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Lowes/Kobalt wrench rails

George in Rancho Cordova

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Mar 15, 2011
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741
I just cleaned out two stores (bought five pair).

The result is more organized wrench storage and less wasted space over smaller triangular wrench racks.
 
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jim1987

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Feb 16, 2014
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Ohio
Could someone post a side profile of them maybe on a bench or something with wrenches in them?
 

Bigblue&Goldie

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Mar 12, 2009
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AZ
UPDATE: I purchased a set of Ernst rails for my Metric wrench sets so now I can make an honest comparison between them and the Kobalt.

Upon review, both brands appear very similar in quality. The Erns't notches (where the wrench beam sits) are not as sharp at the bottom so my Proto spline ratchet wrenches just wanted to flop over; this wasn't an issue with the Kobalt. My standard Easco wrenches worked fined. Overall, the Kobalts seem to work better for me. My only gripes with Kobalt is they don't offer the "reverse" sets like Ernst, and they are only available in Black. If I was to do it all over again, I would probably stick with the Kobalt rails.

FWIW, the Ernst Gripper racks are great and I purchased them for my other wrench sets (stubbies, flare, double open end).
 

SpannerMonkey

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Oct 25, 2012
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306
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Scotland, UK
These are my Sealey rails but they sell some of the same stuff as Kobalt so I think they're the same:
span1.jpg
 

n8n

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Mar 11, 2014
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Curtis Bay, MD
http://www.lowes.com/pd_516039-22328-87074_0__?productId=50149624

is this what you guys are talking about? All I could find on their web site. Didn't see any at my local store but web site says they have 'em... I have waaaaay too many wrenches to organize, so this might be useful to me. Currently they're in HF segmented bins, but that is not the ideal solution as while they're easy to find, I can't tell at a glance if one is missing.
 

Travisnd

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Jan 27, 2010
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2,155
Location
Chesapeake, VA
I just purchased 2 sets of these at lunch at my local Lowes as they are now starting to carry them. I'm expecting some wrenches tomorrow in the mail to try these out with. The seem really similar to Ernst rails.
 

ghost68

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Mar 24, 2011
Messages
49
Which set of rails sets the wrenches in a more vertical position?

Ghost
 

jfcasey

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Jan 30, 2010
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1,358
Location
New Hampshire
I got a set over the weekend and really like them alot. Theres a freaking ton of slots on them. I was pretty surprised how much space it freed up over a combo of snap on trays and laying wrenches flat. I may go buy a second set this week to see if I can finagle a way to put my x-beam wrenches on one.
 

jim1987

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Ohio
I picked up some tonight as well. Really like them. Just wish they come out wth ones that slant the other way. I really didn't free up much space as I have about 7 sets of wrenches in one drawer, but its more.organized and easier to grab them over crapsman.
 

monomach

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Oct 8, 2013
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Location
Illinois
Hmm. I might have to go look at these. I'm still using wood wrench racks I made about ten years ago. I keep telling myself that I'm going to order some nice rails, but never seem to get around to it.
 

bareass172

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Aug 5, 2012
Messages
817
Location
N'awlins
Someone kept asking for side pics of the Kobalt rails, here they are. I have an old US set of Cman wrenches in them, first on the small side and then on the large side (overkill) but it should give you an idea.
 

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GCncsuHD

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Aug 19, 2013
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968
Location
Salisbury, NC
UPDATE: I purchased a set of Ernst rails for my Metric wrench sets so now I can make an honest comparison between them and the Kobalt.

Upon review, both brands appear very similar in quality. The Erns't notches (where the wrench beam sits) are not as sharp at the bottom so my Proto spline ratchet wrenches just wanted to flop over; this wasn't an issue with the Kobalt. My standard Easco wrenches worked fined. Overall, the Kobalts seem to work better for me. My only gripes with Kobalt is they don't offer the "reverse" sets like Ernst, and they are only available in Black. If I was to do it all over again, I would probably stick with the Kobalt rails.

FWIW, the Ernst Gripper racks are great and I purchased them for my other wrench sets (stubbies, flare, double open end).

I too have the Kobalt and the Ernst rails. I felt the Ernst rails were a bit better quality feeling, and liked the reverse angle vs all of the Kobalts being the same, but the Kobalts work just fine especially for the price.
 

MrJason

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Joined
May 26, 2013
Messages
438
Location
Bakersfield, CA.
Just cleaned out my local Lowes of their organizers. I found 9 of these packages, beat the hell out of, but they were on clearance due to packaging problems.

Get them while you can, they're hard to find- but exceptional to have.
20140616_130333_resized.jpg

-Jason
 
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monomach

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Oct 8, 2013
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1,489
Location
Illinois
I finally got two sets. They're pretty decent. I'm going to get two more.

Unfortunately, both of the Lowe's in my town seem to stock one at a time, so they are REALLY HARD to get. Just looked now...both stores are sold out yet again. I came close to breaking down and ordering them with a shipping cost and everything.
 

dankicksass

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Jul 28, 2010
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1,820
Location
New Jersey
Which McDonalds parking lot are they in today?? :lol:



Or Is it a gas station? :dunno:


Don't bother a Snap-On guy on his route. Buy from snapon.com if you're a hobbyist or homeowner. It's easier that way for you and him. You get your stuff in a few days free shipping, and he gets to go home on time to his wife and kids.
 

sloppy

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Mar 3, 2013
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481
Location
Ohio
Don't bother a Snap-On guy on his route. Buy from snapon.com if you're a hobbyist or homeowner. It's easier that way for you and him. You get your stuff in a few days free shipping, and he gets to go home on time to his wife and kids.

