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The HF box is built better than I thought it was

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Wamsutta

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The HF box is built better than I thought


Huge difference between it and the Husky. The most prominent difference is the way the casters are mounted. HF did it right with the heavy gauge mounting plates and the threaded inserts.

The only suggestions I'd make to HF is as follows:

- Go deeper on the overall depth
- Go to a different drawer latch
- Go to 16 gauge for the slide panels instead of 18 gauge
 
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BreeStephany

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I really liked the Husky box when I first saw it in the store, but after I watched that video, I was glad I went with the HF box and was definitely surprised by how cheaply built the Husky box was.

For an occasional user, I'm pretty happy with the 72" HF box and my homemade powerbank.
 
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SRSemenza

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Just a note to those interested in the Husky. The earlier model Husky 72" have better mounting points for the castors and double slides on the wide and or deep drawers. They are still available too.

Seth
 
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equitiesguy

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

Wamsutta said:

Huge difference between it and the Husky. The most prominent difference is the way the casters are mounted. HF did it right with the heavy gauge mounting plates and the threaded inserts.

The only suggestions I'd make to HF is as follows:

- Go deeper on the overall depth
- Go to a different drawer latch
- Go to 16 gauge for the slide panels instead of 18 gauge
Click to expand...

The harbor freight boxes I looked at in the store recently were so wobbly with the drawers open that they appeared to me to be total junk. If you spend more than $200 on a box from them, you can do much better buying used elsewhere with a little search work.
 
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Fedwrench

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

Wamsutta said:

Huge difference between it and the Husky. The most prominent difference is the way the casters are mounted. HF did it right with the heavy gauge mounting plates and the threaded inserts.

The only suggestions I'd make to HF is as follows:

- Go deeper on the overall depth
- Go to a different drawer latch
- Go to 16 gauge for the slide panels instead of 18 gauge
Click to expand...

visit www.iconprotools.com to see the latest.
 
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dscheidt

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

equitiesguy said:
The harbor freight boxes I looked at in the store recently were so wobbly with the drawers open that they appeared to me to be total junk. If you spend more than $200 on a box from them, you can do much better buying used elsewhere with a little search work.
Click to expand...

The last time I looked at them in the store, every display box had a broken drawer latch. Not inspiring confidence...
 
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KomatsuTech

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I have a 72" US General with a 44" Us General top on top of it, with a US General side cabinet, and a 5 drawer Us General service cart. They all see daily use as a technician at a heavy equipment dealer, with absolutely no problems for the last 15 months or so that I have had them. Are there better boxes out there? Sure there are, but IMHO they can't be beat for the money. I read about the latch issues, and they seem to be common but how many are out there that have no issues that we never hear about? With the heavy use mine get I am extremely pleased with them, for the price I paid.
 
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_Stang_

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

Any box I've ever laid hands on in HD or Lowes feels like junk compared to my old HF 44.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
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kctyphoon

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

equitiesguy said:
The harbor freight boxes I looked at in the store recently were so wobbly with the drawers open that they appeared to me to be total junk. If you spend more than $200 on a box from them, you can do much better buying used elsewhere with a little search work.
Click to expand...

The HUGE following on here would say otherwise.. not to mention how you can configure these in endless ways, especially now since they are all the same size.
 
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Air21

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I wish these came with something like Craftsman Griplatch instead of that goofy side slide lock.
 
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Mr_B

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^
yeh to be fair that one of biggest flaws along with not best casters on some models .
Masterforce 72" about one of best in store boxes .
 
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jonshonda

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A lot of the guys who wrench 50+ hours/wk in the shop use US General/Craftsman boxes with a lot of pittsburg/CM stuff in them. Just goes to show you that the stuff everyone on GJ says is not up to par, is up to par.

If I wouldn't have gotten a SO Classic 78 for the price of the US General of the same size, I would have gotten Masterforce. Their big boxes looked worth the money.

Honestly I am still kicking around the idea of selling my SO box and getting 72" masterforce.
 
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Ign

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Revival....does any have accurate cubic inch numbers on these?

In the video he says the HF has more space (and I don't necessarily doubt it) but Husky claims 32.1k on the HD website and the HF is listed at 29.5k

I'll say I DO understand cubic volume isn't the most important thing but it's a factor. I know drawer size and layout are equally (or more) important and that comes down to personal preference and anticipated use.

I really like the HF but just can't get over the 22" depth vs 24" on "real" boxes. I realize the HF is taller but not sure that's a good thing and I think I'd prefer depth over height.

If HF would come out w a 24" D version of this and matching 72" top they would REALLY put the hurt on the tool trucks -- or at least make a lot of professional techs think long and hard before financing $6 to $30k...
 
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ChrisLS8

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I'm just interested in how the pricing for the icon boxes will be. I know they will be excluded from most deals but like Vulcan they may have their own special coupons in time
 
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Brownsfan

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Mr_B said:
^
yeh to be fair that one of biggest flaws along with not best casters on some models .
Masterforce 72" about one of best in store boxes .
Click to expand...

