Alastair Young
The chest is acquired and fits as expected. My initial idea to flip the lid and use it as a slide-out chip-tray has been abandoned. The box is just too nice to bodge like that, and the top area storage is quite large and should be useful - if I can access it. A little geometry suggests that if I drop the front and rear rails of the stand as far as they will go and center the box i.e. set it back 1" from the front I should be able to open it and have the front of the lid pass inside the top rail - giving ~7" opening for access. It is unclear if this partial opening will be enough to unlock the drawers, so the locking mechanism may need to be modified. On second thought as I will generally want the lid closed to keep the chips out, I'll need to disable the lock.
Currently my machine tooling is in the general tool chest and the collets and parallels won't even fit, so a dedicated chest for the Shoptask is a very good thing.
Acquired so far
- 26 In. Single Bank Yellow Top Chest $200 https://www.harborfreight.com/26-in-Single-Bank-Yellow-Top-Chest-56230.html
- 6' of 2" x 1/8" angle $15
I purchased new steel so I can add the new rails before removing the old ones, and I don't have to be too careful cutting off the old ones.
Also to be removed is the 4x6 timber and castors I installed originally BW (Before Welder). A better way of mounting castors is also part of this project. They need to be set so that when the feet are screwed out they lift off the ground.
I also want to get out of the habit of setting down every tool I use on the piece o plywood in front of the machine where all the chips collect. So an attached tray on a swivel for "tools in use". I tried starting to use the drill press table for that - but then I need to use the drill press.
Shown below is the current state with the box placed in to get an idea of how it it will go. In the current state it can't be opened at all.
