Couldn't afford Lista Cabinets, so -

[MXtras]

Stang - have you built any of these yet?

I am interested to see what others may have done with the basic design.

Scott

 

[The Rusty Gear]

Stang - have you built any of these yet?

I am interested to see what others may have done with the basic design.

Scott

I will post pictures of mine (which is 85% done) in the next couple of days (just in the process of moving)

Nowhwere near as fancy (or flawless) as yours, but I am thouroughly enjoying it!

 

[MXtras]

Did ya get moved yet, Rusty?

Interested in seeing how your cabinet(s) came out...

Anyone else build any of these?

I came on here to post up some contact information for distributors of the aluminum composite materials. I am still rounding up contact info, so I will have contacts here shortly.

Scott

 

[Vicegrip]

Very Nice Work and a by a Miller man to boot. I sometimes work with a similar materal called Lucobond. You do not have to have a CNC router to work this stuff folks. It would make life easy for sure but good plan, a set of clamps and a guide or a template is enough to turn out some cool stuff. I was in a sign shop last week and they had composits as well. In talking to them I fould that you can get all kinds of variations and finishes.

 

[MXtras]

Very true, Vicegrip. The material you are refering to is Alucobond and they are one of our competitiors. Pretty much the same product with the main difference being the paint method and paint system.

This material is everywhere and you just don't know it. It is big in the sign industry but it is even biger in the architectural arena - the building designers love it because it can be routed in the shop, shipped flat and then assembled on the jobsite. Not to mention, it is as maintenance free as you can get. It is used frequently on gas station canopies and the exteriors of buildings. All of the major oil companies have run programs with Alpolic - Mobile, Citgo, BP, Shell, Amoco, etc. Dairy Queen, 7-11 and Honda also have spec'd Alpolic for their structures. Alpolic carries a 20 year warranty on the paint for color hold out and gloss. Take that, Alucobond!

Good comment about the CNC router. You can rout the back by hand with a guide just make sure the surface you are working on is flat and don't break through to the back of the aluminum.

Here's something else you can do with the stuff -

 

[Vicegrip]

i gotts 2 learn to spel. i have entire buildings covered with the stuff and stil mispeled it. Trick work on the star. This stuff is actually fun to work with. From time to time I have to fab up replacment sections after trucks hit the overhangs on buildings I manage. I made a display base out of some cut offs that came out well and only used the router and edge method. For the most part one bend is all you get too. Don't bend until you are ready to leave it bent. I also found that adhesive in the seams and joints makes for a strong structure.

 

[The Rusty Gear]

Did ya get moved yet, Rusty?

Interested in seeing how your cabinet(s) came out...

Anyone else build any of these?

I came on here to post up some contact information for distributors of the aluminum composite materials. I am still rounding up contact info, so I will have contacts here shortly.

Scott

Moved last month, and my partially finished cabinet is already being prematurely pushed into service. From a functional standpoint, it is almost complete. I need to cast the remainder of the drawer faces and put another drawer and a door on the right hand side.

Drawers are 1/4" plywood, and the existing drawer faces need a bit of finishing work. Work surface is two sheets of 3/4" MDF . . . . Maybe not the best worksurface, but I had some lying around.

 

[modela]

I like the cabinets. I purchased a set of mechnic's cabinets in stainless and the fingerprints are driving me nuts. How do you keep them clean? Also, it looks like you attached your ss to a metal frame for doors and drawers. How did that work out? Also, now you are finished, what would you have done differently? I always ask myself that.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[NickPrime]

If time allows, please send a set of drawings (AutoCad 2000 DXF) to [email protected] - Many thanks in advance.

 

[milkovich]

That is looking awesome!

Great craftsmanship, I wish I even had that much time invested in a CAR!

 

[tontruck]

With your skills, you're crazy to even think of buying anything made of metal.

 

[TAftonomos]

I'd really like to get a look at the plans.... I was moments away from dropping some money on prefabbed lowes cabinets and came across this thread. With my metal fab experiance, there isn't any reason why I shouldn't weld up a set of cabinets. Should be easier for me as I wasn't looking to have any drawers.

Question for those that might know... Do the doors on the small work stations have a frame of anykind? I doubt I can get that material reasonably, so I was planning on using sheet aluminum. Perhaps a small angle frame is in order then?

 

[Minitucking]

Wow!!! All i can say that these things are flawless!! Ive been lurking here for a few weeks trying to get ideas on my new garage build and i these would look beutiful in the new shop. i love the blue also. Makes me want to paint my grizzly lathe blue!! lol The link for the cad drawings doesnt work though. Be nice to get the plans.

 

[MXtras]

The link for the plans is down at the moment. It looks like he is relocating the site, so I will have to get him to hook us up with an updated link when the time is right.

As far as the drawers -

A light frame would work for the drawers but I think it's unneccesary. I guess there are a lot of ways to do it. If you think about it, all a drawer is is an open topped, 5 sided box.

The way I made the drawers for these was simple and they are actually very strong and did not require a frame. I made several pull-out shelves that do have a 1/2" angle frame but not for the drawers.

I know not everyone has access to the materials or the router table to make them from the same material, but they could easily be made from sheet aluminum or sheet metal. I guess it depends on what you have access to and what your experiences are.

I can cut the drawers for anyone that needs them but it's not my core business so I can not guarantee quick service now and there may be times when I can not do it for several weeks. I should be able to knock out a few cabinet's worth of drawer patterns within two or three weeks under normal circumstances. They would ship flat and you would have to mount the faceplates which are separate since the color and finish might vary.

