72 inches of us general cabinet! a tour of skfarmer's main work box.....

[skfarmer]

i have been  thinking of making this purchase for while. i have several cabinets and boxes but had mainly been working out of an older crinkle finish hf 40 inch with side cabinet. it had served me well over the years but was severely overloaded and had my montezuma crossover on top. i know guys will tell me i should have bought a used box but used 60 inch truck cabinets in my area where still 2.5x the price of this new.

time will tell if i made the right choice or not but i do know this thing is huge and heavy.  it is over 700 lbs and it was in my truck the long way. you knew it was back there and the mahindra with forks knew it was out front as well! fit and finish seem very good on it  but the extra weight does make it harder to move. here are a few pics against the new holland for size reference.

[skfarmer]

i know many of you have seen my montezuma crossover box but i know all of the pics were at the old place so i will start there.

tray down and tray up.

[skfarmer]

now onto the main box i will start with the top wide tray and work down through the middle bank. top to bottom.

pic 1 is all of my 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 impact.

pic 2 is metric wrenches and adjustables.

pic 3 is  sae wrenches

pic 4 is hammers punches and pry bars

[skfarmer]

here are the bottom two drawers in the center bank. notice the trays i had made to help organise and better utilise space.

pic 1 is my stanbt sk raised panel set from 1/4 - 1 1/2, my 3/4 inch chrome socket set and a few misc items.

pic 2 is all of my cordless tools, drill bits, recip blades and misc power tool  consumables.

[skfarmer]

this is the left bank of drawers. top to bottom.

pic 1 is 1/4 is all kinds of 1/4 drive stuff.

pic 2 allen wrenches,  allen sockets, torx sockets and other misc stuff.

pic 3 is odd ball stuff. pens, knives key chains, mirrors, markers and other stuff.

pic 4 is the deep drawer. it has another of the trays with bandaids and  first aid stuff. the rest of the drawer is just a catch all for now and needs to get figured out

[skfarmer]

this  is the right bank of drawers. from top to bottom.

pic 1 is  all screwdrivers.

pic 2 is pliers, locking pliers and scissors.

pic 3 is picks, utility knives, scrapers and  hooks and scratch awls.

pic 4 is  calipers,  batteries, headlamps, squares and the like.

[skfarmer]

the last 4 drawers.

pic 1 is  silicone, anti seize, pipe dope, loc tite  oils, graphite, teflon tape. bottle adaptors and syringes

pic  2  meters, test lights , probes and electrical tape.

pic 3 is tape, tape measures and security bits.

pic 4 is another tray and this drawer is loaded with wire ties and other fastening bits.

[skfarmer]

almost every thing in these pictures was in my old boxes. very few things didn't find a new home in the new box and not many things were added. i have alreay found it much easier to work out.

it is just so much easier to find things when you can see them and don't have to dig to the bottom of a pile to find it. it is also much easier to put things back when there is a spot with room to return them to.

pretty easy to see how the old box was overloaded when you figure that the now box is  over a foot longer and 4 inches deeper than the old one.

[goodfellow]

Damn! -- that is one nice setup. Well done Harlan -- 

[Elroy]

Elroy would venture to say that it takes every bit of that to keep a farm running

[DeadNutz]

Sweet setup there Harlan. Many of the newer machinists at the wife's work are buying those boxes. I think the days of new machinists buying Kennedys are pretty much over with.

[ken w.]

I've also am considering this box. I sold off 3 roller / top box combos and have tools in buckets all over the garage. I think once I get a new box I'll have a tool clean out to weed out the double and triples. I'm thinking of a wood top to use as a work bench as well. Nice set up.

