I have flip-flopped so much in the past 40 hours or so that I feel quite silly.
Last night I placed an order for (2) blue Proto 550S tool cabinets, following the great experiences I’ve had with a Proto 550S 34″ 8-drawer mobile tool cabinet. This morning I cancelled that order, but kept my order for (2) of their smaller 540S 27″ 7-drawer tool cabinets.
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I really like Proto’s 550S series, and thought that the super-reinforced frame would allow for easy integration with a DIY base for stationary use. And if I choose to move things around, the casters would go back on fairly easily.
But this morning I realized that it’s not quite exactly what I want. I want a stationary benchtop setup. I want enhanced security – not against theft (but that would be a plus) – but to keep my son’s curiosity away from my sharper and pointier tools.
Yesterday he pulled out all 3 drawers of my low-to-the-ground night stand. It’s not unimaginable that he might do the same to a large tool box. Or that he might climb up on a mid-size drawer. Or hang off of a top drawer.
I’m in and out of my tool boxes every day, and often back and forth. Locking and unlocking the drawers each time, or unlocking once and remembering to lock everything again, it can be a hassle.
Since I would have to wait a few weeks for the Proto boxes, and since it would take some DIY work to get a base constructed, why not look more closely at Lista?
I had been looking at Lista’s 900-series counter-height boxes, because their workbench-height configurations didn’t have as high a drawer count as I would like.
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Then I saw, in their “easy order” catalog (PDF), there are options that my intended vendors don’t carry.
SC0750-0901 is a 9-drawer box with (6) 2″ drawers, and (3) 3″ drawers. I tend to like 2″ drawers since they’re just perfect for hand tools, and 3″ drawers are great for larger hand tools and random supplies.
So what I’m thinking now is that 9-drawer box, a reduced width box with 2″, 3″, and 5″ drawers, and then another reduced width box with 2″, 3″, 5″ and a 7″ drawer.
I LOVE the cabinets I built for myself, shown above. But there’s no quick or easy lock-out. And the space efficiency is horrible when you start talking about 2″ and 3″ drawers. The aluminum frame, while sturdy, isn’t inexpensive.
Maybe I’ll bring the new Proto 540S boxes to my office workspace – I did order the shorter ones that can fit under a workbench, and then budget for small and narrow Lista boxes later on. Sorry, I digressed again.
The quest for perfect tool storage has been a very long one for me. I’ve bought quite a few ball bearing solutions, and I’ve tested quite a few too.
Deeper drawers hold taller items, but I tend to throw things in, rather than to organize them nicely. I’ve used shelves with bins, shelves with L-Boxxes, Festool mini Systainers, regular sized Systainers, and all sorts of other things in between.
I started off small, with a tool box. Then there were two. Then came a wire shelving unit. And then a Craftsman 12″ deep intermediate chest. And then a Craftsman chest, which I gave away a few years ago. I loved that tool chest, with its shallow drawers.
At the time, it didn’t feel cramped. Now? I’m used to 16″ and 18″ and deeper drawers even, and cannot go back to 10-3/4″ deep drawers.
After that Craftsman chest came another intermediate, and then a larger Craftsman chest, also with shallow drawers, more intermediates, a Beta 7-drawer cabinet, a wooden mobile tool cabinet, a 4-drawer Craftsman cabinet test sample, and then a 4-drawer Griplatch rolling cabinet I bought on sale.
I have just about all the hand tools I need. Storing them? That’s always been a problem.
I have always been short on space. Because of that, I was always seeking to maximize how much I can store and organize in a given volume.
Now, time is a bigger limitation, followed by space, and money being last.
If I have 30 minutes to work on a project, or to test out a tool, or to put something together, just 30 minutes of work, I need to be able to maximize what I can do in those 30 minutes.
I cannot waste time looking for my tools. I can’t waste time retrieving something from a storage box, a different tool box, or somewhere else. I need a tool in my hand in 30 seconds, and I need to get things done.
I’ve always known Lista to be the pinnacle of tool storage. Well, now I’m going to find out. I’m going to start off with a span of 56″ (2 standard width units) or 72-5/8″ (if I go with 1 standard width and 2 narrower width units), and that will be my main workbench.
Maybe eventually there will be a corner where I can put taller countertop-height or eye-level-height units for parts. Maybe 1 or 2 drawers will be for common parts or fastener assortments, others will be in the basement or attic for storage. There’s more space there, but the space isn’t as conducive to working.
My gasket-punching gear? In an L-Boxx with some gasket material in the basement. Pipe-cutting tools? Basement in a labeled L-Boxx.
