Strouty
Well-known member
I will let you know what my thoughts are, just ordered it last night, might see it this week.
Tooling (Re)Organization
- Thread starter lilscorpion
- Start date
sakurama
Well-known member
I'm sure we've covered this but I've been using Cascade Tool & Foam and I love the colors for shadowing and it's easy to cut. It doesn't hurt that they're local to me but they ship.
I use an 1/8" red layer for the bottom and then 1/4" blue for the cutouts. It adds some brightness to the shop and I like the glaring red outline when a tool is missing. I've been remiss in doing my new tool chests as I haven't settled on what's permanent but hopefully this winter I'll redo the drawers.
Anyway, check them out.
Gregor
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pcmeiners
Well-known member
Lowes floor runner by the foot, same as Vidmar OEM drawer liner ...
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Apache-Mil...d-Vinyl-Utility-Runner-By-the-Foot/1000043655
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Apache-Mil...d-Vinyl-Utility-Runner-By-the-Foot/1000043655
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
I'm sure we've covered this but I've been using Cascade Tool & Foam and I love the colors for shadowing and it's easy to cut. It doesn't hurt that they're local to me but they ship.
I use an 1/8" red layer for the bottom and then 1/4" blue for the cutouts. It adds some brightness to the shop and I like the glaring red outline when a tool is missing. I've been remiss in doing my new tool chests as I haven't settled on what's permanent but hopefully this winter I'll redo the drawers.
Anyway, check them out.
Gregor
What do you use to stick the two colors together or is it adhesive backed?
Strouty
Well-known member
Looks like it will bond with heat, they do have adhesive lines stuff too.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Beginning Drawer Front Fabrication
One of my goals for 2018 was to complete the fabrication of the chests/drawer bases. Other than organizing the individual drawers by adding dividers, all that’s left is to make just a few drawer fronts. The last set of bases had drawer fronts that I sprayed with poly and the process of doing so took forever. Each front took 3 coats front and back and there was about 36 drawers and doors. All in all, I think I sprayed nearly 5 gallons fo poly. Having to wait between coats is what killed me, given my primitive drying space limitations and the need for the shop to be open so the air could circulate, I could only spray ~12 on one side per spray session. As a result, I think I was spraying constantly for nearly 3 months.
The weather just isn’t warm enough to spray so I needed another approach and I wanted one that was much easier than the last one. I have about 1 sheet of left over laminate so I thought I’d try laminated drawer fronts this time. The laminate is many times more durable than poly and much easier to replace and match in the future. This go-round I did myself a favor intentionally and made as many drawers the same size as possible. This allows me to go into batch mode on the fronts. To waste as little laminate as possible, I decide to laminate a large piece of ply and then cut it down into the individual drawers instead of pre-cutting out the drawers and then laminating each individually.
Even with he weather bing about 45 outside I’m still able to move fairly quickly. Setup time for the contact adhesive may take twice as long but, when doing multiple panels at once, I’m able to bounce around and keep progress consistent.

Quickly trim the edges and run a file around the perimeter so the sharp laminate edges don’t cut my hands up while feeding it through the table saw. Hate laminate trimming. It's makes a much bigger mess than just routing and the chips are heavy enough they go everywhere.

Once in strips, I then set the stop and whack up the lengths into the 9 drawers for the upper part of the tooling base.

Yeah, so MUCH faster than spraying.

Now for the drawer pulls. I've spent months looking for exactly what I wanted. As a reminder, I'm building these bases as an alternative to buying expensive tool cart boxes/bases instead but, I still want the tool cart box/base look and function. Part of the look I find desirable is the large aluminum drawer pulls on the mac tool boxes.

After searching I fount it wasn't exactly easy to find in a comparable design which was also affordable. As luck would have it, I did manage to find 6-foot long extrusions on the ahturf.com website in a variety of profiles. These too are designed to be recessed/non-protruding drawer handles like in the picture below.

(ref bill steele @ lumberjocks)
They have a few different styles available in the 6-foot length. I like them but I can't use this design because some of my drawer fronts on the smaller drawers aren't any taller than 2 1/2 inches which would make the pull more than half of that..won't work.


These styles attach to the back of the drawer front but stick out more like the tool boxes which left these profiles to choose from.



