How deep of a toolbox is deep enough/too deep?

[JBradley500]

I’m on a kick of looking at 72” boxes to replace my 40” top and bottom. I like that nearly all boxes come at least 22” deep now, but I wonder if that is enough. The price of those boxes is good though, 1100-1300 bucks is doable for the HF or Homak boxes. But... I got looking at Extreme boxes ($$) that are up to 30” deep, and while more is always better, I’ve heard people say that 30” takes up too much room and isn’t necessary. And they’re a lot more money, but probably a lot better quality to go along with the size.

Does anyone have experience or opinions on what depth is preferred? I know money is part of it, and that makes it hard, but I’d like to hear what others think about this.

 

[ssdave]

It all depends on how much room you have, and how it is configured. I have a 29" deep KRL, and it is really nice to use. I like the deep drawers, but it takes up a lot of room to store it and open the drawers. If you're trying to cram the box between the front of a car and the back wall of a garage, it may be too much. If, like I did in my garage, your design is such that you have plenty of depth between the car bay and back, it's great to have the larger box.

I think that the larger drawers are slightly more space efficient than smaller ones. You have essentially the same amount of wasted space for the frame and glides, but more usable space inside the drawer.

 

[Mr_B]

24-25" seems about best to me, deep enough layout tools well and holds a lot of tools .
30" okay but I found them too deep and bored of pulling drawers out that far and clear space needed .
Homak rs pro via napa good box, masterforce 72" is pretty decent too.
HF 2" less depth and pretty cheap drawer latching concept .
Good thread on here on the rs pro 72", buyers seem be liking them, step up over the HF boxes .

 

[yjWrangler]

I just got a 24" deep Snap-On box and it was a nice upgrade from what I had, but I can't help but lust after those 30" deep ones some of the guys I work with have. If you've got a lot of room to keep it, it seems like the way to go. Part of my reasoning for getting the 24" was I could take it home someday and not worry about having no room.

If you have the space and money, look at the 30 inchers

 

[Robert Haas]

I have 30" clear, wish it was even deeper, seriously.

 

[1982fxr]

Well, the ones to hold maps and blueprints are too deep.

Measure out from the wall and where your *** and elbows would be opening it and there you go.

 

[Ben1967]

However deep you need

 

[JBradley500]

I doubt anyone needs a box over 16” deep, but I’m asking what’s the most desirable/useful/worth the money.

 

[LXCam]

I doubt anyone needs a box over 16” deep, but I’m asking what’s the most desirable/useful/worth the money.

Really? Well let's see here. My box is 10' wide and the drawers are 24" clear on the insides. So I'm now losing 33% of my area which would roughly equate to another 3' of width. Ahhh no thanks, I'm cuul. And I don't have near the collection others here have.


Edit cause I'm bored;

Actually I have 29 drawers and that equals 126sqft of flatness. So now I'm losing 42sqft of surface. If I went with a typical 6 drawer cabinet it'd need to be 63" wide. I'll certainly pass.

How's that for over thunking the subject.

 

[plinker]

I have a 30" deep box, 24" would be a minimum to me. Part of the reason is you loose some depth with the drawers. Measure the drawer front to rear on the inside and you easily loose 3/4" to 1" of depth. Just the way it is.

With the Masterforce drawer latch setup for instance, you loose 1-3/4" of depth due to the drawer front/latch being flush with the outside of the box. With the 18" deep boxes, the total drawer space is about 16-1/4". IMO, the fact that they made the boxes a bit deeper makes them a better buy then before as they compare to KRA and other similar size boxes.

edit;
Another thing to think about is you loose drawer capacity with less depth, therefore you need more drawers to cover this if you have a lot of tools.

 

[WWheeler]

Have an old Craftsman 12" deep box that *****. Seriously.

I also have a 20" deep 52" Husky box with ~18" deep drawers and it's just barely suitable for what I need to put in them. I make it work but almost every drawer I wish I had a few more inches of depth ('that's what she said').

 

[MikeF2316]

I doubt anyone needs a box over 16” deep, but I’m asking what’s the most desirable/useful/worth the money.

If you have a "normal" 16 x 26 inch drawer, a 30 inch breaker bar will just fit in diagonally which kind of destroys the drawer for other stuff. So you "want" as big as will fit your space. That said, when I reach for stuff in a 29" KRL, I find myself going to the side of the drawer for stuff in the back, and I'm 6 feet tall. At the moment I'm thinking my ideal box would be in the 54" range and 24" deep, with a couple of drawers the full width.

 

[Wamsutta]

I found this picture on the internet. Looks to be a KRL box of some kind. As you can see, that deep drawer allows him to keep two rows of wrenches back to back; maybe even three rows if he wanted to. Looks like he's using the Protoco brand WrenchRacks - which are nice because they come in forward and reverse; both 12 slot and 15 slot.

 

[Mr Ratchet]

I went from a CM 26" wide by 18" deep to a 54" wide by 24" deep box. I almost went with a HF 44" top/bottom. Glad I went with the old used Matco. The deep drawers are nice for holding longer/bigger tools. If I were to ever upgrade I'd be on the look out for a KRL 1033.

The thing I like the most about having a wider and deeper box is the work surface on top. My old work bench is now a secondary bench as I use the top of my box mostly. It's nice having tools right at your finger tips. 54X24 is nice but, 72X30 would be better yet for laying out projects.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I love my 30inch deep KRL, but I feel significantly deeper drawers would get annoying. It's likely a function of arm length, and height.

More than 36inches seems stupid to me.

 

[jeepinerdeep]

After having the 24" clear in a full depth Lista, I wouldn't do back to anything less. I have several drawers that I put a partition 6-8" from the back, for rarely used stuff. No need to pull all 24" out 80% of the time.

