My benchtop router table is great but when I put it on my actual workbench it’s too tall for me to work with. So what do I do when I want to use my benchtop router? Well, I put it on the garage floor and crouch down to do the job. It’s neither comfortable or safe. So I bring to you build plans for a rolling benchtop tool cabinet. This is a long overdue build for me. If you’re looking for me, I’ll just be in my garage routing all the things. 😉

Now, I built this tool cabinet for my benchtop router table, but this could be a great cabinet for really any benchtop tool or even a small toolbox. It’s definitely a versatile build.

Let me tell you why I love this rolling benchtop tool cabinet so much. Not only is it the perfect height making my projects easier and safer, but it has closed storage! My router accessories were constantly covered in sawdust and for items like the collection of router bits that I inherited from my grandfather, I just couldn’t have that!

The dimensions of this cabinet are 2′-6 1/4″ wide x 1′-10 3/4″ deep x 2′ 1/4″ tall. Note that these DIMENSIONS DO NOT INCLUDE CASTERS. I used 2″ tall casters for mine but if you’re a little taller (I’m 5’7) or if you have boots with thick toes, you may want to use taller casters. I can get my shoes under the cart but there is very little clearance.

For my cart I was able to score some awesome shaker style cabinet doors on clearance from IKEA for $5 each! They had a few dings on them but it wasn’t anything that a little wood filler couldn’t fix. If you have an IKEA nearby, I suggest checking out the as-is section near the registers. You could also buy the exact ones that I used new with no dings. They are the LERHYTTAN model.

As usual, I’ve put together detailed pdf build plans for you to print and work off of.

How to download the build plans

If you want to download the plans for this rolling benchtop cabinet, head over to my free resource library page and scroll down to build plans section. My free downloads are available exclusively for my subscribers. If you have yet to subscribe, don’t fret, it’s super easy! Just click here and enter your email. From there you’ll get a confirmation email with a special secret password to access my free resource library page.

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On to what you’ll need to complete this build…

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Tools

Clamps

Tape Measure

Pencil

Ear Protection

Eye Protection

Materials

Hinges (4)

Casters (4)

Pull knobs (2)

pocket hole screws

2″ screws

Brad nails

Wood glue

Cut List

****Note that the two green pieces in the first graphic below (48″ x 96″ x 3/4″ plywood sheet) are for doors. If you are purchasing doors elsewhere you won’t need to build these. For the doors I kept the design very simple if you need to build them since this cabinet is for tool storage and doesn’t need to be anything fancy. It also cuts down on cost. That said, if you are interested in making your own shaker style doors, there are a ton of tutorials online. Just google “how to make shaker style doors”.

Directions

****Don’t forget to use glue on all of your joints!

Step 1- Build the front face frame

Drill pocket holes into the horizontal boards as well as the center vertical board and then attach them to make the frame.

Step 2 – Build the base support

For the 2×4 base support, first drill pocket holes into the side boards (shorter pieces) and then attach the shorter boards to the longer boards.

Step 3 – Build the top support

The top support is made of 2×2 boards. Drill pocket holes into the side boards (shorter pieces) and then attach the shorter boards to the longer boards.

Step 4 – Add the side panels to the top support

Drill pocket holes into the bottom of the side panels. It will be used in the next step to attach them to the base. But first, attach the top support to the sides. This can be done using 2” screws.

Step 5 – Attach the side panels to the base support

Using pocket hole screws, attach the side panels to the base support. You will want to leave ¾” on the front of the cart for the front frame and 3/8” on the back for the back panel. To make it easier, I laid the face frame down and then placed the cabinet on top of that to use as a guide for the 3/4″ gap. You can see that in the picture below.

Step 6 – Attach the face frame

Attach the face frame using brad nails.

Step 7 – Attach the top panel

Align the top so that there is a ¾” lip on the front of the cabinet (there should be 3/8″ sticking out from the back which will be covered when you attach the back panel. To attach the top, drill 2” screws through the top support into the ¾” plywood top.

Step 8 – Insert the floor panel

Slide the floor panel into the cart from the back.

Step 9 – Attach the back panel

Use brad nails to attach the back panel.

Step 10 – Attach the 1×4 base board

Using brad nails, attach the 1×4 base board

Step 11 – Attach the casters

Step 12 – Attach the doors

If you are using the ikea doors that I used, these hinges are the one’s you’ll need. If you’re building your own doors using the 3/4″ plywood as laid out in the plans, the easiest and most inexpensive solution for hinges would be to use ones like these .

And there you have it! Here are some final shots of the cabinet that I built. Remember that I scored some $5 doors on clearance from IKEA so it looks a tad different from the plans.

I typically don’t finish the furniture that I use in my garage but it drove me crazy that the IKEA doors were black so I decided to paint the entire piece black to match. It didn’t add too much time to my build because I have a super cool sprayer that gets the job done in no time. Here is a link to the sprayer and the spray shelter if you’re interested. I would highly recommend these not only because of the quality but for the price too.