Agreed. The 72" Masterforce i saw in store was great. Grip latch drawer pulls 24" deep and taller than the others. I know this will cause the aite to go nuts. But the Craftsman Pro Series Sears is selling is a great box. Holds the most weight per drawer than any other store box. And it feels like a tool truck box. I would have bought it had it been available when I bought my Husky 66" that wasn't sold in stores. It has the better casters and mount points like someone mentioned above. Im not at all dissatisfied with my purchase and its probably one of the better bang for buck boxes. Also the Craftsman Pro is usa made.
 
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Rogers954

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Re: The HF box is built better than I thought

I only hope that US general keeps producing the same boxes and doesn’t mess it up by going cheaper, i think they have a great thing going for a great price, i haven’t put my eyes on the gen 2’s because I’m not in the market guess i should the next time I’m in there hopefully to get my service cart, but i have heard nothing but good things about them. IMO which is probably pretty bias because of my experience it would take a lot for me to go back to a craftsman because my previous one was pure junk, thin metal and wobbly as hell. I knocked the wheels off of my 44 and put it under my workbench because i don’t have any room in my current garage and i feel like it has worked great, now I’m going to pick up a service cart because not having a mobile box is kind of a pain when I’m working on my truck in the driveway going back and forth for tools is annoying.

I don’t plan to keep my current home for more than 4 years from now so my dream is to buy my “forever” home after this one and I’m hoping to be able to get enough property to build a real shop, knowing what i do know about the Hf boxes and seeing how guys have built work benches using the 44’s as bases i would probably do the exact same thing in my next house with 2-4 44’s so like i said i hope in the next few years they don’t f-it up and change what they have going now because I’m very fond of my box and i really wouldn’t change anything about it other than maybe deeper drawers on the shallow ones.

For the price i don’t feel like anyone comes close to the quality of the Hf 44’s


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
 
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Ign

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Brownsfan said:
Agreed. The 72" Masterforce i saw in store was great. Grip latch drawer pulls 24" deep and taller than the others. I know this will cause the aite to go nuts. But the Craftsman Pro Series Sears is selling is a great box. Holds the most weight per drawer than any other store box. And it feels like a tool truck box. I would have bought it had it been available when I bought my Husky 66" that wasn't sold in stores. It has the better casters and mount points like someone mentioned above. Im not at all dissatisfied with my purchase and its probably one of the better bang for buck boxes. Also the Craftsman Pro is usa made.
Click to expand...

Not going nuts but no Menards even remotely near me. I looked up the Masterforce box earlier today but it's $700 more than either Husky or HF.

If I do anything I'm only willing to spend about a grand for a rolling cabinet otherwise I'll just make due w my 54" KRL

At this point I'll almost surely make due until the Icons are released. I'd pay more for the Icon if it's 24-25" deep as shown in the teaser ad....but I won't be paying the prices listed there. Hell you can get a 72x30" Montezuma for $3300
 
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ChrisLS8

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Yeah they never go for listed price, it's just a tactic to exude that the quality is higher than the other offerings
 
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Ign

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Oh and while I'm not standing up for the 72" Husky I will say a great deal of fuss is made over the fixed center casters.

If you own a toolbox I'm going to assume you own tools.....the casters are easily replaced w swivels. I did this on my 60" Milwaukee rolling workbench and it's sweet....now all 6 wheels are smart wheels. It's not as difficult to push in a mostly-straight-sorta-drunken straight line as you'd think, and "parallel parking" in the tightest of spots is a breeze - even easier than the US General would be in stock form w it's 2 smart wheels and 2 dumb wheels.

I understand the logic that you shouldn't HAVE TO sink $ into a new box.....but sometimes I wonder if people here have ever had to customize anything to their liking (which is kinda sorta mostly entirely why I own tools)
 
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Ign

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"
The way I move this bench I need it to go straight in ANY direction. The dumb wheels in the center were far more of a hinderance than a help so I wanted 6 smart wheels.

I went thru my pile of casters I had lying around but only found one 5" smart wheel - a HF rated at 330lbs. And OAH was 1/2" too short but I was insistent on using this ugly duckling so I made a 1/2" spacer for it.

Then in keeping w being frugal I hopped on Amazon and lucked out finding a Shepherd 5", all steel rated at 1750# (LOL) for $20.01 shipped Prime. Apparently it was an Amazon bot fluke as these are now showing $64 ea on Amazon.

So for $20 and a little time I now have 6 smart wheels. Honestly, it's so much better for my needs. Yes, trying to go in a truly straight line is a bit like herding cats but it's no big deal for my needs."

Note this was a Milwaukee 60" bench I don't plan to load that heavily....for a 72" true tool box I wouldn't really consider using a HF caster rated at 330#

attachment.php
 
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BDT/NWMN

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The new $2499 Icon 56" box is 25" deep; a major improvement over their General line.

The 56" x 22" General is on sale for $649.

Take a close look at the specs on these two boxes; I definitely know which one I would want. If the Icon is beyond Your budget; the General may be the bargain You are looking for.

