Harbor Freight 10 Drawer Tool Cart
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- Опубліковано 17 сер 2020
- This is how I built a 10 drawer out of two 5 drawers. I got the idea for this mod by finding a damages open box special at the local HFT store. I got it for a GREAT price so not a huge investment for the versatility of having the extra drawers. I love having two handles on the front as well as all four swivel casters for ease of movement.
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I love how your dog is like a student, watching and listening to you as you explain the assembly.
Take the old lid you saved and make a removable front lower cover so you can lock the lower cabinets drawers if you were working in a shop and maybe hang it on the back when using your cart . But great build cool innovative idea ...
I just bought my second orange 5 drawer cart last night I'm going to take the two smallest drawers from one and put in the other. Then the first will get the spare deep top drawer. If I get another toolbox for the house in the future I'm going to be doing this with my two carts. Excellent idea!!!!
I'm definitely doing this this weekend , this is absolutely perfect . I've been looking around for a second tool cart and wrestling on what to do as I prefer everything to be in the same box but do not want a behemoth box to wheel around the shop. Thank you for sharing this and really congratulations on this mod it's great.
Drilled out rivets on top completely. Folded front of base down. Riveted bottom to top. Cut slots for locks bars on top box. Cut bottom bars to size and added leaf springs. Rearranged drawers from small to large. This option leaves you with a complete top box and bottom shelf for roller cart. I used my top as a side load for power tools.
Good Job.
@@ScrapMetalJr thanks. Havin your handle bar relocation tho..👍
How did you deal with the center slide mount? Have pictures?
I bought 2 orange ones and stacked them but I cut openings in the top bottom box where the drawer locks are and those slip over the lower box locking tabs. Now I can lock the bottom box when lid is closed.
would you give some detail just what you did?
@@davecoolbaugh6425 I pretty much explained it already. Turn the top box upside down and cut out the bottom where the locking bars are. Your cutting out squares. Then slip your top box over the bottom box but line up the locking tabs in the openings you cut out. Then bolt everything together. Your top box will now lock your bottom box with lid closed. Check out my you tube video on how I did it. Oh and by the way I left the bottom box full setup without cutting the top off.
I just bought that same cart last Saturday, now I know what I’m doing a few weeks from now
Thank you for this great idea. I actually hated the bottom opening, but now I can “doctor” that up.
How do you lock the bottom
Bryan you can lock the bottom box by cutting squares out under the top box bottom to line up with the bottom top tabs that push down and lock the drawers. I done this on my 2 us general 5 drawer carts.
@@marksickler no bottom drawers do not lock but it’s doesn’t matter. You can put a lock on your own
@@e-ha2907 What you mean the bottom drawers don't lock? If you do it that way in the video then yes they won't lock. But my setup allows the top box to lock the bottom box.
Engenious idea Super smart. Now I want to go by another one. And what else did we learn in this video? We don’t deserve dogs. They are the best animals and friends. The dark one with grey on its face hangs by you the entire time. Never leaves. 👍🏼
Good job on the mod... I use this design cart at work as a primary box and could use a little more tool space. I had thought it would be nice to have more drawers and get rid of the open space at the bottom. The loss of the locking feature on the bottom drawers is not a problem in the shop I work in... A larger box is not for me, i sold most of my large boxes early 2020. I retired in March 2020.. the shop owner called me in late July, asked if I would come back to work part time or full time, he wanted me to just come back for a while. Again: Good job , thinking outside the box so to speak. LOL Tony
idk if you still own this kind of setup but Ive been looking at multiple videos on this mod and someone figured out how to allow the bottom locks to funtion by cutting a cupple holes where the slides go and attaching them together I've been thinking of doing this setup but I dont know if I am fully sold on it seems simple enough Ive seen 2 ways of doing them from video
I'm glad I found this video, I was thinking about doing this exact build with mine. Great video!