I went with the slightly more rounded look and ordered three 6-foot lengths. Here's the profile mocked up on a test piece of ply. Each drawer will need a slight relief cut in the back of the drawer so the pull sits flush.
With the saw dialed in, I back cut 3 of the drawer fronts for a dry fit. I like the look. I’ll have to figure out if I need to paint the sides of the drawers or if I can use a natural finish on them. Think I’ll have to see it all come together before I’ll be able to get the full effect but a quick mock-up reveals it's going to work.

I made a quick fixture and programmed the mill to spot drilled the back of the extrusion so I could get all of them spaced consistently. Quickly I learned that it was far faster to hand counter sink the holes than switch tools on the mill.

Last op is to machine the pockets for the Blum drawer front adjusters. There is no easier way I’ve found to get drawer fronts attached and aligned quickly and accurately.

4 screws and the pull is securely attached.

Finished drawer front. A subtle semblance of a mechanics tool box.

I found a piece of scrap aluminum that was the perfect spacer for mocking up the drawer. I typically start at the bottom and work my way up. This allows me to use the lower front and a spacer to get the alignment right as I work my way up the cabinet.

Each New drawer front rests on a spacer, and then I use a square on either side to make sure I have it aligned correctly with the one below. Repeat the process all the way to the top.

Move over, set the next base and work my way up.

Until I’ve completed the cabinet. 9 gives a much clearer view of what it’s going to look like when it’s done. It’s better than I had hoped and the slightly rounded leading edge of the pulls looks ultra clean and gives a nice feeling to the fingers when pulling the drawer out.

I’m a little disappointed I chose the conservative route and only ordered 3 of the pull extrusions. Now that I get to a point where I’ve got the machines setup and the process down, I’m out. I grabbed one of the drops and walked around to the rest of the drawers to see if there’s a way I can utilize them. I had originally planned on having full length pulls on the bench over drawers as well.

The overhang isn’t deep enough to have the same reveal as the lower bases which I could deal with 2 different ways-
1. I could remake the top to be wider
2. I could mount the pull differently. Instead of mounting the pull the the drawer front, I can mount it to the inside of the drawer itself effectively setting it back 1/2-inch. If I do that I’ll need use thinner material for the drawer front, maybe 3/8-inch instead of 3/4-inch, to give enough room for my fingers to get a positive pull.
On the smaller utility drawers the pulls would work just fine and I might be able to get away with using smaller sections and not running the full length of the drawer. I’m thinking that 6” pulls on these drawers would suffice.

I walked through and did the math - looks like I’ll need 18 more 6-foot lengths to finish both bases/benches. Ouch.
One of my goals for 2018 was to complete the fabrication of the chests/drawer bases. Other than organizing the individual drawers by adding dividers, all that’s left is to make just a few drawer fronts. The last set of bases had drawer fronts that I sprayed with poly and the process of doing so took forever. Each front took 3 coats front and back and there was about 36 drawers and doors. All in all, I think I sprayed nearly 5 gallons fo poly. Having to wait between coats is what killed me, given my primitive drying space limitations and the need for the shop to be open so the air could circulate, I could only spray ~12 on one side per spray session. As a result, I think I was spraying constantly for nearly 3 months.
The weather just isn’t warm enough to spray so I needed another approach and I wanted one that was much easier than the last one. I have about 1 sheet of left over laminate so I thought I’d try laminated drawer fronts this time. The laminate is many times more durable than poly and much easier to replace and match in the future. This go-round I did myself a favor intentionally and made as many drawers the same size as possible. This allows me to go into batch mode on the fronts. To waste as little laminate as possible, I decide to laminate a large piece of ply and then cut it down into the individual drawers instead of pre-cutting out the drawers and then laminating each individually.
Even with he weather bing about 45 outside I’m still able to move fairly quickly. Setup time for the contact adhesive may take twice as long but, when doing multiple panels at once, I’m able to bounce around and keep progress consistent.

Quickly trim the edges and run a file around the perimeter so the sharp laminate edges don’t cut my hands up while feeding it through the table saw. Hate laminate trimming. It's makes a much bigger mess than just routing and the chips are heavy enough they go everywhere.

Once in strips, I then set the stop and whack up the lengths into the 9 drawers for the upper part of the tooling base.

Yeah, so MUCH faster than spraying.

