I Watched the First 2016 Presidential Debate Last Night, and then Went to Assemble a Husky 60″ Mobile Workbench

I watched the Clinton vs. Trump debate last night…

And then promptly got to work setting up the new Husky 60″ mobile workbench that had arrived earlier in the day.

It’s a beaut! A beastly beauty, extremely large and heavy.

I went to open the top drawer to retrieve the keys, and it was locked! What the…

Both locks were set to some intermediate position, while being locked. So there was no way to open it! Or so I thought.

I muscled the top drawer open, possibly bending part of the lock mechanism in the process. But don’t worry, I straightened it back later on.

I removed the full-length drawer, which actually surprised me. It’s supported by a single slide on the right, and a single slide on the left, and a slide at the middle. There’s not a bit of racking – it slides in an out perfectly!

I defeated the locking mechanism to the top drawer, and the proceeded to defeat the locking mechanism for the lower drawers. While this is easily described in a few short sentences, it took me quite some time to figure all this out.

With the bottom section locking mechanism defeated, I removed some drawers so I could get a look at things.

I haven’t a clue as to how this happened with the locks. It’s with both of them, too. I can only guess that maybe some kind of master key was used, and removed improperly at the intermediate locked-unlocked position. There was no way for me to insert a key into the lock to unlock it, and no way to manually turn the locks.

So, I’ve asked Husky for a new lock set, or might rig up some kind of temporary or keyless lock. It’s important to be able to lock the drawers when moving the unit.

With all the drawers open, I retrieved the handle and casters.

You might remember my How Would You Raise a Heavy Tool Cabinet from its Side post. I didn’t have a choice there, as the Milwaukee mobile workbench was delivered on its back. With the Husky right side up, I didn’t dare turn it over to put the casters on.

I’m still nursing an achilles injury, and so I didn’t want to lift and struggle more than I needed to. Waiting for a second or third person wasn’t ideal.

I decided to follow readers’ suggestions, and used a low profile jack. Getting the jack under the first end was a challenge.

There was the temptation to lift it up and just slap the casters on, but I make sure to use 2x4s as emergency safety devices. If the jack failed, or slipped, and the Husky workbench fell, my fingers would be saved. The 2x4s functioned as jack stands. I also made sure no to put my hands or fingers between the casters and the floor.

It was a slow process, but safer.

Once the casters were on, I custom built very sophisticated devices to hold the drawer locking mechanism in the unlocked position. Okay, I just broke off chunks of styrofoam to make spacers. But it worked well.

I then turned my attention to the 56″ tool storage cabinet. I took off the top layers of cardboard, then the styrofoam, then the plastic bag, and what do I see? Pretty severe shipping damage, severe in one corner of the tool box, with some bulging at the side. A good part of the top surface is pushed inwards a little bit. It looks like someone dropped a heavy anvil in one small spot, which wouldn’t be a big deal if not for the wider deformations.

At that I called it a night.

I’m really curious as to what led to both locks on the mobile tool cabinet being defective. A different Husky tool storage combo arrived last week, one that’s at a lower price point that these units, and I complained to myself about the standard locks and flat keys, as I do tend to prefer tubular locks.

I’m not too deterred by this, because the lock issue can be easily fixed. Well, at least it can be easily fixed with the right tools.

Did I mention that I did the assembly and lock removal with a Knipex PliersWrench and adjustable wrench? I at some point fount a 22mm impact socket and torque wrench, which I really needed to remove the second lock.

Most of my sockets and wrench sets are packed up for a few more weeks, and although I was sure to keep one socket set handy, it only had shallow sockets and inch sizing, not the metric needed for the caster bolts.

I am pooped. I’m bummed out that I now have to deal with the shipping-damaged Husky combo cabinet, but that’s the truck delivery company’s fault, not Husky’s.

I’m also kind of wishing that I went to bed after the debate was over.

These samples were both provided by Husky and Home Depot. I don’t think my attitude would be different if I had purchased them with cash. I guess that would have depend on how easily I could get replacement locks and keys.

Interesting, the lock on the side cabinet worked perfectly.