Industrial-Grade Storage Built With Laser-Cut Steel

A tidy workshop is much more likely to be a happy workshop, and one that better supports the practice of making. Organisation is key to maintaining tidiness over time, and for that, you need storage. [Wesley Treat] needed some more space recently, and set about building a serious storage unit using laser-cut parts.

The key to the build lies in the elegant steel flanges used to make the drawers. These were designed in CAD, with a DXF cutting file exported and sent off to OSH Cut for laser cutting and bending, in much the same way one would send 3D printed parts off to Shapeways or PCB files to JLCPCB. The drawer flanges are then joined with steel angle and fitted with plywood bases and sides. The drawers are then given CNC-engraved nameplates for a nice aesthetic touch. Once finished, the heavy duty drawers slide on wooden rails built into the walnut frame.

It’s a great example of how farming out a single piece of a larger project can lead to a quicker build and better final results. Producing 12 flanges by hand in the home shop would take longer and likely have far more variability. For those that only have a 3D printer at home, farming out production for metal parts is a good way to do heavy-duty projects without having to invest in an entire machine shop.

[Wesley] has graced these pages before, too – with a great guide on reproducing knobs for vintage hardware. Video after the break.

19 thoughts on “Industrial-Grade Storage Built With Laser-Cut Steel

  1. >The subject sticks his or her hand in the box, which causes immense pain. If they immediately follow their instincts and withdraw their hand, the Bene Gesserit deems them as base as animals; if the subject can remain aware enough of the certain death at their neck to stick through the pain, they pass the test.

    That’s the first thing that pops up in my mind.

  2. I cannot recommend OshCut highly enough. I’ve had them cut 3/16 steel plates to make a modular drive sprocket (add or remove plates to change belt widths), chain sprockets with oddball mounting patterns to fit HoverBoard motors sans tire, and 1mm thick spring-steel snap rings (evidently nobody make 44mm snap rings stock) and all have come out beautifully. Also a mounting bracket for my working model 20mm siege mortar.

    I appreciate the quality and attention to detail, and I *really* appreciate the easy on-line quote and design rule check.

    1. I agree! I used OshCut extensively via my research lab & their quote tool & prices blow away my local shops. So I ended up doing CNC at local shops and anything sheet-based got laser cut by OshCut for 1/10 the price.

    2. You know, sometimes I don’t mind finding a new service through a legit article.

      I don’t feel like I was advertised to, and I found a new avenue for getting stuff made with little hassle involving equipment I don’t expect to own at any point- so its a win win. Oshcut looks cool.

  3. Looks like aesthetics overruled practicability here. And, strictly personally speaking, I find the boxes to be rather ostentatious with their assumed-but-uneducated “industrial” look

    1. This is an aesthetic exercise rather than a practical one since they store about half the volume they take up. I’d say “Homage to mid-century YMCA locker room styling “. Likely they’re accompanied by bare-filament “antique” LED lighting and a Estella Caffe espresso machine.

    2. Yep, pretty sure Adam Savage nailed some more practical storage boxes together from simple plywood recently that are way more practical.

      Having the sharp edges on the hand holds tells me this wasn’t thought through at all… looks very instagram friendly though.

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