Revamping old tool boxes

[tombear]

Since I've been having a bit of a tool storage crisis today I picked up a couple of cheap and fairly nasty nailed together plywood tool boxes. The sort a real working man would have rather than the sort of poncey thing that I'd have if I could afford the wood!

Anyhoo ill do a bit of work on them, light sand, repaint, maybe replace the rusty hinges as I happen to have some brass ones the right size.

The bottom edges are a bit more battered and one of them doesn't have reinforcing s on the corners.

Now , without crying "Google" or "eBay" could someone rplease recommend a cheap source of the metal corners and bottom strips that they use themselves?

atb

Tom

 

[zornt]

Lee Valley and Vertos Has a hardware selection of almost any kind of things like this one would want.

Not sure if they ship overseas or not though.

 

[Robson Valley]

My local hardware store, just 2 blocks down the street had all the fittings I needed: latches, hinges and corners.
I think they are so cheap as are brass-plated. Maybe a year ago, lots of use, seem durable enough for the tool
box to hold all my crooked knives, adzes and then some.

+1 zornt = Lee Valley Tools hardware is _everything_. Even cast brass fittings for the old kitchen "ice boxes."
The cool thing is to look on line from time to time as they have brief periods of FREE SHIPPING.

 

[Fraxinus]

The toolbox I made as an apprentice is from pine with ply facings with two wooden feet, the similar box I inherited from my father-in-law has two strips of angle iron screwed to the bottom corners but no feet.
Mine was made as a practice piece for hand cut dovetails and the feet are to keep the bottom of the box out of any damp/puddles in use or transportation. The angle iron on F-I-L's looks to be for protection against wear and tear but in practice could cause problems in peoples houses (rust, scratching floors etc).
You can buy brass angle and drill and screw that to the boxes to reinforce the corners but adding some feet to the box, either solid wood or rubber door buffer type, will make them more user/client friendly.

Rob.

 

[tombear]

Cheers folks! One of the boxes has already gone into use , storing all the bits i have got on the off chance like 5 sizes of scotch eye augers ( you never know when you'll need to drill a 2 1/4 inch hole away from mains...) and all the forge tools I'm picking up for future use.. So the place is already looking so much tidier.

before I hit mail order ill look into th local hardware shops to and ask to see if they have any bits stashed away ( theiy are certainly not on display).

I've a vague plan to get or make three boxes so when I kick the lads out they all have thir own basic kiits of old school Sheff' or at least UK made tools, while you can still get them. We've already done this with regards to canteens of cutlery and sets of pottery. Herself collects Denby and the related companies so has sorted that and I've been lucky enough to find as new sets of really good eating irons for peanuts. The only downer is they ain't dishwasher proof, bone handles, but that's no biggy as they have been brought up without one and I doubt their first digs will be that fancy! Training them to cook and clean and do a bit of DIY is the very least we can do for th poor girls who will eventually take them off our hands....

SInce the tool boxes won't be leaving the bare boards area of th Shed ill armour the bases some. What I'd really like is a proper tool cabinet but one hasn't turned up so far. What I'm rather after now , and I've seen them occasionally on boots or second hand furniture dhops,is one of those small free standing butchers table things that were trendy for a while. Sadly with the price of wood it will be cheaper to get a second hand one, especially as it doesn't matter if its battered, thn make one myself. I just need it to bolt the big vice to ( and the whole thing to th floor ) and mount a few things like the bench grinder, belt sander, electric fretsaw and the Tormek. I'm now using them so much it's a becoming a right chore getting them out, fixing them down and putting them away each time.

atb

tom

 

[shaggystu]

B&Q do lengths of angle (steel or aluminium), a good music shop would be able to sort you out with some corner castings (the type that are used on speaker cabinets) or at least tell you where to get some from...........

here's a link http://www.speakerhardware.com/chrome-metal-cab-corner.php

HTH,

Stuart.

 

[VaughnT]

If you have a pair of metal snips, you can make your own corners from a soup can. The thin sheet steel is plenty durable enough, but still easy to bend, punch and file. That means you can get as decorative as your patience allows.

The mass-produced corners are stamped in a press, but there's no rule saying you can't cut a notch and fold the thing into a proper protector. Then just tack it in place with some short screws or brads.

 

[tombear]

In the end I popped my nose into my local hardware store , the one I've gone in at least weekly for the last 10 years and was directed to a rack of plastic boxes and low and behold, just what I wanted for 28 pence each!

Since they were not expensive i also got a new pair of stronger looking toggle catches and a new handle rather than spend forever doing up the old ones.

ill dig out the hinges and paint tomorrow and start on the job.

cheers for the input folks, I'll inflict a photo of the finished job when it's done.

atb
Tom

 

[Robson Valley]

Those are the latch designs that I bought and installed. Most satisfactory.
Similar corners, too. I used back-spliced nylon rope for a soft handle.