What this template makes: Desk drawer unit

Desk drawer unit Pro

A made-to-measure drawer unit: you pick how many rows, how tall each one is and how many drawers fit in it.

Rows of different heights with different numbers of drawers, shelves that pass through the sides, and just enough clearance to run.

How it goes together

The grid is written row by row. "70 70 100" is three rows of that clear height, and "3 3 1" says how many drawers go in each. That is how you get the units with small drawers on top and one wide one at the bottom, which you could not do with separate rows and columns.

The shelves pass through the sides. They are not butted and glued: they carry tabs that go through slots and show on the other side. The unit assembles dry and holds itself up, so you can correct things before gluing, and the joint works in shear rather than relying on glue.

Clearance is what makes the drawer run. It is taken off both sides and the top — underneath it rests on the shelf, it does not float. Under half a millimetre it rubs against the wood, and over two the drawer wanders and goes in crooked. A millimetre works well in MDF.

The pull is a bite out of the top edge of the front, not a hole: you hook your fingers into it and it needs no hardware. Set to zero, the front comes out flat so you can fit a bought handle.

The back panel is not just cosmetic. It is what stops the unit racking sideways when you push it from the side. Without it, glue the corners well and do not load it all on one side.

Frequently asked questions

Desk drawer unit: what size can it be?

Every measurement is typed in millimetres and the drawing is redone as you type: width, from 60 to 1200 mm, depth, from 60 to 900 mm and thickness, from 1 to 20 mm. Everything else — joints, dividers, holes — is worked out from those measurements.

Does it work for MDF, acrylic or plywood?

For any sheet your laser can cut: MDF, plywood, acrylic or thick card. What matters is the thickness, adjustable from 1 to 20 mm, and the kerf — what the beam eats away: the joints are drawn from those two numbers, so they push together without sanding.

What format does it download in?

SVG or DXF, your choice, in millimetres and at 1:1 scale. It opens as is in LightBurn, RDWorks, LaserGRBL, Inkscape, Illustrator or CorelDRAW, with nothing to scale or convert. Cutting and engraving come on separate named layers — “Cut” in red and “Engrave” in blue — so you set the power for each without separating anything by hand.

Do I have to pay to use it?

Desk drawer unit is free to use and adjust: you can see exactly how your design will come out before deciding anything. Downloading the file needs the Pro plan, or one of the trial downloads that come with the free account.

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