Making Tool Storage A Little More Secure

[DoubleARS]

Hello Everyone,

My shop/garage is about 150' from the main house. I only work in it during the evening and on weekends doing hobbies and working on my 57 Chevy. Right now, I have most of my power tools in the house and I have to lug them to the garage. I am looking for a way to leave them in the garage and feel comfortable doing so. I would like to build in some wooden cabinets to store my power tools and I am looking for ways to reinforce them. I've never welded before but recently bought a MIG welder and I am going to be taking a glass after the first of the year so putting something together with steel is not out of the question.

I am well insured but I want to be able to slow down any punks that would decide they think they need my tools more than me. What have you done? Internal hinges? Steel bars across the fronts?

Thanks!

 

[rburke65]

Don't know of a way to reinforce a wooden cabinet. A BFH and they are in.......no? No windows or very high up. Lots of locks, lots of lights. A dog. A gun. An alarm. You could probably do a "search" .... top of the page here ..... Try something like ... "garage security". If you have insurance, don't worry about it.

 

[DIC]

I would make the garage as secure as possible from the outside. With audible alarms and flashing lights. And site in your gun at 150'

 

[Lippyp]

Buy an old steel cabinet and bolt it to the wall/floor and some good padlocks. Won't keep a determined thief out but will stop the more casual theft. Couple that with a decent alarm and making it hard to get into the garage and thats about as good as it gets anywhere tbh.

 

[shooting4life]

Make sure you look up all the tools that could be used to break into your locked container. A looking cabinet is pretty useless when you have a 4.5 inch grinder with a cutting wheel on the shelf next to it.

 

[SALIV8]

buy a gangbox and anchor to the floor and you're all set..

 

[wornoutoldman]

How bout this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-gun

 

[unslow1]

I bought a new alarm system for the house. The old one went in the garage. My brother-in-law said after I accidentally set it off. " That probably was a good thing. Now everyone in the neighborhood knows there is an alarm on your garage."

 

[kingy2184]

What about some sort of removable metal bars? you could probably rig something up that secures to the cabinets,then either attaches to or goes into the floor...

 

[Ed Litsch]

An alarm system would be my first suggestion. Keep them on the outside- before they get in. They might damage a lot of stuff before they get to that tool box.

 

[Thumper68]

Motion sensor lights, a loud alarm on all the doors and windows, alarm signs. You can pick up all the parts on amazon for not much $$$.

My old shop had this setup, door and window contacts a glass break sensor and a keypad, had 3 separate break in attempts but the very loud siren and all sides lit up (think like noon sunlight) and they were scared off before they got inside.

 

[unslow1]

My garage has a GE Simon 3 kit on it.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Make the garage itself secure, so they don't get inside in the first place. Add an alarm system connected to your house.

 

[kf4zht]

Security through appearance. You want to make the place look like there is nothing valuable enough for the trouble. Security lights all over, razor wire fence, etc tells people there is probably something valuable. Stuff laying around in plain sight is tempting to anyone walking by that needs some cash.

Keep it clean, but not too clean. Make sure that valuable stuff is put up so it can't be seen from the outside. Have some security lights, but don't make it look like Fort Knox.

 

[DoubleARS]

Lots of great tips! Thanks everyone!

 

[machine_punk]

What about the job site boxes which contractors use to store their tools? They make some truly huge versions of these. Chain it to a wall inside and store your tools locked into that.

Kev

 

[DennisR]

 

[INSP380]

Buy a ADT yard sign .....DONE! Fast easy and cheap. Stick it next to the garage, not worth the effort to brake in. This is a tip from law enforcement and theives a like. If you really want to go nutz, buy the stickers too. Tell no one...ever!

Steve

 

[GRUMPYR]

Buy a ADT yard sign .....DONE! Fast easy and cheap. Stick it next to the garage, not worth the effort to brake in. This is a tip from law enforcement and theives a like. If you really want to go nutz, buy the stickers too. Tell no one...ever!

Steve

Better yet, Steal an ADT yard sign

 

[underpressure02]

Buy a ADT yard sign .....DONE! Fast easy and cheap. Stick it next to the garage, not worth the effort to brake in. This is a tip from law enforcement and theives a like. If you really want to go nutz, buy the stickers too. Tell no one...ever!

Steve

Can't say this works. I got my garage done last Dec and finally got power hooked up on Dec 24. I was waiting for my alarm guy to come out to install the alarm as he was pretty booked up. I put an ADT sign in the front of my driveway for the new garage as it is about 185 feet from the house and a sticker on the window. It wasn't even a month and someone busted in the window but luckily didn't get anything. I had motion detector lights around the garage also.

I finally got the alarm system in and prob went a little over board but better safe then sorry and also got a pretty crazy commercial camera system for the garage and house.

 

[kd4gij]

One word " Rottweiler "