used it according to directions...

Worked fine...

Gonna call ya a bone head but here it goes.   That jig is two inches wide and gives you a base for two inch material.  On a wide piece like you used maybe six inches. You need to spread the holes apart.   You will get a stronger joint.  And when I get back to the cabinet shop I will show you what the daddy of that cute little jig looks like. 






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[Flyin6]

I clamped that business into the cabinet and laid in the slide track pieces.

Some real, metal, slides would have cost me nearly $400, or almost three times the actual cost of the whole project, so I wasn't going down that street. I made simple 1.5" wide wooden strips screw/glued to the drawer sides, and captured by two other strips of wood either side of the drawer slide

[Flyin6]

Don, I don’t think that jig was designed to have the holes that close on every board.   I would spread them out so you have more consistent tension.   


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Used it according to directions...

Worked fine...

Gonna call ya a bone head but here it goes.   That jig is two inches wide and gives you a base for two inch material.  On a wide piece like you used maybe six inches. You need to spread the holes apart.   You will get a stronger joint.  And when I get back to the cabinet shop I will show you what the daddy of that cute little jig looks like. 






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Again, the piece I am screwing through is 4" wide. The gig works perfectly for that application. And this is just the base. Holds nothing by itself. With the sides and everything else attached you could saber saw through that joint and not affect the strength of the cabinet much at all

Just wait till you see the whole thing assembled. Don't treat the joint as a single element without considering the effect of the entire system. That is where you see the engineering, not in just two screw holes

This little part of the posting was just to illustrate the cool Kreg method of joinery.

My Uncle taught me cabinet building when I was 14. I build hundreds of pieces with him and since...

But, good that you pointed it all out so I could exercise my carpal tunnel syndrome typing this long reply ;-))

[Flyin6]

So, where was I

Dave's...

To get my clearance I stretched three wraps of masking tape around the drawer rib, laid it into the cavity, then screwed the top guide into place. BTW, when I first fitted the drawer, I set it on top of 1/8" masonite so that the drawer bottom remains spaced off the floor to reduce friction while pulling it out

[Flyin6]

And I coated the wearing surfaces with boiled linseed oil which made for an easy but tight sliding joint that cost me a buck!

[Flyin6]

And, yep, it works fine maintaining minimum droop at full extension.

[Flyin6]

I added the drawer fronts, then centered and drilled 1.5" holes to use to pull the closed drawers open

[Flyin6]

The cabinet is 49'5" wide, so I had to add a short piece of pine to the 3/4" plywood to fur it out to cover the thing

[Flyin6]

I attached the top with glue and 1.5" screws, then added a short piece of pine to the aft bulkhead to help close up the storage bins before addition of the lids

[Flyin6]

The lids were attached, and drilled with the same hole saw.

[Flyin6]

I like these hinges. They allow the lids to open flat against the top without needing a mortise cut.

[Bigdave_185]

I wrote a long response but was reminded of days ago. Why waste my time


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[JR]

I wrote a long response but was reminded of days ago. Why waste my time


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Ouch,,,,,,,,

[JR]

That is good work but I do agree with Dave on much of his advice. Spread the load.

To bad the drawers could not be made to sit on their bottoms when closed. I think some HD drawers slide do that?

I really like the front compartments as they can be accessed from the rear seat and from someone sleeping!

Linseed oil is great for a little finish and sealing. I would wax the drawer slides though. It will slide better!

As I said nice work, like to see a little of what you put in there. Will a standard mattress fit? I have been using an intex twin for several years now. Heck just $8 at wally, if you wreck it, who cares!

[stlaser]

Don, I don’t think that jig was designed to have the holes that close on every board.   I would spread them out so you have more consistent tension.   


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Actually it probably is designed for it that narrow as on most cabinets it’s 2” stock for the fronts of the cabinets. Don just used it on the wider base material

[JR]

Man we are really picking on the old man. Lets DOT up the thread and maybe he won't notice?

Hey, did you hear about the shutdown that isn't?

[stlaser]

I like the box, wonder how it will hold up sitting on the carpet over time in a high humidity climate (thinking things may move and boxes not slide potentially?). Worst case upgrade slides in the future I guess. 

[MEbowMAX06]

Using screws and a lot of wood glue, the base was assembled and allowed to dry overnight on a flat surface

Don,
Great job on the cabinet construction. I use the Kreg pocket jig for cabinet construction personally and also we use it professionally where I work. The biggest benefit of them is the ability to glue up without clamps and continue to work through the drying process.  As a standard practice I do try to keep my fasteners wider and towards the edges of the boards. This tends to help with getting a tighter joint and holding the surfaces flush with each other while the glue is setting.
I'm curious about your decision to use wood drawer slides instead of HD ball bearing full extension slides. I would imagine these drawers will be weighty once full of contents and could prove more difficult to operate. The wood slides are certainly less expensive. Butchers wax is also another good alternative to use on the slides to keep them working smoothly.

[Flyin6]

Using screws and a lot of wood glue, the base was assembled and allowed to dry overnight on a flat surface

Don,
Great job on the cabinet construction. I use the Kreg pocket jig for cabinet construction personally and also we use it professionally where I work. The biggest benefit of them is the ability to glue up without clamps and continue to work through the drying process.  As a standard practice I do try to keep my fasteners wider and towards the edges of the boards. This tends to help with getting a tighter joint and holding the surfaces flush with each other while the glue is setting.
I'm curious about your decision to use wood drawer slides instead of HD ball bearing full extension slides. I would imagine these drawers will be weighty once full of contents and could prove more difficult to operate. The wood slides are certainly less expensive. Butchers wax is also another good alternative to use on the slides to keep them working smoothly.

