Custom Toolbox Canopy Build

DeanH1290

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2014
4,931
410
83
33
Georgetown KY
Some background....

So about 2 weeks ago, I ordered a big new toolbox for work. I wanted to go on and get something that would last throughout the rest of my career. I ended up upsizing quite a bit, so the box I currently have was going to be a bit small. I did some looking around and couldn't find one that was the correct, or even close to, the size of my new box. Since I work at a machine/fab shop, I figured why not just build one. I wanted to document it here since there doesn't seem to be any plans or anyone really making these out of metal.

The box this will be going on is a Kennedy mfg Benchmark series. It's 45" long, 24" deep, and 44" tall. It has 8 full width drawers and 6×2 swivel lock casters. These boxes are made to order, so I'm still waiting on it to come in. Once it's here, I can get exact measurements of the top surface and really take off with the build. On to the box.

The box is going to be pretty heavy, raw material is coming in around 200lbs, but the toolbox can more than handle it. My design consists of it being 26" high (total of 70 with the other box), lockable hideaway door, waffle board for hooks, and some LED strip lighting to brighten up the work surface.

I'll start with a skeleton of 1x1 steel tubing. My plans are to machine all of the tubing to length, then weld up the entire frame and door to get it all tweaked in and make sure the door operates the way I want it to. I'll also go on and get the LED connectors layed out (more on that later). Once the frame is finished, I'll skin the outside with .060 sheet metal. All of the panels will be individually cut on the waterjet at work, and all of the seams/joints will be welded up and ground smooth. The inner panels will have a waffle board pattern cut into them and they will be bolted into the frame. This will make it easier to hide any wiring I have in the box once I get all of my stuff in it (speakers, chargers, power strip, etc). The door will swing out from the bottom and slide back into the top of the box. My design has removable delrin roller pins that allow the door to be completely removed if needed. There will be delrin rest buttons to support the door while it is tucked away. Since the door tucks up into the top of the box, the LED strips will be mounted to the backside of the door. There will be a quick connector mounted at the top of the door and the back of the box. This is so that when you open the door and push it all the way in, a connection to the light is made and it comes on. I'll be ordering a drawer pull that matches the new box, along with a matched lock, to go on the door as well. The lock mechanism will be a simple crossbar, similar to a tailgate latch. I'll finish it all off with a coat of gloss black paint to match the new box.

I'll add in pictures of my plans and progress as I go through the build. It will be pretty slow going For now, but once the new box gets in I'm hoping to move through it pretty quickly. For those of you wondering about how much all of this is going to cost, it will probably be under $300. For all of the materials I'm into it $175. The lock and drawer pull shouldn't be any more than another $50.

* Update 9/1/17

Here's a picture of my current box to give an idea of what I'm going for in the inside. The waffle board pattern will match this on so that I can purchase the proper hooks to go with it.
3ed1f5a759db845bbcc4c96719c99fff.jpg


Plans

This is the skeletal view of the side panel. The roller pin for the door will ride in between the two tubes at the top. The left of the drawing is the front of the box. This also lists the rough sizing of all of the tubing and panels.
b50c6bbe6f81521f13e8c5cc25bdbb0d.jpg


These are the accurate prints for the vertical bars since the exact box size doesn't affect these.
f9d745c372899974de7c94779e86287e.jpg


This is the lock bars and cam plate. I replicated the lock mechanism on my current box and adjusted for the additional width.
8036bc036c6563d2c8531dba09b59119.jpg


This is the roller pin assembly for the door. It consist of a roller pin, bushing, and cap plate. I'll leave a gap between the pin and the cap plate that allow the pin to rotate freely in the bushing. The cap ate will be attached with button head screws so that you can remove it and the pin to remove the door.
f3be9fef83ae89701e50841613fdd32f.jpg

7559bdf86c9c68934ef9035eb4f70eec.jpg


I'm hoping to get some of the parts above made today since they are not dependant on the box size.

* Update 9/1/17 Mid day

I was able to knock out a few parts this morning. I took care of the hinge mechanism and the door rests.

cbc6c5cc085c488b4b3220e5409db286.jpg


The hinge/roller assembled minus the tubing

5e9c1c790f132d980125f1cee82e21bb.jpg


* Update 9/2/17

I waz able to machine all of the vertical pieces of the box today along with the lock bars and cam plate to go with them. I won't be able to make any more progress until the new box comes in.

f3c652f0b717383cd78b61a0480aff86.jpg

2fa7a263d473a1933b66cdab4ea5e8cd.jpg

d967262bfa4561a94fb79e9b177dd35c.jpg

8085858b50196364291aed253c5d3c48.jpg

e776d632e2e227bdce374bfa188fc47d.jpg


* Update 10/6/17

Finally some progress! I received my new box on Monday and got everything moved over. I took all my measurements and made files to send over to the waterjet. They were able to get them cut Friday enabling me to get going with the final fabrication. I spent about 5 hours getting it all together today. Here's pictures along the way.

151a517f363d0605002f10ad83e7f10d.jpg
13c47164affb124111e2c539bbb5fbc2.jpg
9668268dcf32d4d8189396b6bf936798.jpg
fba18517a1070951b711e836b98459c4.jpg
101ca6b4584eb376621cbdd450864032.jpg


The final image is my temporary setup until I get the lock and handle in. I should be able to get them ordered Monday or Tuesday. I also have a power strip and sound bar coming from Amazon on Tuesday for it.

* Update 2/16/2018

Finally got a chance to make some notable progress on this. A few months ago I started working on welding up the seams of the box and blending them in. Today I was able to get the holes cut for the lock and door handle and got them installed. I also picked up a new under cabinet light since the led controller decided to go out. Now all that's left is to clean up the rest of the seams and paint it.
620484812a24b3dff3f26356e4b7ff21.jpg
22d7736e80ac45973fe72d20b5ce52cb.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

DeanH1290

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2014
4,931
410
83
33
Georgetown KY
For simplicity sake, I'm going to keep all of the actual updates in the OP, but I will make a corresponding post each time I update it. Feel free to ask any questions on how any of this is going to work. I'm pretty good at visualizing my ideas, but sometimes have a difficult time putting the same idea into words.

OP Updated with plans - 9/1

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

DeanH1290

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2014
4,931
410
83
33
Georgetown KY
OP Updated with more progress pictures - 9/2

I'm at a standstill until the box comes in.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

DeanH1290

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2014
4,931
410
83
33
Georgetown KY
Just a timeline update - Turns out my box is being made in Texas, so it's under a hurricane delay. They hope to ship it by the 27th, so it will probably be October before I can get moving on this again.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

DeanH1290

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2014
4,931
410
83
33
Georgetown KY
Just a bump so I don't forget about this. I have the rest of the parts in after a goof up on the lock (incorrect one was shipped) and I've just been using it as is since we got pretty busy. Here's how it's rigged up for now. The lights are just taped up for now but the back panel is how I plan on having it in there when it's finished.
418241ee9a879a029da12d8d26f20b28.jpg


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Huck