I am neither I still wont bother one.. :thumbup: Never had one local that was worth buying from.
 

Joey Stalin

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Joined
Aug 8, 2014
Messages
6
Bought a pair of these the other day. Firstly for what they are, they are a ripoff! 6-7 bucks for a pair of injection molded pieces of plastic made in China? I bet these cost Lowes 6-7 bucks per thousand. Hopefully HF will start making something like this and charge the correct price.

Anyway, I tried these in my toolbox at work and they seem to work OK, but with the major problem that the pair either needs to be connected, or the horizontal mounting surface needs to be larger. I loaded them first with a small set of wrenches, 8-18mm, and the weight of the wrenches alone was not enough to keep the rack from falling over when you close the drawer or roll the toolbox. I then loaded it up with a full rack, 6mm to 24mm, and got better results. Simply closing the drawer didn't knock the rails over, but rolling the cart over a big bump would do it. I will say that it fit the wrenches nicely, I like this style better than the snap in "handle" style that usually comes with a set of wrenches - easier to grab a wrench and they aren't as picky about size.

So main complaints, ripoff for what they are, but if you connect them with a strap of sheet metal or maybe double sticky tape them to the bottom of your drawer, they would work well.
 

Jeeper

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Joined
Dec 25, 2006
Messages
2,124
Location
Round Rock, TX
I have both the Lowes version and the Snap on version. The snap on version has the double sided tape on the bottom, although i haven't stuck them down.

The other thing I like about the SO version is that the "valleys" in the racks are evening spaced where has the Lowes are smaller (for smaller wrenches) on one end and bigger at the other. Since I was cutting them apart to hold smaller wrench collections, the even spaced ones work better for me.
 

rednotch

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Jun 3, 2013
Messages
1,170
Location
south nj
lol I went looking for these in two different stores that show 2 sets each in stock.... no one can find the damn things inside the stores. Guess I'll order the Mac set or Ernst set
 

hangfirew8

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Jul 14, 2008
Messages
879
Location
Central Maryland
Just went and looked at them in the store (they're on the same shelf as all the socket trays/rails). Look to be decent quality. They're set up to go from large to small, unlike the Snap On rails that are all the same size. The large end seemed really tall (probably too tall with wrenches for me to put in the middle drawer of my cart, where my current rails are).

I saw these at Lowe's the other day, I passed on them because the large wrench end is unnecessarily tall, and with my largest wrenches would probably require a tall drawer instead of a medium drawer. I'm going to get some of the Ernst. As some havenoticed, the Ernst 2-pair are made for reverse pairing and are angled different than the single pairs which are made for a V shape.

Also I'd rather buy the US made Ernst than the Lowe's imports.

Don't bother a Snap-On guy on his route. Buy from snapon.com if you're a hobbyist or homeowner. It's easier that way for you and him. You get your stuff in a few days free shipping, and he gets to go home on time to his wife and kids.

Lol. Nothing against their tools, but if the truck drivers don't want my business that much, I don't want theirs, either!
 

rednotch

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Jun 3, 2013
Messages
1,170
Location
south nj
I saw these at Lowe's the other day, I passed on them because the large wrench end is unnecessarily tall, and with my largest wrenches would probably require a tall drawer instead of a medium drawer. I'm going to get some of the Ernst. As some havenoticed, the Ernst 2-pair are made for reverse pairing and are angled different than the single pairs which are made for a V shape.

Also I'd rather buy the US made Ernst than the Lowe's imports.



Lol. Nothing against their tools, but if the truck drivers don't want my business that much, I don't want theirs, either!

I found a set in another store so I just grabbed them, depending on how big of a wrench your talking about it might fit... My 30mm craftsman RP fit on the last notch of the rack in a HF 44 box and those drawers are pretty shallow. I ended up cutting the last 4 off and using them for my craftsman pro sets though. Its too long for the drawer without cutting it. Still want to grab the Mac set someone else posted since I'm going to end up using two drawers just for wrenches on this box. I threw the RP set in the side drawer for now,
but that's what I'll end up using these for later on.

ea530cbd-209a-4e24-8ad4-300fbac6fd3f.png
 

Bigblue&Goldie

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Mar 12, 2009
Messages
10,663
Location
AZ
Look on the first page and you can see my 32mm and 1-1/4" fit the Kobalt rails and HF 44" box.
 

Cope

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Mar 8, 2013
Messages
2,067
Location
Houston, TX
Don't bother a Snap-On guy on his route. Buy from snapon.com if you're a hobbyist or homeowner. It's easier that way for you and him. You get your stuff in a few days free shipping, and he gets to go home on time to his wife and kids.

I have bought a lot of tools from Snap on dealers by just walking on the truck. If you catch him at a shop and his customers haven't come out, he would probably be happy to sell to you. I did when I was selling Matco.
 
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