Metal bin drawers, restoration or scrap?

[madosta]

I got some free storage bin drawers and the shelf, for free and something about it made me want to keep it or restore it.


What do you think? Sandblasting all the drawers and pieces, then painting them. Or maybe taking them a local acid dipper. I was even thinking making a wooden shelve and using a few of them in the house in my office. (Sounding like an etsy/pinterest girly project now!!!)

 

[48windsor]

nah , keep them . I had some identical .Sold them ,but was moving so got rid of them . They were great even had dividers. Youll be sorry

 

[bazzateer]

Keep - restore - use - enjoy

 

[Strouty]

Even if you don't restore, they are great to use. Definitely not scrap, you can sell them if you don't want to do anything else. I had never thought about acid dipping. That would be the easiest way, sandblasting would be time consuming and a real PIA.

 

[madosta]

Yea, it might be some time consuming work, but it should pay off. Three of the bottom drawers were stocked full of new dividers!

 

[machine_punk]

Keep them! If I lived closer, I'd offer to buy them.

They would be fine, if you just blew the rust out of them and used them.

It might be a good excuse to buy a media blasting cabinet, if you really want to restore them.

Kev

 

[Strouty]

Yea, it might be some time consuming work, but it should pay off. Three of the bottom drawers were stocked full of new dividers!

If you have the time, it will definitely be worth it. I have all different styles of those bins and some of the larger ones. My brother told me that the local junkyard had a school bus almost full of them. The owner was going to use them and decided to sell them instead. I bought 45 of them, but I wish I had bought 200. Of course I ended up buying about 500 plus all the shelving from a CL deal. I ended up splitting those with my dad. It was kind of funny that we had an 8x10 foot dump trailer full of bins, as well as the back of my utility truck and another pickup truck.

 

[oldgoaly]

yep keepers, that is what I have my nuts, washers, bolts sorted in.

 

[RedBKM]

Just blast and paint the outside. You wont see the inside of each bin more than a few minutes a year. It ***** when you re-assemble and find you missed paint on a few dozen sides.

 

[mdkingsley]

keep and use, they look great to keep little stuff out of your way and somewhat organized.

 

[cadwiz]

I would blast them and KBS them. Would love to have those.


Sent from outer space using the strength of mental telepathy!

 

[KMinAF]

If you were 2000 miles closer I would say get rid of them and I would even come over and help you throw out those dirty useless drawers. But since your not, by all means keep them restore them and use them!

 

[d.mcfarland]

There are a ton of drawers! Use some in the garage and some in the house. I think if you put the time in now and had them dipped or blasted they would easily last a lifetime for you.

 

[thundermug]

Keep or sell. That isn't scrap. It's useful storage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd definitely be keeping them.

I might blast/paint the front and POR 15 the sides.

 

[KF5LCH]

Keepers. Those old Government cabinets sell for big bucks around here, in worse shape than yours.

IF they were mine, I would take the time to blast them & paint them. They'll last you a lifetime once you do.

 

[DIC]

They would make a happy place for your nuts

 

[usmc_noma]

Whatever you do keep them. If you decide to restore keep us updated. That'd be a good New Years project.

 

[Lippyp]

Box them up and send them to me to put alongside the 60 I already have in my garage.

 

[madosta]

Good to hear. The more I look at them the more I like them. Looks like there's a couple different styles. Mice made nice houses out of a lot of them so there's a bunch of **** caked up on them.

My dad has a sandblast cabinet and is retired... so maybe I can offload this onto him by dropping off a few at a time... muahaha!!!

 

[sasquatch12]

I'd DEFINETLY keep them. AS you say, just sandblast a few at a time, wouldn't take that long to do. then paint them assemble and you have a set a lot of guys are searching for. You can't beat those metal cabinets for storage , lasts for generations if taken care of. (Better than buying the plastic **** on the market!)

 

[rmuell01]

Keep 'em, I did. this is what I use them for.

 

[bullnerd]

No more open back units for me, the mice make little hotels out of them.

 

[Red Leader]

KEEP KEEP KEEP!

When people sell those old things, they say 'reclaimed! Upcycle!' and then charge hundreds of dollars for that stuff.

If you are not too worried about originality, these kinds of things can look really cool wire wheeled:

 

[-Brent-]

That set-up would go for good money in Salt Lake. I'd clean them up and put them to work. Neat score - you ****!

 

[nicksnothereman]

I got some free storage bin drawers and the shelf, for free and something about it made me want to keep it or restore it.


What do you think? Sandblasting all the drawers and pieces, then painting them. Or maybe taking them a local acid dipper. I was even thinking making a wooden shelve and using a few of them in the house in my office. (Sounding like an etsy/pinterest girly project now!!!)

Looks structurally sound to me. Still...lot of work. Still again...can't really buy anything like that (easily at least) nowadays. The problem with older stuff is the drawer action is kind of meh unless you alter them; which most people won't bother to do because drawer slides aren't cheap...at least my definition of cheap. But if you want utility that's the way you probably should go if it's possible with the intact housing.

 

[Lippyp]

Personally I like mine as is. I wish I'd bought another one when I bought these but at the time it was cash/space dependent.

 

[Tucko]

I got some free storage bin drawers and the shelf, for free and something about it made me want to keep it or restore it.


What do you think? Sandblasting all the drawers and pieces, then painting them. Or maybe taking them a local acid dipper. I was even thinking making a wooden shelve and using a few of them in the house in my office. (Sounding like an etsy/pinterest girly project now!!!)

DO NOT acid dip them. Acid will get stuck in the seams and leech out long after you've painted it...My choice would be to leave them "as is" and use them!

 

[hard12catch33]

Where you at in Michigan? I am in SE MI and ill come take them off your hands

 

[madosta]

Where you at in Michigan? I am in SE MI and ill come take them off your hands

I am in SE MI... HI!!! I want to CNC. Do you want to CNC? Haha!

 

[brownbagg]

look like scrap metal to me, curb them

 

[DCarr]

anyone around you have a hot tank w/ caustic soda ? I've been cleaning up old rusty parts / sheet metal in one. works great.

 

[dittle fart around]

Looks structurally sound to me. Still...lot of work. Still again...can't really buy anything like that (easily at least) nowadays. The problem with older stuff is the drawer action is kind of meh unless you alter them; which most people won't bother to do because drawer slides aren't cheap...at least my definition of cheap. But if you want utility that's the way you probably should go if it's possible with the intact housing.

I sell these new all the time. They last forever.

View media item 16572

 

[brownbagg]

i think i just hit them with the water hose or pressure washer and leave them, who care if their not painted

 

[bczygan]

Where you at in Michigan? I am in SE MI and ill come take them off your hands

This...but call me first!

 

[Steroblan]

If not too rusty, I would try a strong TSP or other degreaser or blasting if rusty. Electrolysis would work but too slow for your quantity. Avoid acid since it will rust again if not completely neutralized.

 

[22george]

l agree
keep them and use them they are great

 

[Sheppd]

I too made a similar score of a quantity of parts bins. These are Stackbin #1's. I only have about 150 left. Anyone looking to purchase a few?

 

[Bib Overalls]

I too made a similar score of a quantity of parts bins. These are Stackbin #1's. I only have about 150 left. Anyone looking to purchase a few?

Where are you? Post a picture.

 

[Sheppd]

Here's a sample of the Stackbins I came across. They measure 12"L x 6"W x 4-1/2"D. I'm in NM. I've run out of things to put in them, and I only have 150 left!!!