It's a killer cart for $110/Spin Off thread on Craftsman Cart

Thought I'd start a thread here about these carts, opinions are mixed at the hot deals thread, Looks like the $$ is good till Jan.7th.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00959496000P
As far as a cart, I can believe the 5 drawer HF one is probably better as stated over @ hot deals, Having never seen the CM cart, but have seen the HF cart.
Thinking about one of the CM ones for home for stationary tool storage, I will not be wheeling it around.
Shown below is the box I have now, Nice box,well made, but would rather have drawer space than the open storage space at the bottom.
Thought I might get the CM cart and use it as a bottom, and set the top (26" wide X 12" deep) top chest on top of the CM cart.
IYR, I was looking for a middle chest, but maybe with this bottom cart as a bottom chest, l will not need a new middle chest? I understand from the hot deals thread, these may not be the most heavy duty things in the world, but it may be good enough.

I bought the middle sized HF red unit for the top box and gave my dad the roll around for christmas. I think it will make a nice, but heavy tool cart.

Ric in Richmond said:

I bought the middle sized HF red unit for the top box and gave my dad the roll around for christmas. I think it will make a nice, but heavy tool cart.

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So you gave your dad the CM unit I linked to?
Does it seem decent?
What HF top chest did you get?
Link?

Interesting. I've been looking for a roller to put a top chest on. That looks like it'd fit the bill pretty good. And I like the sound of a built it power strip.

Width (in.): 31-1/2 in.
Product Overview:
Professional Tool Storage: No
General Warranty: 1 year limited
Item Weight (lbs.): 93.0 lbs.
Portability: Mobile
Color:
Overall Color: Black
Installation Requirements:
Setup Requirements: Assembly required
Storage:
Caster Size: 4 x 2 in.
Drawer Pull Material: Aluminum
Drawer Pull Style: Full-width
Drawer Slide Type: Standard steel slide
Has Bulk Storage Area: Yes
Load Rated To (lbs.): 25
Locking System: External lock bar with padlock eye
Mobility: Casters
No. Drawers: 5
Worksurface: Yes
Worksurface Material: Medium density fiberboard
Tool Storage Type: Project center
Unit Lock:


thats 25 pounds rated max each drawer for 125pounds rated for the whole box
No ballbearing slides
basic means bottom of the barrel as you can go with crapsman boxes

the 5 drawer hf cart

SPECIFICATIONS
Overall dimensions
37.7” W X 20.7” D X 41.4” H
(4) Rubber Casters
5” Dia. X 2” W Industrial Quality, (2) W/Brake, (2) Free rolling
Construction
Cold Rolled Steel Body
Finish
Red Enamel
Weight Capacities
(2) Small (Top) Drawers
44 lb. (each)
(1) High Middle Drawer
88 lb.
(1) Low Middle Drawer
88 lb.
(1) Large Lower Drawer
88 lb.
Top (Locking) Tray
176 lb.
Bottom Shelf
176 lb.
Total Combined
700 lb.

They're very flimsy, I personally wouldn't but one to hold anything but fairly lightweight consumables. I definitely wouldn't put a decent top chest on top of it; it won't like the weight.

My mom bought one of these recently without consulting me, and she's very unhappy with it. If she had asked, I'd have told her to buy the HF cart if shopping in this price range. Mom is 65 years old. She's more than capable of wielding a chain saw or swinging a hammer, but her barns and garage have some built-in storage and she hangs a lot of things on the walls. So she's never been one to shop for tool storage and though that if it's Craftsman, it must be decent. Sadly, those times have long past and you have to be very selective about what Craftsman storage you buy if you want acceptable quality.

Has Bulk Storage Area: Yes
What is the "Bulk Storage Area"? Does this chest have an Open space on the bottom?
Looked like all drawers, maybe they mean the bottom deep drawer?

mrbreezeet1 said:

Has Bulk Storage Area: Yes
What is the "Bulk Storage Area"? Does this chest have an Open space on the bottom?
Looked like all drawers, maybe they mean the bottom deep drawer?

Click to expand...

copied from the link you posted.....

ibedayank said:

copied from the link you posted.....

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know...............LOL
Looked at it again, looks like all drawers.
Still on the fence.
Have been watching craigslist for a few months, nothing really.
Won't see a decent one cheap till I buy a new one.

Which 5 drawer hf cart are you guys talking about?

Andy Griffith said:

Which 5 drawer hf cart are you guys talking about?

Click to expand...

http://www.harborfreight.com/five-drawer-service-cart-95272.html

Well I don't know if this input will be helpful or not, but I have the cm 'project center' and the HF black 4 drawer service cart.

My cm project center came with not only that top plastic molded cladding but both sides of the cart had cladding on it as well. The sides had all kinds of nooks and crannies to store stuff, peg board, etc. Didn't take me long to figure out that the top sliding wood piece was a finger pinching pia. Just as soon as I had a work piece on the the top of the cart to work on, I would need a tool or fastener that was under the slider. I found all that plastic cladding to be non-value added and tore it off and threw it away. Replaced the top with a piece of plywood which gets changed out when it wears out.

