I'am looking at a 10 or 11 drawer top chest toolbox I have been looking at Sears Craftsman they are the ones that come in Midnight Blue or Green. My brother has Waterloo boxes but he got them for X-Mas presents and the store they came from is in Vancouver. I was thinking of the Craftsman boxes because I can order online and its shipped to the sears depot here. A 11 drawer box is 400 dollars which isn't bad the Waterloo Boxes are cheaper but it might because they are a cheaper quality. I have so much tools now that I can't keep track of what I have. I have grown from a standard gable top portable toolbox to I would probably fill a 11 drawer top chest box. Been thinking about building a single axle shop trailer so I can have all my tools in one place. But I would like to get a good toolbox first so I can keep track of all my stuff. Its funny how when its your own tools you care about them I used to drive my dad nuts when I used his tools and never put them back. What is your guys preference of brand of tool box is the Craftsman Boxes any good ?
Craftsman is pretty good.Mastercraft stuff is good too.They are all made by one or two manufacturers anyways.I beleive Beech makes all the Crafstman and Mastercraft stuff. Whatever you get,buy one with roller drawer slides.They still roll in and out nicely even when loaded.Friction slides are a pain to open when there are heavy tools in the drawer.Also look for one with locking drawers.The front drawer lip must be lifted slightly or the drawer will not slide out.
Tool boxes It depends on what your going to do with it, you get what you pay for. Craftsman is a good box if your going to leave it in the shop but if you start throwing it in the back of the truck I would wonder how long it will last. I bought one set of SnapOn boxes in 1980 and one other in 1992 and the first set has been in my service truck since 1987 and the other since 1992 and they are still in very good condition, but again, you get what you pay for. They're expensive but they're good. The comment that they're all made by one or two companies is like saying all pickups or all excavators are built by the same company! It comes down to, buy what you think will work and what makes you happy!
i use a wooden box for my tools, that when a theif will not take them.(they look for tools boxes) all my tools i use to fix my obsolete equipmnet don't amount to much so a wooden box works very well. when i'm in my little shop, my tools are on the work bench instead of the wooden box, LOL check my d6 9u pictures under dozers and you will see my collection of tools, LOL someday i want nice tools and a fancy shop with a cement floor, LOL thansk
I have a hodge-podge set of tool boxes a Craftsman roller cabinet, a Mastercraft center chest and a Ultra-Pro (Napa) top chest. I prefer the Ultra-Pro quality the most.:bash
I have a big Craftsman box with the ball bearing drawers. I like it a lot. Its no Snap On, but for the price I am very happy with it. Wait till they go on sale. Sears seems to have them on sale quite often.
The toolbox will be at home if I got any place I need to take tools I have a ordinary tool box that you can carry. I'am not a professional mechanic so its not like the drawers on the tool box are opening and closing every day. Its nice thou to have all my tools in one place and organized.
I'd still go with the ball bearing slides for extended life if nothing else. :yup
I will look to see what prices are worth I might have to hold off on a eye candy toolbox for now. Its what I wanted to find out what you guys prefered I don't know much about mechanics toolboxes I never owned one. So its better to spend the money on one with ball bearing drawer slides. The contractor I worked for had a few old boxes with the friction sides they didn't want to close very well. Then again the boxes are probably 20 years old. Snap On tool boxes are out of the question for me I'am not that rich I know the snap on tool man and talk to him any time I see him. A snap pn box is in the thousands it would be worth it if mechanics was my proffession. I even noticed John Deere has their own line up of tool boxes with their name on them.
You can get decent priced boxes with the ball bearing slides. That is one of the most important features to me. If your working on something then its probably broken and your probably already not in the best mood so you don't want to fight with drawers that won't open or close :spaz . I have a Snap-On box although its an excellent box I should've gotten the "el cheapo". I bought the Snap-On in retaliation for the purse and shoes the ol' lady bought . Turns out she couldn't of cared less . I should've used her card not mine :Banghead .
I have a Snap on that Ive had for 30 yrs but its getting tired. I also have a Remline I bought about 7 yrs ago it seeems to be holding up well. Last I knew Waterloo made the Sears boxes. Sears boxes are a good value.
The snap on tool sales man for the area always has a brandnew cabinet and top chest in his truck for the newbie mechanics that are eager to buy a toolbox. One thing about snap on is they have the specialized tools but otherwise the other brands work finel. I will buy craftsman wrenches but I won't buy their sockets or socket sets dad bought a set and every thin walled socket cracked. Yes its free replacement but when you have to wait 2 weeks for your replacement its not worth it. I have a set of the last run of craftsman combination wrenches the ones with the raised panels on the shank of the wrench. Can't get them anymore they have been discontinued so I bought a set before they were all gone. My socket sets are Westward I have had them for 10 years never broke one yet been well abused.
In the for what it's worth department: I have Sears toolboxes for the shop, and they work well for me, but I'm not a professional mechanic, so it's not really a heavy use situation. For the field, i.e. working out of a truck, I've found that the sets of tools that come with the molded plastic cases work well for the little tools, since each one fits into it's own slot, helping to insure that every tool used in the field gets returned to it's place in the box. An open slot means a socket is laying on the gound somewhere. I use Sears black plastic (double wall) boxes, in several sizes, for bigger tools, the pipe wrenches, etc. Having several helps me separate tools; screwdrivers in one, big wrenches in another, drill bits in a third, etc. That way, I can basically take what I need, rather than having to go back to the truck several times, or having to lug a big box into and out of the truck. I find that the plastic boxes can take a few knocks better that a steel box, which I can dent up in a hurry. I also use a couple of the canvas, open top tool boxes, the ones with the handle over the top, for tools that I'm always needing. Having one or two set up with the basics for your job makes things relatively easy. While this works for me, I'd not suggest this arrangement for a serious mechanic, who would probably have many more, and heavier tools than I usually need, or carry in a truck. As for the sales at Sears, go on the afternoon of the last day of the sale. I did once and overheard the guy in front of me ask for the exact set that I wanted. He got the last set the store had. Since the add says "...as advertised or better", I asked for the next higher set, at the sale price. I was offered a rain check, and after pointing the wording of the Sears ad out to the manager, I paid the 350 dollars for the sale advertized set, and walked out with a bigger set of boxes, worth over 500 bucks.
Well I think Sears has gone downhill since K-mart bought them out. I remember when you brought a broken tool in, went to the shelf and got a NEW replacement, took it to the counter to show the cashier of the swap and you were off with a new tool. Now if you bring in a broken tool you get a "refurbished" tool. Now why do I want a tool that somebody else broke and they "fixed" . Thats not to say that tool quality is bad. I just think their policies are screwed up.
The outlet store sears has here only carries appliances any tools or clothes etc you order from the catalog or online. Sears Canada doesn't sell tires anymore I guess its not worth it. Our one parts store was carrying CLARKE brand tool boxes they looked pretty good I haven't seen them in the store lately. On edit the local parts store has GEL tools they work find have a free replacement gaurantee I had a 1/2 drive flex bar I broke because I had a cheater pipe on it but the store replaced it no questions asked. The one good thing is the store is close so its a 10 min drive. With anything from sears the sears outlet sends the tool to eastern canada where the head distribution is then they send you a replacement tool back usually takes 2 weeks.
IMHO it really depends on whether its going to be a shop chest or a road chest, a shop chest will pretty well last forever but a road chest will suffer from fatigue and inertia damage, bumps and scrapes no matter how well its stowed over thousands of miles of use. Second hand, bargain pages or word of mouth is a good way of finding a good tool box when a professional wants to trade up. On a side note... does Cat still make their orange serviceman's chest? They were sweet.
The toolbox I would buy stays in the shop or when I get a shop trailer it will be in it. Most mechanics I know have regular gable top toolboxes for the out in the field work some of them have tools just for out in the field work that stay in the portable tool box. When your working on boats that are in the water having expensive snap on wrenches falling through the planks of the dock and you say oh crap what was that. When you do marine construction like dad and I were doing all the wrenches had a rope tied to it that you put around your wrist. Most of the bolts all had 1 1/4 nuts so loosing a 1 1/4 wrench hurts they are not cheap.
I have a Mac toolbox. While on the subject of tool boxes. Does anyone know of a site to see a nice tool wall or similar. I have been looking on the net for extreme garages or something and havent found anything. I actually would like to make a full wall of tools where you can see everything and anything thats missing. Looking for ideas for brackets , hooks , pegboard , etc. Thanks doug
Doug, have you thought about (maybe not so cool) peg board. I haven't seen it around for years but it was a white board with a bunch of holes that you put pegs in to suit your tools . Then you trace around the tool with pencil and in-fill the outline with various colour paints to suit the ranges of tools an stuff. Done properly it can look very professional...it will exactly match your tool collection and is easily expanded when you get that burning feeling with the credit card down the tool shop Just a thought. I did see a good setup down this ere part of the world awhile back so I'll see if I can find a link for you...either that or you'll have to go on Jesse James's "Monster Garage" and win a setup.