Adding drawers is easier than many folks might think. The hardest part for me is getting the alignment right on the money because I like to be accurate - it's a curse sometimes. I chose to mount the rails as accurately as possible, "mass" produce the drawer boxes and then made the drawer face as a separate piece that was attached and adjusted after all of the drawers were in each cabinet. This allowed for very tight gaps (.010" per side per drawer) in between each drawer reveal for a more finished appearance but it did add a little effort. All of the drawer faces were machined as well.

The cabinet frames were welded and then adjusted to be as square as I could get them (without machining). Adjusting the frames is quite simple with a little bit of heat and force but requires constant checking during welding and some educated forecasting during construction.

I will update this thread when the plans come back to life.

Thanks for all of the comments!

Scott

 

[TAftonomos]

Email sent to you Scott. As long as I don't have to paint them blue (would clash with the red garage), I'd like to get a few drawers, doors, sides, etc...

[email protected]

 

[Colonial Cobra]

I couldn't get the link above to work. I'd like a set of drawings also.

[email protected]

Thanks
Brad

 

[M. MYERS]

Would like a set of plans also,

[email protected]

 

[MXtras]

I will attempt to contact the guy that had the plans hosted and find out what's what. I can host the plans on my site, but Cebby at www.toolandfab.com had done a lot of leg work to convert the drawings from ACAD and SolidWorks to drawings that everyone could see and he had also done a write up/compilation about the construction.

I will follow up with Cebby. Gimme a few days.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!


*****************EDIT***************

Here is the new link:


http://reference.toolandfab.com/writeups/mxtras-cabinets/index.htm


Scott

 

[brrman]

Those are the sweetest cabinets I have ever laid eyes on! Mad skillz, man! MAD skillz!

 

[CRAZYASTRO]

Damn, i just found this thread.
All i can say is: WOW !!
Why did u ever think about buying Listas?
With ur skillz everything is custom made...
NICE!

 

[buening]

MXtras, your craftsmanship is top notch. If you get a chance, could you send me the drawings in ACAD format if you still have it? My email is buening at hotmail.com I removed the @ for spam purposes. Thanks and keep up the great work!

BTW, what would a set of drawers run me if you cut and sent me a set? Just curious

 

[rsanter]

if anyone wants to build their own, I have the heavy duty and medium duty drawer glides you can start with

bob

 

[zjrog]

Wow... I want to redo my garage now.

 

[Mikea57]

Those are fabulous looking cabinets!!! The link for the plans is still down. Any idea when it might be back up or if there are plans to get them hosted somewhere else?

 

[MXtras]

Thanks, guys.

The new link is in my sig line. After I post, I will verify the link and fix it if it's no good.

*****edit**** Link added.

Thanks again.

Scott

 

[JOYO]

OUTSTANDING Scott!
You do beautiful work.

 

[akdiesel]

MXtras,
You do great work with iron. Even aluminum.
Why do you choose to mark you bend locations so wide?

 

[biker]

To All,

Because of Scott I made a tool box as well. A little different but that good I can make them to suit me better than any tool box you can buy and don't have to get a loan to buy them. I wanted to build some a long time ago but didn't think is would come out good. Well after seeing Scott's thread and his auto-cad file I started mine. I hammer formed my drawers with a hammer and a pieace of flatbar. I had some stainless steel at the shop so I used that for the sides and the drawer face. I made me a metal pig board for my wrenches. I hate looking thru a drawer for a wrench so I hung mine up. All the slides,wheels and handles came from lowes. I used 3/16 pop revits on everything but the drawer face. I will make 3 more and all will be different. Here are some pictures.

 

[goodfellow]

beautiful -- you guys are excellent craftsmen. Not much more to say --

 

[Bevis]

Looks good. what gauge stainless steel did you use??

 

[biker]

I used moirror finished on one side 18 gage stainless steel. If I did not have anything I would have used the aluim that is painted like the guys use on dirt track race cars.

 

[e-tek]

Wow - Brilliant work! Why not move the lower row of wrenches up closer then you'd have room to hang other stuff? But you built it - I didn't, so what am I talking about?!?!

 

[biker]

Hi E-Tek,

Good thought on moving the lower wrenches up. I will add some stubie wrenches english and metric in the middle as soon as I get some. The board has two sets of each now. Thanks for the comment.

 

[eyeboltman]

I just pee my pants !!! NICE

 

[bill9860]

You could start a business for custom shop cabinets

 

[Dragster Racer]

This thread is long in the tooth, but I remember it. What great work!

 

[Mike B26]

This material is everywhere and you just don't know it. It is big in the sign industry but it is even biger in the architectural arena - the building designers love it because it can be routed in the shop, shipped flat and then assembled on the jobsite. Not to mention, it is as maintenance free as you can get. It is used frequently on gas station canopies and the exteriors of buildings. All of the major oil companies have run programs with Alpolic - Mobile, Citgo, BP, Shell, Amoco, etc. Dairy Queen, 7-11 and Honda also have spec'd Alpolic for their structures. Alpolic carries a 20 year warranty on the paint for color hold out and gloss. Take that, Alucobond!

At the risk of prolonging a 3-5 year-old thread, is there a convenient source for Alpolic in less-than full case quantities?

 

[PAToyota]

Check your local sign shops. Mine is willing to order in what I'd want along with their regular orders.

 

[Stuey]

Thanks for the bump! I searched for this thread a few weeks ago but couldn't find it anywhere!

5 years later, this is still great eye-candy!

 

[djd99]

Awesome cabinets way too nice for my garage...lol Old thread but first time for my eyes oh the eye candy....