Now for the drawer pulls. I've spent months looking for exactly what I wanted. As a reminder, I'm building these bases as an alternative to buying expensive tool cart boxes/bases instead but, I still want the tool cart box/base look and function. Part of the look I find desirable is the large aluminum drawer pulls on the mac tool boxes.

After searching I fount it wasn't exactly easy to find in a comparable design which was also affordable. As luck would have it, I did manage to find 6-foot long extrusions on the ahturf.com website in a variety of profiles. These too are designed to be recessed/non-protruding drawer handles like in the picture below.

They have a few different styles available in the 6-foot length. I like them but I can't use this design because some of my drawer fronts on the smaller drawers aren't any taller than 2 1/2 inches which would make the pull more than half of that..won't work.


These styles attach to the back of the drawer front but stick out more like the tool boxes which left these profiles to choose from.



I went with the slightly more rounded look and ordered three 6-foot lengths. Here's the profile mocked up on a test piece of ply. Each drawer will need a slight relief cut in the back of the drawer so the pull sits flush.
With the saw dialed in, I back cut 3 of the drawer fronts for a dry fit. I like the look. I’ll have to figure out if I need to paint the sides of the drawers or if I can use a natural finish on them. Think I’ll have to see it all come together before I’ll be able to get the full effect but a quick mock-up reveals it's going to work.

I made a quick fixture and programmed the mill to spot drilled the back of the extrusion so I could get all of them spaced consistently. Quickly I learned that it was far faster to hand counter sink the holes than switch tools on the mill.

Last op is to machine the pockets for the Blum drawer front adjusters. There is no easier way I’ve found to get drawer fronts attached and aligned quickly and accurately.

4 screws and the pull is securely attached.

Finished drawer front. A subtle semblance of a mechanics tool box.

I found a piece of scrap aluminum that was the perfect spacer for mocking up the drawer. I typically start at the bottom and work my way up. This allows me to use the lower front and a spacer to get the alignment right as I work my way up the cabinet.

Each New drawer front rests on a spacer, and then I use a square on either side to make sure I have it aligned correctly with the one below. Repeat the process all the way to the top.

Move over, set the next base and work my way up.

Until I’ve completed the cabinet. 9 gives a much clearer view of what it’s going to look like when it’s done. It’s better than I had hoped and the slightly rounded leading edge of the pulls looks ultra clean and gives a nice feeling to the fingers when pulling the drawer out.

I’m a little disappointed I chose the conservative route and only ordered 3 of the pull extrusions. Now that I get to a point where I’ve got the machines setup and the process down, I’m out. I grabbed one of the drops and walked around to the rest of the drawers to see if there’s a way I can utilize them. I had originally planned on having full length pulls on the bench over drawers as well.

The overhang isn’t deep enough to have the same reveal as the lower bases which I could deal with 2 different ways-
1. I could remake the top to be wider
2. I could mount the pull differently. Instead of mounting the pull the the drawer front, I can mount it to the inside of the drawer itself effectively setting it back 1/2-inch. If I do that I’ll need use thinner material for the drawer front, maybe 3/8-inch instead of 3/4-inch, to give enough room for my fingers to get a positive pull.
On the smaller utility drawers the pulls would work just fine and I might be able to get away with using smaller sections and not running the full length of the drawer. I’m thinking that 6” pulls on these drawers would suffice.

