I Want A Nice Tool Chest
 

My wife is thinking about my Father's Day present and she suggested a toolchest. I guess she's tired of my tools piled up on the garage shelves and crowding out her stuff. Anyway, I was thinking of one of those 4' high steel toolchests with casters and lots of shelves and maybe a bottom cabinet for oil and bulky stuff and a rubber top surface for setting a cold one. I don't have a ton of tools now but they seem to arrive like lost kittens - for instance, a homeless torque wrench just showed up on the doorstep, miaowing pitifully - so this toolchest should be expandable or stackable. Quality and built to last, of course.

So, any suggestions? What brand(s) are good? Got a really nice toolchest setup and willing to post a pic?

check out the rollaways at www.gregsmithequipment.com I no longer have lottery dreams of a snap-on item. If your wife is offering one for a father's day present??? GOFERIT! :D

call a few local snap-on dealers........they ALWAYS have traded in boxes, i picked up a roller drawer craftsman top/bottom for $150 where brand new it goes for $400

http://www.kennedymfg.com/ makes some good stuff.

That's a good question though. I'm not sure what I would get. I currently have a Craftsman bench top and John Deere floor unit.

Some TOOL strorage to drool over.
http://www.gerstnerusa.com/

I have a Craftsman that I got on a closeout. It's nice to be able to roll your tools to whatever part of the car you're working on. I finally figured that out last year!

Also- Check pawn shops. Good deals, negotiable, and some still have tools in them. Just plan on scraping off all the NASCAR stickers.

Now that I'm done fantasizing...checking pawn shops is a damned good idea!

Should you like black, Lowes has their Cobalt line of boxes which I'm sure are made by the same folks that make them for many others. Is that Waterloo perhaps?

Yes, I belive Waterloo is making them now. They also make the ball-bearing ("professional" & "industrial") "grip-latch" boxes for Sears Craftsman, which IMO, are the best for the money. If you order directly through Waterloo or one of their dealers, you should save a little $ over Craftsman/Kobalt, and have the choice of blue or black (along with red) on some of their models. They will also ship to a business address for free. ;)

Well, Fathers' Day brought a stacking set of Craftsman ball-bearing grip-latch tool cabinets. Hurrah! Now I have to build a workbench in the garage and then I will start my suspension project.

Good job, John! I've lusted after the ball bearing units when in Sears, just can't justify the buy...yet! ;) May you enjoy the unit for years...

I did end up finding a pretty good source for Waterloo boxes (manufacturers of all Craftsman boxes). For example: 41" ball-bearing, "grip-latch" roll-cab for $675 delivered (retails at Grainger.com for $895) If you are interested, PM/email me for details.



SmileWavy

Not yet...need to buy more tools first. Then maybe I can convince Cindy I need a rollaway? ;)