Woodworker Seeking Garage Experts' Advice

[leftistelf]

Hi guys,

What a great forum y'all have! I've done my best to search for options using the search feature, but I'm not quite finding what I'm looking for.

Here's what I'm trying to do, and I'd appreciate any product recommendations you may have:

I'm a woodworker with some standard Craftsman garage tools. For example, I have a complete set of Lie Nielsen hand planes, a few hand saws, lots of chisels of all sorts, and plenty of layout/measuring tools. I also have a complete Craftsman set of sockets, impact sockets, screwdrivers, etc. In other words, I am a professional organizer's dream client.

Right now, I use this Craftsman storage cabinet:
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_009H0036000B?vName=Storage+%26+Garage&cName=Tool+Storage&sName=Chest+%26+Cabinet+Combos

As well as a pair of something like these, though not exactly:
https://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/product_info/pfam_id/PFAM8435/products_id/PRO21426

What I'd like to do is keep one of the tall cabinets, and replace the craftsman and other storage cabinet with a long single cabinet that has the following requirements:

1. Has four swiveling, strong, and locking castors capable of carrying the weight of heavy woodworking and other tools without wiggling in the locked position.
2. Has a wood top, so my wood working tools wont get scratched. This is a mandatory item. I'm not looking to replace my workbench, rather, I want to be able to use the top of the cabinet to do some assembly, place morticers, drill presses, spindle sanders, or other benchtop equipment (temporarily for use only - and then I can put them on a shelf where I keep them when not in use). I'd like a reasonably thick top of > 1". I'll remove the top and figure out how to use hold downs to keep top heavy equipment (like a drillpress) from moving while in use.
3. Has configurable drawers and cabinets. What I mean is that I can replace two thin 2" drawers with a single 4" drawer. Not just at initial purchase, but a year or two later, too.
4. Has four swiveling, strong, and locking castors capable of carrying the weight of heavy woodworking and other tools without wiggling in the locked position. This makes it easier to clean the garage. I have epoxy on the undamaged cement floor, by there are seams in the cement, which means the wheels need to travel over them.
5. It should be relatively wide, at least 24" deep, and at a comfortable working height (30"-36").
6. Is EXTREMELY well made. It's a lifetime purchase. The craftsman drawers broke within 2 years of purchase, partially because I bought their cheap line, not their nicer storage solutions. I want something that is durable, has superb usability, and could be something I keep for 15-20 years. The drawers must be able to carry the weight of heavy iron hand planes (I store them in silicon socks to keep them from bumping into each other).
7. Integrated power would be nice, as would be a place to store 3-4 power drills while charging.

Budget? Please, nothing like $10k. That's too much. A few thousand? No problem. I can assemble it myself, if that's what it takes. I can also "hack" and modify cabinets if y'all have some modifications you use.

I do not need bling value - I seek functional use. My friends don't care what I have in my garage. Many woodworkers make custom wood cabinets, but I don't want that - I want something on wheels, made of metal that can carry cabinetry tools, as well as wrenches, sockets, etc.

As always, thanks in advance for any product recommendations!

 

[M Fan]

If you want configurable drawers, the first option that comes to mind is Lista cabinets. They are very high quality, heavy and the drawer design is the best I've seen (Only one drawer can open at a time to prevent tipping). You can configure them how ever you want and finished in what ever color you want. I'm not sure how expensive or the availability of drawers after the initial purchase though. But since they have not changed their design in years, I would think its surely possible, just not sure of the cost.

Lista Mobile Cabinets

I recently got rid of all my woodworking tools because I simply did not have adequate space in my current house or the time. But when I did have my tools, I needed a heavy duty work bench with storage for my woodworking equipment. I took one of those Craftsman work benches that are about $150 and beefed it up. I took a 3/4" thick sheet of MDF and put 4 good swivel locking casters on it and used this as a base. I then cut the flimsy sheet metal legs off the bench and reenforced the entire frame with 2X lumber. I used 2"X3" inside the hollow sheetmetal corners and Iused 2'X4"s framing on the bottom and top. So basically, I gave the sheetmetal bench a wooden skeleton that was invisible from outside. I then put a double layer of 3/4' MDFon the top and the bench weighed about 300 lbs when it was complete. The other nice part was that it was about 1/8"shorter than my mobile table saw and served as a catch table for that as well. I actually made two of these and they served me well for about 8 years until I sold them. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the benches, but it may be a low cost alternative.

 

[robin1731]

As a wood worker I would think you could make your own. That way you could get everything you are looking for. I have a couple wood cabinets that I made while I worked at a cabinet shop. They have held up very well. They were made with dado's and glued together. The one is at least 10 years old, on wheels, 4 drawers and open at the bottom. I think you could whip one up pretty easily once you get the design in your mind down on paper.

 

[leftistelf]

As a wood worker I would think you could make your own. That way you could get everything you are looking for. I have a couple wood cabinets that I made while I worked at a cabinet shop. They have held up very well. They were made with dado's and glued together. The one is at least 10 years old, on wheels, 4 drawers and open at the bottom. I think you could whip one up pretty easily once you get the design in your mind down on paper.

Indeed, I could. However, shop time for shop cabinets isn't a priority for the dear wife

 

[leftistelf]

If you want configurable drawers, the first option that comes to mind is Lista cabinets. They are very high quality, heavy and the drawer design is the best I've seen (Only one drawer can open at a time to prevent tipping). You can configure them how ever you want and finished in what ever color you want. I'm not sure how expensive or the availability of drawers after the initial purchase though. But since they have not changed their design in years, I would think its surely possible, just not sure of the cost.

Lista Mobile Cabinets

This is great, thanks!

 

[Keep]

Lets not forget these folks.

http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com/

With what you save on the box you could build a nice stout hard maple butcher block topper for it. I do not own one of these boxes, but I can see one in the future. Have heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[leftistelf]

Lets not forget these folks.

http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com/

With what you save on the box you could build a nice stout hard maple butcher block topper for it. I do not own one of these boxes, but I can see one in the future. Have heard nothing but good things about them.

Wow! Great prices! Definitely worth a call, thanks!

 

[RoarkIndustrialSolutions]

I'm a Lista distributor if you want to explore that option. For a few thousand you can get something like this workbench I'm working on for a homeowner's shop: