Ultimate Assortment Cabinet!

As makers, we often need to acquire a special kind of screw, wire, plug, etc. however as we do more projects these can pile up and become a problem, have you ever had to find that special screw you used a couple of months ago? yeah its hard and storage solutions often don't fix our problems or are very expensive, I mean just look at sortimo arguably one of the best solutions but just one box can go for up to $500 USD.

So if you wanna fix your issue on a budget and do so in a way that can help YOU this is for you.

The drawers are made with a 10 by 10 grid, this means any container you print can be rearranged to fit your needs and accommodate anything you want to organize.

Supplies

To make this project you'll need:

• A 3d printer and filament:

I used my ender 3 and PETG, you can use PLA but I like the properties of PETG

• 1 sheet of 12mm MDF:

Youll need to cut this so a track saw or table saw may be required however if you don't have one you can get ti cut at home depot.

• Paint (optional):

If you do decide to paint it and want to get the best finish possible you'll need MDF sealer/primer and polyurethane, I didn't care much for the finish so I just used acrylic paint and applied it with a paint roller.

• wood glue:

Titebond, gorilla or dap wood glue work great

TIP: if you want your glue to hold without clamps get CA (cyanoacrylate) glue and use that with the wood glue.

• A brad nail gun or brad nails and hammer:

This is optional however I highly advise getting one or at the very least to try and put some nails with a hammer, here's a link to the brad nailer I used 18 ga brad nailer.

• Brad nails:

18 gauge 3/4" (20mm) brad nails.

• 14" full extension side mount drawer slides:

Get 5 of these. as long as there 14" and side mount you can get any type of slides you want but just in case you're wondering these are the ones I got slides.

• wheels (optional):

These are optional but if you want to add some get 4 locking wheels and 16 #8 1/2" nuts

• about a 100 #8 1/2" wood screws.
• 5 drawer handles.

Step 1: Cut the Body

To build the body you'll need 5 pieces, I've included a 1:1 cut template which you can print without scaling and use as a template for a jigsaw or print with "fit to page" enabled and use as a reference to cut it.

DISCLAIMER: for each part of the drawer I've included a cut list to scale (1:1), but if you'd rather download a full cut list to scale go to the end of the instructable.

Step 2: Build the Body

As you can see from the render the sides are red, the top and bottom are green and the back is yellow, to build the body you'll need to download "build.pdf" and assemble according to color.

Assembly steps:

1. Make sure you have the right pieces for the step, double-check the plans and dry-fit the pieces to make sure you don't make a mistake, I've had that happen and it sucks :(

2. Start with one side and the top or bottom:

Align the 400mm edge of a red pice with the 400mm face of a green pice (see the image above).

3. Put a line of glue on the red edge and drive some nails from the green pice to the red pice.

4. Wipe the glue with a wet rag.

5. Glue and nail the assembled pieces (red and green) to the back (yellow).

6. Repeat step 3 and 4 with the remaining pices.

TIP: watch the video to get a better idea of how to glue/nail, it helps to have surfaced to guide the nail gun.

Step 3: Build the Drawers

Alright, we're almost done, now you have to build the drawers, the design I made has 5 drawers, each made of 5 pieces, just like I did for the body I've included a 1:1 cut template for the drawers.

Step 4: ​Assembly of the Drawers

Assembly of the drawers is the same as the body, start with one side (green) and one back/front (light blue), then glue and nail them to the edge of the bottom piece (deep blue) and finally repeat for the other two sides.

The bottom of the drawer goes on the inside, check the cross-section render to get a better idea.

Repeat those steps for all 5 drawers.

Remember you can use the file named "drawer plans.pdf" to get a better idea of how to build it and to dry-fit the pieces before assembly.

TIP: watch the video to get a better idea of how to build the drawers

Step 5: ​Time to Paint

If you want to paint this is the perfect time to do so.

follow the directions on the can of paint and apply with a smooth finish paint roller

The embedded video might help you but just bear in mind it's not my video, I did not make it and I have nothing to do with the creator, so if you find it helpful consider leaving a like :)

Step 6: ​Fix the Bottom Drawer

For a beginner this may seem like a huge task, it certainly did for me that's why I designed and included some jigs for you to 3d print.

Since the first drawer is a bit higher than the rest you'll have to 3d print one set of jigs for the first drawer and one for the rest of the drawers.

See the image above to get a better idea of how the jigs work.

"First_drawer_back_jig": is the spacer used to fix the first drawer slide to the back of the body.

"First_drawer_front_jig": is the spacer for the front, the lip is used to align it with the front edge of the side.

Step 7: ​Fix the Rest

To fix the rest of the drawers you'll need to use this jigs:

"Jig_drawer_back": is used for the rest of the drawers and goes to the back.

"Jig_drawer_front": is used for the rest of the drawers and goes in the front, the lip is used to align it with the front edge of the side.

I've also uploaded a picture of some of the jigs I 3d printed and could find.

TIP: print with PLA 2 perimeters, no support, no raft and 5% infill.

Step 8: ​Anatomy of a Drawer Slide

Some drawer slides have 2 or 3 parts, some are fixed to the body and others can be released to facilitate attaching it to the drawer, if your drawers are not like this follow the directions on the instructions that came with the slides, otherwise 3d print the jigs.

"inner_slide_jig_1" and "inner_slide_jig_2": are used to hold the inner pice of the drawer slide at a consistent height.

Step 9: Details

At this stage, if you add handles and tires your work could be considered done however if you'd like it to look a little bit more pro you'll need to add drawer faces, I've included a cut list for the drawer faces.

To fix the drawer faces you just have to align the edges and screw or nail them in place, I used screws to make it easier to replace them if they ever get damaged.

Step 10: Modular Storage Boxes

The modular storage boxes are designed to fit a 300mm by 325mm box, meaning each side can have 10 boxes of 32.20mm by 29.97mm (these measures include a tolerance to allow the boxes to be removed easily).

There are 2 types of boxes, shallow and deep, you can pick one according to the number of pieces you'd like to store.

The yellow boxes are shallow and the green is deep.

The storage boxes have a space designed for a standard DYMO LT-100H label.

If you'd like to design your own boxes you can use the included fusion 360 file in the last page.

TIP: 3D print the parts with 2 perimeter 3 top/bottom layers and 5% infill.

Step 11: Files and Final Tips

• "deep" boxes use less filament and take less time to 3d print than the shallow boxes.
• The space for the label should always face one of the sides.
• You do not have to fill all the drawers with boxes, so take your time and fill them as you get more and more stuff.

If you make this project make sure to post a picture, tag @instructables and use #instructables

Also, I made a 22gauge wire holder for this project, visit the link to find the file and printing instructions:

Wire holder