Last November I posted about a pair of Listas I picked up off of Craigs. Paid $300 for the pair and $35 for the trailer rental. The original Craiglist picture is below. All the drawers worked and I figured I couldn't go wrong. I knew I was going to try and do these right so I drove straight to a buddy's body shop and offloaded them there. I was not looking to double and triple handle them. Started pulling the drawers and soon saw just what I had. At least I had a starting point. The laminate tops were shot, so they got pitched.
Finally finished my Listas
- Thread starter frankush
- Start date
That was a little sample of what was ahead of me. I spent the next couple of days doing prep work on the cabinets themselves and got the drawer fronts ready for paint. I hauled all the drawer carriages and the tracks they ride on, home for cleanup and repair. I took a good long look at what I had and what I needed to put these back into "working" condition. A call to Joe at Motorhead Extraordinaire was next. He's a hell of a nice guy and was very easy to work with. He didn't have all the answers at that point, but it didn't take him long to get back to me with price and availability on what I needed. Another $300 went for those parts.
I got to work cleaning bearings and wiping down the carriages. I can say it's a PITA. I know exactly what Bull is going through on his Equipto's. Some of the bearings in the carriages were missing. When they disappear, the weight of the drawer now rides on the top of the drawer below. I had two drawers that the steel was worn paper thin on. I cut out the bad sections and welded in a patch. I also had a section of carriage that had worn down so much that it wouldn't hold a new bearing. I welded up a couple of washers to the carriage and I was ready for bearing replacement. Joe had sent me what he could scrounge from Lista. The bearings have a short shaft that's manufactured as part of the assembly. They get dropped in a hole, in the carriage, and then peened over to hold them in place. The BFH did a nice job here. Some of the bearings that were still useable were loose and they got tacked in place. I also picked up the painted carcasses and hauled them home.
I got to work cleaning bearings and wiping down the carriages. I can say it's a PITA. I know exactly what Bull is going through on his Equipto's. Some of the bearings in the carriages were missing. When they disappear, the weight of the drawer now rides on the top of the drawer below. I had two drawers that the steel was worn paper thin on. I cut out the bad sections and welded in a patch. I also had a section of carriage that had worn down so much that it wouldn't hold a new bearing. I welded up a couple of washers to the carriage and I was ready for bearing replacement. Joe had sent me what he could scrounge from Lista. The bearings have a short shaft that's manufactured as part of the assembly. They get dropped in a hole, in the carriage, and then peened over to hold them in place. The BFH did a nice job here. Some of the bearings that were still useable were loose and they got tacked in place. I also picked up the painted carcasses and hauled them home.
Attachments
Last edited:
The bottom of one of the cabinets had a lot of surface rust, so I went to work with the wire brush. Primed and painted it with a little Rustoleum. During all this I had my eye on Craigs, for a piece of butcher block that I could use for the tops. It took about a month before I found a decent piece for $100. Cut that down, sanded and sealed it and 4 coats of poly. Now I had tops and those went on next. I decided on where I wanted which drawers and started getting the carriages back in place. After a few trips back to the body shop, I was able to get all the drawers home and dropped them in. I didn't bother to repaint the drawer interiors. I did prime the areas that I had to make repairs to. Overall, I'm happy with the way they turned out. They're not perfect, but they will serve me well. With paint costs, I'm right around the $900 mark for the pair. The same cabinets with butcher block tops would run about $1400 each, not including freight. The paint by the way, is black with a little metal flake thrown in. I left the color up to my buddy and he made a good choice.
The only thing left to do is to put some dummy locks in. The locking mechanism and the "one drawer at a time feature" was long gone, when I got them. I did get the field installed side locking bars and new drawer handle covers from Joe. I would like to thank Joe at Motorhead for all his help. I guess it's time to load them up!
The only thing left to do is to put some dummy locks in. The locking mechanism and the "one drawer at a time feature" was long gone, when I got them. I did get the field installed side locking bars and new drawer handle covers from Joe. I would like to thank Joe at Motorhead for all his help. I guess it's time to load them up!
Attachments
Last edited:
akdiesel
Well-known member
Great transformation, they look factory. Kudos to Joe for helping you out.
Looks great!
zuk123
Well-known member
Wow, great resto. I can't imagine wearing them out like that. I wonder if they were used in a vehicle?
I guess it's a testament to their quality that even with all that wear and abuse they can still be put right.
thanks for posting.
zuk
I guess it's a testament to their quality that even with all that wear and abuse they can still be put right.
thanks for posting.
zuk
The seller told me they were used in a casino and I did find a few empty money wrappers in the bottom along with a million paper clips. He was a very young casino VP and grabbed them for his garage when they replaced them. He was moving and didn't want to pay to move them. At 400# a piece, I can understand that. I think I can guarantee that maintenance was not a concern of theirs. I also used a ton of adhesive remover. There was scotch tape everywhere. I wonder how long it took to wear away this much metal. The funny part is that not a single one of the little nylon rollers (they are not bearings) was damaged.
