Do not try this at home

chipper · Mar 30, 2013

I have the hf 44 top and bottom toolboxes.Today i was in the garage staring at it and wanted to switch the two deep drawers from the top for 4 shallow drawers from tje bottom so this involved moving a couple slides and. swaping the drawers easy enough ......wrong drawers are not compatible the locks are different but worse then that is the slides are completely. reversed meaning you can get the drawer in but you can't get it out so once i found the locks wouldn't work it took me forever to it back to normal

Armstrong1720 · Mar 30, 2013

Lol that would be my luck !!!!

Big-Foot · Mar 31, 2013

Ouch! That sux!

Thanx for the heads up!

larry4406 · Mar 31, 2013

Man this is not good to hear.

I have ordered slides to do this exact conversion. The deep drawers from the top chest only have a single slide while the deep drawers in the bottom roller have dual slides.

My plan was to add the new slides to the top chest where the deep drawers are and then swap the deep drawers with narrows from the bottom chest.

What is the difference in the locks?

chipper · Mar 31, 2013

The top box is a 45 degree lock and the bottom is a 180 degree lock ...take out two dtawers and compare the backs you'll see ...this is how it is on my box i can't imagine yours would be any different

pilotman81 · Mar 31, 2013

Bummer man! Thanks for the post, my sister's bf was looking to do the same thing with his box last week when I left for TX. Just texted him to cease and desist! Thanks again!!

larry4406 · Mar 31, 2013

Well I pulled out the drawers from the chest and the roller bottom.

I have the old red crinkle style.

The drawer locks are different, while the slides appear swapped left to right as the release lever is oriented different.

The drawers themselves are the same size.

Looks like I will be having to swap the slides and the locks.

Thanks for the heads up.

CJCar · Mar 31, 2013

I just did this with no issues with the slides. The locks are different. The bottom drawers have a mechanism riveted to the back. I just drilled the rivets and popped them off. This allows the drawers to slide the whole way in the top chest. I'm not worried about locking it but the tabs for the top could be made easily enough.

chipper · Mar 31, 2013

larry4406 said:
Well I pulled out the drawers from the chest and the roller bottom.

I have the old red crinkle style.

The drawer locks are different, while the slides appear swapped left to right as the release lever is oriented different.

The drawers themselves are the same size.

Looks like I will be having to swap the slides and the locks.

Thanks for the heads up.

Correct i wish i knew this when i started..its gonna be a good look good luck to ya post some finished product pics

larry4406 · Apr 24, 2013

Ok - the drawer conversion is done.

Couple of key points associated with this conversion:

1. The upper chest double drawers use single slides while the bottom roller double drawers use double slides. The holes and slots for addition of the slide in the top chest are factory punched.

2. I used 3/16" pop rivits which required slight enlargement of the holes after the slides were fully seated.

3. The slide halves were not interchangeable top chest to bottom roller. Thus, I had to remove the slide halves that were attached to the drawers and keep them in their original locations.

4. The lock mechanism is different between the chest and the roller. The roller uses a swing type latch mechanism while the chest uses a small piece of bent metal.

5. I match marked all drawers and then drilled rivits and swapped the locks. I made my own bent metal pieces for the top chest lock conversion.

6. All drawers now lock perfect after the converison.

7. I also have two 7-drawer cabinets and swapped the single drawers between them.

larry4406 · Apr 24, 2013

Few more pictures

nine4gmc · Apr 24, 2013

good job, thanks for taking time to show the work. that is a killer amount of storage!!

RCStocker · Apr 24, 2013

I have some of those HF boxes and they are great for the money. I am too lazy to change things. LOL

PECVD2 · Apr 24, 2013

Nice Job Larry and thanks for the info/pictures. I may just have to do the same as I hate the deep drawers in the top box.

TheWhiteMamba · Nov 15, 2013

Just found this off a different thread. Thanks for the pics and write up Larry! Just about solidifies the fact that I'll have to buy this combo soon just to do this as well...

cagullett1 · Nov 15, 2013

larry4406 said:
Man this is not good to hear.

I have ordered slides to do this exact conversion. The deep drawers from the top chest only have a single slide while the deep drawers in the bottom roller have dual slides.

My plan was to add the new slides to the top chest where the deep drawers are and then swap the deep drawers with narrows from the bottom chest.

What is the difference in the locks?

