Snap On side cab

[Roast Beef]

I thought I would post up a few pics of my latest acquisition, an eight drawer side cab. These are a pretty rare thing and I have been searching one out for a couple of years now, whenever one comes up they are big money, much more than I can afford, so when this one appeared on Facebook Marketplace I was straight over there. It was of course in a pretty sorry state (which is why it was cheap) but I fixed up the drawers by using some fine wire wool and petrol to remove the heavy stuff then TFR to finish off. The drawer slides were rusted up too so the wire wheel was used to clean them up and then greased. The carcass and door have been powder coated and look great, overall I am really pleased. When I eventually move the roll-cab I will put it on the Left.




I have to make the locking mechanism as it is missing completely. A job for the weekend I think.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Nice job! What is TFR?

 

[BrandonV]

Nice job! What is TFR?

Traffic film remover. The British version of what we would call a heavy duty vehicle degreaser for road tar.

 

[Roast Beef]

Nice job! What is TFR?

Thank you for your kind words Jeff, Brandon is quite correct, Traffic Film Remover. I use it neat as it is a terrific degreaser and leaves no residue. I find a good rescue/restoration job is good for the soul.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I made my own. The materials are scrap salvage. the Dutch Door was a panel from a restaurant fume extractor.
it cost about $20, not including the Porsche badges.

 

[Roast Beef]

Very nice, more than twenty dollars worth of materials there in today's money.

 

[shakenfake]

I made my own. The materials are scrap salvage. the Dutch Door was a panel from a restaurant fume extractor.
it cost about $20, not including the Porsche badges.

Is the cabinet itself an old snap-on cabinet that just lost its door? If so that is a pretty nice creation. Wonder if you could have just bought a snappy replacement door?

 

[isb cornbinder]

Is the cabinet itself an old snap-on cabinet that just lost its door? If so that is a pretty nice creation. Wonder if you could have just bought a snappy replacement door?

The materials are scrap salvage. The Dutch Door was 2 panels from a restaurant fume extractor. Sheetmetal was my first trade. Making cabinets is easy when I am in the mood and have the tools.

It cost me about $20, not including the Porsche badges. The $20 was for the drawer slides and drawer handle.
I built each at lunch time in about an hour. This was one of 27 of these side cabinets. The inside configurations were the owner's choice.
The person who asked for a cabinet had to supply the materials. I charged $20, each, for the coffee fund. I stopped making these cabinets when some persons became difficult.
I built the two end cabinets below, for myself. The tool tray has a fold-down handle and fit into the end cabinet top. This cabinet holds pry-bars and a selection of punches.
Yes, those two are AH-OH=GA horns. the grey one is an original. The red horn was a gift. It sounds like it is going through puberty.

 

[shakenfake]

@isb cornbinder so it isn’t a snap-on cabinet shell?

 

[isb cornbinder]

@isb cornbinder so it isn’t a snap-on cabinet shell?

I am not going to answer. All you need to know is in my 2 posts.

 

[shakenfake]

@isb cornbinder lol ok
Excellent thread contribution

 

[isb cornbinder]

@isb cornbinder lol ok
Excellent thread contribution

The French Chefs have a saying, "mise en plus" It means to have everything ready before you start cooking. While working sheetmetal, building a car or making a rotisserie is not cooking. I still think about what I want to make. I make a list of the parts and have them ready. If some of the mise en plus need fine tuning, it is easier than having a fresh start in the middle of construction.
I use my idea of borrowing ideas and making the parts my own design to better fit my situation.
On another forum, I have often suggested, spend an hour or two at an auto recycler and look at what the engineers and designers have made. This is a free and valuable education. Did I say, free? Thousands of good parts can be reused, they get left on vehicles that go to scrap.

 

[racecougar]

Way to be super clear, isb.

@Roast Beef, are you saying that the version with the door is rare, or Snap On side cabinets in general? Curious if this one is rare/worth much.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Way to be super clear, isb.

@Roast Beef, are you saying that the version with the door is rare, or Snap On side cabinets in general? Curious if this one is rare/worth much.

I have bought and sold many tool cabinets. Two identical cabinets, one is SnapOn and the other is Waterloo or Beach. The SnapOn will resell for 2-3 times as much as the Beach or Waterloo..
While the three brands I mentioned may appear identical, a careful comparison will show the SnapOn will have more bracing, better wheels and drawer slides, handles with drawer catches. I worked in a shop where I had to roll my tool cabinet to the next in-shop location, maybe more than once every day. I bought a MAC that looks like the SnapOn at the top of this thread. The concrete shop floor is smooth. In 2 years, the MAC box cracked near the middle of the lower box.
I am retired and at home, now. I have not moved my MAC box in a decade, so I am not concerned about the MAC CRACK getting bigger.
.

 

[racecougar]

So is that side cabinet rare, or is it just the ones with doors that are rare?

As far as quality goes, this '93 setup is junk compared to my '67 SO box.

 

[charbar]

I have to make the locking mechanism as it is missing completely. A job for the weekend I think.

Pretty sure that is the exact cabinet I have sitting at the end of my bench. Holds my radio, phone chargers, random ****. I took the door off because it was in the way. Pretty sure I still have the door with all the latch stuff and what not if you are interested in any of it instead of making the parts.....

I didn't know they were rare. I got mine for free and painted it black to match my other toolboxes

 

[Roast Beef]

Way to be super clear, isb.

@Roast Beef, are you saying that the version with the door is rare, or Snap On side cabinets in general? Curious if this one is rare/worth much.

Snap on side cabinets with drawers are rare, they are in my experience anyway I have been actively looking since 2018 but nothing that is genuine or affordable has appeared on the market, I have seen some really silly prices paid for small cabinets such as yours, way more than they cost originally in some instances.

The SnapOn will resell for 2-3 times as much as the Beach or Waterloo..

Exactly! Just this. If anything happens to me my missus will get good money for my gear and yes, she knows what it's worth.

 

[racecougar]

Snap on side cabinets with drawers are rare, they are in my experience anyway I have been actively looking since 2018 but nothing that is genuine or affordable has appeared on the market, I have seen some really silly prices paid for small cabinets such as yours, way more than they cost originally in some instances.

This and your PM sparked my curiosity, so I searched FB Marketplace to see. Doing a nationwide search, I did only find a few, and they were priced from $600 - $1k. That's insane, IMO.

 

[Roast Beef]

That's insane, IMO.

You are not wrong, which is why it has taken me literally years to find one. The eight drawer cabinets such as the one I found are really hard to find and don't forget, you are looking in a country with several million more inhabitants than this one here!

If I were to sell it, which I won't as I have only just found it I could easily ask $1000 and I would get it too but to make the job perfect I need to fix the lock so I will be contacting @charbar to see if we can do a deal on the lock bits.