Steevo
Well-known member
That is a very slick supporting framework.
Nicely done.
Nicely done.
Harbor Freight tool cabs, how I did mine
- Thread starter blasto9000
- Start date
csargents1546
Well-known member
Very nice setup!!!! Looks clean, can't wait to see it with the butcherblock top on it.
The Frisco Kid
Well-known member
good for you with the volunteer stuff, that's awesome. Keep us in the loop on your benchtop build!
Vettman
Well-known member
That looks great! I have the earlier HF box with the wrinkle red finish. I like the gloss much better!
I love what you did with the HF tool boxes. I'm thinking of doing that along with using IKEA butcher block countertops for my future build.
Top options.
WDEagke
Top options.
WDEagke
tribbles
Well-known member
DENALIAKITAS
Banned
Is there any other companies out there that make the t-slot extrusions at a better price possibly?
takeiteasy
Active member
Congrats on making the harborfreight blog! 
lowheat
Well-known member
Congratulations man!
"I Want!" too
"I Want!" too
cegreen
Well-known member
Do a search for "aluminum extrusions" on eBay. Lots of 80/20 stuff + others.
-Chris
dawgee
Well-known member
80/20 is tough stuff. i use to build production machine bases out of it at my old jobs . You kind of have to think ahead when using it to make sure you have enough t-nuts in the slots unless you buy the expensive drop in nuts with the rubber nubs to hold them in place. Very versitile stuff
Scuderia-F1
Well-known member
That looks REALLY good, can´t wait to see the top!
capturedlive
Active member
Nice Harbor Freight review. The cabinet's awesome! Build another one and put it up for sale-- I'LL buy it!!
rsanter
Well-known member
Don't recall where I saw it but someone epoxied pieces of wood cut to the right dimension to the inside back wall of the cabinet then epoxied rare earth magnets to the wood so they just came into contact with the back of the drawer. This held them closed while moving without locking them
Bob
kald
Well-known member
I ordered and 80/20 catalog after reading this thread. Now I'm getting emails everyday from them or their distributor.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
WTF?!
What does all this have to do with the use of that term for aluminum extrusion?
Dustball
Well-known member
It's a very efficient method of creating structures hence the low effort to high success ratio.WTF?!
What does all this have to do with the use of that term for aluminum extrusion?
http://www.8020.net/About-1.asp
Blasto,
Maybe a strange question... but why put verticals between the cabinets at all? Why not just build the bottom frame out of the 8020 and bolt the boxes together on it? Were you trying to reach a certain length? Do they server some other purpose I am missing?
Maybe a strange question... but why put verticals between the cabinets at all? Why not just build the bottom frame out of the 8020 and bolt the boxes together on it? Were you trying to reach a certain length? Do they server some other purpose I am missing?
OP
blasto9000
Well-known member
I plan on using the t-slot of the uprights to clamp small tools to (vises, presses, etc).
It also turned out to be the easiest way to keep the boxes from sliding off the frames. At first I was planning to use the lower (M8) holes, but that wouldn't leave enough clearance to tighten the screws closest to the wall.
Bosch manufactures a version of extruded aluminum similar to 80/20. As you may expect, all of their dimensions are metric, but the cost is very similar to 80/20. As the op stated, the connectors/accessories are where the project can get out of hand price wise. I have had success finding bargains on eBay for both the aluminum stock and accessories.
Motown 454
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,359
Awesome idea it came out great.
The Lazy Destroyer
Well-known member
That is a great job! We used a lot of the 80/20 stuff at my old job when we had to fabricate cabinets and brackets and such, and the stuff is really strong when put together.
Socal 610
Well-known member
alpinewhite
Well-known member
Bump as I just read this and loved it.
BPJOOP93
Well-known member
I really like the way that turned out. do you have any pics of the finished product????
67carl
Well-known member
His last post was in October of 2012, so he may not be coming around anymore. I too would like to see the final product.
Chris98006
Well-known member
Cool! I'll be watching for the top! Great job
wildbill23c
Well-known member
Wow, excellent work, they look great. You could even add a work bench style top to it if you really wanted to. Those US General cabinets are pretty good, I've had mine for about 8 years and it has set outside on my carport the whole time and haven't had any problems with it. I have the bottom and top chest for mine, can't believe how much stuff you can cram into one of these units.
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
Is there a purpose for why verticals were used between the cabinets? Can/could the units be bolted together directly without any adverse issues?
nwdustin
Well-known member
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
Answered a page back
Wow, I totally missed reading that. Thank you for bringing that out for me!
AMCguy
Well-known member
This is absolutely top notch. Very inspiring.
myredracer
Well-known member
Thanks a lot dude...
Now I really *NEED* to get at least one of those to go under the new workbench I just built. How the heck am I going to explain that to my wife (a penny pinching accountant) after all the $$ I just spent on finishing and outfitting "my" workshop, esp. just before Xmas?? Pretty hard to hide plus she checks the CC statements almost daily...
That does look fabulous and would never know it's not a premium price top of the line cabinet.
