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After reviewing the post I realized I'm geeking out over cabinets... please share yours, I guess I like this stuff.
Most of my projects involve me trying to remember which one of the 5 portable tool chests I stashed the "good" pliers in. So I decided I needed to spend some money on storage.
I looked at a few options within a budget of about $1000, give or take. I went to Costco, Sams, Lowes, and even Sears, but everything seemed a bit flimsy. I did shop used, but a 36 inch snap-on would use all of the cash and I don't think I would even be able to fit all of my hand tools (neatly). So I bought a HF Chinese box.
The Kennedy machinist box has my drill bits, taps, and dies, while the little craftsman box has a vintage 3/4 inch truck set.
And honestly it seems pretty good. The drawers are made of thicker material than most, the sides are double wall, and unlike my old husky it doesn't flex when you blow on it. The real big trade off seems to be on warranty. Craftsman is 1 year and HF is 90 days.
So with quite of bit of money left over I decided I would try to put the air and electric power tools away too. For god knows what reason somebody had a Stanley Vidmar double wide "eye height" cabinet up for sale on CL so I jumped on it.
Eye height must be for somebody who is 6' 5". Where the general maxes out at 50-80 lbs depending on the drawer, each of these can carry up to 400. I took out the drawers to clean and grease the bearings and i'm sure they weight over 60 lbs by themselves. I also knocked out a few dents the airforce put in it which was difficult because the whole thing is made of 11 - 12 gauge steel. Just getting it off the trailer took some thinking as I couldn't really hold with the trailer in the dump position. It's also modular. The drawers can be changed around and it came with 30 or 40 of those dividers. Hopefully that will make up for the pink commie toolbox.
nice! Those US General box's are pretty decent for home shop use from everything Ive read from many racers.
That Stanley box is pretty stout too! When I finally have a garage to call my own, I desperately want to get some Lista cabinet setups. Their factory is local and I service them, gonna have to try and get an in and hope maybe they have some blems they will sell me
Finding vidmar and lista is pretty rare in my town, but it seems like people on garagejournal pick them up by the dozen every week. I do wish I made one of those hauls and was able to line the entire back wall with them.
I finally had some time to make one corner completely wheeled. Most of the walls at in there have some sort old tire rack or shelving unit that I can't move if I want to clean the floor. It takes me forever to get around to it because each shelf is filled with automotive parts that I have to decide if I want to keep, sell, or scrap. Worse is stumbling on a cache of 6 gallons used coolant and an asbestos blanket that I then have to dispose of properly.
The other two tool chests and the small cabinet were my grandpa's.
The first is his completely overloaded 50's or 60's Remline.
The entire bottom drawer is just filled to the top with vice grips and the bottom is filled with hammers. It's gonna need new casters soon and I've already welded some of the drawer slides back together. Now that it's all in the same corner there will probably be some tool redistribution
It also has some of the coolest drawer pulls I have ever seen.
The little man is the mascot of the manufacturer Advertising Metal Display Company who made signs and stands you would see at service stations. Remline (which is now the property of stack-on) was the name they sold the toolboxes under themselves. Most that are floating around are either branded Craftsman for sears or PowerKraft for Montgomery Ward. What I'm getting at is, the others don't have the cool drawer pulls.
To the leftis a Blackhawk with a Lumidor Top.
As far as I can tell both were most likely made by Waterloo in the mid 70's. Pretty sturdy construction, but the Lumidor's mid support could use some reinforcement.
Then there is the fist toolbox I ever bought.
Even with the bottom drawer filled with abrasive blades and nothing on the top it's only reason for being is to find the only rock on the floor and fall over. Even though it has roller ball slides I would much rather use any solid old box with steel slides. As long as they are greased and not completely overloaded they actually work quite well.
Nice! I like the look of the vintage tool cabinets.
I have a Craftsman stacking set which does the job for me. My wife bough them me for Christmas a few years ago.
I think craftsman is still made by Waterloo, which is pretty solid stuff and I'm pretty sure it's still U.S made.
On to some storage for hardware.
