Home Made Pull Out Draw for 3 Seat Bench Beach

[mike5im5]

I'm not sure if there is a proper guides section so mods please move if this is posted in the wrong place. However, a few members have asked me for the dimensions of the drawer I built and I didn't want to hijack the other thread so I've jotted down some details. Apologies for the lack of measurements but I built it with trial and error so I don't have them all here. I can go back and measure and add anything I've missed at a later date.

I'm no DIY guru so I'd say most people could attempt this with a bit of know how and the right tools. I haven't included price for parts as these change daily, however I calculated at time of build I spend £91 on parts plus what I already had (nuts/bolts/rivets etc). The biggest cost was the pair of heavy duty rails at £49.

Parts:

• 4 x 1.2m 32x32 aluminium angle (1.7mm thick)
• 2 x heavy duty sliders
• 1 x 1.0m 50x50 aluminium angle (3mm thick)
• 2 x Fixing bolts for multi-flex rail
• Plywood or some other strong sheet material for the drawer base
• Nuts, bolts, rivets and screws

Tools:

I completed everything with a decent hacksaw, mitre block, tape measure, drill and rivet gun. If you've got a mitre saw that would speed things up and create cleaner cuts.

Frame:

Cut two 32x32 aluminium angles down to 730mm for the sides.

For the other leave the full length and from ~89.5mm inside each edge cut out two 90degree corners (leaving the 104cm inside measurement) for the front and back.



Now bend the end inwards to create the corners.



Do this carefully and you'll end up with a need corner without any sharp edges. I used a few clamps to help me bend it neatly:





Assemble the frame by putting 2 rivets on the bottom and 2 on the sides. Use more if you feel it needs it.







Finally, fit the plywood board (or suitable alternative) to the frame. I drilled holes in the frame and screwed up into the base. For a stronger fix (or if you have used thinner board to sheet metal) you can rivet this together. This should make the whole things pretty stable.



Brackets and fitting:

Finally to make the brackets I cut the 50x50 aluminium angle in half and cut 2 sections out of each.



The three holes on the side fix to the slider with bolts. A single hole at the back fixes to the multi-flex rail (with the rail bolt) and the tab slides under the multi-flex (you'll see a gap once you loosen this and lift up).

 

[mike5im5]

 

[calikev]

can the multiflex board move back and forward

 

[mike5im5]

can the multiflex board move back and forward

I guess so if you make the bracket at the back a bit shorter. The 50x50 bracket is 3mm thick so pretty strong. It'll hold nicely still.

 

[Nick&Sara]

View attachment 61956

View attachment 61957

View attachment 61958

Nice job Mike, looks very good indeed.

 

[Dave bee]

Job well done Mike. I’ve just ordered the runners and aluminium so expect plenty of questions once they arrive. Good lockdown project for me.
Thanks, Dave

 

[mike5im5]

Job well done Mike. I’ve just ordered the runners and aluminium so expect plenty of questions once they arrive. Good lockdown project for me.
Thanks, Dave

great to hear! I forgot to mention my drawer is a very snug fit. You might want to reduce width by a mm or two to be safe.

 

[Dave bee]

Will do thanks

 

[Camperfamily]

Great job Mike. And super helpful to upload your materials and method for others to have a go!

 

[LEE D-HODSON]

Bloody ace, well done you!

 

[Dave bee]

Mike , all the bits have arrived and I hopefully will find time to start the build this weekend. Just looking over your instructions again. You say cut the 50x50 in half to make the brackets, did you use two brackets on each side and double them up for strength? Thanks again for the instructions I wouldn’t be trying to do it without. Dave

 

[Rowls1958]

I'm not sure if there is a proper guides section so mods please move if this is posted in the wrong place. However, a few members have asked me for the dimensions of the drawer I built and I didn't want to hijack the other thread so I've jotted down some details. Apologies for the lack of measurements but I built it with trial and error so I don't have them all here. I can go back and measure and add anything I've missed at a later date.

