I Need help finding a plan for this octagonal rotating hardware store screw cabinet

[Loren Blount]

I'm sure one of the magazines did a article on how to build one of these, but I'm hoping someone can help me find it because I can't remember where I saw it.

Thanks Loren

[Ross Canant]

That's a copy of the American Bolt and Screw Case Co. cabinet used in hardware stores for many years. They came in many sizes from small table top cabinets to 5 foot tall cabinets with a 24 drawer base unit and a 72 drawer rotating octogon above. There have been a couple of articles on them, although I can't lay my hands on one at the moment. Something tells me it was in PW, but not postive. It could have been Wood as well. I've been collecting photos and information on them for years. Someday I'll own an original.

[Logan William]

One of the guys on OWWM.org made one recently and posted a build log in the projects section, you might want to check it out.

[Loren Blount]

Thanks for the reply's I still haven't found the article, but at least I now know who made them, and I will look over at OWWM tonight if I get time.
Any idea as to how much an original countertop model in good shape is worth? I've been trying to buy one from a guy for several years, but he is not interested in selling.

Thanks Loren

[mike holden]

Loren,
The Brown tool auction this weekend has one listed.
146017

"B-114. POINT OF SALE ITEM. Bolt Cabinet. Eight-sided with ten drawers per side for a total of 80 pie-shaped drawers. All drawers have porcelain knobs and good stenciling. As found and except for some minor base damage OK. Good 1000 - 1500"

Hope this answers your question.
Mike

[Loren Blount]

$1000-$1500!! Yikes, I guess I'll have to keep digging for that article & build My own.

Thanks for the help everyone
Loren

[Ross Canant]

I have seen all of the sizes bring ridiculous prices at times. It just takes two bidders at an auction with more money than sense. I have seen the big ones go for $700 to $4000. The small ones sometimes go higher than the big ones because there are more bidders for jewelry cabinets and such.

[Jim Holman]

I have one of these and can take some pictures if you like.

[Rob Wright]

I have one of these and can take some pictures if you like.

Jim - please do! I am specifically wondering about how the drawers are held in place. I have found some pics online of a few, but not enough of the actual things needed to build one!

Thanks in advance!

[Ross Canant]

The drawers have a single pin in the back corner to keep them from pulling completely out. Otherwise they just slide on wood.

[Dave Cav]

Thanks for the reply's I still haven't found the article, but at least I now know who made them, and I will look over at OWWM tonight if I get time.
Any idea as to how much an original countertop model in good shape is worth? I've been trying to buy one from a guy for several years, but he is not interested in selling.

Thanks Loren

It's at OWWM.org, in the Projects forum,. listed as Parts Bin completed, about one or two pages back.

[Dino Drosas]

When you think about it, 1000 to 1500 doesn't really sound too bad if that is what you want. 10 dollars each for the drawers and a few hundred for the entire case with all that joinery; and then there's the wood. I sure wouldn't build the dang thing for that.

[Jim Holman]

It is built of a series of horizontal octagonal frames, hollow in the middle. Each frame appears to be about 6" deep and mine are made of poplar with oak facings. Each frame is notched at the intersections so the verticals slide in and mate with them. Notches appear to be about 1/2 the width of both the verticals and the frames so they are flush on the outside. There are 8 long bolts that run from bottom to top and hold the entire assembly. You can just see one of these in the pictures nestled behind one of the verticals. The entire cabinet is suspended on a 3/4" iron pipe let into the base and rotates around it. There is some type of bearing at the top but impossible to see details. The drawers are nailed butt joints. If you need dimensions, let me know.

[Loren Blount]

Jim, thanks for posting the pictures. Anyone know how to stencil or print the design/numbers for the drawer fronts?

Thanks Loren

[Rob Wright]

Jim, thanks for posting the pictures. Anyone know how to stencil or print the design/numbers for the drawer fronts?

Thanks Loren

Loren - I am going through the build thread on OWWN.org right now and he drew something up and had a screen made from a screen printer. (t-shirt guy I guess) it looks great on his build.

Jim thanks for the photos.

Just a couple of dimensions would be great:

-drawer width and height
-dimension of wood for horizontals and verticals of the dividers
-overall dimension of the octagon - either flat to flat or corner to corner

And just one more ? - the way that I understand it, the original has the verticals that slide into to horizontal octagons that have the center cut out - right?

It does not have verticals that have dadoes cut in that have the horizontals slid in towards the center?

Thanks a bunch!

[Myk Rian]

Jim, thanks for posting the pictures. Anyone know how to stencil or print the design/numbers for the drawer fronts?

Thanks Loren
On OWWM there is a section on making decals. That could work.

[Jim Holman]

A few revisions concerning construction. Upon closer inspection it is not built up of horizontal segments. Each of the verticals has a 1/8" deep dado on each side, the drawer support segments slide into these dados. The 8 horizontal segments in any given layer are not connected to one another rather they are inserted into the afore mentioned dados and glued in place. The horizontal segments are 5 3/8" long on the sides, 5" deep in the middle, and 1/4" thick. Vertical pieces are 1/2" thick. If you look closely at the vertical pieces you will see a rounded molding (facing) on each one. These were nailed on as trim after the structure was completed.