I have a large carousel type organizer that sits in the middle of the shop. It's pretty cool, but it really covers too much for 1 thing. There are turnbuckles, brake shoes, 3 sections of very specific metal brackets, bolts of all colors and creeds, and 30 other things all in the same device. As a result if I'm looking for a 1/4 w 1/2 l bolt I have to look in one section that has every bolt my father and both grandpa's have ever kept. Kind of a nice problem to have, but I would really like to have a little more granularity.
This other 40's or 50's equipto organizer has been sitting in the trailer for just as long. Just like everything else it was loaded full of old shock absorbers and chains before it was put on the trailer by fork lift so it had I giant bend int he middle and the legs were both bent in further from sliding around.
This week I took out the 3x6 drawer unit and hammered everything back into shape. I also built a dolly out of scrap and bolted it to it so it would move gracefully without bending the legs. Hopefully I can fit all of my automotive hardware from small cans in the trailer and around the shop in it.
And there it is next to the slightly out of place lectern of cleanliness.
I also have these two great parts cabinets, but I'm still tying to find something to do with them as my walls are either set back 8-12 inches behind cross supports or full of shelving.
A friend has been using one of my bays to build cabinets and wanted to repay me with some work/lumber. The other night he came in and framed in a much needed space for pegboard.
Well the one machinist toolbox on top of the HF 40" is a Kennedy, but I've never had a wood tool box. I'll give it a try if you give me a lathe or a mill and some measuring equipment that says, "Starrett" on the side.
It's a property my grandpa moved his business to in the 80's, but after he retired it became a storage space (dump) for anybody in the family that asked.
It was like having another job just cleaning the Tires and Other Junk up so I could walk around and breathe a little. Not to mention little things like getting a final on the electrical (somehow it was turned on without one in the 80's).
Now it's my personal project space, but I to have it to the point where I can rent it part of it out properly and have it pay it's own taxes and insurance.
Found another cabinet on CL.
The owner had it listed as a tool bench... but it's a lista.
It's some odd size of custom cabinet for the local Air force base. It's only 29" tall so I'll probably build a frame with casters to get it off the ground a bit and have some storage under it. How much can I complain for 60 bucks though. It even came with a key this time.
On this particular cabinet each drawer has it's own catch separate from the main lock. One is missing but it should be easy enough to replicate. This makes me think it may be something that was build into truck, but the box it'self seems too large to be van shelving as it's normal depth and width
Hey guys, I'm new on here so I thought I'd share my tool storage. I have a Craftsman bottom and top chest and use Kaizan foam to organize everything. It takes flipping forever to get all the foam cut out and done properly but it makes everything worth it at the end. Biggest benefit is that everything has it's place and I can tell when something is missing.
I thought I had some pictures but apparently not. I'll take some pictures when I get home.
Pegboard question: I have a small pegboard and am always frustrated when I remove a tool from it and the peg comes with it... Any good solutions? Is there something I could put on the back to prevent it but also make it removable if I need to reconfigure?
Hey guys, I'm new on here so I thought I'd share my tool storage. I have a Craftsman bottom and top chest and use Kaizan foam to organize everything. It takes flipping forever to get all the foam cut out and done properly but it makes everything worth it at the end. Biggest benefit is that everything has it's place and I can tell when something is missing.
I thought I had some pictures but apparently not. I'll take some pictures when I get home.
Neat that kaizan stuff looks very reasonable. I would love to see the pictures. Did you cut it with a normal knife of a hot knife?
Originally Posted by stogie1020
Stapler, loving the vintage stuff!
Does DM ever have an "air force garage sale"?
Pegboard question: I have a small pegboard and am always frustrated when I remove a tool from it and the peg comes with it... Any good solutions? Is there something I could put on the back to prevent it but also make it removable if I need to reconfigure?
DM does have auctions, but I've not been to one. The guy I bought the big blue cabinet from actually had to buy a lot of 7 of them.
Pegboard holes are either 1/8 or 1/4 inch. The 1/8 hardware usually states on the box, "fits both 1/8 and 1/4 pegboard". This is true if you hate yourself and want to put up with the damn things falling out all the time. I would say try buying 1 quarter inch piece of hardware and seeing if it's better than what you have.
Pegboard thicknesses also vary. I have 3/16 at the shop, but I do find the 1/4 thickness stuff in my garage fits the hardware a little more snug.
