Cabinet for Small Parts Storage Cases

[Prometheus]

So has anyone come up with an easy method for removing the sticker off the top lid of those HF parts organizers? I bought some, and am wondering about how to do it with minimal effort. I think my first experiment will be to put one in the bathtub and let it soak in water overnight.

Goo gone and a razor blade was how I did mine. Peel as much as you can, spray with goo gone, do the next one. After I did them all I went back to the first one with the razor blade and got as much off as I could easily, sprayed more goo gone, then went in to the next one. Took about an hour to an hour and a half to do the 16 cases I had. Hope that helps

 

[gungatim]

So has anyone come up with an easy method for removing the sticker off the top lid of those HF parts organizers? I bought some, and am wondering about how to do it with minimal effort. I think my first experiment will be to put one in the bathtub and let it soak in water overnight.

mine all just peeled right off. only 1 or 2 left a bit of residue in the middle and wd40 will take that off. or goo gone. or peanut butter for that matter, which works surprisingly well for removing adhesive without scratching...

 

[Victorymike18]

^ The more recent trays don't seem to have the issue with the impossible label. I've been able to peel them off without leaving anything behind for about 6+ months now.

 

[Stuart in MN]

^ The more recent trays don't seem to have the issue with the impossible label. I've been able to peel them off without leaving anything behind for about 6+ months now.

I just bought these about a month ago, and the stickers are on there hard. I did scrape one off, but the plastic lid is so soft it got scratched up as well and I don't want to damage the others. I don't have Goo Gone handy, I may try some WS-40; I know it's good for removing adhesive residue but again don't want to damage the plastic lid.

 

[rk_tek]

A while back my wife showed me a CL ad for a tub of old Legos. I loved for Legos as a kid and had many sets that are today worth 10-20X what they originally cost, but my collection had been stolen during a move several years ago. That tub was the start of a problem. Not for me, but my wife as she had never had Legos as a kid and she is making up for lost time. My 2 year old daughter has also eschewed her larger blocks in favor of the tiny plastic brick. Within 6 months my wife had purchased collections from several people and we needed a way to organize the loose bricks.

Requirements were simple:
CHEAP
Easy to build as I often get about 3 hours a week to work on these kinds of projects
Modular


I came up with a design that would hold 8 short organizers as that was about how many fully loaded ones were easy to move. The sides have feet that interlock with a tab on the top to allow the units to be stacked. I used 5/8" MDF for the sides, 1/8" hardboard for the top, bottom, and back, and 1/2" aluminum angle for the rails. The aluminum was the most costly bit as each unit needed 11.75" X 16. Lowes carries this in 8' lengths for about $9 and that's where i purchased enough to make the prototype. I then found a local metal supplier with 20' lengths for $7. I made one side piece with the table saw and Forstner bits for the curves, then used that as a template with my router to make the rest. I finished all the MDF with shellac as it doesn't cause the MDF to swell and I could recoat very quickly.

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The rails were also the most time consuming portion of the project. They were quickly cut to length on my miter saw, then the ends were all deburred before drilling a hole in each end for mounting. I set up my drill press vise to drill holes 3/4" from each end so i didn't have to measure and centerpunch each one. Of course those holes needed to be deburred on both sides so that's 16 rails x 2 holes x 2 sides x 4 boxes=256. I used a 'jig' (piece of plywood with some marks on it) to lay out the rail holes on each side panel and predrilled them with 1/16" bit.

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Rails were screwed on, then the hardboard was glued in and clamped for a bit. Future revisions will probably use 1/4" plywood instead of hardboard. I'd be doubly excited if I can source 1/4" Baltic birch.

I will add that the organizers have to be modified to slide directly on the rails. There is a projection at the rear corners that needs to be trimmed off. I used an oscillating tool and it takes about 20 seconds per container. A vertical cut is made using the wall of the container as a guide, then a horizontal cut using the lip the lid rests on as a guide and the offending corner is removed. Cabinets designs that use a shelf on drawer slides may use this tab to pull the shelf out with the container.

