Toolboxes
 

I have an old beatup Craftsman. Thinking of this one, now that its on sale, but not sure about it because it seems like is has just a few drawers, and they're really large, which means they'll collect a lot of stuff, unorganized. Anyone have it?

http://www.costco.com/TRINITY-41%22-Stainless-Steel-Tool-Chest.product.100075463.html

Large drawers are for holding boxed tools, like compression and leak down testers. If you have standard tools like wrenches and such you should get a box with lots of smaller drawers. My box at work is a large type, my ox at home is mostly small ones

Tool boxes and tool storage systems - SPG International

Very good quality for the money.

Home Depot has this one on sale for $600 this week. Cant beat it for the price. Tempted to go and pick it up. Not that I need it , already have four tool chests... but, you can never have enough!

Husky 52 in. 18-Drawer Tool Chest and Cabinet Set, Black-HOTC5218B1QES at The Home Depot

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417559646.jpg

I have one of their 72 inch boxes branded NAPA Pro. Good for the house but wouldn't cut it for a pro.

i helped a friend and used my truck to pick that big stainless thing up from Costco. it is HEAVY!! super heavy. two of us were almost no match. luckily at his home, he had brothers waiting.

the thing is very good. super smooth drawers. if i had to pick one negative, it is very tall. my buddy is not that tall, and looking at the top shelf is a damn near impossibility. he steps up on a wooden corbel. i used to joke that he needed a mirror. i think my friend is about 5'8"..so if you are not tall.

i just saw it a few months ago. he has it jammed packed.

That appears to be a great price on the SS tool box. I also have older beat-up Craftsman and agree with Rick V, lots of smaller drawers are more useful for wrenches, socket sets, etc etc. , i.e. The HD box VINMAN posted

I have a big CostCo box that has these two weird drawers on the side with pegboard in them - utterly, completely, useless

I looked at a nearly identical SS box at Sam's Club. Also looked at the boxes at Lowes and HD. I ended up buying a box at Harbor Freight for about half the price, it was the nicest of the bunch.

Agree. Best deal in tool boxes I've ever seen. Feels very sturdy in the store.

Wish I was in the market for a box.

Good advice. Their nicer models are pretty nice.

The HF boxes are definitely nice but I think that husky is probably a little better value.

I have a couple of the Harbor Freight US General Pro toolboxes. My only complaint is that they're red. Too bad that's the only color choice.

it seems sears is charging a hefty premium for roller bearing slides. looking at the HF and Husky boxes you have to wonder how on earth craftsman boxes can be so much more.

agree on the red. I like the black much better. my own craftsman is blue.

Toolboxes are a funny thing. We each have different requirements, color matters to some, some like more little drawers, others prefer more large drawers. I cant stomach the snapon cost but they sure seem to have the door size mix figured out, at least for my needs. I have an old Craftsman box that works great, I just wish it had better drawer slides.

The HF stuff is much better than what I last saw there several years ago. My Sams club box, Homak?, is solid but not ideal. The HD stuff I looked at recently had a few sharp edges, similar to the Lowes and Sears stuff I looked at recently.

Bought my craftsman boxes from a snap-on dealer. They take them in on trade and sell cheap.

I picked this one up on Craig's list about 5 years ago for only $500. Its so tall I need a step to see in the top, and I am 6' tall!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417621579.jpg

Thats the one I bought last year after Sandy flooded my old one that I had for 25+ years. Great box indeed for a great price.

The quality of the slides separates an average toolbox from an excellent toolbox.

Try to pull the wide drawers open from either side, not from the center. A cheap toolbox will bind.

You guys have me itching for a new toolbox now...thanks.

Those Husky boxes are even cheaper than the HF ones....

I want a Kennedy, but I don't want the price tag- My Cman with ball bearings has been fine, but it's overloaded....

I'm just an DIY'er with too much stuff.

http://cdn.content.compendiumblog.co...e963e35d56.gif

Do you feel its appropriate for storage of small things like wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, etc. or mainly for larger items?

Costco has a narrower, slightly smaller box with more drawers, but its also $799 and currently not on sale.

