Workbench / Assembly Table Drawers - Seeking Recommendations

[Battle Ridge]

I am in the process of building a combination workbench / assembly table for my shop.  The basic construction of the bench is 2x6 & 2x4 framing with a double layer of 3/4" plywood for a top and a tempered hardboard work surface.

My plan is to install two drawers that will hold a variety of items including screws and fastening hardware, handtools and a variety of other items.  Given the size of the drawers and how quickly the weight can add up, I would like for the drawers to be strong and heavy duty enough to support the load without sagging or failure - though at the same time economical to construct (thus no fancy drawer slides or hardware). 

Each drawer will be 30-3/4" wide by 42" deep and 5-1/2" tall.  The drawers will be accessible from each side of the workbench and will pull out about 20 inches with the remainder of the unextended drawer supporting the extended section (thus allowing half of the items to be accessible from one side and the other half of the items from the other side of the workbench).

The drawers will rest on a full depth support ("A" in the photo) and my plan is to install 1/32" thick "Slick Tape" on the top of each support and/or on the bottom of the sides of the drawer.  There is a full depth 2x6 along the top of each side of the drawers to prevent the drawer from tipping and dropping when extended (with enough clearance to remove any swelling & expansion concerns). 

I would appreciate recommendations on the drawer construction and supports.

What would be the best material for the fronts of the drawers, the sides, the drawer bottom, and for the drawer supports ("A" in the photo)?  Also what type of construction / joinery would be best, and what type of additional supports would you recommend.

I have searched around online but due to the drawer size and the weight of the contents, as well as the use (nothing fancy is needed, just adequate long-term functioning) I wanted to get the insight of anyone here.

Thank you in advance.



 



 



 

[Kbeitz]

Put a class 3 hitch right under the top. Then you can receiver mount your tools.
Slide one in and use. Pull it out and slide a different one in.

[pineywoods]

Drawers under a workbench tend to fill with loose trash, a pain to keep clean..

[OffGrid973]

No drawers, rolling toolbox is a much better idea. Looks like room for peg board, hang em or you never find em

[Hilltop366]

Could put rollers just inside the face frame, they can be bought inexpensively, or possibly small castors.

[Ljohnsaw]

Nice looking workbench!

If that is what you want to do (despite the naysayers ;)), here is what I would do (and I like to overbuild...).

I would run four 2x6s across that are rabbeted into your 2x6 sides (front, back and 2 in between).  All of these would have rabbets to hold/support 3/8 to 1/2" ply bottom.  Lots of glue and screws.  Further, vertical rabbets could be done ahead of time to allow for Masonite dividers to be dropped in as needed.  Simple, strong and would last forever.  I would add two large metal pull handles on each side, so make the drawers short enough that the handles don't stick out for you to bang into them.

Teflon tape would be nice but wax would probably do just as well.  You don't want them to slide too freely - they will vibrate out while you are working on something!

[Battle Ridge]

I was planning on a quick and easy build with simple drawers, but may work with the present set-up for a while and further contemplate the options.  While larger drawers can fill most all needs, there can be advantages to something with a smaller size also.  I may just place a few cardboard boxes on the lower shelf and begin placing things there once I use them to see what accumulates, then evaluate what I most frequently use and try to design my storage to accommodate my most frequently used items.

A combination of larger and smaller drawers might end up being better in the end, and to make the most efficient use of my space and the finances, slowing things down and waiting might be a good plan - particularly doing so with my building knowledge base and the suggestions given here - which I appreciate.

I have a variety of shelving, tool boxes (rolling and regular size), as well as ammo boxes and other items set up on one side of my shop and have only recently decided to set up a woodworking area on the other side of the shop that I had previously been using for storage (mowers, tiller, etc.).  The transition and re-configuration is a work in progress and melding the general work area (vehicles, equipment, etc.) with the more dedicated woodworking area thus far has shown me that walking back and forth to gather the items I need can be a lot of extra and unnecessary work, and having it ready at hand would be beneficial.