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https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=5979&pictureid=87511

 

[Deanomyte]

Man this thread has given me so much hope in getting organized


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[akpingel]

These cabinets are great. Thanks for sharing. Can anyone comment on how these HF containers are holding up over time? Wondering if they get brittle and how likely it is they break if dropped from a bench height?

 

[topcok88]

Here is a cabinet I made with my dad today for his Christmas present. I bought him ten organizers, two locking swivel casters, two swivel casters, one 3/4” 4x8 sheet of plywood and one 1/2” sheet of plywood. It took us a few hours today using my Saw Stop PCS, Incra Router Table, and Whiteside Router Bits.

Thank you for the inspiration! I have 30 more organizers of my own but will be making “built in cabinets” for mine in the shop.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[randelw]

Excellent job. Im inspired. Mine will not be as nice. Damn near positive.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I finished a cabinet of my own over the holidays. While it isn't up to SOJ's standards, it was a good compromise between ease of construction, usefulness and look in my view.

I bought 10 of the harbor freight bins, but was only able to fit 8 of them under my work bench. If I'd of had more room I'd have made this taller.

The cabinet was constructed from 1/2 sheet of 1/2" plywood. I screwed it together with Kreg's joints and it does have a solid back for additional strength. The bins slide in and out on 1/2" aluminum channel which I got at Lowes and cut to 13" per slide (2 required for each drawer) and drilled and chamfered for #10 bolts. I used fender washers on each bolt for additional strength.

The pull out drawer was constructed from 3/4" birch plywood and a couple of soft close 14" drawer slides I had left over from another project.

It adds a lot of bolt storage right at my workbench where I really need it.

Phil

 

[Jbienlein]

Finally had enough time to Make something like this. Took a lot of TIME and MONEY...

But.................

100% Worth it.

Total of 30 Drawers/Bins (24 Small and 6 Large)

1. Small Bins - $8.99 X 24 = $215.76
2. Large Bins - $12.99 X 6 = $77.94
3. 16" Drawer Slides (10pk) - $54.50 X 3 = $163.50
4. 4" All Swivel Casters = $29.99
5. Gallon Black Oil Based Paint = $38.76
6. 1/2 Sande Plywood - $35.95 X 3 = $107.85

Random Screws and Other Hardware Included, Build Cost Approx. $680.00

Need to Implement a type of Locking Mechanism to prevent the drawers from coming out during Movement.

Next Step. Labeling!

I'm actually in the process of making a similar cabinet but for:
9 of (Akro-Mils 10164 64-Drawers) It should be Approx. 20" Deep, 20" High, 72" Wide

 

[Trapps]

So many great ideas in this thread. Thanks to the OP and all contributors!!!

I've been searching for a way to manage the small parts bins I've been accumulating and thanks to this thread and all of it posters, I have a solution. I had 3 of the DeWalt Deep Pro Organizers. I got 3 more for Christmas gifts and have now committed to the format:

I'll build a rack inspired by SOJ with just a few modifications. I've settled on 10 organizers riding on 'shop /driveway friendly' casters.

Currently I have some have items stored in a rack my grandfather built in the 70's. I don't know exactly when he built it or where he got the idea, but he was a bit of an inventor/tinkerer. It hung in his garage, then my fathers, and now mine. It has moved from Michigan to Arizona to Cape Cod and now back to Michigan. It's a bunch of plastic tubes set on rails with smaller lips on the bottom and larger lips on the top, allowing the tube to lifted and then the bottom can pivot out. When sitting in place they cannot tip out, even when the door is manipulated with more than average force. Very clever. I don't know the original use of the tubes or where he got them. Some of the hardware was last touched by my grandfather, 40+ years ago!







I will keep the heirloom organizer which is hanging on the door to my cave for very small parts.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Then build it out of metal. I debated metal vs wood at the start. I work with metal about as much as wood. Wood just seemed to be the better choice for me, for this project.

The drawers could be one piece of sheet metal, bent up on each side. Maybe fold the front and rear edge to stiffen up the bottom. The slides could be pop riveted on. An angle iron or square tube frame, covered with sheet metal, would make a strong cabinet.

Don't limit yourself just because I used wood. Work with what you are good at.
-jp

After reading through this thread a year or two ago, I took these words to heart and set out to do just that.

