Done!! Craftsman Tool Chest Drawer Modification

[John in OH]

A week or so ago, I posted a question regarding possible uses for, or modifications to, the 12” deep drawer in the Craftsman 14 drawer, 40” bottom chest … Possible Cman Tool Chest Modification .

Thanks to all who responded with comments on how to use the 12” deep drawer in my Cman tool chest. Lots of good ideas and suggestions.

However, I use this chest as a “mobile” tool box for mechanics tools and move it around the shop so that I can have my tools adjacent to whatever I’m working on. With that specific use in mind, it means ideas such as storing circular saws, or other non-mechanic items don’t really work out for me … not that these ideas are bad, they just don’t fit with the intended use of the tool chest.



So, I decided to buy myself a Christmas present of four new 3” deep drawers to replace the single 12” drawer. I considered three 4” drawers or some combination of 3” and 4” drawers, but settled on the four 3”. All of the necessary parts and part numbers were clearly identified on the parts diagram that came with the box; however, I did have a question regarding whether or not the aluminum trim was included with the drawer or whether it had to be ordered separately. A phone call to Sears Customer Service was answered by a very knowledgeable girl that readily answered all questions. Parts required were the four drawers, three left slides and three right slides. Delivery took about one week.

The interior structure of the box was already punched with the necessary slide mounting holes and the lock bar had the needed lock tabs.



Installation of the slides was a piece of cake … fit was perfect and the slides easily snapped in place both within the box and to the new drawers.



I was a little concerned that maybe four 3” drawers wouldn’t exactly replace the one 12” drawer with respect to clearance, but that worry was unnecessary. All four drawers fit nicely, glide easily and lock perfectly.



All material, fit, and clearance was flawless. Regardless of what you may think of Craftsman tool boxes, the service and parts for this Griplatch box couldn’t have been better. Now, to reorganize the tools and make use of the new drawers!!

 

[Buckgnarly]

What was the cost for those drawers?

 

[John in OH]

What was the cost for those drawers?

Hardware plus shipping was a little over $200. Not the most economical way to add storage, but that 12" deep drawer has always annoyed me and I wanted to get better utilization from that space.

 

[smithbd2]

Very cool. I may have to remember this trick.

 

[St-rider]

does the bar in the back grab all of the new drawers when you use the key lock?

 

[donnykooy]

awsome...I am purchesing this box next month and was thinking about doing something like this

 

[Fastbird]

I've got the same box and HATE that drawer with a passion. Great info here.

Looking at this.....if the entire box is set up where you can just install slides........Craftsman/Sears could have a good thing if they had a "box designer" where you were able to dictate drawer depths/organization in the frame. I'm already looking at rearranging the drawers to better suit my needs by just working with what the box came with. But man, if I could have played with a designer and dictated the depth of all the drawers.......

 

[RVDan]

Good job, I knew you'd see things my way

The other thread was full of people telling you to buy another box for the same money, completely missing the efficiency of the space factor. One box that fits everything properly is far better than multiple boxes

 

[John in OH]

does the bar in the back grab all of the new drawers when you use the key lock?

Yes, the tabs on the rear lock bar engaged all four of the new drawers with no problem.

 

[Steevo]

That is a nice modification, John.
I like a lot of shallow drawers, rather than a deep one that just collects junk.

 

[rshadd]

Good info. I have the same box and have been thinking about mod since you first posted the idea. I think the extra drawers are way more useful than the single deep drawer which just collect junk that I don't really use much. Can you provide the parts list and cost.

 

[FiveFinger]

I have that box too and I think you have inspired me to do the same thing. That narrow deep drawer is useless.

I am also interested in a parts list if you have the time to post it.

I do call bs on one thing though. How did you manage to get ahold of someone knowledgable on the phone from sears?

 

[Jbullfrog]

I did that to my top box and the mall store got the drawers under warranty. Back 15 years ago, the stores would do things like that if you were a frequent customer. We called Waterloo to inquire about prices to swap the 4" drawer for a pair of 2" drawers. The Waterloo customer service person kept asking us if the drawer we were replacing was scratched. We had told her it was a new box, but finally realized why she was asking. We said yes, and she said ok, I'll send you the drawers, slides, and trim strips to replace the "defective drawer".

 

[John in OH]

Good info. I have the same box and have been thinking about mod since you first posted the idea. I think the extra drawers are way more useful than the single deep drawer which just collect junk that I don't really use much. Can you provide the parts list and cost.

Parts list and price:

3" deep drawer (4 req'd) 18194A5-DB5 $31.49 each
Left-hand slide (3 req'd) 27827 $16.97 each
Right-hand slide (3 req'd) 27828 $14.99 each

You'll need to remove the sliders from the existing 12" drawer and reuse them on one of the new 3" drawers.

If you'd prefer to use 4" drawers instead of the 3", the part number for the 4" drawer is: 18195A7-DB5 about $38 each. But before you buy the 4" drawers, take a close look at the top 4" drawer in the chest and make sure that a set of them will fit in the lower rail slots. I thought about using 4" drawers, but never took any measurements to make sure it would work out. You also need to see if the lower lock bar tabs will connect to 4" drawers. Too bad Cman doesn't have a 6" drawer available as that would make a possible good combination with a pair of 3" units.

