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Garage Organization - Charging Station + Tool Storage Cabinet

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.
drill and charging station
I don't know at what moment my garage turned into the huge mess you see below!

It was about two years ago when I brought organization to this space with an extra pegboard and other small builds. However, after a couple of years and countless projects, I shouldn't be surprised with the state of the workshop today. :(

This Fall my main goal is to once again bring organization to my garage. Not only that, but I also want to create workstations to make the building process more comfortable and safe. The three main building projects I  have in mind are:
-Miter saw station
-Table saw stand
-Storage cabinets

Today's project: A storage cabinet that doubles as a charging station.

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Even though our garage is big, I didn't have the space to store all my drills and batteries. This entire time I've been storing them in my family room, in the built-in base cabinets. It's been a pain having to go inside to grab what I need and bring them back again at the end of a project.
That's why the charging station and tool storage cabinet was the first one I wanted to get off my to-do list.

This is an easy build. The depth of the main cabinet is only 12" which I think is awesome because your tools won't get lost in its depth and you don't need a huge amount of material to build it! Let me show you how it all went for me.

How to Build a Charging Station + Tool Storage Cabinet
Free plans for drill & charging station + tool storage cabinet.
Get the plans HERE!

Materials
Plywood - four sheets.
1-1/4" pocket hole screws
1-1/4" wooden screws
8 Hinges
Sandpaper 120-grid
6 Husky 10-Compartment small parts organizers
16-inch pull-handles
Paint and finishing materials - I used Rust-oleum Chalkboard paint


Tools Used
DeWalt Miter Saw  |  Milwaukee Drill/impact combo  | Kreg Jig  | Dewalt Circular Saw  |  Sander  | Tape Measure  |  Brad Nailer |  Framing Square  |  Screwdriver  | Clamps  |  Jig It  |

Charging Station + Tool Storage Cabinet
Cut List
2-  86-1/2" x 12 - sides
2-  85" x 18 - doors
1-  87-1/2" x 36 - back
7-  34-1/2" x 12 - shelves, bottom
1-  36" x 12" - top
1-  28" x 12" - lower divider
2-  14-1/2" x 11-1/2" - lower shelves
22-  4" x 12" Husky organizers holders
2-  5-1/2" x 12" battery compartment dividers
8-  12" x 12" drill compartment dividers
1-  34-1/2" x 2-1/2" - kick plate


To make this build even easier, I headed to the Home Depot to get the plywood and asked for them to cut it. Two sheets were cut at 12" intervals, and the other two sheets at 36" (all lengthwise).
Here you can see the load inside my minivan.

plywood inside minivan


At home, using the miter saw, I followed the cutting list above to get all the necessary pieces for the main cabinet.

Drill pocket holes on:
  • Both ends of all shelves (including top and bottom boards)
  • One long side of 10 organizer holders
  • both sides -top and bottom drill station dividers

Mark the location where shelves/dividers go.

I always like to draw the lines where the shelves will go. I think it's the best way for me to keep everything perfectly aligned. You can also use wooden guides instead.
marking the ply

Cabinet Assembly

The only hard part about the cabinet assembly is dealing with its size because it's a large cabinet.
The first step was to put together the big box. Sides, top and bottom.
I didn't attach the back of the cabinet at this point to have clear access when assembling the top dividers.

The next step was to install the small boards where the Husky organizers will ride on. Pocket holes and 1-1/4 screws were used here.
The small vertical supports were nailed in at the very end of the entire build. - The lower support gets in the way of the lower hinge and it needs to be trimmed.
Husky small parts organizer stacked in cabinet
I installed the next shelf followed by the vertical division on this lower part of the cabinet and then, finished installing the other set of boards for the Husky organizers.

Battery Storage Compartments

For the next section, the battery storage compartments, I first installed both dividers in the center of the shelf. (Right picture below)

Regular 1-1/4" screws were driven from the top and lower shelves and into the dividers.
plywood tool storage cabinet

Continue installing the remaining shelves. Then, install the drill storage dividers using 1-1/4" pocket screws.
garage organization
Install the back

Bring the cabinet face down on the ground, make a little mark on each side of the cabinet to where the shelves are located.  Bring the big piece of plywood, good side down, align it on the back of the cabinet, and drive 1-1/4" wood screws all around the cabinet.
Use those markings to draw the lines where the shelves are located and drive a couple of screws on those lines too.
How to attach back to large cabinet

Install the kick plate
With the cabinet still facing down, place a few 3/4" scrap pieces on the floor, bring the kick plate on top of them, and set it in place. I even added extra support in the middle of the cabinet.
Kick plate

Mark the location of the outlet and using a jigsaw make the cutout.
outlet opening

It's now time to bring the entire cabinet to its designated space. Watch out, it's HEAVY!
Given that this is a tall skinny cabinet you have to attach it to the wall.
Find the studs on the wall and drive at least a couple of screws onto the studs to set this cabinet in place.

Install the shelves for the circular saws or other tools you might want in that lower spot.

I love how it looked at this point, but the blanket of dust that all my tools collect over time was the major motivation to add doors to this cabinet.
Tool storage - garage organization - drill station cabinet

The Doors

I used my DeWalt circular saw and a straight edge to cut the same 3/4" material for the doors.
Cristina Garay using Dewalt circular saw and straight edge to cut ply doors
Then, I used the JigIt to drill the cups for the hinges, four on each door.
tool storage cabinet
| Jig It | 35 mm 110-degree Full Overlay Cabinet HingeFirm Grip Gloves |

Installing the doors was again not that easy, due to their large size. But, I managed to do it all on my own. And this is how the cabinet looked at the end of the day - A bit too boring for my liking.
garage drill station and husky small parts organizers

Paint and Finish the Cabinet Doors - Optional

I used some remnant chalk paint I had, gave it three coats sanding in between coats. Oh, and I taped that little design on the bottom right side door to break all that black. ;)
The final touch was to add those extra-long pull handles.
Drill station and Husky small parts organizer cabinet
No more running inside the house to get a drill or a battery. It's all here and ready to go!
Husky small parts organizers and drill station cabinet
I need to buy myself a set of multi-outlet power strips to connect all the chargers.
Drill station cabinet
The drill station at the top keeps all those babies secure. A nice spot to also store the nailers.
Husky small parts organizer and drill station cabinet
The Husky 10-Compartment small parts organizers are definitely a nice addition to the shop. They keep all the screws, washers, bolts, you-name-it small parts organized!!
You can stack them on their own, but I like that I can grab any one of them at any given moment without having to move the ones on top.
DIY -Tool storage cabinet - Drill station - charging station cabinet
They're very sturdy, I like the see-through top and they hold a ton of stuff!! I still need to organize three of them.
screw organization in the garagae
Well, I'm delighted with this neat spot I now have and I can't wait to start on my next building project to bring some more organization to my garage.
Husky small parts organization with drill station cabinet

UPDATE: After moving things around and organizing that corner, this is how it looks:
Garage organization with drill charging station, pegboard and Husky mobile workbench
|  Best Tool Storage Workbench  |  Miter Saw Station  |  Pegboard |


For more garage organization ideas check these out:


garage organization

diy garage shelves


garage organization with scrap wood






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*This post contains affiliate links.











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6 comments :

  1. This is awesome and I need one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, it makes things SO much easier!! Yes, you gotta build yours! 🙌

      Delete
  2. WOW! l am moving to an old house with a big garage in about 6 weeks, and l am SO looking forward to having a place for all my tools, as well as a place to use them! This cabinet is the stuff of dreams, at least for someone like me! What an inspiration this is!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, hugs from Brazil, nice project, I love it. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
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