Adjustable Drawer Divider Organizer for Tool Storage

Adjustable drawer dividers separate items so they can actually be found! All my workshop drawers were basically just “dump and run” areas and I wasted too much time hunting for things I need.   I decided this would be the best way to create organized storage in my shop drawers. A drawer divider system will be a great addition to the drill bit storage I already created.

Adjustable Drawer Dividers

Cut grooves

After dumping everything out of my drawer, I used a 1/4″ dado set on my table saw to cut grooves on one side of a piece of 1/4″ MDF.  I spaced my grooves 2″ apart.

Cut strips

I used a couple wide pieces of MDF so I would be able to rip them in half AFTER cutting all the grooves.  That way the grooves were in the exact same location on each pair.

I then attached these strips to the drawer making sure grooves lined up on each opposing face.  The last thing I want is a wonkidoodle adjustable drawer divider.

The two sides mirrored each other as did the front and back.  This is where creating the slatted strips in pairs came in handy.

I raised the blade enough to cut away enough material on each side of the ends of some plywood dividers to leave me with a 1/4″ stub.

This tenon then slid into the grooves on the drawer perimeter.

Groove center dividers

Once I got the length right on these dividers, I cut 1/4″ wide grooves onto both sides.  I used my 1/4″ dado stack on my table saw, again moving my fence over 2″ after each batch of cuts.  

Initially I created three tall dividers. But I decided they were too tall.

I ended up cutting them all in half, lengthwise, creating shorter dividers.

These slotted dividers gave me a lot of flexibility to customize my drawer storage.  1/4″ MDF fits within the slots to create sections.  Short pieces of the slotted plywood used as cross pieces allow me to make smaller sections within larger sections.  

I just had to create “tab/tenons” on the ends of the plywood dividers.I started in the front and worked my way toward the back, creating sections as I put stuff away.  

Organize

Organizing my adjustable drawer dividers was the funnest part of the whole day!

I wanted to create some small sections but the plywood divider would have taken up too much room so I cut half/slotted 1/4″ MDF.  I cut slots halfway up the height of each of these dividers.

And then cut another slot halfway up the cross divider.

Flip the cross divider over and the two fit together like a glove.

I moved things around here and there to make everything fit in a way that works best for me.  It’s already saving me about 5-20 minutes every time I go to look for anything specific.