The Sears Service Parts Order phone number is 800-469-4663.

This modification took only about an hour to perform and most of that time was spent removing packing material from the drawers and super-sticky tape from the slides.

 

[nine4gmc]

I would have went with a 6" for the bottom two, to match the drawer next to it but I'm kinda ****...nice swap!

 

[dirtmister16]

nice! wish it was that easy on everything we tried to do!

actually have been thinking about getting a box that size and possibly craftsman to match my other one. how do you like that box? well built? any thing other then the drawer mod, that you would change?

 

[John in OH]

I've got the same box and HATE that drawer with a passion. Great info here.

Looking at this.....if the entire box is set up where you can just install slides........Craftsman/Sears could have a good thing if they had a "box designer" where you were able to dictate drawer depths/organization in the frame. I'm already looking at rearranging the drawers to better suit my needs by just working with what the box came with. But man, if I could have played with a designer and dictated the depth of all the drawers.......

Wow!!! A "design it yourself" toolbox feature is a truly brilliant idea!!! I've often looked at toolboxes and thought, "Gee, if only this box had this or that". It seems as if it would not be a difficult program for a company such as Waterloo to establish ... start with a base box such as this 40" box with the pre-punched rails and then let the buyer select the drawer sizes they want. This box already has 3", 4" and 6" drawers in the wide pattern and 3", 4" and 12" in the narrow pattern, so if they would just add a 6" drawer in the narrow pattern to the drawer lineup, the buyer could design some awesome toolboxes specific to their needs!!!

The design software could have some basic limiting features that would prevent the buyer from doing stupid stuff like trying to select a drawer stack that exceeds the cabinet height or warns the buyer if they have selected a stack height that doesn't fully fill the cabinet.

A 4" or 6" deep full-width drawer would be nice to have, but this cabinet design does not support such a drawer. However, there is a full-width drawer available as an intermediate chest that can be stacked on top of the base cabinet ... but it's pretty pricey at around $200.

I would have went with a 6" for the bottom two, to match the drawer next to it but I'm kinda ****...nice swap!

Yes, aesthetically, a pair of 3" drawers and a 6" drawer would look nice, unfortunately, a 6" deep drawer in the narrow width does not exist ... or so the Sears Parts representative told me. Keep in mind that the parts that I ordered are not "options", they are "repair" parts for the original cabinet design (which does not have a 6" deep narrow drawer). I was totally lucky that the cabinet rails were pre-punched and these "repair parts" could be used as substitutions for the 12" deep drawer.

 

[danski0224]

Wow!!! A "design it yourself" toolbox feature is a truly brilliant idea!!!
...snip...

Drawers within a Lista cabinet can be custom configured. They also have some nice traditional toolbox designs.

 

[rshadd]

Parts list and price:

3" deep drawer (4 req'd) 18194A5-DB5 $31.49 each
Left-hand slide (3 req'd) 27827 $16.97 each
Right-hand slide (3 req'd) 27828 $14.99 each

Thanks John.... I was thinking that I needed a bigger box, but this may extend it's life for a while.

 

[coolright]

Have that same set up on a side cabinet and hate it also. Thanks for the info just look last night looks just like your set up. Most likely will be doing the same thing.

 

[themiller]

ha! had I known that this was a possibility I probably would have bought that cart. I couldn't for the life of me justify spending money on that "wasted" space. Nice job!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm not sure how much more it would have costs but another consideration (sorry I didn't think of it sooner) would to be buy a Griplatch side box. Off hand, I'm not sure of the drawer combinations but what about swapping out the smaller drawers on the new side box for what you want and put the deep drawer in the side box.

The side box could either be hung on the tool box or incorporated into a work bench.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-6-dr...p-00959602000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1


Would this approach have worked for what you did ?

 

[Cedge]

Way cool. Now that you've got me thinking, I'm going to have to take a look at my Craftsman top boxes and see if the drawers can be swapped around to make a couple of them work better for a particular need, Your results are a thing of beauty.

Steve

 

[garfunkle24]

That's a nice mod. I once looked at doing something similar with one of my SO boxes but the cost for replacement drawers was prohibitive.

I never really liked those drawers either, but ever since I started as a tech about the best use I've found for it has been for my welding hood. It keeps dust off of the lenses and other peoples' grubby hands off of my hood.

 

[Northstar]

Thanks for the good info, I also have the same bottom box and have never liked that deep drawer. I bought another box to run side by side with it for additional space, but I'm still going to look at swapping in new drawers since it looks that cheap and easy.

 

[donnykooy]

is there any room for more drawers or sliders on the left bank of drawers?

 

[brownbagg]

i got an old craftman that has the big hollow hole under the bottom, I wonder if I can do the same there

 

[MikeF2316]

Cornwell has a great box configuration widget on their website, but you have to register to use it. You can totally customized adding drawers from the bottom, when the remaining space does not allow certain drawer heights, they disappear from the selection! It's pretty cool, then you can change body colour, drawer colour and drawer trim. Personally I like 2" high drawers, I have lots of smaller tools. They have a 44" cart, but the thinnest drawers are 3". Step up to their smallest box, 58", and you can pick 2" drawers, and fill the box with them. However, I don't have room in my garage for a 58" box, and I don't have room in my wallet to pay for it!

