Harbor freight 56" tool box vs Snap on 40" tool box

[jerseykat1]

So I have been overdue for a bigger box for quite some time now and I have been eyeballing the harbor freight 56" box for a long time now and Friday I finally pulled the trigger. If i had the extra cash i would have purchased the 72" box....

First thing I noticed when comparing the HF 56" box to my current 40" snap on box was the metal thickness is pretty much the same. HOWEVER I noticed the HF box is built better in some ways. I didn't dig too deep but i noticed the drawer rollers on my snap on vs HF are very similar except the HF box has MORE sliders/rollers. During the time I've owned the snap-on box I have had to replace 3 (one more is bad now) drawer sliders. I believe the pictures below will explain why.

Snap on... Notice that not even the big drawers have double sliders.


Harbor freight has double sliders on drawers that you would think only needed 1.. I'm very impressed.



I'm really impressed with this box, I've seen how good it is in the store but it's really nice and at 700 bucks you can't go wrong. One of my coworkers just spent $1,100 dollars on a snap on cart that he will be paying on for the rest of his life.

Ohh BTW my 40" snap on box is for sale $550 or best offer. I'm in Green brook NJ.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[sbd4de3]

I too purchased the HF 56" tool box, while I was there, the wife said, you might as well get the topper for it too... "OKAY!" I said, lol. It's a nice toolbox for the money.

 

[jerseykat1]

That's awesome.. The top box was very nice as well.

I can see that HF did skimp out a little on the finish, you can see some of the welds and its not as glossy as a newer tool truck box.. But I'm okay with that. I can buy tools with the money I saved. After all the tools get the job done but the box.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Toxicity927]

I got the 72" box a few months ago. Very happy with it. Only complaint is I wish the locks were like snap on, it can get annoying always reaching to the right side of the drawers to unlock

 

[1dwn5up]

I got the 72" box a few months ago. Very happy with it. Only complaint is I wish the locks were like snap on, it can get annoying always reaching to the right side of the drawers to unlock

I picked up the 72" as well about a month ago. Loving it so far. I was thinking of modifying the drawer to solve your issue by mounting a very thin metal bar/dowel along the underside of the drawer and attaching it to the release so I can pull it at multiple locations. I just need to figure out what I will use as a release along multiple points on the drawer that would fit to resemble the current release mechanism on the right.

 

[FEVERinc]

I picked up the 72" as well about a month ago. Loving it so far. I was thinking of modifying the drawer to solve your issue by mounting a very thin metal bar/dowel along the underside of the drawer and attaching it to the release so I can pull it at multiple locations. I just need to figure out what I will use as a release along multiple points on the drawer that would fit to resemble the current release mechanism on the right.

This is my biggest issue with the boxes and the only real reason I've kept from buying a couple from them. I'd be interested to see how you make this work if you do it.

 

[My Old Tools]

I just bought two of the 44" boxes for $700 ($349 each). Seemed like a better deal. I also got one of the 44" top boxes. The 44" seems to be the "best buy" of all the boxes when on sale.

 

[bloomingtonmike]

Big fan of the deeper drawer setup of my 56 top and bottom hf boxes. I am planning to buy a 72 to make into a bench base soon. I plan to add a thick top and a veritas twin screw vise and a a record front ww vise. May have the drawers open opposite the face vise. Still working out a design.

 

[LXCam]

Oh boy, you're gonna get lynched by the snappy crowd here shortly. I have a top and bottom HF56 and a SO KRL1001. There are good and bad differences between them both. For your normal home owner box the HF set up just can't be beat. But if you're making your living out of one and need the security of a solid box, SO's the way to go with warranty and what-nots.