Building a cart/box/whatever to hold metal parts boxes, 5 to be exact. These boxes will hold machine screws, nut, bolts, washers, etc from 0-80 to 3/4-10. Accordingly it will be a good size box, about 18" deep, 42" wide. and (approx) 50+ inches high, and quite heavy when loaded.
Which leads me to the question - it will ride on 4 - 4" casters which will be attached to angle iron at the ends of the box, allowing the box to sit between the casters instead of on top, but how far from the floor? Flat and level concrete floor would probably allow only an inch or two clearance, but rough uneven floors might not be so workable.
According to the design, it I put the casters under the box, it's 5-1/2" off the floor, and I'm trying to keep the height down so I don't need a step stool to see in the drawers. Good news is the individual drawers have lids and can be removed from the rack. So, what say, how much clearance?
Personally I would go with having the casters under the cabinet. My machinist tool box is 57 inches to the lip of the lid. It is also just as heavy as the rolling bolt bins we have at work.
Having the wheels extend beyond the cabinet presents a tripping hazard. Yes many rolling machine bases have extended wheels, however many of those machine have a larger table area which means there is still toe room. Your parts bin will not, plus if you drop a bolt and it rolls under the bin, much easier to retrieve with a bit more floor clearance. You get something jammed under there with only an inch or two of clearance may create some problems.
Can you go to an inch smaller caster and still be good on your load rating? A 3 inch cast iron swivel caster by Shepard Hardware is rated for 250lbs each. A 3 inch caster will not roll as easy as a 4 inch caster, but it would lower you overall height by 1.25 inch.
1-1/8 inch wide x 3 inch diameter cast iron silver wheel with heavy duty ball bearing swivel and plate mount
3 inch x 4 inch plate with 3-3/4 inch clearance height
250-lb load capacity
1-1/4 inch wide x 4 inch diameter cast iron silver wheel with heavy duty ball bearing swivel and plate mount
4 inch x 5 inch plate with 5 inch clearance height
500-lb load capacity
Building a cart/box/whatever to hold metal parts boxes, 5 to be exact. These boxes will hold machine screws, nut, bolts, washers, etc from 0-80 to 3/4-10. Accordingly it will be a good size box, about 18" deep, 42" wide. and (approx) 50+ inches high, and quite heavy when loaded.
Which leads me to the question - it will ride on 4 - 4" casters which will be attached to angle iron at the ends of the box, allowing the box to sit between the casters instead of on top, but how far from the floor? Flat and level concrete floor would probably allow only an inch or two clearance, but rough uneven floors might not be so workable.
According to the design, it I put the casters under the box, it's 5-1/2" off the floor, and I'm trying to keep the height down so I don't need a step stool to see in the drawers. Good news is the individual drawers have lids and can be removed from the rack. So, what say, how much clearance?
Personally I would go with having the casters under the cabinet. My machinist tool box is 57 inches to the lip of the lid. It is also just as heavy as the rolling bolt bins we have at work.
Having the wheels extend beyond the cabinet presents a tripping hazard. Yes many rolling machine bases have extended wheels, however many of those machine have a larger table area which means there is still toe room. Your parts bin will not, plus if you drop a bolt and it rolls under the bin, much easier to retrieve with a bit more floor clearance. You get something jammed under there with only an inch or two of clearance may create some problems.
Can you go to an inch smaller caster and still be good on your load rating? A 3 inch cast iron swivel caster by Shepard Hardware is rated for 250lbs each. A 3 inch caster will not roll as easy as a 4 inch caster, but it would lower you overall height by 1.25 inch.
1-1/8 inch wide x 3 inch diameter cast iron silver wheel with heavy duty ball bearing swivel and plate mount
3 inch x 4 inch plate with 3-3/4 inch clearance height
250-lb load capacity
1-1/4 inch wide x 4 inch diameter cast iron silver wheel with heavy duty ball bearing swivel and plate mount
4 inch x 5 inch plate with 5 inch clearance height
500-lb load capacity
As you install the casters with room for them to swivel underneath, the distance between wheel centers that carry the load will be about 16" , quite narrow for a heavy box over 50" high. AND when you pull out a drawer laden with heavy bolts, you have just changed the load to the drawer side making it even more tippy. Two drawers pulled out? Forget it!
As you install the casters with room for them to swivel underneath, the distance between wheel centers that carry the load will be about 16" , quite narrow for a heavy box over 50" high. AND when you pull out a drawer laden with heavy bolts, you have just changed the load to the drawer side making it even more tippy. Two drawers pulled out? Forget it!
The casters extend front and back of the cabinet, not side to side, forming a base approximately 28" X 48" for a cabinet that is 18" by 45". All my machines are on casters, and most of them have extended bases. I know those casters sticking out somewhat could potentially cause a stubbed toe, (mine are all painted red), but it beats tipping something heavy over.
As to toe room, I have yet to walk up to any of my cabinets, machines, or tool boxes and put my toes under them. Just me I guess.
Bottom line I want to keep the top of the cabinet as low as possible without too much compromise.
Overall it worked out, I can put the casters underneath, and the top drawer is still below eye level. Now to paint and add casters. Casters will still go on angle iron and protrude from front of cabinet the minimum necessary to swivel freely. Couple more internal plywood braces to be added, then 3/8" plywood back installed. It's getting there.
Just a quick update - casters are on, lots of clearance, and top of box is at nose level. Next step is to paint the inside and add the plywood back, then install the cabinets, Last pic is just another shot of my "ugly bench", in use. Turned out to be even more handy than I thought it would be - woodworking, metal working, whatever. :grin:
Just a quick update - casters are on, lots of clearance, and top of box is at nose level. Next step is to paint the inside and add the plywood back, then install the cabinets, Last pic is just another shot of my "ugly bench", in use. Turned out to be even more handy than I thought it would be - woodworking, metal working, whatever. :grin:
Thats a pretty interesting looking clamping table in the bottom picture. Whats the core function it was built for, looks like it had fold down wings of sorts at the base or just a hold down on the side.
Shelf folds up (on the back side in the pic), the circular part you see is a lazy susan table that clamps on top when needed. I find myself using it for far more than I thought I would. Here's the build thread: https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/ugly-design-work-bench-215679/
The rest of the internal bracing is in, inside painted, and cabinets installed. Left remaining is the top and outside painting. Functional as is, bottom grey cabinet is full, working on the others, Lots of sorting to do. Like the Lawson cabinets (brown) better than the Chromate ones, they seem a little better built, and the drawers interchangeable between the cabinets, whereas some of the Chromate ones wont fit in right cabinet, but fit OK in the left one. Quality control problem I guess. Not a problem, because the drawers won't be moving around between cabinets, and not often even removed from the cabinet.
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