RO NEW HOMEOWNERS HOME LAB PROJECTS DIY UNIVERSITY SHOPPING BEST WINTER WORKWEAR SUBS

Super-Capacity Tool Cart

Jeff Gorton

Updated:
Jun. 03,
2022

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Roll it to your work zone for instant access; park it in a corner for space-saving storage.

Time Complexity Cost

Multiple Days Intermediate $251-500

FAMILY HANDYMAN

Tools Required
1/4-in. straight-cutting router bit
Basic hand tools
Drill
Drill bits
Router
Table saw

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Custom Spaces for All Kinds of Tools

The tool cart is open on both the front and the back—a design that combines easy access with maximum capacity.

This tool cart would make a great addition to any workspace, but it’s especially perfect for a garage workshop. It brings your whole tool arsenal
within easy reach during a project but takes up minimal floor space, leaving plenty of room for your car when the job is done. It’s also adaptable—
easy to build as shown and easy to alter. You can add or subtract drawers and shelves to meet your needs.
1. Medium shelves are just right for most power tools.
2. Homemade drawer pulls are convenient, sturdy and good-looking.
3. Shallow drawers are perfect for chisels and other hand tools.
4. Deep drawers hold small power tools or screw containers
5. Deep shelves hold long tools like grinders and recip saws.
6. Adjustable slots house nail guns, drills or sandpaper.
7. Adjustable shelves adapt as your tool collection grows.
8. Shallow shelves are ideal for glue and finishes.
9. Heavy-duty casters provide smooth mobility.

It’s a great weekend project

You could cut all the plywood parts with a circular saw, but we recommend using a table saw for greater accuracy and to speed things up. If you
want to include the slots—grooved shelves with plywood dividers—you’ll need a router and a 1/4-in. straight bit to make the dadoes. And a brad
nailer is handy for tacking the parts before adding the screws.

We used birch plywood for this tool cart, but you could choose MDF (medium-density fiberboard) or less expensive plywood to save money. We
shopped around at local home centers and found nice-looking birch plywood with B-grade face veneer for about $40 per sheet. The entire
project requires four sheets of 3/4-in. plywood and one sheet of 1/4-in. plywood.
Project step-by-step (15)
Step 1

Build the cabinet box

Shopping Bag

Start by cutting out the parts, using Figure C in the Cutting Diagram and the Cutting List (in Additional Project Information below) as a guide.
You’ll notice that some of the dimensions in the Cutting List have an asterisk indicating that you may have to adjust the size. That’s because
plywood varies slightly in thickness. We used a table saw for ripping and a crosscut sled on the table saw to crosscut narrow parts. This allowed us
to cut the parts accurately for tight-fitting joints.

Step 2

Start with a three-sided box

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Get started building the basic box. Nail or clamp the two sides (A) to the bottom (B) and drill pilot holes for the screws. Place two screws about 1-
1/2 in. from the edges, and add three more evenly spaced between them.

Step 3

Build from the bottom up

 Drill pilot holes for the screws to avoid splitting the plywood. Use the shelves or temporary spacers to hold the interior dividers in place while you
secure them with screws. Screw in the lower back (C), using the divider (E) and a shelf (F) to support it. Then add the horizontal middle divider (B).
Set the upper back (D) and the top (B) in place and check the fit. You may have to trim a little from the top of D for a good fit. Use shelves (H) to
support part D as you attach it with screws.
PRO TIP: Tack, then drill. Simplify construction by pinning the parts together with finish nails before you add the screws. You only need a few
nails in each piece to hold parts temporarily. A brad nailer with 1-1/2-in. nails works well for this. And the small holes are easy to fill. Use this same
tip when you build the drawers.

Step 4

Three Fastening Options

uper-capacity tool cart finish washer
uper-capacity tool cart pocket hole

Choose your fastening method:

1. Trim-head screws
2. Screws and finish washers
3. Pocket screws

We assembled the parts with trim-head screws and covered them with wood filler, but there are other options. You could use screws and finish
washers for a more industrial look or assemble the entire storage unit with pocket screws. Pocket screw assembly would leave a lot of exposed
pockets on the inside, but most would be covered once the cabinet was filled with tools, or you could buy wood plugs to fill the pockets.

Step 5

Complete the cabinet assembly

uper-capacity tool cart 3

Add the four vertical dividers, Parts E, G and L. Use temporary spacers to hold the panels in the center as you attach them. You’ll need eight
spacers, 16-7/8 in. long.
There are a few spots where dividers are aligned with each other, making it impossible to drive screws straight in. In these situations, start the
screws alongside the part that’s in the way and drive the screws at a slight angle, being careful to keep the screw tips from going through the
opposite side of the plywood.

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Step 6

Add the casters

uper-capacity tool cart 4

When you’re done with the box, attach the casters. Start by building up the base with two strips of plywood (P) to the front and back edges of the
box so you can use 1-1/2-in. lag screws to attach the casters. Then mark the caster screw holes and drill 3/16-in. pilot holes for the 5/16-in. x 1-1/2-in.
lag screws. Attach all four casters with the lag screws.
We found good-quality 4-in. casters with locking ball-bearing wheels for about $10 each at a home center. Buy good-quality casters because this
cabinet could weigh hundreds of pounds fully loaded.

