My thanks to Stefan for checking in on the project status.  After I got over the initial embarrassment of lack of progress, I took a picture of the current state. 

These are all the plywood pieces for the lateral file cabinets and file hutches (two of each, as I’m making a pair in one go).  I bought all the lumber from the local lumberyard, and my Dad helped get it to my house in his trailer.  My wife even provided a hand with the initial cuts of the 4’x8′ sheets.

Polyboard is awesome!  It let me visualize and and adjust my project before making a single cut.  The tutorials on wooddesigner.org guided me through the design, measurement and cut-out phases.  Ness, Stefan and the community of woodworkers answered all my questions in the web site forum.

I look forward to assembling these pieces and finishing the project soon.  My office could really use the finished product!

Kurt

Ness,

Thanks for checking up.  I’ve been mulling over the design some more, but believe I have settled on the final look.  Here’s my updated project file with two versions of the piece.  The one on the left is how I want it to actually look, but I had to do some awkward modifications to imitate the look of a face frame.  Ignore the drawer design, as I was just filling those sections quickly.  The one on the right is the actual design of the file cabinet carcase (lower section).  I’ll attach a face frame (3″ at the bottom and 1.625″ on all remaining front edges.  That will hide the heavy-duty slide rails for the file drawers.  The carcase design mirrors the bookshelves I recently completed, with all weight supported by the base of the two sides that sit directly on the ground.  Do you think I still need another vertical division from the middle of the bottom “shelf” and the floor?  I don’t think that would actually bear any weight.

I added a plinth to the one on the left, originally on your suggestion.  That gave the look of the bottom face frame I wanted.  However, there wasn’t anything structural from it that I wanted or needed structurally.  That’s why I kept it flush with the sides and front.  The design on the right has no plinth.

The mix of 3/4″ materials in the file cabinet on the left was only to show distinction between components in 3D display mode.  I’ll use as few different material types as possible in the actual project:  birch-faced plywood and poplar, most likely.

I need to redo my original drawer design for the unit on the left.  Once that is done, I’ll start writing up my cut list based on a combination of the two separate designs.  Clumsy, but functional.

Kurt