Any source for drawers for DIY toolbox?

[strantor]

I can expound later if needed/desired (long story), but at this moment I don't have time to go into the finer details of my plan, or the "why" behind it, but I need a toolbox configured in a manner so unconventional that nothing I can find off the shelf works for me. I need to build my own. I love metalworking; Milling/machining, welding, forging, sheet metal forming, you name it, but this isn't my typical "project just for the sake of a project" project. It is in response to an immediate need that I have, and while I would love to pour myself into custom fabrication of toolbox drawers, I really just need the drawers to appear on my doorstep so I can focus on getting the rest of the toolbox fabricated.

My first thought was just to purchase a couple of the US (LOL) General large rolling toolboxes from Harbor Freight and remove the drawers from it to build into my own design, and I may still end up doing that if this quest doesn't bear fruit, but I would like to avoid that if possible. Not that I don't like those boxes; they're actually very acceptable quality and I would have no qualms about the product itself, but the problem is the waste. I need specifically some of those drawers, but not all. After the dust settles I would have two brand new toolbox chassis missing most of the drawers, and not knowing what to do with them. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to throw them out, and neither do I have room to store two mostly-useless huge red boxes.

So I'm looking for a source of toolbox drawers. Just the drawers. and slides. This seems to be one of those search items that confounds the Google AI, so I figured I would ask a group of resourceful humans. Y'all got any leads for me? pre-fab Drawers of all shapes and sizes, with slides? I'll be tickled if you do.

Thanks!

 

[herm0016]

Workbench Options

how about the modular workbench stuff? less waste at least if you do not use the mounting, but they may speed fab work as well.

or custom plywood ? will this be portable? I would consider using wood, but that is a medium i am more familiar with manufacturing.

Baltic Plywood Dovetail Drawer Boxes

 

[joeu235]

Toolbox Trays - Lee Valley Tools

 

[Diggin It]

One problem I see with that plan is you'll only be able to choose from a set of standard sizes. Since you have a need for other than standard, you might want to reconsider making them to your needs. Drawer slides come in several sizes and configurations, so all you would need to do is cut things square and assemble them.

Buying stock sizes, working them into a combination you need and trying to make the outer box may be more involved than you think.

 

[strantor]

Workbench Options

how about the modular workbench stuff? less waste at least if you do not use the mounting, but they may speed fab work as well.

or custom plywood ? will this be portable? I would consider using wood, but that is a medium i am more familiar with manufacturing.

Baltic Plywood Dovetail Drawer Boxes

I like the drawers in your first link. They seem easy enough to implement and the price is much better than I have been able to find so far. They just don't have enough variety in drawer widths. And despite being competitively priced, they cost much more than I was planning to spend. I sent a RFQ to the Stor-Loc company today for some of their drawers (they have exactly what I was looking for), and the price they came back with was demoralizing.

Your second link is much more doable in terms of price. I hadn't considered wood, maybe I should. This toolbox will be moved in and out of doors, in and out of climate control a lot. It will be left in the weather sometimes (will have a cover to prevent direct rainfall hitting the drawers). I don't know to what extent humidity and condensation will affect wooden drawers. Also for the wider drawers, long unsupported spans of wooden drawer bottom, I don't know how much weight they will endure. I will do some research on wooden toolboxes and see if it seems viable.

Thank you.

 

[strantor]

Toolbox Trays - Lee Valley Tools

Thank you. The price is great but not enough options and no bearing slides. Unfortunately I can't make these work

 

[Diggin It]

I don't know to what extent humidity and condensation will affect wooden drawers.

It can be a LOT. High humidity can swell or warp some woods to the point of rendering a drawer unable to open or close. Don't ask me how I know. I've got a dresser I'd like to toss somewhere.

 

[strantor]

One problem I see with that plan is you'll only be able to choose from a set of standard sizes. Since you have a need for other than standard, you might want to reconsider making them to your needs. Drawer slides come in several sizes and configurations, so all you would need to do is cut things square and assemble them.

Buying stock sizes, working them into a combination you need and trying to make the outer box may be more involved than you think.

Oh I'm sure it definitely will be more involved than it seems on the surface. It always is. I've learned to never underestimate how complicated a simple affair can get. But I've made metal drawers before and I already know how complicated they are/aren't and how much time it takes to make them. To make them myself would cost me more in hourly time spent away from my paid work, than it would cost to buy them (even at the prices quoted by Stor-Loc probably). That's all I really know. I don't know if the complications arising from trying to build a box to match existing drawers would eclipse the time to fab my own, but I'm willing to take the chance.

 

[strantor]

It can be a LOT. High humidity can swell or warp some woods to the point of rendering a drawer unable to open or close. Don't ask me how I know. I've got a dresser I'd like to toss somewhere.

Ah, bad news. I was really starting to get myself excited over here thinking about it.

 

[BLSXJ]

I use a lot of Rouseau storage items at work.
Storage cabinets, tool boxes & workbenches | Rousseau Metal International

you might be able to order only drawers... and only the size you want