Are those metal tool cabinets useful in a woodworking shop?

[ken masoumi]

I would imagine it would be if I had a bigger shop to dedicate some floor space to one of these cabinets but in general ,I prefer to readily have access to all my marking/measuring /most used tools so I can just see,reach and grab one when I need them that's why they all are on a wide counter behind my workbench but well organized.
I know even if I had a tool cabinet I would pull the tools I need out of the drawers and put it somewhere so I can see them.
So my question is,do you have a rolling metal tool cabinet and ?,do you find them as useful as you thought it would be?

[Bernie May]

absolutely. I have a fairly large one and keep things like screwdrivers, tap and die, wrenches and socket sets, measuring tools, drill bits, driver bits, small air tools, battery powered drills, hammers, saws, etc. all in separate labeled drawers.

[Ole Anderson]

I would agree with Bernie, however my stacked rolling tool cabinet (one of those tall Husky versions with the built in radio) is in my garage, not in my basement wood shop and is reserved for non-woodworking tools. One metal cabinet in my wood shop is a five drawer file cabinet, very useful for storing paint. Each drawer holds six gallon cans.

[Frederick Skelly]

I find one useful. Large drawers store portable tools in their case. Small drawers store screwdives and other small tools. If I didnt already have the metal cabinet (a cheap husky) Id build one from wood.
Fred

[Jeff Duncan]

I do, I have a stack of 3 that can be rolled around if necessary. However I don't keep much for woodworking tools in it. It's full of misc tools, screwdrivers, pliers, taps and dies, files, and all sorts of stuff. If you catch one on sale they're so cheap it's almost not worth building storage. Having said that all my woodworking specific hand tools are in drawers in one of my benches. I somehow feel better about them being in wood drawers, no good reason, just a preference.

good luck,
JeffD

[roger wiegand]

One of the best things I ever scrounged for tool storage was a check storage file cabinet from a bank-- there was a warehouse with hundreds of them, and I got it for about $15. It has two bank check-sized trays about two feet long side by side on a roll out drawer and about a dozen drawers, you can pull out the trays and carry them around--handy for bringing the socket set close to the work. The thing is built to last-- it probably weighs 200 lbs on its own, everything runs on bearings smooth as silk. I've put lead bricks in a drawer and they still operate with one finger. I'd guess it dates from the 30s or 40s. I wish I could find another one! I put rubber mats in the bottoms of the trays and store a (literal) ton of tools in it.

[Mike Null]

I use mine in my wood shop but mostly for mechanics tools, soldering/brazing, ohm meter, batteries, etc. And a few air tool accessories.

[Rick Potter]

I have a roll around also, and use it constantly. I prefer the ones with fairly small drawers, I find the large drawers waste space, and I make cabinets to hold routers, etc.

The handiest metal cabinet I have is an old metal file cabinet with all 6" drawers, perfect size for router bits, shaper bits, and assorted jigs. It is the size of a normal four or five drawer file, just has a lot of 6" drawers in it. Got it for almost nothing. Made a lot of inserts for the drawers out of melamine with holes for 1/4 or 1/2" router bits, or pegs for shaper cutters.

[Earl Rumans]

I love my metal cabinets. My shop area would always be a mess without them.



http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/retfr8flyr/Garage1_zpsc53f901c.jpg (http://s165.photobucket.com/user/retfr8flyr/media/Garage1_zpsc53f901c.jpg.html)

[Tom Clark FL]

So my question is,do you have a rolling metal tool cabinet and ?,do you find them as useful as you thought it would be?

Being a retired tool and die maker, I still have my old roll-around, but as you said, the machinist chest drawers are a bit small for most woodworking tools.

So in my woodworking area of my shop, I built a wood one with far larger drawers. After having it for the last year, couldn't imagine the shop without it. Hint: Throw away all those plastic tool cases. They are just space and time wasters and serve no purpose. All of my small power tools are in just one drawer of my workbench and now take very little space.

