Buying a tool box to only store parts

[Bottlecapdigger]

Ive been thinking of getting a roller cabinet to just store small parts , bolts fittings etc. I like the idea of pulling out a drawer and seeing my options without digging through bins, boxes ,cans ,jars,pails, buckets, bags, containers,cups, (got my drift) I looked a lista , vidmar style cabinets with all the dividers in each drawer, but boy! There not cheap. Even for used ones. So been leaning towards a dewalt, Milwaukee or what ever as long as it has ball bearing guide drawers just to store parts. At less than half the cost I can make some dividers or get small bins for each drawer. Anybody else thinking of doing this? BCD.

 

[LXCam]

Oh ya, I have a couple of them I use for light weight stuff like abrasives, electrical and misc ****

 

[gdocktor3]

Nuts, bolts, etc can be pretty heavy when stored in large quantities. I have small Stanley organizers that weigh 50lbs each probably, so an entire drawer full would get heavy quick. I'd recommend buying a used Lista setup or something similar that is designed to store heavy supplies.

This Lista box has at least, maybe more than 1000 pounds in it.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Yes, get a lista, Vidmar or Equipto, that kind of box, they will cost you up front, but you will never be sorry about the quality.
This coming from a guy who has two Equipto's in his shop and always looking for another one.

 

[bobcatdan]

I use the SO kra 300 as a poor man vidmar.

 

[bobcatdan]

This old medal kitchen cabinet I built a base for works pretty good for parts storag.

 

[2oolhound]

This is a great idea. I like bobcat dan's idea. The old snappy boxes are 20" or more deep not 16" like the new stanley -dewalt etc. My old snappy box (80's vintage) is friction slides but supports something like 200 lbs per drawer and they glide smoothly with very little effort.

Do the math:
Modern Dewalt etc. capacity *** cu in.
Old Snap-On ………………………..*** cu in. X 2 or 3 depending on depth
Vidmar …………………………………*** cu in. X 4 (they are usually very deep as in height, width, depth)

Here's a good thread on the subject. My own post #6 is a very cheap and simple to make out of wood solution.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159894

 

[BDT/NWMN]

This past summer, My two matching sets of Craftsman Grip-Latch boxes became dedicated parts organizers.. About 16 plastic small drawer cabinets donated their little drawers to partition the tool box drawers.
!/4", 5/16", 10 MM, etc, each size has a dedicated drawer.
One drawer is dedicated to tubes of silicone sealers, tubes of lubes, etc. Another drawer for rolls of tape.

Rather than sell or give those tool boxes away, I put them to use in a way that simplified and uncluttered the small parts storage area.. There is a 7 drawer KRA that is next on the list.

The dollar stores are a source for low cost drawer dividers; if needed.

Purpose built units like Lista are the best choice. It may boil down to spending a bundle of money for them; or lucking out on a local Craigs list deal for used ones.

 

[jd_1138]

You can get a Dymo label maker and label the bins so you can find fasteners easily. You can also store Loctite in it, electrical connectors, etc.. Basically any consumable.

 

[MikeF2316]

This past summer, My two matching sets of Craftsman Grip-Latch boxes became dedicated parts organizers.. About 16 plastic small drawer cabinets donated their little drawers to partition the tool box drawers.
!/4", 5/16", 10 MM, etc, each size has a dedicated drawer.
One drawer is dedicated to tubes of silicone sealers, tubes of lubes, etc. Another drawer for rolls of tape.

Rather than sell or give those tool boxes away, I put them to use in a way that simplified and uncluttered the small parts storage area.. There is a 7 drawer KRA that is next on the list.

The dollar stores are a source for low cost drawer dividers; if needed.

Purpose built units like Lista are the best choice. It may boil down to spending a bundle of money for them; or lucking out on a local Craigs list deal for used ones.

Yep, same here. Old toolbox is now a hardware box.

 

[machine_punk]

also look at the large Durham manufacturing parts bins. They make the little 'suitcase' style drawers with any number of dividers, as well as chests of drawers, for larger stuff.

KDub

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

Ya I sure like the lista cabinets, because of the 28" depth, I forgot about this , I think most of the offshore tool boxes are only 18" depth. This and the fact I think they have a 400lb weight rating on each drawer. If you have a drawer full of bolts that's a lot of weight. I'm going to keep looking. BCD. Thanks

 

[pendragon1998]

Durham cabinets are awesome, but dang, their price shot up earlier this year (on amazon and zoro at least).

 

[Tim37]

Check out Durham boxes they are great for small stuff

 

[mbshop]

I had several of those metal bolt and nut bins. But they took up a lot of space. So I got rid of them and just had a bucket for odd stuff and put all nuts and bolts, etc into my regular parts bins in their din numbers. Was easy to charge out and keep track of inventory.

 

[pstemari]

also look at the large Durham manufacturing parts bins.

Yeah, the Durham boxes are da bomb and reasonably priced. Here's my setup:





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[cheechi]

lateral file cabinets. I have a pair of 36" wide drawers full of nail gun nails, you can tell its heavy but it slides smooth.

don't get a husky box for this purpose. ask me how I know. Might be fine if you were just storing pvc fittings and such, but even then don't overload it.

 

[pcmeiners]

"Yeah, the Durham boxes are da bomb and reasonably priced"
If those are da bomb, Vidmar or Lista cabinets are in da Tsar Bomba class.

Issue with these and other small plastic cases, compared to 25"x25" drawers cabinets, my Vidmar can store 4x the amount and provide 4x the visibility per drawer. In the time it takes to open a few small storage cases I could view the contents of a 12 drawer Vidmar, basically equal to 48 plastic cases. In a minute or less, I can go through at least (3) 59" 12-14 drawer cabinets looking for something.

