how to convert a file cabinet drawer into a desk drawers

I then drilled pocket holes in all my front and back drawer pieces, making sure to drill the holes on the opposite side to the groove. I grabbed my pocket hole jig once again, and changed the settings to the 1/2 inch thickness setting.

I made a first pass at this setting, then moved the fence over slightly to widen the groove so my bottom panel would fit into the groove. I set my blade height to half the thickness of my drawer stock – so a quarter inch – and set my fence to 3/8ths. For insights on how to determine the length of your drawers slides and the dimensions of your drawer box, be sure to watch the YouTube video.īefore I can assemble the drawers, I need to make a small groove to fit the bottom panel (I’ll be using 1/4 inch plywood for the bottoms). For the drawers I used 1/2 inch plywood and cut all my pieces to size on the miter saw. Once all my carcass pieces were cut – 2 sides, top bottom and toe kick cut from 3/4 inch plywood – I used my pocket hole jig to make pocket holes and assembled the cabinet with 1-1/4″ pocket screws.Īfter the 4 sides were assembled, all that was missing was the toe kick that I tapped into place, then secured it with more pocket screws.

This helps ensure I get a nice clean square cut.

When working with plywood sheets, I typically like to have my plywood cut into manageable sizes at the store, then use my track saw to break down my parts, leaving just a little extra material so I can make my final cut on the table saw.

How to convert a file cabinet drawer into a desk drawers