The cabinet is made from Faztek (highly recommended) 1515 aluminum extrusion. This is my fourth cabinet based on the same design, the others are drawers, router and miter station. They are all 51.5” x 25” x 25” with 4” casters, so they fit underneath my Kreg fixed benches.
Underneath the Shapeoko there are two 48" x 24" drawers (with fronts that I am still varnishing).
My plan was to put two doors on the front and back, made from plexiglass, for safety and to keep the dust inside. Then on top I haven’t completely figured out my plan, I may just install a hinged top which I’ll leave open when it’s in use so the vacuum pipe can be accommodated.
The place I’m looking for advise is what to do about the openings. I am thinking the main safety issue I am trying to protect against is a breaking bit. In which case I’m thinking the plexiglass with hinges and a magnetic hatch would be ok? But I could also put a solid piece in and “lock” it into place so it’s way more solid, and slightly less convenient when I need access. As for the top, could something really go up and cause me some damage? I imagine most of the time I’ll be watching through the plexiglass on the sides to ensure everything is running smoothly.
Roughly what did it cost you to build the other cabinets? I hadn’t thought about going this route, and haven’t been able to find what I want on the market.
Roughly $330 for the extrusion, then somewhere around $100 I guess for the wood, drawer sliders, casters etc. I try not to think about how much I spent on all of them I worked directly with Faztek and they offer a free design service and a slight discount off their internet prices. Let me know if you want contact details.
You could reduce down to $240 if you built the ‘shelf’ in a different way, which I considered but I had my design all figured out so I wanted to stick to a common design so I can re-use and re-build as my needs change. I settled on 25", 51.5", 54.5" lengths to give me maximum re-use, which has already paid off because my Shapeoko cabinet was built using existing pieces.
In theory you can reduce the cost further by not using the machined anchors, but I ran the numbers on this and yes it saved money but I needed to buy new tools and it takes time.
@Dusty.Tools - would you mind sharing a shot of the drawer construction and how you mounted the glides? I have a couple similar cabinet/carts I need to finish off and I want to make another one so I’d be interested in improvements I could incorporate.
If anyone’s interested there is tons of yapping about them on the FOG.
@rmwarren - I finally put some photos up http://www.dusty.tools. I’ve used the same design for a couple of carts\benches, and plan to put some more photos up shortly.
I forgot to remove the prob cable from the bit before turning on my machine. The cable wiped accross my belly.
Luckaly I was warring a leather work apron which miniomized my injuary. I prommised my wife I would not use my CNC until I have a cabent to put it in.
I guess I was right to focus on getting my cabinet finished off!
I made some progress today. I need to buy a few parts and then i’ll post my build on Instagram. I can’t vouch for it’s safety capabilities but I figure 1/4” plexiglass, Aluminium framing and 1/2” plywood will offer some protection!
I worked directly with Faztek and they offer a free design service and a slight discount off their internet prices. Let me know if you want contact details.