I bought Weyrling last Sept. Heres one of my upgrades. I read Terry Arnolds article on Hidden Storage and decided on a different approach.

With drawers removed, I measured for maximum drawer depth. The lower left corner, from cabinet face to hull, less 1/2 is the depth I chose for each drawer.

Working through the openings, I found 1x1 mahogany strips screwed to the top and sides of the opening. Brass screws from the back side into the cabinet face were removed, then the cabinet face came free.

Drawers removed

In this photo, the strips holding the cabinet face have been removed. Similar strips support each shelf, with screws into the side panels (the carcass in cabinetry terms), and into the shelves from the bottom (very weak technique). Strips and shelves were removed as one. The short strips on top of the shelves serve to guide the drawers and stiffen the shelves. These were replaced with taller (about 3 1/2) mahogany strips carefully positioned (measure twice, no thrice, cut or screw once). The strips underneath the shelves were turned 90 degrees and re-attached, in the final product, all drawer weight will be on the newer tall strips.

Cabinet Face Removed

The (almost) empty carcass after some cleaning. Note the strips that held the lower shelf. The one on the left was replaced with a longer one that actually sits on the fiberglass. Theres no wood to the left of the extension, so a second shorter strip was attached above the extension. The shelf slides between the two (snugly). A brass screw driven down through the shelf into the lower strip keeps the shelf from moving.

Empty Carcass

The Final Drawers with full extension hardware. I normally hand cut my dovetails for drawer assembly. My daughter bought me a Porter-Cable dovetail jig for Christmas, so I tried that instead. Cabinet grade birch plywood was used, 1/2 for the sides, and 1/4 for the bottoms. I decided to try full extension hardware, available from Home Depot. Since I didnt want to make the drawers any narrower...

Drawers Completed

...I used a router and shop made template to notch the sides of the drawer openings to accept the full extension hardware. 1/2 deep (easily covered by the original drawer face overhangs) and centered 1 above each openings bottom. The hardware was attached to the drawers centered 7/8 up from the bottom in order to assure smooth operation.

Notched Face Panel

Face frame strips were re-installed (brass screws used throughout). The new, tall drawer support strips were installed the same distance from the left side of the carcass, as the notches cut in the cabinet face. The right hand strips are exactly the width of the drawer plus one inch (thickness of the full extension hardware) farther from the left wall.

As each shelf was installed, from bottom up, I carefully measured down from the top of the carcass the same distance as the bottom of each drawers opening in the cabinet front, minus one inch, and drew a line on the support strips. This represents the centerline (screw line) for the slide hardware. CAUTION: Measure from the top to near the back, then near the front of each support strip, then connect the dots. In some cases the line appeared unlevel, because the shelves had been installed unlevel by Hunter.

New Drawer Slides

The cabinet front is re-installed, then slide hardware is installed. The hardware extends flush to the cabinet face, but I didnt screw it to the face. Pilot holes were drilled through the hardwares mounting holes into the line drawn on the support strips and stainless screws inserted.

Drawers slid into place. See how much depth has been added. The bottom drawer is about 1 deeper than original, the top more than 6 deeper.

Drawers Installed

And in the final product, the cabinet hardware is concealed by the drawer fronts overhang.

The drawer fronts were attached to the original drawers with staples and glue. Staples were pried out, a wide putty knife driven between plywood and mahogany to separate the glue, and a hand plane used to remove the remaining glue and rough spots. On the new drawers, brass screws from inside secure the faces.

The only thing left to do is attach some method of keeping the drawers shut while heeled over. Now, on to the Galley...

Final Product