Index Card Cabinet Storage Ideas?

[DIY_Guy79]

So, I just lucked out. Was the first to message about this awesome index card style/ microfilm cabinet on Facebook a gentleman decided to give away for free. Awesome heavy duty old cabinet. I'm just trying to figure out how to best utilize the storage. I'm definitely going to insert flat bottoms and compartment dividers. I'm thinking using it for hardware, but I just dont generally keep that much hardware on hand. My tool boxes do a good job of housing most of my tools. So, now here I've got this awesome old cabinet and dont really know to utilize the storage space lol.

Any suggestions?

 

[BigMike782]

I have that exact type of cabinet and am in the process of making it able to hold fasteners. I bought Schaller bins but they don't fit very well so I am using 1/4" luan plywood to make drawer bottoms and dividers.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

I have that exact type of cabinet and am in the process of making it able to hold fasteners. I bought Schaller bins but they don't fit very well so I am using 1/4" luan plywood to make drawer bottoms and dividers.

Hardware/fasteners definitely seems like the best fit. I was thinking 1/4" ply as well for the bottoms/dividers.

 

[sick467]

That's going to be HEAVY full of hardware, but what a great find. I have small two drawer unit like that. (I screwed it to the underside of my workbench and keep clean shop towels in it.

 

[Ralf11]

screwdrivers, extensions

 

[DIY_Guy79]

That's going to be HEAVY full of hardware, but what a great find. I have small two drawer unit like that. (I screwed it to the underside of my workbench and keep clean shop towels in it.

I dont know the dimensions on this one yet. I have an appointment to pick it up in the morning. I'd love to find its short enough to use for drawers under a work bench, looks like its prob a bit too tall though, kind of hard to judge by the pic. I didnt ask. I just saw it was free and told him I wanted it, made an appointment, gave me his address & number, and he marked it as sold for me. He said the same thing about it being heavy. Said it's going to take both of us to load it.

 

[steaks&anvils]

I have had similar cabinets, great storage and can take a lot of weight per drawer too!

I used small boxes, index card boxes, cash boxes etc to store tools/stuff in the drawers. I did not keep nuts/bolt or hardware in mine, mostly tools and junk. The boxes kept parts together and let me just take the box out and over to the task at hand. Also plastic baskets and drawer organizers as I found them. Wooden silverware holders work well too.

All depends on your drawer width and height.

There are a few threads with generic storage and drawer storage ideas.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=441632&highlight=parts*bins

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275108

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289536

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110832

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218604&highlight=parts*bins

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305831

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305350

 

[bob15]

Bolt bins with Schaller plastic bins https://www.schallercorporation.com/

 

[vavet]

If off-the-shelf bins don't fit neatly, then you'll need a 3D printer to print the appropriate sized bins to optimize the space of this.

It's a cool unit, no doubt. I agree that having a bunch of nuts, bolts, and screws will make that thing very heavy and likely to damage the drawer slides. You could certainly put some in each drawer, along with other small, less dense parts like wire nuts, crimp on terminals, small plumbing parts, etc. It would be a great place for things that need some level of protection like router bits. Keep us posted on how you use it.

 

[lardy1]

Nice score, regardless how you utilize it. For me it would probably hold my bit assortment, small drivers and ratchets. Maybe use some drawers to hold that stuff I have too many of (old tape measures, utility knives, tri-squares, etc. I'd be careful with hardware. It gets heavy fast.

 

[BigMike782]

My cabinet is about 4-1/2' tall. Each level has a carrier with two drawers. Each drawer can be lifted out of the carrier and has a hand hold at the back of the drawer. It came from a bank and was used for storing file cards and I'm sure held more weight than I will have in it in fasteners.
I was very disappointed that Schaller bins did not fit as that would have been and awesome upgrade.

 

[cheechi]

I would put power tools and other bulky stuff that didn't fit well elsewhere in one of those guys.

If the evenness/flatness of the drawer bottoms is an issue and you don't intend to use the rod you could remove all those and the thinnest coat you can do of self levelling epoxy. scuff it up with steel wool after if its too slick.

I had a less tall cabinet like that that i traded for a flat file cabinet. no slides on either one and it was a better size/shape for me. but i did the epoxy with most of the drawers for hardware, and put power tools and accessories in the rest. the only other thing maybe (for me at least) would be woodworking hand tools but I didn't want to put mine in there when I had it as it wasn't nearby.

 

[Moosefire]

If you have access to a 3d printer you could make your own bins, even ones that follow the contour of the bottom to maximize the space

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Dumber than lumber]

This is my problem - I get cool **** for free or for cheap. Not sure what to do with it. My wife goes, “More junk? This place looks like hillbillies live here.”
Then i have something else requiring a slice of my attention.
Good luck on filling that cabinet with more ****.

 

[drivesitfar]

I had 3 of them in the back of my garage full of various stuff like planes, plumbing, electrical, nails, ...

they hold a ton. I had 1/4 inch hardy board in bottom of drawers that sort of worked ok to keep stuff from falling thru 2 inch gap in bins, but my OCD didn't like them rocking so if I was a welder i would tack in some thin gauge aluminum or steel to bottom of drawers.

I eventually traded these for a bigger cabinet i can use for the bigger stuff since I have more than a few cabinets and bins for the smaller stuff.

it's a great cabinet that is for sure and if the bottom isn't rusted out you certainly didn't pay too much for it.

we were just talking about another shorter cabinet like this I didn't buy because it had the gap in the drawers and some of the guys mentioned what they do on this Vintage metal cabinet thread if you want to take a look here's the link:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305350

 

[Al Borland]

Think of all the 10mm sockets you could store in there.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Thanks, guys. Some great suggestions above.

