My Diy 72 Pen Chest Project

[sargetalon]

Hello everyone. I wanted to share a project of mine that might benefit others. I outgrew my previous storage solutions and wanted to keep everything in one place. I'd been looking for an affordable pre-fabbed option that would accommodate my collection but became frustrated at the limited selection and the big price tags. I decided to retrofit something to my purposes and this is what I came up with. I'm very interested to know what you think.

 

The chest itself is a Grizzly GM-0171 8 drawer storage cabinet that I got off of Amazon.com for $45.95. It seems the price has gone up a bit since my purchase in July. Each drawer is square and measures approximately 6x6" internally. The overall chest dimensions are 16x8 3/4x8 3/8". It fits really well on a bookshelf. It has an oak veneer that looks nice and the bottom has feet so as not to scratch. Overall, it has a solid feel. The drawers are on rails so as not to fall out which is definitely a plus.

 

I bought two grey slotted pen trays online from GoPens.com which was JUST enough to outfit all 8 drawers. Each drawer will hold 9 pens for a total of 72 pens. To spruce it up, I bought transparent inkjet address labels and printed company logos to distinguish drawers holding those pens to make finding them quick and easy. Here is the end result.

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01848_zps058cafc5.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01850_zps0d47831e.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01851_zps6f7ea6a9.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01852_zps57baa8de.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01854_zps2a18eef9.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01855_zps91babf51.jpg

 

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/jdanley/DSC01856_zps52761f57.jpg

 

Thanks for looking!

 

[da vinci]

That is a fantastic piece of kit - very nicely done

 

Edited to add the pens aint bad either - like the "China"!

Edited August 19, 2013 by da vinci

[betweenthelens]

I love the first one but understand your expanding collection needed more space. This is a very clever and attractive solution. Furthermore, when pen #73 comes along, you can purchase another unit and stack it atop this one! Nice project. Thanks for sharing.

[seapin]

I absolutely love this! And thanks for posting where you got the pen trays. I've been looking to do a diy pen case myself.

[PAKMAN]

Love it! Great job! The drawers look deep enough to accomodate even the longest of pens.

[Daisy25]

What a great idea!

[warblerick]

Excellent job. Only wish I had room for one. The color of the oak reminds me of a small antique card catalog that we have, with 6 small drawers.

[Pentulant]

Well done!

[sargetalon]

Thank you all for your kind words. Just hoping I don't fill it any time soon.

[my63]

That is a very nice box well done.

[GemMayhem]

This is fantastic! What a great way to organize your collection, very nicely done. The label are a clever touch. Thanks for letting us know where you sourced the drawers. This has a lot of possibilities!

[NobleDel]

Very nice chest, Sargetalon! I hope my pen collection does not grow large enough to need a storage solution this big, but if it does, thanks for telling us your source. Looks beautiful.

[PJohnP]

The chest itself is a Grizzly GM-0171 8 drawer storage cabinet that I got off of Amazon.com for $45.95. It seems the price has gone up a bit since my purchase in July.

 

If you go to the Grizzly site, the chest is that same price, but there are delivery charges. It still works out less than Amazon, even with free delivery from that site. There are three showroom locations where it could be picked up as an alternate to delivery, but one would need to be near to those locations to achieve the savings.

 

All of that said, I just ordered one for myself from Grizzly.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the chest, and also for the superb "how-to" explanation !

 

 

 

John P.

[JesterKat]

I was showing this one to my husband, the woodworker and he said, "Oh, that's a Grizzly!" and showed me Grizzly's site. Those are still about $46.00 plus shipping direct from Grizzly. He says that Grizzly makes/sells good quality stuff and is seriously considering buying instead of making thanks to your example. Shipping is about $14.00 in the continental US. If you're near one of their showrooms in Pennsylvania, Missouri or Washington State, you can have it delivered to the showroom for pick up.

They have an interesting array of oak chests that have fired our imaginations. I'm so glad you did this project and shared it! Now we're going to have something for storage.

