Tool chest - - feedback on recent purchases

Black Friday sales are just around the corner. It's time for a larger tool chest (top & bottom), as I'm outgrowing my current 26" unit. Considering a 41" or 56" wide chest. I'm just a weekend warrior working on old equipment, and a high-quality SnapOn, Kennedy, or other high-level boxes are out of the question. Many shallow drawers are preferred over fewer deeper drawers. Looking to spend around $700 or so. Looking for feedback on your experiences with the Husky boxes from Home Depot, Master Force boxes from Menards, Craftsman boxes, and the US General boxes from Harbor Freight.

Thanx !
 
I have the a big one from home depot at work. People are into the drawers multiple times a day and aren't "gentle" with it. It is about 2 years old and still works as good as day one. It is as good as day one. It has ball bearing drawers. It must be 48" wide or more.
 
I've got a Husky from HD.

It has held up well, but there is no closed drawer detent. Have to be very careful when moving it or parking it on the slightest forward incline as the drawers will all want to roll out. It hasn't turned over yet, but just a matter of time...

Something to check before buying!
 
Last box I bought was the top and bottom red toolboxes from Harbor Freight. All said,they are as good as my Snap on. A bit smaller but slide just as nice or nicer.

The one I link is not the one I bought but still is nice. Their brown ones are not even close to the quality of their red ones.
Tool Storage
 
I can't give an opinion on those brands you mentioned because I've never had one. I do know a couple people with husky and kobalt brands and they are built pretty good. Roller bearing drawer slides are pretty standard but some still aren't. Detent drawers are handy for closing or if scooting box around but need to lock them for most travel.

Oh, something else to think about, look at drawer width and depth. It may not matter to you but some boxes/drawers are not wide enough or deep enough for some tools or tool organizers. Open those drawers and see how much room you have from front to back. I would take a small tape with me to measure or at least take note of dimensions.
 
Over the years between Dad and me, we've had quite a few different brand boxes. Our boxes are a mix of everything from Craftsman, to MAC, and the latest one that was bought was a Waterloo. The Waterloo box is at least 15 years old, and the Craftsman and MAC boxes are all between 20 and 40 plus years old.

All of the boxes have seen hard use, and all of them are still in good shape.

That said, the Waterloo box was the cheapest of the bunch, and I think Dad got it on a scratch and dent deal, making the price even better. One of the reasons Dad went with it instead of another Craftsman, MAC, etc was that it was a really well build box, and even at regular price, was a much better deal than any of the others he had looked at.
 
(quoted from post at 21:02:46 11/20/16) Black Friday sales are just around the corner. It's time for a larger tool chest (top & bottom), as I'm outgrowing my current 26" unit. Considering a 41" or 56" wide chest. I'm just a weekend warrior working on old equipment, and a high-quality SnapOn, Kennedy, or other high-level boxes are out of the question. Many shallow drawers are preferred over fewer deeper drawers. Looking to spend around $700 or so. Looking for feedback on your experiences with the Husky boxes from Home Depot, Master Force boxes from Menards, Craftsman boxes, and the US General boxes from Harbor Freight.

Thanx !

I bought a Husky "top" box from Home Depot about 2 years ago when I started wrenching, It's not a very big box, 7 drawer I believe, and about 33" wide (its at work, and I'm not).. Paid something like $125 for it, and worth every penny, IMO. It has ball bearing slides with detents that keep the drawers closed, and so far has proven to be well built.

I'm currently looking for a bigger box myself, have been considering the "truck" brands, but will likely end up buying another Husky.

Brad
 
Many guys over at garagejournal.com speak very highly of the Harbor Freight tool boxes. Seems they are always on sale plus there are 20% off coupons out there all of the time also.
 
In my opinion you can't beat Harbor Freights red boxes, quality vs dollar spent. We have two sets in the shop aND have zero issues with them.
 
Menards has theirs on sale already. Can go on line and check out ads.

As for me, I'll put a nail in perlins and hang my tools. I'm not a fan of looking in drawers or cabinets for tools.

