Tool Cabinet Build

jdnet · February 8, 2012

Hey guys,

A couple of you were interested in building a tool box so I thought I'd post this up. Just got done building this a couple of days ago. The total cost of this project including labour charges for the welding guy was approximately 45k. The size is 36" by 18" and 50" tall. While the cost may seem high this was built with 18 guage zinc plated sheets and ball bearing railings for the drawers. The cost of a 24" x 18" x 44" at the store.

Thankfully by neighbour is pretty good at welding so I could oversee the whole welding part of the project. The frame was made with 1" square tube.

Basically if you were to build one the most time consuming part would be to source all the materials. For better appearence and sturdier, it would be good to get all the sheets including the drawers bent with a machine. This way you wont have much welding to do and the sharp edges are ket at a minimum.

The handles were made using a cut up length of stainless steel which was around 1100. The brackets are wall brakets commonly used for bathrooms and cost 175 each. Unfortunatley the end caps were out of stock at asian so the pictures show thee handles as incomplete.

For the sheet that goes around the box. The back is riveted and the area nead the drawers are welded.

I decided to install a central lock system. This was the most pain staking part of the project as we had to cut knotches on the frame to allow a bar to slide up and down to lock the drawers in place. The whole locking system including brackets cost less than 500.

For the drawers we had two 3" and two 4" plates bent and smaller plated bent and then welded to create the face. If I had another go at this I would have made the smaller drawers 3.5" as it doesnt leave enough room to have the sockets on a holder.

The railings used for the drawers are 16" made by Hettich. They are available at link and cost close to 900 a set. There are cheaper ones to be had but these are built prettyy well and can pull a drawer packed with tools with minimal effort thanks to it bieng packed with plenty of ball bearings.

As for the aluminum chcker plate, a piece this size cut would cost 1700. There is a charge of 75 rupees to have it cut. The good thing is that you can go to old moor street and get one to the size you want instead of buying the sheet.

The wheels are 6" rubber and two sets (the set on the side with the handle) are lockable and rotate to ease with movement. They run about 675 a each. The other set if a fixed one and the run about 350.They were all welded into place.

Finally, for the paint we just used regular nippolac anti corrosion gloss and used a spray gun. I would hhave liked to use automotive paint but the cost of it is more than double. A liter of this cost 500.

Well that's about all. If you are planning too build one and have more quuestions please feel free to ask.

Edited February 8, 2012 by jdnet

varunatech · February 8, 2012

Great DIY, love to see this and passion.

jdnet · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 7:41 AM, varunatech said:

Great DIY, love to see this and passion.

Not really a DYI since I didn't do the welding or bending of metal. I drew the plans andd measurements, sourced the materials, provided guidence etc. Thanks though.

varunatech · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 7:45 AM, jdnet said:

Not really a DYI since I didn't do the welding or bending of metal. I drew the plans andd measurements, sourced the materials, provided guidence etc. Thanks though.

Planning and designing is part of DIY, and great fun too. Sourcing the materials would have been the tough part. And guiding the welder is part of the job. Good work..................

Edited February 8, 2012 by varunatech

YALA · February 8, 2012

out of topic but nice set of tools you get there been thinking of starting to collect some basic tools but only things we can source from here are the cheap panchikawatte types. whered u get urs from

CARBON B4 · February 8, 2012

That's pretty impressive. I am sure most garages don't have it as organized as that.

Ripper · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 11:53 AM, YALA said:

out of topic but nice set of tools you get there been thinking of starting to collect some basic tools but only things we can source from here are the cheap panchikawatte types. whered u get urs from

gotta completely disagree with this one mate. no offence

Panchi has some great tools. provided you're willing to cough out the dough.

places like AC paul stock up pretty decent brands.

For example...a cheap hot melt glue gun can be bought from arpico or your wayside shop for under 1000 bucks. AC paul will have one for 10grand.

same goes for everything else.

You get cheap stuff of you go for cheap places.

jdnet · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 4:35 PM, Ripper said:

gotta completely disagree with this one mate. no offence

Panchi has some great tools. provided you're willing to cough out the dough.

places like AC paul stock up pretty decent brands.

For example...a cheap hot melt glue gun can be bought from arpico or your wayside shop for under 1000 bucks. AC paul will have one for 10grand.

same goes for everything else.

You get cheap stuff of you go for cheap places.

= range compared

Agreed. There are plenty of places to buy good stuff. You can't have cheap and good though. A ccheap chinese socket will cost about 50-100 A similar crossman in in the 250-350 range

GihanFX · February 8, 2012

i do see lods of craftsman tools, imported of brought them from SL ? if so where

jdnet · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 4:59 PM, GihanFX said:

i do see lods of craftsman tools, imported of brought them from SL ? if so where

imported. The main set I got is this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00983091000P

MasterDon · February 8, 2012

Nice,I like!...Am I right in assuming that this is also up for sale since the owner is migrating back to Obamaland?

jdnet · February 8, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 5:31 PM, MasterDon said:

Nice,I like!...Am I right in assuming that this is also up for sale since the owner is migrating back to Obamaland?

yep. Started bulding this three months back so had to complete it.