Step 7

Assemble the drawer box

uper-capacity tool cart 5

The drawers are simple boxes that slide on 3/4-in. square runners. The drawers are sized to allow about 1/16-in. clearance on the sides and 1/8 in. on
top for easy movement. Cut the 1/4-in. plywood bottoms accurately and make sure they’re square so you can use them to square the drawer
frame.
Glue and tack the drawer sides to the front and back. Then add screws for more strength. Apply a bead of glue to the drawer and place the
drawer bottom on the drawer box. Line up one edge of the drawer bottom with the drawer and nail it. Then square the drawer by lining up the
remaining edges with the edges of the drawer bottom and nail the other three sides.

Step 8

Add the drawer fronts

uper-capacity tool cart 6

Finish the drawers by attaching the fronts with screws. The drawer fronts are the same width as the drawers, but a little taller. Line up the sides
and bottom and attach the fronts with 1-1/4-in. screws.

Step 9

Mark for the drawer runners

uper-capacity tool cart 7

Mark the location of the drawer runners on the sides of the cabinet. Make a marking stick using the measurements in Figure A (in Additional
Project Information down below). Then use the stick to mark the positions of the drawer runners. Make marks at the front and back.

Step 10

Install the runners

uper-capacity tool cart 8

Drill pilot holes and attach the runners with glue and 1-1/4-in. screws. Use spacers to hold the runners. If necessary, make slight adjustments to
keep the runners aligned with the marks.
Slick Tip: Smoother drawer runners. You can make your drawers slide easier by applying melamine tape to the tops of the drawer runners. You’ll
find rolls of melamine tape at home centers, woodworking stores or online. FastEdge, a self-adhesive version, is available at fastcap.com. If you
buy iron-on tape, apply it before you mount the runners in the cabinet.

Step 11

Cut aluminum with a miter saw

uper-capacity tool cart 9

We fabricated drawer pulls from 1/8-in.-thick aluminum angle. Make the drawer pulls by cutting aluminum angle to length. Many carbide blades
are designed to cut nonferrous metals as well as wood—check the fine print on the blade or packaging to make sure.

Step 12

Drill and countersink the pulls

super-capacity tool cart 10

Drill two holes in each aluminum pull. Place the holes 3 in. from the ends and 3/8 in. from the edge. Use a countersink in your drill to create a
recess for the screws. Line up the edges of the aluminum angles with the back edge of the drawer fronts. Attach the aluminum angles to the
drawers with two screws through the top. If you’ve laid out your drawer runners correctly, there should be about 1/8 in. of space between all the
drawers.

Step 13

Cut slots for plywood dividers

uper-capacity tool cart 11

The plywood shelves rest on shelf clips attached to metal shelf standards. This allows you to customize the shelf heights to accommodate your
tools. Some of the shelves have dadoes cut into them to accept plywood dividers. Four shelves require slots for plywood dividers.
To save time, cut the dadoes across all four shelves before ripping them to the correct width. Build the guide by gluing a perfectly straight strip of
3/4-in. plywood (fence) to a strip of 1/4-in. plywood and clamp it at the marks indicating your slot location. Then mount a 1/4-in. straight bit in the
router and run the router along the fence to cut off the excess 1/4-in. plywood. Now you can mark the dado locations on your shelves, line up the
edge of the router guide to the marks and clamp it, and rout the dadoes. It’s easier to cut dadoes across a 16-1/2-in.-wide by 4-ft.-long piece of
plywood first and then cut the shelves to 11-9/16 in. deep after all the dadoes are cut

Step 14

Mount the shelf standards

uper-capacity tool cart 12

Cut the metal shelf standards to fit with a hacksaw. Make sure to cut off the same end of every standard so the holes will line up correctly. Position
the standards 1 in. from the front and back of every shelf side and attach them with small screws.
To prevent stuff from falling off the narrow shelves, nail 3/4 x 1-1/4-in. plywood strips to the face of the shelves (Figure A).
 Step 15

No-Slip Tip: Anchor the shelves

nchor the shelves

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Drive short pan-head screws into the bottom of the shelf, directly behind the shelf clips. This will prevent the shelf from slipping forward and
falling off the supports. You only need two per shelf.
We finished our rolling tool cabinet with two coats of satin polyurethane. If you plan to paint or finish your tool cabinet, you’ll save time and get a
better job by mounting the shelf standards and drawer pulls after you apply the finish.
Additional Project Information:

Figure A, Tool Cart: Overall dimensions: 36″ wide x 23-7/8″ deep x 68″ tall
Figure B, Drawer: Small drawer part letters are in parentheses
Figure C, Cutting Diagram
Cutting and Material Lists

Click here to download a printable copy of the tech art and cutting and materials lists.

Originally Published: April 23, 2019

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