Synopsis: All it takes is proper planning and a little effort to create a custom cabinet to fit your bench, your tools, and your work style, and to fit it into that space under your workbench that often becomes a receptacle for stray stuff. This cabinet has a plywood carcase, simple dado joints, and screws, dressed up with a solid face frame in front and a frame-and-panel back.

The shelf below my workbench was always heaped with stray stuff—clamps, power cords, glue, scraps, jigs—things I often needed at the bench but never quite found a home for. It was constantly a mess, and the space above the mound of stuff was wasted, too. Sound familiar? Wouldn’t a storage cabinet under there be just the ticket?

All it takes is proper planning and a little effort to create a custom cabinet to fit your bench, your tools, and your work style. Just as I did when building my wall-hung tool cabinet (see “Tool-Cabinet Design,” FWW #153), I measured and grouped similar items to fit specific drawers beforehand to achieve an efficient and well-planned layout. Your cabinet will differ in size and layout, of course, depending on your bench and your tools.

Layout tips for tools Not every bench is the same, so you’ll have to custom-fit this design to suit your situation. To determine the exterior dimensions of your cabinet, measure the distance between the legs of your workbench. My cabinet slides in from the end of the bench, just fitting between the front and rear legs, and leaving a 3-in.- wide clamping ledge along both the front and back of the bench. This also keeps the cabinet from interfering with the benchdogs. If your bench doesn’t have stretchers positioned to support the cabinet, you may have to add…