YALA · February 9, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 4:35 PM, Ripper said:

gotta completely disagree with this one mate. no offence

Panchi has some great tools. provided you're willing to cough out the dough.

places like AC paul stock up pretty decent brands.

For example...a cheap hot melt glue gun can be bought from arpico or your wayside shop for under 1000 bucks. AC paul will have one for 10grand.

same goes for everything else.

You get cheap stuff of you go for cheap places.

yup agree ive only checked out the cheapo once did not know places where they sold decent tools hence why i asked where he got his from.

On 2/8/2012 at 5:08 PM, jdnet said:

imported. The main set I got is this http://www.sears.com...05_00983091000P

did you directly import it to SL or hand carry it

jdnet · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 6:00 AM, YALA said:

yup agree ive only checked out the cheapo once did not know places where they sold decent tools hence why i asked where he got his from.

did you directly import it to SL or hand carry it

Wife shipped them out for me. Can't really take em in a suitcase because everything weighed a few hundred pounds. The one tool set weighs 60.

Did you try looking at AC Paul or link? They have a pretty good selection. Assuming you are not a mechanic by profession, you may be better off just buing the sockets and wrenches you need for the job. Also unless you plan to put the tools through a lot of use and abuse it really wont be benificial to go out and buy the best stuff there. The quality of the tool won'[t help you get a job done right. Even a cheap set will do.

CARBON B4 · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 6:33 AM, jdnet said:

Also unless you plan to put the tools through a lot of use and abuse it really wont be benificial to go out and buy the best stuff there. The quality of the tool won'[t help you get a job done right. Even a cheap set will do.

Thats very correct, in fact I got a cheap chinese hand drill about 6 years back one third the price of a good one, didnt expect it to last even a year, but the thing is still going strong... its not like you use it everyday.

YALA · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 6:33 AM, jdnet said:

Wife shipped them out for me. Can't really take em in a suitcase because everything weighed a few hundred pounds. The one tool set weighs 60.

Did you try looking at AC Paul or link? They have a pretty good selection. Assuming you are not a mechanic by profession, you may be better off just buing the sockets and wrenches you need for the job. Also unless you plan to put the tools through a lot of use and abuse it really wont be benificial to go out and buy the best stuff there. The quality of the tool won'[t help you get a job done right. Even a cheap set will do.

yup i just need a basic DIY so average quality built would suffice...ill prob head out to AC paul and take a look at, i moved out so dont really have benefit of having my dad tools around when i need it

GihanFX · February 9, 2012

On 2/8/2012 at 5:08 PM, jdnet said:

imported. The main set I got is this http://www.sears.com...05_00983091000P

i also brought some stuff last time but the weight is an issue, my uncle got a Sears Discount card so can buy most for cheep

jdnet · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 3:33 PM, GihanFX said:

i also brought some stuff last time but the weight is an issue, my uncle got a Sears Discount card so can buy most for cheep

Get it sent through trico next time. It's the cheapest way. Direct shipping, even thhough they do offer it, is pretty high and the price of a product, excluding shipping is higher too.

GihanFX · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 4:15 PM, jdnet said:

Get it sent through trico next time. It's the cheapest way. Direct shipping, even thhough they do offer it, is pretty high and the price of a product, excluding shipping is higher too.

any idea how much they charge for 15Kg stuff

jdnet · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 4:34 PM, GihanFX said:

any idea how much they charge for 15Kg stuff

They don't charge by weight it's by dimensions. IIRC it was charged by the square foot. can't remember the exact charge but you can find it by calling the local office. You can google the number. Also the charge will vary on the location of the agent too since I believe the main point of departure is New York. You can also find the numbers of the agen't in the U.S. by googling it, There aren't too many so you may not find a listed agent in a location close to you, however, ask them if they know anyone in your area that can get the package to them. There are quite a few Sri Lankans acting as sub agents. They basicallycollect all the shipments in the area and drive down to the mmain point every couple of months. I got mine shipped through one who later sent it through a place in NY listed as Nawalanka shipping google the name annd drop them an email.

Hope that helps.

GihanFX · February 9, 2012

On 2/9/2012 at 4:42 PM, jdnet said:

They don't charge by weight it's by dimensions. IIRC it was charged by the square foot. can't remember the exact charge but you can find it by calling the local office. You can google the number. Also the charge will vary on the location of the agent too since I believe the main point of departure is New York. You can also find the numbers of the agen't in the U.S. by googling it, There aren't too many so you may not find a listed agent in a location close to you, however, ask them if they know anyone in your area that can get the package to them. There are quite a few Sri Lankans acting as sub agents. They basicallycollect all the shipments in the area and drive down to the mmain point every couple of months. I got mine shipped through one who later sent it through a place in NY listed as Nawalanka shipping google the name annd drop them an email.

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot for the info