30″ wide mobile tool cart plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Socket or nut driver for the caster lag screws
• Hammer or brad nailer
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Glue the caster pads under the bottom

   Lay the bottom (B) good face down. Glue a caster pad (I) into each corner, 1/4″ in from both edges.

   Drive 4 screws, 1 5/8″, through each pad into the bottom, one near each corner of the pad, so it stays put while the glue dries.

   The pads double the plywood under each caster, so the lag screws have 1 1/2″ of wood to bite instead of 3/4″.

   • Tip Keep the screws at least 1″ from the pad centre: the caster lag screws go there later.

   ✓ All four pads are tight to the corners and square to the edges.

4. 4Build the case

   Stand the two sides (A) on the bottom, flush with its ends and front edge. Glue the joint and drive 1 5/8″ screws up through the bottom into each side every 5″. Predrill each one: screws in plywood edges split them without a pilot hole.

   Mark the shelf positions on the inside of both sides with a square: the underside of the shelf (C) sits 11 1/4″ above the bottom panel.

   Mark the drawer shelf (D) with its underside 23 3/16″ above the bottom panel, which leaves a 6″ opening under the top.

   Glue each shelf in and drive 1 5/8″ screws through the sides into its ends every 5″, fronts flush with the side fronts.

   • Tip Clamp a scrap block square to the side as a ledge at each shelf line. The shelf rests on it while you drive the screws.
   • Tip Run a damp rag over glue squeeze-out right away; it stops stain and finish from soaking in later.

   ✓ Measure the inside width at the top, middle and bottom: all 28 5/8″. Measure the case's two diagonals: equal within 1/8″.

5. 5Add the shelf lips

   Glue a shelf lip (J) on edge along the front of the bottom and of each shelf, flush with the front. It stands 1 1/2″ tall so screwdrivers and bits can't roll off when the cart moves.

   Drive 1 5/8″ screws down at an angle through the lip into the shelf every 8″, predrilled, or up through the shelf from underneath where you can reach.

   ✓ The lips sit tight to the shelves with no gap, and they stiffen the shelves: press the middle of a shelf and it barely moves.

6. 6Square it up with the back

   Lay the case on its front. Measure both diagonals and push the corners until they match.

   Set the back (H) on, flush with the sides and the bottom, and drive 1″ screws every 6″ around the edges and into each shelf's back edge.

   • Tip Start at one corner, then the opposite corner: the back pulls the case square as you go.

   ✓ Diagonals still match after the back is on. The case no longer racks when you push a corner.

7. 7Put on the top and its lip

   Set the top (E) on the case, flush at the front and both sides; at the back it covers the edge of the back panel. Glue and drive 1 5/8″ screws down into each side every 5″, 3/8″ from the edge.

   Glue the side lips (G) to the side edges of the top, bottoms flush with the underside of the top, so they stand 13/16″ above the surface. Then the front and back lips (F), which run past the side lips at the corners.

   Predrill and drive 1 5/8″ screws through the lips into the plywood edges every 6″.

   ✓ The lip is even all round, with tight corners. A marble set on the top can't roll off any edge.

8. 8Mount the casters

   Lay the cart on its back on a blanket. Centre a caster on each pad, its plate square to the edges, and mark the four holes.

   Drill 5/32″ pilot holes 1″ deep and drive the 1/4″ × 1 1/4″ lag screws with a socket or nut driver, 4 per caster.

   Stand the cart up and lock all four casters. Push it: it shouldn't roll.

   ✓ Every lag screw is snug, every caster swivels freely, and the locked cart stays put when pushed.

   STOP. Don't use drywall or short wood screws for casters. They work loose when the cart is rolled over a bump while loaded.

9. 9Build the drawer box

   Glue the box front and back (L) between the drawer sides (K), ends flush, and nail through the sides with 1″ brads, 3 per joint. The box is 27 5/8″ wide and 18″ deep.

   Measure the diagonals and square it, then glue and brad the bottom (M) on, every 4″. The bottom squares the box as it goes on.

   • Tip Drawer slides need the full 1/2″ each side, no more, no less. If the box comes out 1/16″ wide, sand the sides; if it comes out narrow, add a strip of card behind the slide.

   ✓ Outside width 27 5/8″, exactly 1″ less than the opening. Diagonals equal.

10. 10Hang the drawer and fit its face

    Separate each 18″ slide into its two halves. Screw the cabinet halves to the inside of the sides with their bottom edges 1/2″ above the top of the drawer shelf, fronts 1/16″ back from the front edge of the sides, so the drawer face closes against the case. 5/8″ screws, 3 each. A scrap block cut to 1/2″ under the slide holds it at height while you drive the screws.

    Screw the drawer halves to the box sides, bottom edges flush with the box bottom, fronts flush with the box front. Slide the drawer in.

    Put two strips of double-sided tape on the box front, hold the face (N) with an even 1/8″ gap under the top and centred side to side, and press. Open the drawer and drive 4 screws, 1″, from inside the box into the face.

    Fit the pull in the centre of the face.

    ✓ The drawer runs smoothly all the way out and closes without bumping. The face gaps are even.

11. 11Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.