Map drawers

[bluedog225]

The idea of the map drawer cabinet has always appealed to me. It seems like a lot of real estate to store a little things I saw one at Restore and based on long experience, I went ahead and grabbed it.

My estimates of my space available were wildly inaccurate. I was obviously drunk.

This thing is 36 inches deep and I just can’t find a spot to make it work. Maybe as a coffee table. Not going to happen.

I have a bad idea to try and use it vertically. The drawers operates smoothly enough on its side. And I’ll need a way to hang things inside. Maybe those magnetic bars they sell at Harbor freight attached with short sheet metal screws.

Has anybody been down this road? Am I smoking ketchup?

 

[racecougar]

IMO, trying to use it on its side is just a bunch of jammed drawers waiting to happen.

 

[bluedog225]

Yeah. It’s not optimal.

 

[loganb]

I've got one in use now...but in it's designed orientation, not vertical. I'm not very confident in how vertical would work out

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

Hopefully you didn't pay too much for it. Maybe flip it and make a couple bucks.

 

[bdbecker]

Sometimes in life, we find ourselves with a solution looking for a problem. As others have said, the best course of action might just be to sell it and move on with life.

I've certainly found myself in situations like this. I'd like to think I'm getting better as I get older, but I know I'm going to see a deal that I just can't pass up and fall into the trap again.

 

[FJ 432]

Smoking ketchup

 

[kbuhagiar]

I was in the same situation about twenty-five years ago.

I used to work for the City and County of San Francisco. Our corporation yard was being remodeled, and they were replacing all of the furniture. I had first crack at all of the old stuff that was otherwise getting tossed. Now, keep in mind that EVERY piece of furniture in the operations office was hand-built back in the 1930s, by master woodworkers employed by the City, to custom-fit the office space (that's how they did it back then). Beautiful craftsmanship. Gorgeous wood. I couldn't bear to see it get trashed, so I took the blueprint/map cabinet (mine had eight drawers) home with me.

Hard as I tried I couldn't find a way to re-purpose it. Kept it for two years before I finally got tired of it taking up valuable space in the spare room (boy, did I get hell for that from you-know-who), and gave it to Goodwill. I'll never forget, one of the guys who picked it up says, "That's too nice, I'll have to keep that for myself!"...and thus the cycle starts again, lol!

 

[Old Moparz]

I have a wooden one that is huge, must be at least 48"w x 36"d x 24" h. I have artwork in a couple of drawers & wheel lip mouldings in another.

It's in the corner of my basement & has a bunch of car parts in boxes on top of it. Not the ideal use of space but it works.

 

[tincanoe]

I have (2)-5 drawer units stacked under a pallet rack work bench. I've actually cut strips of foam board to fill in the back 6" of drawer because stuff was getting lost back there, as the drawers on mine are 8" short of being full extension drawers. If was to do it over, I would not have bothered to acquire the drawers, and instead gone the tool box route.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

I'd love to get one but I'd have the same issue, no GOOD place to set it.

I had a similar issue when I added an 8 drawer cabinet to the collection - making the total = 3. I had to move EVERYTHING in the "Dad" section of the basement to get it to all to fit. A little "shop Tetris" is good for the soul.

Cheers

Jim

 

[nadogail]

Sounds like a great place to store your collection of nautical charts and etchings.

 

[bluedog225]

The only thing I can think of is to make a rolling cart with a hardwood top and incorporate this into it. That would work and this thing is about the right size. Maybe maybe maybe

I’ve got it stacked in the corner next to the workbench. With a promise to myself not to keep it for more than a few months. Give or take.

 

[PelicanPines]

Smoking ketchup

 

[RMERR]

They do take up a lot of real estate, but great for various sheet goods, fabric, foam, plastics, buffing wheels, etc. I wanted them but also didn't have space in my shop at the time. I redid my bed platform and used 4 of them underneath, drawers opening out to either side. Not as handy as right there in the shop, but it's mostly stuff I only use infrequently.

 

[WildBill]

They always have wooden and metal ones at my local college surplus. Two metal and one wood when I was there today. Usually for $100. I always want them but they are too deep to fit anywhere.

 

[jmiller_2308]

The only thing I can think of is to make a rolling cart with a hardwood top and incorporate this into it. That would work and this thing is about the right size. Maybe maybe maybe

I’ve got it stacked in the corner next to the workbench. With a promise to myself not to keep it for more than a few months. Give or take.

I made a rolling workbench from mine. I built it a bit high and it works out great for all kinds of things. The size of the top is really useful when doing layouts or working on anything of any size. I used up a piece of plate so that I could have a hard surface and finished the rest with Masonite so that I could replace as needed. I also cut corners and made spares to mount things like my grinder and wheel so that I could easily swap the configuration of the table to all flat or with tools mounted.

 

[CraigStu]

Perfect for sandpaper, gasket material, rolls of sticky back foam insulation, or find small plastic bins to fill the drawer with to store nuts, bolts, screws. My wife would love one of those for sewing materials, supplies. Wish you were closer to Va cause I'd take it off your hands in a heartbeat.

