Steel toolbox lid stays

[LeeB]

Anyone got a drawing for a steel toolbox lid stay made from flat bar and how to position it?

[btulloh]

As long as the lid is going back past vertical so it wants lay open it's pretty simple.  2 equal pieces of flat bar shorter than the side of the tool box.  Rivet together at one end.  Hold the lid where you want it when fully open, mark holes using fully extended lid stays.  Install.  It's just a chain with only two links.

If you want to use it as a prop it's a little more involved. 

[LeeB]

Needs to act as a prop. I know what I want I just don't have a drawing or how to space it out. Hard to tell someone else how to make it when you can't draw it or even have a picture. One of the guys just about got a broken hand when another of the clowns dropped a 3 x 4 x 1/4 lid on his hand. None of the boxes here have any kind of lid support and it's not even a requirement. I've felt like I've gone back in time 30 years on the safety game since I started working over here. Guess it'll all be over soon enough. I think I have one more trip before they replace me with a younger, cheaper, more Egyptian, person. Don't know why I keep trying except I have a higher standard of professionalism than to just give up.

[btulloh]

This has plenty of examples.   

Lid Supports - Woodcraft.com

This is the kind you're talking about:  

Knape and Vogt 472-ANO-10 - Knape & Vogt 10" (254mm) Steel Support Hinge - PAIR - The Hardware Hut

Probably easier to buy some.  The thing about fabricating them is the mechanics of locking  them straight out in the support position gets tricky.  If they give way when somebody's not expecting it you're worse off than having nothing at all.

[LeeB]

Nope, none of the above. You're thinking for a wood box. I'm talking about heavy duty steel boxes. Not a two link chain. A single leg of flat bar with a notch in it to latch over a peg. Lift the bar to disengage it from the peg. The bar is hinged to the lid.  A better way is to have a slotted bar that cannot come all the way of the peg but I doubt I could ever get them to understand what I want.

[thecfarm]

Would google help?
That hurt. And than some.

[John Mc]

Why not do something like the support pole for a car hood? Pin a piece of flat stock to the side of the box (r the front, depending on which way you want the bar to swing up) near the front of the opening. Make a pocket on the edge of the lid, also near that front corner. Lift the lid, swing up the bar and put the end into the pocket on the lid to hold it up. Simple to make, simple to operate.

[Ljohnsaw]

Or...  Make the bar shorter so it reaches half way up the top when fully open.  Put a pocket there.  Then put more pockets up towards the top/front of the lid.  Then you can position the lid from full open to about 45° depending on the pocket you land it in.

[LeeB]

 

 

 

 

Sometimes you just need to tell the welder what you need to do and let him go after it instead of overthinking it.

[btulloh]

Sometimes you just need to tell the welder what you need to do and let him go after it instead of overthinking it

Yep.  Good fix.