How to use the Special Order process?

[VulcanJohn]

I was given a Stanley 3-box rolling workbox as a birthday gift and it is really good, but I wanted to make it a little bit better for my needs. I would like to add a tool tray insert to the top box. The box has the lugs already in place, but this particular configuration comes without the tray. I have to say at this point that the gift was not purchased from Bunnings.

I searched websites for Bunnings and Stanley and could not find a tray to fit, so sent an email to Stanley's customer service team detailing my plan. I quickly received a positive reply, which included the part number, and the suggestion to order it via Bunning's Special Orders service, which I did. The next day I received a text message to phone for the update, which was that the part was not available.

Confused and saddened, I went back to the same Stanley's rep and asked him to confirm I had the correct part number and that this part is for the tray, and not the whole top unit, it is. So now what do I do? The manufacturer is telling me the part is available via Special Order, but their preferred supplier is saying they can't get it. Stanley will not provide it to me by direct sale.

Can anyone with in-house experience of how I get this to work give me some pointers please?

Product Name: Tray
Product Code: H1300110REC

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

I'll sort it out for you @VulcanJohn. I'd imagine it's just a miscommunication between the supplier and us.

I've sent you a private message requesting details of the store you're dealing with. I'll make contact with them to determine what the issue is.

Thanks for the feedback.

Mitchell

[VulcanJohn]

Thanks Mitchell. I have replied to your private message. What I forgot to add is that, if the trays are available, I would like 2 of them please.

John.

[MitchellMc]

No worries, @VulcanJohn. I'll contact the supplier and the store after the weekend.

Many thanks for your patience.

Mitchell

[MitchellMc]

Hi John (@VulcanJohn),

I've been able to confirm from Stanley that the product is not available in Australia. There seems to have been some confusion about the stock they have available. This stock is actually residing in Europe. The order we placed for your item was cancelled because of the absence of local stock. I do apologise for the mix-up and inconvenience.

Do you think we might be able to come up with a way for you to make a timber insert? I trust our helpful members will have some ideas about how to go about it.

Mitchell

[VulcanJohn]

Hi Mitchell

Thanks for unravelling the mystery. I concede it's not worth the price of a return flight for a couple of plastic trays, so I like your idea of making a wooden one.

It shouldn't be too hard to make something from a sheet of marine ply, I know, famous last words! It could be used for the base and some smaller strips used vertically for the edges, a handle and section separators. I'm going to be busy this week but I'll have a think about the layout that would suit me best and let you know the outcome.

In the meantime, if anyone else has built an insert tray for a toolbox, please let us have a look at your ideas and also highlight any do's, don'ts and things that you have subsequently changed or loved.

John

[VulcanJohn]

UPDATE

It took a while but it's done! I made a wooden tray insert using 6mm marine ply. I also used 2 x 20mm conduit clips, a short length of conduit left-over from another job, 2 small pieces of wood to raise the handle height and a couple of long 5mm bolts, complete with washers and nuts.

The result is a good fit to the top section of the tool chest and was spray painted in White Knight Lemon, a good match for the Stanley yellow.

The finish for the joins is not as clean as I would have liked, the edges of the ply kept splintering and I have to admit my hand-saw skills on straight lines need improvement. But I finished it and achieved my goal. Now I just have to figure out which tools to put in each section of the toolbox stack.

Tray inserted into the boxHandle detail

[MitchellMc]

That looks sensational, @VulcanJohn! I'm impressed with your ingenuity; the tray looks like it's from the manufacturer. 

Mitchell