As many of you have  seen in previous posts, I have been in the process of transforming my  garage into my  “workshop”.   If you recall, I had used a plethora  of old cabinets, scrap wood, and free Craisglist finds to  create my cabinets.  ( See all the details here.)    One of the free cabinets I used as my base, was actually intended to be used as a corner piece, so it did not have a door. ( See image below.)

Instead of making a simple door and drawer to match the rest of the lower cabinets I had a better idea…

Have you ever been to a hardware, and seen the isle that consists primarily of rows of small  drawers,  all filled with all sorts and sizes of treasures ?  I have, and I  kind of love them. I  have always  joked to my  husband, that when we  are  independently wealthy I will NEED those drawers in my workshop.

Well, for those who know me, I have never been a patient person…

Fate would have it that the great folks at D. Lawless hardware were willing to help out on my little renovation.

So let’s dive in.

  I proceeded to make 5 drawers. (If you need help making the drawers, I would refer you to the awesome Sandra at Sawdust Girl).

I got a little excited and forgot to take pictures of the process… again.

  Once my drawers were completed, I proceeded to install all of my drawer glides.

If you need help with the installation, they even have an online tutorial to help.

 My only  caution is measure,  measure, and measure.

Just look at how pretty it is!  To all my OCD readers, can I get an AMEN !?

  Next I added the drawer fronts.  I usually  glue mine  and then reinforce with finishing nails from the inside.    Once the drawer fronts were dry, I proceeded to paint…

NOW we are ready for the fun part!

Now that I have my drawers, it is time to organize them, and not just any system will do! I wanted it to be changeable and be completely customizable…

I kept looking through Home Depot’s  tool boxes/organization caddy’s.  I kept seeing this basic design. ( I have seen this system used for all sorts of organization, for example craft organization, or fishing tackle boxes.)  The basic premise , is that you can  add and remove dividers from the rows.

Which is EXACTLY what I wanted,  but they were all far too small…

So here is my solution…

I  began by  making  drawer dividers, using  1×3″ boards*.  I  simply measured the depth of the drawer and cut the 1×3’s to fit.

*I did plane my down a little, but this is not necessary.

Once I had all my dividers cut to fit ,  I removed them and  marked them at the size cubbies I wanted to create.  For example mine are about 4 ” apart.  The marks will  show  where  the notches will be cut in order to accommodate  the horizontal/removable  dividers.

Using a table saw,  I set  my guide so the  I would hit pre-marked lines.  I  set the depth approximately 3/16″ high.

Once all of the  notches  are cut,  place  the dividers in the drawers, and space them evenly!  Make sure you take the time to measure so that all the spaces are the same, which will allow the dividers to be interchangeable.

Once  all dividers are evenly placed,  they will need to be secured.   I used a small amount of wood glue on the bottom and ends of each of the dividers ( 1×3’s).  For additional support, I nailed them in place  using 2″ finishing nails;  starting on the outside of the frame and entering into the ends of the 1/3″ dividers.

Re-moveable Dividers-  Measure the distance from the inside notch to the inside notch of the subsequent divider, then subtract an 1/8″.  The 1/8″ will give it  just a little wiggle room so that you can easily  remove them when needed.

I ripped  down 1/8″ paneling board into 2.5″ strips.  Once they are in the strips, they can then be cut to the dimensions determined. (Above)

For example,  the space between my 1/3″ board dividers is 4 1/4″. I then  subtract my 1/8″  for wiggle room.  Which would make my panels/rectangles cut to 2.5″x 4 1/8″.

Then  you can add  dividers  depending on the supplies you have to store! As your inventory changes, so can your storage!

*sigh*

 Everything has a place, and everything in it’s place.  That is what keeps me sane.

  But wait, there is more!  What would these drawers be without labeled pulls ? They are the perfect finishing touch!

 D. Lawless has them for a steal-of-a-deal here.

The post Ultimate Drawer Organizer appeared first on Sawdust 2 Stitches.

 Supplies Used:

•  A whole bunch of FREE crap
• Elbow Grease
• Lots of of Work
• Clearance Hardware from Lowes

Ok, I am speaking to all of my skilled craftsmen out there,  please just ignore the following post. Seriously, stop reading. The following post will make you cringe.

BUT to all of my  DIYer,  makeover addicts, and frugal finders, you are gonna love this!  I am going to show you,  how I took a whole bunch of free Craigslist crap  and turned it into an awesome workspace.

It all started with these cabinets. These were originally from a High School  renovation.  There were three left and I was able to snag them for free!  I sanded them down, primed them, and then installed them.

The next question was what to use for counter tops… the cabinets from the high school,  did have a counter top,  BUT   I wanted to space out the cabinets to allow for more storage,   so the original counter top would be far too small.

Well my Husband was scrolling through the “free” section of Craigslist, and came upon  two FREE “all wood doors”.  So  he was my hero and went and snagged those from the curb.  Which was no easy feat, those beasts are HEAVY,  which is  probably why the owner assumed they were all wood…  They weren’t.  They were solid core, meaning they aren’t hollow,  but they were not solid wood. Which presented some problems,  but stay  tuned I will be showing you how I turned them into awesome  counter tops.

Next, I needed to create some overhead storage.  Over the past few months my husband acquired quite a collection of solid wood furniture for me.  He found them by  simply  perusing the “Free” section of Craigslist.  After moving all of these pieces from place to place while trying to organize the garage, I decided to sacrifice all my spare wood and potential projects towards the greater good of the garage. I tore them all apart and ripped them down to make my  cabinets.

Like I said,  all pro wood workers,  look away.  I am butchering these cabinets.

BUT  guess what they are in my garage, they  are going to take some abuse and are FREE.

Mic Drop.

  After a little bit of playing around with sizes, I came up with this configuration. I kept one of the cabinets in the original dimensions ( the center one) and then  installed the two side cabinets.    I then used 1×2’s and 1×3’s to make face frames for the cabinets.

The only  part of the project I really  spent money on was making the cabinet doors.   I  made a simple shaker style cabinet door.  I apparently  got a little ahead of myself and did not document the process.

BUT,  Jill  from “The Rozy Home” did   great post at Remodelaholic showing “How to Make a Shaker Cabinet Door”.

After deliberating over the cabinet color I settled on a dark gray.   I am not going to lie, I changed  some of the cabinets 3 times! After my frustrating trial runs, I realized I  really wanted them to match the floor.  So that is exactly what I did.  I had leftover paint from  refinishing the floor, and so that is what I used!  Ha.

 Last thing they needed was hardware.  A few months ago,  I was at Lowes and stumbled upon this hardware… all on CLEARANCE!  they were selling the small pulls for like $.49!   The large ones for $.97! I bought every single one, and I am so glad I did. I have used them everywhere and had just enough to put them on my garage cabinets!

  So there you have it,  my  nearly free modge podge garage cabinets.  There is a lot more to the garage renovation, but that will need to wait for another day.

 The moral of the story: If  you are hesitant to start an overhaul  because of the price, then  start hitting up the “free” section of Craigslist.  It WILL be a lot more work,  but it is A  LOT cheaper!

 Take Luck,

Corey

The post My Recycled Shop Cabinets appeared first on Sawdust 2 Stitches.

The plywood will need to be cut at 45 degree on one side.

There should be 3″ at the base. (So approximately  3 3/4″  including the 45 degree angle.)
Repeat this process as many time necessary for your project.  Also,  make a few extra feet,  you will need this for the “hangers”.

Next:  Mark where the studs will be,  I then  used a “countersink tip” so that the screw would sit  level with the board.

Next,  I used a laser level to map out where my first row would be.
Secure board to wall using a 2.5″ – 3″ screw. Make sure you are  hitting studs!

Using a laser level  map out the 2nd row. My rows are spaced out at 21″ apart.

Keep on truckin. Make as many rows as you want!  The possibilities are endless!

 To Make the Cleat Hangers:

Using  the same planks that were used on the wall,  cut 3.5″ sections.  Then rotate and cut 1.5″ off the sidee that has the 90 degree edge. (See picture above.)

The piece of wood with the 45 degree angle will need to   secured to the top of the “cleat hanger”. I  used a finish nailer,  but  when I install the hook I also put a screw to make it really sturdy.

(For the actual block of wood I used  a 1×4″  cut down to 7.5″)

Take the  1.5″ block that was cut off  from the 45 degree angle and secure it to the bottom  of your “cleat hanger”.

Once the board is assembled you can add hooks. The hooks I used  run about $1.50 a piece and can be found at most  hardware stores. Again, I made sure a screw went through  both the angled cleat board and the top 1×4. (This joint  will be holding a  majority of the weight.)

Then, hang them up !  I made quite a few of these,  planning on doubling them up where needed. I LOVE that these can be moved around to accommodate all of the random sized crap that was scattered all over the garage floor!

So neat, clean, and organized! My favorite part?  Totally customizable to any needs!
So once your garage is ship shape,   pop open a nice cold Diet Coke and stand back and admire your hard work!

Take Luck,
Corey

The post Garage Storage appeared first on Sawdust 2 Stitches.

Like these…

So you can have a reference of how far this room has come, here is  picture of the garage a few weeks after we moved in.  haha,  Look at that blue!  The original owners LOVED bright colors.

Slowly but surely  I was able to turn this space into EXACTLY what  I wanted/needed.

One thing I wanted was a freestanding island that I could work on projects from both sides… BUT I didn’t want to compromise  all the space in the garage.

Solution?  Hinges+Castors= Rotating Workbench

The other thing  I needed was access to the planer.  To use the planer it needs to have space on either side.  The moving bench allows the planer to be stored and still be easily accessible.  Only hang up was I needed to be able to access the top of the planer.

Solution?  More hinges.

This is my completely customized craft room, and I love it. It is one of my happy places.

French Cleat Storage

The post Want to see MY “Craft Room” ? appeared first on Sawdust 2 Stitches.