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for this excellent video. Very clever and clean modification. Utilizing the 4 swivel casters and both handles as you did is very clever ....and makes that cart extremely maneuverable. Probably one of the best and well thought out mods to anything I have ever seen. Those 5 drawer carts are now $200 with coupon, not $190. But still a great deal. I have that 5 drawer cart, and the 44 inch roller and top chest (older 18 inch deep version). They are both great. HF US General stuff is IMHO about the best value proposition HF has. The quality of the US General items can't be beat at that price.
Those 63 cent magnetic trays, along with the blue magnetic LED lights, small micro fiber towels and a number of other things used to be free. I guess HF had to find a way to pay for that new credit card & rewards programs some how.
I wrote this on Friday November 13th. I was the 666th "Like". I am heading for the bunker! 😱
The $189 coupon is good for the rest of the year. And that k you very much. Yes the 4 swivels makes life so much easier.
I love your carport set up! I'm doing the same thing under a 20' porch roof attached to my house.
Great job explaining, just put one of these together this morning.
Thanks again
That's badass I would have never thought of building it that way
I LOVE this idea. I need more storage at work, but I was debating a larger, less mobile tool box. THIS is what I need. And its cheaper, even if I pay full price for two carts, than the box I was looking at. I will still look for an open box deal...
Just finished doing this. Worked Great. Thank you for the informative video!!!
AWESOME HACK JUST PICK UP A SECOND ONE TODAY AFTER SEEING THIS .THIS MORNING,,IM MAKING A FLIP UP ROUTER TABLE WITH A LIFT, ILL LOOSE THE TOP RIGHT DRAW.AND WILL CLOSE IT OFF WITH THE LID MATERIAL TO CREATE A BOX TO INCLOSE THE ROUTER FOR DUST COLLECTION.. I BOUGHT THE FIRST ONE TWO WEEKS AGO ,AND HAD BEEN CONTEMPLATING THIS BUILD..BUT LIKE YOU I DID NOT LIKE THE WASTED SPACE, BELOW...IMO THANKS FOR THE POST,, SUPER GREAT IDEA..
Sold the 8 drawer one I did, the day i listed it, now I have 2 other people wanting for me to build them a 10 drawer like my (your) original
I bought another (2) 5 drawers again during Black Friday and I’m building another 10 drawer for myself then I got those two people wanting 10 drawers for themselves. All thanks to your great idea. Again I couldn’t thank you enough for this concept. I even made them watch your video to see that it’s not so easy for the average (non-handy guy) but it’s a great garage mobile tool chest with a great amount of space.
I feel like soon my personal garage is gonna have all the colors of the rainbow from people wanting me to build them one. And it’s doesn’t take much to build maybe 3-4 hours just to get it done correctly.
Finished the 2nd 10 drawer this weekend
I. made this one in yellow too
I have a car that’s blue with yellow, yellow accents brake calipers, fender stripes,
that kinda thing,
and both 10 drawers blue and yellow match the car so perfectly.
I absolutely LOVE this…. I just wish you could still lock the bottom set of drawers.
I did the modification you did, it came out great. Thank you for the idea. I give you complete credit. The only thing I did different only so I don’t get cut on the sharp edges, is I put blue electric tape after I cut the top off over the edges. Thank you again Eddie
If you didn't deburr the rough cut from the grinder cut off wheel, then I would think the metal would over time will cut its way through that tape. I personally always take the time to deburr, chamfer or round over / smooth out any surface that someone might touch in the future. I try do that with any kind of material I am working with, but I think it's especially important on metals because it's a lot easier to get a nasty cut from a sharp edge or something.
I built one this weekend, thanks for the video.
That's pretty cool. Much better use of space than stock unit. I think I'm gonna get the USG 26" top and bottom boxes.
I am all about the blue, my favorite.
Damn ingenious!! I am currently looking for an affordable tool cart for wrenching on my car, and the US General is my top pick. But I hated the wasted open space on the bottom. Your idea and video just solved my dilemma and STILL saved me money by not having to go with choice #2: a Matco cart!! THANK YOU!!
