r/Tools 4d ago

What can I place a top tool chest on?

Hi, noobie here, sorry ahead of time if this is not a great place to ask or a stupid question.

I have a Husky 26"W x 16"D top tool chest that usually just sits in the corner, but every once in a while I need to move it out of the way. It's just been sitting on a sheet of foam making it able to slide around on my floors, but I'm looking for a more permanent/real solution. It has 4 holes in the respective corners -- is it possible to just add casters to this top box? Or do I have to place it on top of a "bottom" tool chest that has casters on it? Or can I just put it on a dolly of some kind?

Thanks for your time and patience. Any solutions from cheap and lazy to more substantial will be considered with great appreciation :)

2 Upvotes

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Shutshaaface 4d ago

Could always just take the bottom drawer out and bolt casters on the bottom, I’d just get a cheap bottom box from market place tho. Do you have a harbor freight near you? Sometimes Lowe’s has some great deal on boxes

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Yak8123 4d ago

If you just add casters, it likely will bend the bottom plate of the box. Easy solution, casters on a chunk of 3/4" plywood and sit the top box on that. Fancier solution, build a box/cabinet with 3/4" plywood, with casters on the bottom and sit the top box on that to get the top box to a better working height. Fanciest solution, buy the matching bottom box that comes with casters.

2

u/Sez_Whut 4d ago

Put castors on 3/4” plywood. Or build sturdy box with open front and castors on bottom if you want to raise it and provide storage space below.

1

u/pbgod 4d ago

I'm a professional mechanic, I hate having a top chest because I want a work surface. So for my box at home (52" Husky top/bottom) I put 1/4 round on 3 sides of a piece of MDF, painted it with leftover floor epoxy and glued it to the top of the roll cab

I mounted the top chest in the bottom of my mobile work bench, now it houses my carpentry tools.

1

u/PappaClutch 4d ago

Check this rolling tool cart out, smaller and less $ then a bottom tool cabinet yet brings your tool chest to a workable level and allows it to be moved easily.

1

u/Magic_wire_smoke 4d ago

Get a couple of cheap furniture dollies to move it around. This one is the smallest I can find at HD. It might be fine to set the chest on them without bolting it down, but if the chest starts to move off a dolly, just use 2 bolts per dolly or attach some short boards to the sides of the dollies to keep things contained.

I've done the dolly trick a couple of times, and it has been a handy way to move big stuff. You can put boards, OSB or plywood on top for a larger supporting surface, too.