Harbor Freight 56" Box ideas

[alinc100]

Hi All,
I have been considering upgrading my rolling box at work.
I currently have a Craftsman stack with a 7 drawer Husky add on side cabinet from back when Waterloo was making both.They are friction slides,12 " depth on the 12 drawer upper cabinet,18 " depth on the 8 drawer lower cab.
I went to the local HF and looked at the 56" roller cab.I was hoping to get a unit where I can use the top as a work surface.What struck me as odd was all the drawers were very high 3",4",5",6",8" and 14" .I do not see where the drawer height has much advantage for me as alot of my tooling will fit in shallower drawers.
To further explain I am a carpenter/cabinetmaker building displays and exhibits for autoshows,tradeshows and commercial interiors.While not exactly an automotive mechanic our work has a broad range and I have everything from precision layout tools to impact sockets. I generally do not store any power tools as those are company owned/supplied.
I am thinking to suit my needs I may buy an HF 44"(or similar) and a side cabinet which would be less expensive than the 56" . I do like the added depth of the 22" cabinet but I fear that I will either have alot of air space or multiple tools piled on top of each other and no real organization/ease of use.
I'd love to hear your opinion or glean some ideas if anyone has had similar issues.
thanks,
Andy

 

[jakemac]

It may not be cost effective, but what about a pair of short Lista cabinets in a custom roller frame ? Plenty of shallow drawers, and solid construction for a workbase.

Another option would be to get a few blueprint cabinets and do the same thing.

Put a thick butcherblock top on it and you would be good to go.

 

[cheechi]

I was looking at the 56" and had planned to use the drawer depth to build a sliding tray 1/3 of the length of the drawers. Put more needed small tools on it and slide it over groups of lesser used tools. Some of the deeper drawers you could even double or even triple these based on your needs.

I have some of my woodworking tools in my 44". for example, the big drawer at the bottom holds my dovetail jig and many of my router accessories. I have chisels and drill bits in other drawers. IMO it fits woodworking tools pretty well, better than the 56" drawers do.

 

[zkling]

I feel you alinc100, I too hate deep drawers, they really waste space IMHO. For me in^2 is > in^3.

I guess the main question(s) is do you need it to be portable? Budget? Patience?
From the HF offerings, looking at it strictly from a in^2 numbers game

HF44" 13 drawer = ~3800
HF 7 drawer side = ~1350
HF 56" 12 drawer = ~5800
HF 26" top/bottom =~5250

Just guessing on your current box, but top/bottom/side you are probably in the 5700 in^2 ball park, if I'm picturing the boxes correctly. :

You could almost get 2 44" boxes for the same price as a single 56" box, giving you ~30% more in^2 storage than a 56" alone.
As Jake mentioned the most storage per floor space efficient boxes are going to be an industrial cabinet. However most of them are pretty tall for a work surface and they are usually not very portable.

If you could find an older snap on KR660 (~6500in^2) or KR1000 (~10K in^2), or the Matco equivalent that would be nice as they have a bunch of thin drawers. It seems that modern boxes aren't very fond of thin drawers.

After that you are going to start getting into custom and thus $ truck brand boxes. Most other 56" boxes have less in^2 than the HF, like the Masterforce.

Just my 2¢

 

[alinc100]

Ok now I have another hair-brained idea to run past the collective wisdom here.
What If I was to couple a HF 44" lower box and the HF 26" box into one 70" box with a HUGE flat worksurface?

I'd think that I could get a few $$ for the top box that comes in the $319 +/- price of the 26" stack.

This idea is opposed to buying the narrower 7 drawer side cabinet along with the 44" cabinet.

Which casters would you remove?Bolt the two together and be done or build a frame add casters and roll in that method?

My toolbox does not roll very often at work ,but if it has to I'd like it to be able to roll.

 

[cheechi]

one 70" box with a HUGE flat worksurface?

44" with two 7 drawer side boxes is the way to go there. They're 18" (or close) wide so you're up about 80" total.

Plus the 26" bottom is taller than the 44" and it's a big enough difference you'd have to make it up in constructing the top or frame to compensate. The 26" bottom is heavy enough and big enough you won't be able to rely on just the 44" casters for stability, balance or to support that much weight. Just bolting the two wouldn't be an option.

 

[zkling]

My 2¢?
I wonder how the heights on the two boxes compare, not including the casters. I think they are roughly the same ~40" +/- a inch or two, but not positive on that.

Other thought would be how are you going to attach it to the main box? I'd be concerned about hanging it like the 16" side box. At ~1.8x the width you are putting quite a bit of torsional stress on that box that it was not designed for. Now if you wanted to build a custom base, a shelf or even another pair of casters maybe, but I wouldn't just hang it off the main box and load it up.

 

[taumac]

I built this which is twin 44s and I small cabinet I had from before. Its 84 just the 44s. Grant they don't move but can be of needed. If you bolt them together you can build top big as you want.



Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[kenburkholz]

To eliminate stress on one part more than another, you could build a frame that supports both sections equally. Then you could mount the casters to the frame. This is how I put a 26" and two side cabinets together. These were the discontinued Grizzly red units made in Canada, very sturdy and well made. Not like the Grizzly green **** they carry now. Run away! Ken

 

[taumac]

To eliminate stress on one part more than another, you could build a frame that supports both sections equally. Then you could mount the casters to the frame. This is how I put a 26" and two side cabinets together. These were the discontinued Grizzly red units made in Canada, very sturdy and well made. Not like the Grizzly green **** they carry now. Run away! Ken

I thought of that too not a bad idea. Good nice angle for frame and 4 casters.



Have a good one, Gerard

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[jakemac]

The picture below shows the difference in height between the 7-drawer side box and the 26" bottom box. IIRC, the side box is the same height as the 44" box. So you would need to weld a custom frame to allow for the difference. In addition, the castors on the 26" and 44" boxes are different sizes, so matching them would be difficult if you try to leave them on their wheels.

 

[rsanter]

How about another hir brained idea
Buy 3 of the HF 26" boxes and sell all the tops
Bolt all three together on a single base to make one large unit.
On one end you can stack the casters side by side ( think dualie) and on the other end you can put 4 of the swivel casters spaced properly apart

Will cost about $1000 for the three of them and then you can sell the tops for $200 to $300

Also look at craftsman, they have some boxes that have a fair number of thin drawers

Bob

 

[alinc100]

Just to keep everyone up to speed I am convinced I am going to get the 26" stack along with the 44" roller cabinet and build a steel cart/platform to mount the casters to and make it one 68"+/- flat topped work surface.
At work we have a very good metal fabrication area along with an awesome paint shop so I think in the end I will have just exactly what I want in a smooth,easy to move configuration that has the style,depth,and organization for the types of tools I use.It should also gain me some additional space so I can buy even more tools and keep the habit flowing thru my veins.

I am going to wait until work slows just a bit so the metal shop can help me out and I don't rush the project and get the drawers full before it's on the cart/platform.

Also if this weather ever gets from being miserable it will help the hauling from HF to work in my truck,I have a vinyl tonneau cover that is a ***** to reinstall in the winter.It also gives me a chance to keep looking on CL for a deal on a box should one come along before I pull the HF trigger.

I would opt for a Made in The USA box but I'd have to go used to keep the cost within budget and find just the right deal to make it happen.I have not given up hope and finding things is one of my specialties.The HF with the coupon thread here on GJ makes it so I do not have a time limit and will always have that deal in my back pocket.

Thanks to all who have offered suggestions/opinions that help to refine the decision.