Storage is one thing we seriously lack around the house. And since we've recently gotten deep into sublimation, our craft stash and printer collection has grown exponentially. When we received a new Epson EcoTank 15000 to convert to a sublimation printer, it needed a new place to live in the writing-themed office. That leads us to today's project: creating a DIY Card Catalog Cabinet with a sliding shelf to hold the sublimation printer and related supplies.

This project was a bit more complicated than we imagined when we started out. However, we did make things a bit easier by upcycling a base kitchen cabinet so we could at least have a straight frame to work with. With the poor state of the lumber that's generally available in hardware stores, and our lack of industrial tools like a giant planer, this was the way to go to give us the flat, square pieces needed to make this work.

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Supplies

(Amazon Links = Affiliate Links)

Plywood (ideal, we used scrap wood)

5mm Wood Sheet

High Gloss White Paint

Card Catalog Pulls (we painted them black) - https://amzn.to/3d13UVw

Miniature Knobs (brass; we spray painted ours black) - https://amzn.to/3zMDl03

Base Cabinet - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hugo-Borg-London-36-in-W...

Circular Saw - https://amzn.to/35FHLZ5

Clamps - https://amzn.to/3zOmj1F

Miter Saw - https://amzn.to/2UgVVNE

Drill - https://amzn.to/3j4cO8G

Drill Bits - https://amzn.to/3gRvyWm

Fortsner Bits - https://amzn.to/2SKDFw1

Wood Glue - https://amzn.to/3zHQWWC

Wood Screws, 1 1/4" - https://amzn.to/3d3gzHP

Flat Black Spray Paint - https://amzn.to/3j4elLY

E6000 - https://amzn.to/3gNuELu

Sliding Rails - https://amzn.to/2UoZx0i

Paint Supplies - https://amzn.to/3gWAWYp

Foam Roller - https://amzn.to/3cZJ0q7

Furniture Legs (we painted white) - https://amzn.to/3zNhA0c

Plunge Router - https://amzn.to/2Uh588I

Measuring Tape - https://amzn.to/2SRzmil

Wood Filler - https://amzn.to/3zHSIXM

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Step 1: Cut Off the Toe Kick

Since we're starting with a kitchen cabinet, and we don't want it to look like a kitchen cabinet, we need to first take care of that toe kick. While you *could* use thin wood to wrap around the unit and hide the toe kick, we opted instead to just cut the toe kick off, which had the added benefit of taking off some height (making way for us to add legs).

To cut off the toe kick:

1. Remove the drawer and door from the kitchen cabinet.

2. Lay the unit on its side, on top of a piece of cardboard (to prevent scratches on the sides).

3. Clamp a straight edge down on the cabinet to act as a guide for your saw.

4. Use the circular saw to trim as close to the actual bottom of the unit as possible.

5. Repeat on other sides until the toe kick has been removed.

6. If necessary, use a mallet to tap off the pieces.

7. Finish the edges by lightly hand sanding.

Step 2: Cut Wood for Top and Bottom of Unit

Ideally, you'll work with a single sheet of plywood to create your new top and bottom of the unit. We had some scrap wood that we were able to piece together, so we used that and joined them together. In hindsight, though, a single sheet would have been better.

To create your top and bottom:

1. Measure the top of your unit, being sure to account for any protrusions of the drawers and doors.

2. Add in an overhang for the front and sides.

Note: Our final measurements were: 25 1/4" deep x 37 1/16" wide.

3. Cut your wood to size using the power saw of your choice.

4. Attach the top to your unit, being sure to drill pilot holes before you screw it together.

Step 3: Cut Wood for Sliding Shelf and Install Rails (optional)

Our printer loads paper from the back, so we needed to have a sliding tray for it to sit on. We chose undermount soft-close sliding rails. And since we wanted to put a printer or two on the shelf, we decided to purchase ones that could withstand the appropriate amount of weight.

To create the sliding shelf:

1. Cut wood to size. Our final shelf measurements on ours were: 20 1/16" deep x 33 7/8" wide

2. Drill a hole in the back of the shelf to hook into the rails, if needed (depends on your rail type).

3. Attach the quick release rail plate to the bottom of the shelf.

4. Install rails at desired height inside the printer cabinet.

Note: We used 4 screws on each and placed the rails so the shelf would sit at 10" high inside the cabinet.