Once I have my workspace more to my liking, I’ll build a mobile bench with drawers for L-Boxxes, so that I can rotate my more specialty tools depending on the project. For example, I might need my metal punches when working on a sheet metal electronics control panel, but I might instead want my L-Boxx that’s full of Woodpeckers box clamps when building more plywood drawers.
My experiences have taken me to realize the following likes and dislikes:
- 2″ drawers for most hand tools
- 3″ drawers for larger hand tools, sockets, and misc. bulkier stuff
- 4″ drawers for equipment and general purpose use
- 5″ drawers for larger stuff that won’t fit in 3″ drawers
- Larger than 5″ for specific things or as a general “fit anything” space
Right now in my office workspace I have my 2 cabinets, the first shown above, and the second like it but with 4.75″ drawers (4″ internal height.)
I’m not sure if I’ll switch to side-mounted drawers to build some more, if I’ll add a small Proto unit to go under my workbench next to my Beta cabinet, or eventually complement those cabinets with Lista boxes too.
I just wanted to talk about this a little more to explain my comments in the other post.
I went from “yea, this Proto tool box rocks, I’m buying more,” to actually ordering 2 more, to cancelling the order, and I wanted to explain why.
In short, because I want to go with Lista. I have very specific wants and demands, and I believe a Lista setup will be most effective for me.
I’ve got too many tools that I can’t part with – most I need, some I simply like using. Yes, I need that many different types of hex drivers!
I’m tired of hunting around for tools, I need to pack as much tool storage density into below-workbench space as possible, and I need more workbench worktop space.
Once I get that Lista workbench area going, I’ll start purging some of the tool cabinet and mobile tool storage workbench test samples I’ve been working with. As fantastic as they’ve been, they offer great bang for the buck but not that great storage density.
Testing out those units have been slowing me down sooooo much. They’re one-size-fits-all, but none are as good a match for me as a modular system would be.
Look for lots more tool storage reviews between now and Father’s Day – hopefully with pictures if I can find space to light these monstrous things up.
My project productivity and pace has been terrible these past few months. Getting myself better organized with high density tool storage is going to help. It’s helped in the past.
Or I can reduce the types of projects I like to work on, but I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
As an aside, this is going to be a big year for giveaway and “giftaways,” where I’ll be sending out older test samples as well as personal or ToolGuyd tools that are no longer needed. I just need to figure out a good way to streamline it. Maybe I’ll just bring totes to the UPS store, pay for them to pack and ship the items, and then pick up the totes to repeat another time. Ooh, maybe we’ll do mystery boxes!!
Yes, as you might have noticed, I’m still a little sleep deprived. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do any heavy work today. Hence another unfiltered straight-from-my-mind discussion.
It was Brian’s comment about Vidmar that had me reconsidering whether to go Proto or Lista. The height of the Lista bench-height cabinets had me a little hesitant, but then I realized that 33.5″ isn’t far off from the 34″ of the Proto without its casters.
Maybe you guys have other constructive advice to send my way?
In the meantime, I’ll start planning for more tool storage posts. I’ve weighed numerous options over the past few months, such as going with garage cabinets, kitchen cabinets, and mobile tool cabinets. Combined with my searches and research over the years, there’s a lot there, covering a wide range of price ranges too.
Just thinking about how much Lista boxes cost (over a grand each for the once I’m considering) makes me cringe. When I worked at a research lab, I didn’t have to worry about what goes where; we had premium heavy duty tool storage and benches in place, and I was able to focus on my work.
That’s the point I’m trying to get to now.
Right now I just want to work on my projects, tool tests, and reviews that I really wanted to complete already. I can’t think of any other way to get there but to upgrade my tool storage to a modular and standardized system to fit everything I need right where I need it, and in a secure but convenient way.
What would you do?
And before you answer that question, remember that ToolGuyd has become a business. I wouldn’t be buying the cabinets, ToolGuyd would. It’s the same pocket, but that disconnect helps me to make tougher purchasing decisions that my younger self would scream at.
I need high-density, heavy-duty, daily-use, low-maintenance, easy to set up, nearly-indestructible tool storage, and I want it made in the USA.
I dreamed about building my own, my it’s taken me 10 months to get 2 cabinets for my office workspace built, and they’re not even finished. The second bank needs 2 more drawers built, and none of the drawers are properly finished with shellac and polyurethane. There are overflow boxes of tools and supplies on top, rather than a proper benchtop, and I didn’t even start on the drawer fronts.