1” square tube frame and the bin-holders are 1.5” angle iron joined by a section of .5” square tubing. Additional details and pictures in “Ernie’s Place”.

Thank you for the inspiration!!

20190126_110949

20190126_135033

20190127_135834

20190202_161623

20190202_161816

20190202_161726

 

[ezover]

After reading through this thread a year or two ago, I took these words to heart and set out to do just that.

1” square tube frame and the bin-holders are 1.5” angle iron joined by a section of .5” square tubing. Additional details and pictures in “Ernie’s Place”.

Thank you for the inspiration!!

20190126_110949

20190126_135033

20190127_135834

20190202_161623

20190202_161816

20190202_161726

wow very nice.

 

[soj]

After reading through this thread a year or two ago, I took these words to heart and set out to do just that.

1” square tube frame and the bin-holders are 1.5” angle iron joined by a section of .5” square tubing. Additional details and pictures in “Ernie’s Place”.

Thank you for the inspiration!!

20190126_110949

20190126_135033

20190127_135834

20190202_161623

20190202_161816

20190202_161726

WOW, just WOW! I have been outdone.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[StormcrowAz]

WOW, just WOW! I have been outdone.

Neither my opinion, nor my intent! If anything I merely used your original design with a couple tweaks to achieve similar/same results in metal. As they say: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and this is just but one more copy based off of your creativity. Thank you again for the concept, documentation, and inspiration that brought these storage bins to life!

 

[69supercj]

So many great ideas in this thread. Thanks to the OP and all contributors!!!

I've been searching for a way to manage the small parts bins I've been accumulating and thanks to this thread and all of it posters, I have a solution. I had 3 of the DeWalt Deep Pro Organizers. I got 3 more for Christmas gifts and have now committed to the format:

I'll build a rack inspired by SOJ with just a few modifications. I've settled on 10 organizers riding on 'shop /driveway friendly' casters.

Currently I have some have items stored in a rack my grandfather built in the 70's. I don't know exactly when he built it or where he got the idea, but he was a bit of an inventor/tinkerer. It hung in his garage, then my fathers, and now mine. It has moved from Michigan to Arizona to Cape Cod and now back to Michigan. It's a bunch of plastic tubes set on rails with smaller lips on the bottom and larger lips on the top, allowing the tube to lifted and then the bottom can pivot out. When sitting in place they cannot tip out, even when the door is manipulated with more than average force. Very clever. I don't know the original use of the tubes or where he got them. Some of the hardware was last touched by my grandfather, 40+ years ago!

I will keep the heirloom organizer which is hanging on the door to my cave for very small parts.

Thats a pretty slick idea!!!

 

[JasonJ]

I finally got to the point that I could post pictures.

I got a server rack from work that was being thrown away. The rack had a slide out keyboard/monitor tray that I ended up using the rails to make my sliding shelf.

I am using rack shelfs to hold the organizers. This setup allows me to adjust the shelfs as necessary.

With door closed.


Door Open


Shelf out...


adjustable shelfs


back side can hold another row if needed



My old parts storage


Now to get everything moved and organized

 

[FMC1959]

I finally got to the point that I could post pictures.

I got a server rack from work that was being thrown away. The rack had a slide out keyboard/monitor tray that I ended up using the rails to make my sliding shelf.

I am using rack shelfs to hold the organizers. This setup allows me to adjust the shelfs as necessary.

With door closed.

Building a rack from scratch like the OP of this thread is very cool and satisfying but when you can find something pre-made that will do the job....and works very well; that is also super cool.

I don't know if you are aware how much an HP server rack costs but they typically start around $1000 and with the door and other extras, it could easily be $1500 or more.

We sell those along with other IT stuff and those always go out on a pallet and require heavy load freight carrier. Probably wasn't easy getting it home, but sweet deal (free). I am in the process of building my own, kind of like the OP, but if I could get a freebie server rack like that HP, my plans and materials list would be in the garbage within seconds.

You did alright

 

[Paladin306]

What an awesome thread this is. I found it over a year ago and since that time I've been designing, planning and finally building my own contribution to it. So, my project is pretty much complete.