5. Set shelf aside for sanding and painting.

Step 4: Cut Wood for Faux Drawer Fronts

To create the faux drawer fronts, we used a 5mm sheet of wood, a circular saw, and the miter saw.

To cut the wood for the drawer fronts:

1. If using a circular saw, attach a guide to the saw to ensure even cuts.

2. Symmetry is critical for the fronts of the drawers.

3. Cut 5 3/8" wide strips of wood out of the 5mm wood sheet.

4. Set a stop block on your miter saw at 4 1/4".

5. Cut 36 drawer fronts on the miter saw.

Step 5: Sand and Paint Everything

This is the not-so-fun part, but it's necessary to get a good result.

Tips for Sanding and Painting:

1. Use wood filler to fill in any cracks, dents and knots in the wood.

2. Sand the top piece, bottom piece and shelf, using progressively finer grits of sandpaper.

Note: We used a power sander and went from 80 grit up to 240 grit.

3. Hand sand the sides to ensure that you keep the square edges.

4. Wipe all dust off of pieces before proceeding to painting .

5. Hand sand the edges of the faux drawer fronts to ensure that you don't take off too much wood or affect the overall squareness of the boards.

6. Paint all pieces with a high gloss white paint, sanding in between the first and second coat.

Tip: Place the faux drawer fronts on top of blocks so they don't stick to your work surface.

Step 6: Attach All Main Pieces to the Unit and Add Legs!

At this point, you'll want to start getting your cabinet back together, as well as add some legs!

Be sure to complete the following steps before proceeding:

1. Flip the unit over and attach the bottom board, ensuring alignment with the top.

2. We recommend drilling pilot holes before inserting screws to ensure that you don't split the wood.

3. Secure bottom to the unit.

4. Drill holes for the leg plates to attach into. Screw legs into place.

Note: The legs we ordered were natural wood, and we painted them white to match the unit.

5. Flip the unit back over and sit on a level surface.

6. Insert the drawer and attach the cabinet doors.

7. Adjust the door hinges until they are completely level and even. This may take a while.

Step 7: Pre-Drill Faux Drawer Fronts

While you won't add all of the hardware at this point, it's a great idea to pre-drill the holes for the pulls, as well as go ahead and attach the knobs.

To drill the drawer fronts the easy way:

1. Position the knob and pull on the drawer front to your liking.

Note: We placed the knob toward the bottom, as it represents the rail that the cards used to connect onto.

2. Mark your holes for the knob and pull.

3. Drill the holes out, being sure to create a counter sink for the knob screws on the back so they don't protrude.

4. Use this first piece as a template for all of the others, and you'll be done with this step in no time!

5. Once you have all of your templates created, go ahead and add the knobs to the bottom.

Note: Our knobs were brass when we received them, but we spray painted them black to match the pulls.

Step 8: Add Drawer Fronts to Unit

This is where it all comes together, as well as where precision is key. It took us a few tries to figure this part out, so follow the steps below for an easier experience experience.

To add the faux drawer fronts:

1. Mark the outside lines for your drawer fronts on the cabinet with painter's tape. Our drawer fronts started 3/8" in from the side and 1 1/4" from the top of the drawer.

Note: The drawer fronts on ours are spaced at 1/2 between the columns and 3/8" between the rows.

2. Apply E6000 generously to the back of the drawer front.

3. Hold a straight edge along the side of the cabinet door, and a 3/8" spacing block underneath.

4. Place the drawer front on the cabinet.

5. Drill through the holes for the pull and slightly into the cabinet. This is to enable the small decorative screws to attach to the unit without breaking (ask us how we know).

6. Screw on the drawer pull.

7. Using your straight edge on the side and spacer block in between, continue down the first column of drawer fronts.

8. Repeat for all columns.

Step 9: Enjoy!

Once your drawer fronts are complete, you can move the cabinet into place, insert the shelf and store your printer and whatever else you need!

We hope that this tutorial was helpful. If you liked this project, please head over to JustMightDIY.com for other tips, DIY stories and more. And if you’re interested in checking out more of our tutorials, check out our Instructables profile or head over to our YouTube channel.