This is a first impressions take, not an official review. I will start by saying that I returned the 44" cabinet after 3 days due to issues with two of the drawers.
On initial box opening of the 26" set, I noticed that the lid on the chest was stuck shut. When I opened it, it cracked the paint on the front top edge where the lid meets the box. It seemed as if it had been compressed or something and now I feel it must be touched up or will rust prematurely. Other than that and the fact that the 3 small top drawers appear to sag towards the middle, it is fairly well built and adequate for storage.
With the bottom cabinet, I initially noticed that the welds near the bottom front corners of the unit seemed bowed on both sides. On one side, it appears that there was a gap where it is supposed to be spot welded together (see pic). I don't think it will impact structural integrity since I plan on only using as a home/DIY guy, but I wasn't impressed. The paint was also cracking there. Also, where the bottom of the cabinet has the caster bolt inserts, one of the recessed areas was misshaped and required me using a tap/die to fix and secure the caster.
Overall, the color is more dull than the 44" box. The metal is obviously not as thick. The casters are decent (better than HD/Lowes stuff for most part), but aren't on same par as 44" cabinet. I think the drawers are reasonably smooth with average weight capacity. It fits nicely in the small area I have it, and I hope it will last a good 10+ years. I do feel it was a step down from the 44" but that was basically overkill for me at this point. I would have considered a better 26" if there was anything else in price range comparable. I went and checked out the Kobalts, but even the black, 4 drawer bottom with intermediate and top box was more $ and felt like it had crappy plastic drawer sliders. I'm perplexed and probably a bit of a perfectionist, so I don't know if any 26" box will make me happy. Just my .02, thanks for looking.
Derek
On initial box opening of the 26" set, I noticed that the lid on the chest was stuck shut. When I opened it, it cracked the paint on the front top edge where the lid meets the box. It seemed as if it had been compressed or something and now I feel it must be touched up or will rust prematurely. Other than that and the fact that the 3 small top drawers appear to sag towards the middle, it is fairly well built and adequate for storage.
With the bottom cabinet, I initially noticed that the welds near the bottom front corners of the unit seemed bowed on both sides. On one side, it appears that there was a gap where it is supposed to be spot welded together (see pic). I don't think it will impact structural integrity since I plan on only using as a home/DIY guy, but I wasn't impressed. The paint was also cracking there. Also, where the bottom of the cabinet has the caster bolt inserts, one of the recessed areas was misshaped and required me using a tap/die to fix and secure the caster.
Overall, the color is more dull than the 44" box. The metal is obviously not as thick. The casters are decent (better than HD/Lowes stuff for most part), but aren't on same par as 44" cabinet. I think the drawers are reasonably smooth with average weight capacity. It fits nicely in the small area I have it, and I hope it will last a good 10+ years. I do feel it was a step down from the 44" but that was basically overkill for me at this point. I would have considered a better 26" if there was anything else in price range comparable. I went and checked out the Kobalts, but even the black, 4 drawer bottom with intermediate and top box was more $ and felt like it had crappy plastic drawer sliders. I'm perplexed and probably a bit of a perfectionist, so I don't know if any 26" box will make me happy. Just my .02, thanks for looking.
Derek