 

[billconner]

I bought a pair of the really big ones when I went out on my own - 48x36 drawings so 54 x 42 iirc - since retiring and moving now in my wife's art glass studio. They were expensive suckers - over $1000 which seemed like a lot just starting - but with transition to digital there should be a lot available from architects and engineers.

 

[the shifty jesus]

The big ones are definitely a pain unless you have a lot of space. The smaller ones for 24x36 drawings are easier to manage, and are awesome for small parts storage.

I don’t have an open drawer photo on this device, but I have all the drawers filled with Schaller bins for hardware and such.

I used these and another two as tool boxes for a while before repurposing. They can hold a lot of weight, but the center of the drawers can sag a bit. I have small c-channels spanning the width, mounted underneath for support.

 

[bluedog225]

I made a rolling workbench from mine. I built it a bit high and it works out great for all kinds of things. The size of the top is really useful when doing layouts or working on anything of any size. I used up a piece of plate so that I could have a hard surface and finished the rest with Masonite so that I could replace as needed. I also cut corners and made spares to mount things like my grinder and wheel so that I could easily swap the configuration of the table to all flat or with tools mounted.

Well, it’s been a minute. I finally took this on yesterday. Not fine woodworking but it will serve.

Credit where credit is due. I don’t like the castor set I picked up at restore and may change them out.

It is very large. But a nice flat surface. I like the of cutting squares for different tools.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I think your going to like having that large work surface and especially because it is mobile. I use mine all the time. The overhang on the top is nice for clamping.

Just an FYI: The way I got my cut out squares for swapping from flat to tool was by layering my top.

• I started with a 3/4" plywood the size of the drawers on top of the drawers.
• Then I added a layer of 2x4 framework so that I could have space between the bottom and the next layer. This space is used to allow my wood working vice to slide into the table. You can see the little blue vice on the right side of the first picture.
• On top of the 2x4 framework I added another 3/4" plywood with overhang to act as the base for tools to be swapped in and out.
• This was then followed by 1/2" plywood and finally a 1/4" Masonite top.
• I cut the square corners from the 1/2" plywood and Masonite and drilled holes to pop the squares out before attaching the 1/2" plywood to the 3/4" tool base with glue and screws. The Masonite was attached using staples so that I could remove it easily for replacement if I wanted to (so far there has been no need for that).
• I finished by adding the 1x2 to finish the edges.
• I then used more 1/2" plywood and 1/4" Masonite to make bases for the tools I swap in and out.

One feature that I added later was to put some outlets on the back side with a long cord that will reach to the outlets on the wall. This provides a convenient place to plug in any tool I might need to use on the bench.

 

[CN Spots]

Glad to see someone find a new life for one. We used to store art in those at work but went digital decades ago. When we moved to the new facility last year we kept the 4 best ones and tossed probably 30 into the scrap metal bin. Even the crackheads digging through the bins at night wouldn't take 'em lol.

They ARE some finger pinching m-effers!

 

[drivesitfar]

I love flat file (map, blueprint, art, ...) cabinets. I can't see how you could use one on it's side so if somebody can I'd love to see it and how that could work. yep they take up a ton of real estate, but OMG they work great for light bulky tools and STUFF.

they come in many widths and I've seen some 72 inches wide. I own several that are 41 and 47 inches wide and they fit nicely on pallet racking in my storage unit or on the back or side wall of a big garage might work too. this big light grey cabinet is 33 inches wide and 28 inches deep.

 

[rlitman]

...I can't see how you could use one on it's side so if somebody can I'd love to see it and how that could work...

I store most of my chisels vertically, stuck to a magnetic rail, with a wooden stop under them. With some dividers and magnets, I could see lots of uses. Another option would be Kaizen foam. Carved just right, foam can easily retain things. That's how sockets and wrenches were stored on the Space Shuttle and still are on the ISS.

Socket rails can be mounted. Just need to orient the rails horizontally so the sockets don't slide down.

 

[drivesitfar]

RL: good idea for the right space.

All: one thing I forgot to mention was that at one time I had some old metal Hamilton 49 inch wide flat files and I filled up a few drawers with old wrenches, sockets and tools and I think I went past there max weight limit but other than some scraping when moving drawer in and out they survived.

 

[rlitman]

RL: good idea for the right space...

The right space. Agreed. It couldn't possibly work without both the right space and the right things to put in them. Vertical drawers certainly aren't useful for simply dropping stuff in, but if fully fleshed out in organization, it could work at eye level.

OTOH, now that I think about it, I'm not so keen on turning a flat file on its side to achieve this. The drawer glides are oriented wrong, so once you put any weight in it, I think you're going to have issues.

 

[Sumboodie]

We had a full bench out of 2 if those. Like 4ft deep, 12ft across. Each drawer ~4" deep or so.

Stored gaskets, small engine carbs, sawmill blades, etc