And yeah, I hate our long humid summers lol. Thankfully it's coming into wrenching weather now👍
Yup. Harbor freight's greatest weakness is the bottom tray. I need more drawers, not a giant wasted space!
How does US general compare to Yukon?
@@AZYSM it is HF's way of nudging us into a more expensive box!!!
Definitely the cool thing about US General. The cost makes this bearable and It's not like you're cutting up a $700 Snap on Cart or something!
After seeing the finished project its like a pretty cool build i like it and that would be awesome to build for sure kudos for a great finished build!!!
I like your old dog. I have an eleven year old German Shorthaired Pointer. Her face is really grey. She has another 2-3 years left in her. I try not to think about it.
Now that's cool. Just got that cart. I don't have enough tools to need more space at this point cause I still have my older larger box I got from HF before they started the current line of General boxes. My old one is not the same quality. It's a 3 box tool box and the heavy used drawers are rough and don't open or close well plus all the random stuff was running me out of space. I kept the old one for uncommonly used tools, junk drawers, kits of things like cotter pins kits, hose clamp kits, diagnostic tools older and duplicates. The stuff I use 80% of the time is in the cart to move easier.
Also you can buy the same swivel casters from HF to replace the fixed ones if someone would want. There basically identical to the swivel ones on it.
Great modification, love it, will be buying two cabinets tomorrow in white. 👍
I posted a link to your video in the comments of a video I posted. 👍
🔥that built look amazing 🤩
So I built mine, didn’t cut top off box. I was able to stack both full boxes and cut out so they both would lock just using the top lock. Bit difficult without a grinder but it worked lol. Glad I found your video great idea love my cart now.
The dog appears to be a very good apprentice.😂😂😂😂
Love the pup. Need to have a little better lighting for us old people.🤣. Great idea & informative, though.
Best mod I've seen for that cart! I may buy a second cart and do the same thing. Thanks for sharing that!
Thats awesome. Definitely will do this. Thank you Sir. ☺️
I did the same thing to a 26" top section similar to the one in the background right. My wife must have thought I was nuts cutting the top off a brand new tool box.
Already have a craftsman mid box on the bottom of my HarborFreight cart. And i thought hmm maybe i can get another used cart and put it on the bottom. Came on youtube and i guess im not the only one with the same idea. Good job.👍
Andriy _H If you dont mind, can you give me the measurements of the Craftsman mid-box that you used for the bottom? I'm thinking of getting one for my service cart. Thank you.
@@vanquishstorm3806
26 inch wide
11.5 inch tall
12 inch deep
Its an older craftsman box that i got off someone for 10$
@@ANDRIY_H Thank you for the measurements, much appreciated.
@@vanquishstorm3806 No problem.
This is so much cooler than IKEA hacks!
This would make for a great woodworkers cart... can store screws, screw guns, nail guns, nails and glues in this thing... awesome video
Great idea. I have a couple that keep for different jobs. One just for detailing and the other for electrical jobs. Then the regular one for everything else
That's pretty sweet!
Def gonna do this now great video!
Make life easier get you some new drill bits, great conversion
I already own one with a bad lid... yesss!
They should start selling 10 drawer carts like this maybe with the drawers redesigned but all locking, these boxes are great for there size. I like my 5 drawer but am adding the end cabinet soon
Awsome tool cart ...not sure if is your house in background or neighbors. But gutter needs to be cleaned and aligned....awsome build again and thanks for sharing
Ive never seen this video till today but i did this to my harborfreight cart about 3 years ago
Awesome video.....I have this box in orange and will be doing this mod to it when I get another box!
Although HBF just came out with their 34-in Full Bank 6-Drawer Service Cart @ $699 with 18,700 cu in storage space, I believe your modded double stacked 10-drawer cart @ $498 still has more cu in space and versatility.
