building a sliding shelf inside a toolbox drawer?

[purpony]

I have been thinking about this for a while and wondering if anyone has done anything like this. I was thinking of getting a set of ball bearing drawer sliders and building a shelf in the large top drawer of my 42" toolbox that would slide from side to side. This would allow for double stacking of my horizontal socket holders and allow me easy access to the ones below that i do not use as often.

any thoughts

 

[Mickey O]

I have been thinking about this for a while and wondering if anyone has done anything like this. I was thinking of getting a set of ball bearing drawer sliders and building a shelf in the large top drawer of my 42" toolbox that would slide from side to side. This would allow for double stacking of my horizontal socket holders and allow me easy access to the ones below that i do not use as often.

any thoughts

Snap On (MBC) did it years ago, might still have them, I'll look for a pic of the one I had. Found it:

 

[purpony]

thanks for the pic. I was thinking side to side, but front to back work work also.

 

[sk farmer]

i beleive those are just a tray that hangs from a lip over the edge of the drawer. it would slide back and forth but not really good if you were to move it a lot. on beniefit of that would be easy removal or it could be moved from drawer to drawer or box to box. it also would not alter the drawer. someone also had a flat surface that covered a whole drawer for a work surface but could be lifted to access storage underneeth

 

[Mickey O]

thanks for the pic. I was thinking side to side, but front to back work work also.

Just rotate it. But you have given me a good idea, I'll post back when I figure it out.

 

[Mickey O]

Not sure if this will make sense (makes perfect sense to me), a couple of small aluminum angles running the length of the drawer double tape stuck on maybe with a leg on each corner for extra support, then a frame from wood or small light gauge steel square tubing with wheel on the bottom and opening for drop in/removable "bins" (similar to the snap on shelf) with a handle in the middle for removal. I'd make two and keep one on each end of the drawer with a magnet to keep them in place

 

[mkdive]

There are a couple members that have done it....and it came out really nice as memory serves. I think its in the tool box thread. Sorry I dont remember the member(s) who did the mod.

 

[Tim Cowan]

I have an old(30-40's) orignal gray SO two drawer box that has the factory sliding tray in the lower drawer. It slides over the top edge of the drawer.

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

Snap On also made a small and a very large cabinet for carburetor tools in the 1950's with sliding trays over storage areas

 

[CamarosRus]

My KRL1022 came with 2 sliding accessory trays. One fits the bottom right bank wide drawers and one fits lower left narrorwer drawers.

Has any member ever had these replicated at a lower cost ?????

 

[sk farmer]

i would think any sheet metal shop could easily fabricate something.

 

[Mickey O]

My KRL1022 came with 2 sliding accessory trays. One fits the bottom right bank wide drawers and one fits lower left narrorwer drawers.

Has any member ever had these replicated at a lower cost ?????

Pictures please.

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

If I were going to do this I think I would look for tool carrying trays or liftout trays from small toolboxes the proper length as a starting point...cut down the ends and fold the remaining part outward to form the part overhanging the slide supports.

 

[Keep]

Not sure if this will make sense (makes perfect sense to me), a couple of small aluminum angles running the length of the drawer double tape stuck on maybe with a leg on each corner for extra support, then a frame from wood or small light gauge steel square tubing with wheel on the bottom and opening for drop in/removable "bins" (similar to the snap on shelf) with a handle in the middle for removal. I'd make two and keep one on each end of the drawer with a magnet to keep them in place

Instead of a leg and double sided tape some rivets would work really well. Of course those with high end boxes may not want to drill into the sides of the drawers.

Me I would not mind doing that at all, and as a matter of fact will probably do so in the very near future. I was trying to figure out how to get more room out of my boxes!

 

[Keep]

Also I do not think roller slides would be a good idea, when you close the drawer they would move all over the place. A simple sliding tray would work the best. Just some good wax on the surfaces and they would slide just fine.

 

[thk2c]

i was just thinking about this today.....crazy

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

I too think that this would be a good idea, I would like to see what you come up with.

Adam

 

[lilredex]

Here's one, that I "borrowed" from some where. I also thought it was a good idea, except the sides on my boxes are straight up, no off set like the pic.

 

[Mickey O]

Also I do not think roller slides would be a good idea, when you close the drawer they would move all over the place. A simple sliding tray would work the best. Just some good wax on the surfaces and they would slide just fine.

I though about that:

Not sure if this will make sense (makes perfect sense to me), a couple of small aluminum angles running the length of the drawer double tape stuck on maybe with a leg on each corner for extra support, then a frame from wood or small light gauge steel square tubing with wheel on the bottom and opening for drop in/removable "bins" (similar to the snap on shelf) with a handle in the middle for removal. I'd make two and keep one on each end of the drawer with a magnet to keep them in place

I was even thinking about some inserts (like those plastic runners) to protect the drawer.

 

[Mickey O]

It'll be awhile before I make mine, have to clean everything out first, but I plan on making it somewhat like the picture I posted above and the tray will be similar to this Armstrong toolbox I have (pic below), not entirely, but I want to divider it up so everything has it's place and it's easy to find.

 

[Keep]

Ahhh magnets would work well.

(adds yet another thing to the list)

 

[Vinko]

I built my own sliding steel drawers in a work table and was thinking of making one sliding inside but was going to do it with angle iron tacked on and a piece of 1/16" sheet, greased so that it'd slide easy. Pics of what I've got so far, coming.

I got my idea from my parts washer shelf that slides pretty easily. But your idea for slides sounds better.

 

[Sterff]

Here's one, that I "borrowed" from some where. I also thought it was a good idea, except the sides on my boxes are straight up, no off set like the pic.

Do you have any other pictures of your shelf? Id like to build one similar to that.