I'm no DIY guru so I'd say most people could attempt this with a bit of know how and the right tools. I haven't included price for parts as these change daily, however I calculated at time of build I spend £91 on parts plus what I already had (nuts/bolts/rivets etc). The biggest cost was the pair of heavy duty rails at £49.

Parts:

• 4 x 1.2m 32x32 aluminium angle (1.7mm thick)
• 2 x heavy duty sliders
• 1 x 1.0m 50x50 aluminium angle (3mm thick)
• 2 x Fixing bolts for multi-flex rail
• Plywood or some other strong sheet material for the drawer base
• Nuts, bolts, rivets and screws

Tools:

I completed everything with a decent hacksaw, mitre block, tape measure, drill and rivet gun. If you've got a mitre saw that would speed things up and create cleaner cuts.

Frame:

Cut two 32x32 aluminium angles down to 730mm for the sides.

For the other leave the full length and from ~89.5mm inside each edge cut out two 90degree corners (leaving the 104cm inside measurement) for the front and back.

View attachment 61939

Now bend the end inwards to create the corners.

View attachment 61940

Do this carefully and you'll end up with a need corner without any sharp edges. I used a few clamps to help me bend it neatly:

View attachment 61943

View attachment 61944

Assemble the frame by putting 2 rivets on the bottom and 2 on the sides. Use more if you feel it needs it.

View attachment 61945

View attachment 61966

View attachment 61947

Finally, fit the plywood board (or suitable alternative) to the frame. I drilled holes in the frame and screwed up into the base. For a stronger fix (or if you have used thinner board to sheet metal) you can rivet this together. This should make the whole things pretty stable.

View attachment 61948

Brackets and fitting:

Finally to make the brackets I cut the 50x50 aluminium angle in half and cut 2 sections out of each.

View attachment 61950

The three holes on the side fix to the slider with bolts. A single hole at the back fixes to the multi-flex rail (with the rail bolt) and the tab slides under the multi-flex (you'll see a gap once you loosen this and lift up).

View attachment 61951

Good to see your wearing steel toecap boots, can never be too carefull.......

 

[mike5im5]

Mike , all the bits have arrived and I hopefully will find time to start the build this weekend. Just looking over your instructions again. You say cut the 50x50 in half to make the brackets, did you use two brackets on each side and double them up for strength? Thanks again for the instructions I wouldn’t be trying to do it without. Dave

The 50x50 I got was already thicker at 3mm. So strong enough without needing to double up.

 

[mike5im5]

Good to see your wearing steel toecap boots, can never be too carefull.......

lol we were in the middle of a heat wave and I think I was slipping the shoes off while in the garden.

 

[Dave bee]

Thanks for that

 

[California4x4]

I'm not sure if there is a proper guides section so mods please move if this is posted in the wrong place. However, a few members have asked me for the dimensions of the drawer I built and I didn't want to hijack the other thread so I've jotted down some details. Apologies for the lack of measurements but I built it with trial and error so I don't have them all here. I can go back and measure and add anything I've missed at a later date.

I'm no DIY guru so I'd say most people could attempt this with a bit of know how and the right tools. I haven't included price for parts as these change daily, however I calculated at time of build I spend £91 on parts plus what I already had (nuts/bolts/rivets etc). The biggest cost was the pair of heavy duty rails at £49.

Parts:

• 4 x 1.2m 32x32 aluminium angle (1.7mm thick)
• 2 x heavy duty sliders
• 1 x 1.0m 50x50 aluminium angle (3mm thick)
• 2 x Fixing bolts for multi-flex rail
• Plywood or some other strong sheet material for the drawer base
• Nuts, bolts, rivets and screws

Tools:

I completed everything with a decent hacksaw, mitre block, tape measure, drill and rivet gun. If you've got a mitre saw that would speed things up and create cleaner cuts.

Frame:

Cut two 32x32 aluminium angles down to 730mm for the sides.