If off-the-shelf bins don't fit neatly, then you'll need a 3D printer to print the appropriate sized bins to optimize the space of this.

It's a cool unit, no doubt. I agree that having a bunch of nuts, bolts, and screws will make that thing very heavy and likely to damage the drawer slides. You could certainly put some in each drawer, along with other small, less dense parts like wire nuts, crimp on terminals, small plumbing parts, etc. It would be a great place for things that need some level of protection like router bits. Keep us posted on how you use it.

If you have access to a 3d printer you could make your own bins, even ones that follow the contour of the bottom to maximize the space

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

No, unfortunately I dont have a 3D printer, yet. Had my eye on the Creality Ender 3 for a while though. Looks nice & seems to get a lot of respect for such a budget friendly printer.

This is my problem - I get cool **** for free or for cheap. Not sure what to do with it. My wife goes, “More junk? This place looks like hillbillies live here.”
Then i have something else requiring a slice of my attention.
Good luck on filling that cabinet with more ****.

You and me both. Only in my case, my wife is the same way lol.

I had 3 of them in the back of my garage full of various stuff like planes, plumbing, electrical, nails, ...

they hold a ton. I had 1/4 inch hardy board in bottom of drawers that sort of worked ok to keep stuff from falling thru 2 inch gap in bins, but my OCD didn't like them rocking so if I was a welder i would tack in some thin gauge aluminum or steel to bottom of drawers.

I eventually traded these for a bigger cabinet i can use for the bigger stuff since I have more than a few cabinets and bins for the smaller stuff.

it's a great cabinet that is for sure and if the bottom isn't rusted out you certainly didn't pay too much for it.

we were just talking about another shorter cabinet like this I didn't buy because it had the gap in the drawers and some of the guys mentioned what they do on this Vintage metal cabinet thread if you want to take a look here's the link:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305350

Lol the I posted is hard to judge the size of it.. well let me tell you, it doesnt tell half the story of the size of this thing. I went and picked the cabinet up today and its a very big one. Probably the same size as the ones you posted. I didnt have time to measure the height before I left for work but it's easily 4.5' or 5' tall and about 28" deep. Weighs probably 200lbs.

Think of all the 10mm sockets you could store in there.

Now this is one hell of a good suggestion lol. I own at least 5 different 10mm sockets and I'm lucky to be able find 1 of them at any given time.

 

[drivesitfar]

if i recall correctly your cabinet with 10 drawers and 20 bins is 53-56 inches tall and about 28-29 inches deep.

i've moved them from place to place in my Honda with the drawers in them, but you can remove all 20 bins and it's much lighter. I'd say the cabinet is more in the 150 pound range and maybe 100 pounds with the bins out, but that is only a guess.

good luck and I hope you like it.

FYI it's a very popular cabinet so if you don't like it you can probably trade a member for a different one or sell it.

 

[Fatboy148]

if i recall correctly your cabinet with 10 drawers and 20 bins is 53-56 inches tall and about 28-29 inches deep.

i've moved them from place to place in my Honda with the drawers in them, but you can remove all 20 bins and it's much lighter. I'd say the cabinet is more in the 150 pound range and maybe 100 pounds with the bins out, but that is only a guess.

good luck and I hope you like it.

FYI it's a very popular cabinet so if you don't like it you can probably trade a member for a different one or sell it.

Everything here is correct. Easily moved by one person without drawers.

Make note....

Even though the drawers have somewhat of a lock to hold them in place. Be sure to secure the drawers before you start to move your truck. You could leave a trail of drawers all the way home if you don't.


Akro Mils makes a bin that should fit in there. It should take 7 on each side or 14 / level.

https://www.zoro.com/akro-mils-stone-hang-and-stack-bin-7-38l-x-4-18w-x-3h-30220stone/i/G0841574/

 

[tarbellb]

Excellent storage for just about anything that fits, specially the heavier stuff.

I have mine loaded with consumables, hardware, tools, you name it.

As some of the previous suggestions state, find a good bins, it makes all the difference.


Akro bins come in all sizes and can be had for cheap online

Schaller - not cheap, but excellent and come in all sizes- https://www.schallercorporation.com/

 

[Buckgnarly]

Subscribed...I have a second big cabinet coming my way this week and I am gonna kill lots of time filling it with some of the ides on here!

 

[csp]

The grey Harbor Freight bins fit perfectly in mine.

 

[drivesitfar]

CSP: yours while it's still a great cabinet is a bit different. the one we've been talking about has 2 actual bins that you can take out of each drawer so there is a middle divider.

that said some of your bins still might work and just depends what we want to put inside our cabinets.

DIY: also if you want to take out he drawers I think the slides may come out also and if they do you might want to remove them too before moving this so you don't lose or bend one.

 

[csp]

CSP: yours while it's still a great cabinet is a bit different. the one we've been talking about has 2 actual bins that you can take
out of each drawer so there is a middle divider.

I'm not sure what that has to do with the ability to find an existing, commercially available bin that fits the drawer.

Honestly didn't care if mine was different. The point was you don't have to revert to the pain of waiting on a 3D printer to make individual bin storage. Akro makes all kinds of different sizes.

BTW, mine also has a middle divider. You just can't see it in the photo.

 

[drivesitfar]

DIY: did you pick up that free cabinet yet?

 

[DIY_Guy79]

DIY: did you pick up that free cabinet yet?

Yes I did. It's setting in my garage now. Havent done anything with it yet, I was in the middle of giving my garage a bit of an overhaul. So it's a mess at the moment.

 

[BigMike782]

Trying to figure out how I want to utilize the space.
Made some drawer dividers today.