Montezuma CPL box in the shop

[Oregon rock crusher]

I picked up an old CPL box at a swap meet a while back and am just now getting around to finding a use for it. The PO called it a "Pricey box" though I'm not sure why. I had planned on mounting it somewhere near my lathe because I always seem to need tools there but never have a great place to set them down and don't like walking across the shop every time I need something. I decided against a stationary mount and went mobile.

A drum dolly, a little pipe, a brake drum, and an interesting piece of junk with holes in it make up the base. After I welded up with the box mount I filled the drum at the base with nickel slag. This gives a place for bars and other long tools to stand. Works great for this and they are easily accessible yet securely held. I also really like how non-intrusive this thing is. Fits right in the tight areas of the shop where I need it most.

The only issue I have is the box itself. I don't need the lid so I considered cutting it off and making a few other changes but I've decided the box layout really doesn't do what I want. I think I'm going to build it from scratch so I can have my wrenches on either side, standard on left and metric on right, and use socket holders to fab up exactly what I need. I love the concept of having everything right there in it's place. Anyone else using a CPL box in their shop or built their own in this style? Ed.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Damn, that looks nice, I would of snagged it at full price.

 

[bcexplorer]

Good deal, they are pricey. I have been thinking about making my own even!

 

[jumbojak]

I have one of those. It works but the wrench hangars on the back bug the bejesus out of me. The flip up tray on the bottom collects crud too.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

The single wrench row across the back is the biggest problem for me also. That plus a lot of the space under and behind the socket rails is pretty difficult to reach. I want to be able to pluck nearly anything stored on or in it with one hand and without a search. Guess I'll start looking for an industrial electrical box about the right size to modify for the framework. Ed.

 

[jumbojak]

They work well for a truck toolbox. The one I use is diamond plate and sealed for use outdoors. When you compare the flip style Montezuma to a traditional truck box it can be a lot more convenient. Its not as handy as a service body but certainly better than a giant metal tote where everything eventually makes its way to the bottom.

It might be worthwhile to JB weld some of those magnetic bars to the lid to store common wrenches. I did that with a rally box the other night in an effort to squeeze a bit more usable space in the lid. If only I had used shorter bars running short ways instead of one bar running longways it would've been pretty handy. JB Weld is just like diamonds though.

By doing that you could have your common sizes in easy reach and free up space in the back for larger wrenches or specials, if you have any that are fairly commonly used. It'd be good for screwdrivers and picks too. You'll lose mini picks in that thing just by blinking your eyes. And, since its stationary and not bouncing around in the bed of a truck you won't have to worry about things falling off.

 

[John in OH]

Awesome looking lathe in the background !!! Know anything about it??

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Hi John. My big lathe is a 1918 Sidney cone head. It is one of their heavy pattern lathes. this one was a 17" which would swing 19" stock. It came with factory risers though so it will swing around 27" as it sits. I restored it several years ago but still find ways to improve it and it's tooling. It's a three step double back geared lathe and I have the countershaft turning at the factory speed, 190 rpm if I'm remembering right. Made the chip pan with drawers a while back as well and it made a big difference in use-ability. Ed.

 

[sk farmer]

awesome buy for 10 bucks. i have four of them. one just like that, an old junior that is similar to yours, a senior that is larger and a crossover that is much larger and designed to sit on a cart. the smaller ones move back and forth from tractors and the combine. the senior is mounted on my truck and the crossover is in my shop.

they are bulletproof. my smaller ones have over 10,000 hrs off road and the one in my truck has in excess of 200,000 miles in my truck. they can be loaded much heavier than you think and still be moved quite easily.

i would give you a whole lot more than your 10 bucks for it as there are some things i like better about the old ones.

i have a few threads on them if you look for them.

 

[Chromdome35]

Hi John. My big lathe is a 1918 Sidney cone head. It is one of their heavy pattern lathes. this one was a 17" which would swing 19" stock. It came with factory risers though so it will swing around 27" as it sits. I restored it several years ago but still find ways to improve it and it's tooling. It's a three step double back geared lathe and I have the countershaft turning at the factory speed, 190 rpm if I'm remembering right. Made the chip pan with drawers a while back as well and it made a big difference in use-ability. Ed.

That Lathe is a work of art.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

skfarmer this box's finish is undercoating and it looks to have survived a lot of road time, in a cattle truck or horse trailer likely judging from the debris left behind. There is no real damage to it and that is one reason I think I'll just replicate what I like best about it in a fabbed box and leave this one alone for it's intended use. Plenty of miles left in it.

Thanks Chromedome, I've got quite a bit of time in the lathe getting it to this point.

