Toolbox Price Inflation

[pepgj]

No worries about the low post count, I pop in and out every few years.

I recently bought a Blue Point hand carry box, a KRW182B, for cheap just to stick odds and ends in and got interested in the lack of oomph it has compared to an older Craftsman box I've got (that I bought in the mid 1970's). These are both two drawer portable boxes and are almost identical in dimensions.

Threw it on a postal scale. Blue Point box is 12 pounds, early Craftsman rally sort of box is 15. Both without a tray. Big difference in robustness of latches.

It's funny how most everything is cheapening around us. I've seen this identical thing happen with both clothing and shoes, and no doubt there's some money to be saved in sheet metal. It's a shame.

End of mini-rant.

 

[fivespdcat]

Most people want cheap not great. They don't care if it's low quality bonded leather (shoes), lightweight pot metal (tools) or name any other consumer good. Then by the time people realize all you can buy is garbage all the good manufacturers have either sold out and make garbage or gone bankrupt trying to compete in price.

 

[pepgj]

Most people want cheap not great. They don't care if it's low quality bonded leather (shoes), lightweight pot metal (tools) or name any other consumer good. Then by the time people realize all you can buy is garbage all the good manufacturers have either sold out and make garbage or gone bankrupt trying to compete in price.

I don't doubt that people are more price sensitive due to the internet. By buying sight-unseen but with easily available pricing information, the tendency is to favor dreck over quality.

I've always rather liked this video:

and think you could make a killer website based on pulling apart manufactured goods and actually measuring them.

To keep this in a tools kind of place, rather than a Free Parking thread, I wonder if anyone makes decent quality small boxes anymore. What I'd really like to find is something shaped like and equivalent quality to my drop-front Plomb box, which has a really cool design.

 

[a990dna]

No worries about the low post count, I pop in and out every few years.

I recently bought a Blue Point hand carry box, a KRW182B, for cheap just to stick odds and ends in and got interested in the lack of oomph it has compared to an older Craftsman box I've got (that I bought in the mid 1970's). These are both two drawer portable boxes and are almost identical in dimensions.

Threw it on a postal scale. Blue Point box is 12 pounds, early Craftsman rally sort of box is 15. Both without a tray. Big difference in robustness of latches.

It's funny how most everything is cheapening around us. I've seen this identical thing happen with both clothing and shoes, and no doubt there's some money to be saved in sheet metal. It's a shame.

End of mini-rant.

We live in a disposable economy now ... make it cheap, use, throw it away or tear down and buy new.

Most everything is like that now.. even buildings.

.

 

[fivespdcat]

I don't doubt that people are more price sensitive due to the internet. By buying sight-unseen but with easily available pricing information, the tendency is to favor dreck over quality.

I've always rather liked this video:

and think you could make a killer website based on pulling apart manufactured goods and actually measuring them.

To keep this in a tools kind of place, rather than a Free Parking thread, I wonder if anyone makes decent quality small boxes anymore. What I'd really like to find is something shaped like and equivalent quality to my drop-front Plomb box, which has a really cool design.

The Internet definitely has a lot to do with it, but all you have to do us look at any black Friday ad. So much you see is garbage built to a price that people are willing to buy. Drill bit sets that are completely disposable, don't even get me on all the bit sets with 48 pieces of rubber PH2s that break on the first screw. All for the low price of $9.99.

Just take a look in so many kitchens, how many people have a decent set of kitchen knives that are actually sharp? I don't know anyone that actually maintains they're knives or cared to spend more than $39.99 on a 20 piece set!

What about shoes? When was the last time you had a pair of hand made real leather dress shoes resoled? I sit in my office and meet with clients day in and day out, none of these well paid professionals even think of taking care of what they walk on day in and day out. Most people are buying the cheapest possible "presentable" shoes, wear them every day for a year and toss them. Don't even get me started on suits and tailoring.

I just get the feeling that a lot of people don't know what quality anything is anymore. It's not always because of cost, because you pay a lot of money and still get garbage. Just go on a shopping trip with your significant other and see the coach purses (garbage) and high end designer shoes (more garbage).

/end rant

 

[S4cruiser]

What about shoes? When was the last time you had a pair of hand made real leather dress shoes resoled? I sit in my office and meet with clients day in and day out, none of these well paid professionals even think of taking care of what they walk on day in and day out. Most people are buying the cheapest possible "presentable" shoes, wear them every day for a year and toss them. Don't even get me started on suits and tailoring.

/end rant

I can't stand a pair of cheap *** dress shoes. I've got a couple Cole Haans that I've had for over ten yeas and have had the soles replaced multiple times. No need to through away most of the shoe if you can get the soles replaced...also supports a dying profession.

 

[woody 73]

Years ago I bought a coach belt and that dress belt lasted for 20 years; when it died I bought another one and it lasted for one year turns out it was made out of saw dust, tissue paper,pot metal, rawhide glue, reconstituted animal parts, animal droppings, old paper catalogs, eye of newt, wool of bat, tongue of dog, toe of frog,...etc.

Sad any way to make a buck and most consumers are clueless.

 

[zkling]

We live in a disposable economy now ... make it cheap, use, throw it away or tear down and buy new.

Most everything is like that now.. even buildings.

.

This

BTW for future reference, some of the smaller/cheaper boxes even snap on sources out to the general makers such as waterloo. Could have bought pretty much the same box for much less without the name.

 

[Two Door]

It is not just a price-driven, disposable economy, but one that is style and trend driven. If something will be out of style and demand in short order it would be a waste of resources, and counter-productive from a sales standpoint to build in quality.