Sure; many of Us would rather wait for a used Snap-on KRL to appear on the local Craig's list;;; but but but when will that dream box appear in the color and condition I want?

International recently closed their doors, and Stanley Black & Decker recently purchased Waterloo. The Waterloo Commercial tool boxes were built to last, and were priced accordingly. It will be interesting to follow this commercial lineup and pricing in the next couple of years.

For boxes in the $2500 range; I have a gut feeling Icon will do some *** kicking.

Any word on a 72" version??
 
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LXCam

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All right ign, I give up what's a smart wheel. I tried searching it and even went to HF site and looked at three pages of their casters. Amazon wasn't much help either.
 
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joetech

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LXCam said:
All right ign, I give up what's a smart wheel. I tried searching it and even went to HF site and looked at three pages of their casters. Amazon wasn't much help either.
Click to expand...


Humor is not for the faint of heart
Click to expand...

And you have that in your sig

Good one

Swivel casters.
 
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LXCam

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joetech said:
And you have that in your sig

Good one

Swivel casters.
Click to expand...

Ya right. Had he only said it once I'd not given it a second thought. But when he went bold I thought wth, I gotta know what that is. :p
 
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fastbike02

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I bought the 56" husky hd box and have major buyers remorse! I'm using the long center drawer for sockets and it sags from the weight of sockets! Also a lot of the drawers aren't deep enough to store anything that isn't laying flat! I am hoping hf comes out with colored boxes or I might go with a tool vault box next!
 
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Ign

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I don't see why anyone would pay $2500 plus tax for a 56" Icon? I see KRL722's for that on CL often. If I were dropping that kinda money I'd buy used tool truck.

And I'm not talking dream pricing here like the mythical $50 Wiltons. A 56" (ok 54") Snappy lower box in good condition around $2500 ain't hard to find. Even if they're asking $3k they'll likely come down and private party sales are no tax. Assuming an 8% tax rate you'll pay $2500 x 1.08 = $2700 at HF

I always say to watch for baby-on-the-way deals but I bet right now you could find some babies-fighting deals, er sorry I guess some call it the gubermint shutdown :D
 
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plinker

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Ign said:
I don't see why anyone would pay $2500 plus tax for a 56" Icon? I see KRL722's for that on CL often. If I were dropping that kinda money I'd buy used tool truck.
Click to expand...


Kinda what I was thinking, but to each their own.

I can see a buying a Masterforce 72" box since they're around 1500$ on sale, but 2500$ seems a bit high for a similar product.

Would HF take 25$ a week for the next several years? :lol_hitti
 
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Lookin4'67Galaxieconv

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Mr_B

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Top is just a rippled rubber mat .
Still wouldn't want pay that much for a 722, depth is actually less than than lot of cheap boxes, take an old matco all day over these .
 
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Bryanthegreat

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My main issue with the Husky box has been the casters and the mounting. Add the single slides and shorter top drawer and I pass. For 8 years I had zero issues with my US General 56 and its latches. I got the Masterforce 72 last spring and I feel it is the best buy in this class. My last trip to Home Depot I saw a much better built Husky 72 with power cab that is much better constructed without the issues the 72 in the video has.
 

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ptgarcia

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Bryanthegreat said:
My main issue with the Husky box has been the casters and the mounting. Add the single slides and shorter top drawer and I pass. For 8 years I had zero issues with my US General 56 and its latches. I got the Masterforce 72 last spring and I feel it is the best buy in this class. My last trip to Home Depot I saw a much better built Husky 72 with power cab that is much better constructed without the issues the 72 in the video has.
Click to expand...


Cool, I haven't seen that one yet. The Home Depots around me never have the big boxes in the stores. Pisses me off, because I'm in the market but with all the variations in quality I want to touch one before buying.

What do you guys think of this 72"x24" Husky for $998?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-7...Dlgv6NCOK_bW8_Pa6YYaAlPGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
red-with-silver-trim-husky-mobile-workbenches-h72mwc15r-64_1000.jpg
 
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kngelv

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Bryanthegreat said:
My main issue with the Husky box has been the casters and the mounting. Add the single slides and shorter top drawer and I pass. For 8 years I had zero issues with my US General 56 and its latches. I got the Masterforce 72 last spring and I feel it is the best buy in this class. My last trip to Home Depot I saw a much better built Husky 72 with power cab that is much better constructed without the issues the 72 in the video has.
Click to expand...

That box is not available according to their website. I'd be interested if I could find one anywhere.

James
 
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powertrip

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kngelv said:
That box is not available according to their website. I'd be interested if I could find one anywhere.

James
Click to expand...

My local store got 3 of those in before Christmas. Priced at $998 I think. I have never seen that size of a box in store at any of my area Home Depots.I planned on watching them in the hopes that nobody would make that big of a purchase and they might get marked down after Christmas. A few days later they were all gone. I looked them over and they looked nice, granted I didn't take the drawers out or look underneath it.
 
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