Developing the ideal drawer design took a bit of trial and error, but the results are incredibly rewarding. To help you build your own ultimate workshop organization system, I’ve made free downloadable plans available for both the cabinets and the drawers at the end of this article. These plans reflect the final, optimized design, ensuring you benefit from all my learning experiences. While some photos in this guide might show earlier iterations, rest assured the provided plans are for the refined, most efficient version.

Crafting Robust Storage CABINETS for Festool Systainers

My goal for these Festool Systainer cabinets was speed and functionality, which led me to a “quick and dirty” construction method. Built simply with butt joints and secured using durable 1 3/4″ screws, these cabinets prioritize practicality over elaborate aesthetics. Of course, you’re welcome to incorporate more sophisticated joinery if you desire, but for a fast and effective workshop storage solution, this method excels. An important design note: the weight of the Systainers and drawers is borne by the cabinet sides, not the bottom, ensuring robust support for your valuable tools.

Even for simple cabinet construction, a few essential tips can significantly improve your results and save time. While many of these insights are detailed in my comprehensive Cabinet Building 101 guide, I’ll reiterate some key points here for your convenience when tackling this Festool storage project:

1. Precise Marking for Dividers: Always mark the exact location for your center divider on both the inside and outside faces of the top and bottom panels. Use the inner marks to accurately align the divider during assembly, and the outer marks to guide your screw placement for maximum stability and a clean finish. This dual marking strategy eliminates guesswork and ensures a perfectly square structure.
2. Essential 90-Degree Corner Clamps: Don’t underestimate the value of 90-degree corner clamps. These indispensable tools are crucial for keeping your cabinet parts perfectly square during the securing process, preventing frustrating misalignments and ensuring a professional-looking build. They are a small investment for a big improvement in accuracy.
3. Achieving Smooth Plywood Edges: You can achieve a surprisingly clean and smooth finish on plywood edges without the need for edge banding. My guide on how to paint plywood edges provides detailed steps. The technique involves proper sanding and priming, which prepares the edge to absorb paint evenly, resulting in a sleek, finished look that rivals more complex methods. (While I didn’t use MDF for these cabinets, the same principles apply if you’re painting MDF edges.)
4. Pre-Assembly Priming and Painting: For a faster and more efficient finishing process, it’s often easier to prime and paint your cabinet parts before assembly. This allows for full coverage without tight corners or awkward angles. If you plan to use wood glue for any joints, apply glue directly to unpainted wood for the strongest bond. However, wood glue generally adheres well to primed surfaces, so pre-priming is almost always a beneficial step. For areas that won’t see wood glue, feel free to pre-paint entirely!

Design Alternatives and Key Considerations for Your Systainer Cabinets

Throughout the build, I found opportunities to refine the design, especially when constructing multiple units. One significant modification involved the cabinet tops. My initial design used full top pieces, but I later transitioned to using just two cleats. This change allowed me to maximize my material usage, which was particularly important at the time. Since a continuous countertop would eventually sit atop the entire bank of cabinets, full individual tops weren’t structurally necessary. This simple alteration saved material without compromising the overall integrity or functionality of the workshop storage system.

The cabinet back also offers several customization options. Instead of a full back panel, which would require more material, I opted for a minimalist approach. I secured cleats inside the cabinet using pocket holes, creating a sturdy mounting point. To hang the cabinets effectively, I then attached a French cleat to these interior cleats. This French cleat system provides strong, adjustable support and is a fantastic choice for workshop cabinets, offering flexibility for future rearrangement.

Each cabinet is designed with a center divider, creating two distinct columns for drawers. This double-column configuration is highly efficient, maximizing storage within a manageable footprint. While single-column cabinets are an option, they would be less material-efficient. Conversely, building a triple-column cabinet, though tempting for maximizing space, would likely make the units too large and cumbersome to handle easily during construction and installation. I found the double-column design to be the optimal balance of capacity and portability for a DIY workshop project of this scale.

Precisely Sizing the Cabinets for Optimal Drawer Functionality

Accurate sizing is paramount for a smooth-functioning Systainer storage system. I meticulously calculated the dimensions to ensure perfect fit and easy access.

Determining the Ideal Drawer Width

When planning the cabinet openings, I considered several critical factors to achieve the perfect width for each Systainer drawer. The primary components were the 1/2″ thick drawer slides, the 1/2″ thick plywood material used for the drawers themselves, and the standard 15 5/8″ width of a Festool Systainer. Crucially, I incorporated a slight amount of “wiggle room” into the final dimension. This small allowance prevents the Systainers from fitting too tightly, ensuring effortless insertion and removal while still providing a snug, secure fit. This attention to detail in width calculation prevents frustrating snags and improves the overall user experience.

Optimizing Drawer Depth for Tool Access

The depth of the drawers was another critical design element, driven by the desire to access tools without fully removing the Systainer from its drawer. After careful measurement and testing, I determined that 14″ full-extension drawer slides would provide sufficient pull-out distance for this functionality. This means when the drawer is fully extended, the Systainer lid can open completely, allowing you to comfortably retrieve your tools. To accommodate a recessed false drawer front and ensure a clean, flush appearance when closed, I made the cabinets 14 1/2″ deep. This extra half-inch perfectly conceals the 1/2″ MDF false fronts, integrating them seamlessly into the overall cabinet design and enhancing the aesthetic of your workshop storage.