Only buy sockets that come in trays.
 
I bought a Craftsman top/bottom tool chest last year when they had them on sale. I have the bottom loaded up with the heavy stuff, and the top with the usual lighter stuff. I don't see any problems developing yet. They seem to have real good quality drawer slides. I had a no-name chest with sloppy slides and no drawer stops and was glad to be rid of it. You can find a nice set for the money you're talking about.
 
I have a Masterforce 72" bottom and 2 36" tops. It is a great setup. When I was still a road mechanic, the boxes in my service truck were Masterforce and the only problem I ever had was with the drawer latches, but they are much better on the newer boxes. The Masterforce is the same box you can buy in JD green for half the price.

That said, I was originally going to buy myself one of the big HF boxes, but the local store never has any in stock, and I didn't want to pay shipping.
 
Newer Craftsman boxes are poorly built. The US General from Harbor Freight is much better. Neither are heavy duty boxes. They are fine for guy's that just have a layer of tools on the bottom of the drawer but if you fill the drawers up they don't last very long. In the past ten years at work I have went through two Craftsmans and the US General I'm using now is on it's last legs. Mine are loaded and see heavy use.

Don't have any experience with the others mentioned but the better Kobalts are pretty decent boxes.
 
I'm with George, I like my tools hung on the wall with everything organized and in plain sight. Helps to be able to find and put back the tools. That said, my son and 2 grandsons who make a living with their tools all have Harbor Freight after trying other inexpensive tool boxes. All of them have some expensive brands of tools to put in their cheap tool boxes. The door on the left is on hinges and it swings around to cover the other one and gets locked when I leave town. All the power and bigger tools are on shelves under the benches.
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US general from Harbor Freight is what I finally bought after doing a lot of looking. I bought the 44" bottom first for $359, then added a like new used top for $100. Now I wish I had the 56" set! Watch the sales. Also, sometimes they have some returns in the stores that they mark down drastically.
 
I confess I'm one of the suckers that paid 3000 bucks for a Harley-Davidson Snap-on box. That being said the best buy on a box is US General at H-F . Load all the heavy stuff in the bottom drawers first. You won't be disappointed as it is almost the same type box no matter where you buy. The box only holds the tools and you will have more money for the Snap-On truck. { I have the US General]
 
I bought one from HF several years ago, and the only problem I've had is I didn't go big enough. I have several other assorted ones, and the HF is as good as any.
 
(quoted from post at 07:52:54 11/21/16) I'm with George, I like my tools hung on the wall with everything organized and in plain sight. Helps to be able to find and put back the tools. That said, my son and 2 grandsons who make a living with their tools all have Harbor Freight after trying other inexpensive tool boxes. All of them have some expensive brands of tools to put in their cheap tool boxes. The door on the left is on hinges and it swings around to cover the other one and gets locked when I leave town. All the power and bigger tools are on shelves under the benches.
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Dang, I like that! Wouldn't work at my job so well, but here at home it would.. I hang wrenches as it is, and my wife (before we were married) pounded nails into 2x4 pieces for my sockets because she "was tired of digging through the drawers".. I'm actually painting and cleaning my little shop now, and I just might copy this to a degree.

Brad
 
I bought the red HF 44" 7 years ago, killer deal compared to what all the other vendors were asking for the same quality; I paid $525 OTD for the top and bottom, 20% coupon worked back then, not now.

Other stores that had the equivalent size, weight, ball bearing drawers, were at least 50% more; or more. Lots more.

Probably the only way to kill these would be to load the drawers with depleted uranium (it's heavy) and drag it over broken concrete all day, which I'm sure someone, like M Man, are doing...

If you're going to do that, install spring loaded casters on the lower unit to cushion the bouncing around. Stopping that impact from hammering everything is the key. How long would a $60K pickup last with no suspension and solid rubber wheels???

When you look at these, you ask your self how can they sell them so cheap or more accurately, why are the other stores asking $1000+....OP go to the store and get your finger prints on one and you'll see.
 