[PJohnP]

Shipping is about $14.00 in the continental US.

 

Hurm. I paid $9.95 for shipping in CONUS, specifically to the Southwest. That netted a price about $5 less than Amazon (if one gets free shipping from Amazon).

 

Mine is en-route, having been shipping a bit more than a day after the order.

 

Grizzly's a pretty neat place to pore around and ponder !

 

 

 

John P.

[mbankirer]

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing!

 

I did similar 'conversion' of Harbor Freight Tool Box...but the Grizzly is a more 'polished' look!

[sargetalon]

@JesterKat: glad that I could inspire a solution for you.

 

@mbankirer: it's the harbor freight thread on the other forum that inspired me to find a solution. I was all set to get a harbor freight chest when amazon showed other suggestions and this grizzly box just jumped out. Really makes for perfect pen storage.

[JesterKat]

 

Hurm. I paid $9.95 for shipping in CONUS, specifically to the Southwest. That netted a price about $5 less than Amazon (if one gets free shipping from Amazon).

 

Mine is en-route, having been shipping a bit more than a day after the order.

 

Grizzly's a pretty neat place to pore around and ponder !

 

 

 

John P.

Thanks for that note. I got the $14 from their shipping prices - that may be rather general. My husband and I have decided that we will NOT be visiting the showroom in Pennsylvania, it's just toooooo beautiful, we'd have to take out a second mortgage. When you go to the page on the site about the showrooms, they have this walk-around set up like google street view - too cool for words.

I think we're going to make something similar with deeper drawers for inks, they're beginning to take over half of a six foot long shelf...

 

@mbankirer - Your conversion had us looking at that box at Harbor Freight yesterday, hubby was taking it apart and looking at every joint He decided that while the price was right (sale weekend again!) he was going to think about it. He showed me the Grizzly boxes that it is the little brother to. I think he is thinking about building something, but I'm not going to hold my breath - my new bed has been in debate for over a year and physically on the drawing board for at least 6 months - I don't think I'll get it for a couple more years.

Katie

edited because I'm a doofus

Edited August 24, 2013 by JesterKat

[PJohnP]

Well, the Grizzly shipment (that's "Grizzly" not "Grisly") arrived today, along with a different shipment of pen trays from Myrna and Gary Lehrer. Both orders were made five evenings past, including the weekend, so this was pretty sharply shipped by both parties.

 

I do have a few observations, perhaps of use to those pondering this case.

 

The fit and finish are a bit better than the price point, but not immensely so. As a result, the veneer in spots as well as some edges are a bit rough. The judicious and light use of some 0000 steel wool over the rough surfaces, taking care to remove just the slightest amount, followed by a decent quality polish/wax (I personally prefer Howard Feed-n-Wax) pushes this cabinet into a higher tier of finish. It will take a couple of coats of the polish, but the result is most worthwhile.

 

The drawers' construction is pretty basic, using some manufactured wood product for the inner walls with actually passable joinery, lacking the usual cheap tacked attachments. However, the bottom has a staple holding the centre-back of it to the back wall of the drawer. Gently tapping the staple in with a small hammer to seat it more securely is a worthwhile effort - a couple of the drawers' staples were a bit loose on my cabinet when delivered. Perhaps not a major item, but why not address it at the start rather than months into use ?

 

Lastly, if you're even vaguely close to hitting the nominal 72 pen capacity, consider ordering two of these cabinets. Looking at this cabinet at hand, I can see having more than one for myself (eventually, but not quite yet), and it's likely that the style or construction or price will shift by that time. The construction is robust enough to stack, but could also well handle side-by-side display.

 

All in all, I'm very well pleased with this new pen cabinet.

 

Thanks once more to Sargetalon for the notice on this item, and how to configure it. Kudos, sir !

 

 

 

John P.

[sargetalon]

Thanks John. Your observation about the box are spot on with my experience. With a little TLC though, great value for the money. Glad I could be an inspiration for some.