Constructing the Systainer DRAWERS

Similar to the cabinets, I adopted the simplest and most efficient construction method for the drawers. Utilizing 1/2″ plywood, each drawer was assembled with wood glue and secured with nails. This approach ensures a sturdy, reliable drawer box that can withstand the weight of your Festool tools without unnecessary complexity, allowing for rapid production of multiple drawers—a necessity for a comprehensive workshop organization system.

Before moving on to assembly, I took a crucial, time-saving step: sanding down all the sharp edges of the plywood pieces. This is significantly easier and faster to do when the pieces are flat and separated, rather than trying to sand inside a fully assembled drawer. Pre-sanding not only results in a smoother, more professional finish but also enhances safety by removing splinters and sharp points, making the final product much more pleasant to handle.

Testing and Iterating the Drawer Installation

Once the initial batch of drawers was built, I embarked on a testing phase to fine-tune the installation. My first cabinet incorporated shelf pin holes, a seemingly brilliant idea that would allow for adjustable drawer placement as my Festool collection expanded. However, this proved to be more complex than anticipated; despite careful planning, the pre-drilled holes didn’t align precisely with where the drawer slides needed to be. The time required for accurate drilling and potential adjustments quickly led me to abandon this method. Instead, I found that simply installing the drawer slides with standard screws was much faster and equally effective, solidifying my decision not to pre-drill shelf pin holes in subsequent cabinets.

I resisted the urge to fully configure all drawers until all cabinets were constructed and securely mounted. My initial focus was on building just enough drawers to conduct a critical test: could I easily open a Systainer lid and retrieve a tool while the Systainer remained in the extended drawer? This proof-of-concept was vital. Once satisfied with the functionality of these initial cabinets and drawers, I ramped up production, building two more double cabinets and what felt like a “gazillion” additional drawers to complete the workshop organization system. This iterative approach allowed me to validate the design before committing to a full-scale build.

Implementing a Robust French Cleat Hanging System

My workshop layout evolved during this project. Initially, I planned to install these custom cabinets on a base along one wall. However, due to a change of heart (the exact reason now lost to memory), I decided to hang them on a different wall instead. This shift necessitated a robust hanging solution, leading me to implement a French cleat system. I attached a French cleat at the top of each cabinet for secure hanging, and then added small blocking pieces at the bottom. This bottom blocking, rather than a full second cleat, allowed me to conserve lumber – a practical consideration, especially during the “shelter in place” period of CV19, when material acquisition was more challenging and I aimed to use only what was absolutely necessary.

Dealing with an older workshop often means confronting “wonky” walls. My chosen wall was no exception, presenting significant inconsistencies. To ensure the wall cleat was perfectly flat and provided stable support for the cabinets, extensive shimming was required. This meticulous attention to detail during installation is crucial for creating a level and secure storage system, regardless of the imperfections of your existing structure.

Refining Drawer Design: Eliminating Wasted Space and Enhancing Functionality

My initial batch of drawers, built to a depth of 14″ to match the full-extension slides, presented an unexpected challenge: the Systainers would slide back and forth within the drawer, creating wasted space and potentially hindering smooth operation. My temporary solution involved adding a couple of MDF scraps behind each Systainer to keep them pushed to the front of the drawer. This provided the necessary 2″ (or so) gap at the front, allowing the Systainer lid to remain open when the drawer was pulled out. While functional, it wasn’t the most elegant solution.

After this valuable learning experience, I decided to scrap that wasted space altogether in my subsequent drawer builds. By optimizing the drawer depth, I eliminated the need for additional blocking pieces, which not only saved material but also simplified the construction process. More importantly, the revised design offers a significantly cleaner and more professional aesthetic, ensuring your Festool Systainers are perfectly positioned and easily accessible every time. This refinement exemplifies how iterative design can lead to truly superior workshop organization solutions.

For the drawer fronts, I opted for 1/2″ MDF, which provides a smooth, paintable surface. These fronts were attached using the same reliable method I use for regular cabinet drawer fronts, ensuring a professional and consistent appearance across the entire storage system. This tried-and-true technique guarantees secure attachment and easy alignment, contributing to the overall high-quality finish of your workshop upgrade.

Perhaps the most challenging, yet ultimately rewarding, aspect of this entire workshop organization project was configuring the tool layout within the drawers. I spent considerable time moving and rearranging drawers, striving to group “like” tools together while simultaneously maximizing every inch of available space inside the cabinets. While I didn’t quite manage to house every single one of my Festool Systainers in this initial build, requiring plans for a few more cabinets above these, the current setup represents a monumental improvement. No more laborious unstacking of Systainers against the wall; now, each tool is instantly accessible, streamlining my workflow and significantly enhancing workshop efficiency.

The days of moving one Systainer just to get to another are officially over. With this custom workshop storage solution, I simply pull open a drawer, flip open the lid of the required plastic box, and access my tool – effortlessly. This level of organization is invaluable for any serious woodworker or DIY enthusiast.

Unlock Your Workshop Potential: Free Downloadable Plans!

Ready to transform your workshop with this ultimate Festool Systainer storage system? To provide you with even greater detail than the small photos within this post can convey, I’ve prepared full-sheet PDF downloads for both the cabinet and drawer plans. These comprehensive resources will guide you through every step of building your own custom organization solution.

Important Note: What you see below is exactly what you get. The included downloads are simply the detailed, full-sheet drawings that are previewed here, offering precise measurements and construction details.

Systainer Storage CABINETS Plans

DRAWERS for Systainers Plans