Restore work bench, need opinions

[fred d]

This picture is a picture of a workbench my father built back when I was a child(late 60’s).
He worked out in the steel mills near Gary Indiana and built it at work. He bought it for scrap price after the completion of the job and brought it home on a wrecker/tow truck.
Somewhere along the lines one of the drawers came up missing while my dad was still alive. This is a very heavy very durable workbench and I would like to fabricate a replacement drawer and then clean it up and paint it

I have no idea what he used for the drawer “pull”
Looks like something cut down then welded on, but I have no idea what
Thanks in advance for your help

 

[fred d]

This is a pic of the drawer

 

[fred d]

Another pic

 

[fred d]

One more for different angle

 

[matt_i]

Guessing of course it looks like some type of stamped dust cap that was cut in 2 unequal pieces to make the pull.

It could be fabricated from 3 parts, a disk, a ring, and a slice of a cone that would be welded and then metal-finished back to look like the original stamping, then you cut it the same way.

The slice-of-cone could be a ring (slice-of-tube) that could be worked to expand the bottom edge, also may be able to metal-spin it on a lathe and open up the taper that way.

But I think it would definitely be worth the effort, it does look quite heavy and I recognize the full-bar-locks that are typical of toolboxes in big plants. I feel certain your Dad would be happy to see it restored back close to original condition.

 

[FJ 432]

Considering that you're restoring/ painting the cabinet I would probably move the two remaining/ matching drawers on either side and use the middle drawer opening for your newly fabricated drawer. You could make the middle drawing into a drop down front cover trying to find duplicate-ish hinges that look like the bottom doors. This as opposed to trying to weld/recreate the existing drawer pulls.

Cool cabinet. My nuts hurt just imaging how heavy that is!

 

[2oolhound]

The drawer pulls look like ash trays or bowls cut in half.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I have no suggestion on making a replacement drawer but if one of the existing drawers fits in the space, maybe take it to a small local metal shop and ask them to duplicate it?

May I suggest you give the bench a quick sanding with a fairly rough grit; say 80, and pint it with Rustoleum Hammered Finish. I used it on the steel frame I built to replace the back wall of my garage. It is SO easy to make ook great. A $1.79 foam roller from Home Cheapo works just fine to apply it and it requires nearly NO prep. The sanding I mentioned will just knock whatever scabs and glops are on the bench as it is.

 

[fred d]

Cool cabinet. My nuts hurt just imaging how heavy that is!

Not exactly sure what it weighs but if I had to guess I’d say 15 to 1800 pounds. The top is quarter inch plate. The sides are 3/16 plate the drawers are made up of 1/8 plate.

 

[fred d]

May I suggest you give the bench a quick sanding with a fairly rough grit; say 80, and pint it with Rustoleum Hammered Finish. I used it on the steel frame I built to replace the back wall of my garage. It is SO easy to make ook great. A $1.79 foam roller from Home Cheapo works just fine to apply it and it requires nearly NO prep. The sanding I mentioned will just knock whatever scabs and glops are on the bench as it is.

I will probably take a wire wheel and knock off all the loose stuff before painting.
My dad used to get paint that was About to expire and bring it home to paint anything we had around the house that was going to be outdoors like swingsets picnic tables flag poles etc. It was always either blue green or maroon. I think in honor of him those are the colors I will use to paint the bench

 

[kbs2244]

That style of pull was common on wood cabinets 100 years ago/
But the were just stamped steel.
Nowhere near that thick.

Knowing the bench was from a steel mill I would guess he adapted a breather of some kind to get the same look.

 

[bugnut]

Shop I worked in used industrial muffin pans to sort parts, looks like the handle part to me.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/594073562/sale-antique-french-muffin-popover-tin

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I will probably take a wire wheel and knock off all the loose stuff before painting.
My dad used to get paint that was About to expire and bring it home to paint anything we had around the house that was going to be outdoors like swingsets picnic tables flag poles etc. It was always either blue green or maroon. I think in honor of him those are the colors I will use to paint the bench

Just realized the close up photo of the hammered paint finish didn’t post. I can’t state enough how TOUGH this paint is. Once fully dry it is some hard *** paint. Nearly like powder coating. Ok, maybe not THAT tough but still impressive. Hides a multitude of problems on the surface. And I really mean it that you don’t need to take a wire wheel to it. Only worry about it if the bench is greasy. Other than that you can get away doing NOTHING for prep and the hammered finish hides nearly everything.