 

[Tim37]

Durham boxes are steel, only the dividers are plastic, they are easily expandable and very versatile much more so than any tool box or file cabinet. I set up some at work for small parts and have thought about buying some for home.

 

[FJ 432]

I think your idea of using a tool box is great. I have one for that purpose.

I have a tool box for duplicates.

I have a tool box for holding electrical and plumbing items.

I have a tool box for holding tool box parts that I've salvaged.

Yes, great idea.

 

[LXCam]

I have a tool box for holding tool box parts that I've salvaged.

I have one drawer a Vidmar cabinet that holds all the extra dividers for my Lista cabinets.

 

[bob15]

There are also microfiche cabinets out there of there which are also ball-bearing design and will handle quite a bit of weight. They are nice for shorter items as they are typically as deep/tall as the Lista-type cabinets.

Also besides Vidmar & Lista, Lyon also makes similar cabinet which is just as rugged; so if you do a search, don't just search via name only.

 

[FJ 432]

I have one drawer a Vidmar cabinet that holds all the extra dividers for my Lista cabinets.

Great minds.....

 

[Danglerb]

I save the plastic bins with clear tops from delivery Chinese food. Clear top means no need to label, and they come in about three convenient sizes. Most of my parts go into the ********* bins with yellow lids Home Depot sells.

If you buy used even high quality metal parts storage cabinets are pretty cheap vs any tool box. Wait for an industrial auction.

 

[LXCam]

I save the plastic bins with clear tops from delivery Chinese food. .

I hope for your sake you don't keep SAE hardware in those.

 

[Alchymist]

Bought two of the HF storehouse combinations, and sold off the rolling cabinets. One intermediate cabinet drawer holds all my crimpers, the other crimp fittings. Top cabinet holds various saw blades, hole saws, etc. The other top & intermediate holds all the drill bits, easy outs, etc. The Craftsman bottom roll cabinet hold nothing but electronic parts. (Matching top box is all electronic service tools). While the HF boxes don;t see daily use, they have held up well for the several years I have had them, still look and work like new.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

"Yeah, the Durham boxes are da bomb and reasonably priced"
If those are da bomb, Vidmar or Lista cabinets are in da Tsar Bomba class.

Issue with these and other small plastic cases, compared to 25"x25" drawers cabinets, my Vidmar can store 4x the amount and provide 4x the visibility per drawer. In the time it takes to open a few small storage cases I could view the contents of a 12 drawer Vidmar, basically equal to 48 plastic cases. In a minute or less, I can go through at least (3) 59" 12-14 drawer cabinets looking for something.

For the average GJ member/do-it-yourselfer, time isn't that critical.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I use some old craftsman 26" chests to store abrasives, clamps, o rings, tape, paint brushes, etc.

I use a real HD, vintage tool chest to store all my screws nails bolts and other fasteners.

getting a vidmar, lista, equipto, lyons, or rousseau from the beginning is going to be a lot easier to deal with and a lot nicer. pulling the drawer that contains 100+lbs of hardware is a serious chore for me at the moment.

 

[Notgrownup]

Also look for Med carts or pill carts or hospital carts.... I have a nice one and it holds a shitload of small stuff.

 

[sberry]

hbhomlqtaz My 3 yr old helps type. Very old pic .

 

[bwringer]

I have a tool box for holding tool box parts that I've salvaged.

I have one drawer a Vidmar cabinet that holds all the extra dividers for my Lista cabinets.

You guys may have entered... boxception.

So do you have another box that you use to keep parts for the toolbox holding your toolbox parts?

 

[Chief919]

Look around at municipal auctions for an old metal library card catalogs. The wood ones bring big $$ because people like them in homes, but nobody values the later metal ones.

Most have an open slot along the bottom, but some wood or metal in the bottom and you have a really nice set of drawers that are easy to add dividers to.

 

[Chief919]

Here is a nice card catalog set that would work well.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=471&acctid=3513

 

[velillen01]

I use a cheap toolbox (top and bottom) for my misc. parts storage. Nothing super heavy goes in it. I picked up some small bins for the drawers. I store all the o-ring, cotter pins, grommets, in one drawer. Then have two other drawers for stuff like Loctite, hose clamps, ect. I also store the odd stuff that comes in kits that I don't know where to put (nylon washers for instances).

My electrical and nuts/bolts are in small portable cases. Found that nice since I can grab the electrical one and have everything I need for a job at the jobsite.

 

[LXCam]

You guys may have entered... boxception.

So do you have another box that you use to keep parts for the toolbox holding your toolbox parts?

Now that's just redundant and down right silly.
















Now I can't speak for my brother in arms FJ



But I use a bin.

 

[bluebolt]

The nice thing about my Durham cabinets is I can take a drawer of hardware to where I am working on, makes things a lot easier.

 

[pstemari]

Yes, and the lids close tight enough to keep hardware from jumping between bins.


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[ndr1968]

hbhomlqtaz My 3 yr old helps type. Very old pic .

That cart with the batteries on it? Can it actually roll with that much weight on it? Daum!

 

[sberry]

It didnt go far. Its since been moved and reworked for extra bolts.

 

[sierradmax]

I found a company liquidating a data center. The large APC racks had used batteries in them. I bought two racks for $100 each, stripped the trays of their batteries and scrapped them for more than what I paid for the racks. I use the trays to store parts in one rack and the other has shelving.