They are $599 now, looks like sales were slow at $699. I still prefer the custom 10 drawer tool cart in this video, totally badass!!
Thats badass. I’d like to see a 4 drawer one. 🤔
Awesome idea I gotta get mine done just like that. 👍🏽
Man, I am glad I bought mine last year for 169.00, I got the kobalt blue for me and the lime green one for my son, both are series 2. Now the coupons are $219. Love those magnetic trays too. I bout 8 of those for 69¢, took me two trip though. Well worth the time and effort. It is true you go in for one thing and you come out of the store with a full bag of goodies.... Keep hustling brother!
When you figure that out please post it I’m thinking of buying a couple of tool carts do the same thing
One badass 10 drawer custom tool cart, way to go man!!
Those tool carts are now $269.99 and there's now also the Full Bank Service Cart for $599.99 (expensive) which is comparable to building your own like in this video.
I wish these carts were still $189 with coupon...
Still the best when you can buy an open box that has some damage that is going to get covered or removed anyway. Thanks for watching.
@@ScrapMetalJr
Good point!
Really nice job!!!! Now you got me thinking if this will also work with 2 4 drawer carts.
I was measuring them up and I think it can be done with out the cutting. Going to try once I get a second 4drawer that I can use.
On some models four of the Nyloc nuts for the gas struts do not come in your hardware kit. They are already there to protect the threads, forcing you to remove and reinstall them. These can be very confusing since the manual does not distinguish the different kinds of nuts and the hardware counts will appear all wrong until you get to that step.
that is one really nice tool cabinet . two thumbs up
Thanks 👍
…and don’t forget the secret shelf between the two boxes, accessible by taking out the bottom shelf from the top box. ;) It even has a mat so people don’t hear your secret stuff banging around in there. :D
I have been looking at similar mods and things I would change is cut the whole top off the bottom box to use as a side cabinet, you can Revit the lock rails if the 2 boxes together so all drawers lock and also swap the deep drawer with 2 small drawers to have 4 on one box and 6 on the other.
That is awesome!. I'd want to put pneumatic casters so i can drag it over gravel and rough surfaces!
Tempted to do this with a four drawer on the bottom and a five drawer on top of it. I have three carts right now, two five drawers and one four drawer. Got to get a tape measure out.
The four-door cart is about an inch wider and a little bit shallower it does not fit within the confines of the five drawer cart without cutting the legs doesn't work as well as one would hope
Wow !!! Great idea 💡 !!! Gonna get me another Green 5 drawer box so i can add to mine
Awesome idea. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the side trays more stable when in use?
No, sorry
I wonder if the two little drawers next to the little deep drawer are swapable, I’d try to put two little deep drawers in the bottom cart and then have 4 little drawers at the top chest
I have seen where one guy totally rearranged the drawers but said it was a royal pain. The correct rivets were the hardest parts to find.
Good content, thanks for sharing dude
Thank you very much! I already had one of these carts that my tool collection had dwarfed and thought that getting the the 26" -7 drawer cabinet would at least get me to a point where there was at least a resemblance of organization. However, I discovered after getting it home that there were too many tools that wouldn't fit in the thin drawers. Adding the top chest, wouldn't fix that problem, because it is just more shallow drawers. After looking at tool boxes and carts for 2 days, I had concluded that I was just going to have to settle for the US General "Full Service Cart"...knowing that with nothing but deep drawers, smaller tools would inevitably end up lost.
...but what I really want to know, is how you keep all those carts clean and shiny? Do you wax and wash them? ...because the humidity in Houston makes everything outside and even in my garage sweat and mildew. Is that not the same if Fla?
I am glad this helped. Yes they get dusty and dirty. I wipe them down every now and again. I hope to build a shop this year. I need more subs to start making videos pan out.
Would you still be able to get to the bolts to replace casters? Or is the bottom box in the way
Whoa you’re a brave man leaving all those tool chests outside. Looks good though.
Can you still lock the bottom side?
Holy shit that’s awesome!!