I have the Crafstman work bench with 5 drawer set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44051364@N00/8493051358/http://www.flickr.com/photos/44051364@N00/8493051358/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/44051364@N00/, on Flickr
for tools I have US General (harbor freight) too chest....LOVE IT for the price I paid....and I have a Craftsman corner rack to put all the stuff in...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44051364@N00/8491949461/http://www.flickr.com/photos/44051364@N00/8491949461/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/44051364@N00/, on Flickr
wow great updates... since my last post, i have also picked up that HF tool chest that you posted in your first post... i love it, great quality... thanks for the recommendation...
Its an old pic of my garage after finishing the walls and installing 80k heater. I got a killer deal at Sams Club on a SS tool box ( kinda hard to see, back right corner). Hindsight i should have purchased 2 of them.
Do you just slide it out when you need to get in the top?
I wonder if it's the same manufacturer as the old costco box. The CSPS box that was my dad's is pretty good, but for some reason it's made so the drawers don't stay all the way open. I don't know if it's a feature or a "feature".
Sorry for the late reply to this, as promised here are some pictures. Sorry for the poor quality, it was about -14F and dark outside when I took these so I had shaky hands.
These were all cut with a normal knife, not a hot one though a hot knife is good for more precise cuts.
Do you just slide it out when you need to get in the top?
I wonder if it's the same manufacturer as the old costco box. The CSPS box that was my dad's is pretty good, but for some reason it's made so the drawers don't stay all the way open. I don't know if it's a feature or a "feature".
Yea, i roll it out when i need to get in the top(which isnt very often.
Sorry for the late reply to this, as promised here are some pictures. Sorry for the poor quality, it was about -14F and dark outside when I took these so I had shaky hands.
These were all cut with a normal knife, not a hot one though a hot knife is good for more precise cuts.
Cool. I would be there for years cutting all the spots for all my tools.
for tools I have US General (harbor freight) too chest....LOVE IT for the price I paid....and I have a Craftsman corner rack to put all the stuff in...
I have the same black Harbor Freight cart...paid $99 for it and it's awesome! not bad for its price...was actually thinking of buying another one. Only thing I hate is every time I have to open a drawer I have to lift the lid up. So I closed the lid first and close the drawer. Drawers would be semi open. But they do stay close.
I don't have one, but you may want try out the red tool cart they sell and see if it does the same thing. Or you could find the rods that lock it and modify them. If they aren't needed you shoudl be able to just take them out completely. I fyou ever check out the garage journal thread for the HF toolcart a large part of it is modifying the in some way.
Stogs - they make plastic peg board 'tie downs' if you will. Basically, they go over the hook and lock into the two holes on either side of the hook. The pic below appears to show zip ties but the ones I used at my mom's just popped in right over the hook. Only problem is, as you can see below, is how far you have to space things. While it was against my organization (want a perfect line like the left side below), for wrenches I just staggered them going up so I didn't have to place them so far apart. Came out looking pretty good too.
Awesome stuff in here, keep posting
Last edited by 1StGenCL; Feb 22, 2014 at 05:44 AM.
I have the same black Harbor Freight cart...paid $99 for it and it's awesome! not bad for its price...was actually thinking of buying another one. Only thing I hate is every time I have to open a drawer I have to lift the lid up. So I closed the lid first and close the drawer. Drawers would be semi open. But they do stay close.
ahha I got it for 100 bucks as well...
I dont mind that. I like my garage nice and clean, so when am done, I organize and put all the tools away and close the lid...
Cool. I would be there for years cutting all the spots for all my tools.
Really didn't take all that long to do. Maybe 4 hours for all you see there. Most of that time was spent trying to get the layout the way I wanted. The hardest part was trying to anticipate the expansion of my collection haha.
It took forever to find the time, but I finally made a little stand for that lista cabinet.
I really didn't take many pictures of it as I just slapped together a bunch of spare angle iron and 4 spare casters. Probably should have checked for square more often.
It's taller than the old remline, but I made it to match the height of the blakhawk box. I plan to make a wood top that fits across all 3, but can still be removed for cleaning.
The contents of the luminar top box will go in the Lista so I can make a counter type thing.
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