04-10-2011, 09:17 AM
Hi all,
I recently picked up this "US General" tool cart on sale at Harbor Freight for $99 and it seems it goes on sale a lot, but retails for $230 or so. Generally, I don't buy Chinese products but I can say without doubt the materials alone are worth as much if not more than $99.
The ONLY drawbacks to the cart are the casters and the way they attach to the cart. Well, I'm not a fan of the manufacturer using carriage bolts either, but that's no big deal. The manufacturer calls for the casters to be attached directly to the 22-24 gauge sheet metal bottom shelf. In my opinion, eventually that configuration will cause the bottom sheet metal to bend slightly over time as the heavy tool-laden cart is pushed around the garage.
To solve the problem, I used 1/8" thick 4" wide flat steel I happened to have on hand, cut to size to provide extra support for the casters. An after thought was instead of making individual supports for each caster, it would be even better to cut a 3" wide flat plate extending the length left to right (or front to back) providing support for 2 casters each support plate. I used a chop saw to cut the pieces and a drill press with an over sized drill bit so the holes would match up. You definitely don't want to drill through any of the powder coated paint to maintain the protection from rust. And I did paint the new supports.
Overall, the modification is a major improvement to the cart. The casters could ALSO be improved by spending $25 to $50 each for HIGH-QUALITY new casters. This would allow the cart to be easily moved with a finger touch instead of having a slight drag like the current cheap casters do. After improvements this cart would be the equivalent of a $500+ tool cart in my opinion.
BTW, I moved the push handle up toward the top after these photos. Easier on the back.
Thanks for looking,
Steve
I recently picked up this "US General" tool cart on sale at Harbor Freight for $99 and it seems it goes on sale a lot, but retails for $230 or so. Generally, I don't buy Chinese products but I can say without doubt the materials alone are worth as much if not more than $99.
The ONLY drawbacks to the cart are the casters and the way they attach to the cart. Well, I'm not a fan of the manufacturer using carriage bolts either, but that's no big deal. The manufacturer calls for the casters to be attached directly to the 22-24 gauge sheet metal bottom shelf. In my opinion, eventually that configuration will cause the bottom sheet metal to bend slightly over time as the heavy tool-laden cart is pushed around the garage.
To solve the problem, I used 1/8" thick 4" wide flat steel I happened to have on hand, cut to size to provide extra support for the casters. An after thought was instead of making individual supports for each caster, it would be even better to cut a 3" wide flat plate extending the length left to right (or front to back) providing support for 2 casters each support plate. I used a chop saw to cut the pieces and a drill press with an over sized drill bit so the holes would match up. You definitely don't want to drill through any of the powder coated paint to maintain the protection from rust. And I did paint the new supports.
Overall, the modification is a major improvement to the cart. The casters could ALSO be improved by spending $25 to $50 each for HIGH-QUALITY new casters. This would allow the cart to be easily moved with a finger touch instead of having a slight drag like the current cheap casters do. After improvements this cart would be the equivalent of a $500+ tool cart in my opinion.
BTW, I moved the push handle up toward the top after these photos. Easier on the back.
Thanks for looking,
Steve
Junkyard Tools rescued from the junkyard!
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