Cabinet for mill tooling?

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Lucas E

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I'm looking for a metal storage cabinet to store mill tooling as well as other odds and ends. I'm trying to determine what gauge sheet metal the unit needs to be made of to hold up to the weight. I plan to store a 5" vise, 8" rotary table, 3" 3 way adjustable vise, 5" and 6" lathe chucks, and other lighter mill tooling. I would obviously plan to spread the heavier items out across multiple shelves, but am having a hard time figuring out how heavy duty of a cabinet I need. The stronghold at 12 gauge steel I'm sure would handle the weight, but it seems like overkill, and also very expensive. They also only come in 24" deep and I think it prefer 18" deep. Does anyone have any recommendations for a quality cabinet for this type of storage? I see lots of brands like u-line, Sandusky, Durham, etc.. and I can compare the specs, but without seeing the cabinets in person, or what additional bracing they have it's tough to tell if they would be up to the task. Picture for reference. I'm looking for something around 36-48" wide 18" deep, and like 72" tall.

I know I want a welded unit and not a bolt together "assembly required" unit as they are usually flimsy.
 

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IMO , the U-lines are trash . Just threw a ton of them in the dumpster at work . Heavy duty flammable cabinets are well built , but don't know what they go for .
 
mmcmdl said:
IMO , the U-lines are trash . Just threw a ton of them in the dumpster at work . Heavy duty flammable cabinets are well built , but don't know what they go for .
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I've seen a few offered for sale locally on the used market. I have never been able to get over the color, but I may have to if I can find one cheap and they're are sturdy as you say they are.
 
Firebrick43 said:
Don't get a storage cabinet like that, so much wasted space. Get a used lista or vidmar. 400 lbs per drawer.
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I'm working a deal on a lista, but plan to use it for hardware and smaller items. I need the cabinet for consumables anyway, and it seems like it would be beneficial to just get a heavy duty one and be able to use it for multiple types or storage.
 
We had strongholds at work, but used them for storing power tools and lifting devices and such. All tooling, even big cat 50 tool holders, vises, and such were in listas.

They make a snap on tool box feel cheap.
 
If you can't find a cabinet with sufficiently heavy shelves for the big stuff, you could always reinforce those shelves with a shop made solution and skin the cat that way. I have successfully done that in tool box drawers were I wanted to store chucks and vises and short metal stock.
 
Firebrick43 said:
We had strongholds at work, but used them for storing power tools and lifting devices and such. All tooling, even big cat 50 tool holders, vises, and such were in listas.

They make a snap on tool box feel cheap.
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I'm familiar with listas and would love to get a hold of 2 full height units, 1 with 10 drawers and 1 with 4-5 drawers. I havent seen many around here for sale that arent beat to hell.

Strongholds seem like overkill for just power tools. The 48" wide unit has a per shelf rating of 1500 lbs, and the 36" is 2200 lbs. But I guess that's how manufacturing facilities like to do things. I just wish they'd rotate them out more often!
 
ConValSam said:
If you can't find a cabinet with sufficiently heavy shelves for the big stuff, you could always reinforce those shelves with a shop made solution and skin the cat that way. I have successfully done that in tool box drawers were I wanted to store chucks and vises and short metal stock.
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I have considered adding plywood to the shelves to increase the capacity, but I'd also like a unit that doesn't wobble all over the place when you open the doors. Since I'm starting from scratch I figure it's better to just get what I need from the start. There's a number of the office quality units available for $100 around here, but after looking at a few i know I want a more industrial unit.
 
Lucas E said:
I'm familiar with listas and would love to get a hold of 2 full height units, 1 with 10 drawers and 1 with 4-5 drawers. I havent seen many around here for sale that arent beat to hell.
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The Vidmars , listas are 30" deep which for me is not a problem . I'll attest to their strength also . If you were closer , you'd have what you're looking for . :)
 
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