Under Desk Drawer

prusaprinters

<p>I wanted a drawer under my printer for all my tools and parts and such, but I wanted something slightly bigger than my build plate. So I went to Dollar Tree to see what kind of things they had, and I found these Essentials Drawer Organizers that are 9.75x6.75x2 inches (24.8x17.1x5 cm) and I got the idea to make it into a drawer itself. The bottom of the inside is a nice textured rubber so stuff won't move around, and it's $1.25, so it's not breaking the bank.</p><p>I made a handle that attaches tightly to the front, a catch that attaches in the same way to the rear, and rails for it to slide on which mount with #8x1 inch wood screws. For the catches, I used shorter ¾" screws (#8x3/4 inch) because the top of my desk is only about ¾" thick.</p><p>I tried to make it so the catch and handle snap onto the “drawer”, but ended up just making screw holes, driving in the 1" screws I have from the inside. It pokes out the back, but it won't be visible.</p><p>It took 10 revisions to finally get that drawer rail right. The first version was basically a simple "L". Then it got taller, then I widened the screw holes by 1mm so the screw can slide down inside. I could've used longer screws, but I only have two. These #8 x 1 inch (I know it's strange mixing metric and imperial, but that's what they're called) screws are what I have the most of.</p><p>So, eventually, I got to this design with support rails and screw posts which are hollowed out (9mm diameter hole) for the first cm for the screw to fit down inside and get a good bite on the desk or table on the other side.</p><p>I'll be honest, it's hard designing things sometimes. You really need to think like an engineer.</p><p>This is my second totally original build. Feel free to remix and customize and improve on it. Perhaps there are other cheap desk organizers which can be made into drawers by changing a couple things, but this should work with any container with a lip as you'll set the spacing between the rails. Enjoy!</p>