 

[dumper]

like this? There are shallow sliding drawers inside of large drawers, then sliding left-to-right and front-to-back trays on top of that. Lots of square footage in a small space.

oh, damn! I just noticed this is an old thread...oh well, too late.

 

[nw2571]

TTT

Any updates to this thread? Would love to see something easily fabricated or even commercially available!

 

[johnnybentwrench]

I have an old KR-300. I had only three drawers. I bought another box and added drawers, still not enough room. I just had two trays manufactured, They are exactly like the SO & other truck brands without a hem at the top edge.I borrowed a tray from a neighbor to copy, but made it to my drawer size. I had three choices of material Galvanized,metal or Stainless. I went with stainless.It adds a lot of extra room & I can take the whole tray out to my project. drawer slides burn up space, also you will be clipped at one end as far as getting in to the bottom of the drawer. I do not know if they make two way slides? if so you would have to mount it in the middle and you will still lose some of the drawer. any smal metal shop can knock em out, JBW

 

[TDITS]

Johnny, how much did you have to spend to get those built? They look nice.

I'm looking for something similar.

A quick search of SO's web site found this
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=3240&store=snapon-store

 

[TN_GARAGE]

The key is to find/buy or make a tray that fits correctly.

In terms of getting the top tray to slide, you can do something as simple as set it on top of the lower tray (the ones that hang on the drawer are cool, but you might have some difficulty finding one that fits exactly)

If you don't have a lower tray, you can build slides a couple ways:
1. standard drawer slides (requires you to drill into the drawer and the top tray) and acts like a drawer inside a drawer
2. make a rail out of furring strips or dowels (simply cut them to the proper dimensions) and glue, tape, screw them to your drawer so your top insert rests on the rail (could also recess some magnets in the furring strips pretty easily with a chisel and/or power tools)

 

[johnnybentwrench]

Johnny, how much did you have to spend to get those built? They look nice.

I'm looking for something similar.

A quick search of SO's web site found this
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=3240&store=snapon-store

$40.00 each, but I will look for a smaller shop next time. small two or three guy shop will be cheaper than the big place I found. The measurement for the tray size is 1/8 smaller than the drawer width, tabs are 1/4 out. seems like SO made two styles of tray, a hook & a tab like mine. Keep in mind the height. I wanted wrenches so I made it 2" deep, the deeper the tray the more space you lose on the bottom.

 

[TDITS]

$40.00 each, but I will look for a smaller shop next time. small two or three guy shop will be cheaper than the big place I found. The measurement for the tray size is 1/8 smaller than the drawer width, tabs are 1/4 out. seems like SO made two styles of tray, a hook & a tab like mine. Keep in mind the height. I wanted wrenches so I made it 2" deep, the deeper the tray the more space you lose on the bottom.

For stainless that doesn't sound bad at all. What I would want is one half as deep as the drawer it is going in so you could still have stuff under it.

 

[nw2571]

Looks easy enough to make if you have access to a brake. Weld up the corners, shoot it with paint, TADA! Maybe even add a handle to the middle like the trays in the small carry boxes?

Off to find a bargain on some 18 ga. I can't believe that the tool box companies (other than Snap-on) aren't making these already.

 

[Chris Adams]

I got one of those in a Craftsman box I bought in 1985, original equipment. Mac uses them also. In the Husky box my wife uses for camera storage she has a Mac work surface, which is just a flat slider that drops in over the drawer, making it a removable work surface.

A couple years ago I used a cheap HF brake (about 18 bucks) and made a bunch of small sliding tool trays for the boxes I was using then.
They don't fit in my bigger boxes so I tossed them in my junk box pile.

Making them takes only a few minutes, but they are less useful than you might think. They become a nuisance to move back and forth in the drawer.
They move freely, until you put some weight in them. Then the laws of physics takes over and they don't want to slide easily, no matter what you lubricate them with.

Bearing slides would make sense but you would have to mount the slides inside the drawer, limiting access and space in the drawer. Not to mention punching holes in your drawers...

Anyway, small ones are handy, big ones get filled with stuff, become hard to see under, and in general don't help as much as you could wish.

Or why Craftsman, Mac, SnapOn don't seem to sell them anymore.

 

[mrholeshot]

My KRL1001

 

[Sterff]

My KRL1001

If someone made one like that for a Harbor Freight box I would buy one.

 

[nw2571]

My KRL1001

Perfect! I love the handle idea. Just pull it out like the trays for socket sets they used to put in the top of boxes!

 

[nw2571]

I stumbled across these on eBay and thought they looked interesting. Thought it might make another interesting project and space saver for deeper drawers.

Something with fully welded seams, and painted to match the toolbox would look sweet!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220715702793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Sterff]

bump....

 

[muibubbles]

If someone made one like that for a Harbor Freight box I would buy one.

the harbor freight box isnt that deep tho... maybe the top one or the two bottom drawers...

 

[2oolhound]

I like the side way slider idea for the wide boxes. In a 4" deep X 41" wide drawer you could cut a piece of plexi glass 41" long and say 2" high and double-sided-tape it along the back of the drawer then do the same along the front of the drawer. Then a tight fitting drawer would sit on those runners and could slide side to side on them. You could even use plexi for those trays.

 

[jride200]

Digging up an old thread here, because I'm currently wondering about this very thing myself...

So I've got a KRL722, with a 5" deep top drawer. I want to use this space more efficiently, storing ratchets and extensions on a tray above sockets, so was thinking of combining these two items,

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...em_ID=88597&group_ID=24682&store=&dir=catalog

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=3240&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

to create a sliding tray setup across about 2/3 of the drawer. I could even get some of the 2" deep dividers for the "interior" of the area under the tray. Can anyone chime in please, to comment on compatibility? And the setup in general?