Straightening a SO box?

[yogitech]

So I finally got a response from a guy selling a SO KRA4107B for $350!!! I went to pick it up. Well CL pictures didn't show that the entire box is tweaked to were the box rocks back and forth. the drawer are misaligned and the bottom drawer doesn't close. Judging by the photos, how hard would it be to straighten out? Would you buy it? Has anyone had experience with this, what's the best way to approach a repair?

The seller CL picture

What the hell?

 

[LGMechanical]

its been racked...

warranty?

 

[vintagefan]

The problem with damage that bad on sheetmetal is that probably just about every spot weld in the whole darn thing has been cracked... that means over time they will start to pop apart and fail.

 

[JeremyManning]

steer clear there you will come across a better deal.

 

[B17E1943]

If I read him right, he already bought it.

 

[rsanter]

To me that's not that hard to repair. You need to reverse the damage by applying force in opposition to what was done in order to rack it back the other way.
Then there is the dent in the lower left you can try to work out.
Any broken welds will need rewelded...

With that said, that is not a high end box so they are just ok to begin with.
They are under $2000 new and a common box bought through the schools for half off
Cherry used ones have a hard time getting $900

Bob

 

[Justin1776]

I saw that on CL too! I thought damn, that's cheap but then noticed the bottom left side looked messed up. Maybe remove all the drawers, wrap a 2x4 (or wider) with a towel and whack it with sledge while it is up against a wall? Then check for any broken welds. The box may be too stiff to bend with a sledge.

 

[jabberwoki]

I've just pulled apart that snappy side box that was divorce damaged and they're fairly simple i would not be afraid to tackle that one just pay attention. You could always strip in right down a give it to an experienced body man to do the hard work then finish off the bondo and paint your self.

That one has way less damage!

 

[Ken81590]

Remove the drawers and bang out the dents/bends. Shoot, for $300, I would use it as is lol.

 

[yogitech]

Thanks guy! I ended up talking him down to a more reasonable/damaged price. it's just a home box anyway, I'll just take my time to tweak it a bit.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Would you buy it?

No.

 

[Packard V8]

I have the same model box in my basement. Bought it for cheap because it was damaged in a theft. The seller's tweeker brother pried it open and sold his tools.

With a bit of hammer and dolly work, the drawer lips came back pretty straight and the paint stayed on. The lock mechanism didn't seem to be damaged by the break-in. All-in-all a very good home user box and much better built than the typical Craftsman/Homak/StackOn.

The few remaining small waves in the drawer lips don't affect use and the damage isn't noticable at first glance. Made a perfect basement box for $75 and a couple of hours labor.

jack vines

 

[chadster1]

warranty?

Judging from the pics, that is physical damage. No warranty.

 

[fordcragar]

Whatever you do to it don't just take a hammer to it and start blasting.

 

[el tanque prohibido]

In order to gain access to the outer wall from the inside, you're gonna have to drill out the spot welds that attach the inner wall to the outer wall. You're gonna need a spring loaded center punch to mark the center of the spot welds before drilling. Once you gain access to the outer wall, you can use pieces of 3/4'' plate steel as dollies to straighten that sheet metal.

 

[Packard V8]

Find a body man with access to a welder which spot welds steel pins to the metal. He'll use a slide hammer to pull out the dents, cut off the pins, grind, bondo and you'll be ready to paint.

jack vines

 

[fordcragar]

Square it up first, then go after the dents.

 

[vintagefan]

The problem here for me, is that I could earn FAR, FAR more than the amount saved on this box, by working an equivalent amount of overtime at work versus the amount of time it would take to fix it.

I guess it's different for everyone, I happen to have almost unlimited overtime at work because we're understaffed. If you have lots of free time on the weekends and are moderately masochistic, this is probably the box for you!

 

[yogitech]

Square it up first, then go after the dents.

What would be the best way to square it up? Problem is the outer "shell" is hollow behind it. Theres nothing to pull/ push form the sides or top. It appears any adjusting to the frame has to be made at the base plate.

