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PROJECT 01 · SHOP STORAGE

Building a Drawer / Cutlery Organizer

A custom organizer project—from a hard-to-plan layout to a reusable CNC tool.

PUBLISHED / AUG 2026MACHINE / CNC ROUTERUPDATED / SEP 26, 2026
Kitchen utensil drawer before adding an organizerThe same kitchen drawer fitted with a custom walnut organizerOrganizedMessy

Background

I've grown tired of my store-bought drawer organizer. I was happy with it at first, especially since it allowed some customization, but over the years I couldn't get it as organized as I would like. I decided to put my skills to the test and build my own drawer organizer customized to my dimensions.

The CNC immediately came to mind for this project. The precision would allow the drawers to come together quickly, or so I thought. Laying out the drawer contents to find a layout I liked was easy enough, so I took my dimensions and moved to VCarve... and that's where the project stalled out. Laying out the vectors in VCarve wasn't particularly challenging, but I didn't think I would get all the corners to come together perfectly on my first try. And I really didn't want to use up a bunch of nice walnut panels on practice cuts.

Generating Vectors

I had the idea to create a project to generate the layout for me. This built upon my software engineering skills, which are a lot better than my CAD/CAM skills. I took this program a step further and output the drawer not just as vectors, but also as an assembled 3D model. This allowed me to verify all the intersections and dial in everything. It also gave me a reusable tool, so now I can organize more drawers.

The drawer generator is pretty simple. Put in your overall dimensions and your material thickness. Then draw boxes on the layout to create your drawer. A preview of the 3D model is available to see how things are coming together. It is possible to create a layout that cannot be machined without flipping your panel over. Watch out for these; they make the CNC task much more difficult.

The Process

Layout

Start by laying out the utensils and other kitchen equipment as you would like. Next, make measurements and record the spacing of all the dividers.

Choose your material. 1/4" plywood is a good option as long as you don't mind seeing the stripes for all the plies. I wanted a more premium look, so I made 1/4" panels out of walnut. I pick up my walnut from the "scrap" pile at my local lumber yard to save money. It's 4-quarter stock already planed to about 13/16". Once I've resawed it, I can make a panel just over 1/4".

Generating Vectors

Use the drawer generator to create your vectors. Enter the overall length and width of the exterior of the organizer you are building. (This should be just a little smaller than the interior of the drawer.)

Set your material thickness. I've found it's best to add .02" to the actual thickness of the material. This gives a little wiggle room when assembling the parts. You may need to experiment with other values to see what works best with your CNC or laser cutter.

Draw each of your organizer compartments on the screen. None of the rectangles should overlap. You can view a 3D preview of the organizer; just click refresh after drawing the compartments. Adjust as needed until you are happy with the design.

Click Export to download a DXF file with the vectors.

Generating Toolpaths in VCarve

As part of the generation process of the vectors, I added dog bones and extended some of the dado slots so the bit didn't miss portions of corners.

Import the DXF into VCarve and work through the pocket layers first. Each dado and rabbet pocket should be half the material thickness used in the drawer generator. Then create an outside profile toolpath to cut through the actual panel thickness and release the parts. Don't forget the tabs, especially on the small dividers. It's much easier to machine the joints while everything is still attached to the panel.

Preview the pockets and the final cutout before heading to the CNC. A missed vector is a lot easier to fix on the screen. I've covered the setup, pocket depths, and tab placement in Creating Drawer Organizer Toolpaths in VCarve.

Carve It

CNC-cut walnut organizer parts laid out on the router bed
FIG. 02 The cut parts, ready to move from the CNC to the workbench.

Watch a timelapse of the CNC carve on YouTube.

VIDEO 01 A timelapse of the CNC carve.

Cleanup

When the parts came off my CNC, there was a lot of fuzzing around the edges. I think my speed and feed rates are set incorrectly. Or maybe I just need better bits... That will be a good future project to optimize feeds and speeds.

I knocked down the fuzz with a chisel and proceeded to sand everything. I kept this project simple, only sanding to 220 grit.

Fuzzy edges on a freshly CNC-cut walnut panel
FIG. 03 I spent far too much time cleaning this mess up.
Walnut organizer panels and dividers stacked on a workbench before assembly
FIG. 04 The parts cleaned up and ready to assemble.

Assembly

I dry fit everything one last time before the glue-up. Every piece in the project is unique except the smallest two dividers. All the pieces need to be orientated correctly. I took my time to make sure I knew where everything would go. I contemplated gluing everything up in one go, but decided that would be too stressful.

Fitting the walnut organizer panels together during glue-up
FIG. 05 Assembling the panels together.
Bar clamps spanning the organizer and holding its walnut dividers in place
FIG. 06 A strap clamp holds the outside together while bar clamps hold the dividers in place.

I ended up taking a strap clamp to lock in the outer panels and proceeded to glue the interior dividers a few at a time. I didn't want to spend too much time cleaning up glue squeeze-out, so I applied the glue to both sides of every joint with an art brush. Then I assembled the panels and applied a bunch of clamps. After the clamps were applied, there was still a small amount of glue squeeze-out. I trimmed a drinking straw with scissors at an angle, then used the straw to remove the glue from the tight corners. I ended up doing 4 separate glue-ups so that I was not rushed.

Applying glue to a walnut organizer joint with a small art brush
FIG. 07 An art brush was the best tool to apply glue.
Cutting the end of a drinking straw at an angle for glue cleanup
FIG. 08 I'll use a straw to remove glue squeeze-out. First trim the end at an angle.
Using an angled drinking straw to remove glue squeeze-out from an inside corner
FIG. 09 Clean up glue squeeze-out from the corners with a straw.
Overhead view of the walnut organizer clamped around its sides and dividers
FIG. 10 Another view of the organizer clamped together on the bench.

Finishing

I quickly sanded any scuffs that occurred during assembly and the project was ready for finish. I chose spray-on lacquer for this application. The lacquer will hold up really well to any abuse and it's quick and easy. I just grabbed a rattle can from my local hardware store.

I gave the entire project 2 coats of lacquer and then hand sanded everything with 400 grit. One final application of lacquer and the project was complete.

Finished Project

The drawer organizer turned out great. Now to see if it fits! I actually didn't double check the dimensions when I dry fit all the pieces, so I was a little nervous. The fit turned out great. The dividers feel nice and strong. I'm confident this will hold up for years. Now I just have to find time to tackle the silverware drawer... stay tuned.

Drawer organizer after applying finish
FIG. 11 Drawer organizer after applying finish.
Drawer organizer fits perfectly
FIG. 12 Drawer organizer placed inside the drawer.

Next Time

Overall, I was really happy with my results. The biggest thing I want to change is getting a better finish right off the CNC. There are a couple of joints that didn't close as tightly as I would have liked. When I create a divider for my silverware drawer, I'll have to work on my assembly technique.