I walked through and did the math - looks like I’ll need 18 more 6-foot lengths to finish both bases/benches. Ouch.
1/2 Cup
Member Emeritus
lilscorpion nice work as usual.
Strouty
Well-known member
Those are going to look really nice when you are done, not that I didn't like it before, but you are adding the cherry on top!
Strouty
Well-known member
So much for getting the liner this week, seller still hasn’t shipped it yet. I also have not heard back about sizing or colors and that was a direct email to the company. Oh well, hurry up and wait. I am sure you can keep us occupied!
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
It’s like they don’t realize the role their playing on this thread. You did include a link to this thread in the eBay order comments didn’t you? [emoji851]
To be honest, I’m a little distracted at the moment anyway. I’ve managed to hold off the wife’s purchase of a new car this long but it’s now a matter of weeks...need to focus!!...and within the hustle I just recently had an organization idea that might just top anything I’ve done thus far but and I’m scrambling to get some of the dependencies handled before the end of the year so I have it before Christmas. More to come..
Think we can wait a week or so on the liners outcome. [emoji41]
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Damn Matt, those are turning out freaking sweeeeeet.
86turbodsl
Well-known member
I am so stealing your ideas on built in work cabinet drawers...Duker
Well-known member
Those do look good.... I was just about to order some aluminum stock for handles but am rethinking my choice as I really like the look of the curved on the cabinets.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Thank you. Feel free to steal away!
Damn Matt, those are turning out freaking sweeeeeet.
Thank you sir. Much appreciated. I’ve had these pulls in the corner of the shop putting off trying them out concerned that my whole idea was a bust. I’m as relieved as excited that it’s not.
Before you do...I received a box last night with about 2 dozen 6’ length pulls in it. I was a little shocked to see the pulls laced inside each other with no protection between them.
2 problems -
(1) second I opened the box I realized I ordered the same pulls with the wrong finish. The ones I showed in my update earlier this week were anodized and the new ones are extruded (bare). Damn it.
(2) while removing them from the box I realized another thing almost immediately - every single one of them have significant surface damage. Scratched, scuffed, nicked, abrased, etc. To be clear, I’m not talking about a scratch here and there, I mean every few inches on each full 6-foot length ONE END TO THE OTHER. In contrast, the insides of the extrusions were nearly perfect showing how the finish should look.
I was looking forward to getting the remainder of the fronts done this weekend so this setback is completely deflating. Based on the shipping label these were drop shipped from the mfg so this issue isn’t the fault of AHTurf. Have to call them today and discuss.
Duker - if you do order the pulls and want the extruded/machine finish, maybe hold off until I hear back from AHTurf. The quality I see on 18 pieces is exactly the same and not the result of packaging or shipping. These were garbage sitting on the shelf in inventory and someone went ahead and shipped them anyway.
Attachments
Catch_22
Well-known member
What's the grey boxes on the right? Are they sliding layers?
Duker
Well-known member
Thank you. Feel free to steal away!
Thank you sir. Much appreciated. I’ve had these pulls in the corner of the shop putting off trying them out concerned that my whole idea was a bust. I’m as relieved as excited that it’s not.
Before you do...I received a box last night with about 2 dozen 6’ length pulls in it. I was a little shocked to see the pulls laced inside each other with no protection between them.
2 problems -
(1) second I opened the box I realized I ordered the same pulls with the wrong finish. The ones I showed in my update earlier this week were anodized and the new ones are extruded (bare). Damn it.
(2) while removing them from the box I realized another thing almost immediately - every single one of them have significant surface damage. Scratched, scuffed, nicked, abrased, etc. To be clear, I’m not talking about a scratch here and there, I mean every few inches on each full 6-foot length ONE END TO THE OTHER. In contrast, the insides of the extrusions were nearly perfect showing how the finish should look.
I was looking forward to getting the remainder of the fronts done this weekend so this setback is completely deflating. Based on the shipping label these were drop shipped from the mfg so this issue isn’t the fault of AHTurf. Have to call them today and discuss.
Duker - if you do order the pulls and want the extruded/machine finish, maybe hold off until I hear back from AHTurf. The quality I see on 18 pieces is exactly the same and not the result of packaging or shipping. These were garbage sitting on the shelf in inventory and someone went ahead and shipped them anyway.
I appreciate the heads up. Hopefully you can get the correct anodized pulls in a reasonable time frame. That’s always frustrating when you get going on a project and have to wait on parts.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Attachments
Strouty
Well-known member
That stinks about the extrusions.
Catch, those were some sort of warehouse storage container that I had, they fit on each other and slid back and forth easily, just dumb luck that they fit that particular drawer. I tried to use them in many other drawers with no luck.
Catch, those were some sort of warehouse storage container that I had, they fit on each other and slid back and forth easily, just dumb luck that they fit that particular drawer. I tried to use them in many other drawers with no luck.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
beelsr
Well-known member
