Any Suggestions On A Small Toolbox?

[NY Old Guy]

Hi,

I'm shopping for a small toolbox about a foot high, maybe 3 feet wide, and about a foot and a half deep. Hopefully with a couple of drawers for wrenches and a place for sockets. I have a space constraint - it's going to be kept on some storage shelves, and can justify about $100 for it, or possibly even $150.

I found a Homak unit on Amazon for $60:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K6HBPG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

At Tooltopia, I found this one for $60:

http://www.tooltopia.com/international-tool-boxes-hbp2103rd.aspx

And at Snap On, they have a Blue Point one for $102:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...45&group_ID=51&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

So, Do any of you guys have any recommendation for a tool box similar in size to any of the above. For a really nice one I guess I could spend $150 but hopefully looking for one for about a hundred bucks.

Thanks!

 

[impulse922]

i'd give sears a look-see before i bought one online

we had an big international box in shop class and it was nice, but that could be like comparing KRL quality to that of the blue point unit.

 

[dwm]

Does small also mean portable, or is it going to pretty much stay put all of the time?

 

[NY Old Guy]

I figure it will stay put. I have a bunch of shelves in place, and that's about the only area I have to put it, so wide but not too high would be the ideal dimensions. I have a bunch of loose sockets, and a lot of different spanners probably at least 30, also a lot of spare parts like gaskets and fasteners. My biggest wrench is 1 5/16 so I'm not sure a wrench that big will fit. I'm hoping to fit as much as possible in it. I don't want anything that's not sturdy, so I'd rather pay more for a good quality item. Thanks

 

[teicher]

Ditto on the trip to Sears. Take a look at the Craftsman 20" 3-drawer box (#61902) or if you can take the height, the Rally box (#65398). Lowes has Kobalt branded versions of these, too. There are some good bargains out there with all of the holiday sales, so I'd definitely try and buy something local before ordering online.

 

[NY Old Guy]

Thanks for the advice, everyone, I'll check at Sears, and there's also a Harbor Freight store nearby, and I think I'm going to have to check there too, because I noticed a lot of people say they have nice tool boxes. Cheers

 

[dwm]

If there's a shelf above such that it won't be convenient to open the top, I'd look at intermediate (middle) chests, which will optimize the drawer space. Sears has a lot of them on their website, but typically not very many of them to look at in the stores.

 

[TN_GARAGE]

Sears has a sale going on right now on a lot of their stuff.

I think I saw their basic/cheap chest for about $85. It included a top AND bottom cabinet with drawers. I'm sure you'll find a use for both. Doesn't have the nice ball bearing drawer slides, but neither will any $50 tool box.

 

[LEVE]

Have you thought about Harbor Freight?

Though it's not the greatest quality, it should be within your budget and give you all the room you need for tools till you can get something better.

 

[lowbucktruck]

Ditto on the trip to Sears. Take a look at the Craftsman 20" 3-drawer box (#61902) or if you can take the height, the Rally box (#65398). Lowes has Kobalt branded versions of these, too. There are some good bargains out there with all of the holiday sales, so I'd definitely try and buy something local before ordering online.

Have a comment on that.... I was looking for a small or medium-sized hand-carry toolbox with drawers for my brother-in-law as a Christmas gift. Went to Home Depot and Lowes, both stores used to carry metal toolboxes of that size in stock, but no such luck... only plastic-bodied toolboxes with metal drawers. I even tried Ace hardware and only plastic toolboxes were in stock. You may have no choice but to order online. All of the toolboxes I was looking for where in the $50 price range.

By the way, all three stores (Depot, Lowes and Ace) have the 2-3 drawer steel toolboxes on their websites. Sears might be the only brick-n-mortar store where you can actually find a steel toolbox.

 

[teicher]

I guess it just depends on local stock. Sears is your best option for a box like this anyway. I have one of those crasftman rally boxes and I like it. Holds lots of tools, isn't so wide that it takes up precious space on my bench, and has four drawers plus the tray.

 

[southpier]

i've got the Blue Point; it's a decent box. i think i paid 140, so it's also a decent deal.

if you're planning to keep it on a shelf, will the fliptop be of any value?

ever consider an intermediate box?

 

[dankicksass]

This Stanley ball bearing three drawer hand box was $60 last week, $70 today, still a good value in my book. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-3-Drawer-Metal-Tool-Box-with-122-Tools/15173795

 

[TN_GARAGE]

This Stanley ball bearing three drawer hand box was $60 last week, $70 today, still a good value in my book. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-3-Drawer-Metal-Tool-Box-with-122-Tools/15173795

I clicked the link and the price was $49.97

That's a great price. It's not full of the highest quality tools, but I suspect there's something in there that will work just fine in the home workshop.

 

[gabeancounter]

Old guy,
I really like the style of this box. Extra drawers are always a plus.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KG9Z3W/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[dankicksass]

I clicked the link and the price was $49.97

That's a great price. It's not full of the highest quality tools, but I suspect there's something in there that will work just fine in the home workshop.

Nice. That's enough to make me go in on it, I wanted another small toolbox anyway.

 

[NY Old Guy]

Hey Guys, thanks for all the ideas. I'm thinking an intermediate cabinet will work best since if it's on shelves, the lid won't fully open.

 

[NJHandyGuy]

ny my recomenations would be the crafts man rally box or kobalt has a plastic 3 drawer for 39.99 i have that i love as long as you don't move it to much

pics of both below kobalt is in my tool cart

 

[NY Old Guy]

Do I get a dummy award or a genius award if I buy this box, which my heart seems to be lusting for:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...80&group_ID=51&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item_Lg.asp?picFile=/28500/28423.JPG

It's expensive as hell, yet I want it badly. Not badly enough to pay $396 for it though, that is unless Santa helps me out. I think I would pay $196 for it though, lol. It would be good though, b/c I keep a motorcycle in the city and another in the country so could be used to bring my tool collection back and forth, also for when working on the bike, the removable tote would be handy.

 

[Deskmechanic]

I love that snappy box. Price is ouch though...