Metal Cabinets vintage or homemade and no name toolboxes. got any to show please do

[406Rich]

Wow, those are sweet...

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Those look great! Were they expensive?


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: Thank you!!

Still: I was told these were $2500 each new, but that was many many years ago. they are still in pretty good shape and a few of the extra drawers are in like new condition. i'm hoping to sell a few to offset my costs so i can keep one or two cause they would make really nice toolboxes.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Hi All:

Just wanted to show off an auto parts retail cabinet.

The last 3 pictures are of the door handle in which the bosses were broken, and couldn't be mounted to the door. Some tape, grease covered bolts and JB Weld fixed that.

 

[drivesitfar]

Mark: I have owned a few of these Napa cabinets and I really like how well they were built cabinet wise anyway cause the plastic handles are not. If the handles were made out of aluminum instead of plastic I probably would have kept mine.

happy to see you were able to repair your broken plastic handle.

 

[406Rich]

Picked up this cabinet at the flea market, all steel weighs in just under 100 lbs, zerk fittings on the wheels foot brake on the underside, electrical wired in have no idea what it was used for but did buy it for my drill press, I`ll clean up the rust and give it a paint job, build some doors and a top for it. its 21x26x34 high same size foot print as my drill press base..

 

[park city flyer]

That cabinet looks like an electrical equipment rack , although the ones I've seen were 6 or 7 feet high. That line of holes along the sides of the opening are probably tapped about 10-32 ,to hold equipment front panels in place. The manufacturers also made accessories such as brackets, which bolted into the side holes for shelves or desk tops. Drawer slides could be fitted to slide equipment out for maintenance. Some of these pivoted when fully extended for repairs on the underside of a piece of gear.

I sat at similar racks in the Air Force.


Tom

 

[RedVise]

I like the small hardware cabinets, here's a couple.
Various brands.

Brian

 

[Outlawmws]

Agreed equipment or computer rack. With it open on top like that it may have housed old school disk drives. They would load these from the top, hence the need for an open top arrangement. We used to call those "washing machines"

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I like the small hardware cabinets, here's a couple.
Various brands.

Me too, Brian. I picked a very small and lightweight gauge steel jobbie up today just because it was so danged cute. Nothing special. Not even branded. The OD green and the nifty combination pull/label holders got me. One of the drawers has six dividers, the other halves, otherwise all full drawer. Meant to be hung, but I am going to put it on top of my Dorman cabinet.

 

[RedVise]

Me too, Brian. I picked a very small and lightweight gauge steel jobbie up today just because it was so danged cute. Nothing special. Not even branded. The OD green and the nifty combination pull/label holders got me. One of the drawers has six dividers, the other halves, otherwise all full drawer. Meant to be hung, but I am going to put it on top of my Dorman cabinet.

Dang high end cabinet there with the label holders !!! LOL

Brian

 

[Jayman17]

Me too, Brian. I picked a very small and lightweight gauge steel jobbie up today just because it was so danged cute. Nothing special. Not even branded. The OD green and the nifty combination pull/label holders got me. One of the drawers has six dividers, the other halves, otherwise all full drawer. Meant to be hung, but I am going to put it on top of my Dorman cabinet.

Lugz, that will look good sitting on top of the Dorman cabinet. I recently went to an estate sale where the must of had around 15 of the 4 drawer Dorman cabinets, too expensive for me at $120 each. I don't think they sold one until day 2 when everything was 50% off. They went quick at that price

Jay

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: it's hard to see in your picture, but were there shelves inside it? or are you planning on putting in one or two and maybe a door too? looks about the right height for a good DP and at 100 pounds pretty solid too. nice find.

Red: I love these little cabinets, but my bigger ones seem to be phasing out my little ones.

Lug: great color (how can you beat ARMY GREEN?) and is that about 10 inches wide and tall or do tell? cool cabinet and in great shape too.

ALL: I won't post up a picture before i pick it up, but yes I am driving over an hour (with my bride) to pick up some more metal cabinets. call it a disease or just call it a quest and some quality time with my bride. we'll probably try to find a good place to eat and this is a good reason to take a drive.

hope you all have a great weekend!!!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lug: great color (how can you beat ARMY GREEN?) and is that about 10 inches wide and tall or do tell? cool cabinet and in great shape too.

It's a tad out of square, and the drawers rack on the right popped its weld near the top, but yes, overall, it's in great shape. It measures 9-1/2" tall by 8" wide by 6" deep. (I said it was tiny! )

 

[drivesitfar]

LUG: speaking of TINY metal cabinets the one on top of the 18 & 12 drawer cabinets is maybe a bit smaller. my guess is the 3 drawer cabinet is 6 inches wide, 8 inches deep and 6 inches tall.

ALL: i'll re configure the drawers so both of these will be 15 drawer cabinets. anybody know the maker cause these are old and stout and similar to a BAKER'S cabinet I have that I bought a few years ago that I heard was from a bakery in our area that was in business in the 1920's.

