New project

All carts made to identical dimensions, and some sort of clamps to hold them together in alignment when you use it as a bench. Sawdust gets into any open constructions, shelving open drawers or doors, so I'd make sure drawers and doors enclose everything. Use plastic windows in the doors so you can see what's inside. 24x36 inches top would give you a 2x6 ft work surface. Later, when you build a serious workbench, you repurpose the stands for a drill press, small band saw, sander, small jointer or planer. I have a couple of steel stands I've enclosed that are similar in form and very handy. One is open (router table) the other is enclosed for storage of 18v tools. It needs a few drawers, but never got around to it.

I have two areas with wall shelfing. One is wire shelving and is fairly deep, and it holds identical size plastic tubs with lids and labels on each stating what's inside. On the other side are open shelves. Keep open shelves shallow (7 and 10 inches deep) so I can't stack things in front of unrelated items. Just my take.

roofner said:

Do you think I should go with 1/2 or 3/4 plywood for bench top.

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3/4, definitely. And I'd use rabbets and dados to connect pieces wherever possle rather than pocket screws alone. The two make a forever joint and pocket screws have a way of aligning pieces as you tighten them up.

If you want the tops to be very flat and stay that way, put a second layer of MDF underneath the top. My workbench has a changeable layer of masonite on top. Quick replacement when the time comes.

For quick doors, I have used 1/2 ply, and made a sort of face frame on top of that to make it look good. The ply is very stable and if you do a double door, very easy to trim to an exact fit.

If you don't already have a Wixey digital angle gauge, get one and make sure you cut at a perfect 90. That will set you up for perfectly square cabinets. Even a slight angle will mess up your joints.

It's really nice to have good cabinets. Worth the effort and you learn a lot doing them.

I have one short cabinet that now holds the drill press. It started as a temperature controlled cabinet for keeping my shop laptop from freezing during winter. It is lined with 2 inches of foam with a dadiant barrier between ply and foam. I found a greenhouse temperature controlled swith, and put a 40 watt bulb in so if the temperature hit a low setting, the light came on and warmed up the cabinet. Don't use it for that anymore, so the low height turned out perfect for the drill press.