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Buying advice wanted - tool cabinet

T

TrimTheKing

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Evening all

Had a trip to Costco this morning and they had these for sale.

Now I've always considered these as a mechanics kind of cabinet but since I started moving stuff from the container into the workshop this week I started to realise I need some of the tools/machines, to enable me to make benching, but in the meantime I have nowhere to store anything easily to hand.

It's not cheap, but Googling and YouTube videos suggest the quality is good and they appear to be lasting well in busy workshops, so I wondered whether to bite the bullet of cost vs my time and buy one of these to give my most used tools (planes, chisels, handsaws, sharpening kit, screwdrivers, hammers etc.) an immediate (and secure) home so I can crack on with other stuff more quickly.

It's a good bit cheaper in store at £475 so I'm really looking at you boys and girls to talk me in/out of it with some measured arguments in either direction.

Obviously I could make 'something' myself, much cheaper, but would still need to buy decent runners, timber, fixings etc, so my thinking initially is, factoring in 16 pairs of full extension runners (as this one has) plus timber, fixings and most importantly, my time, is it worth the expenditure???

Talk to me Geese...
 
Mark that really is not fair you have no chance of finding someone here who is going to talk you out of this purchase :D . All you have done is make lots of people wonder if they could get one in the garage without being caught. I can’t because my garage shed and neighbours shed are stuffed with free insulation. :D
 
Philistine!!!!!

:D

Seriously, I can send you links to the plans of the drawer cabinets that I have made (4 + the big one to hold the Kapex).

2 cabinets come out of 2 - 8x4x17mm and 1 - 8x4x6mm ply with 5 pairs of full extenders and 5 handles per cabinet. The plans were for pocket hole joinery, but after I made 2 like that, I made 2 with biscuit joinery, which I much preferred making and I feel came out a much better piece of work.

And I thoroughly enjoyed making them.
 
MY63":1pczoqlj said:
Mark that really is not fair you have no chance of finding someone here who is going to talk you out of this purchase :D . All you have done is make lots of people wonder if they could get one in the garage without being caught. I can’t because my garage shed and neighbours shed are stuffed with free insulation. :D
Click to expand...

:lol: :obscene-drinkingcheers:
 
I've had one of these from Halfords for a long time. Best value around at £85.00 and does everything I need.

591794b
 
Malc2098":2u1ziw3k said:
Philistine!!!!!

:D

Seriously, I can send you links to the plans of the drawer cabinets that I have made (4 + the big one to hold the Kapex).

2 cabinets come out of 2 - 8x4x17mm and 1 - 8x4x6mm ply with 5 pairs of full extenders and 5 handles per cabinet. The plans were for pocket hole joinery, but after I made 2 like that, I made 2 with biscuit joinery, which I much preferred making and I feel came out a much better piece of work.

And I thoroughly enjoyed making them.
Click to expand...

Thanks Malc, that would be good. My issue is really down to time, I get a ridiculously tiny amount of free time right now what with work, kids, football coaching, life...so I am just trying to think of ways to maximise my speed to get the workshop sorted so I can then use what little time I have producing goods of 'value' (value to me, the wife etc) rather than fitting out the shop.

If yours were quick/easy enough, and the material costs are significantly low then I will definitely consider it as that cabinet above is a LOT of hard earned to be spending, but then my time is my most valuable asset and comparatively I am very time poor.

That being said, I am also not rich so I need to find the right balance, so if you're happy to share the plans of how you made yours then I will definitely look into that.

Cheers
Mark
 
I'd be cautious of edge tools in a steel cabinet. Every time you take something out, put it away, or bump the box, you risk damaging a hard-won cutting edge. If you haven't time to make something yourself then how about buying a second hand chest of drawers? A good big robust Victorian pine c of d would give you lots of storage for not much money, and at no risk to your edge tools. You might even be able to design a tool cabinet around the drawers in due course, and save yourself the bother of drawer-making.
 
