Ever fixed a bent toolbox?

[Jawn]

I picked up an unused but damaged 42" top chest off Craigslist cheapish. It looks like something heavy was stacked on top of it in shipment. I've already bent the lid back into useable shape, but the right side of the box is tweaked. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered buying this one, but meh... if I can get it a bit straighter than it is and use it for a couple years I'll be happy.

It appears to be this model:

http://www.shoptoolsforpros.com/storage/international-vrt-4210-42-inch-top-chest-tool-box.html

Right front corner (next to the small drawers) is pushed up about 1/4" from there to the post near the middle. I had in mind setting it on some blocks (leaving the area under the bend hanging free) then through strategic placement of blocks on top and careful use of a BFH, knocking it back straight.

If I had something heavier than my **** to resist the upward force, I'd try putting it up on blocks and using a jack to push up from underneath, rather than hammering on the top.

 

[Rezarf]

pics would help

 

[Racr350]

this oddly looks like the 42" HF top box...

 

[Jawn]

this oddly looks like the 42" HF top box...

Close. Two more (shallower) drawers on the one I have, gas cylinders are mounted differently, and it's marked Made in Canada.

Pics will follow soon as I get a chance - not sure how well you'll be able to see the damage in a pic tho... maybe I should just whip up a MS Paint drawing.

 

[e-tek]

Fixed many.

 

[Brad54]

This is how you fix it:
Imagine the forces and impacts that caused the damage--specifically where they applied pressure that made the bends. Then try to figure out the order of the bends.
Then unbend them, starting where the impact areas are. Often, reversing the impact will bring the other affected areas back.

Also, I've had success with glazer's pliers, lineman's pliers, and adjustable wrenches, to bend back metal in localized areas.

I've straightened a couple small tool boxes--one Lawson 3-drawer drill bit storage box that a cylinder head fell on, smashing the top at the leading edge, driving the top rail of the face down into the top drawer. When I was done, all that remained was cracked paint.

Another was an old Snap-on storage box... it's about 3 inches deep, 9 inches long and four inches wide, with a hinged lid that snaps closed. The whole box was sprung, the lid was bent, twisted and hung open. Now it functions like new.

-Brad

 

[dumper]

I've had good luck using pipe clamps- will easily straighten out a racked tool box, including roller cabinet.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Fixed many.

Me too, kinda. Well, fixed my own many times!

(Soon going to have to do it properly and weld bracing into the bottom of it..)

 

[Jawn]

I've had good luck using pipe clamps- will easily straighten out a racked tool box, including roller cabinet.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I did a little tool-buying... a dead-blow hammer and a pipe clamp as well as a piece of pipe to stick it on.

I didn't take any "in progress" pics because the clamp kept slipping off the blocks and I wasn't sure it was going to work, but after much hammering, clamping, and cussing, it's straighter than it was (to the point of being 100% functional).

 

[Packard V8]

I picked up an unused but damaged 42" top chest off Craigslist cheapish. It looks like something heavy was stacked on top of it in shipment.

Shite! I thought you said it was damaged. That looks better than most of the boxes I've ever owned. The something heavy must have been a library book.

Just kidding - looks like a good deal, but then you'd have to show us how much, wouldn't you?

jack vines

 

[Jawn]

I paid $70...

In addition to the right side being tweaked out of square, the lid had been smashed down and stretched over the top of the box (supposed to sit ON the top lip, not around it). My cell phone camera ***** so you can't see the dings (a few are from me trying to pound it into shape), but it's good enough to hold my tools 'til I run out of space again.

Now I need something to set it on... I'm thinking cheap, maybe cinder blocks and 2-by lumber.

 

[Borrego]

Fixed/tweaked way too many boxes to remember. Buying them that way makes them cheaper. Usually, a bent or impacted top lid was the issue, an out of alignment piano hinge or bent/damaged drawer rail being the culprit.
Straightening out the drawer rails and getting them aligned properly with the frame of the box can be a mother, though.