For the other leave the full length and from ~89.5mm inside each edge cut out two 90degree corners (leaving the 104cm inside measurement) for the front and back.

View attachment 61939

Now bend the end inwards to create the corners.

View attachment 61940

Do this carefully and you'll end up with a need corner without any sharp edges. I used a few clamps to help me bend it neatly:

View attachment 61943

View attachment 61944

Assemble the frame by putting 2 rivets on the bottom and 2 on the sides. Use more if you feel it needs it.

View attachment 61945

View attachment 61966

View attachment 61947

Finally, fit the plywood board (or suitable alternative) to the frame. I drilled holes in the frame and screwed up into the base. For a stronger fix (or if you have used thinner board to sheet metal) you can rivet this together. This should make the whole things pretty stable.

View attachment 61948

Brackets and fitting:

Finally to make the brackets I cut the 50x50 aluminium angle in half and cut 2 sections out of each.

View attachment 61950

The three holes on the side fix to the slider with bolts. A single hole at the back fixes to the multi-flex rail (with the rail bolt) and the tab slides under the multi-flex (you'll see a gap once you loosen this and lift up).

View attachment 61951

Good work! That’s a good price for the drawer slides, where did you find them please?

 

[mike5im5]

Good work! That’s a good price for the drawer slides, where did you find them please?

Amazon. Think one of the other guys posted a link

 

[daveg54]

Mike, you've inspired me to make the same for my Beach. The instructions and photos are a great help however I do have one question.

What size nuts and bolts did you use to:
a) connect the drawer to the runners, and
b) the runners to the fixing bracket on the multiplex board?

 

[Shuftie]

Thanks so much for putting this thread together Mike. I'd been looking at these CaliDrawers for ages, but they seemed so expensive - your post showed me that doesn't have to be the case.

I used your bill of materials as a starting point, and the directions you've provided to build my own with help from my very handy father in law ;-)

The raw materials, I managed to order most of it cut to the sizes Mike specified direct from the supplier. I used 5mm angle for the bracket to fix the drawer to the vehicle as it was all I could get; this did end up causing a few problems later on.


Cutting the angle prior to bending. A hand grinder was used. This is the raw cut, before filing.


Bending the angle - bench vise and wide, flat jaws for metal bending helped a lot!


All the metal cut and bent, ready to be riveted together. Take your time on this part, try to get the frame as square as possible.


With the frame riveted, a 10mm plywood base was cut to size and attached with screws.



I ordered a 1mm aluminum sheet to cover the plywood base, to make it more hardwearing, and give me the option of using it for a pull out kitchen work surface. It was attached to the ply with plenty of spray glue!


Attaching the rails. Because of the way the frame was built, with the short sides on the inside of the corner bend, it was necessary to pop 2mm's worth of washers under the rail to keep it from bending toward the frame as it was attached. Very fiddly!


Cutting the brackets to attach the drawer to the van. Handy tip here is to drill the angle back to back in the vise so you end up with the holes in exactly the same places both sides. It's a timesaver too!


When cutting the hole for the fixing bolt, it's useful to make it a slot, to give you some horizontal adjustment when it comes to fitting.


Guess I need a follow-on post to finish this off ;-)

 

[Shuftie]

When cutting the slot in the fixing bracket, make sure that you take out enough material to allow the 'V' pegs of the multi-flex board legs to locate in the floor rails correctly. This is where the 5mm tick angle caused problems. I'd say Mikes original spec of 3mm angle is spot on.


'V pegs' shown toward bottom of the picture.


The finished article! I'm chuffed!


Once again, thanks for the inspiration Mike!

 

[Phil P]

Good job
what do you think of the be multiflex board compared to the kits on eBay.
cheers

 

[ThomasHJ]

When I build mine (for an ocean) I ordered the aluminum parts cut to size and pop-rivetted them together. No need to cut and bend the aluminium at all.

The tutorial is in the VIP-section, but you can also read it here.