I'm pretty sure the original color of mine is ARMY GREEN and wondering if I might be able to just soak that awful grey with some Simple green cause the green paint looks like it's there to stay?

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I'm not sure who made your new cabinets Drives but I believe you are right that they were military. The top with the center cross brace and four screws are identical and the brass pulls and construction very similar to some I've had in the shop for years. I never looked too hard nor found the manufacturer on mine but they have been useful for storing odds and ends that didn't belong in bolt bins. Ed.

 

[tym]

Here's one of mine I mentioned elsewhere. No markings that I can see. Next to it is a storage tin for an ammeter, empty now, dated Feb 1951 that I spied at the end of a swap meet as all the vendors were packing up.

 

[drivesitfar]

ORC: it looks like you restored your cool cabinets. yes? do you pull off the handles and do you maybe have some step by step tips to share cause it really looks almost new and clean now?

yep these cabinets are maybe even a step or two up in quality over my Lyon and Equipto cabinets.

I like the handles on yours which are more like the handles on my old BAKER'S CABINET (BTW my baker's cabinet is 3 cabinets stacked on top of each other with a removable top too).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those brass cupped pulls are classy.

 

[drivesitfar]

LUG: i've been tempted to pick up cheap or free wood cabinets with these old pulls on them just for the pulls so if I EVER GET ORGANIZED i might just do that. the bigger drawer size on these metal cabinets are nice too. I have some of my home electrical supplies in my baker's cabinet.

ALL: anybody else have a cool small, medium or large metal cabinet to post pictures of please do and as a bonus to us that have FSD (flat surface disease) can you maybe show what you put in your drawers or cabinets so maybe we can GET ORGANIZED!!

 

[Mark in Indiana]

All:

Here's a vtg Steelmaster utility cabinet. My second cabinet for 2019. This one ended up to be a fun puzzle to solve:

1. The compartment that's secured with a combination lock was locked. Combination unknown. I had to get it open.
2. I had to figure out the combination of the lock.
3. I had to disassemble and set up the keyed lock cylinder to a key that would go into the lock. Since the pin tumblers wouldn't work using my key, I had to file on the key cuts to make it work.

Since I don't have room, I'll try to find a home for it. It would make a neat cabinet for a shop.

BTW: The last picture is a showcase cabinet that I finished a few days ago. It was the first cabinet to finish this year.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

ORC: it looks like you restored your cool cabinets. yes? do you pull off the handles and do you maybe have some step by step tips to share cause it really looks almost new and clean now?

yep these cabinets are maybe even a step or two up in quality over my Lyon and Equipto cabinets.

I like the handles on yours which are more like the handles on my old BAKER'S CABINET (BTW my baker's cabinet is 3 cabinets stacked on top of each other with a removable top too).

I wouldn't call it a restoration but I did wire brush the handles in place, which are riveted on, and clean up, lightly sand, and paint the drawer faces. Really just the minimum to get them presentable. When found they were in an electrical switch house for a crusher that was being demoed and were so packed with dust and **** the drawers would barely move. The drawer fronts are kind of beat up as well but the inside paint wasn't all that bad. I couldn't even tell the pulls were brass until I cleaned them up a bit. The drawers do hold a lot of weight though and I have a lot of hardware type stuff in them.

Those brass cupped pulls are classy.

I think so too Lugz. Probably the best feature of the cabinets. Ed.

 

[ScottsGT]

I'm not sure if I already posted this or not?

But this one was being tossed out a work. It was a simple gray wall mount that we had one too many of. I broke out the sandpaper, tape and rattle cans to make it a little different. Added a few gas pump stickers and it is a hit in the garage.
Its a clam shell design with door storage as well.

 

[drivesitfar]

ORC: thanks for the 411 on your restoration process which to you was minimum, but it looks great.

Scott: any chance you might have to take a few pictures of the insides so we can see the shelving and maybe what kinds of stuff you store in it would be great if you have time.

ALL: anybody else have a few cool metal cabinets or bins to post a few pictures of please do and for some of you that might not have REAL VINTAGE stuff if anybody knows what that means i'm sure I (we) won't mind if you post up your cool LISTA, VIDMAR, and other quality cabinets that really don't have a thread for them. also showing the insides helps some of us get ORGANIZED so please post them up when you get time to.

also as far as hanging these cool cabinets how are you all hanging them? french cleats with metal or wood and can you buy the metal ones? or do tell?

 

[ScottsGT]

Here you go.



Currently my spray bomb cans and car polishing compounds storage.

 

[Outlawmws]

Me too, Brian. I picked a very small and lightweight gauge steel jobbie up today just because it was so danged cute. Nothing special. Not even branded. The OD green and the nifty combination pull/label holders got me. One of the drawers has six dividers, the other halves, otherwise all full drawer. Meant to be hung, but I am going to put it on top of my Dorman cabinet.

I have 5 of the little cubes.

Lugs, besides the cool drawer pulls, yours is larger than what we usually see, with an additional drawer. 5 instead of four...

