Versa Cart Modifications Underway

Tool For Inserting Blind Threaded Inserts:

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4 Swivel Wheels Added To Versa Cart:

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Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer
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Go get a 3/4" thick piece of plywood and lay it between your box and the wheels. The bottom of the versa cart is sheetmetal, and it bends making your box wobbly. Plus it will make it stop rocking back and forth when pushed, it will absorb the energy.

Reply to
vinny

As can be clearly seen in the picture I posted the bottom of a Versa Cart has three large sheet metal ribs. I believe this to be a very good design and very strong.

Further I don't believe your assertion from another post of yours that Kennedy toolboxs have gotten cheaper in say the last 15 years. Two specifics to back up my position are:

1: Kennedy toolboxes now come with larger casters.

2: Kennedy toolboxes now have optional roller bearing slides.

Without a Versa Cart the bottom of a standard Kennedy toolbox is weak and can easily collapse if enough weight is put in it.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer

As can be clearly seen in the picture I posted the bottom of a Versa Cart has three large sheet metal ribs. I believe this to be a very good design and very strong.

Further I don't believe your assertion from another post of yours that Kennedy toolboxs have gotten cheaper in say the last 15 years. Two specifics to back up my position are:

1: Kennedy toolboxes now come with larger casters.

2: Kennedy toolboxes now have optional roller bearing slides.

Without a Versa Cart the bottom of a standard Kennedy toolbox is weak and can easily collapse if enough weight is put in it.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

**** Sorry dood, wrong on all points.

1: Kennedy toolboxes now come with larger casters.

So what. Dood, it's not the castors that make a strong box, it's the platform the castors are bolted too. I have tow kennedys bolted together. One box is 1980's and the other is

1990's. The latter version the wheels are bigger, a little wider and thicker. But.... When filing out the chips I noticed the hardness of the plastic is extremely different. Old was much harder. Also, the old wheels have nuts and bolts on the axle, and the sides are harder than the new ones making them flex less. The clearance on the axle shaft is twice as big on the new ones. Very sloppy.

Also, I had to use low head cap screws on the old ones, because they are lower profile than the new ones. The overall height of the new and old ones are the same, but the distance from the base to the wheel is much less in the old ones, making them much more rigid.

2: Kennedy toolboxes now have optional roller bearing slides.

Well, bearing drawers are nice, but I never liked em. There's no drag on the door when opening and closing. the can be too slammed closed. And if you do slam em, they open back up.

** Without a Versa Cart the bottom of a standard Kennedy toolbox is weak and can easily collapse if enough weight is put in it. **

True. But dood, this is my point, no trolling, totally serious. If you have a kennedy roll around, and bolt 4 wheels to is, yes, its weak. Sheet metal bends. And the sheet metal racks in the versa cart are an imporvement, but they still suck. In fact if your box is loaded down with tools its worse. Sheet metal bends. Over time your castors will start to bend outward.

The 3/4 inch plywood is the difference between a rikety box holding your crap, or a stable platform to work on. The plywood absorbes energy, sheetmetal doesnt. The sheetmetal will bend, the plywood wont. The plywood will literally make your box a super stable platform to work from. Your box wont lean, twist or anything, and it wont rock, the soft plywood will absorb the shock.

Plus you need 4 more wheels. Why? Because you now have a cart, not even a versa cart. A versa cart has wheels near the center, and they are lower than the rest by a little bit allowing you to rotate your box from center by slightly lifting one end and rotating. You have now lost that ability with your 4 wheels.

I'm not ragging you man, I'm trying to make you realize this is what makes a box a workcenter.

I am posting the pic of my box. Its still at home and since I sprained my wrist Iv'e been held up on fixing it ip. But it has 8 wheels, skinny crappy kennedy wheels. But with 8 wheels and the wood bottom it doesn't matter. After 30 years they are all strait. Plus the inner wheels are .100 higher than the outer wheels. Not enough to notice, but enough to be able to rotate from center.

I put an 8 cavity mold for a laudry dryer lint cover on it and was able to push it around or rotate it with absolutely no effort. The thing weighed one third of my car. I took a 3" lixi hammer and beat the parting line down with all my might to blue it off. No sweat, over eight wheels the individual pressure was that of a flea.