[skfarmer]

Damn! -- that is one nice setup. Well done Harlan -- 

thanks ray. there is a lifetime of  of  tool memories in there. many of tools in there are things i acquired as a boy  and all along the way as needs and challenges changed. stuff that works with very few gimmicks in there

[skfarmer]

I've also am considering this box. I sold off 3 roller / top box combos and have tools in buckets all over the garage. I think once I get a new box I'll have a tool clean out to weed out the double and triples. I'm thinking of a wood top to use as a work bench as well. Nice set up.

i think that would make a great workbench. my only complaint is the shear size of it. it has a large footprint, including wheel base. it is harder to move because of the length and increased weight.

on the flip side, i have no fear of it tipping because it is wider, heavier and the drawers lock when closed. i had many a scary moment moving the smaller box , hitting a crack in the floor that made the lighter box flex and several drawers start to self open! 

[Midnitemack]

Damn! -- that is one nice setup. Well done Harlan -- 

thanks ray. there is a lifetime of  of  tool memories in there. many of tools in there are things i acquired as a boy  and all along the way as needs and challenges changed. stuff that works with very few gimmicks in there

It’s the same when I look in my box Harlan ....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

Looks like just what you needed.  Glad they reworked their product line and you were able to get a 22" deep drawer model.  I thought when they first came out with the 72" model with only 18" deep drawers it was a waste.

[slip knot]

I like the trays in the drawers. adds a lot of space. bought or made?

[skfarmer]

I like the trays in the drawers. adds a lot of space. bought or made?

i had  the guy at the local plumbing and heating shop bend them up for me. i took a narrow and a wide drawer to his shop so he could build them to fit.they are very well made and cost less than 100 for the 4. for now they are just loose. i think i may just make a tab that hangs over the back of the drawer to keep them from sliding forward yet can be easily removed to let them slide forward or be lifted out for access below them.

[Elroy]

I like the trays in the drawers. adds a lot of space. bought or made?

That was an excellent addition

[muddy]

Very nice setup Harlan! That should keep the CAT from breaking down

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[skfarmer]

Very nice setup Harlan! That should keep the CAT from breaking down

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

well it sure won't hurt... the big kitty needs lots of work before spring but as of this week that seems a long way off.

[highland512]

i think that would make a great workbench. my only complaint is the shear size of it. it has a large footprint, including wheel base. it is harder to move because of the length and increased weight.

on the flip side, i have no fear of it tipping because it is wider, heavier and the drawers lock when closed. i had many a scary moment moving the smaller box , hitting a crack in the floor that made the lighter box flex and several drawers start to self open! 

Your fears where good founded. Mine did exactly that and if it hadn't have been for my dad and a friend acting fast my crinkle finish box would have fell on its face.

What did you do with the old box? extra storage or did you sell it? I have been debating this, the new colors with the 5 drawer carts has me hoping for new colors in the 72" cabinets......that orange would look nice next to oliver green
 

[Heiny57]

The trays are pretty nice, great idea.

[Conductor562]

I clicked on this thread expecting to see some Big Dawgs. You didn’t disappoint 

[fatfillup]

Very nice organization Harlan.  Mama was impressed also. 

I don't think those or any other that size were meant to be moved much though I understand the need in your shop.  I like a cart for mobile use and mine has served me well.  Last time I moved the big box was when I put it into service.   

[skfarmer]

I like the trays in the drawers. adds a lot of space. bought or made?

That was an excellent addition

thanks, it is an idea i had been tossing around for a long time but never had the box to use it in. i think it is a good solution for storing bulky and smaller things in the same  drawer to conserve space.

i know that feature was available on boxes in the past but for some reason it seems to have fallen out of use.

[skfarmer]

I clicked on this thread expecting to see some Big Dawgs. You didn’t disappoint 

glad to help you out!

[skfarmer]

Very nice organization Harlan.  Mama was impressed also. 

I don't think those or any other that size were meant to be moved much though I understand the need in your shop.  I like a cart for mobile use and mine has served me well.  Last time I moved the big box was when I put it into service.   

well....... it looks organised now. it will get messed up soon enough i am sure. i really like all of the space on top for doing things but i am sure that will get cluttered up as well. 

say hi to mama for me!