(I'm going to add a shop made box on one end to hold a couple of rows of kraft paper so that the top can be protecting. For rougher stuff I'm also going to get a sheet of quarter inch composite board, cut it to the size of the top and attach a magnet near each corner along with embedding a matching steel cup into each corner of the edge grain top. The composite board will then slide onto the maple edge grain top and the magnets should hold it in place.)

View media item 90944
My project probably started out the way most on this thread have started. Finding a "home" for all those yellow boxes. No more stacking them on top of each other and, then unstacking them until you get to the bottom one that you need.

View media item 90945
But, then my idea started getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger!

So, in my very best infomercial voice: But, wait, there's more! It's double sided

View media item 90941
The four primary factors for the building of the bench was a) storage for the yellow boxes, b) storage for really long tools, (up to 54") and c) have an assembly bench, d) create some additional storage so I could declutter my shop. The 10 drawers below the 2 extra wide ones should go a long ways towards accomplishing that last goal. I made these drawers of various sizes to hold a wide variety of stuff regardless of size. I'll probably add dividers in some of the drawers to add to the organization of things.

View media item 90942
One extra note on the extra wide drawers. After doing a lot of research I read several places that advised against such an endeavor. Not so assuming that is, that you get big enough slides. I used 24" KV 8900's and these slides are indeed massive, almost three and a half inches wide, 3/4 of an inch thick and heavy enough I knew I didn't want to drop it on my toe. They're rated at 275 lbs on a 48" wide drawer. I can now confirm that rating is conservative as these drawers are 54" wide and they slide in and out effortlessly. Total dimensions are about 38" wide by 56" long.

View media item 90943
To round it out I made an inch and a quarter edge grain maple top.

For additional pics, see my thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=369051&showall=1

 

[JasonJ]

Building a rack from scratch like the OP of this thread is very cool and satisfying but when you can find something pre-made that will do the job....and works very well; that is also super cool.

I don't know if you are aware how much an HP server rack costs but they typically start around $1000 and with the door and other extras, it could easily be $1500 or more.

We sell those along with other IT stuff and those always go out on a pallet and require heavy load freight carrier. Probably wasn't easy getting it home, but sweet deal (free). I am in the process of building my own, kind of like the OP, but if I could get a freebie server rack like that HP, my plans and materials list would be in the garbage within seconds.

You did alright

I am in the I.T. field. I am a routing/switching guy so my 2-post racks are allot cheaper than the server racks. but the equipment I get to play with are generally a lot more expensive. I had the opportunity to grab a second rack as well, I just didn't have the room in the garage for it.

 

[JasonJ]

View media item 90942

thats a beauty

 

[orangeblood]

JasonJ's re-purposed server rack is really neat!...the form / function value of this set up is off the charts.

Getting that rack free was a golden moment.

 

[maxpat82]

Building a rack from scratch like the OP of this thread is very cool and satisfying but when you can find something pre-made that will do the job....and works very well; that is also super cool.

I don't know if you are aware how much an HP server rack costs but they typically start around $1000 and with the door and other extras, it could easily be $1500 or more.

We sell those along with other IT stuff and those always go out on a pallet and require heavy load freight carrier. Probably wasn't easy getting it home, but sweet deal (free). I am in the process of building my own, kind of like the OP, but if I could get a freebie server rack like that HP, my plans and materials list would be in the garbage within seconds.

You did alright

in my case: Server rack are easy to find(we can have a bunch of throw away every year)....but getting hand on that quantity of shelf is another story.

 

[JasonJ]

in my case: Server rack are easy to find(we can have a bunch of throw away every year)....but getting hand on that quantity of shelf is another story.