Some dimensions are:

Drawers. 7 1/4" wide x 3 5/8" deep. Each side is 7 3/4" long. Construction is nailed butt joints with rabbets at the front. The drawer bottoms are just nailed onto the sides.

O/A the cabinet is 28 1/2" tall exclusive of the bottom support.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

forgive a newb but what does OWWN.org stand for as it will not load as is in google? Thanks Pat

[Rob Wright]

forgive a newb but what does OWWN.org stand for as it will not load as is in google? Thanks Pat

I think you may have meant OWWM.org :)
Old Wood Working Machines - these guys rehab the older iron

[Pat Meeuwissen]

I think you may have meant OWWM.org :)
Old Wood Working Machines - these guys rehab the older iron
Ron, thanks for the correction I copied and pasted from an earlier post which I see now has been corrected.:) Either way I still did not know what it stood for, and have now entered a request for membership on that forum. Pat

[Tony Joyce]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but did anyone build one of these or have more pictures? I can't seem to locate the build/rebuild thread at OWWM that's mentioned above.

Thanks, Tony

[Jim Holman]

The URL for the OWWM thread is below.

http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67921&hilit=parts+bin

[albert galletta]

Hi Loren

I am located in Sydney Australia and saw one of these when I was in the States in May this year, its amazing nothing like that back home.

I was wondering if you ever built the octagonal screw cabinet, if so, would you consider forwarding the drawings or dimensions to me albgal123@optusnet.com.au

regards
Albert

[Gene Davis]

Looks like a fun project! I use Sketchup, and will do a model of it.

All those dados might be best cut using CNC. As for the rotation mechanism, my choice is to use a good ball-bearing lazy susan bearing.

Our nephew owns a sign shop and has the capability to cut all the masking for doing the stencil painting on the drawerfronts.

These things were made with machinery in the early days of industrialization. While it might be nice to build one all by hand, I prefer to get help from whatever technology is available.

[Gene Davis]

OK, here it is. I used most of the dimensions given in Jim's post #6.

Did not cap the verticals with face moldings, and did not put a base under it. But the guts are all here.

I made the drawers with 5/8" thick fronts and sides and bottoms at 5/16" thickness. Blocks at back are 1.25" thick.

To build this for real I would use hardwood plywood for the top and bottom, and 6 and 12mm baltic birch for the horiz and vert partition parts. White pine or poplar for all the drawer parts.

For the base, I might do it in solid lumber, stacked, so as to bury the lazy susan mechanism almost flush.

Not sure what I might do to decorate it with stenciled paint and hardware. If it is to be a worker piece, i.e., a welcome addition to the shop for holding smalls, I might dispense with the fancy stuff. Cheap wood knobs and some metal brackets for card labels.

The drawers, of course, get built last. Zero clearance at bottoms and sides, maybe 1/32 or 1/16 at top, no more.

It is up on the 3D Warehouse, titled Rotating Small Parts Drawerbox

Edit: the model's been updated with a base, susan bearing, rounded edges on drawer horizontal dividers, moldings on face edges of vertical dividers.

[Prashun Patel]

Gene, Genie. Sketchup Genie.

[Bruce Page]

There ya go! A fun project.

Thanks Gene

[Gene Davis]

And here is a base concept. Eight parts 5/8 thick x 1.25". Eight parts 3/4 thick x 3.5". The susan bearing is 17" dia and available from Woodworkers Hardware. Use dominos to join the segments.

[Tony Joyce]

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I don't have the latest pictures, but I'm in the finishing stages.

[Tony Joyce]

323865

One of the pictures I used to create working drawings.

[Justin Ludwig]

Lovely, Tony. I'm about to start a dado intensive project for a client's wine room. Looks like a fun and rewarding build.

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful work Tony. I like your assembly fixture for the drawer assembly. Are you going to label the drawers like the original?
The CNC is the way to go for many of the parts on this.

[Tony Joyce]

Are you going to label the drawers like the original?


The holdup on completing the two I'm building has been deciding how to do the graphics. I'm going back and forth between decals or silk screening. The cabinets look pretty plain without them. Plus someway is needed to identify the drawers. With 80 drawers they all look the same.

[Tony Joyce]

Partially finished323928 And base 323929 which will be have lazy-susan.

[albert galletta]

Hi Gene

Thankyou for the post I can now start preparing for this project

Albert Galletta
Sydney Australia

[Roger Rayburn]

Guy on LumberJocks built one. See thread 95246.

[Chris Padilla]

This is way too cool...way too cool for me right now but I'll file it away. :)

[Lee Schierer]

Check out the hardware cabinet that was just posted in the Projects forum (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?237427-Hardware-Cabinet).