So, god willin an the creek don't rise, we're about to get our first house. We've submitted an offer and we're waiting to see if it's going to be accepted. One of the nice things about the new place is that it includes a separate workshop in addition to the 2-car garage under the house. This is great for me because I'm a mechanic and I own my own shop. I'll have about a 25' commute to work.
The thing I'm dreading most is moving the workshop from the place it is now to the new place. My woodworking tools are actually going to be easy to move because it's all stuff that was designed to be used on-site anyway, with the exception of the BIG bandsaw. However, my mechanic's tools are an entirely different story. After asking on GJ, I've been convinced to empty the rolling tool chests before I attempt to move them. Additionally, I've realized I have more stationary tools that no longer have shipping boxes than I thought I did. So, I need to build some tool crates out of wood to move all this stuff. I need two things, really: custom fit crates for moving specific stationary tools and a bunch of generic crates so I can dump out each drawer the rolling tool chests into its own crate and load that separately from the rolling chest itself.
The two factors that are really dogging me on this are money and time. When this gets rolling, I'm not going to be able to devote a week to making crates. I need to keep the shop up and running (to keep making money) until the last possible moment, then crate everything as quickly as possible and haul ass to the new place. The other issue is cost. We don't have a lot of money, as I'm sure anyone that's self-employed in this economy can relate to. These crates have got to be CHEAP. I think if I go over $5 per crate (1 crate being one drawer's worth), I'm going to be out of money before I'm out of drawers. That rules out basically all the woodworking methods of box making I know of, since I do furniture and fancy stuff as a hobby, not rough-n-ready industrial things. :lol: The really low-end stuff I can think of (cheap crates made of lathe and staples like you get some HF tools in) wouldn't hold a drawer full of sockets without the bottom falling out.
So, does anyone know of a construction design and materials that will allow me to make a bunch of crates cheaply and in a short amount of time?
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