Lol..I didn't find the race workshop I was looking for but my search for "shadow Board" lead me to this site...looks like there is hope for me yet! http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/SHEDS for the web.pdf
Digdug look at garagejournal.com for some nice garages. The latest thing now is that board with the horizontal slots in the face. Lots of hooks and other asscesories available. The hooks don't fall out like pegs.:Banghead
I have an International and a Craftsman. Both units are top box and base with wheels around 20 drawers each. Yes country boy, they are both ball bearing:thumbsup
Thanks guys , i am going to check those sites out. I want to make a nice tool wall . doug
I have ahd quite a few boxes in my years as a mechanic and heres my take. Ball bearing drawers are a must. You shouldnt overload your drawers, that is the biggest probelm I have esp w/bigger deep sockets I keep in the bottom drawers, weight really ads up. Waterloo for fact makes craftsmen boxes, so if you can find waterloo, buy that (look at drawer sizes and configurations, exactly the same). I was younger once and bought one of the huge snap on boxes. They are nice but loaded down its a real pain in the butt to push around in the shop (need 2 guys), if the once piece of equipment wont fit in my bay(our shop ahs smaller doors and larger ones)or if my bays tied up waitign for parts). I bought the snap on box at the time because I was impressed mainly w/the dealer he pulled each drawer out on the box (even the smaller ones (thinner ones) and he was about 200 lbs and stepped and bouced a bit on each of the drawers and then told me to open them, they stillo opened up nice and smooth. Never tried it w/my waterloo or clark to see if theyd bend but impressed me whte snap on box. I have been fairly happy w/the waterloo and clark. No box will stand up to putting it in the back of a truck to go on a service call, the box wont stand up to the bouncing and flexing. Knaack and greenlee both make boxes that look like job boxes but have drawers etc and make htem like toolboxes. These use little 10 inch pneumatic tires (like on hand trucks etc) easy to roll around, very heavy can be put int he back of a truck and left there and the drawers wont warp or bend, you can overlaod those drawers and they wont bed either. Also the knnack boxes and greenlee boxes have fork pockets on them so you can move it around the shop if you need to, Tried that once w/a clark box and it buckled but they werent designed to be picked up.
This is the box I have been looking at it doesn't say if its got ballbearing slides or not.
It says each drawer is able to support 75lbs of weight with a total load capacity of 975lbs There is no way I have that much tools to almost weigh 1000lbs. Ohya the price on that box is 400 dollars canadian.
That tool box doesn't look like it has roller slides in the picture. I have a Snap On Road Chest I bought in 87 and have used hard since and it doesn't have them either. They are nice but not mandatory if you lube them once in awhile. I don't know if you have a Costco where you live but they have a nice stainless steel box with roller slides that look well built. I don't remember the cost but remember I was surprised how cheap it was. Not trying to talk you out of the craftsman though. Just another idea.
No that box has friction slides there LT.
Any decision made here?
I'am holding off on the toys for now the toolbox isn't going to make money its just eye candy for my basement :bouncegri I have gotten from this that ball bearing slides are the thing that I need over the cheaper friction slides. I seen Sears had some boxes on forsale so I wanted to know what is good and bad points about them. If I was back to wrenching I would be buying a new toolbox right now the tools havent seen much use. Its tempting to whip out the credit card and order a new toolbox then at the end of the month when the credit card bill comes and I say why did I buy that :crying
Craftsman boxes with lots of bent or broken Craftsman tools. But its what I can afford and I'm happy with that. Plus I dont cry when I lose a tool in the snow either...LOL :thumbsup
I have gotten now any time I work on my truck or something else I double check and even tripple check to see if I left or dropped any tools. Its always the way damn it when you go to the next job and you need a 9/16 wrench and its not there. I will keep a eye out when the Craftsman boxes go on sale again and I will try find my sears credit card I hid it some where to keep me from buying tools :bouncegri
This goes along with the peg board wall. I know a guy who traced every tool he owns on a peg board. If someone borrows a tool, he takes a piece of paper, writes their name, phone #, & the date they borrowed it & sticks that over the peg. He always knows who has the tools & how to get it back. I wish I could get that organized!!
I don't loan out tools to anybody even to dad. I don't like borrrowing tools from other people either. When I was working for one of the contractors I never even left my portable toolbox in the shop because I would be out on a job running a machine the guys would be using my tools
Here's the next one for me. http://www.lcltruckequipment.com/montezuma/LA400B.jpg Costs a little but no drawers to worry about opening and closing. Everything right at hand.
Those are nice but the price That tool box would cost me 880 dollars CND but if I was making a living with my tools it prolly would be worth it.