Power Tool cases - rant

JML755

Well-known Member
Why is it that manufacturers who sell tools that come in a case don't leave enough space in the molded cases for accessories, LIKE THE NAILS YOU USE IN A NAIL GUN!

Years ago, I bought Sears and Milwaukee and their cases had room for extra blades, drill bits and stuff. Then tools started being sold without them and, since I like the idea of having my tools protected, I bought a cheapo tool box (used to be metal, now cheapos are all plastic) to store them in if they didn't come in one.

Nowadays, the tool boxes are molded to fit the tool and leave little room for anything else. I've got a Hitachi finish nailer that I can barely get a small plastic package of nails into the case with it if I deform it enough.

A while back, I bought a DeWalt case for my angle grinder ( $40) and found that it will fit the grinder if you carefully wrap the cord in a certain way and position the guard just right. Otherwise, you're not going to get the lid closed. Forget about putting any qty of disks, you can MAYBE put a few extra one in it. Don't even think about putting a wire wheel or cup wheel in there with it. I've since got a "HOMER" box from HD to use ($9) that has plenty of room for extras.

All I can say is that the guys who design these cases don't work with the tools in the real world. End of rant.
 
Room or no room, I'm sick of paying for
cases. If I kept every tool in its case I
couldn't fit them all in my truck boxes.
I usually take the tool out and throw the
box away. Would rather not have to pay for
the box.
 
Extra plastic for the box costs extra money. We don't want the company to go bankrupt from selling cheap tools made in china do we?
 
I agree with you,theres no room for an extra battery,and if the cord for the charger is not just so you
can't close the lid! Most of these engineers and designers couldn't work in the real world anyway.
 
Get yourself a couple teenage boys to help you then you can worry about WTF they left the tool because the case is empty.....
 
My most recent buy was a replacement jig saw and I bought it 'bare'; no battery and no case. Works for me. I will say that all my DeWalt gear has cases with storage room. The drill has room for the drill, charger, extra battery, bits, screws, bits, and hex drivers. The only issue is that all that stuff tends to float around inside so careful how you open it.
 
I try to buy the tool less the case if possible. You're right, pretty much useless.

I like the big zippered bags. I can put similar tools, and all the extras in.
 
thank you - I've been griping about this for years now.

It's INFURIATING. And FORGET room for accessories - it's not having room for the WIRE of a tool that drives me INSANE.

Oh sure you CAN squeeze it in there, but it takes about five tries - bunching the wire up tight, holding it down, slamming the lid, while trying to quickly extract your
hand without getting hit - it's like performing a magic trick.

I swear the case desigers are ALWAYS give a sample of the tool with no wire. It's no even an after thought - it's just a non-thought. There's never room for the wire.

The WORST case ever was for a ryobi circular saw my father bought. I'm not a fan of the brand to begin with - but I wasn't going to just throw it away...

I used it a few times...

I'd challenge anybody here to figure out how the saw itself fit into the case in under 15 minutes. Even after seeing it done a few times. It was at an odd angle - and
not intuitive in the least.

I threw it away. After a long day of working with tools - the LAST thing you need is a fight with a plastic box.

Cases are important to me. I've got too many tools not to store them neatly and together with related parts.
 
For corded tools, where the cord doesn't want to fit inside the case, you can carefully drill a 1/2" or so hole in a convenient spot where the two halves of the case come together, then wind up the cord on the outside of the case.

I agree - the engineers go out of their way to make everything a little too perfect fit.
 
The local Sears hardware store has zippered tool bags on sale each Christmas, about 3 for $20 or so. The small size is about right for a drill, charger, extra battery, and a box of drill bits. Another has my air nailer with an assortment of different nails. The larger size I use for my reciprocating saw. Only problem is to make sure I pick up the right bag.
 
(quoted from post at 15:39:21 02/01/16) Get yourself a couple teenage boys to help you then you can worry about WTF they left the tool because the case is empty.....
:lol: :lol: Gotta agree with that. I bought a Dewalt angle grinder for work that came with the same case described above. Young guy in the shop was the first to use it. Couldn't put it in the case so he left it on a shop table. I went to use it the next day and couldn't find the spanner wrench that came with it to change the wheel. His reaction when I asked where it was? "I dunno" with a shrug of his shoulders. Figured we'd come across it but months later I figured he a) stole it or b) tossed it in the trash. Reason I'm leaning that he tossed it was his claim was that you don't need it, you just twist the wheel to tighten or loosen.
 
For Christmas I bought myself a very nice 18 volt cordless drill. The handy small one. It was $99 dollar one and had a case, charger, and the smallest battery. Went on fleabay and with great care I bought the next size up battery. It was the only one that fit in the case. Nothing else and I do mean nothing. No screws or a stick of chewing gum!
 
I personally like the molded tool containers. The tools fit tight in them so they transported in the site trailer in organized built in cabinets. As far as nails etc., we bought them in 25# boxes and those had a storage compartment on the floor in the front of the trailer. I can't understand why you would want to put colleted nails in a case where they will get all broken apart when the carring case is bumped around. As far as drill bits and such we just selected the one we needed from the drill index in a drawer in the trailer and hex driver bits each guy just kept them in their tool pouches. The sawsall cases always had a tray for an assortment of blades, and we had a drawer in the cabinets for new and extra circle and recriprocating blades and cuttoff wheels for our angle grinders. All the cabinets had doors with latches so they couldn't come open and dump stuff on the floor while in transit.
Now that I am retired the tools and cases got stored on shelves in my shop, and fastners went on the floor under a bench. They are easy to find and ready to go when I need them.
Loren
 
In some cases there are more dividers and partitions than necessary to hold the tool down. I've cut some out and created enough room to hold a few accessories.
 
You're complaining about accessories. I don't use the boxes because it's too difficult to get the cord folded up enough to close the lid.
 
With a slight modification to a divider, my 18v
dewalt impact driver fits I, the case with my drill.

Trouble is, now the charger does not fit in there
with them and the 2 batteries. I do have all kinds
of driving accessories and could probably fit
another battery, though.
 

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