This post is to share my version of a homemade cabinet I made to house my Shuffletech, chips, cards, and everything else that I use to host my periodic poker tournaments. I hope that some of you may be able to leverage my research to put together your own solution.
A few disclaimers up front:
Before I share my solution, below is the list of features that I specifically was looking for. If your desired setup is significantly different from this, then you may be able to find something better/cheaper/different. But after canvassing Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, IKEA, Staples, Amazon, and a few other places on the internet, this was the best solution I found to meet my requirements.
My requirements:
And — since those photos were taken before my new custom CPCs came in and I want to show off what the rack looks like as it is currently set up with the new chips — one more photo for good measure:
I started with one of IKEA’s Sektion cabinets. These come in a variety of different sizes, but I went with the 24x24x30 version in the Enköping/white wood effect finish. This ended up being the perfect size for what I needed.
One of the key features of IKEA’s cabinets is that they are very modular, meaning that there are lots of different combinations of ways to set up the drawers and cabinets, many that are preconfigured for you and others that you can come up with on your own. This is nice for offering a bunch of different ways to customize the setup for your needs (if you just want to store chips, there is a version with six shallow drawers, if you want a cabinet to store some accessories, they have versions with different combinations of drawers and cabinets; the options really are pretty wide). But it also makes it a bit confusing to figure out exactly what to buy.
I started out by buying this pre-configured version that has four total drawers, two of which are smaller drawers hidden behind one larger drawer front. I was pretty sure that I could move the 2-in-1 drawer down so that one of the basic medium drawers was on top for the Shuffletech area (I was right about that). Once I got it home and put together, I realized that I liked that 2-in-1 drawer setup so much that I actually wanted to replace one of the medium drawers on my original purchase with another of the 2-in-1 options. So, if you want exactly what I ended up putting together, this is exactly what to purchase:
Once I had the base cabinet and drawers assembled, I added these lockable casters to the bottom. I offset them a little bit to the front to help keep the cabinet balanced when all of the weight from the open drawer of chips would try to tip the cabinet forward.
After testing out the cabinet with the chips and everything else loaded up, I confirmed my suspicions that, even with the casters offset to the front, the cabinet was still too front-heavy when the drawers were all pulled out. So, I took some spare brick pavers that we had from our back yard and placed them in the bottom rear of the cabinet, behind the bottom drawer. I’m sure there are a lot of other ways that this counterweight system could be accomplished, but this was the easiest way for me.
Next up, you need a top. Interestingly, the IKEA cabinets are set up to be kitchen cabinets with something like a granite countertop attached. Therefore, they do not include — or even sell (as far as I could tell) — a wooden top. So, I purchased a 25x30 “cover panel” from IKEA, which is technically supposed to be installed along the side of the cabinet to make it more attractive when the end of one of the cabinets is showing. I then cut that down to size on the back side so that it overhangs the back and all sides about the same distance (1/2 inch or so).
I then followed the instructions for the Shuffletech flush mount kit to install the Shuffletech into the top of the cabinet. This is where I needed to borrow some tools and get the help of someone a bit more handy than myself (in my case, my dad).
Finally, I added these locks (here and here) using the included drill bit to drill the holes in the front of each drawer. (I considered going way over the top with this project and installing RFID locks like these ones, but the RFID unit was too large to fit into the space available with my drawer configuration. For what it is worth, I think if I used the three-drawer configuration with all medium drawers, these would work.)
In the end, I was able to handle the project myself with just a bit of help (and some borrowed tools) from my dad. And believe me, if I can pull something like this off with my almost non-existent handyman skills, just about any of you could. I really can’t underestimate how little I know about building stuff.
Total project cost was:
I will also probably be installing some sort of drawer handles/pulls. The drawers work OK without them, but will be much easier to handle with some sort of knob.
Hope this information helps and/or inspires you to build your own setup! Feel free to reach out with questions!
And thanks to everyone who came before me (including those whose posts I linked above) who inspired and informed my setup.
A few disclaimers up front:
- If you are a skilled woodworker like @rjdev7 , this post is not for you. You can make something much cooler and more customized than I put together, just like he and some others on PCF have made. (For example see here.)
- If you are not a skilled woodworker, but want something super customized that looks beautiful (and are willing to pay for it and wait for it to be built), this post is also not for you. You should contact @alecnetwoodworks . He builds amazing stuff. (See here.)
- If you are on a tight budget (less than a few hundred dollars), this post is also not for you. A few folks here on PCF have put together some relatively cheap pieces using prefab cabinets. They don’t have the same level of customization, but they are cheaper. (For example, see here and here.)
- If you have a ton of chips (a couple of thousand or more), this post may or may not be for you. Depending on what else you want to include in the cabinet, you may not have enough drawer space on the available IKEA drawer configurations. Also, creating enough counterweight in the back to make sure it doesn’t tip forward may be a challenge with this homemade setup (I’ll share what I did to counterbalance my collection of just under 2,000 chips).
Before I share my solution, below is the list of features that I specifically was looking for. If your desired setup is significantly different from this, then you may be able to find something better/cheaper/different. But after canvassing Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, IKEA, Staples, Amazon, and a few other places on the internet, this was the best solution I found to meet my requirements.
