before buying that huge roller toolbox.....

[yuk]

Most tools I store in my roller boxes dont require deep drawers, just lots of area to lay items. So if you're like me this post might shed some light on what style of storage you wanna invest in.
All tool box sellers advertise how many cu/inches you are getting. Now lets see how much sq/inches you get for the money.
I am using HF as an example for this posting, but the concept is universal.
Let's look at the actual real estate you are buying from harbor freight.

Using the owners PDF for my source the Sq/inches for a 56 inch roller are 4580.0625

Using measurements from their website as my source the sq/inches for the 44 inch roller 3894.875

Using measurements from an employee on the phone as my source the sq/inches for the 7 drawer end box are 1334.34375

tot. 44 & 7drw end = 5229.21875

a 44 & two 7's = 6563.5625

I have seen them have the end box on sale before for $99.

For the money it looks like the 44 incher makes great sense right out of the gate.
It sure makes hanging a 7 drawer end box or two from a 44 inch roller become like a sweet deal.
Of course this all depends on what kind of tools you are storing in the boxes.
please post your opinions

 

[Daddy454]

I recently found this out firsthand trying to organize my tools.I pulled out my older CM box with the deep drawers,pulled all my tools out of all my other boxes and started to re-distribute tools.I soon realized that most of my stuff can't really be stacked,and I was only utilizing about half the space.I had about 6 semi-deep drawers that I couldn't do much with.Needless to say I didn't get much done.Mostly just tidying up drawers.I could probably get away with more drawers of less depth.

 

[yuk]

with the HF sale going on today, you get almost double the sq inches per penny buying the 44 in over the 56

 

[vartz04]

My 27" international tool box has 7 drawers. 4 shallow 2 med and 1 deep. Is gladly trade the deep drawer for another shallow and a med. I need the mediums for my socket trays. The deep drawer is useless for most stuff cause I keep my power tools in cabinets. I would like to get a cheap 27" top box to put on the bench so I have more shallow drawers. And a 3 deep drawer box to hold some other power tools

 

[John in OH]

My 27" international tool box has 7 drawers. 4 shallow 2 med and 1 deep. Is gladly trade the deep drawer for another shallow and a med. I need the mediums for my socket trays. The deep drawer is useless for most stuff cause I keep my power tools in cabinets. I would like to get a cheap 27" top box to put on the bench so I have more shallow drawers. And a 3 deep drawer box to hold some other power tools

Could you replace the 6" deep drawer with a pair of 3" deep drawers? I recently replaced a 12" deep drawer in my 40" Cman Griplatch cabinet with four, 3" deep drawers and it worked out great. Check out the thread at: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180594

 

[#1SomeGuy]

The best solution to that is store things more vertically, like pliers, wrenches, sockets and such if not layed down flat will use up more of that vertical height.

 

[nosnerd]

Damn...4numbers to the right of the decimal......

 

[froggert]

the smaller box is a better value when you're looking at cost versus area. my general preference, though, is to have fewer and larger drawers. i'm better with things in front of me than hidden behind a door, cabinet or drawer.

 

[yuk]

im hoping to find a box with a drawer for each wrench and socket. then i can label the drawers and spend less time digging through them. makes perfectly good sense to me.

as for the decimal, jus doin what the calculator told me. just be glad i used a calculator.

 

[Cedge]

As you said, determine the need before spending the money. I considered 3 of the 44" boxes, but quickly realized the deeper drawers were more fitting to my particular need. I already had enough shallow drawer storage for the bits and pieces associated with my lathe and mill, but my power tools and larger milling fixtures were scattered all over the shop with no place to call home.

Having them stored in the deep drawers of the HF 56" boxes is a perfect solution here. It's all in what your particular need happens to be.

 

[yuk]

of the HF boxes, i prefer the drawer latching system on the 56".
i have that silly system they use on the 44" on my clarke boxes and cant stand it. my favorite latching system is the craftsman griplatch system but the craftsman boxes seem prett poorly constructed these days.

 

[LG63]

Most tools I store in my roller boxes dont require deep drawers, just lots of area to lay items.

Same here. This is one of the reasons I've cooled my heels on Lista cabinets. Most of them I've looked at have fairly deep drawers.

Thanks for posting the HF info......

 

[GTA Matt]

im hoping to find a box with a drawer for each wrench and socket. then i can label the drawers and spend less time digging through them. makes perfectly good sense to me.

Hope this helps

http://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/381812_10150450034204232_1582793258_n.jpg

 

[mdkingsley]

I just went from a Snapon roll cart, 4 drawer two deep bottom drawers, the biggest one they make to a 7 drawer Snapon. It is sbout 10 inches shorter but holds more due to the shallower drawers and still has room for impacts and drills. I will probably add another one right next to it some day.

 

[jvitez]

GTA Matt: you win!

I'd really like a box with deep drawers. My 17" ones limit storing many types of tools the way I'd like. But, the Gray Pro toolbox I have has a ton of shallow drawers for a 27" wide box which is exactly the way I like it for the reasons you pointed out.

Now if I could design my own roller cabinet, I'd have at least 24" deep drawers with a full width drawer at the top, deep enough for Hansen socket trays, and the rest could be shallow drawers for ease of organizing. Here's my toolbox:

 

[Outlawmws]

For the win! : (Admittedly pricey for a single box, but not as pricy as truck boxes)

http://listabox.com/model-750/double-bank/config.php

56 Wide, 28.5 deep 41.5 high

(Lower left unit) TSDW07C04-1101FL-M (8,708 Sq inches) @ .42 a Sq inch $3674
Currently my "Dream" box...