Save your money. Get a bit more organised. You mention 'planes' but do you actually use all of them on a daily basis ? Screwdrivers ? How many do you need each day? Hammers? Plural ?

My layout in the workshop is duff, I now realise. The bench is boxed in by timber. Should have put it to the right of the Kapex. That had/has my saws, planes, chisels etc. Far too many TBH. So I've repurposed a drawer underneath the assembly table which is now my workbench. Everything I need for woodie type stuff on a daily basis is in there. It's my 'Go-To- drawer.

I have a scruffy tote bag for all the rest of the crud...sorry, daily DIY tools like hammer and screwdriver.
 
I try not to use them but I do have a lot of hand tools. I made wooden boxes with a central handle that fit into filing cabinet drawers - 4 boxes per drawer. Filing cabinet drawer slides are really strong so take the weight well and as a bonus have an interlock mechanism so you can only open one drawer at a time... meaning you can't flatten yourself.

So my vote would be some old filing cabinets for a fraction of the money. Mind you that cart would make the tools easy to steal with a suitable vehicle :)
 
I did look seriously at that type of cabinet before I built my cupboards - Homebase of all places had a very nice one for £450. In the end I decided against simply because I couldn't justify the cost. I wanted it for screws, spanners, bits and bobs etc so multiple drawers were what I was after - layout was good but probably a bit flimsy for heavy weight items such as hammers and planes. Check the runners as well - I found very variable quality when looking at several different price ranges (as you might expect). Some come with non-slip liners which would help with edge tools.

If needs must and you find it doesn't work, or you build something at a later date, I am sure you could get most of your money back on e-bay if it remains in good nick.
 
I bought one from Machine Mart years ago and keep
A lot of stuff in it.
I lined the drawers with thin rubber mats and none of my tools have suffered any damage.
Bottom two contain my planes.
Then it’s screwdrivers, a drawer of my Unimat lathe bits and finally a draw of spanner’s, loose tools etc.
All the drawers open very easily unlike an old chest of drawers I have which is very hard to open due to the shear weight of stuff inside.

I’d go for it Mark

Rod
 
Have you considered wall cupboards ,easy to fit extra shelves/customise. Not taking up floor space ,inexpensive new or secondhand and you will probably need some in your final layout.Also a table or board on some supports, to put tools etc on while you construct your benches and fitout the shop.
 
Personally I wouldn’t buy one for a lot of the tools you describe Mark, I much prefer to have those on a tool wall close to the bench & easily accessible. Drawers are useful for tools you don’t use often or have spare parts or cutters that would be easily misplaced, but I wouldn’t rush into a big purchase like that without a long term plan for it.
Don’t get me wrong I have a seven drawer mechanics tool chest which I store spindle tooling, machine consumables & metal working tools in & it’s very useful as I have my proedge & vice on top, but it’s kept in the far corner of the shop to minimise contamination of Woodworking surfaces from the grinding, cutting etc I do on it.

Another idea I’ve been using for the last year or so Is the Tanos systainer drawer units (they make them for Festool amongst other companies) for storing small woodworking hand tools the great thing about these are they are lightweight, easily transportable & clip together whilst still being accessible, I had had them on a mobile base for 12 months but I made this unit over the Xmas break to house them in. What I like about them is they give you more versatility over traditional tool boxes


B1E3F77F-9600-4CE7-A0D0-D0F6214A38F5.jpeg
 
Thanks all for your sage input and suggestions.

Malc has kindly sent me his plans and thanks for the reminder of your systainer use too Doug, I had forgotten about that.

I really do like the cabinet and it would speed up a lot of my storage issues quickly, but it is a lot of money to spend so I think I’m going to go for a combo of Doug’s systainer usage for power tools and make some sliding drawers for smaller items.

I will still have my wall mounted tool cabinet for the most regularly used items too which will be over my bench.
 
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