March 2026 edit: I got a question guys - https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ltimate-lista-work-bench.311519/post-11553322
For you guys just joining in I thought I'd save you some time and show you the VERY close to final result.
I've been jonsing a long time for a triple bay box but busting out 6K for what I was after just isn't anything I could justify just because I wanted it. And a comparable SO or Matco is at least twice that. After all it's not like I'm making a living out of a tool box or working in someone else's shop. The other down side is those boxes are merely 78" wide and that just wouldn't do.
As luck would have it recently Motorhead Extraordinaire offered up a **** load of new product in the Junkyard section. After many hours of debating on a configuration I was able to piece together three cabinets that made sense for what I was after.
So I contacted Joe and he set me up with a deal that was hard to pass up. And considering what I got and how much they weigh plus being across the states shipping was very reasonable.
Well yesterday I paid for:
1: MW900 9 drawer 47"W (42" clear width on the drawers)
2: SC900 6 drawer 28.25"W (24" clear)
3: MP 900 8 drawer 22"W (18" clear)
And I gallon of Lista bright blue factory matched scratch and dent maker goner.
All of them 39.5"H X 28.5" deep with 24" deep (clear) drawers.
So just for kicks and because I have nothing else to do right now lets run down the specs on this set up shall we. I'll just lay out the flat surface area as cubic inches really means nothing to me, I need drawers at the proper depths for my application and tool organizers. Something SO didn't bring to the table for me.
OK, lets start. First the simple math. That's 23 drawers and a total combined box width of 97.25". Not all that amazing in it's self but that equates too 15,984 square inches of flat area ooooorrr 111 square damn feet.
So I laid this out in excel just for kicks and here's what it'll look like more or less.
But it doesn't stop there. Many years ago I had a 1/8" thick stainless steel work top made for a specific area in my garage. That is 32" deep X 126.5" wide. I no longer use that area for what I built it for so that top is getting donated to the project. Well now that I got that pricy piece of hardware off my plate and because it's way wider then needed I've decided to extend the overall width of the project.
I haven't decided exactly how wide it'll be just yet. And as a matter of fact another 28.5" wide Lista would work perfectly. But I think I'm going to do something kind of trick. After all I could just set these cabinets on the floor, lay the top on it and call it a day. But that's not the GJ way now is it??, it sure as heck ain't the way I do most things.
So here's the plan. All this will be installed on the top of a 4" X 4" X 3/8" frame. There will be six adjustable feet, but the support plates will be set up and predrilled for casters. On one side of the drawers I'll build a cabinet that matches the lista's that completely houses a double retractable hose reel and a few other surprises. The other side or maybe next to it will be a matching cabinet to hold all my Miller Tool tool boxes. Those things have always been a sore spot for me for storage as they eat up a chunk of space.
I may limit the entire thing to a 10ft width but then again, why lose that extra 6"s. Sure as hell my wife would feel short changed as usual.
EDIT: Thanks to 8 and 66 they got me covered on the drawer liners. That material is paid for and on it's way already.
To end this long drawn out post I wouldn't normally do a progress thread as I have a bad habit of not updating them. But this one I need some help from you guys before I get too far along. My first obstacle is drawer liners. YES!, I have used the search function. But I'll be damned if it's brought any good info up. Matter of fact most of it is 2 years old and the one good product and supplier that is recommended is unreachable via PM's. So please guys, help a brother out.
Hopefully I make this thread worth everyones time.
For you guys just joining in I thought I'd save you some time and show you the VERY close to final result.
I've been jonsing a long time for a triple bay box but busting out 6K for what I was after just isn't anything I could justify just because I wanted it. And a comparable SO or Matco is at least twice that. After all it's not like I'm making a living out of a tool box or working in someone else's shop. The other down side is those boxes are merely 78" wide and that just wouldn't do.
As luck would have it recently Motorhead Extraordinaire offered up a **** load of new product in the Junkyard section. After many hours of debating on a configuration I was able to piece together three cabinets that made sense for what I was after.
So I contacted Joe and he set me up with a deal that was hard to pass up. And considering what I got and how much they weigh plus being across the states shipping was very reasonable.
Well yesterday I paid for:
1: MW900 9 drawer 47"W (42" clear width on the drawers)
2: SC900 6 drawer 28.25"W (24" clear)
3: MP 900 8 drawer 22"W (18" clear)
And I gallon of Lista bright blue factory matched scratch and dent maker goner.
All of them 39.5"H X 28.5" deep with 24" deep (clear) drawers.
So just for kicks and because I have nothing else to do right now lets run down the specs on this set up shall we. I'll just lay out the flat surface area as cubic inches really means nothing to me, I need drawers at the proper depths for my application and tool organizers. Something SO didn't bring to the table for me.
OK, lets start. First the simple math. That's 23 drawers and a total combined box width of 97.25". Not all that amazing in it's self but that equates too 15,984 square inches of flat area ooooorrr 111 square damn feet.
So I laid this out in excel just for kicks and here's what it'll look like more or less.
But it doesn't stop there. Many years ago I had a 1/8" thick stainless steel work top made for a specific area in my garage. That is 32" deep X 126.5" wide. I no longer use that area for what I built it for so that top is getting donated to the project. Well now that I got that pricy piece of hardware off my plate and because it's way wider then needed I've decided to extend the overall width of the project.
I haven't decided exactly how wide it'll be just yet. And as a matter of fact another 28.5" wide Lista would work perfectly. But I think I'm going to do something kind of trick. After all I could just set these cabinets on the floor, lay the top on it and call it a day. But that's not the GJ way now is it??, it sure as heck ain't the way I do most things.
So here's the plan. All this will be installed on the top of a 4" X 4" X 3/8" frame. There will be six adjustable feet, but the support plates will be set up and predrilled for casters. On one side of the drawers I'll build a cabinet that matches the lista's that completely houses a double retractable hose reel and a few other surprises. The other side or maybe next to it will be a matching cabinet to hold all my Miller Tool tool boxes. Those things have always been a sore spot for me for storage as they eat up a chunk of space.
I may limit the entire thing to a 10ft width but then again, why lose that extra 6"s. Sure as hell my wife would feel short changed as usual.
EDIT: Thanks to 8 and 66 they got me covered on the drawer liners. That material is paid for and on it's way already.
To end this long drawn out post I wouldn't normally do a progress thread as I have a bad habit of not updating them. But this one I need some help from you guys before I get too far along. My first obstacle is drawer liners. YES!, I have used the search function. But I'll be damned if it's brought any good info up. Matter of fact most of it is 2 years old and the one good product and supplier that is recommended is unreachable via PM's. So please guys, help a brother out.
Hopefully I make this thread worth everyones time.
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