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Fitted tray rack for kitchen cabinet

JustJim
Having an Impact

Fitted tray rack for kitchen cabinet

 

20190330-_5008029-Dividers fitted.jpgWhen it came time to knock up a batch of Hot Cross Buns the other day, I thought I had the perfect tray to bake them in, but after half an hour or so of rattling and banging around in the kitchen cabinets (as well as a few naughty words, I'm sorry to say), it turned out that I did not have such a tray as I envisaged.

 

What I did have was a storage problem with my baking trays as well as cooling racks, pot lids, muffin trays and roasting pans.

 

Time to do something about that.

 

20190325-_5008015-TraysOnBench.jpg

I thought that I could save a bunch of space if I stored more of the flat items standing up on their long edge between some vertical dividers.

 

 

The lower of these two shelves seemed ideal.The lower of these two shelves seemed ideal.

Measurements were taken and rough plans drawn up.

 

I cut two pieces of 17mm plywood to fit and then with the blade of my table saw set to 6mm in height each piece was passed through once and the fence moved 53mm further from the blade so that the 3mm plywood dividers would set up 50mm gaps (except for the final cut).

 

 

20190325-_5008018-Sanded.jpg

A quick test fit for the base and top showed that all was good.

 

 

20190325-_5008020-TestFit.jpg

Right. A good sanding then a coat of undercoat and two of a matte white. A light sanding between coats and, and this is important, after each coat and while the paint was still wet, I pushed an offcut of 3mm plywood through each of the grooves and wiped off any paint that was dragged out. This stopped the grooves from getting smaller and smaller with each coat of paint.

 

A few days later and we were ready for fitting.

 

 

I put the base part in place and using three batons I had cut to a calculated length (original gap  minus two thicknesses of plywood minus a teensy fudge factor), I held the top piece in position to check on the fit and to actually measure, in situ, the height of the dividers. Also note the small rebate that I routed out to fit around the magnetic catch for one door and the spring catch of the other.

 

20190330-_5008024-Painted test fit.jpg

So with a couple of dividers in place to ensure the vertical alignment of the slots, a few brad nails locked the top and bottom pieces in place. No glue, in case I ever want to move this rack to another position. The brads were mainly to stop the upper and lower pieces from moving side to side and becoming misaligned. The top is mostly held in place by the rest of the dividers.

 

 

20190330-_5008028-Nailed in place.jpg

Then I batched out a bunch of dividers on the table saw, used a jigsaw to cut a half circle in one end and gave all the edges a good sanding and the top and bottom edge got a rub with a cake of soap for lubrication.

 

Pick a slot, slide in a divider and we're just about done.

 

 

20190330-_5008029-Dividers fitted.jpg

Rack 'em and stack 'em and we are actually done with this project.

 

20190330-_5008033-Frnished rack.jpg

What do you think, is it something that would help out with storage in your kitchen? Do you have any questions? Please leave a comment and I'll get back to you as quick as I can.

 

There might even be a home made quasi-religious fruit bun in it for you!

 

 

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns. Fresh out the oven.One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns. Fresh out the oven.

After all that, I did get a new deep baking pan for them!

 

 

Stay safe,
Join your union,

Jim
Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Fitted tray rack for kitchen cabinet

Love this one @JustJim. Many thanks for sharing. I'm sure loads of members and visitors alike will be really inspired by your work.

 

Jason

 

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TedBear
Kind of a Big Deal

Re: Fitted tray rack for kitchen cabinet

Gotta love this solution! 

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