Info needed: TOOL BOX Chevrolet c15a no. 12

[Paul Edwards]

Hi Bob,

Just been studying your drawings, is there an anomaly between drwg 1 and 2? In the first drwg the height is 10 1/2 total height but in drwg nos 2 the height is 12 1/2 plus.

Cheers,


Paul

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Paul Edwards

Hi Bob,

Just been studying your drawings, is there an anomaly between drwg 1 and 2? In the first drwg the height is 10 1/2 total height but in drwg nos 2 the height is 12 1/2 plus.

Cheers,


Paul

11 gauge / .125 has me wondering. I would have though it was constructed with 18 gauge or maybe up to 1/16" thick steel. Even if 11 gauge (or 0.09") it wouldn't be .125 which is 1/8" thick. Or is it that solidly built?

[Grant Bowker]

Bob's tool box is "solidly" constructed. An accidental brush against a sapling is more likely to hurt the sapling than the toolbox. Even then, there were spots of rust-through in the bottom.

WRT the gauge, I wish folks could actually make a standard be standard. I.E. not changing over time, not being a different thickness for the same gauge depending on the type of metal https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/sh...l-gauge-chart/, not referring to decimal thicknesses by the nearest (but inaccurate) gauge number...

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Paul

Using "gauge" measurements in 2021 is very misleading.....like buying a wooden 2x4 8 feet long..... it is actually 1 9/16 x 3 1/2 in...... you may wind up buying according to metric measurements of 50 or 60 or 70 thou.......

So I have reverted to asking the fabricator/steel shop to tell me what is the standard size he can get that is the closest to the gauge required .... sometimes a little thicker when doing floor items.....

I also have to adjust my building design to my skill levels and sometimes correct obvious (British) weakness in the original factory design.

You may need additional information for building your tool box.... my sketches are not always clear..... so ask away....... the tricky part will be doing the raised lip on the top for the cover.... I can take more closeup photos and measurements.

I can tell you that once finished it is a two man job to lift it on the frame.....and if your cargo box is already in place an overhead device......
That is when the farm tractor with the bucket comes in handy. For inside the barn, I have an overhead trolleys that will lift the vehicle and move it forward or sideways....... a realback saver!!!!

Cheers

[Bob Carriere]

There is an unexplained anomaly...... will check tomorrow and post corrections.

From memory I can't be sure which is correct.

Thanks for the eagle eye.

Even with the heavy gauge I had rust holes in the bottom which I cut out and replaced with HD plate...... so nice to do but joints on heavy metal. The local fabricator is very friendly and will lets you sort out and pick pieces from his cut off pile cheaper than cutting from NOS stock

[Paul Edwards]

Bob,

How is the tool box fitted to the chassis? You can see from my photo the chassis cross member is full of lumps, bumps and rivets. Your sketch shows a continuous 50" long "U" section. Should the cross member be packed up with timber above these lumps and bumps before bolting the "U" section down?

Appreciate your advice.

Cheers,


Paul

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Paul.....

Yes you will need wooden spacers. I made mine from white ash, totally painted with POR 15 so they are waterproofed.

Once you have the correct size for each side, before painting them, hammer them in place to create dimples in your wood........ they drill out a matching hole with a suitable drill size..... just enough to accommodate the rivet heads.

The box held in place by four 1/2 inch "J" bolts that will go through the bottom of the box and are fixed inside the floor of the box. The bottom of the J bar goes down by the inside of the frame and fits across the bottom section of the frame and is turned up about one inch........ the other end is threaded and takes a healthy washer and nut.

On the fabrication of the box....... closer examination jogged my memory.... and has written on my rough sketch, the original construction was done in one piece........starting at the lip for the lid near the cab...offset 1/4 inch down and wrapped around the bottom bent up to the lip on the cargo side..... one continuous sheet. The two end caps and the cut out for the fuel filler are added as separate pieces and welded all around.......so is the corner can bracket/holder.

On the side end pieces you need to bend a slight 1/4 in. off set identical to the one on the cab side of the box.... this will allow your lid to close over the protruding lip. The lock hasp is standard hardware still available today. Two Corby locks were used.

My confusion on the one piece construction comes from a repro that we stumbled on that was made from 16 gauge steel and all sides were cut as individual pieces then Mig welded in a home made wooden jig. It looked the part and was much lighter. Not sure it could handle a full load of tools, jacks, chains, etc. but for our parade purposes would be quite adequate. Cheaper, lighter and will not require a "good" fabricator to make the bends. Sometimes you need to consider your skill level, the equipment you have to work with and the size of your bank account!!!!!

Cheers