No matter how big or small your shop is, space is precious and needs to be conserved. Good shop cabinets double your working space.

[Cary Falk]

I have a 44" one pictured below(Harbor Freight) minus the 2 side cabinets. I wish I had room for the 2 side cabinets. I have the top and bottom packed full of tools consisting of everything under the sun. I think the HF one is the best bang for your buck.
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_20337.jpg

[ken masoumi]

I have a 44" one pictured below(Harbor Freight) minus the 2 side cabinets. I wish I had room for the 2 side cabinets. I have the top and bottom packed full of tools consisting of everything under the sun. I think the HF one is the best bang for your buck.

That's the type of tool cabinet I was thinking of when I started this thread,I found a similar inexpensive one for sale in our local classified Kijiji for $75 CDN which is roughly $68 USD,in mint condition,if I buy it I'll have to shuffle a couple of tools around to find room for it,and I wasn't sure this type of cabinet would be suitable for a woodworking shop.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-tool-storage-bench/peterborough/metal-tool-storage-cabinet/1039126534?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUwWDgwMA==/z/Cs0AAOSwofxUjFPC/$_35.JPG

[Bruce Page]

I have a 24"x36"x85" cabinet that I picked up from the salvage yard for ~$80 IIRC. It holds a ton of stuff. I had bought a nice Proto rollaway off of CL but it didn't hold nearly as much as I had hoped. I sold it.

[Myk Rian]

I keep all my measuring tools, chisels, and many hand tools in the chest I built.
Jointer and planer knives are safely stored also.

302083

I also have a Cman roll-around for mechanical tools, and a Kennedy for other small tools.

[Kent A Bathurst]

That's the type of tool cabinet I was thinking of when I started this thread,I found a similar inexpensive one for sale in our local classified Kijiji for $75 CDN which is roughly $68 USD,in mint condition,if I buy it I'll have to shuffle a couple of tools around to find room for it,and I wasn't sure this type of cabinet would be suitable for a woodworking shop.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-tool-storage-bench/peterborough/metal-tool-storage-cabinet/1039126534?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUwWDgwMA==/z/Cs0AAOSwofxUjFPC/$_35.JPG

I have a Craftsman version, very similar to the upper unit. On a rolling shop-made base. This is where all my mechanical tools live - sockets, wrenches, allen key sets, channel locks, tin snips....you get the idea.

Not my woodworking stuff. I don't really like closed cabinets - gotta always open and close doors, and I'm pretty confident that for lower-use items, I would not always remember which that held the rabbit I need. So - tool boards, and for finishing stuff just some boring shelves.

[Bruce Page]

Here's my precision box started new circa 1970..

[mreza Salav]

Yes, I find mine very usefull. It's not very big or expensive but lots of trays and is great for holding all sorts of stuff.
In fact I bought another set.

[Gene Takae]

I love my metal cabinets. My shop area would always be a mess without them.

Earl, Is that your shop or your operating room? I think it's even cleaner than my kitchen!!!

[Earl Rumans]

Lol I had just cleaned it up when I took the pics, it usually doesn't look that clean. I store most of my woodworking tools and supplies in the cabinets and they work great for me. I suppose I could have built some myself but I liked the idea of metal cabinets for the garage. I have another set of the cabinets, along with my tool boxes on the other side of my garage, for all my automotive stuff.

[Shawn Pixley]

I have a SS Craftsman cabinet I use. It works well for me. I have my sockets and other machinist tools in the narrower right side. The left side is for woodworking tools. I have my planes, spokeshaves, chisels, rasps, inlay tools, etc... in it. The top drawer has various thin & small tools in it. I have mounted my drum sander to the top. My shop is also a garage so everything must move. I also guard dilligently against rust, so all tools are in something (drawer, cabinet, etc.).

[Roy Harding]

I don't have one - but I do keep looking at them. I see their utility, for both my automotive tools, and my woodworking tools. Every time I'm ready to plunk down the money, I stop myself - intending to make a wood version instead (I even have plans for one - from Shopnotes, I think.)

