davestanton Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I have been pondering a mitre saw station. I have seen some really nice plans out there and I was also keen for storage that will last, also the thought of being able to wheel the unit around the shop is attractive. I stumbled across this metal toolbox with ball bearing drawers. 6 feet wide x 3 feet tall x just under 2 feet deep. Have a look at how many drawers! Timber top that could be reused somewhere else while I build my own top for it. The middle cupboard could house a shop vac with the suction hose hooked up to a big mouth originally designed for a lathe set up behind. The price of these things is $700. Make a base that will cost about 2/3rds the price for materials or just buy one of these as a flatpack and spend a couple of hours assembling it? I have another toolbox I bought from this company and it is stunning, works brilliant, it went together easy, had it for 2 years. This might sound like I am made of money, but if I bought 2 of them, I could bolt them together end to end, replace the tops with one top built out of a couple of plywood beams about 14 feet long, biscuit jointed and under bench top bolts, finish and I end up with a massive storage area and a great mitre saw station! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Dave, It sounds ok to me. What I would recommend is consider the cost vs. your time. If you're making your own would run you 2/3 the cost just for materials, than buying seems to be a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Dave, It sounds ok to me. What I would recommend is consider the cost vs. your time. If you're making your own would run you 2/3 the cost just for materials, than buying seems to be a great deal. Hi Dyami. Materials are a bit more expensive in Australia than America from what I am seeing. Those drawer slides are about $30 a pair from memory. There are 12 pairs in this cabinet, that's $360 straight off, half the price of the unit. The wheels are $100 for the set, we are at $460. The ply, 5 sheets I guess, $70-80 per sheet ( mostly it comes from America so shipping and GST on top of what you guys pay)$400? Wow, without the laminated benchtop it is $860. I can use that top elsewhere in the shop so there is an extra. If my figures are out even by $160 it would seem like a false economy for me to build one from timber. Did you notice the end panels are peg board pattern punched steel? Looking at it broken down makes me think this is a better deal than I first thought! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Good math, Dave. Enjoy the new cabinet and get on to building something nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Those drawer slides are about $30 a pair from memory. There are 12 pairs in this cabinet, that's $360 straight off, half the price of the unit. Is it a big deal to ship stuff from the US to Australia? If not, these guys have really good prices on quality drawer slides: http://www.woodworkershdwe.net/servlet/StoreFront -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Thanks for the link Russ. I checked their site and they seem keen enough to deliver to Canada but am awaiting their reply to my request for a price per weight and size of item or total delivered to Australia. Weight would probably be the main factor. Will let you know. The other thing is that the cost of the ply..... and if I could get the drawer slides at a good price, still comes in being cheaper to buy than build. It is a sign of the times that we (America and Australia) have priced ourselves out of the manufacturing market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Purchased the bench yesterday and thought I would assemble it today. Whilst the bench unit took about 90 minutes to unload, decipher the plans and assemble without issue, the drawers were another story. I misread the instructions and only realised when I had 11 drawers assembled. So, I took them all apart and reassembled and realised 2 things. 1. what a knob I was for stuffing such a simple thing up. 2. what a very well engineered product I had purchased. I would recommend the product to anyone. The one thing I got wrong was the interpretation of size from metric to imperial. The unit is 20 inches deep, not 24 inches deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyami Plotke Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Glad you like it, Dave. Hopefully it makes a great miter saw bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Good for you. One question: Did the shop-vac fit in the center? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Good for you. One question: Did the shop-vac fit in the center? Hi Chet. I haven't tried yet, but what I will do for you is measure the dimensions inside the center cupboard. One thing I think would be to line the inside of that area with polystyrene or similar sound deadening material as the sheet metal back and floor of the cabinet may start to resonate. Lol. I do have a triton dust collector that you put in line similar to the dust deputy and am pretty sure it would fit and then have it connected to a vacuum that could be in another room even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 If you line the cupboard with sound insulation, you may have a problem with heat if you put a vacuum in there. If you put a shop vac in another room, you may lose too much power pulling the air through a long narrow hose. The dust deputy will also drain power. If you go with a larger duct, then you may lose velocity and have dust fall out if suspension in the hose. There are several threads in this forum about designing a dust collection system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 If you line the cupboard with sound insulation, you may have a problem with heat if you put a vacuum in there. If you put a shop vac in another room, you may lose too much power pulling the air through a long narrow hose. The dust deputy will also drain power. If you go with a larger duct, then you may lose velocity and have dust fall out if suspension in the hose. There are several threads in this forum about designing a dust collection system. Thanks Beechwood. I will definitely scour the site for more info regarding dust extraction. My response was purely an off the cuff one that showed "maybe" possibilities. The most likely scenario for me at the moment is to get a mobile 2 horse 4 inch extractor to just plug into any machine I have going. But this will be in a little while. At present I have the triton and also a standard house barrell vacuum cleaner that will keep me out of trouble. That will be used in conjunction with my new purelite face protection P2 blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I've been looking at powered full face respirators for a while, because I can't get a really good seal when my beard gets bushy. Let me know how you like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I've been looking at powered full face respirators for a while, because I can't get a really good seal when my beard gets bushy. Let me know how you like yours. I love the full face device. I also have a beard. It takes a little getting used to, you have to position it so that it is balanced on your head rather than letting it fall forward prior to tightening up the head clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Hi Chet. I haven't tried yet, but what I will do for you is measure the dimensions inside the center cupboard. One thing I think would be to line the inside of that area with polystyrene or similar sound deadening material as the sheet metal back and floor of the cabinet may start to resonate. Lol. I do have a triton dust collector that you put in line similar to the dust deputy and am pretty sure it would fit and then have it connected to a vacuum that could be in another room even. Chet, the cupboard dimensions are 21 x 18.5 inches in plan view, allowing for door being closed etc. and the height is 28 inches. Big enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Chet, the cupboard dimensions are 21 x 18.5 inches in plan view, allowing for door being closed etc. and the height is 28 inches. Big enough? Hmmm... not sure. Dust collecting is always such a game of give and take. A little vac will fit, but I use my Sliding Compound Miter Saw enough where I don't want to have to dump the canister all the time. Perhaps a hose from the main collector is the way to go. I do like the idea of using the cabinet as a base. I've been farting around with a new miter saw stand for sometime now and this seems like a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 By the way, where did you find this cabinet? I surfed the web and couldn't seem to find it. If you posted a link and I missed it, I apologize in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 By the way, where did you find this cabinet? I surfed the web and couldn't seem to find it. If you posted a link and I missed it, I apologize in advance. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAXIM-72-Roll-Cabinet-Toolbox-Tool-Box-Workbench-Chest-/230647148519?pt=AU_Tool_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35b3a42fe7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 That looks like a nice cabinet, Dave. Do you think you can install central vac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 That looks like a nice cabinet, Dave. Do you think you can install central vac? Maybe a small one. Here it is in the shop beside the mitre saw on the site stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 A couple of shots arriving and setting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southwood Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Look like a tough cabinet. Should gets years of use out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hi Southwood. Yes, I love all the storage it has and it is solid indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 I am getting another cabinet from the same supplier, I am that impressed with this one! Smaller unit this time, to be used as a power tool caddy and housing for my vac to wheel around the shop and generally make me feel important, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.