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Tool chest feet

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mike93lx

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I don't have a welder and am not really looking to change that right now.

I'd like to get some height adjustable feet for a Matco tool chest that I just bought. Any recommendations on ones that I can purchase?

The bolt pattern for the casters is 4-1/2 x 4-1/8 and I need 6. I'd love them to go down to about 4" and need less than an inch of adjustability.

This is the kind of thing I'm hoping for, just need the right plate dimensions
www.swagoffroad.com

6 Piece Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Foot Set

6 Piece Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Foot Set Set of 6 Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Feet for the 7 FT Midnight Pro Series Workbench, or the 9FT Midnight Pro Series Workbench. Each is a 4 bolt plate foot. All feet have grease fittings for maintenance. Box also includes all mounting hardware...
www.swagoffroad.com www.swagoffroad.com
 
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Uncle murph

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mike93lx said:
I don't have a welder and am not really looking to change that right now.

I'd like to get some height adjustable feet for a Matco tool chest that I just bought. Any recommendations on ones that I can purchase?

The bolt pattern for the casters is 4-1/2 x 4-1/8 and I need 6. I'd love them to go down to about 4" and need less than an inch of adjustability.

This is the kind of thing I'm hoping for, just need the right plate dimensions
www.swagoffroad.com

6 Piece Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Foot Set

6 Piece Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Foot Set Set of 6 Heavy Duty Adjustable Leveling Feet for the 7 FT Midnight Pro Series Workbench, or the 9FT Midnight Pro Series Workbench. Each is a 4 bolt plate foot. All feet have grease fittings for maintenance. Box also includes all mounting hardware...
www.swagoffroad.com www.swagoffroad.com
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Buy the closest you can and adjust the holes.A Dremel or round file would make short work of it.The legs will never be in tension or shear as opposed to the wheels you’re replacing.
 
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mike93lx

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Uncle murph said:
Buy the closest you can and adjust the holes.A Dremel or round file would make short work of it.The legs will never be in tension or shear as opposed to the wheels you’re replacing.
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I can't fid anything even close. They all have much smaller plates
 
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CraigStu

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Can you buy some steel plate, cut and drill to fit and have them welded to the smaller plates. A local welder wouldn't charge much as a simple stick welder can do four 1/2" tacks per plate. OTOH, this is maybe the easiest welding ever so a good time to buy a cheap welder and practice. No one will ever see the results.
 
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mike93lx

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CraigStu said:
Can you buy some steel plate, cut and drill to fit and have them welded to the smaller plates. A local welder wouldn't charge much as a simple stick welder can do four 1/2" tacks per plate.
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Certainly possible, although at that point, I'd probably just cut the plates off and replace them, but I think at that point, a scratch build would make more sense

I'm really not setup for metalworking at all. I'd have to buy the plates precut (including drill holes).
 
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DGersic

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mike93lx said:
I can't fid anything even close. They all have much smaller plates
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Hacksaw, drill, and some steel plate from the hardware store. It’ll be ugly, but it’ll be hiding under a heavy box you’ll never look under again.
 
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txvwnut

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mike93lx said:
Certainly possible, although at that point, I'd probably just cut the plates off and replace them, but I think at that point, a scratch build would make more sense

I'm really not setup for metalworking at all. I'd have to buy the plates precut (including drill holes).
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Send cut send should be able to help with the plates, then just find a shop or someone with a welder to make some tacks.
 
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mike93lx

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txvwnut said:
Send cut send should be able to help with the plates, then just find a shop or someone with a welder to make some tacks.
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Absolutely. It's about $25 a piece for them.

When I add in large coupling nuts and feet, I'm at about $35 more, or I buy the prefab legs for about the same, then welding. It'll be $600+ once I drop them off at a shop
 
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PCustoms

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mike93lx said:
Absolutely. It's about $25 a piece for them.

When I add in large coupling nuts and feet, I'm at about $35 more, or I buy the prefab legs for about the same, then welding. It'll be $600+ once I drop them off at a shop
Click to expand...

Could probably buy a welder for $600
 
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Renegade1LI

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You probably could get away with some 6 x 6 x 3/16 plate, drill it for your bolt pattern & cut a hole in the center to slip over the adjuster. Bolt it up & should hold it secure, could even step up to 1/4" plate, either way cheap & easy.
 
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BTL-A4

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Could you buy feet that are close and them bolt them to an adapter plate that bolts to the toolbox? No welding involved, but you would have to drill holes in steel plate. You might be able to get some remnants from a welder or metal shop. Do you have any ability to cut metal plate? If you use aluminum, you can buy a non-ferrous material blade for a table saw and cut it. Aluminum drills relatively easy as well.
 