DIY? Simply not an option for my main workspace.
18″ tool boxes are not deep enough. Milwaukee and Husky’s mobile tool workbenches don’t have high enough storage density. They’re at good heights, but I want different drawer configurations.
I’ve run out of ideas about how to best serve my current storage needs, thus “Lista.” Maybe someone will talk me out of it. Is that what I’m hoping? Or maybe I’m hoping for confirmation that Lista cabinets are the best solution.
ToolGuyd has a budget for buying what I need, I just might have to change some of my 2017 tool purchasing plans to free up the funds. I just can’t throw much time at making tool storage, and can’t find anything quite as right to fit my needs. I just want to be sure that I’m not throwing money at the problem if there’s another way.
With that extra context in mind, What would you do?
Here’s some more info on Lista in case you’ve never heard of them before. Lista is now owned by Stanley Black & Decker. They’re made in the USA. Here’s an image gallery.
kman
It all comes down to money. With enough of it you could totally optimize all of your constraints-space, security, functionality, made in USA, etc., etc, I think you need to decide on how much to spend and then change your constraints to match your budget. You have too many constraints unless you throw money at the problem. It would be great to meet all your requirements but sometimes the money could be spent on other priorities. Only you can make the decision of what is most important. I would start with an number. The amount you want and are willing to spend and go from there as for deciding what to buy.
chris parker
i’m still noy sure the route i’m going as well..i have beautiful 200lb bench-top i have glued, planed, and finished that is 30x72x2-1/2, and i don’t want to put just any old cabinet underneath…i don’t have any children, but security is still a must for me drawer wise…i reallly love the aluminum frame one you have built, especially because i know that i can order a few things at a time, when the budget allows…that is my only way i can get anything of quality at this time..my main problem i decided on design issues though i do know a cabinet of the size of the one you have built is exactly what i want to do..i will figure out the security part while still looking good..i wish i could get one of the proto tool cabinets as well..simple and sturdy is always beautiful.
Stuart
The beauty of the aluminum-framed one is that it can be built at different price points.
Long spans of 80/20 can be ordered and cut to size in the shop to save on cut fees. Or one can scout out the blemished parts in their ebay store. It can be bolted together using corner brackets, end fasteners, anchor fasteners, or shop-made brackets out of angle stock.
I went with 80/20 because I wanted easier adjustability and reconfigurability without much waste. That setup will serve me for years, even if I ever modify the drawer setup. Maybe one day I’ll build a eye-level plywood-sided cabinet for the drawers and use the workbench as an enclosed router table, base for a CNC machine, or as a downdraft table.
To save on cost I could have used 2x4s, plywood, or so many other materials.
I went with the 80/20 also because of its ease in being bolted to and together. It was easy – albeit not cheap – to add 3/8″ leveling feet, which I will upgrade to swivel feet once it’s nearly completed. I can change to casters easily.
Adding locks to 1 drawer would be easy. Adding a lock to all the drawers in a cabinet? I think I could come up with something, but I’m not quite ready for that yet.
An anti-tipping mechanism? I think that’s beyond my skills right now, despite having a few examples (Festool SysPort, Ikea Galant cabinet) to draw inspiration from.
Big Dan
I’m using a 47U server cabinet as a security locker for my festool systainers and other high cost items. Steel welded frame and heavy.
fred
My take is that it is hard to go wrong with Lista if their new stuff is anything like the quality of the goods we had in our shop.
What does your accountant say? Most business decisions are based on what makes you money and how one investment compares to another. A present worth calculation for the options might be enlightening. I assume you are treating your capital investments differently than your expensed items – and depreciating them on a schedule. ToolGuyd shop(s) – presumably separated financially (blending personal and business assets is a big IRS no-no) – from your personal dwelling – have some expected life – so whatever you buy will not be expected to survive forever. In our businesses we treated most single items costing more than $500 as capital – but your accountant can advise you better for your situation.
rhyino
I now view industrial high density industrial tool storage units as another tool. For me, being able to find a tool immediately to complete a task is worth the cost of a pricey Lista or Vidmar cabinet. I find that if there is a specific landing place for a tool or piece of equipment in the shop, I am apt to actually put it away rather than leaving it out or shoving it on a shelf.
The internal dividers in my Vidmar cabinets allows quick reorganization of the tool layout rather than having a single open drawer setup on a traditional tool box. I find trying to dig through one large drawer that is crowded with tools to be not much better than trying to find that same tool that lives on a cluttered workbench.
For high density storage in a limited footprint, I found Lista/Vidmar to be the best solution for my needs.