Attachments
Last edited:
Not bad. A little pricey for some used boxes but not bad especially when considering the new price. And the fact that even though they're used, they are still quality enough to be fought over as for who gets them when you're dead. Just keep in mind primer is not the slightest biit of a water barrier so any hint of moisture is going to eventually rust. Good job , they do look like they were bought that way.
Wow, fantastic transformation / restoration on those 2 Lista cabinets.
Now that's how you PRINT MONEY . . . . turn a CL find into nearly $3K worth of rock solid Lista tool cabinets!!
Enjoy those for many years to come.
Now that's how you PRINT MONEY . . . . turn a CL find into nearly $3K worth of rock solid Lista tool cabinets!!
Enjoy those for many years to come.
Motorhead Extraordinaire
Well-known member
So glad we could help in getting these cabinets back in shape. They look fantastic. I'm off to LISTA on Thursday for more Junkyard Specials and a bit more scrounging for obsoleted parts. It's great to see the old cabinets being restored.
Joe
Joe
Linda@Lista
Well-known member
These look great, Joe! Hope you don't mind us posting this thread for all to read via our FB page!
Linda@Lista
Linda@Lista
JC23
Well-known member
Nice! You must be stoked!
I'm glad they are done. Other projects are waiting. I am very happy with how they turned out. For anyone that looks at used Lista's, I can't stress enough that you should pull all the drawers and take a close look at the carriages. Any problems with these cabinets start there. I spent a bit more than I wanted to, but I have no complaints. I'm already looking for another one.
mdkingsley
Well-known member
They look great. I would love to have a wall full of them.
I will finish those Equiptos someday, but as you probably saw in my thread I just had to get organized and out them to use; my clutter was driving me insane!
It won't be too hard to go and sand, clean and paint a few drawers at a time, even with stuff in them.
It all starts with the bearings. They are no longer available from Lista. Finding something that will work could be difficult, due to the design. The bearing and shaft are one piece and were made specifically for Lista. If I get a chance I'll post a picture later as I have a couple left over. Finding a way to hold the bearing in place and maintaining the clearance needed for the drawer to slide is the issue. There are enough talented people on this forum, that I'm sure someone will come up with a working substitute. Once a bearing fails, you get metal on metal wear. If caught early, it's not an issue.
I found the bearings seem to hold up well. Problems occur when they get loose. The shaft gets loose where it is pressed and peaned into the carriage. There is not alot of shaft to work with and is the reason why I tacked some of the loose ones. If your not up to making the repairs, Lista has a solution, but it will cost you. If it's only one bad drawer carriage, it shouldn't be a deal breaker, if you buy your used Lista at the right price.
I found the bearings seem to hold up well. Problems occur when they get loose. The shaft gets loose where it is pressed and peaned into the carriage. There is not alot of shaft to work with and is the reason why I tacked some of the loose ones. If your not up to making the repairs, Lista has a solution, but it will cost you. If it's only one bad drawer carriage, it shouldn't be a deal breaker, if you buy your used Lista at the right price.
Last edited:
Builder302
Well-known member
Those came out really nice, motivates me to find some myself.
Motorhead Extraordinaire
Well-known member
I still have a few bearings in stock if anyone need some for a LISTA restoration, just let me know.
One more note about the bearings on LISTA, of for that fact any cabinet that used steel bearings.... They have to be periodically serviced, just like wheel bearings on your car. No lube and it's all metal-to-metal friction and they will wear out.
In my experience, nobody ever takes the time to service their cabinets/toolboxes properly. Bearing wear is inevitable. Lack of maintenance only quickens that wear. When buying a used cabinet, made by any manufacturer, take the time to carefully examine the suspension. I have seen 20 year old cabinets that were probably opened 10 times a day with zero maintenance all worn out. Pretty on the outside, worn out on the inside.
Joe
One more note about the bearings on LISTA, of for that fact any cabinet that used steel bearings.... They have to be periodically serviced, just like wheel bearings on your car. No lube and it's all metal-to-metal friction and they will wear out.
In my experience, nobody ever takes the time to service their cabinets/toolboxes properly. Bearing wear is inevitable. Lack of maintenance only quickens that wear. When buying a used cabinet, made by any manufacturer, take the time to carefully examine the suspension. I have seen 20 year old cabinets that were probably opened 10 times a day with zero maintenance all worn out. Pretty on the outside, worn out on the inside.
Joe
marty_p
Well-known member
I'm not touching that one, Joe!
That's a great restoration on those Lista cabinets, frankush. The eventual recipient will be thanking you as well, and Linda might get more sales too!
-Marty