Modular 19-inch Rack Drawers: Convenient Workshop Tool Storage

For the last few years I have been renovating a house . Due to all the work going on , I currently only have a temporary electronic workbench setup in an unfinished spare room with limited space. 

I wanted some of my tools to be stored within reach sat at my desk . Unfortunately the IKEA desk had drawers and a cupboard but were either not suitable or full of stuff. With my 3d print taking up a large chunk of my desk I thought of adding a drawer or two under my 3d printer.

With the sole purpose of storing tools I looked at Mid tool chests for mechanics roll cabs but I couldn’t find anything with a suitable height that wouldn’t raise my 3d printer up too height. 

I started planning to make a custom drawer unit until I came across drawers for a 19inch rack !  These were right size to utilise most of the space under my 3d printer. Some other features were were ballbearing runners , lockable and modular allowing it to be made to the desired height.  The cost wasn’t too bad either being that I only need two drawers,  1U and 2U height.

Being a more temporary solution I simply made it out of MDF, I did look at the easy option of just getting a 3U flight case but my 3d printer footprint was slightly wider so ended up making my own.  You can get the proper rack mounting bracket to allow the correct rack mount fixtures. Although I found using long screws pilot holled into the MDF actually work fine in my case as there wasn’t a lot of weight in the drawers. I also added some support battens along underneath the edge of the lower drawer for extra support though this may have not been required.

I think this is a cool way to add drawers, especially in a workshop environment. Although when I finally finish my house and get round to it I hope to have a more permanent workspace. I also plan to make a purpose built desk/bench with loads of dedicated tool storage ,but until then this setup should work.