There is an online dealer that sells Lista units that are customer cancellations, blemished units or has light shipping damage. The inventory changes often and you may be able to score a good deal.
John
Are you thinking of Motorhead Extraordinaire?
http://www.motorheadextraordinaire.com/
In addition to new stock units, ME offers a Junkyard Specials section on the website that has demo units, lightly blemished, customer returns, freight damaged, or canceled orders that can be new or blemished but still completely functional.
They also do discounts for Garage Journal Alliance members.
Stuart
Yea, that’s the place I plan to order from, will talk to them soon to better understand my options.
Steve
This is an option, but I was also going to suggest looking at the used market or even equipment auctions. I bet you could find a large industrial facility going out of business and snag their lista, vidmar, etc stuff for 50-75% of retail. They are still expensive used but you could save a few grand. Since it’s for your own business, it’s even more important to spend the money judiciously.
firefly
Thanks John, that’s an awesome resource.
Jason
I went with two Lista SC900s (39 3/8″h) under a 1 3/4″ butcher block top and a SC1350 on the right side. If I had to do it over again I’d probably drop down to the SC750s as you’re looking at. Overall I love my setup.
If you’re not in a hurry, check out http://www.motorheadextraordinaire.com/ . Although they don’t have any now they regularly run “Junkyard” specials which are brand new Lista boxes that have suffered some kind of damage. Usually the damage is fairly cosmetic and doesn’t affect operation. I saved a ton of money buying this way even with having to pay Freight charges out to California.
Stuart
What don’t you like about the 900’s? I was drooling at the though of 900’s, but that was before I saw 750’s with higher drawer counts.
Jason
The 900s are too high. I’m 6′ 1″ and with the butcher block top the bench is 41 3/8 high. I find it to be just a little on the high side.
I’m confused by your comment on the high drawer count on the 750s. Model number doesn’t affect drawer count. If building custom you pick the cabinet series which depicts the size and then pick whatever drawer combination you want. You can just as easily do high drawer count 900s as you can with the 750s.
When I purchased through Motorhead Extroardinaire, I originally purchased a high drawer count SC1350 with two medium density 900s. When I got them I switched all the drawers over and made the 900s high density with most of the 2″ and 3″ drawers and moved the larger drawers to the 1350 for storage of my bigger tools.
Chris Ball
To further muddy the waters I present to you Rouseau https://www.rousseaumetal.com/int_en/
I have a few that I bought used and from my experience I would say they are similar to the vidmar/lista offerings. Made in Canada so you may get a bit of a break on the price given the current exchange rate and pretty modular so there are lots of stationary offerings.
chris parker
thanks for the link..they look really nice..i just wish a price was included instead of having to request one…i do like them though..as long as they are though then i’d be ok with this..i didn’t know they made cabinets, and bench stuff…thanks for this.
Chris Ball
I agree although there are a fair number of sellers online so you can get a feel for the pricing of a custom setup fairly easily.
For example (no firsthand experience, your mileage may vary, etc.):
http://www.rousseaucabinets-online.com/
Stuart
Thanks! I’ll take a look, but I think I’m pretty set on Lista. Maybe one of those cabinets will serve well as a standalone. I’ll keep an open mind.
firefly
Thanks Chris! This look to be highly configurable which I really like.
RKA
It’s funny to read this and I can sympathize completely. I outgrew a little craftsman tool chest and started looking at options to store my auto related tools in the garage. Lista was on my list, but I ended up with a used snap on. They were easier to find used and if I changed my mind, easier to unload. The large number of shallow, deep drawers really help with organization and access by keeping like tools consolidated in a drawer. Drawer slides glide so nice even on heavy drawers. I had to move this 2000 lb beast (loaded) once to access a broken water pipe. Much to my surprise, it rolled easily. I paid a pretty penny for it, but as you noted, the density and organization really removed the wasted time playing “where is that tool?”. I love working out there!
In contrast, my basement wood shop (to be), has only my old craftsman tool box. Everything else is piled on the floor, wire shelving racks, horizontal surfaces, etc. it’s a hoarders episode, only with good useful stuff (isn’t that what they all claim?). I absolutely hate working in that environment, but I will not be buying more industrial storage. I have the space, I can build everything I need out of wood, once the new machines are set up. There will be the 6 months of madness (I said that two years ago) while I build, organize, build, reorganize, build, purge, build and organize, but I know somewhere down the road it will be as well organized as the garage tools. I wouldn’t rule out one or two of those protos. Some of the bits, blades, and sorted other tools could be quite comfortable in there, but let’s see where I’m at after I build out some base cabinets and outfeed/assembly tables.
