modifying cabinet as a rolling cart

[David Duncan]

Hi,
I have a gap between cabinets and our new stove because we replaced a large (37″) stove with a small (24″) one, leaving a gap roughly 13 1/4″ wide. The gas shutoff is in this gap, so we don’t want to build in a cabinet to fill it, so I have been trying to find a rolling cart that would fit – no luck. So I’m now thinking of ordering a cabinet from you and adding casters. I would like to have a top drawer and then space below to put our collection of cast iron pans. I have a couple of questions:

1. Is this crazy?

2. If I ordered a base cabinet with no doors and no toe-kick, reducing the height by the caster height plus counter-top thickness, and leave off the drawer facing to maximize the width of the cabinet, would I be able to open and close the drawer using the gap between the top rail and the drawer front (without a facing piece)? Or add a drawer pull directly on the drawer front that did not protrude beyond the front rails? The idea would be to have the drawer facing the side of the stove when the cart is in its berth, so you would roll it out to access the drawer (and the pans).

3. Is there any option available that would allow me to have a cross-piece below the drawer that I could put hooks into to hang the pans from? Because they are cast iron it would have to be able to bear significant weight.

Thanks.

[ChadBarker]

You could use a rolling cart, but at 13.25 inches wide, that is very narrow and would likely be unstable. With any lateral pressure or push, there is a real risk of tipping. Most rolling carts are closer to 24 inches wide for stability.

Here is a link to my preferred carts from John Boos. I strongly recommend their models with a metal frame and casters paired with a butcher block top. Producing a high-quality butcher block requires specialized machinery, and in my opinion, John Boos makes the best in the industry. I would avoid imported butcher block tops commonly found at retailers like Home Depot. I have tested those in the past and found that once cut into, they often contain filler and inconsistent materials. Boos blocks are solid maple, or whatever wood species you select, and are consistently high quality.

Yes, there is typically enough clearance above the drawer box to allow you to reach in and open it by pulling from the top edge.

You can certainly add hooks to any part of the plywood cabinet case, as the material is more than strong enough. That said, I would still recommend a prefabricated John Boos rolling cart rather than modifying one of our cabinets with casters. The end result will be significantly better, in my opinion.

[David Duncan]

Thank you for the quick response. I had looked at the Boos carts and I did not see any that would fit in to the space we have. I had not thought about the stability problem, but we are constrained by the width of the opening and the need to be able to access the gas shutoff valve. I’ll have to think about that issue a bit more.

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