Anyone mix boxes?

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

I have been considering buying two 26in wide craftsman boxes to put on top of my 54in wide snap on box. I am considering this for several reasons..for one the craftsman boxes would be much cheaper, and the other is I have noticed that I use the top of my box for a work surface fairly often. My snap on box is 40in deep..and the craftsman is 16in deep and it would allow me to still have 24in of work space. I really don't need very much storage, I just thought it would be convenient to store some of my more precision tools like my calipers, mics, etc. I see the craftsman boxes go on sale for around $200 fairly often. I am really not trying to impress anyone with my boxes, I just try to use what works for me. I know the colors won't match, and the tops wll say "craftman" but is there any other reason this wouldn't be a good idea?

 

[TNToy]

Funny. I always thought 40 - 16 = 24

Peel the craftsman logo off of the top boxes and buy a couple of snap-on decals off of eBay. If you do that before you bring them up to work, I bet everyone will be complimenting them.

I hope you plan to use the bottom 2 or 3 drawers for seldom-accessed items. If you set a couple dozen fasteners and wrenches on top of the box in font of them, you won't be opening them for a while.

 

[wilbilt]

Mix boxes? Never!

LOL

 

[Canadian Charlie]

I have 4 boxes and they are not by the same manufactuer. As long as they hold my tools I'm happy. I'd love to have a Snap On box like yours

 

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

Funny. I always thought 40 - 16 = 24

Yep, I'm in college...

I got lucky with my snap on box, I was at the right place at the right time. A guy at a local shop was moving and wasn't going to be able to take the box with him..he was pretty much stuck with selling it for what he could get, or leaving it behind. I spent the money I was saving to find a new beater car on it! but it was worth it..

 

[toolfreak]

Just wanted to let you know that the toolbox is only 30" so you will be left with 14" not 24".

 

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

I honestly knew that...and do not know why I can't think today.

 

[TNToy]

It actually occurred to me that they don't make anything 40 inches deep (even the 12 foot long monster boxes)... I just forgot to mention it in my post.

I'd give up on being able to use the front of it for a shelf, honestly. You'll always be needing to open the lower drawers the moment you pile a bunch of stuff there.

I much prefer a box with a hutch on top and lockers on the sides to the top & bottom box setup. I use my box as a bench. Only downside is that the htch for that box runs around $1,500 IIRC.

 

[toolfreak]

Have you considered an end cab like this? I have the toolbox you showed a pic of and it is not big enough. I don't want to lose the area on top on my box since it is a nice workbench and I sit tools on top so I can clean them before putting them away for the day.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=14386&group_ID=3405

 

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

Right now I can't really afford that piece, but its something to consider in the future. I too use my box as a work surface, which is why I wanted somethign like that craftsman on top. I just wish I had remembered some of what was mentioned in this post. I dunno where my head is today..I guess I'll have to revise this plan..or just buy one top box.

 

[kartracer55]

What about the different sizes. There are similar ranges of boxes, like they make boxes ABOUT 26 inches wide, ABOUT 41 ABOUT 56 etc, but has anybody mixed, say a snap on 26 inch bottom with a craftsman 26 inch top? Do they fit or is the craftsman too big?

Jim

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Here is my set up, sorry about the blurred pic

 

[rose jackets67]

Jim, my home box is a Snap On 26" wide top chest (older KRA55) on top of a Craftsman 26" ball bearing bottom (not sure the model number). It fits perfect. On the other hand, I bought a Snap On 2-drawer intermediate chest to put between the two that was about 3/4" too wide to stack on top of the Craftsman.

Seems pretty hit or miss.

Adam

 

[...dave]

Mix boxes? Never!

LOL

Is the one in the middle a home-built wooden chest of drawers with a Craftsman logo stuck on it??

i took a bottom-of-the-barrell 26" Waterloo rolling "workcenter" with three drawers and a door on the bottom, and stuck it on top of my 26" 8-drawer Craftsman roller to create a makeshift hutch... doesn't waste nearly so much depth as the usual topchests do (why ARE they so much shallower ). Required about a minute of "clearancing" the sides of the 'loo with a BFH to make it fit on top

 

[kartracer55]

Jim, my home box is a Snap On 26" wide top chest (older KRA55) on top of a Craftsman 26" ball bearing bottom (not sure the model number). It fits perfect. On the other hand, I bought a Snap On 2-drawer intermediate chest to put between the two that was about 3/4" too wide to stack on top of the Craftsman.

Seems pretty hit or miss.

Adam

Damn... Ill have to do some measuring I guess.

Thanks

Jim

 

[wilbilt]

Is the one in the middle a home-built wooden chest of drawers with a Craftsman logo stuck on it??

Yes. The cabinet is metal, recycled from I-don't know-what, and the drawers are wooden (with various wooden dividers made to fit specific tools). It was built by my wife's great-grandfather for use in his auto/tractor repair business back in the 1930's/40's. He was quite a piece of work...he turned all of the knobs on the drawers himself, and made quite a few of his own tools.

My daughter found the Crafstman logo a few years ago, and I stuck it on there as a joke.

The lower chest on the right is actually a 19" computer rack on casters. I built some drawers from scrap plywood and OSB, turned it sideways and mounted the drawer slides using the prepunched rack holes. Seemed better than throwing it away, and holds bulky stuff (power tools) pretty well.