Good luck Stuart! I think you’re on the right path. You’ll enjoy the workspace considerably more once you nail down the organization. And you’ll grind your teeth the longer this strings out.
Joel
Don’t overlook map filing drawers for good cheap storage.
As for adding locks to drawer banks, what some of the machine shops do is to weld an eyelet at the front ( top and bottom), and use a rod to keep the drawers from opening. Padlock through the rod at the bottom. Cheap, easy, and in the case of your wooden/aluminum box, adaptable. Use eyelets bolted through.
Stuart
I went the Ikea Alex router a few years ago. https://toolguyd.com/ikea-alex-6-drawer-cabinet/
They’re in off-site storage at the moment. Drawer capacity isn’t high enough, and I’ve outgrown my tolerance for non-full-extension drawers.
With my 80/20 and aluminum box, I was thinking maybe a hinged lock bar. Or maybe eyebolts at the back of the drawers and a segmented rod at the back with a knob at the front.
So a knob on top, which when turned lowers or raises a bar at the back, with hooks that lock into all the drawers at once.
Once the retention mechanism is built, maybe I could design the knob to be at adult-only height. Or require a 2-action sequence to turn it, similar to have some cordless power tools have safeties and triggers.
Designing it so that an open drawer locked the rest – that’ll be on my “for kicks and giggles” to-do list because it’ll take more time, work, and iterations than I can afford right now. But sounds like a fun project, just not something I would want to do out of need, if that makes sense. Too much on my plate right now.
fred
BTW, I’ve seen a somewhat inelegant solution for preventing more than 1 drawer being fully opened at a time. The way it works is to have all the drawers loosely tied together at the rear via a piece of rope, chain or cable that is fastened top and bottom and threaded through u-bolts at the back-center of each drawer . The length of the “rope” is set to only allow enough slack for 1 drawer to fully open – or several drawers to partially open simultaneously. In theory – if a chain were used – pulling the chain taught and padlocking it at the top of the cabinet might also work to prevent any drawer from being opened.
firefly
I think that’s how one of my industrial cabinet work. Except the fact that they use some sort of pulley system to tie everything together but the overall concept is the same.
Nate818
My job is mobile, under a house, on a roof etc. so my setup is different. I really like bags of different shapes and sizes. I would have to be a retired old man to have sliding tool drawers in the garage.
firefly
Stuart, I can’t wait to hear about your experience with Lista. I have heard so many thing about Lista that got me really curious about them. The fact that fred also been raving about them too definitely got my attention :)))
RKA
The only caution I would add is to think carefully about whether you really need the feature that allows a single drawer to be opened at one time. Stuart’s situation is unique. If you took child safety out of the picture and ask yourself if you might need to access multiple drawers at a time. It’s convenient to have a socket drawer open and also be able to reach in another drawer to grab some pliers, a screwdriver or whatever without constant opening and closing that socket drawer. The other organizational and configurable aspects of Lista are great, but his one is a drawback if you’re not trying to make the shop child safe.
Stuart
Thank you for mentioning this!
I have an Ikea galant cabinet, and it can be an annoyance to only be able to open one drawer at a time. But those are 4 largeish drawers which I’ve sort of treated like a gear dump.
I’ve toppled a few things in my life, it can happen. I think I brought down a dresser once. In more recent years, I topped a Craftsman rolling cabinet, and a few years before that, a wire shelving cabinet that I was working underneath.
If I do go through with Lista, maybe I’ll disable the safety mechanism when my youngest turns 18.
Cabinets topple when there’s just enough tilt to cause other drawers to start opening. A little more, and a cascade effect happens. Momentum of contents shifting in a drawer as it hits full extension and stops can be the final force needed to bring something down.
firefly
That’s a fair assessment and I agree. Especially if that’s the only cabinet in the shop then that’s a major nuisance to consider.
I don’t think it would be that hard to disable the safety interlock if you really wanted to. I don’t have any personal experience with Lista but I do have more than my share of drawer cabinets with safety interlock and I know that if I really wanted to I could disable them.
With that in mind I believe that drawers safety interlock isn’t solely intended for children. Like Stuart said, it’s the tilting and bumping that cause the cascading effect. Even if no personal injury take place having all the drawer content dumped out doesn’t make a very fun day.
