I did take a minute to sand down all the sharp edges before assembly. It’s just way easier and faster to do it before. Testing Drawers You can get a good, clean finish by painting plywood edges without edge banding. ( MDF too– but I didn’t use mdf.) It seems to me that the use of Systainers—as satisfying to the OCD part of us as they are—are not a good use of precious workshop space, and make the tools less accessible than if they were in one or two wide, deep drawers in a tool cabinet. After all, we don’t need all those Plug-It cables; and the needed tool accessories may well not fit in the tool’s systainer. One thing I changed after building my first cabinets was the top. I switched from a full piece to two cleats, simply to stretch my material. I’ll be putting a countertop over the whole bank of cabinets so I don’t need full tops.

I wanted my drawers to pull out far enough that I could open the Systainer and retrieve a tool, without removing the Systainer from the drawer. I determined that 14″, full extension drawer slides would allow for that. My cabinets are 14 1/2″ deep because I want the false drawer front to recess inside the cabinet and I’m using 1/2″ MDF for my false fronts. Building Festool Systainer DRAWERS We also offer combination toolboxes with space for cordless and corded power tools along with accessories like screws, cables and nails. You could opt for a fusion of tool box and accessory container like the SYS tool box, or go for the SYS-StorageBox, with its swivelling components tray and adaptable range of plastic containers. If you want to see more details that you can see on the small photos of my plans in this post, I’ve included full sheet PDF’s for both the Cabinet plans and the Drawers. Mark the location for the center divider on BOTH sides of the top and bottom parts. Use the inside marks to align the center divider. Use the outside marks for screw placement.

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This wall is wonky as all get-out so I had to shim the wall cleat so it would be flat. More Drawers Festool's Sortainer range offers another storage solution. Products like the classic Sortainer provide storage drawers that can be easily divided to fit the profile of your accessories. They work well as an accompaniment to our tool boxes, or you could choose a fusion of the two like the SYS-Combi.

I’m now deep into the project of clearing out our garage to the best of my ability. I will have one bay of 3-car garage for permanent use for tools, with shelving, eventually cabinets, around the outside walls. Given multiple hobbies and wife’s storage needs, there remains little room for a Chaos-Theory wall of systainers.I didn’t spend too much time configuring drawers until I got all my cabinets built and installed on the wall. I just put in enough drawers to put in some Systainers and see if I’d planned well and I could open the lid and easily get to the tool inside. Once I tested out my initial cabinets and drawers — I built 2 more “double” cabinets and what felt like a gazillion more drawers. Installing Cabinets on French Cleats It’s easier to prime and paint BEFORE assembling. If you’re using wood glue as part of assembly, don’t paint. Wood glue generally adheres to primed wood though so go ahead a pre-prime regardless. Tip 1: marking center divider location on both sides of “top” and “bottom” parts. Tip 2: using corner clamps Tip 3: Painting plywood edges. Tip 4: prime before assembly. If not using wood glue, go ahead and pre-paint too. Alternatives and things to note Festool's Systainer range of tool storage systems offers professionals and home users an ergonomic, safe and easy to use way to store their Festool products. Does anyone NOT use systainers, and store their Festools (at least the most used) in drawers in a tool chest, whether commercial or self-made?