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Roert42

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Harbor freight sells a set of adjustable height feet for their Icon cabinets. They have multiple slotted hole patterns on them already. Unfortunately they do not list dimensions on their website, but you might be able to look at them in a store before buying them.


$100 for a set of four.


Could also call Matco and see if they sell a set.
 
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mike93lx

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Roert42 said:
Harbor freight sells a set of adjustable height feet for their Icon cabinets. They have multiple slotted hole patterns on them already. Unfortunately they do not list dimensions on their website, but you might be able to look at them in a store before buying them.


$100 for a set of four.


Could also call Matco and see if they sell a set.
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I looked at those, but a review noted how small the plates are
 
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mike93lx

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I decided that I'm going to try 3d printing some feet. I think I know where the box will live, so I can actually do custom lengths to level it out.

With the right wall count and infill, it will be way more than strong enough.

A really quick model spit about 500grams each so even with a fancy carbon or glass reinforced filament, its about $15 each
 
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tarbellb

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You designing adjustable feet or simple blocks?

3D printing some custom Acme threaded leveling feet with inserts for a rubber pad bases, matching hole pattern up top and a big fat threaded stem the size of a soda can would be pretty slick. Are there filaments that would be capable?
 
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mike93lx

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tarbellb said:
You designing adjustable feet or simple blocks?

3D printing some custom Acme threaded leveling feet with inserts for a rubber pad bases, matching hole pattern up top and a big fat threaded stem the size of a soda can would be pretty slick. Are there filaments that would be capable?
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Thinking just blocks.
 
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whateg01

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PCustoms said:
Got to start somewhere.

For about $10k you should be able to get everything you need for this project
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My friend just bought a brand new Bridgeport mill for about $23k. I would say that's the minimum requirement for making a set of adjustable feet for this situation. Real should be CNC though, so maybe a small Haas? And then a CNC lathe for the cylindrical part. Fortunately, harbor freight or Eastwood sells the powder coating stuff.
 
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txvwnut

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Alright here's the cheap and dirty solution. Position toolbox so you can access the casters easily and with enough room for an angle grinder and room to work. Then grind a flat spot on all of the casters, adjust depth of flat spot relative to height wanted.

For those questioning the 3D printing method high strength PLA or ABS printed at greater than 50% infill would most likely be strong enough to hold the box.
 
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whateg01

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txvwnut said:
Alright here's the cheap and dirty solution. Position toolbox so you can access the casters easily and with enough room for an angle grinder and room to work. Then grind a flat spot on all of the casters, adjust depth of flat spot relative to height wanted.
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Go all the way around the caster doing that at varying heights so it's eccentric and you have adjustable casters!
 
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mike93lx

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Posting here in case this comes up in a search.

First one is done

Filament is Siraya PET-CF. 50% infill, 6 walls, 6 top and bottom layers and I added features to make it solid between the bottom of the coupling nut and the tool chest. I think these are ridiculously overbuilt.

Grade 5 1/2-13 coupling nuts, swivel leveling mounts, and 5/16-18 serrated flange bolts, all from McMaster. The mounts are rated to 3750 lb each and have a 2" stud.

Min height will be right about 4", I'd say max would be 5". That could easily be increased or decreased with adjusting the printed part or stud length.

The McMaster order was $141 and 2kg of filament was $63.

Posted on Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/1665292-adjustable-foot-for-matco-tool-chest

8123.jpg
 
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mike93lx

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Renegade1LI said:
Nice job! Very professional looking, I can see having a 3d printer pays off. I bought one for my wife and she has made some cool stuff, have to show her these.
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Thanks!

I have a lot more to learn about Fusion, but I'm enjoying the process. Wish I could sit down with someone for a couple hours to go through things like this and get feedback on how to do better.

I really like being able to iterate changes and then let the printer do its thing for a while. On this one, it took three tries to get the sizing for the coupling nuts just right due to how the material was shrinking. But I only had to print ~8mm of the leg, so it was about 30 minutes for each.

The full leg is about 8 hrs of print time and I can fit two at a time. Should be done later tomorrow night if all goes well
 
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alinc100

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mike93lx said:
Posting here in case this comes up in a search.

First one is done

Filament is Siraya PET-CF. 50% infill, 6 walls, 6 top and bottom layers and I added features to make it solid between the bottom of the coupling nut and the tool chest. I think these are ridiculously overbuilt.

Grade 5 1/2-13 coupling nuts, swivel leveling mounts, and 5/16-18 serrated flange bolts, all from McMaster. The mounts are rated to 3750 lb each and have a 2" stud.

Min height will be right about 4", I'd say max would be 5". That could easily be increased or decreased with adjusting the printed part or stud length.

The McMaster order was $141 and 2kg of filament was $63.

8123.jpg
Click to expand...
Modern problems require modern solutions. You've handled it well.
 
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