How tall are you? I’m curious as to the reach into the top box and functionality of the side trays
It is only 6 inches taller than a stock box. I feel it is more comfortable.
I wish I actually had the patience to make that cart cuz it actually seems like a really good cart
Very cool. Not sure if it could be done but if the the four long drawers could be on the bottom part and the other three small drawers on the top part of the box.
It can be done but it takes a lot more fab work. The center support has to be extended down and rivets to install all the slides.
@MakoPatrol22
Here is a way you can add the second lid to the side using your spare pieces in a similar fashion to how @Apon 1 Tech has his lid side-mounted on his stacked cart:
You still have your spare cart bottom from the second cart. Take that and your cut-off top.
Take the back section of the top, where the hinge mounts to the remnant of the top storage area and slide that piece inside your spare bottom tray, aligning your remaining bolt holes with the top holes in the lower tray. (You may want to add about 7 rivets, spaced between the hinge rivet positions, to give extra support to attaching the hinge piece to the body of the lower tray)
You will also want to remove the lock from the front of the remnant and use the scrap as a template to drill out the hole to install the lock cylinder to the spare bottom tray. Take your spare 90° pieces that are made for the inside of the corners on the top storage area and install on the OUTSIDE of the corners of the lower tray. This effectively "recreates" your top storage area as a complete assembly.
Then use the perimeter bolt holes meant for the caster mounting holes of your repurposed cart bottom to mount it to your upright rails, with the hinge vertically on the rear side (make sure it's low enough to still clear the lid when closed).
(The top corner holes will align with the lower of the 2 top chest vertical mounting holes)
You will also need to grind away (at least partly) the protruding lip on the bottom that is meant for aligning the caster mounting flanges, in order to not interfere with the side of your box. (You should only need to grind off the portion of the lip that would be in line with the caster mounts, as the rest should fit inside the upright rails of the cart)
The only things to note are:
1. that the lock is what will keep this new cabinet closed
And
2. The factory lid handle may not clear the vertical side handles on the cart
There are a few solutions to the first "issue"
Since the stock key is a barrel lock style, the key can't simply be left in (but in the unlocked position) when in use. So you COULD install a typical tooth-key style lever-lock cylinder from a hardware store (since the hole for the cylinder has to be added either way), if you would like the solution of unlocking the door when access is needed, leaving the key hanging in the cylinder (key could be removed and locked in the lid of the cart when the box is locked up).
Another possible solution is to install magnetic cabinet door retainers in the corners to retain the door in the closed position while the latch is unlocked.
(It's very possible you could glue the Harbor Freight rectangle block magnets in place in the corners of the cabinet to retain the door in the same way)
As far as the handle not clearing you can simply leave off the factory lid handle as there is enough lip to pull to open.
Other possible options could be:
Drilling a matching set of holes on the top of the lid rather than the lip face in order to mount the handle to the "top" to pull open.
Or
Using one or both of the holes for the factory handle screws to mount a lower profile drawer pull of some type from a hardware store that may clear.
This is great! You should take off the 2 fixed casters and put the swivel ones from the 2nd cart and have all 4 swivels for easier rolling around and all 4 locks
I did. It's in the video
@@ScrapMetalJr my bad, I hate when people don’t watch my vids and say something that was addressed in the video.... sorry.
No worries. I know it was a long one. Most people didn't finish it either.
Simply Amazing! Thank you 😊
Do you think this would work with the older style before these new models ? I have two I really want to combine them now
I am not familiar with the first generation. I'm sure they should be similar to be able to do it though.
I did this conversion and love the outcome! Thanks for figering it out ahead of time.
I seem to have gotten some filings from cutting top of cabinet in the drawer slide bearing. Tried blowing out with air, but still drawers dont slide smooth. Thoughts? Thanks
My thoughts would be that the grease is holding the grit. Clean with brake cleaner, air blow dry and out then regrease.