My requirements:
- An area to mount my Shuffletech with flush mount kit in the top. Ideally would include space to hold some sort of power strip to extend the reach of the short power cord included with the Shuffletech.
- A shallow drawer to hold at least one of these 1,000-chip inventory trays for the majority of my tournament chips. Bonus for additional space for individual racks around the tray to hold overflow tournament chips.
- A shallow drawer to hold a cash drawer insert like this to handle buy-ins, change, etc.
- Drawer space to house my small set of 500 cash game chips in racks.
- Cabinet or drawer space to hold table setups (decks of cards, dealer buttons, and cut cards).
- Cabinet or drawer space to hold starting stack tubes, empty racks, and other miscellaneous supplies.
- The above requirements led me to look for solutions that were at least 18x21 inches of inside drawer space.
- Casters or wheels to allow the cabinet to be rolled away into a closet for storage, but then locked in place when in use.
- No more than 34 inches high, including the wheels (needed to be able to roll up under my kitchen counter area behind the poker table).
- Ideally would have the ability to lock the drawers (the games I host are friendly, but always good to remove any temptations).
And — since those photos were taken before my new custom CPCs came in and I want to show off what the rack looks like as it is currently set up with the new chips — one more photo for good measure:
I started with one of IKEA’s Sektion cabinets. These come in a variety of different sizes, but I went with the 24x24x30 version in the Enköping/white wood effect finish. This ended up being the perfect size for what I needed.
One of the key features of IKEA’s cabinets is that they are very modular, meaning that there are lots of different combinations of ways to set up the drawers and cabinets, many that are preconfigured for you and others that you can come up with on your own. This is nice for offering a bunch of different ways to customize the setup for your needs (if you just want to store chips, there is a version with six shallow drawers, if you want a cabinet to store some accessories, they have versions with different combinations of drawers and cabinets; the options really are pretty wide). But it also makes it a bit confusing to figure out exactly what to buy.
I started out by buying this pre-configured version that has four total drawers, two of which are smaller drawers hidden behind one larger drawer front. I was pretty sure that I could move the 2-in-1 drawer down so that one of the basic medium drawers was on top for the Shuffletech area (I was right about that). Once I got it home and put together, I realized that I liked that 2-in-1 drawer setup so much that I actually wanted to replace one of the medium drawers on my original purchase with another of the 2-in-1 options. So, if you want exactly what I ended up putting together, this is exactly what to purchase:
- Sektion base cabinet
- Medium drawer fronts x 3
- Low drawers x 5 (three of these will be attached to the medium drawer fronts, and two will be attached to the UTRUSTA hidden drawer fronts)
- UTRUSTA (hidden) drawer fronts x 2 (these will be installed above two of the three small drawers that are ultimately attached to the main medium drawer front; in my configuration, these would be the bottom two).
Once I had the base cabinet and drawers assembled, I added these lockable casters to the bottom. I offset them a little bit to the front to help keep the cabinet balanced when all of the weight from the open drawer of chips would try to tip the cabinet forward.
After testing out the cabinet with the chips and everything else loaded up, I confirmed my suspicions that, even with the casters offset to the front, the cabinet was still too front-heavy when the drawers were all pulled out. So, I took some spare brick pavers that we had from our back yard and placed them in the bottom rear of the cabinet, behind the bottom drawer. I’m sure there are a lot of other ways that this counterweight system could be accomplished, but this was the easiest way for me.
Next up, you need a top. Interestingly, the IKEA cabinets are set up to be kitchen cabinets with something like a granite countertop attached. Therefore, they do not include — or even sell (as far as I could tell) — a wooden top. So, I purchased a 25x30 “cover panel” from IKEA, which is technically supposed to be installed along the side of the cabinet to make it more attractive when the end of one of the cabinets is showing. I then cut that down to size on the back side so that it overhangs the back and all sides about the same distance (1/2 inch or so).
I then followed the instructions for the Shuffletech flush mount kit to install the Shuffletech into the top of the cabinet. This is where I needed to borrow some tools and get the help of someone a bit more handy than myself (in my case, my dad).
Finally, I added these locks (here and here) using the included drill bit to drill the holes in the front of each drawer. (I considered going way over the top with this project and installing RFID locks like these ones, but the RFID unit was too large to fit into the space available with my drawer configuration. For what it is worth, I think if I used the three-drawer configuration with all medium drawers, these would work.)
In the end, I was able to handle the project myself with just a bit of help (and some borrowed tools) from my dad. And believe me, if I can pull something like this off with my almost non-existent handyman skills, just about any of you could. I really can’t underestimate how little I know about building stuff.
Total project cost was:
- 1 Base cabinet = $70
- 1 Medium drawer = $60
- 3 Medium drawer fronts = $93
- 4 Low drawers = $208
- 2 UTRUSTA (Hidden) drawer fronts = $40
- Cover panel = $48
- Casters = $24
- Locks = $22
- Chip inventory tray = $18
- Cash drawer insert = $22
- TOTAL = $605 (plus tax), not including the racks and starting stack tubes that I already had.
I will also probably be installing some sort of drawer handles/pulls. The drawers work OK without them, but will be much easier to handle with some sort of knob.
Hope this information helps and/or inspires you to build your own setup! Feel free to reach out with questions!
And thanks to everyone who came before me (including those whose posts I linked above) who inspired and informed my setup.
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