I already pulled the drawers. Drilled the spot welds on the side wall and removed it. Banged out a good portion of the dents. Still need to do some "finishing" metalwork. But I don't have any hammer and dollys... It did staighten out quite a bit already though.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not looking to resell it, or scam SO on warranty. I bought a damaged/ useable box with the intent to repair as much as possible, and use it for what it is. Being its for home use, could I get away with using 1/4" pop rivets with my air riveter to attach the wall back together?

Would you have bought it for $100???

 

[forester54]

Yea probably, he'll the snappy guy would probably give you more for it on trade in so why not

 

[vintagefan]

What would be the best way to square it up? Problem is the outer "shell" is hollow behind it. Theres nothing to pull/ push form the sides or top. It appears any adjusting to the frame has to be made at the base plate.

I already pulled the drawers. Drilled the spot welds on the side wall and removed it. Banged out a good portion of the dents. Still need to do some "finishing" metalwork. But I don't have any hammer and dollys... It did staighten out quite a bit already though.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not looking to resell it, or scam SO on warranty. I bought a damaged/ useable box with the intent to repair as much as possible, and use it for what it is. Being its for home use, could I get away with using 1/4" pop rivets with my air riveter to attach the wall back together?

Would you have bought it for $100???

I would strap two of the wheels down to whatever you can find that's rigid enough, and then use a prybar under the other wheels to tweak it back into shape for the most part.

 

[Steevo]

A porta-power with some 2x4's placed in the inside corners would let you "tweak" it back the other way to correct the paralllelogram and make it a rectangle again.

 

[crewchief888]

What would be the best way to square it up? Problem is the outer "shell" is hollow behind it. Theres nothing to pull/ push form the sides or top. It appears any adjusting to the frame has to be made at the base plate.

I already pulled the drawers. Drilled the spot welds on the side wall and removed it. Banged out a good portion of the dents. Still need to do some "finishing" metalwork. But I don't have any hammer and dollys... It did staighten out quite a bit already though.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not looking to resell it, or scam SO on warranty. I bought a damaged/ useable box with the intent to repair as much as possible, and use it for what it is. Being its for home use, could I get away with using 1/4" pop rivets with my air riveter to attach the wall back together?

Would you have bought it for $100???

i have an old SO roller that had fallen, loaded with tools, out of the back of a truck.
i pulled the drawers, layed a long 4x4 on the floor, picked up the empty box shell and slammed the lower edge against the 4x4 till it was reasonably square.

been like that for over 15 years now, i never did replace any of a damaged slides, since it's just used for misc hardware and supply storage.

 

[fordbroncodave]

nothing a hi lift jack can't fix. perfect use for one. pushing. lifting. pulling.

for $100 you got a good deal. one drawer alone costs that and then some

 

[yogitech]

Well I might have regretted buying this box in the beginning, but not anymore! Go easy on me I've never done any metal work before. Here's the before;

And..... 3hrs later and tons of hammering, tweaking, drilling and riveting. Heres the best she's gonna get;

Still need to order a set of slides and some touch up paint. I feel I accomplished what I wanted out of this box. I'm happy with it!

 

[gasjockey]

hey as long as its doesent rock back and forth and all the drawers open and close you did a good job just looks like you acadentley rolled it in to somethng for $300 that look good

 

[rsanter]

Great job
Pop rivits will do for now but you really need to weld it to be right

Bob

 

[yogitech]

I used some metal bonding epoxy under the wall seems as well as 1/4" industrial Rivets. Feels pretty solid, it shouldnt see very heavy use at home.

 

[ford guy]

You did a great job on pulling the dent out! And the missing paint isn't that bad.
You wanna come to Va Beach & have a hammer & dolly party? My SO box will keep us busy for a while!

Bob

 

[yogitech]

You did a great job on pulling the dent out! And the missing paint isn't that bad.
You wanna come to Va Beach & have a hammer & dolly party? My SO box will keep us busy for a while!

Bob

Thanks! I ordered a hammer and dolly set, except I got impatient and used some regular mallets and ball peins. worked pretty good. I've also got some touch up paint coming for it.