Dood, I'm not trolling or fuxoring wth you, every single guy in Florida has a piece of 3/4" plywood between his castors and his box, because it works.

My box does not rock at all. It is so steady it freakes me out. It's all in the plywood. DO NOT use pressure treated, it will defeat the purpose of absorbing shock.

Crappy toolbox in process of being updated..

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Reply to
vinny

Ahhh, forget that, I forgot i removed my web server.

Here's a photobucket link.

And dont be a dick, this is some kickass advice.

Reply to
vinny

No man, we are talking about some very fundimental differences. When I filed the oldones, It was hard to file. They were embedded hard. But when I filed the new ones, I swear I could feel it thru the whole wheel when I filed it. Like it was bending. The design and shape if the wheels were different. The new wheels were strait, no rounded corners etc... The old ones had a negative taper on the sides, and a radius on the corners of the wheels. The clearance in the axle was half what it was on the new ones. MAJOR difference. Very low profile, with a taller wheel. The thickness of the mounting plate was almost twice what the new ones were. And no rivots, the old ones had nuts and bolts allowing me to tighten them up after time.

Thing is I should of bought new castors because they have some serious pits from years of chips. But hell I'm a programmer now, why even bring my box to work.?

My next project this week is a piece of butcher block to cover one roll around top. Level with my surface plate. maybe a shelf under the butcher block for prints. The only reason I even want my box back in action is to store my pic from when I was 17 with my 68 tbird and my half naked girlfriend on the hood at fort desoto park. It's the only real safe spot in my life to store memories. But the truth is I hope I never need to use it again.

I am a programmer, my tools are a caliper, a calculator, an optivisor, and a pen. lol

I am a pencil pushing fool!!!

Reply to
vinny

I've had two Versa Carts for many years. Neither one has ever leaned or twisted. I'm not going to fix a problem I don't have.

Not when I shim the two middle rigid casters that aren't installed yet.

So far in this thread you're not.

If I have a problem I'll consider it but right now I don't have a problem.

More like I'm someone who won't do it your way because I don't have the problem you describe.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer

After 20 years approx, the boxes are tired. they are scratched, rusty, tired, but damn, that plywood looks like I bought it yesterday. Like the underside of the wood in your attck. I was thinking of writing every shop Ive worked at under the box. I bet I have the record for this group as most jobs had for someone in his low 40's.

I think I'm up to 14. Some 2 and three times.

But I swear I'm reliable lol

Reply to
vinny

Everything metal in Florida rusts because it's a swamp.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer

Swivel in the middle, real nice, someone explain to him some simple motion mechanics?

Reply to
vinny

Ah, the humor I miss when I filter. JB said "rigid caster". Google it. Or here's a Google hit for you:

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Clueless Cliffie...

LOL

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

How about Cliffy=92s claim that the swivel casters shown in the picture are self-locking? Obviously Cliffy can't figure out what the metal thing is on the side of the swivel casters that you step on is. His massive reading comprehension problem was already well documented. Now it's obvious Cliffy can't see either.

When this concept proves out I'll be installing a higher quality U.S. made cast iron caster with a urethane tread.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer

Good fer you dood! Just don't let that pencil start pushing you around. Any weed / speed/ blow or acid in the corners of those drawers? That's what I keep looking for when open those "special" drawers in old tool box's.- so far no luck. I got so many freekin tool boxs/ chests/ freekin plastic containers(that i was involved building molds for)24Qt milk crates ,Dolly Maddison bakery pallets, - every time I open one to look for somthing- its like a GOLD MINE! - Oh look at this shit! I was saving that for somthing! FYI freekin 24qt commercial quality milk case molds are keeewl! Very compact Heavy Metal dood. Original German design (stolen of course) 4 slides - retained on the cavity side with 2 hyd. cylinders running them. How does that work? hehehehe When production was high, the molder would gang run 2 16Qt tools (square milk case) in a 750t Cinny late moldel wide platten press. Talk about a frekin rigging operation! Once it was running, your warehouse better have some storage capacity. 2 milk cases every 30-40 secs- doesn't take long.

I had a few nice cushy office programmer jobs for mold shops, so I kinda gotta feel for what your doing. Hope your company is do'in good, up here they are almost exsitinct. Just us old dinosauras left.

Its all just a blur.........70's 80's 90's yesterday............

Reply to
cncmillgil

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