It has worked well as a roll-around small bench and gets used quite often in my home shop, but as others have said, it is a very light weight unit. I keep frequently used tools in the drawers and you will notice the light duty aspect in how the drawers operate. They don't hold much weight and when fully or even partially loaded they don't slide very easily. Certainly not compared with my ball bearing carts/chests or even with the hf 4 drawer cart.

That being said, if you are going to park the thing somewhere and use it to support your current chest I think it would be an ok budget alternative. A lot depends on what you are going to put in those drawers, especially the bottom two as they are deep. I have a big wad of air tools in the very bottom drawer and that drawer needs some effort to open/close it, but it does work ok for my home shop needs.

I don't keep up with the tool carts/chests anymore so don't know if there is a bottom cart alternative from cm or hf of better quality while still having a decent price point compared to the 'project center'.

With regards to finding a bottom for your existing chest you are comparing two carts with different functions/configurations.

I completely agree with you as to the usefulness of the open storage area vs full drawers. On a top and bottom tool chest set I really dislike the open storage area and greatly prefer all drawers. However, on a service cart like the hf's mentioned I actually prefer the open storage area at the bottom.

Under the wood/MDF top is additional storage area. Nice, but very inconvenient. If you keep anything on top, much less a top box, it makes it a royal PITA to get stuff from under the lid.

It's fine as stationary storage. Stores more than the HF cart and the outlets are a nice touch. Mine is over 5years old and is still holding up. But it has rarely moved and is not heavily loaded.

I guess my feeling is it's a decent amount of storage for $100, but that's really all it is. I suppose its better looking than an old kitchen cabinet. If you want a cart to actually move around, it's not even close. The HF cart may be 60% more, but it is ten times better. Thats really not an exaggeration.

mrbreezeet1 said:

Yeah, I know...............LOL
Looked at it again, looks like all drawers.
Still on the fence.
Have been watching craigslist for a few months, nothing really.
Won't see a decent one cheap till I buy a new one.

Click to expand...

I;ve got the same 5dwr Craftsman bottom box in black I bought many years ago as a fill-in at a remote job site. Just none of the MDF/plastic storage stuff on mine.

Still have it and at $100 it is fine if just used for light industrial use or for a home box.

Outside of overloading the slides with too many sockets or socket trays if all put in one drawer, it'll be just fine paired with your red top box.

Ideal if you want to go pro, nope. Good for home or garage use-yep.

Beats the lift door (or ...ummm...missing lift door) bottom box you have.

For $100 it works. If not go the HF 26" bottom box or the HF combo listed above.

Well fooled around too long, back up to $199.99.
Thought the price was good till Jan.7th?
Maybe just as well??
What about the one HF has, think it's on sale for $150.00 or so.
Well it's $199.00 but I think you can get it for $150.00, But l see it has the open bottom storage area I'm not found of.
http://www.harborfreight.com/11-dra...-782A-E011-B31E-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA

Might be better if this one goes on sale? (Said to be on sale for $359.99) 26" 8 Drawer Roller Cabinet with 8 Drawer Top Chest
Item # 67831 Manufacturer: US General Pro
Looks like both units are 18" deep.

http://www.harborfreight.com/26-8-drawer-roller-cabinet-with-8-drawer-top-chest-67831.html

I have a coupon that gets it for 149.99 I think. Hmm, maybe worth looking at.

JASTECH said:

I have a coupon that gets it for 149.99 I think. Hmm, maybe worth looking at.

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Thanks,
Sort of leaning towards the 2nd. one.
Would be nice to get it for about $300.00 on sale.
Here's a U-tube video about it.

Edit,
I'm pretty well sold on this box after watching the video.
Watch it full screen, the resolution is pretty decent.
Looks like both units (top/Bottom) are 18 deep, so the top chest is deeper than some(Most) of the craftsman 12" deep units.
Look at all the weight he has in the bottom 2 drawers.

nice MAC on craigslist , further than I care to travel at this point, but looks like a nice box. Has a nice middle box too.
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/tls/2769890386.html

I ordered 4 of these. I plan to use them as drawer units to roll under my work bench and as a roll around drawer unit on the odd occasion that I need one.

I have recieved 2 of them and they are plenty strong and built from heavy enough metal to last.

overall: 27'' w. x 18 1/3'' d. x 34 9/10'' h.

http://www.sears.ca/product/craftsm...wer-cabinet-with-wheels/609-000292359-N01MT5D

Blue One said:

I ordered 4 of these. I plan to use them as drawer units to roll under my work bench and as a roll around drawer unit on the odd occasion that I need one.

I have recieved 2 of them and they are plenty strong and built from heavy enough metal to last.

overall: 27'' w. x 18 1/3'' d. x 34 9/10'' h.

http://www.sears.ca/product/craftsm...wer-cabinet-with-wheels/609-000292359-N01MT5D

Click to expand...

those look pretty nice too. Sort of remind me of the Gladiators.
Kind of still set on the HF one I showed above.
any one know how cheap these go on sale for?
http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-t...er-cabinet-with-8-drawer-top-chest-67831.html