Do you have an item number for the slides that you ordered? Did the slides you ordered match the slides to the top cabinet, or the bottom chest?

John316 · Dec 15, 2013

Just thought I would update this thread for reference. I successfully changed around my drawers as pictured and also added slides to two of the larger drawers (originally in the top cabinets) that only come with one set of slides. I still have two drawers (one narrow and one wide) that have only one set slides. I may add slides to these in the future, but for now I am happy to use these for lighter duty storage.

Here is the part # for the slides as I ordered them (late October 2013):
Item # Qty Description
13605 2 90320 DRAW SLIDE 1 PC

The above got me 4 individual slides--2 sets. The part description uses the term "1 PC" as you can see, but the part # is for a set of slides.

Farmall450 · Dec 15, 2013

chipper said:
The top box is a 45 degree lock and the bottom is a 180 degree lock ...take out two dtawers and compare the backs you'll see ...this is how it is on my box i can't imagine yours would be any different

Wow...wonder why they did that?

The Ratchet Man · Dec 15, 2013

John316 said:
Just thought I would update this thread for reference. I successfully changed around my drawers as pictured and also added slides to two of the larger drawers (originally in the top cabinets) that only come with one set of slides. I still have two drawers (one narrow and one wide) that have only one set slides. I may add slides to these in the future, but for now I am happy to use these for lighter duty storage.

Here is the part # for the slides as I ordered them (late October 2013):
Item # Qty Description
13605 2 90320 DRAW SLIDE 1 PC

The above got me 4 individual slides--2 sets. The part description uses the term "1 PC" as you can see, but the part # is for a set of slides.

Is that part number for the top slides or bottom?

John316 · Dec 15, 2013

Both. On older versions of the box it may be different, but on mine which is a more recent version the slides are interchangeable between top and bottom box. It's the locking mechanism that differs of course. It was the bottom drawers of the top box that only come with one set of slides. I added slide but also moved drawers to the bottom cabinet

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

devoncoolman · Dec 15, 2013

Most likely different manufacturers. One company makes the top and another makes the bottom.

The Ratchet Man · Dec 15, 2013

John316 said:
Both. On older versions of the box it may be different, but on mine which is a more recent version the slides are interchangeable between top and bottom box. It's the locking mechanism that differs of course. It was the bottom drawers of the top box that only come with one set of slides. I added slide but also moved drawers to the bottom cabinet

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

I misunderstood you. I thought there was a difference in the slides. I'm just looking to add slides to the top deep drawers and have some spares. I have the current model of both, same as yours. Thanks for taking the leap for the rest of us and the time to post the results. :thumbup:

Did you order through the regular customer service number or a special parts number?

John316 · Dec 15, 2013

The Ratchet Man said:
I misunderstood you. I thought there was a difference in the slides. I'm just looking to add slides to the top deep drawers and have some spares. I have the current model of both, same as yours. Thanks for taking the leap for the rest of us and the time to post the results.

Did you order through the regular customer service number or a special parts number?

I believe it was 1-800-444-3353

larry4406 deserves all the credit. His post made it easy for me to accomplish this.

John316 · Dec 15, 2013

Farmall450 said:
Wow...wonder why they did that?

Likely due to the configuration of the boxes themselves. The top box has a lid which is tied in to the locking mechanism. If the lid is closed the drawers are locked and the key locks the lid, whereas with the roller the drawers are only locked via key only.

The Ratchet Man · Jan 2, 2014

Just an update:

I received the slides today. As stated they come in pairs, left and right. Now I just need to get some rivets. Thanks again.

cheechi · Jan 2, 2014

I was dumb enough to try this when I first got my top box. And yes it was a ***** and a half to get them apart again.

Larry & John, thanks for the writeup. I'm going to do this too once I get my second bottom. I do have one thing to add; my top box appears to have all the slides in place. I moved the tall drawer up one space and had no issue with a missing set of slides. I will double check next time I'm in there but I think my deep has the double slides.

Also, the 7 drawer won't swap drawers with my top or bottom, all newer gloss style. Did you guys find the same thing or did you swap without mods on yours?

Update: Both deep drawers on my top chest have two sets of rails each. The display chest at the HF where I bought mine is missing the double rails on both sides. Who knows.

Beowulf · May 16, 2016

Any updates on this? Have there been any changes in the drawers in the last year and a half?

Do not try this at home

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