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Over the past weekend I was able to finish up another tool box cleanup/restoration, this one also having been one of my stepfatherβs. I was able to get a bit of the history of the box, as my mom was the person who purchased it as a birthday gift for back in November of 2002. To say that it presented a challenge might be an understatement. Physically, the box was not in horrible shape. The hinge was a touch askew, a few of the drawer slides were bent, and there were dents on the lid and on the base, but those werenβt the real issues.
When I first brought the box home I was surprised at how heavy it was, even when emptied out. The sheet metal is of a much heavier gauge than I first thought, in particular with the drawers being very beefy. The box was very dirty, as in coated with a film of grime and dust held on with a coating of machine oil. It was also covered in stickers (please donβt put stickers on your tool boxβ¦use magnetic stuff instead) This layer of grime was a problem, because it hid a troublesome layer of rust and made the rest of the box look otherwise deceivingly healthy.
The first thing I did after taking the box apart was vacuuming out any of the dirt that I could, Then the box got a bath with Dawn and a scrub brush, which at the least made me feel better about handling it without getting goo all over my clothes. I then removed the drawers and decorative drawer pull covers, scrubbing them down with Dawn as well. Thankfully, the drawers were mostly in good condition, with only a bit of surface rust in two of the smaller top drawers and the corner of the bottom drawer. But, like many things in life, bringing the box out into the light of day coupled with a thorough cleaning revealed the true nature of the beast, namely a layer of very heavy rust on the toolbox bottom.
I was able to knock out the dent at the bottom easily enough with a rubber mallet (the one on the lid was a bit more of a challenge) , but the rust was so bad that I very nearly decided against attempting the restoration, and if the gauge of the steel had been lighter it probably wouldnβt have been fixable. But, because the box belonged to my step dad, I soldiered on. Just like the smaller box I restored, I soaked this one in rust remover and in WD40 for several days, then came the long, arduous task of grinding and sanding away the rust so it could be painted. (There are more details in the video pasted below).
Β The box when I first brought it home. There was makeshift clasp attached to the upper left corner that I removed before the photo was taken (hence the holes)
The bottom of the tool box after nearly 2 days of soaking and several hours of grinding and sanding.
A look at the front of the box with the drawers and some of the stickers removed. There is a small hole visible under the lock that was covered by a sticker..not sure why or how the hole got thereβ¦
The box after some initial cleaning, grinding, and sanding. Some of the holes are filled in with the first application of epoxy.
The first coat of paint applied. After this coat I applied a bit more epoxy to better fill in the screw holes.
The finished tool box. 3 coats of paint, holes filled, drawer pulls polished.
There was unfortunately no magical transition, and Cinderella didnβt just turn into a princess with the snap of a fingerβ¦.it just took a lot, and I mean a lot of elbow grease. Removing the stickers and residue was particularly gruelingβ¦once againβ¦donβt put stickers on anythingβ¦they eventually wear out end up looking like hell. The drawer fronts were painted with a gloss black spray paint/primer combo, which I used because it was handy. But the rest of the box I painted with a Rust-Oleum paint/primer in the Hammered Black color, which I was very pleasantly surprised with. I chose Hammered Black because on the can it was advertised that it would mask slight imperfections, and I must say it did a pretty good job in that regard.
There are many details that I am leaving out that are made more clear in the video (that I hope you might watch). As of writing the post I am still in the process of lining the drawers. I was also able to purchase replacement keys from eBay for the box. Though I applied three coats of paint, I will also be on the lookout for any required touch ups, as there is always something that gets missed. But, all of the drawers workβ¦the lock and release latches are functioningβ¦the rust is all gone and there are no glaring dents or dingsβ¦the lid opens and closes much more smoothlyβ¦if anything else it is a functioning toolbox again that should last another 20 years.
The bottom line is that this box probably wasnβt as well cared-for as it could have been, but I am glad that I took the trouble, and it was trouble, to get it cleaned up and looking half-decent again. That being said, if I came across another box in the same condition I very likely wouldnβt touch it. We learn from experienceβ¦
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A while back, I built a camera stand for my shop that worked pretty well. It held cameras and lights, moved up and down smoothly, and rolled around the shop. The first version was good β maybe 75% of what I wanted β but I knew it could be better. I donβt usually revisit old projects, but this one seemed worth another look since other creators might find it useful. Plus, I had some ideas on how to fix the wobble issues that had been bugging me.
The biggest problem with the first version was stability. Every time I adjusted the camera position, the whole thing would shake and take forever to settle down. The wobble came from two main sources: the wheels at the base and the connection where the aluminum extrusion met the plywood base. I also had some space issues with the base β I was using concrete pavers for weight, which took up a lot of room, and the open storage tray was constantly filling with sawdust. To top it off, the counterweight design was dangerous β it stuck out too far and almost destroyed my camera a couple times.
I started the redesign from the ground up, literally. Instead of the old plywood base with pavers, I had SendCutSend make me a half-inch steel plate with all the mounting holes pre-drilled. Itβs actually heavier than all the concrete was, but takes up way less space. I also added a universal mobile base with retractable casters, so I can drop the whole thing right onto the floor when I need it to stay put. The combination made the base much more stable and easier to move around.
For the vertical post, I tried a few things to reduce the wobble. First, I got a single long piece of aluminum extrusion instead of joining shorter pieces. Then I tried filling the channels with hickory dowels to dampen the movement. That didnβt help much, so I ended up doubling up the extrusion β bolting two pieces side by side. This made a huge difference in stability. The camera still moves when you bump it, but it settles down much faster than before.
I completely redesigned the counterweight system to keep it from sticking out and threatening my camera equipment. Now itβs just a big piece of steel attached directly to the mounting plate. During this part of the build, I had to cut down some bolts to size, which gave me a chance to share a useful shop tip. When you need to cut a bolt shorter, thread a nut onto it past where youβll make the cut. After cutting, unscrew the nut β itβll clean up the damaged threads as it comes off, making it much easier to use the bolt in your project. Itβs one of those simple tricks that saves a lot of headache.
The power system got a complete overhaul too. Instead of keeping all my batteries and chargers in the base, I mounted a battery backup right to the column. It can run both the camera and monitor via USB, plus charge other accessories. Managing all those cables could have been a mess, but this is where having a 3D printer really paid off. I designed some custom cable clips that slide into the extrusion channels and hold everything neatly in place. Being able to create custom parts like this whenever I need them has changed how I approach problem-solving in the shop.
This whole project got me thinking about why learning to use CAD software like Autodesk Fusion is so valuable. Every custom part on this build β from the cable clips to the battery mount β started as an idea that I could test and refine before printing anything. When youβre working on projects like this, being able to design and print custom parts saves tons of time compared to trying to modify off-the-shelf solutions or make everything by hand. Itβs become such an important part of my workflow that I actually created an online course to teach others how to use Fusion, especially folks whoβve never done any 3D modeling before. If you want to learn more about learning to 3D model for your own projects, check it out here.
The new version isnβt perfect, but itβs definitely better than the original. If I were to build it again, Iβd probably start with bigger, thicker extrusion or maybe even use steel tube for the vertical post. But all these small improvements added up to make something that works better than before. Sometimes thatβs the key to improving a project β not one big change, but a bunch of little ones that solve specific problems. The stand is more stable, more functional, and less likely to destroy my expensive camera gear, which makes it a win in my book. And best of all, I learned some new tricks along the way that Iβll definitely use in future projects. Thanks for hanging out with me, nowΒ go make awesome stuff!
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The post Making the Camera Stand Even Better appeared first on I Like To Make Stuff.
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