I've been intending to make a wood one for over 15 years now. Maybe it's time to plunk down the money ( - but you need to understand that one of my Grandmothers was Jewish, and the other one was Scottish - so parting with money comes hard for me!)

I DO have a metal "locker" type cabinet that I keep all my combustibles in. I thought about making one out of ironwood - but thought better of it.

[mreza Salav]

Earl, Is that your shop or your operating room? I think it's even cleaner than my kitchen!!!

I agree, it is way too clean!
BTW, Earl, is that floor epoxy? how does it stand up over the time? cracking? do you find it slippery for a woodworking shop?

[Earl Rumans]

I agree, it is way too clean!
BTW, Earl, is that floor epoxy? how does it stand up over the time? cracking? do you find it slippery for a woodworking shop?
Yes it's epoxy, from a company called Wolverine Coatings and it's one of the best things I have done in my garage. It is holding up just fine and makes cleanup a breeze. I did the floor myself and it has a base primer coat, the main coat, then what they call flakes to rejection, which means you throw down flakes until they cover the floor and don't get absorbed into the epoxy anymore. After you have done the flakes, you let it set and then go back and scrape up all the flakes that didn't get absorbed. Then I put down 2 coats of Poly-urethane clear coat. The floor isn't that slippery unless you get some liquid on it, then you need to watch your step. I don't have any problems doing my woodworking on it. I beat on it pretty hard, what with moving my machines around all the time and on the other side I drag my floor jack and such around on it and it still looks fantastic. I highly recommend it for a garage floor covering. OP, I apologize for the thread hijack.

[mreza Salav]

Thanks!....

[Keith Weber]

My vote is "absolutely!" I find them to be extremely useful. I've got 8 Lista Cabinets in the wood shop. One is entirely dedicated to hardware, as seen in the pic. Hand tools, power tools, accessories for tools, reference manuals, electrical supplies, air tools, shaper cutters, saw blades, etc. - they fill up fast.

They're nice-looking, smoother and way beefier than anything built out of wood. Each drawer on the Listas can hold up to 440 lbs. While my wood shop doesn't really push those limits, a few of the drawers in my machine shop get pretty heavy when they're loaded up with rotary tables, reamers and slitting saws. I just need to get around to building the hefty, maple top for them. Maybe next year I'll get around to it. Or the year after.

302119

[Kevin Nathanson]

I'm another metal cabinet guy. I've got a Snap-On KRL-1001 for all my mechanics tools, hammers, scrapers, electrical stuff, taps. dies. etc. I have three of the not so wonderful but still useful Harbor Freight black tool carts: one for measuring and marking tools, one for all my planes, chisels, etc. and one for all my drill bits and air tools. And just to round it out, I have four cabinets with eight drawers each just like the Lista ones above. Those hold all the hardware.

I've never really understood the whole 'hang stuff on the wall' thing. I like my tools to stay unexposed to dust. I'm sure I have my biases as I grew up an automotive gearhead before my woodworking days, but I like being able to wheel around all my cabinets. OK, the Snap-On weighs as much as a small car and doesn't get wheeled around very often, but it does happen every once in a while.

The only problem with (good) metal cabinets is that they are very pricey. I'm a scrounger, so I've gotten all my expensive ones used via Craigslist or at auction. The good news is that the good ones never go bad, and if they are really scratched up, you can repaint them just like a car.

K

302126

[Brian W Smith]

Like most things shop related.....it's really down to the end user.Our shop(s) here would be a total disaster without them.Ours are mostly 30 y.o. C-man,that have done yoeman service.

What I'd suggest to anyone considering one is this.The base units come in several heights(too lazy to go measure)....some of the cheaper ones are shorter for obvious reasons.If anyone has a std floor model DP,snag one of the shorter boxs and use it under the table.If it doesn't clear the DP base,add some plywood squares and longer bolts on the castors 'till it will roll over the base.Now you have a place to store your drills N such.It further acts as a staging spot for parts(roll it out and to the side)when doing multiple drillings.