Matco has a box configurator too, but it's nowhere near as flexible, and only works well on their top of the line.

I have an older 29" Craftman (made by Beach) and recently came into a well used duplicate of it. It has friction slides, the slide pockets are every 2" the whole height of the cabinet. I've gotten rid of my 8" bottom (junk collecting) drawer, moved 2 of my 4" drawers down there and replaced the empty space with the 4 2" drawers of my second box! Now I have the luxury of having more space than I currently need again!

 

[AussieDan]

Great info! I have 2 of those boxes, going to have to look into this one more...

 

[Jbullfrog]

Way cool. Now that you've got me thinking, I'm going to have to take a look at my Craftsman top boxes and see if the drawers can be swapped around to make a couple of them work better for a particular need, Your results are a thing of beauty.

Steve

Here is a picture of my Craftsman. I swaped the 5" bottom drawer for a pair of 2" drawers and slid the 4" to the bottom.

 

[John in OH]

Here is a picture of my Craftsman. I swaped the 5" bottom drawer for a pair of 2" drawers and slid the 4" to the bottom.

It's nice to have flexibility! And the more drawers, the better. Are your two base chests permanently attached together? How did you accomplish this?

 

[mattdwelder]

i bought that box specifically for that drawer for my welding hood lol

 

[lilscorpion]

So here's a thought (for those interested in this conversion) - recently I upgraded my box and added a side box. I looked and right now it's on sale for $266.

Anyway, buy it, swap out the drawers you want into your existing box, and sell the side box on craigslist for as much as you can get for it. I'll bet some of you could upgrade your box for a fraction of the cost of ordering the pieces...or pay a little more and have a side box with some deep drawers I guess.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Sounds like it makes sense for Craftsman or Waterloo or Cornwell or whoever to sell a basic box shell (maybe with a few 3" drawers) and then have the rest available a la carte, mix and match, let the buyer do the install.

Trouble with that is space. all the drawerss would have to be packaged and shipped individually and the big box woud ship full of air. Would take up lots of space on the retail floor too.

BUT ... BUT ... would selling tool boxes and cabinets like this be a competitive advantage? I think so. I can remember buying a workbench from Sears 20 years ago and I bought it a la carte and did my own assembly.

 

[donnykooy]

love what he did with the box...does anybody know if it is possible to add drawers to the left bank of this box...or maybe even just add double sliders to some of the drawers on the left bank...thank you

 

[myers212]

I'm not sure how much more it would have costs but another consideration (sorry I didn't think of it sooner) would to be buy a Griplatch side box. Off hand, I'm not sure of the drawer combinations but what about swapping out the smaller drawers on the new side box for what you want and put the deep drawer in the side box.

The side box could either be hung on the tool box or incorporated into a work bench.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-6-dr...p-00959602000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1


Would this approach have worked for what you did ?

That's exactly what I did. I managed to get the side cabinet really cheap which also allowed me double up on the slides for the top and bottom left side drawers. Here's mine.


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26018205@N08/6963293315/" title="DSC_6548 by myers212, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/6963293315_ce630c83b1.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_6548"></a>

 

[John in OH]

nice! wish it was that easy on everything we tried to do!

actually have been thinking about getting a box that size and possibly craftsman to match my other one. how do you like that box? well built? any thing other then the drawer mod, that you would change?

Well, I guess tool boxes are a personal choice. The quality varies widely from junk that isn’t worth bringing home to the high-end boxes like Snap-On or Matco. (Of course, there is also the HF option, but it comes in red only and is a bit of an anomaly in the toolbox world … good quality, low price.) The Craftsman Griplatch boxes are a medium grade, reasonably priced option.

And the choice of box certainly depends on what you will be doing with it. If you use it daily to earn your living, you probably want a higher-end box. But for a retired guy (like me) just doing fun stuff with his tools, the Cman Griplatch is a satisfactory choice. I’m quite pleased with the Cman Griplatch as it meets my needs quite well and wasn’t killer expensive.

If I were able to make one last change to the box design, I would merge the top two 4” drawers into a single, full width drawer across the entire top of the box ... but that’s not an option. So, if the single, full-width intermediate box goes on a super-cheap sale sometime, I’ll probably buy it.

 

[santagary]

Yes, the tabs on the rear lock bar engaged all four of the new drawers with no problem.

Way to go John...just another instance of a Buckeye coming up with frugal, commonsense ideas! My family settled in Morgan County, OH back in the Indian days and lived in a fort. Hate the weather there, but love the people and their inherited practicality!

 

[MrSnicks]

I think lilscorpion may have hit the nail on the head with his solution. Buy the side cabinet on sale. Take the shallow drawers & slides out, and put your big drawer back in the side cabinet and sell on craigslist.

Patrick

 

[jeffmoss26]

Nice job guys. Good ideas here...