This one is the closest I have to yours with the hook finger pull.

it's an orphan and the only one of mine to reveal its maker with the label; Steelmaster.

The label is cool as it's also advertising for its many uses!



These are more typical cases. BTW ALL that I have seen were OD for original paint. The left one needs some love for the case. The top on these have the popped up area, and the bottom has it indented so they will "key" on each other, if only slightly. All the rest of mine have this outer case.

My other two are in use in nooks so no pics, but the drawers of one has the knob pulls like two of the right hand side box, and the other has a mix with three of the bitty handles, and one like the steel case, box.

The one with the little knobs has it's case upside down I just noticed! The bottom should have the indented part so the sides rest solidly!

Dividers came:
None, Three, four square, six, and nine.

I wish I had enough to get all open drawers for two, and divide them myself for fractional drills over 1/2". 24 slots should do it?


Drives: All my cabinets in the garage are on wood french cleats. in a couple cases I added a piece inside to help support the cabinet, as the metal if its thin will tend to pull away from the cleat, or even the wall, if attached directly with a lot of weight.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I can't recall how many of those small little cabinets I still own or how many have slipped through my hands, but I still like to buy them when they aren't a fortune.

speaking of storage I need to post up a few pictures of yesterday's aquisitions and i'll do as soon as I can.

1) Bolt bin that is 6 foot tall (2 sections bolted together and on a stand to keep it about 4 inches off the floor) that is 3 foot wide and a foot deep I bought from another GJ member I haven't seen for a while cause he couldn't find a spot for this one.

2) Lyon rotobin 3 foot tall and 3 foot wide with 4 rotating bins with 4 sections and plastic bins. it's not vintage, but since i have some that are I think i'll post up the newer one's picture so you all can see how handy these removable bins might be if you find one or want to buy a new one.


hope you all have a great weekend and post up pics of your vintage metal cabinets, bins and organizing methods if you have some to share. thanks in advance

 

[park city flyer]

I don't know about the "cubes" with the pulls that look like tongues sticking out, but I'm told that the square-cornered ones were used U.S. Army armorers to store gun parts. That would account for some of them being O.D. green. A friend has a couple that his Guard unit was throwing away back in the '80's. The one I inherited from my father in law was tin plated. I made replacements for the missing drawers, painted it, and use it to store machine screws.

Tom

 

[park city flyer]

Very nice job. Those decals must be from the '60's. Esso used to give out little fake tiger tails you could tie around the filler neck to indicate that YOU had a tiger in YOUR tank.

Tom

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i'll get a few better pictures of my new(ish) Lyon rotobin that is about 3 foot tall and 3 foot wide that has plastic bins that were made for it.

I also had this VERY HEAVY old Shaw Walker fireproof cabinet that I didn't have room for so I delivered it to it's new owner. anybody else move one of these by themselves without a gantry or lift or any kind of help cause OMG this cabinet is heavy.

 

[Motorman55]

I'm not sure if I already posted this or not?

But this one was being tossed out a work. It was a simple gray wall mount that we had one too many of. I broke out the sandpaper, tape and rattle cans to make it a little different. Added a few gas pump stickers and it is a hit in the garage.
Its a clam shell design with door storage as well.

Great job on the Retro ESSO cabinet.

 

[wrenchguy]

old school shop project??? All soldered or riveted construction.

 

[drivesitfar]

Wrench: your cool old box sure does look WELL BUILT so whether it was a class project or some handy guy's weekend project it looks like there were some skills involved.

how heavy is it? i've can't say I've ever seen a built tray like that before either.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I picked up a second dental cabinet today off C/L for $40. This one is a Hamilton American and has 10 full width drawers plus the upper cubby. It needs cleaned up a little but is solid. The one I've had for several years is an older 24 drawer model that I like the styling on better but the drawers are not as deep and only half the width. I really like these cabinets and they hold a lot of tools. Ed.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Love the Dental cabinet. You killed on that buy. What is the green finish made out of? Looks sort of like Formica but I’m old-ish and using an iphone.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Thanks Stillgottimefor1. I'm pretty sure the green one is just formica covered plywood for construction. The blue one is laminated wood as well but just painted. Ed.

 

[Gasgt1]

I picked this up a few years ago.
Have since done some cleanup but not finished yet.

I plan to make a white oak butcher block top for it.

 

[ScottsGT]

I picked this up a few years ago.
Have since done some cleanup but not finished yet.

I plan to make a white oak butcher block top for it.

That would make an awesome bar!

 

[tombell572]

Drives, those wood machinist boxes look beautiful--mahogany?

Tom B.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I picked this up a few years ago.
Have since done some cleanup but not finished yet.

I plan to make a white oak butcher block top for it.

That is a really neat Hydraulic cart GAsqt1. Reminds me a lot of the Blackhawk porto power carts. Very nice. Ed.

Drives, those wood machinist boxes look beautiful--mahogany?

Tom B.

Just in case you were asking about the Gerstner set on the Dental cabinet Tom they are Walnut. Ed.