Thread: A new Van Norman Tooling Cabinet

Ok, so this didn’t start out as a Van Norman Tooling cabinet but it has ended up as one. For the first 30 – 40 years of service this was a Cutler Hammer 400 amp fused disconnect.I’ve had my eye on this particular one for quite some time because of the distinctive design lines on this model cabinet and with some recent electrical upgrades it became available. The hardest part of the fab work was plugging up the knock out holes. There were eight total from 3”-4” plus extra cutouts forthe disconnect hardware. I had some time this weekend so I finished this project.

Inside mods were really simple with just a few flat bars drilled and tapped 1” NC for some stub bolts to hold the 50 taper tooling my VN 26 uses. The doors rounded corners give it excellent strength and it seems Ok with the extra weight. Electrical cabinets can go long periods without ever opening them so the hinges were still tight. I also had to tie the latches that secure the door together inside so I only need one hand to open it.

I can get three full arbors, fifteen tool holders, and quite a few end mills in this fairly compact space and they are well protected from damage and dust. Mostly I just liked that it matches the look and feel of VN so well. Now I just need to finish filling it. Here are a couple of pics. Ed.

Good work,
I've scrapped quite a few old electrical control cabinets that would have made very nice wall tool cabinets like you have done.Each time I have later regretted it.Just couldn't find time to make it happen.
Randy

Very nice!

What keeps the arbors from falling out when you open the door?

Cal

Nice cabinet

Are those threaded studs that are holding the arbors.

How did you do the Van Norman logo? That's a really nice touch.
David

I "liked" this earlier, but I've got to come back again and say "very well done!"

Nice indeed! I outfitted an old office copy machine cabinet for my mill tooling. Fitted a drawer slide I picked up somewhere for $5 and mounted a sheet of plywood with holes cut for my 40 taper, KS300, and ER40 collets. The arbors lay down in V blocks between the sections for the various holders and collets. Original shelving holds parallels, boring head, and other mill related stuff.

Reallt sweet way to keep your tools organized. But where is the 5V arbors! Earl.

I did look at several different methods of securing the tooling. At first I had planned on some tapered sockets to hold the 50 tapers but realized that would take more room in the cabinet, be less secure, and far more difficult to machine. The stub bolts only stick up about 7/8" so the tooling will fit even if the overall height of the tool holder is within an inch of the next shelf. With only light hand torque even the long arbors have no chance to move. I did use a slightly thicker flat bar on the arbor row because of the leverage they could generate if someone ever slammed the door hard.

The VN emblem was really pretty easy, I just printed a picture of it and taped it onto some contact paper. I took it and a scrap of UHMW into the living room and cut out the shape with a razor knife. Only took a few commercials. I was originally going to go with the orange VN used on the emblem and the ribbed center stripe but I didn't have the right shade... I did have plenty of black though so thats what it got.

Hanging this much weight on the wall was also a concern. This is just a framed in pole building. The mounting holes didn't fit my studs so I decided to run flat bars up the wall securing them with bolts through the studs and the Girts the outside wall. The cabinet itself is just secured to the flat bars threaded holes with short bolts. First choice for mounting it was on the pole but I already had my PP and transformer up above and needed access to the dowel handles to power them up. Here is a detail pic of the stub bolts and the wall above the cabinet. Thanks for the kind comments. Ed.

Well thought out and great fab work, it turned out very nice.

- David