Brief example, these 3/4 drive sockets in the back.

 

[GTO]

I love my 30inch deep KRL, but I feel significantly deeper drawers would get annoying. It's likely a function of arm length, and height.

More than 36inches seems stupid to me.

This.....
Love my KRL deep drawers.

 

[crewchief888]

none of my boxes have more than an 18" drawer depth...

30+ years as a pro wrench puller....

guess i'm outta touch with the reality of toolboxes.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeh I started out with 18" boxes.
If going 72" think about logistics of it and future moving etc, a 72" by 30" box is pretty hard move around let alone transport.
I owned couple 72" boxes and ended up going tw0 56" as more storage for less hassle/money and easier move about etc. I like the old matco 7525 and 8525 boxes .

 

[Robert Haas]

30" clear opening

 

[JBradley500]

What kind of box is that, Robert Haas? The more I research, the more I think the 72x30 Extreme is the way to go. A 72x22 deep isn’t much bigger than my 40x18 top and bottom.

 

[chrisingrassia]

OP - I'm in the same boat as you. I have my eyes and hopes set right now on the 84x30 Tool Vault box with top hutch. I have a recess in my garage that is 100x36, and was clearly designed to hold this very product .
But sheesh, $4995 is some sticker shock. Crossing my fingers for a Black Friday/Cyber Monday/holiday deal special....

 

[chrisingrassia]

I don't think a 36" deep cabinet exists.

I love my 30inch deep KRL, but I feel significantly deeper drawers would get annoying. It's likely a function of arm length, and height.

More than 36inches seems stupid to me.

 

[LXCam]

I don't think a 36" deep cabinet exists.

The only drawers I've ever seen that deep were plans drawers. And obviously the design was not based on tool storage. However if space ever allowed and they were deep drawers I'd certainly go for a base cabinet that deep for larger cases tools.

 

[Carquest]

Once you pull out a 30 inch drawer from a 30 inch cabinet, you have used up quite a bit of space. I personally would love to have some wide drawers, 5 feet or so for pry bars and such.....

 

[GrayFlattop]

The extra depth is nice if you have the room for it. If you do, then find the deepest cabinet that will fit your budget.

Keep in mind that drawer depth is not the same as cabinet depth - the Masterforce and HF 22" deep cabinets maybe give you 18" of drawer depth. 22-1/2 deep Lista cabinets only have 18" of drawer depth.

I've got some modular Lyon drawers that are about 28" front to back outside and the drawer has around 24" of usable space. Keep in mind the space required when you roll out drawers that deep!

I'm not sure about the actual drawer depth for the Snap-on products, but if you are in the market, bring a tape measure.

Deeper drawers (front to back) give you more usable space and may eliminate the need for more cabinets.

Buy the biggest and best that you can afford - you'll fill it up.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Even the newer 24” deep boxes are too deep for me. I prefer the traditional 18” deep boxes.

 

[Professional Tool User]

As long as you've got room around the tool box to open the drawer, it doesn't matter how deep.

 

[protegeV]

I think 24" is about as deep as I'd ever want a drawer to be.

 

[dan360]

As deep as will fit. ...

 

[chrisingrassia]

I am having a terrible time trying to figure out the next tool box for my garage.
My nook is 100" x 36".......it seems to be calling for the Tool Vault 84"x30" box with top hutch.
But jesus I just cant justify five GRAND for something for my home garage.....

 

[kctyphoon]

Don’t think theres a right or wrong answer here.. all a matter of what you want or what you’re willing to spend.. i think husky just came out with a new 72” box thats been getting some attention on YouTube.. might be worth looking into.

 

[mrjaw14]

I went from a HF 44” top and bottom, with 18” drawers that was full to the brim to a KRL1022 that was 30” deep and I have two drawers with nothing in them, and I don’t have a top box yet! You get so much more space in a 30” depth. It’s a big box

 

[Ilikeike]

24" minimum.
for me setting up an 18" deep would require more drawers for the same items,no go.
That cuts out most of the big box store boxes.

 

[ptgarcia]

My work space is my garage at home, so a 24" deep box is ideal for me. But if I had a "shop" like some of you guys here I'd look into 30" boxes that double as a work bench.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

If you pull a drawer fully open and the box tips over...well then, the drawers are TOO deep...OR you don't have quite enough tools in the closed drawers to act as counter-weight, in which case you just need to buy more tools...it's a vicious circle to which there is no end.

 

[marineman]

When I was working out of an 18" harbor freight box I thought the deeper the better. Then I got a 24 deep and thought it was great. Worked out of a coworkers 30" deep for a couple days and was really glad I got a 24. 30 just becomes annoyingly deep and one of those things, regardless of layout you always need a tool in the back. If I need more space I'm going wider or taller rather than deeper.

 

[jdsac]

LISTA boxes- built like a tank- heavier than snap on. 24 inch deep drawers ,up to 23 drawers, all less than $ 6k

http://www.listabox.com/model-900/triple-bank/config.php

 

[michelin]

I’d say 24” is about right. Not too shallow and not too deep either, so you don’t make two steps back to get it to open. That said, I’m currently enjoying my 30” deep toolbox and it’s nice to be able to fit more stuff in.

 

[chrisingrassia]

All great feedback, thanks people. I've not seen aa store in my area anywhere that sells 30" deep boxes, so I'm not able to even see one in person.
For a professional mechanic, whose financial livelihood lives in a toolbox, I could see the investment of $5K/$6K+ for a box. But for me, in my home garage , I just can't justify it for some reason. That's two mortgage payments for something that is essentially just "storage" in the garage.
I've tracked down a company that makes a 96"x24" stainless box, might buy two of those and bolt them back to back for full garage workspace.