One of my skill-sets is "Throughput Improvement". One of the quick-tools I used when improving through-put was to look for where in-process inventory was stacked up. You knew you were getting close to a bottleneck when you had a buffer (or bank) that was always full. There had to be a choke-point somewhere downstream of that traffic pile-up.
One reason I am pretty focused on making sturdy storage boxes is because we have dozens-and-dozens of lids for plastic tubs...and very few tubs to put them on. That tells me that the tubs are the weak-link.
Let me introduce the ERJ Mark 2-S storage box.
This is my second try. "S" stands for short. There will be a "T" version in the future.
 |
| Interior dimensions are 15.5" long, 9.0" wide and 5.5" tall. The "T" version will have an interior height of 11". Distance center-line of handle to center-line of handle is 21.5" |
 |
| The 10.5" exterior width was chosen because the stringers on a standard pallet are 3.5" wide and 3 X 3.5" = 10.5". It is pretty easy to cut 17" long pieces from a 40" by 48" pallet. |
 e |
| The bottoms of the handles are 1.5" above the resting surface.... |
 |
| ...and 1.5" from the end panel of the box. Radii are routered into the two-by-twos to be finger-friendly. I wanted enough room to be able to pick them up while wearing winter gloves. The "T" version will have the same handle location because I dislike bumping into sharp corners with my thighs when carrying boxes. |
My long-term plan is to add some "skiis" to the bottom to keep them from bowing and to add a top with hinges and hasp.
 |
| The corner reinforcements are 2-by-2s and project 0.65" above the top-and-bottoms of the 1-by-6 sides. The intention is to protect the top and bottom panels (pallet stringers) from corner impacts. |
I used pole-barn siding screws because somebody (Kubota) borrowed my impact driver and T25 bits and hadn't brought them back. The siding screws does make the box more photogenic in the sense that you can see how it goes together.
Commodity 2X2s are about $0.30 a foot. #2 1"X6" are about $1.20 a foot. The box uses just shy of 5' of 1X6s and just shy of 4' of 2x2s. That pencils out to a skoosh over $7.20 in lumber costs for the "S" version boxes.
Minor improvements include using 1/4 X 1-1/4" long crown staples to position the bottom slats with short screws at ends for structural integrity. That should really speed up the process...as will having my impact driver.
From a volume standpoint, the "S" version has a bit more than three gallons of capacity and the "T" version will have an internal volume of about 6.5 gallons.
The box without a cover weighs 9 pounds and most adults should be able to carry 40 pounds (gross) given the better-than-average ergonomics.
That is a stout looking box!
ReplyDeleteI've been putting the nuts & bolts in old clear plastic jars just because it's easier to find what I need... sorting things into nuts, bolts, screws can be a minor pain. When I need a screw I can pour the screws onto a paper plate to sort & look and then pour them back into the jar after.
A box that size will do the job but it can get heavy and will be hard to look thru for the fastener I need.
Is that where you store your gold bullion? Or lead? ---ken
ReplyDeleteKinetic drill-bits.
DeleteKinetic drill bits or hole punchers?
DeleteCordless hole-punches need more secure storage than one of those wooden boxes.
DeleteYour opening paragraph reminds me of my time in manufacturing when the company that I worked for was looking to implement MRPII processes to improve productivity. One of the books I read at the time was "The Goal" by Goldratt and Cox, that , in the context of a novel, explained quite a lot about how "hunt the bottleneck" through identifying in-process inventory build ups could be used to boost throughput and productivity. There was also a lot about cycle times and lot size influences.
ReplyDeleteYes. Very good book and a painless way to learn the basics (and some of the advanced stuff, too).
DeleteI think I read the Goal 30 years ago and it has certainly stuck with me. I could relate. I was a maintenance manager and made the plant manager.
DeleteI found it to be one of the best written "business books as fiction" ever, instead of many that were much more heavily marketed but much more almost childish, "who Moved The Cheese?" being one of the biggest offenders.
DeleteSecond, Third it…. Great book. I even bought the cassette series for the truck back in the day. Still got’em. There is more than a few companies being killed right now due to their success.
DeleteMF
Kinda over built for most stuff. I use Tee nuts to keep the hinges and hasp bolt heads from poking holes in the stuff inside if it gets bounced around any.
ReplyDeleteWhen in doubt
DeleteMake it stout
Of stuff you know
A lot about.
Tee nuts are a great suggestion. Thanks.
I use emptied plastic peanut butter jars for my small fasteners - washers - pocket knives - miscellaneous storage. The clear side allows me to turn it and determine if what I am looking is there. And they are free.
ReplyDeleteYour storage solution for bulk tubs make a lot of sense. They appear to hell for strong too. Nice job !
How stackable are they, and how secure when stacked, say, 4-5 high? You gave interior height but not exterior height. Assuming an overall height of 12", width of 8-10" and length of 16", if they interlocked when stacked a "square U" - 3 lengthwise at each end, 4 lengthwise across the back - you could have a 48" X 64" workbench top. Extra points for designing the boxes to accept lenghts of 2X2s on the worktop to interlock the top to the boxes. You wind up with a fair amount of "heavy capacity storage" (labeled - in small letters - on the interior ends rather than the side to make the contents less obvious) and a work surface. 2X 5/8' or 3/4" plywood glued together provide a rather sturdy work surface (Gorilla Glue is great stuff if you have a way to keep the center of a panel from bowing out when the glue expands as it dries, I used cawls made from 2X4s, but I've seen 3/16" bolts, nuts and washers used on a pair of 16" grids down the center of a 4X8 sheet, the edges are easy to clamp).
ReplyDeleteEasy-to-remove "benchtop clutter" dissuades casual observers from investigating the boxes too seriously.
If you need storage that sturdy, but also rodent proof, try lining it with duct work. Set the interior length and depth to what ever duct work you have access to, cut the duct work into sections to match the interior height, and use end caps for the bottom and tops.
ReplyDeleteGlue that bottom. There is a special pallet crowbar. Turns a miserable job into a snap
ReplyDeleteStout, yes. An over abundance of wood, yes.
ReplyDeleteERJ, may I suggest the common GI footlocker with one tray?
Complex wood joinery unneeded. A modicum of wood materials. Secure, stackable.
Shorten the dimensions as required.
Pallets are free!!
ReplyDeleteI like the first photo shown on the ramble on blog. Dad's locker from VN had metal corners. Metal corners were 90° triangles with a 'billow' at the precise corner.
ReplyDeleteI had saved the hardware but somehow they got lost.
Now I remember. The 'billow' at the corners were to secure stacking of footlockers on on top the other.
ReplyDelete(The bottom metal corners were not 'billowed')
The foot of the locker would neatly fit snug inside the 'billow' when stacked.