Strouty's pic, not yours.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Catch_22
Well-known member
That stinks about the extrusions.
Catch, those were some sort of warehouse storage container that I had, they fit on each other and slid back and forth easily, just dumb luck that they fit that particular drawer. I tried to use them in many other drawers with no luck.
Man, if you can pull a brand name these would be super useful for me in my carts deep drawer. That's awesome, never seen anything like it that's not custom and wood.
beelsr
Well-known member
sh'appens...
Strouty
Well-known member
They look very much like a shallow euro box to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_container
Tons of different brands here in Europe, very handy to use since they are so modular. The wikipedia picture isn't how they usually look, google for pictures instead.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
No hijack, they are interesting. I didn’t notice how they interlock initially, was focused on the foam inserts. Would like to know more as well. I’ve been wanting something like that to use exactly like you’re using them.
Can you pull them out of the box and take a pic? Amazon UK had a mess of them (euro boxes)
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Strouty
Well-known member
I think McMaster sells something like them. Search their site for stackable bins, they have ones that allow inserts to divide them up as well.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Strouty
Well-known member
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Duker said:
Here's an update - I'll attempt hide my frustration (not).
I called AHTurf to share with them my disappointment and, as I expected, they immediately attempting to correct the situation. They asked that I send some pictures of the damage so they could share (evidence) with EPCO. Think it took a few calls between the two to get things to an acceptable outcome. Initially EPCO wanted me to pay a 15% restock fee and I eat shipping (their standard return policy on their website unless I'd accept a replacement order. I guess I should have let them try however given that 18 6-foot pieces had consistent damage, I'm not all that confident that the next batch would be any different...and I'd really like to get this project done without risking having to send another hatch back. In the end, customer service prevailed and now I can return all of them, no restocking fee, free of charge, and I'll order the anodized ones. EPCO rep did assure that the anodized ones have a protective film on them which increases the odds of them arriving in good shape.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
The liner arrived, I can’t tell the difference at all, but I want to see it after it is warmed up. If it is a copy, it is a darn good one.
I can’t even tell where the snap on stops and the raptor grab begins.
Sweet!! I suppose it is entirely possible that it's the exact same stuff. Let me know your thoughts when it warms up. If it's really close, I'm going to order a bunch of it. I could have most of my drawers lined in a few hours.
Strouty
Well-known member
I played around with it for a while, tomorrow I think I will know for sure, but it sure seems like it is the same thing. On the website they sell it in red, yellow, and blue too, I am still hopeful that I can buy it in a 30" width, then it would fit my toolbox. The 24" stuff will work fine for all my other drawers, so I may end up buying a bunch of it. I have over 200 drawers to line, and the smallest drawers are 24 by 24, probably need 600' or more to do them all.
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OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Strouty
Well-known member
www.raptorgrab.com
It is pretty much just an info page, I have tried the email address, but no luck yet. Regardless, the eBay link works and it is really a great price for the 4 rolls. Snap on sells it, but it is much more expensive, they cut it to fit your drawers though.
It is pretty much just an info page, I have tried the email address, but no luck yet. Regardless, the eBay link works and it is really a great price for the 4 rolls. Snap on sells it, but it is much more expensive, they cut it to fit your drawers though.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Sweet, thanks. As I expected, once I saw the color options I can't decide if I can handle having my drawers lined with a color or not. I mean it's kinda a big commitment to pick a color and all. That's why my counter tops and drawer faces are black. It's like the opposite of deciding on a color.
Duker
Well-known member
Good to hear that customer service took care of you. I hope that they can get the anodized pulls to you in short order... we want to see those finished cabinets! [emoji106]
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Strouty
Well-known member
I can’t tell any difference between the raptor grab stuff from eBay and the stuff that Snap On included with my really expensive tool box. I will give it my stamp of approval and I am ordering more for my drawers, probably just going to buy the black as well, the colors are cool, but not sure I can commit either.
Attachments
Strouty
Well-known member
Tonight, my Snap On driver confirmed that the stuff from ebay is from the same company that his comes from. He couldn't confirm for sure it was the exact same stuff, but I guess we can all do the math.
OP
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Ordered some about an hour ago. Sounds like, for all intensive purposes, it's the same stuff. Honestly I'd not know otherwise so if you find out it's not, don't tell me.
Strouty
Well-known member
I think you will be happy, it works very well.
If you have perfectly round things laid down, they will roll, but that is true with anything but magnets, clips, and foam cut outs.
Not to sidetrack the thread, but I'd like to know about those socket racks. They look like they are pinned down, but removable.