The "cheaper" bxs will usually have just a few drawers and then an open area at the bttm.In the above DP chest...use the bttm part for fixtures.The ends of the box can be outfitted with clamp racks.This can easily be a less than 200$ bx.The area under the DP table is wasted more often than not....so you'll be killin a cpl birds with one stone.Try the bx there....but also in other spots.These same bxs will usually roll under a lot of wall style work benches.

The height diff between the shorter bxs and their bigger brothers is what changes one from being a useful working height(36-38" tall units) and the lower ones(32-34?) as being used for staging parts for machining operations.Snag a cheapy short unit off CL and try it......if it works out for your shop,pass it on and start working your way up the $$ level 'till you reach your shop's $$ equilibrium.Good luck.

[glenn bradley]

Like Brian says; its up to you. If you have one and it is working for you I would keep it. I have one I bought before I was quite settled on how I would go about things and now it is more or less a catch-all for items that aren't particular to woodworking. The drawer units I have built are much more useful because they suit my woodworking. I build drawers into almost all my tool bases as a tool stand that is just a tool stand robs me of storage. I do have a couple of re-purposed large metal cabinets that I store finishes and hardware in and they are great for that. If I knew then what I know now I would pass on the mechanics tool box format. The metal tool cabinet I have will go eventually and find a good home with someone who needs that format. If it is doing a good job for you there is no need to change it. This doesn't mean I don't stop and look at them when I walk by but, I stop and look at wrench and socket sets too although I have no need of any more ;-)

[Rick Potter]

I was in Costco yesterday, and noticed they now have their own branded roll around cabinet, wrinkle black, for $599, if I remember correctly. It was nice, and pretty sturdy. Chinese, of course.

[Bruce Page]

I'm another metal cabinet guy. I've got a Snap-On KRL-1001 for all my mechanics tools, hammers, scrapers, electrical stuff, taps. dies. etc. I have three of the not so wonderful but still useful Harbor Freight black tool carts: one for measuring and marking tools, one for all my planes, chisels, etc. and one for all my drill bits and air tools. And just to round it out, I have four cabinets with eight drawers each just like the Lista ones above. Those hold all the hardware.

I've never really understood the whole 'hang stuff on the wall' thing. I like my tools to stay unexposed to dust. I'm sure I have my biases as I grew up an automotive gearhead before my woodworking days, but I like being able to wheel around all my cabinets. OK, the Snap-On weighs as much as a small car and doesn't get wheeled around very often, but it does happen every once in a while.

The only problem with (good) metal cabinets is that they are very pricey. I'm a scrounger, so I've gotten all my expensive ones used via Craigslist or at auction. The good news is that the good ones never go bad, and if they are really scratched up, you can repaint them just like a car.

K

302126
Kevin, how did you do the excellent foam cutout? I tried doing it by scalpel once and it looked awful.

[Rick Moyer]

Kevin, how did you do the excellent foam cutout? I tried doing it by scalpel once and it looked awful.

Bruce, please say you are not a surgeon!? :p

I used Kaizen foam sold by Fastcap and traced around my tools with their long marker, then cut the outline with an exacto knife, and then you peel the layers back with your finger. My turned out surprisingly well.

[Kevin Bourque]

I love the rolling cabinets for tool storage and would recommend them highly. I got all of mine from craigslist.

[Paul Williams 53072]

Guys,

What a timely thread. I am entertaining purchasing an upper and lower DeWalt roll around tool box from HD as the price is right. Ugly yellow though!!!

I believe this tool box combo is really geared towards wood workers. It has an area in the top for battery chargers which features a couple of holes in the back to run your AC charging cords out of.

[ken masoumi]

If you have enough floor space ,then it would be a useful addition to any shop,probably more useful in a mechanic/machine shop in my opinion,if I get one I'm sure I'll fill all those small drawers as well as the bigger ones but I do not have a place to park it.