How to Make a Pantry Cabinet With Slide Drawers

Keep clutter off counters and streamline your kitchen with pull-out shelves

Keep food and ingredients within reach by making a pantry with roll-out shelves. A handy organizer that will make life in the kitchen much easier, roll-out shelves not only let you see everything you have in stock, but they allow you to access all the jars, boxes and cans that may have gone unnoticed on stationery shelves. An easy way to start on your road to kitchen organization is to purchase a ready-made kitchen pantry cabinet, then make and install your roll-out shelves.

Things You'll Need

• Ready-made kitchen cabinet
• Safety glasses
• Mask
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Square
• Power miter saw
• Circular saw
• Drill driver with Phillips head
• 3/4-inch birch plywood
• Drawer slides (1 pair for each shelf)
• Combination countersink bit
• Wood screws
• Wood glue
• 1/2-inch spade bit
• Pneumatic nail gun and nails (if nailing instead of screwing)
• Bar clamp
• 1/2-inch-diameter birch wood buttons
• Fine-grit sandpaper
• Tack cloth
• Clear-coat lacquer spray finish
• Shims

Instructions

Measuring and Cutting

1. Make spacers for the sides of the pantry by placing a drawer slide with the inner rail extended close to the door hinge (but not touching it) and measuring the space between the side of the pantry and the back of the drawer slide. Cut the spacers from the plywood so they fit the space and the length of the drawer slide when not extended (you'll be mounting the drawer slides to the spacers). Place the spacers against the two sides of the pantry. Remove them after taking the measurement. Use these same measurements for all the spacers you'll make for pull-out shelves you're installing in the pantry.

2. Measure your pantry's depth (use the length of the drawer slides when not extended) and width (from one spacer to the other).

3. Cut the shelf bottom out of birch plywood after subtracting 1 1/2 inches from the depth and from the width. Subtract from the depth and width to allow for adding shelf sides, back and front. Use a circular saw to make the cut.

4. Cut the shelf sides the same length as the bottom of the shelf; the front and back pieces should be 1 1/2 inches longer than the bottom--this allows them to cover the back edges. The height can range from 3 to 6 inches tall, depending on how tall you want the shelf sides to be. The side, back and front pieces will keep your items from sliding off the shelf as you pull the shelf out. Use a miter saw to make the cuts.

Shelf Construction

1. Clamp the side and bottom edges together, making the bottom of the side pieces flush with the bottom shelf piece.

2. Drill pilot holes through the side piece edges and bottom piece edge, using the countersink bit. Pilot holes should be made every 8 inches. Drill pilot holes through the back piece where it overlaps with the side piece. You can also nail the sides and bottom together by using a pneumatic nail gun if you want to skip all the drilling. Using wood screws instead of nails will make your shelf more durable.

3. Fasten the sides of the shelf to the bottom of the shelf using wood screws or nails. Remove the clamp and put wood glue in each pilot hole before screwing in the screws. You now have the bottom and sides of the shelf assembled.

4. Drill 1/4-inch counter-bore holes in the bottom piece and at the ends of the back pieces using your spade bit. Drill 1/4-inch-deep holes every 8 inches. Insert nails in same intervals using the pneumatic nail gun if you've opted to nail rather than use screws. Your piece now looks like a flat surface with a wooden U around it.

5. Attach the front piece to the left and right side pieces and to the edge of the bottom piece. Drill pilot holes through the counter-bore holes after clamping the front piece to the assembled shelf. The holes should go through the side edges of the front piece to the front edges of the side pieces, and through the bottom edge of the front piece to the bottom edge of the bottom piece. Remove the clamp, add wood glue to the holes and attach using wood screws. If nailing, insert using a pneumatic nail gun. You can cover the screw heads by gluing wood buttons in the counter-bore holes after screwing in the screws. Your completed shelf looks like a shallow box without a top.

Finishing and Installing

1. Sand the shelf and remove the dust with a tack cloth. Spray on a thin coat of lacquer, making sure you are wearing a mask and safety glasses and are outdoors. Let the lacquer dry about 30 minutes, then sand lightly. Wipe the dust off with a tack cloth, and then spray on a second coat of lacquer.

2. Place the spacers. Put shims under the spacer to raise it off the bottom of the pantry, and screw the spacer into the pantry with 1 1/4-inch wood screws. Measure up from the bottom spacer to the desired area of placement for your next shelf and mark it with a pencil. Measure and mark both sides, for as many shelves as you're installing. Attach the spacers into the pantry with 1 1/4-inch wood screws.

3. Place the drawer slide hardware against the spacer and on top of the shim, and screw the drawer slide to the spacer using the screws provided with the slide. Repeat for the other side of the cabinet. Install the upper drawer slides to each spacer for all the shelves you are installing, making sure the right slide goes on the right side and the left slide is installed on the left side. The slides are usually marked, L and R.

4. Attach the sliding rail (remove this from the drawer slide) by aligning the rail with the side of the shelf. The end of the rail should be flush with the shelf front and 1/4 inch from the bottom of the shelf (follow the instructions that came with the drawer slide). Fasten the rail to the shelf using the provided screws. Repeat for the other side. Repeat this step for all shelves.

5. Install the bottom shelf after removing the shims and vacuuming out the dust. Make sure the drawer slides are closed, and then align the sliding rail on the sides of the shelf with the drawer slide on the side of the pantry. Push the shelf into the pantry, then pull and push a couple of times to make sure it works. Repeat for all shelves.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also make sloping sides if you want to store tall items on the back of the shelf and short items toward the front.

• Clamp the plywood to the cutting surface, with the edge you're going to cut hanging over the cutting-surface edge. Use a square to ensure a straight cut.

• Using ball-bearing slides may be more expensive, but they extend fully so you'll be able to access everything in the drawer.

• Always wear safety glasses when making cuts in wood.

• Wear a mask when sanding or using spray lacquer.

References

• This Old House: "How to Install a Pull-out Kitchen Shelf"
• "The Family Handyman"; I Love Kitchen Rollouts; Elisa Bernick; June 2010

Resources

• Kitchen Cabinet Depot: Kitchen Cabinets