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Pullout Drawers on L-Girder Benchwork

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  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 2:05 PM

graystork
Putting in my power packs and I want to use a sliding drawer system on L girder benchwork  that's attached and parallel to the wall.

 

I used L girders.  I built a drawer attached to the girder.  There are no switch machines above it, but there are wires above the drawer.  If I need to access the underside of the layout, I remove the drawer.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 1:55 PM

hon30critter
The permanent drawers may make getting under the layout in that area rather difficult.

There is 10" of room from the underside of the layout, to the top of that first drawer.  What you see above the top drawer comes off, and right above it, the panel for the signal switches, also slides out.  The bus runs across the top of it all, attached to the underside of the layout.  Just a bus, no feeders are in that location.

Mike.

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 12:57 PM

hon30critter
Inevitably you will have to get underneath the layout (Murphy's Law). The permanent drawers may make getting under the layout in that area rather difficult.

At the Scale Rails of Southwest Florida N scale layout we built in the 1990s, we put a 36 inch drawer section under the yard. There were no switch machines, wire terminal blocks, or mechanical items above it, so we thought it was ok.

Then a riser cracked... guess where?

Murphy... I can't stand that guy.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted by BigDaddy on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 7:40 AM

Dr Wayne has build sliding doors beneath his layout.  He will be here quicker than I can find a link to his layout.  Stay tuned.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 5:51 AM

Hi graystork,

Welcome to the forums!!             Welcome

I would offer one caution regarding putting permanent drawers under the benchwork. Inevitably you will have to get underneath the layout (Murphy's Law). The permanent drawers may make getting under the layout in that area rather difficult. I would consider something that can be more easily moved aside. Maybe build a small rolling cabinet on which you can mount your controls, and leave a long enough wiring harness that will allow it to be moved a couple of feet out of the way.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 10:25 PM

This area

under my layout was an open space.  I just added sides, and made the drawers.  No big deal.  

Maybe you can find a plastic drawer set up that will fit under your layout, you know, the Tupperware kind of stuff at WalMart.

If not, plan it out, add the sides to support the drawer hardware, and build the drawers.

Mike.

  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 6 posts
Pullout Drawers on L-Girder Benchwork
Posted by graystork on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 8:53 PM

Putting in my power packs and I want to use a sliding drawer system on L girder benchwork  that's attached and parallel to the wall. I have the slides and two drawers from an old entertainment unit that I cannibalized. My question is what is the best way to put in some drawers underneath L girders. All the drawer installation videos I've seen assume you have cabinet walls to mount the slides on, but there's nothing underneath my two L girders. My thought is to drop four risers (are they risers if they're going down?) from the joists, brace them up and secure the slides to them. Has anybody done this or have some other relatively simple way to install drawers under L girder benchwork?

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