Custom DIY Workboxes

[Silas Pradetto]

In another thread I detailed my ideas about building new trunks, which I haven't gotten to yet, but I decided that I'm also going to build myself a new set of workboxes.

You might have seen my 24x48" workbox for sale in the Marketplace, and while it works fine, it's just too big. I need something sleeker that is more trailer-pack friendly (my trailer is exactly 3/4 of the width of a 90" truck, so 22.5" quarter-pack things work really well).

I have decided that my new preferred trunk footprint is going to be 22.5" x 30", and this will be the same for my workbox. I'm planning on placing a big Penn Fab order and making this workbox like the real deal - not something homemade.

Here's the plan: it's going to have 5 drawers on nice ball-bearing slides that either self-close or lock closed, and I'd like them to lock open as well. The drawers will be 9" high to accommodate microphones standing up, and the piles of cables I have to put in them.

The poll refers to how should I situate the drawers, on a long side or a short side? Said another way, should they be wider and shallower or deeper and skinnier? I fear that if I put them the wide/shallow way that the workbox might be unstable with several drawers pulled out.

I also plan to make the front cover come off and turn into a table.

If anyone has any feedback, sources for materials other than Penn Fab, or recommended drawer slides, please let me know. This plan is going to happen in the next couple weeks at the longest.

 

[Brian Bolly]

Re: Custom DIY Workboxes

Here's the plan: it's going to have 5 drawers on nice ball-bearing slides that either self-close or lock closed, and I'd like them to lock open as well. The drawers will be 9" high to accommodate microphones standing up, and the piles of cables I have to put in them.

The poll refers to how should I situate the drawers, on a long side or a short side? Said another way, should they be wider and shallower or deeper and skinnier? I fear that if I put them the wide/shallow way that the workbox might be unstable with several drawers pulled out.

I would vote for skinny and deep drawers, so that you can make the front door hinged with a table that sits IN the door (see below). But, with regards to how they drawers are loaded think about the dimensions below.

+22.5" outside width
- 1" assuming 1/2" case construction
- 1" for slides @ 1/2" width each
- 1" figuring 1/2" ply for drawer construction
----------------------
= 19.5" width interior of each drawer.

+30" outside depth
- 1" assuming 1/2" construction
- 5" of a door/lid
- 1" figuring 1/2" ply for drawer construction
---------------------
= 23" depth interior of each drawer

+45 (9" drawer interior height x 5)
+2.5" (1/2" ply for drawer bottom x5)
+0.75" (0.125" space above/below each drawer)
+1" assuming 1/2" construction
+0.75" for a caster plate
+5.25" for 4" dia. casters
-----------------
= 55.25" overall height for the case

So a drawer that's 19.5" x 23" x 9" which is a BIG drawer, and loaded with cables it will be pretty damn heavy. And if you go with 3/8" construction the interior dimensions of the drawer will be even bigger. The drawer slides that P/E sells are 77 lb/pr load capable, and although TCH has 100lb/pr and 250lb/pr slides, how heavy do you want to make this workbox?

I also plan to make the front cover come off and turn into a table.

I'd make it so the table rides IN the door instead of having the table BE the door. This way your door is on hinges and the workbox can be shut (and locked, if need be) and you can still have a work table. Take a look at these guys for table ideas. Basically the lid just needs to be deep enough to accommodate table legs. http://www.olycase.com/trunks-workboxes.html

If you look at the black workbox, imagine that door minus the 3 shelves in the middle. The table fits such that you load it into the door towards the top first, and then it sits on the bottom of the door. The table is probably 1-2" shorter than the interior height of the door so that it can slide in and rest against that upper brace while being held in place with that lower L-shaped piece of aluminum. So you still end up with a table that's about 20"W x 48"L.

Penn-Elcom has a nice telescoping table leg assembly (P/N 9967) that would work well for anything between a desk that you could sit down at to a tall guitar workstation.

 

[Silas Pradetto]

Re: Custom DIY Workboxes

The old workbox was about 600 pounds loaded, and each drawer easily had over 50 pounds of stuff in it, and the drawers were just wood dragging on aluminum angle...no slides at all. So I'm prepared for it to be heavy; that's not a big deal. I'm thinking that the cover could be 4 to 5 inches deep, but the drawers could extend into the cover, making them a bit deeper.

The other thought is a slam-latch lid...not 100% sure how to implement that one though.

I really like the 'table inside the cover' idea, with a hinged cover that could also come off. Workboxes contain lots of small, precious items and security is a really good thing.