Rich, you would be way better off with a chest that has more shallower drawers. That one you posted, has deep drawers that waste a lot of storage space. Especially for things like wrenches and screwdrivers. More drawers also makes it easier to organize it.

I have two of the HF 44'' lower cabinets made into a long workbench.

Worth a look. They can still be had for around 350 a box, although I bought mine a few years ago for somewhat less.

Two of these would be good...

Roller Cabinet - 44" Red Rolling Tool Cabinet w/ 13 Drawers

That's what I have. Very happy with it, and I liked it more than others that were twice the price.

Arrrrggghhhh!
So I'm thinking, I haven't bought a new roll away ... ever.

I bought a lower section back in the early 80's and it was a cheapo. Under $100.
Then I rescued a throw-away center and top section from a neighbor, but had to hammer on them a bit. They work and I've been getting by forever with crap box full of good tools, but I wasn't out to impress no one and it worked. Never had enough storage with 12 drawers by 26" but I always got by.
I have thousands of dollars worth of tools crammed into crappy boxes. I can afford gold-plated anything I want but am too cheap to spend the $$$$

Then I saw this thread and said, hey I can take a look, it won't hurt.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417651634.jpg
HF is offering this for $370!!!!!!


Next thing ya know I'm sitting here singing
happy birthday to me,
happy birthday to me,
happy birthday dear sammy,
happy birthday to me.

And I'm getting wierd looks.



The wife is always telling me that I need to make the garage look nicer like the neighbor's with all the fancy cabinets but he doesn't own a cresent wrench .... this is a start.

Am I right??

Dagnabbit now I have myself talked into this 52" wide one. This ain't like me.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417654166.jpg

The HF ones arent that bad, actually. The SPG ones I posted a link to are easily as good as my Snap-on box. It is ridiculous how much they want for a rollaway these days.

I'm afraid of the sub-1000 boxes, don't want a POS that the wheel folds under when you move it....

HF- anyone got any real experience?

Check craigslist and be patient. You can get a professional grade heavy-duty toolbox for the price of some of these thin gauge consumer boxes. I got a 15 year old Snap-on KRL double width roller box (thier top end model new) for $1000 a couple years ago. I can pull the drawers out and use them as stairs. My top drawer has a 480lb capacity alone. A 20 year old Snap-on is better built than any box in this thread, and will hold its value.

As I mentioned, I have the 44" HF box linked to earlier in this thread. I looked at Sears, HD, and Lowes, I felt that the HF was as nice or nicer and the least expensive. Lets face facts, all of the aforementioned stores have their boxes made in China as well. At least the HF price reflects that.

One other note, the bigger HF boxes are fully assembled. It has nice ball bearing drawer slides, latches securely, includes drawer liners and a rubber top mat, and has nice heavy duty oversized casters with a grease fitting. I use it daily and am very happy, it's far better than the smaller Craftsman box that it replaces.

Turns out the 52" wide box won't fit without surgery to cabinets etc.

I have my eye on this one, 41" wide almost the same and it'll fit.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417663771.jpg

But now common sense has overtaken impulse emotional buying and I'm gonna do the homework on what's available out there before pulling the trigger.

Good to know.

I hear a lot of good things about that box, I just get concerned with the caster mounts ripping out- when I move a box, I MOVE them all over- I'll probably get the 56" eventually...price is too tempting.

rjp

AND in stainless steel. It looks a work of art.

I like the idea of getting something quality used on craigslist: snap on, matco, blue point, cornwell etc.

I think the cheaper store brands are just fine for home use, but I like the usa brand ones if you can get a good deal on a used one. I have a 350$ craftsman and a snap on i bought for 800$ on craigslist. Both are completely fine but the latter is certainly much sturdier.

How I roll Motion.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417704578.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417704612.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417704638.jpg

I checked te OC craigslist last night, lots of high quality boxes and some junk.
The junk is ... junk.

The higher quality stuff is .... priced higher than retail for new.
Seriously.

Looks like a bunch of clowns paid through the nose for status boxes and with that kind of sense went out of business quickly, and are now trying to recoup all their losses.
Good luck with that.

Happens all the time. The toolman gives just about everybody credit and boy does that new box look nice.... deals are out there but lots are looking.