 

[sk farmer]

that was a factory finish. only available for a short time. it seems like that finish either stuck very well or peeled off. if it did peel off it was in spots and the rest was nearly impossible to remove. ours seem to have held up. new, that is about a 250-300 dollar box. even though it is a smaller box it will hold an amazing amount of stuff.

my two smaller boxes have sae wrenches to 1 1/4 and metric up to 19, 1/4 socket sets in sae and metric, 3/8 in metric and sae standard and deep, 1/2 sae set, and a pretty full assortment of drive tools, punches, chisels, pliers, allens, screwdrivers, adjustables, hammers, bars and a pile of things i am sure i am forgetting.

 

[sk farmer]

if anyone is curious. here is some literature from that time frame. the op's box is a jr312. montezuma made some interesting boxes over the years. check out the red stack in the lower right corner.

<<<<< mine as well

 

[fatfillup]

I see SK jumped in, he is the resident expert and cheerleader for those boxes. I have seen his set ups in person and they work great for him.

Don't see many here on the east coast but I keep my eye open for one.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Thank you for all the info sk farmer. There were places on my 312 jr where the undercoating was lifting. It is mostly along the edges where the delamination started. I scored the loose areas straight with a knife and peeled off about a 1" strip of undercoating where the delams occurred. I should be able to re-apply fresh undercoating and clean those areas up. The steel was still mostly blue under the finish.

Really neat brochures you have collected. The red stack looks fairly unique as well. Probably not too many of those out there. It is not all that different in concept from what I'm trying to make. Thanks again for the good info and nice avatar update....Ed.

 

[sk farmer]

here is some more info from an older brochure. it was originally called a c.p.l. junior.

if anyone needs any cpl info, i have a pile of brochures.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Those last scans or pics have pretty good resolution and are particularly useful as I can read all the print sk. Have you ever seen one of the CPL roller bases like in the red stack? It doesn't look like it has conventional drawers but does have something going on in the bottom. Hard to tell from that pic though. Ed.

 

[sk farmer]

never saw a base cabinet like it in person and this is the only info on it i have other than dimensions. it had an a frame on rollers that pulled towards the front and an angled storage area that tipped off to the right or left. best pic i could get.

 

[gregpack]

I'm intrigued by those boxes and am trying to resist the temptation to buy one. Good score OP!

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That's the money shot sk...what an unusual layout and box. Very cool. No use trying to resist gregpack....let it go and place the order....helpful aren't I.

 

[Farmall 1066]

Love my Montezuma when it's in the truck. Truly holds a shitload of tools and they stay put.
In the shop I don't like reaching under the lid, but I'm 6'7", and the box sits too low on top of a Lista cabinet I keep it on.
I wanted drawers yet, so found a WeatherGard Pack Rat to put in back of my truck. Montezuma on top is perfect height.

Always wanted a Montezuma Jr size box, but whenever I see one on a farm sale they fetch crazy money.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I picked up an old CPL box at a swap meet a while back and am just now getting around to finding a use for it.
A drum dolly, a little pipe, a brake drum, and an interesting piece of junk with holes in it make up the base. After I welded up with the box mount I filled the drum at the base with nickel slag. This gives a place for bars and other long tools to stand. Works great for this and they are easily accessible yet securely held. I also really like how non-intrusive this thing is. Fits right in the tight areas of the shop where I need it most.

The only issue I have is the box itself. I don't need the lid so I considered cutting it off and making a few other changes but I've decided the box layout really doesn't do what I want. I think I'm going to build it from scratch so I can have my wrenches on either side, standard on left and metric on right, and use socket holders to fab up exactly what I need. I love the concept of having everything right there in it's place. Anyone else using a CPL box in their shop or built their own in this style? Ed.

I have one of those. It works but the wrench hangars on the back bug the bejesus out of me. The flip up tray on the bottom collects crud too.

The single wrench row across the back is the biggest problem for me also. That plus a lot of the space under and behind the socket rails is pretty difficult to reach. I want to be able to pluck nearly anything stored on or in it with one hand and without a search. Guess I'll start looking for an industrial electrical box about the right size to modify for the framework. Ed.

So I went ahead and worked up an open stadium style box using some junk laying around the shop. It is mostly an electrical panel cut down with some raceway and other panel parts welded together into a box. I didn't want a lid to get in the way but could add something if I wanted.

I thought I'd fill it up and take some pics but I was running out of spare tools before I ran out of capacity. It will hold a lot and every tool is easy to see and grab with one hand. Also the base will hold a 24" crescent and pipe wrench along with bars and punches. Here's a few pics of the mostly loaded box....best of all it fits the tight spots I want it to go into and puts a good tool where it's needed. Ed.

 

[mixerfixer]

I like both your old box and your home built box. Awesome

 

[drivesitfar]

ORC: you worked the idea and made another great addition to your shop. WELL DONE!!

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Thanks mixerfixer and Drives. It was a pretty fun thing to build and I think it will get a lot of use. Frees the CPL box up for use in the PU or deck shop where I need a lid. Ed.

 

[gregpack]

Very cool ORC!