Drawer for lathe tools

New Drawer

This seemingly simply project has taken nearly 5 months to complete. Part of the reason is that the bench did not have any back legs. I’d simply let the bench top be supported on the original shelves with the two cross struts to keep it from sliding about.

Origional bench legs

So my first step to get some more cupboard and drawer space was to add in those missing back legs, some support for a shelf and a couple of spacers to attach the drawer runners to. The construction was simple 40x40mm wood with dowels and glue to hold it all together. Partly because of space constraints and partly because of the lack of clamps, I used some rope and a tourniquet to hold it together whilst the glue dried.
Support structure for shelf and drawers

I then added a simple shelf made from piece of TV cabinet left by the previous owners.

The build was also a bit different to the previous drawer design. With it being slightly larger, I was concerned that the forces on the front might also be larger. If you look in the picture below, you will see that the drawer has a double front. This means that the forces are pulling perpendicularly on the glue and dowels so it should not be possible to pull the front off.

My last step before filling the drawer was to line the bottom with some more VCI (anti-rust) paper.

I’m pleased with the end result and it allows me to move the lathe further back on the bench giving more room to work.

One thought on “Drawer for lathe tools

  1. […] bench was originally designed so the back would rest on these shelves. When it was modified for the lathe drawer I added in some extra legs in the middle so there was already some support at the back. As this […]

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