Drawers interlock usually work in set, so if we have an occurrence need to open multiple drawer at once isn’t that also an indication that maybe those tool belong to different set of cabinet? Say two side by side cabinet vs two drawer right above each other. Accessibility is also better in the case of two side by side cabinet as well. Now having two side by side cabinet might not always be feasible in all cases. All in all, I agree with your assessment that it can be a drawback. I do think that it is a useful safety feature as well even if no child is involved.
Stuart
One other thing I considered is that each standard-sized cabinet drawer has 4 square feet of 2-dimensional capacity. It’s not going to be easy retrieving anything from more than one drawer at a time.
I wasn’t thinking of side-by-side accessibility before, but what Firefly says makes a lot of sense.
Different safety interlock mechanisms might allow for pulling out and pushing back 2 drawers at once.
fred
Toppling furniture is a serious cause of injury and deaths for small children. Built-in interlocks are one way to help prevent this. Another way is to tether or affix the cabinet to something more solid like a masonry wall, wall stud etc. In offices – filing cabinets (even ones with drawer interlocks) are often bolted together in a row – with the thought that opening a top drawer and leaning on it – or doing something stupid like standing in a middle drawer – might topple a single cabinet – but not a whole row that are bolted together.
https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-education-centers/tipover-information-center
Bill
While the circumstances and appliance are different from a shop setting I can relate to the tipping issue. About thirty years ago our then 4 year old son performed the classic act of pulling out the drawers of his large 5 drawer oak dresser just far enough to act as steps so he could reach the top. My wife and I were at the other end of the house when we heard the loud crash coming from our sons room. At the end of my mad dash to his room all I could see of Sean was the very top of his head peering out from the top of the dresser as it lay on top of him. Minus a cool head, mine, I jumped to pull the dresser off of him immediately and in so doing several of the heavy drawers slid out of the dresser and onto Sean as I raised the unit back to vertical. Sean never said a word during the whole process or even cried for that matter. I think he was too stunned. After a complete body check, and mom is a nurse, we found that Sean had suffered no damage from the incident. While our house has a slab concrete foundation I think the carpeted floor was the only buffer Sean had in his favor on that day.
fred
At about the same time you son was doing his trick – my 7 year old daughter pulled out a desk drawer, used it as a step to climb on top of the desk, then stand on top of an Okidata printer so she could reach a shelf. Mercifully the old 2-pedestal steel (General Fireproofing) desk and contents weighed so much more than she did that it apparently did not budge. The old Okidata dot-matrix printer (mostly steel – not plastic) also withstood her weight – so by the time we reached her – all she got for her efforts was a good scolding.
jbson
Having worked in industry and having children who have made it into adulthood I’ve seen my share of tipping accidents. In my opinion the only truly safe way to prevent tipping is to anchor the top of the unit to a back wall or equivalent.
If you only need to prevent a young child from opening a drawer, child safety hardware designed for kitchens can be made to function for most anything. Not pretty and it can get in the way but useful while a more elegant design is implemented. Replacing a child is an option.
Bill
jb, I sure you left out the word “not” in your last sentence but that’s ok, it was good for a little laugh and I’m sure most parents have had moments when they wished they could replace a child or two. 🙂
Rascally
Regarding Child safety, I thought I remembered seeing a toolbox that would only unlock the drawers when the owner was near. A keyfob sort of thing. Or maybe I dreamed that…not sure.
Brian
Stuart:
Maybe some inspiration, here’s the Vidmar setup I did (Lista would be basically the same thing).I have a 60″ cabinet flanked by two 30″ cabinets. I especially like the 60″: pry-bars, breaker bars, clamps… you name it, it fits.
https://postimg.org/image/g5akqi2w7/
https://postimg.org/image/4xwmy10s7/
I have them bolted into the concrete slab as well as to each other. I added a butcher block top, bench vice (added later) and Newage Pro uppers. It works great, is solid as a rock and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
As far as availability of Vidmar, I ordered from gotopac.com (call for a quote for better pricing).
Again, look at Lista as well, I’d buy whichever offers the better size, layout and cost.
Stuart
*Drool!*
What kind of light bar do you have under those Pro cabinets? And how do you like the NewAge Pro wall cabinets? I’m planning to order some.
Brian
New Age cabinets:
They are well built, and heavier than I expected (good thing). I like the way they mount to the wall: you mount brackets to the wall and then drop the cabinets onto the brackets. I added a few extra screws from the inside as well to keep them locked flush with the walls. Powder coating is even and the fit and finish is good. The soft close is a nice feature and I like that it provides a level of resistance to keep them fully closed. I have them loaded down with everything from spray cans to a bunch of Dewalt 20v tools and haven’t had even a hint of flex.
