Rolling shelves- Sliding shelves for kitchen cabinets using dovetail construction for the do-it yourself customer

Ron's first step was to remove the doors and the narrow half-shelf that was nailed into the cabinet. He then took out the drawers so he would have better lighting visibility while he worked.

He held it in place with a few clamps while he secured it from the inside with screws.

The shelving system required four support posts or pilasters for each pair of sliding shelves. Ron attached the first one to the side of the cabinet in the front.

Next, Ron snapped two drawer glides into the slots on the rear support post, set the whole assembly in place, and then snapped the opposite ends of the glides into the corresponding slots on the front support post. This would ensure that everything was in alignment so he could screw in the rear supports.

The first step was to cut the front and back of the shelf to length, based on the size of cabinet opening. Ron trimmed the bottom shelf to the same dimension.

To assemble the sliding shelf, Ron brushed glue on the dovetails, pushed the parts together, and then tapped them into position. With the frame complete, Ron applied glue to the edges and set the bottom in place. He then secured the bottom to the frame with screws.

The rolling shelves installed in seconds and could be easily repositioned to accommodate whatever he wished to store on them.

All that was left was to remount the cabinet doors. Ron attached the frame section he removed earlier to the backside of the left door. When closed, the cabinet doors looked exactly the same as before.

And, if Ron ever wants to change the shelf position, all he has to do is unhook the door glide, reposition it, and then snap it back in place.


	Although Ron had done a lot of work to make his kitchen more convenient, when it came to the things stored in the base cabinets, he and his wife had to practically get down on their knees to see what was inside. And if they saw something they wanted in the back of the cabinet, they would have to first unload the items in the front. Ron knew there had to be a better way, so he went online and found a product called Quik Tray. The manufacturer claimed the product was easy to install, and could be custom fit into just about any opening and offered adjustable shelf spacing.

Ron's first step was to remove the doors and the narrow half-shelf that was nailed into the cabinet. He then took out the drawers so he would have better lighting visibility while he worked.
The base cabinet had previously been set up with five rather narrow individual doors and at first he was going to put in five sets of pull out shelves. But then he realized that each one of those shelves would be so narrow that they would not be able to put larger objects on it. So he decided to remove two of the vertical space frames, which would leave him with two wider pull-out shelves and just one set of narrow shelves in the center.
	Due to the weight of Ron's granite countertop, he decided to add a reinforcement strip, before removing the vertical supports. Ron applied glue to a strip of oak, and then slipped the piece of wood up behind the rail that formed the top of the cabinet opening.
He held it in place with a few clamps while he secured it from the inside with screws.
	With the reinforcing strip in place, he used a Japanese handsaw to cut away the vertical face frame section. Ron was careful not to damage the vertical face frames so he could reuse them.
The shelving system required four support posts or pilasters for each pair of sliding shelves. Ron attached the first one to the side of the cabinet in the front.
	On the left side there was no cabinet wall, so Ron installed a partition and then attached the left front support post to it. He also created a partition in the rear of the cabinet to make up for the non-existent wall.
Next, Ron snapped two drawer glides into the slots on the rear support post, set the whole assembly in place, and then snapped the opposite ends of the glides into the corresponding slots on the front support post. This would ensure that everything was in alignment so he could screw in the rear supports.
Ron repeated the process with the left side of the cabinet, completing the base cabinet preparation.
	The shelf kit consisted of a front, a back, two sides, a bottom and some glides. The interesting thing about this kit is that it can be sized to fit just about any opening.
The first step was to cut the front and back of the shelf to length, based on the size of cabinet opening. Ron trimmed the bottom shelf to the same dimension.
	The front and back came with dovetailed slots cut along their entire length. The sides had matching dovetails cut into the ends. Once the front and back had been cut to the desired length, the sides simply slipped into the grooves.
To assemble the sliding shelf, Ron brushed glue on the dovetails, pushed the parts together, and then tapped them into position. With the frame complete, Ron applied glue to the edges and set the bottom in place. He then secured the bottom to the frame with screws.
	The final step was to attach the metal glides.
The rolling shelves installed in seconds and could be easily repositioned to accommodate whatever he wished to store on them.
	Ron added a slip resistant shelf liner on each shelf to prevent any contents from sliding around when the shelves were opened and closed.
All that was left was to remount the cabinet doors. Ron attached the frame section he removed earlier to the backside of the left door. When closed, the cabinet doors looked exactly the same as before.
	Not only did Ron improve his storage with the pull-out shelves, but he also doubled the size (and capacity) of the upper base cabinet shelves!
And, if Ron ever wants to change the shelf position, all he has to do is unhook the door glide, reposition it, and then snap it back in place.
	Sometimes getting more storage space in your kitchen is not a matter of adding more cabinets, but getting better use out of the ones you already have.
Special thanks to Ron Hazelton and his webmaster.