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Tool Guys - Recommend Me a Tool Chest

RS250 Chester

RS250 Chester

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2002
Location
Sacramento
Moto(s)
Aprilia RSV Mille, Aprilia RS250, Cagiva Mito 125
Been looking for a rolling tool chest. My budget is only $300. I know there are only a few actual tool chest manufacturers who sell it under different brands, but I'm not sure who makes what for what brand. I know Waterloo get recommended, but not sure if they are Craftsman, Husky or another brand.

I started looking this week and saw a 2 piece 26" "Home" craftsman set at sears outlet for $184. Checked it out, but it was utterly cheap. I'm sure it would work fine around the garage, but the drawers felt flimsy and it would be the first to break.

Anyone have good feedback within my budget. I saw a 36" Dewalt on craiglists I really liked, but its $425.
 
Look for a used Kennedy on craigsist, they are pretty well made. I wouldnt bother with new stuff too much junk out there.
 
I am not sure how to tell who makes what brand. I know I have seen the same box in Sears as Craftsman and Lowes as Kobalt, and there was a big price difference.

In general, the big thing to look at for me has been how the casters mount (since they take all the weight) and how the drawer slides work (bearings/slide/weight rating). After that its gauge (thickness) of the metal and how it overall "feels".

That's always been my issue with the Harbor Freight stuff. The drawer slides feel "cheap" and the weight rating is lower than I'd like - but for a hobbiest they probably wear fine. My brother has their stuff and its been ok for 5+ years, but it only gets used 30-40x a year (not daily, not even every weekend). Its probably like the one you found at Sears.

Your craigslist approach is a good one, and if you have patience you should be able to score something. I'd rather have a 20 year old snap on, matco, cornwell than something overly cheap but new.

That said, a friend of mine picked up one of these from Husky
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-46...-with-Solid-Wood-Top-Black-7440946R/206839475

And while it was a little small, it was quite robust and he used it for several years. He used it daily 6-7 days a week in a shop enviornment.

There's a cheaper version of that on sale for $249 with a lower weight limit- the difference is in the drawer slides.

The forums on Garage Journal are really good for this, as are reddit. I learned a lot about tools on Reddit some years ago. Not sure which forums are hot now, but Reddit turns up well in Google, so if you google those model numbers you're looking at you should get some enlightening hints.
 
I hate the Craftsman cabinet I bought 20 years ago. I can't image they have improved. That's all I have to contribute.
 
+1 harbor freight. I have one of their tool carts. Works fine for my garage at home.
 
I'm very happy with the off brand tool chest I got from Costco. The drawers could stand to be a tad smoother, but other than that I have zero complaints. Awesome value. Wish I could remember the brand name, but they've been carrying it for a couple years.
 
As others have pointed out it's your usage that is really going to make you notice the difference. If it's just going to be sitting for weeks at a time then no biggie get whatever. If it's daily shop use, you're going to need/want something built to be more durable and heavy duty. Drawers get slammed, used as parts dumps even if only for a minute, banged into, soaked in various fluids around the shop, set on fire, whatever. I've had good experience with the larger and far more expensive craftsman and snapon stuff (think $1500 range for craftsman and $3000+ for snapon) but the amount of abuse they took was phenomenal. I doubt any of the cheaper stuff could regularly stand up to plopping metal parts weighing over 100 lbs on top of them on a regular bases (and I do mean dropping, not "setting lightly").

But if you just need it for working on your bikes, I'm sure even the smaller ones would stand up to engine parts and stuff.

One thing I will say - get as big as you can accommodate in your space. One way or another this is a long-term purchase. You WILL accumulate more tools than you currently have. You WILL come up with other things to store in it. Plan accordingly.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses, it's insightful.

Yes, I was planning for a long-term purchase with growth, but at the same time, I am supposed to inherit my father's old 80's Craftsman box that is in pristine condition, but I don't have a timeframe for that yet.

Surprisingly I did hear good things about Harbor Freight's boxes. I was of the mindset that the "Home" Craftsman box would be good enough for my light use until I get my father's chest, but the Home set is awful, I can't get myself to fork over $200 what feels like an empty aluminum can. They did have a much better set at $284 with smoother drawers and thicker panels.

I still haven't checked out the other big box stores, that will happen over the next week. I did miss out on the Home Depot DeWalt blowout. But it seems people are unloading them on Craiglist for $425, retailed for over $600.
 
My friend has a HF box and it seems quite well built and definitely worth the money. I have older SnapOn and craftsman boxes and the HF stacks up well. For waaaay less money.
 
Believe it or not, the Harbor Freight tool boxes (US General) are actually pretty good quality, and they are well priced. A couple of the mechanics at the last shop I worked at had them, and they both liked them.
 
To be sure, my snap on box that I work out of is a million times better than the HF one I use at home. But the HF is just fine.
 
snap on

you can resell it back to the dealer who you bought it from

the ball bearings have lifetime replacements - i just got like 4-6 rails for free just providing my serial #, and my box is like 12+ years old

only other mfg boxes that i know you can actually sell back are matco and mac, all the others nobody wants 2nd hand, but snap on mac matco - ppl eat them up
 
FXCLM5 said:
snap on

you can resell it back to the dealer who you bought it from

the ball bearings have lifetime replacements - i just got like 4-6 rails for free just providing my serial #, and my box is like 12+ years old

only other mfg boxes that i know you can actually sell back are matco and mac, all the others nobody wants 2nd hand, but snap on mac matco - ppl eat them up
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that $5k in toolbox will buy me a dozen lifetimes of HF boxes. If you don't use the boxes for a living or just have stupid money, it doesn't pencil out to buy a top of the line box.
 
CoorsLight said:
I'm very happy with the off brand tool chest I got from Costco. The drawers could stand to be a tad smoother, but other than that I have zero complaints. Awesome value. Wish I could remember the brand name, but they've been carrying it for a couple years.
Click to expand...
Also have a costco one enjoy. Don't remember at all what it cost, been a while
 
CoorsLight said:
I'm very happy with the off brand tool chest I got from Costco. The drawers could stand to be a tad smoother, but other than that I have zero complaints. Awesome value. Wish I could remember the brand name, but they've been carrying it for a couple years.
Click to expand...

Im gonna guess that a bit of work will see you able to find replacement rollers that will fit?

Ill probably pick up a HF one at some point. Im not a badass mechanic, but I do like things orderly. Im also really cheap.
 
Most stuff at Harbor Freight is pretty much throwaway BUT I've been pretty happy with my "US General Pro" 42" roll around box. There's a Craftsman ball bearing one I bought 20 years ago next to it and I think the US General one is much better. I think it was like $369 or so. I wouldn't hesitate to get another or add the top box and side box to it. They are sturdy and the drawers slide nice. Has some metal in it.

Would love to have a setup with latching drawers and stuff but I'd have to spend at least twice that. Check the reviews.
 
Download the easter sunday 25% off coupon for harbor freight, it might work on the tool boxes I but likely not.
 
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