Lighting:
The lighting is custom, I ordered a reel of FlexFire leds and klus channels (expensive, but I wanted 4200K, not 3000K or 6500K)… Yeah, picky I know, but this was my ‘dream’ garage build, and I wasn’t going to save $75 on the LEDs and be annoyed every time I turned them on. They are VERY bright at 1000 lm / ft (I have just under 10ft, so 10,000 lm 🙂 )
https://www.flexfireleds.com/industrial-ultra-bright-led-strip-light-bright-white-reel/
I ran an outlet to the top of the upper cabinet and installed a LED driver and single button dimmer / controller on the top of the cabinets. I ran the low voltage wiring through the frame of the upper cabinets and added a small button to the lower cabinet face in the center (see picture and video). Yes, I used grommets, cable sleeving, etc. to be save running electrical in metal cabinets, even with it being only 12v.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bifwvK7gL_M
If you want more info, shoot me an email. I’m glad happy to get into the details.
Here are some more pictures:
https://postimg.org/gallery/2ffvt9m1i
Stuart
Thanks, that looks fantastic!
Definitely more curious about the lighting.
I bought a bag-load of LED stuff from Ikea to experiment with to see if they’d make for good under-cabinet lights, but they don’t reach 4000K or 4200K. They seem to be better for “warm white” home lighting.
Ah, I see the “lip” in the NewAge cabinets that one online reviewer mentioned. I guess it’s a stop for the soft-closing doors.
Brian
Lighting details:
Disclaimer, I didn’t want to have the lighting controlled by a wall switch as there were no good places to add one, there are much easier and better options if I were to use a switch. The other option, that I may have done if I were to do it again is to use wireless 0-10v dimming controls similar to a Lutron FCJ-010 to control everything. That said…
I have a MeanWell power supply (IP65 rated), which you want to run at 50%-80% of their rating for best efficiency, converting the line voltage to low voltage DC. The power supply feeds a LED dimmer with push button support. The dimmer has a total of three wire pairs connected: (1)the DC input from the MeanWell already mentioned; (2) output of to the LEDs; (3) the wire leading to the momentary switch (button).
Press the button, it comes on to the last brightness setting, press again to turn off. Press and hold to increase or decrease brightness. Works great.
More images (it looks like postimg is acting flaky, we’ll try ibb)
https://image.ibb.co/mBz0J5/IMG_20170506_184944.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/gZzd5k/IMG_20170506_185133.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/fnVkkk/IMG_20170506_185333.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/fBQwrQ/IMG_20170506_185527.jpg
BOM:
LEDs: https://www.flexfireleds.com/industrial-ultra-bright-led-strip-light-bright-white-reel/
Power Supply / Driver: http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=HLG-185H
I have the 240W because I was thinking about adding another strip, but these are bright enough, so I should have bought the 150W or 185W.
Dimmer / Controller: http://www.ecolocityled.com/product/push0-10v_dim/pwm_led_light_dimmer
LED Channel / Extrusion: http://www.ecolocityled.com/product/klus-micro-extrusion/led_extrusions
Misc:
I used some 14AWG speaker wire for the connections, which at ~3.5 amps max (24v), is more than enough. I think it was https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BWS20SO
I used 3m VHB tape to mount everything.
Stuart
Nice, thank you!
Do the extrusions come with diffuser covers?
I’ve been noticing an ever-increasing number of sources, including Lee Valley.
I see that FlexFireLEDs can also do 90+ CRI LEDs at special order. That would be pretty sweet if it didn’t cost a fortune.
Hmm, I see less bright strips at higher cost. If it costs $259 for 93+CRI with 456 lumens/ft as opposed to $169 for 1009 lumens/ft, maybe I’d stick with the 80+ CRI strip. I guess that means it would cost 3X as much to run 2 high CRI strips to get the same light output levels.
I’ve got my research cut out for me, but not until I have actual cabinets up on the wall, such as to see if 12V vs. 24V would be better.
firefly
Whoa… that’s a very very nice set up. I really like the 60″ cabinet. I have a few odds and ends that would fit nicely in there.
That set up look very close to what I want. I wonder if it would be possible to have the following configuration a 60″ cabinets right flank by one 36″ cabinet. However instead of the NewAge cabinet on top, I would want something that come out of the same company that would be mounted to the cabinet instead of the wall. So almost identical to your set up with the workbench and all but isn’t attach to the wall but to itself. Then left flank by a cabinet that’s go all the way level with the top level cabinet. That would give me a semi permanent 8ft of workbench left flank by a tall drawer/cabinet setup.
