I hope this is the correct place to discuss, dont want post in kopitiam as too many trolls. If its not the correct place, please consider move instead of delete(30-60 mins of work)

I plan to make a cabinet, design to squeeze it under a table, against a wall, this is my design, not experienced in doing such things so i hope u guys can give some advice or spot possible problems in the design.

I have wood work experience, so need not to worry if i able to make it or not, i have enough tools(circular saw, drill, wood glue, etc), but might not have enough experience in choosing the correct material(like what type of paint, what type of wood, where to source them etc).

Please comment / give suggestions / spot mistakes

cabinet design :


2 piece of plywood, with plan on how to cut (blue line is split of 1st and 2nd piece of plywood)


Mapping :
Left = 10, 11, 12, 13
Right = 20, 21, 22, 23
Center x 2 (2 piece of center, glue together) = 30, 31, 32, 33
Back = 10, 12, 20, 22 (should be touching the wall)
Top = 40, 41, 42, 43
Bottom = 12, 13, 22, 23
1-8 = drawers bottom (should be smaller in size, will cut according to rail thickness)
point 10, 11, 20, 21 should be touching bottom of the table, so if all drawers pull out, will not collapse.

Drawer material :



Balau wood pieces will be used for drawers(side), each of them will be cut into half

Drawers should be 1.5 feet depth, 2 feet wide(slightly reduced according to rail thickness), about 4 inch tall, but placement of drawers will depends

Please let me know if there are potential problem, or design issues, thanks.

What I can see - I don't know your design and your tolerance to fit and finish, so this is just what I would do different if I were doing this cabinet (Actually I build my own cabinets at home)
1. You will need to edge the exposed edges of the plywood, so review your dimensions based on the thickness of your edging. See this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7R6x67CyS0
2. Drawer depth 1.5' = 18" = 457 mm. But the depth of your cabinet is 450 mm.
3. Your Top and Bottom pieces of plywood has the grain running perpendicular to the front, not parallel.

My own advice - feel free to ignore if you have already thought of this
1. Check the grain direction of all the pieces.
2. The drawer rails are 1/2 inch each, so the drawer is 1" less wide than the cabinet space.
3. The back piece touches the wall - a bit of space is better, unless you are absolutely sure the wall is plumb, vertical, straight and flat.
4. I would make everything slightly loose fit, and then shim it back for a tight fit. You may have good results if you use adjustable feet for the cabinet to raise it to meet the bottom of the table.
5. Have you taken into account the wood thickness and the saw blade kerf?

what do you mean by "grain direction" and "The drawer rails are 1/2 inch each" ?

should have some extra, as 4' = 121.92cm(i assume 120), extra 1.92 cm for inaccuracy or the blade

all the small adjustments will be done mainly on the drawers, the cabinet need to be done first, make sure all 90 degree, "rectangle enough", then install rail, and calculate the drawer size, maybe a tiny bit smaller, then add washers if needed.

as for the adjustment feet, i have no plan for that, will squeeze things to force it nicely fit if needed, not really that important, i just dont want the whole thing to collapse when heavy drawer open, worse case, mount to the wall.

If you don't know grain direction, then don't worry about it. Plywood is typically strong in any direction, it is just conventional aesthetics to have the long grain parallel to the edge. In other words, it is only for the looks.

Drawer rails are typically ½ inch wide (0.5", 12.7 mm) You make your drawers 1" (25.4 mm) less wide than the cabinet, so that you can mount the slide on each side of the drawer.

As for everything else in your post? Sure, go ahead. I personally wouldn't custom build something, and then force it into position, but that's just me.

Balau for sides..uh.. it doesn't really come nice and flat (warping problem).. maybe upgrade cengal or meranti instead?

i tot balau is 1 of the strongest wood u can get in malaysia ? i used it to make a table, and guess what, its so strong that my cordless drill doesnt drill through 2" thick.

Its super strong for its price, but the actual stock is not perfectly flat although it said S4S grade

what S4S grade means ? please give some tutor ?

Squared 4 sides. Supposedly nice and perfect, but not. I think due to the wood drying out AFTER they cut and make it S4S.

so i need to buy extras, those not straight 1 just use for other purposes ?

hopefully u get those gooding one, where they age it first for awhile THEN only cut, those cun.