Which tool chest

dvoth · 08-31-2008, 11:42 PM

Havent seen any talk on favorite rolling tool chests. I have an old craftsman but it is getting too small. So in the near future I need to expand. Any ideas which is best? Dan

PHOENIX · 08-31-2008, 11:57 PM

I highly recommend a ball bearing one. Its nice not having to mess with sticky drawers and whatnot. As weird as it sounds, having a draw that opens and closes smoothly actually is productive, and less stressful in the shop.

mr2nr13 · 09-01-2008, 08:35 PM

Mac Tools MACSAMIZER!! lol if u had the dough! they also came in a jesse james west coast choppers edition too, thats my personal dream tool box but i have a quiet glide craftsman in black with 4 drawers

TomsMR2 · 09-03-2008, 06:11 PM

mac boxes kinda suck.. terrible value.

honestly, they're all big metal squares with some drawers. if it has some sort of semi recognizable name on it, its going to last damn near forever. even the HF box is welded steel with ball bearing sliders, its gonna last forever. assuming the same dimensions, the only thing thats really different is the price tag on front.

but! cheap boxes tend to have stupid dimensions, like an 18 inch depth. this is where they get you. you want a deep box to utulize space. this also gives you a workbench top instead of a useless riser box that takes up space. if you search you can find good cheap boxes with ~28-30 inch deep drawers. you also want lots of shallow or medium depth, WIDE drawers.. look for wide, deep, shallow drawer toolboxes. drawers that are too tall end up getting filled with junk and ruin organization.. you only want a couple tall drawers to store powertools etc.

check out SK toolboxes, they have good dimensions and they're about 1/3rd the price of other professional boxes.

TomsMR2 · 09-03-2008, 06:18 PM

examples.

box of epic proportion fail. too many huge tall drawers.. narrow too! it ends up taking up a lot of space and really not storing any tools. its a 2/3rd split too, so the drawers on the left end up being too narrow to hold large tools or really be useful.. then its the standard cheap 18 inch deep, so your tools cant be sorted well. it *looks* like it has a lot of storage, it takes up a ton of room, and it really wont hold or organize anything well. avoid this style like the plague.

we dont all have that many tools.. some of us do need a smaller box.. get something like this

much better use of space. has a flat top to work on. none of the drawers are too tall either. this will maximize organization and utilize maximum space of the box. a small box, but effective and useful, minimum waste and clutter. still a shallow 18 inch deep box, but better than the first, more common example.

the ideal box. ~30 inches deep, big top work surface.. that top full width drawer will be your workhorse for sockets and common tools. fantastic organization. you'd be amazed how much quicker you can finish projects when you're not spending half your life searching for tools. this type of box takes advantage of your real estate the best, and ultimately is what everyone whos serious about tools ends up owning, for good reason.

cliff notes, buy for dimensions!

KU_MechE · 09-10-2008, 07:34 PM

the 1st silver box looks like a "garage Toys" box. My buddy has one, and the quality is excellent.

Kurdain · 09-16-2008, 12:30 AM

I purchased the mid level, fairly large, craftsman tool chest.
The one right under their super professional series.

I've had it for years and it still works great.

It was good value for the money IMHO.

08-31-2008, 11:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
dvoth No Skills Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Which tool chest Havent seen any talk on favorite rolling tool chests. I have an old craftsman but it is getting too small. So in the near future I need to expand. Any ideas which is best? Dan

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08-31-2008, 11:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
PHOENIX Beams Owners Group Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tachikawa, Japan Posts: 7,253 Thanks: 71 Thanked 215 Times in 162 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (39/100% )	I highly recommend a ball bearing one. Its nice not having to mess with sticky drawers and whatnot. As weird as it sounds, having a draw that opens and closes smoothly actually is productive, and less stressful in the shop.

09-01-2008, 08:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
mr2nr13 No Skills Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Mac Tools MACSAMIZER!! lol if u had the dough! they also came in a jesse james west coast choppers edition too, thats my personal dream tool box but i have a quiet glide craftsman in black with 4 drawers

09-03-2008, 06:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
TomsMR2 Formerly Tom Brokaw Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area Posts: 2,040 Thanks: 8 Thanked 152 Times in 129 Posts Blog Entries: 1 iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	mac boxes kinda suck.. terrible value. honestly, they're all big metal squares with some drawers. if it has some sort of semi recognizable name on it, its going to last damn near forever. even the HF box is welded steel with ball bearing sliders, its gonna last forever. assuming the same dimensions, the only thing thats really different is the price tag on front. but! cheap boxes tend to have stupid dimensions, like an 18 inch depth. this is where they get you. you want a deep box to utulize space. this also gives you a workbench top instead of a useless riser box that takes up space. if you search you can find good cheap boxes with ~28-30 inch deep drawers. you also want lots of shallow or medium depth, WIDE drawers.. look for wide, deep, shallow drawer toolboxes. drawers that are too tall end up getting filled with junk and ruin organization.. you only want a couple tall drawers to store powertools etc. check out SK toolboxes, they have good dimensions and they're about 1/3rd the price of other professional boxes.

09-03-2008, 06:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
TomsMR2 Formerly Tom Brokaw Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area Posts: 2,040 Thanks: 8 Thanked 152 Times in 129 Posts Blog Entries: 1 iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	examples. box of epic proportion fail. too many huge tall drawers.. narrow too! it ends up taking up a lot of space and really not storing any tools. its a 2/3rd split too, so the drawers on the left end up being too narrow to hold large tools or really be useful.. then its the standard cheap 18 inch deep, so your tools cant be sorted well. it looks like it has a lot of storage, it takes up a ton of room, and it really wont hold or organize anything well. avoid this style like the plague. we dont all have that many tools.. some of us do need a smaller box.. get something like this much better use of space. has a flat top to work on. none of the drawers are too tall either. this will maximize organization and utilize maximum space of the box. a small box, but effective and useful, minimum waste and clutter. still a shallow 18 inch deep box, but better than the first, more common example. the ideal box. ~30 inches deep, big top work surface.. that top full width drawer will be your workhorse for sockets and common tools. fantastic organization. you'd be amazed how much quicker you can finish projects when you're not spending half your life searching for tools. this type of box takes advantage of your real estate the best, and ultimately is what everyone whos serious about tools ends up owning, for good reason. cliff notes, buy for dimensions!

09-10-2008, 07:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
KU_MechE Some Skills Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 95 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	the 1st silver box looks like a "garage Toys" box. My buddy has one, and the quality is excellent.

09-16-2008, 12:30 AM	#7 (permalink)
Kurdain Cage Fighter Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 501 Thanks: 30 Thanked 24 Times in 18 Posts iTrader Rating: (9/100% )	I purchased the mid level, fairly large, craftsman tool chest. The one right under their super professional series. I've had it for years and it still works great. It was good value for the money IMHO.