Ya, I plan to rub in paraffin wax after painting
I'll just address a bunch of everyone's concerns here
On the Kreg gig...Look at it and you'll see "IT" spaces the screws at that distance...It is a TWO HOLE gig
And, I really just needed it to hold everything square while the glue did its job
As for moisture, well, stereo cabinets and similar fixtures live in vehicles with particle board. (They make "Bounty" absorbent towels from particle board because of its moisture wicking properties) (or not). So I think this will hold up OK.
As for the slides, Like I stated earlier, it is a cost savings measure, and although those would be better, I think the wood/wood slides are adequate
And
a
commentary about that

I often see people looking to purchase the absolute best of everything. Look at motor oil. Mobil dino based 15W-40 will do 90% or more of what a super premium full synthetic, NASA designed oil like Amsoil will. However it costs 300% more, not 10% more. Sure it will go for 3 times the normal interval, but who is really comfortable with keeping oil in the motor for 20,000-30,000 miles? Not me. The dino stuff will go to the full interval or that + 50% more, but hey, because its so inexpensive, why not just change it more often and be sure you are protecting your engine. You know, your engine does not actually know it has the more or less expensive oil. With what you would save on one oil change, go buy a spare tire!

That goes to the core of what I have decided to do with this truck. I don't think it needs the absolute best of anything. I just think it would benefit from good, functional, serviceable stuff. I'll leave the exotic stuff to folks who just got their eleventh credit card (The other ten are maxed out) to buy.

So that's sort of my thinking here. The thing should work as is and only cost me something under $200, and with luck should last a goodly long time, we'll see.

[Flyin6]

I painted the sides of the drawers and the first few inches of the inside of the cabinet with some good quality exterior latex in black

[Flyin6]

And the insides of the drawers in a very bright red that is showing like orange here. I copied the standard tool box red palet to offset the black and give a right now visual indication of having open drawers

[Flyin6]

JoAnn Fabrics which shares a wall with the Home Depot store had this felt in "Smoke" color for $6.99 a yard, I purchased 4 yards.

[Flyin6]

Using a medium Lock-tite spray glue, I covered the top a foot at a time, smoothing as I went, then the back and then the sides

[Flyin6]

I covered right over the storage compartment lids, then cut around later. I also covered the bottoms of the drawers and the front of both drawers

[Flyin6]

The storage compartments blend in pretty well. The hinges protrude, of course but other than that there is very little indication that something else is there

[Flyin6]

A sub $250 build that should give me years of service

[JR]

Test fit yet or just the bases?

[Nate]

looks good!

[TexasRedNeck]

Chief. Not sure if you’ve thought of this already but here in Houston I’d put locks on those drawers and doors.


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[Flyin6]

Test fit yet or just the bases?

Just the base piece. Still tweaking, improving and letting paint dry

[Flyin6]

Chief. Not sure if you’ve thought of this already but here in Houston I’d put locks on those drawers and doors.


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Really?

You're scaring me now. Around here like almost nothing ever gets stolen. Usually when someone breaks in somewhere you read about it the next day, "Youth shot dead breaking and entering..." Seriously! KY has very liberal right to defend laws. Road rage here will get you shot!

But I am planning a big loop trip for this spring up to some western zip codes. But, we would be around the burb like all the time.

I am definitely not used to all the crime that people here mention and talk about...

[stlaser]

As long as you’re not in what I consider bad portions of Denver and that blending in I think you would be ok here. Oh and my daughters high school parking lot is considered the one bad place to park but I think that’s all high schools in general

[JR]

And she got a soft top?

When I go to LA, I always watch wear I am and park. I even hate Sac.

[DOOLEY]

Hello Don, I think when he said something about locks he was talking about holding the drawers closed during start and stops in traffic.

[EL TATE]

Looking really good there Don. Very clean and professional construction

[wyorunner]

Nice job chief! I don’t know much about wood so me personally would run something like that until it fell apart.

Fabric on the other hand, I look forward to seeing how that felt holds up. As it’s not very good stuff. If I was a guessing kind of guy the stuff in the drawers will disintegrate in short order and the stuff on top will begin to pill and show wear in similar fashion. I have used that brand of felt and color for key chains, and this is what it does in your pocket. Same brand in black and white, we’ve used full bolts of the stuff!

If you ever have to replace the felt check out sailrite they’ll have something a we bit more industrious. But that felt serves the exact purpose your looking for, cheap and effective.... for a time :)

Again, nice work!

[stlaser]

And she got a soft top?

When I go to LA, I always watch wear I am and park. I even hate Sac.

Yeah, prior owner didn’t offer a hard top as an option....

Reason her first two purchases were storage security solutions.

[stlaser]

Nice job chief! I don’t know much about wood so me personally would run something like that until it fell apart.

Fabric on the other hand, I look forward to seeing how that felt holds up. As it’s not very good stuff. If I was a guessing kind of guy the stuff in the drawers will disintegrate in short order and the stuff on top will begin to pill and show wear in similar fashion. I have used that brand of felt and color for key chains, and this is what it does in your pocket. Same brand in black and white, we’ve used full bolts of the stuff!

If you ever have to replace the felt check out sailrite they’ll have something a we bit more industrious. But that felt serves the exact purpose your looking for, cheap and effective.... for a time :)

Again, nice work!

Sailrite? The marine outfit?