Similar to this http://www.lista-outdoorequip.com/images/picture/bench-with-ohc.jpg
Stuart
They do make cabinets too, which can be wall-mountable, floor-standing, or stacked on top of base cabinets.
Lista seems to be a “you can have it however you want” type of system.
Toolfreak
Since Toolguyd is a business, I’d say buying some Lista boxes to keep and use long-term makes a lot of sense. An initial review and then many more down the road as you use them would probably be very useful since you have a lot of past experience with other units to compare them to.
I’m not sure I’ll ever go with Lista, but it sure sucks more boxes don’t come with lots of shallow drawers or even the option to customize them.
I still like the Craftsman/Waterloo stuff, especially for the price, but man, they sure do love those deeper drawers in the middle and especially on the bottom.
Stuart
Craftsman/Waterloo boxes were my pick when shopping for 12″ deep and 16″ deep top boxes. I never found 18″ bottom cabinets with high enough storage density.
It’s hard to adjust – I’m used to what I guess you could call counter-height and maybe even eye-level top chests, but now I find myself navigating towards workbenches. That will give me bottom cabinet storage, workbench space, and the ability to mount wall cabinets for bulky item storage.
I’ve been working out of a workbench-height 7-drawer Beta box for a few years now, but mostly from a sitting position. For the past 5 years it’s been in my office workspace, even when my office workspace moved, just to the right of my desk.
Maybe I’ll get one taller Lista cabinet, and others at workbench height.
So many options…
I guess they configure boxes based on perceived user preference. And maybe to keep prices down and competitive?
At consumer level, it’s one-size-fits-most because retailers have limited capacity for storage.
I believe Lista boxes are pretty much built to order, and so that’s how there can be so many different configuration options.
fred
I’m not sure what they do today – but when we built our (then new) woodworking/cabinet shop and workout centers – they came in and worked with us on the design for the cabinets, storage walls, benches and mobile carts. We had several design iterations – added a few things after the initial installations – and over the years grew into it and were very happy. I recall that they could not meet all of our needs exactly as we wanted – so we went with some mix and match components like Durham Rotabins , Huot dispenser cabinets, and some Justrite fireproof cabinets – plus quite a few shop-fabricated items like a scissor-lift assembly table.
Toolfreak
I’ve got an 18″ deep top and bottom Craftsman unit, it’s tall but works good for automotive tool storage.
I think you can stick two 2″ height drawers in place of a 4″ height drawer on the Craftsman/Waterloo cabinets, but you run into the price issue where you have to buy the drawers plus another set of slides, so it adds up and you can buy a better quality unit with more drawers for only a little more money.
I just think if Craftsman offered more units with lots of shallow drawers, even with the increased price, they’d sell more units for stuff like you’re after – high-density under workbench storage.
I still think the Lista cabinets are a good idea though, you’ll save the time instead of having to keep looking around, and I do think lots of readers would be interested in your take on the units as well as your overall setup.
Bill
Stuart,
Did you ever finish your tool storage project?
I need to make some changes to my tool storage and would love to see what you have done.
Stuart
Not quite. Although the tool cabinet isn’t technically finished, it’s completed at a “shop-grade ” level.
It’s at 90% functionality. I need to make 2 more drawers for the second unit, and I still need to finish the drawers and make drawer faces.
I have other drawer projects on the to-do list, and am waiting to batch things up. I hope to be able to pick up the pace on everything towards the end of the year.
Ben
@Stuart – Can you post some more details on the 80/20 parts you purchased? I want to start playing around with a design to build a pull out workbench that will fit underneath my fixed Kreg benches.
I figure 1515 is the way to go, with plywood sides that will add more strength but I’m struggling to work out what connects are the most cost effective. The inside ones also make fitting the plywood easier, I think…
Cheers
Stuart
Fastening plates and brackets are the most balanced between economical and easy to use. I ended up going with anchors, but they require counterbores that must be machined yourself or for a fee. End fasteners require tapped ends and access holes.
If you have the equipment and time, you can make your own fastening plates and brackets.
8020 has an eBay store where you can find discounts on certain parts, and much of their regular lineup is there at the same price as you’d pay direct. I have more recently been ordering from their site directly because I wanted custom cuts and machining done.
8020 is really strong stuff and easy to use and customize with, but it’s not inexpensive.
If you are using standard fasteners, their economical t-nuts are great. But if you have to use 10-32, for attaching drawers slides for example, it’ll cost you a whole lot more.