Damn that’s a bad ass idea. Awesome job! 👍
I finished the 8 drawer, I had to do some crazy alterations. I just went crazy with self tapping screws. All the mods wasn’t lining up and my patience ran away. I feel like the self tappers made it real solid. All the drawers open right and nothing was lining up like that 5 drawer. But at least it’s done. Thank you again for this great idea. I wish I could show you a pic
Do you know if I could do the same thing with a 4 drawer and a 5 drawer
I think that 10 drawer is a bit high to use well
The difference between the two cabinets will keep the 4 and 5 drawers from working together. I have seen were more was cut and kept it at stock height.
Maybe I missed it but Were you able to retain the locking function of the lower assembly by connecting it to the uppers locking mechanism?
Unfortunately not but I didn't need it to. I'm sure it can be done with some welding and relocate the lock assembly.
If you do a follow up with a fix for the lower par locking I would definitely be interested
I will have to think about that design. Not sure yet.
Maybe a little royal blue paint on those edges and then perfect.
Question, Would it be very difficult to rearrange the drawers you think? I was thinking about moving the two smaller drawers to the top and move the single half size drawer from the top into their spot.
It is possible and has been done. It's just time consuming and you will need a rivet gun and some small rivets to reinstall the drawer slides in the correct places.
Very nice. Will make one. Lots of used carts for sale.
I am about to start this mod. Couldn't I bolt the top support rails into the upper holes. Which would keep me from cutting the top off the bottom chest, but leave a gap between the two chests. The gap could be used to store paperwork, laptop ect.
Great job
Thank you, I have been looking for a build video for a friend.
Genius!
The main issue is since you cut the top off of the bottom box, you`ve eliminated the lock, so now you cannot lock the bottom drawers. There is a full bank service cart available.
Thinking of doing this myself but was wondering if you used the 4 draw roll cart instead so you could still be able to lock it?
They are dimensionally different. Once I fix my welder I might make a addon video about the locks. Maybe
@@ScrapMetalJr thats what I thought, I will be watch for that video. Thank you.
That really came out well and looks as if purchased as one unit!
Really nice job. I’ve got two ideas maybe you’d want to try out. First, would the extra lid work as a larger tray, either on the side in place of one of your existing trays, or off the back? Second, do you think there is a workable way to create access to the area that was originally under the flip top of the bottom box? Perhaps you could cut a wide access hole in the front so some long tools could be kept in there? I apologize if you addressed any of that in the video, I didn’t have enough time to watch it all straight through, so I skipped ahead at times.
Thank you for watching. Yes it is long. I tried to make it shorter but felt I may miss something important. I contemplated cutting a door in front and hinge it on the bottom for access. And maybe s magnet to keep it closed but my metal working skills leave a bit to be desired. As for the spare lid I had the thought of hinging on the side and flip it sideways for a shelf but back to the metal working. Plus I didn't want to try to match the color to touch up all the cuts.
MakoPatrol22 thanks for the response. Looking forward to your future videos.
This man is a genius 💯
Is it possible to put the full width drawers all in the top cart section and put all the 1/2 width drawers on the bottom cart section?
Yes that has been done by others. That requires a lot more fabrication and rearranging.
With the 4 legs you do flip those upside down?
you can put strip magnet on the box inside rear, and eliminate the draws lock system, so the draws don't open when moving , top box only
They retain the finger latches and remain closed until released.
So, how do you lock the drawers on the bottom part?
I don't. There is a way to do it but it involves welding the locking bars together. I don't lock my boxes as I do t work in a shop.
Nice Job 👍
Can somebody please tell me how to put together the back security locking bars.
Please. Currently working on this build and need it
Good Work 👍👍
How did you make all the drawers lock with one mechanism
Pretty clever... Is it possible to change out the top deeper drawer with the middle two smaller drawers?
It has been done by a couple of others. It requires moving some metal around and re-riveting the drawer slides. Lots of work they said. Not necessarily worth it.
How did you get the bottom box to lock?