aluminum drawer system

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Done yet?
 
lol, i wish, never enough time, Uncle Sam has me jumpin through hoops right now, i thought i had 2 weeks of leave but that got cut down to 4 days. so i did put the runners for the slides in last week, the fab shop wasnt going to have the drawers done while i was there. so it has to wait AGAIN. I have so many projects waiting for me its not even funny any more.
 
so i'm resurrecting this thread.

I currently have the frame at a specialty tool and fab shop, they are building the drawers now, I went with locking paddle latches in Stainless. They should be emailing me some pics this week so i can review the drawers and give them the go ahead for skinning. I have the wings designed as well, which will be separate units that can either be used by themselves or in conjunction with the system. Also for those that were interested these systems will be available to buy. Don't have a price yet, as the system isn't finished but stay tuned.
 
Anxious to see the finished product - SUBSCRIBED - are you still able to share the PDF plans/specs or are you thinking of putting this up for sale to the asylum? Either way I'm in !!!!
 
as of now, the plan is to offer the unit for sale, if the cost of production outweighs the sale cost, then i will offer the plans as a DIY guide.

Thanks for the interest!
 
I've been following a lot of DIY drawer threads and getting some great ideas. Another local Cruiserhead and I are gathering supplies to do a very similar setup to what you have done. We're doing it in steel tube, with 250# slides and also some paddle latches. Waiting on the hinges now then i'll start a new thread with build pics and costs involved. DIG THE ALUMINUM base!!!!
 
wow.. nice project !!
Im doing mine drawers right now but using 1/8" flat steel for the box...
Drawers will be aluminum tho' 1/8" thick....
How much do your think the whole system will weight...
Im using 42" slides and they are freaking heavy but will have tons of storage space !!!

SUBSCRIBED !!!
 
so far the slides are the heaviest item, the frame itself is around 15 lbs or so, i'm hoping that the entire system when done will weigh around 75 lbs.
 
hopefully before the Zombies attack i will install my WagonGear tailgate lid and finish that dam aluminum drawer system
Ha Ha!!! When you started on it I don't think was even any zombie apocalypse theories going around.:hillbilly:

Bet you can't wait to see it done!!
 
haha, yes, I can't wait to get this thing finished, I'm not starting 3 other fabrication projects til this one is wrapped up.

as for the Z's. I've been huntin them since 9/11. Dam things are a bit hard to catch.:D
 
This should be pretty cool! Watching...

~Daniel

Sent from deep in the mountains of Honduras using only sticks and rocks.
 
So after the 6 month hassle of looking for a fab shop that will do the drawers, i had to bite the bullet and go with the biggest company in town. Their labor is twice the cost of everyone else, but they should at least get the drawers done. The first place kept losing my prints, second place, sat on the stuff for 3 months and never touched it.

So hopefully this new place will get the drawers finished so I can install the paddles, then skin it.

I'm currently looking at the costs involved to buy a brake so I can fab the drawers myself, it seems they go from cheap to astronomical, I haven't found a mid-level unit yet.
 
Drawers

Subscribed :beer::beer:
 
update:

picked up the drawers from the fab shop. Pretty happy with them, I have a few minor quibbles with them but overall they did a pretty good job, the one thing though that mildly irked me was I had wanted the front face cut for the mounting of the paddle latch, apparently that didn't make it onto the job sheet, so I wasn't about to wait another month or so before I would have a chance to get back to where the shop is so I got them without the access cut, I'll do it myself which is no big deal. Here's a few pics from some different angles.
IMG_1238.webp
IMG_1239.webp
IMG_1240.webp
 
here's a few more:

So next step is to install them onto the slides, then into the frame, mount the paddle latches.

I've already got the skin for the box, aluminum as well. Need to find some time to weld that on. Hoping to have the drawers mounted in the next few weeks. the skin job is all dependent on time off.
IMG_1241.webp
IMG_1242.webp
 
They look very nice!!

-Daniel

Sent from deep in the mountains of Honduras using only sticks and rocks.
 
I like these a lot! Correct me if im wrong, I would think these would be a lighter option than wood?
 
Nice drawers.. what thickness are they ? 1/8" or 3/16" ?
 
Instead of welding the drawers, one could consider rivets and Sikaflex, and then package them like IKEA for the DIYers. The frame could be made using something similar to the 80/20 extruded stuff and packaged similarily. Just thinking...
 

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