 

[pepgj]

It's funny that shoes always come up. I had a pair of Lowa (East Europe manufacture I think) shoes that finally wore out, bought the exact same make and model, and the new ones are 20-25% lighter (postal scale) and definitely of shoddier construction.

I think that bugs me more. Not that a lot of stuff is garbage, but that brands are continuously cost cutting their items in order to keep prices stable. It really is a form of price inflation.

One of these tool websites really should pick up that challenge. Buy some wrenches, and actually test them to failure. Buy hand boxes, weigh/bend/smell them. I really wish I had more of a background in materials and/or mechanical engineering, I can't say that existing reviews are of much value and would be happy to cook up a tool site that wasn't just a cursory overview.

Does anyone have an opinion on those Snap-on hand boxes with drawers (I forget the model)? Are they decent?

 

[drink]

I noticed how the price of a 20" portable metal tool box with tray had gone up at Sears to $39.99 a few months ago. The last time I tried to find them at Sears they were not available at all. A 20" metal box was being made in Mexico and it did not include a socket tray; just a plain tray.

A few years ago you could order an 18" Craftsman tool box with a socket tray but they appear to have vanished also. Sears used to sell them but I have not found any there in several years. I purchased mine from an industrial supplier.

The 16" Craftsman tool boxes are a nice little light box but they have a really cheap plastic tray in them. The plastic tray will either expand or contract while you work in sunlight or cold weather. If the plastic tray contracts, or shrinks in cold weather it might fall into the bottom of the box. If you use it in really hot sunlight it either fits in the top of the box without drooping down or gets too big. I do like the small size of the box and you can put a pretty good little set of mobile tools in them if you pack it properly.

One would think they would have these boxes available during the holiday season because they are an excellent gift in my opinion.

 

[drink]

Years ago Armstrong had something like a limited lifetime warranty on their tool boxes. It looks like when the new owners took over they left the price high and reduced the warranty to only a year. The Armstrong catalog showed a 16" heavy duty metal box with a metal tray and a heavy duty latch. When I ordered on I got a box with thin metal, tiny latch, and a plastic tray like the Sears box has. The person at Armstrong I contacted said the boxes were supposed to be as pictured and they stopped speaking when I showed them what mine looked like. My box was made in China also.

The new 20" Armstrong boxes are just like the Craftsman 20" boxes and they do not have the tray as pictured either. Higher price and made in Mexico.

 

[pepgj]

I noticed how the price of a 20" portable metal tool box with tray had gone up at Sears to $39.99 a few months ago. The last time I tried to find them at Sears they were not available at all. A 20" metal box was being made in Mexico and it did not include a socket tray; just a plain tray.

A few years ago you could order an 18" Craftsman tool box with a socket tray but they appear to have vanished also. Sears used to sell them but I have not found any there in several years. I purchased mine from an industrial supplier.

That probably hits my rant dead-center. It would be interesting to compare one of those boxes to one of these (which practically everyone used to have):

 

[Ponchoguy]

That probably hits my rant dead-center. It would be interesting to compare one of those boxes to one of these (which practically everyone used to have):

I have at least three of those. I think it's a 6500 box if I remember right. There was a time within two months that I found TWO of them tossed out in my neighborhood. Both were missing the trays. My father bought one of those in 1979 and I still have it, with the tray and with the instruction sheet that came with it.

 

[a990dna]

There's been paradigm shift in portable tool boxes...

The Bucket Boss is WAY more effective when transporting tools to the point of use. This is reuseable and won't get dents.. you can use the shoulder strap and carry more to the job location.

Its better to collect the vintage Craftsman relics and keep them on top of your work bench..

.

 

[drink]

That probably hits my rant dead-center. It would be interesting to compare one of those boxes to one of these (which practically everyone used to have):

Here's a picture of my gray Craftsman 18" tool box. The box it came in said the item number was 965009 so I guess it was a version of the 6500 box.

 

[drink]

Here's the picture of it.

 

[a990dna]

Here's the picture of it.

It already has a dent... sent it back.

.

 

[drink]

Here is a comparison between a 16" Craftsman and a 16" Armstrong tool box. In my opinion the Armstrong looks like it was a regular Waterloo brand box they stuck a Armstrong decal on.

Things like the size of the latches are compared and workmanship. A copy of an old Armstrong warranty statement is included.

 

[drink]

Now I am showing how things like the handle is not done right on the Armstrong box because it is sticking, and the way the tool tray falls through on the Craftsman box. The Armstrong tray fits pretty good.

 

[drink]

Now you can compare the thickness of the sheet metal they used. The Armstrong box was made with thinner sheet metal. I am wondering if they had the bending brake set up for one thickness and screwed up the other boxes with different thicknesses of material. The error might be the cause of the tray drooping down into the box.

 

[drink]

Have you ever tried a Stack-On tool box? A few years ago I purchased a new 19" Stack-On tool box with free shipping. I have to admit the workmanship on the Stack-On was excellent. However, they need to add thicker sheet metal and a socket tray. Another problem they could solve is their boxes need to have a stop added on the hinge so the lid will not flop all the way open and possibly damage the box. They are made in the USA and I thought I got a really good price at the time of purchase.

One of the arguments I have when comparing the thickness of the sheet metal is how heavy the box gets when they are made with thick metal. However, on the other hand I do like a durable box.

 

[drink]

I found a 19" Stack-On at Jet.com for $25.73 with free shipping. You can get 20 percent off with coupon code 20NOW and buy it shipped to your door for $20.58. Mine cost about the same from another store years ago so these tool boxes do not appear to be showing much of an increase in cost at all.