I bought a stainless one from lowes had a dent in it got it for $200 good quality best money I ever spent.
 
Good job, well done.

I had a craftsman tool box with drawers. Some one broke in garage and stold the whole thing.

Having all your tools in a big tool box on wheels makes it too easy for a thief to take.
 
Yea, just roll the toolbox over to the door, load the top box then the bottom. When they come for mine it'll take a few minutes to box them up. The thief could take my road box and maybe be satisfied with that.
 
The 44 " bottom is on sale this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for $339.99. Cheapest I have seen in a while.
 
Better bring a rollback truck to steal this one. Top boxes are bolted to the bottom. My little forklift won't lift it.
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I second Vidmar I have Mac, Snap-on and others that I don't know the name of,,, None of them are the box my Vidmar is and never will be. A nice roll around box organised will hold most of the tools needed, those that are not needed often can set somewhere else till you need them.

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No pix of the back I can confirm its loaded for bear...

Boxes like this pop up all the time on cracklist for $500.

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Shallow drawers are useless to me what a waist of metal...
 
Theists are creative. A farmer had a large gun safe in his barn. Theists took gun safe along with his truck. Used a grinder and cut off hindges. Left safe along road close to where I live. Truck showed up two weeks later. Nothing is safe. They could slide out your drawers to make it lighter.
 
You might want to consider the used market.
Picked up a nice box for our son last year in as new condition and right full of half decent tools for less than the retail price of the box itself.

Some have commented on thieves, in my opinion the best thing you can do is do not lock your box.
Crooks might grab a few items but as far as the whole thing goes it is nearly impossible to pick up and move an unlocked tool chest without all the doors spilling out onto the floor.
 
Hummmmm..........

It appears that:

1) All the brands mentioned are OK for home use. No outright failures on any of them.
2) Don't abuse the weight limit.
3) Tool boxes that get moved around on a regular basis need a beefier undercarriage than the ones listed.
4) Tool boxes that get moved around on a regular basis need latching drawers to prevent drawers opening up on the go.
5) Recent Harbor Freight boxes are well liked, as are Husky.
6) Snap-on & other professional boxes are built to a higher standard, and a significiantly higher cost. Some owners nay-say other cheaper boxes, but so to the people who drive Rolls Royces to the Chevy people. Both get the specific job done, though your available needs and depth of wallet influence what you can/want to by.

Thanks everyone for your inputs & experiences !

Pete
 
Dave, I like your setup. Nice job. I'm getting ready to start unloading my tool boxes and start hanging tools on the wall. I have out grown my old Snap-On boxes and am tired of digging through drawers to find what I need because it is so overloaded.

Greg
 
Harbor Freight (red) US General and Husky are all good boxes. I too was one of the suckers that paid the big dollar for Snap-On boxes back in the 80's and honestly they are not any better then the than the above. I don't wrench for a living anymore and my boxes have not rolled 10 feet in the last 15 years. They just sit there. They are long paid for, so I'm not changing now. It would never pay off. If I were just starting out I would do it different and go with something like the above and save the money for more tools.
At work the company buys the Husky boxes for the maintenance guys to store the company owned tools in. These guys could a ruin a steel ball playing with it in a sand pit and the Husky boxes hold up good.

Greg
 
There is not enoufh walls to hang all my tools on. I am addicted to tool boxes even tho sometimes I can not find what I am looking for. In Oct. I burnt up a good Makita grinder so ordered another,,, While cleaning off a work table today I took the bad one apart it needs a armature and bushes. I went look'N for the paper work on it so I could look up the parts price. I started looking thru file cabinets etc and ran across a few Makita plastic box's :shock: in one box was a brand new side grinder I brought and forgot about. I did do a search on the model # and Ordered the parts on Amazon :D

I may have to find a place to hang'em even tho its again my religion to HANG tools....
 
I bought a Dewalt 52" chest, top and bottom last year. I like it, however the top chest had some factory "dings" in the lid. The place I got it from replaced the whole top chest. Has ball bearing slides.
 

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