HF 56" = $800 and .17 per Sq in
HF 44" = $359 and .092 per Sq in

 

[kngelv]

This makes sense for home use, but not a shared workplace. The deeper, and taller drawers of the 56" and similar designs allow you to store drill cases, vacuum gages, meters etc. In a shop your toolbox might be the only place to store these.

James

 

[John in OH]

GTA Matt: you win!

I'd really like a box with deep drawers. My 17" ones limit storing many types of tools the way I'd like. But, the Gray Pro toolbox I have has a ton of shallow drawers for a 27" wide box which is exactly the way I like it for the reasons you pointed out.

Now if I could design my own roller cabinet, I'd have at least 24" deep drawers with a full width drawer at the top, deep enough for Hansen socket trays, and the rest could be shallow drawers for ease of organizing. Here's my toolbox:

This all sounds like a recent discussion in another thread about the desirability of being able to design one's own toolbox to meet their personal needs. Quoting from that thread:

"Wow!!! A "design it yourself" toolbox feature is a truly brilliant idea!!! I've often looked at toolboxes and thought, "Gee, if only this box had this or that". It seems as if it would not be a difficult program for a company such as Waterloo to establish ... start with a base box such as this 40" box with the pre-punched rails and then let the buyer select the drawer sizes they want. This box already has 3", 4" and 6" drawers in the wide pattern and 3", 4" and 12" in the narrow pattern, so if they would just add a 6" drawer in the narrow pattern to the drawer lineup, the buyer could design some awesome toolboxes specific to their needs!!!

The design software could have some basic limiting features that would prevent the buyer from doing stupid stuff like trying to select a drawer stack that exceeds the cabinet height or warns the buyer if they have selected a stack height that doesn't fully fill the cabinet."

Considering the many folks here on GJ that all have different opinions on what sizes of drawers and drawer configurations are best, it seems as if there is a real market niche here for a toolbox manufacturer to step into with a moderately priced product. Start with a choice of 3 or 4 basic cabinet styles with pre-punched rails, then let the buyer select the sizes of drawers they want in their chosen basic cabinet. Just like ordering from a Chinese menu ... 1 from column A, 3 from column B, 2 from column C .... Price would be calculated from base cabinet chosen and number/size of drawers selected.

Any toolbox manufactures paying attention??

 

[MDSPHOTO]

Toolboxes are a gateway drug.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I thought I had enough storage with the Harbor Freight 44 and Craftsman stack.

But the shallow depths meant significantly less storage than full size cabinets (Equipto on the left, Lista on the right).

The old setup had 25,585 cubic inches of storage in it. The new bench and cabinet give me a total of 69,442 cubic inches of storage -- a 271% increase. And now I also have a place to sit.

 

[ironmutt]

This all sounds like a recent discussion in another thread about the desirability of being able to design one's own toolbox to meet their personal needs. Quoting from that thread:

"Wow!!! A "design it yourself" toolbox feature is a truly brilliant idea!!! I've often looked at toolboxes and thought, "Gee, if only this box had this or that". It seems as if it would not be a difficult program for a company such as Waterloo to establish ... start with a base box such as this 40" box with the pre-punched rails and then let the buyer select the drawer sizes they want. This box already has 3", 4" and 6" drawers in the wide pattern and 3", 4" and 12" in the narrow pattern, so if they would just add a 6" drawer in the narrow pattern to the drawer lineup, the buyer could design some awesome toolboxes specific to their needs!!!

The design software could have some basic limiting features that would prevent the buyer from doing stupid stuff like trying to select a drawer stack that exceeds the cabinet height or warns the buyer if they have selected a stack height that doesn't fully fill the cabinet."

Considering the many folks here on GJ that all have different opinions on what sizes of drawers and drawer configurations are best, it seems as if there is a real market niche here for a toolbox manufacturer to step into with a moderately priced product. Start with a choice of 3 or 4 basic cabinet styles with pre-punched rails, then let the buyer select the sizes of drawers they want in their chosen basic cabinet. Just like ordering from a Chinese menu ... 1 from column A, 3 from column B, 2 from column C .... Price would be calculated from base cabinet chosen and number/size of drawers selected.

Any toolbox manufactures paying attention??

matco has a build your own box link on there web site but you might want to have your nitro pills nearby when you see the price

 

[slob]

Hope this helps

http://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/381812_10150450034204232_1582793258_n.jpg

That's bigger and more nicely furnished than my apartment.

 

[cheechi]

I have seen them have the end box on sale before for $99.

Go on, I'm listening.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hope this helps

http://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/381812_10150450034204232_1582793258_n.jpg

I hope that includes a library style ladder.

 

[rick carpenter]

For those who have deep drawers and don't like them, maybe here's an idea. Build one, two, or three bottomless boxes about half height for the drawer. Make the top hinged at the back. Screw socket rails, etc (anything that fixes a tool in place) onto the top lid.

 

[danski0224]

Same here. This is one of the reasons I've cooled my heels on Lista cabinets. Most of them I've looked at have fairly deep drawers.

Thanks for posting the HF info......

It is possible to order Lista stuff in almost any configuration.

You could fill the housing with shallow drawers if you want.

If you were prepared to spend the money on that level of quality, I'd actually speak to a Lista distributor before choosing a lesser box because you don't think they have what you need .