I have a typical 2-piece upright tool chest that is taking up valuable wall space and putting one of these under a work surface would really help.
Now I really *NEED* to get at least one of those to go under the new workbench I just built. How the heck am I going to explain that to my wife (a penny pinching accountant) after all the $$ I just spent on finishing and outfitting "my" workshop, esp. just before Xmas?? Pretty hard to hide plus she checks the CC statements almost daily...
That does look fabulous and would never know it's not a premium price top of the line cabinet.
I have a typical 2-piece upright tool chest that is taking up valuable wall space and putting one of these under a work surface would really help.
Last edited:
NUISANCE
Well-known member
This inspired me to do my 2 tool boxes with 80/20. I had 2x 12ft pieces of 10/30 (1"x3") delivered yesterday and planned on doing my set up next weekend but Central Transport, the shipping company that does shipping for Zoro, lost the feet, brackets and bolts.
Either way this will be done and there are less expensive options that what the OP posted IE I got adjustable feet rated at 1000lbs each for $7 each. I'll post my results in this thread when all is said and done.
Either way this will be done and there are less expensive options that what the OP posted IE I got adjustable feet rated at 1000lbs each for $7 each. I'll post my results in this thread when all is said and done.
jerseykat1
Well-known member
That's an awesome set up you got there. Don't give me any ideas.The astonishing setups people have chronicled here inspired me to revamp my tool chest setup. Three of the 42-inch HF tool cabs have replaced my old setup of a 42-inch Craftsman Quiet Glide tool chest combo and a Costco 48-inch workbench with drawers. I never liked that Craftsman... it was just really poorly made and very expensive. Every time I looked at it I felt ripped off.
Sorry about the mess but it's still a work in progress. The cabs are mounted to a frame I made out of 80/20 extrusions. My floor has a steep slope to it -- the three cabs total about 11 feet in length, and the slope is over two inches. So on the original casters the cabs were all crooked and were prone to drift around the floor a bit when slamming the drawers open and closed, even with the wheels locked.
The legs were all cut at different lengths (from 1.5 inch to 4.0 inch) to match the contour of the floor. 80/20 brand leveling feet provide fine adjustment. I used two feet between cabs to minimize torque load on the legs with unevenly weighted cabs. I KNEW I should have peeled the rubber pads off the feet first...
The cabs and frame are all tied together using the holes where the original handles are supposed to go. Inserted the head of an M6 cap screw into the T-slot to accomplish this. There are four holes on both sides of the cabs, the inner holes are threaded M6x1.0, and the outer holes are just thru-holes in the sheet metal. I used the thru-holes backed up with fender washers and nuts on the other side. (My use of an M6 cap screw was incidental and not intended to be the same thread as the handle holes.) For some reason 80/20 doesn't offer a USS T-slot stud for this particular extrusion.
Everything is super-tightly fitted and stable. SO nice to yank a heavy drawer and not have the cab roll into my car! (The verticals are short on purpose -- to accommodate the worktops. I've already designed the 80/20-to-butcher-block interface but haven't built it yet.)
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
OP
blasto9000
Well-known member
Hi guys,
Apologies in advance for my bad form (in terms of not only vanishing for a couple years, but also revivifying a necrothread).
But, as a GJer recently emailed me inquiring on the status of the project, here's a pic of the completed project.
I can't believe I've had the setup for over four years now! The pic is from April 2015. The items on top of the worktops is an ever-changing landscape of projects. I hate storing items on worktops, but at least this way keeps my workbenches clear.
(Left to right: 12x18" granite surface plate, in an 80/20 1030 frame of course; Versa Vise on interchangeable tooling plate; axes that were in for sharpening; reloading press under the black cover, also on interchangeable tooling plate; leg off a bronze giraffe I was asked to reattach; 3D printer which I eventually threw in the trash.)
The black wall lockers are also from HF. They're not attached directly to the wall as I have them quite heavily loaded. They're bolted to 80/20 vertical stanchions that rest on the floor.
The 80/20 verticals made it easy to install some additional horizontal racking/shelving. That's what all my saws and planes and other woodworking tools are hanging on.
Scott
Apologies in advance for my bad form (in terms of not only vanishing for a couple years, but also revivifying a necrothread).
But, as a GJer recently emailed me inquiring on the status of the project, here's a pic of the completed project.
I can't believe I've had the setup for over four years now! The pic is from April 2015. The items on top of the worktops is an ever-changing landscape of projects. I hate storing items on worktops, but at least this way keeps my workbenches clear.
(Left to right: 12x18" granite surface plate, in an 80/20 1030 frame of course; Versa Vise on interchangeable tooling plate; axes that were in for sharpening; reloading press under the black cover, also on interchangeable tooling plate; leg off a bronze giraffe I was asked to reattach; 3D printer which I eventually threw in the trash.)
The black wall lockers are also from HF. They're not attached directly to the wall as I have them quite heavily loaded. They're bolted to 80/20 vertical stanchions that rest on the floor.
The 80/20 verticals made it easy to install some additional horizontal racking/shelving. That's what all my saws and planes and other woodworking tools are hanging on.
Scott