The shelfs I had to buy... $20 per shelf from Amazon. They have a small upward lip in the back to keep the containers from sliding back too far. I then adjusted the side vertical rails in the rack to accommodate the shelf and the depth of the storage container, so they would be right up against the door when it was closed. That way the containers don't move forward or backward while moving the cabinet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DV0G8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[zanyad]

For those asking about extra bins for the HF storage cases, found a bunch of 3D printable files on Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3423895
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2836113
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2995510
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:671740
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2802535
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:569241
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3423895

(there are others out there, I'm sure)

 

[Lynden]

I haven't read this entire thread. Has anyone mentioned using a blueprint flat file?

https://www.google.com/search?q=blu...rv7gAhVSUK0KHTBTB2cQ_AUIDigB&biw=1113&bih=992

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=blueprint+flat+file&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[maxpat82]

I haven't read this entire thread. Has anyone mentioned using a blueprint flat file?

https://www.google.com/search?q=blu...rv7gAhVSUK0KHTBTB2cQ_AUIDigB&biw=1113&bih=992

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=blueprint+flat+file&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

IMO those make way too much drawer for what you have as small hardware.
You can't really put anything bigger then 1/4' whitout having to stack them really neat. :|

 

[jasonhughes]

beautiful collection of doors

 

[jmarkwolf]

I admit to saving left over nuts and bolts, but I am seriously rethinking the practice.

However, I bought this today for $45. It is full of small nuts and bolts, mostly socket head cap screws.

No rust or dents, just some easily cleaned grime. Couldn't pass it up.

 

[Sparkynutz]

My inspiration came from the very nice yellow version at the start of this post. I spent quite a bit of time looking for the ultimate way to set up a rack for Harbor Freight parts organizers. My goals were, low cost, fairly easy to build for anyone semi-handy, modular to allow shallow or deep drawer interchangeability, drawer slides that allow the drawer to be pulled out in a rest position to leave the lid open and still retain portability. I compiled my post here with pics http://www.mick.bike/2017/02/small-p...am-savage.html

link doesnt work. any updates? I'm hoping to build something closer to your design very shortly.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Mattlt]

I finally got to the point that I could post pictures.

I got a server rack from work that was being thrown away. The rack had a slide out keyboard/monitor tray that I ended up using the rails to make my sliding shelf.

I am using rack shelfs to hold the organizers. This setup allows me to adjust the shelfs as necessary.



Shelf out...

adjustable shelfs

Now to get everything moved and organized

This is great! I was able to score some racks from a previous job too, but I was not able to find enough shelves (cheap enough) to make anything like this. I might have to re-purpose one of mine to do something like this.

I really like the sliding shelf to use as a shelf to put an organizer on! That's a great idea!

 

[Jbienlein]

Finally got this mostly together. Have to take the drawer pulls off. Come out too far and can’t reach the last set of drawers. Basically it has 9 sets of Akro-Mills drawer sets on sliders mounted sideways.

Total of 6-64 small drawer,2-44 Split, 2-24Lg

Thats 520 pull out drawers for small electronics.

 

[86turbodsl]

I haven't read this entire thread. Has anyone mentioned using a blueprint flat file?

https://www.google.com/search?q=blu...rv7gAhVSUK0KHTBTB2cQ_AUIDigB&biw=1113&bih=992

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=blueprint+flat+file&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I just bought a couple from an estate auction. The drawers are 3" tall, i think it'll work great for this type of storage. They look like "B" size drawers - 26 x 20, rather than the more common D size storage of 24x34.

 

[lilredex]

Took all the great ideas posted here and downsized my entry a bit, to fit the boxes that came from Dollarama, when everything was truly a dollar. Only scrap materials were used, mainly plywood and pine paneling boards removed from our basement rooms in 2013.

 

[Teamelva]

nice work, lilredex!

 

[eyeball]

The original wooden rack I made held the parts bins by the lip. However, due to my tendency to stuff them to the gills, the parts bins began to sag in the middle.

My solution was to build one from metal that supports the bins from the bottom and has a cross member to keep them from sagging.

Here are a few pictures...

 

[Big_DP]

That looks great!

 

[PugetDude]

The original wooden rack I made held the parts bins by the lip. However, due to my tendency to stuff them to the gills, the parts bins began to sag in the middle.

My solution was to build one from metal that supports the bins from the bottom and has a cross member to keep them from sagging.

Here are a few pictures...

For those of you with OCD, try not to focus on the missing latch...

 

[eyeball]

For those of you with OCD, try not to focus on the missing latch...

Maybe you can distract yourself with my mismatched white label on the bottom case.