Best bang for the buck bottom box?

[whateg01]

... and fact menards not walk in store to all .

Huh?

 

[tyyost]

Huh?

Menards isn’t a “local” nationwide big box like Lowe’s and HomeDepot to many of GJ readers. Closest one to me is in the next state, only a mere 300 miles.

 

[Etchase]

Craftsman boxes are made in the USA with NuCor steel. The slides and casters were imported the last I checked. It’s great that Stanley is the last USA manufacturer. It must be tough against the foreign competition at the big box stores and HF. Stanley knows storage with their high end brands, and it shows in their lower priced offerings. They make a lot of boxes, going thru 720,000 pounds of sheet metal a day at that plant alone. That’s a lot of boxes. The Craftsman Brand offers v-series boxes with 200 lbs drawer capacities and 3,000 lbs casters. Probably good to support that manufacturing facility if they meet your needs. It’s the only one making this class box left.

 

[rust in the eye]

Since no pressing need other than to "clear up shelf space" I'd hold out for a used pro box.
You just know that the moment you drop $500 on a shiny new import box a screaming deal will turn up for a better box with some miles on it.

 

[signcrafter]

That last gets me to thinking - not sure I really need both of the old Craftsman toolbenches hogging up space. Maybe replace one with a bottom box and file .. hmm

What are you thinking? The craftsman workbenches I have are low quality and not efficient storage. The drawer slides **** and drawer layout ***** and they aren't deep. They were cheap, as in free or next to free years ago and worked for the time. But it's time to upgrade. Other thing is I want to move a bunch of blow molded cases off of shelves to free up that space for other things. Thanks to posters in another thread I asked about the best way to do that they recommended file cabinets. Which I think will work perfect and also are cheap. I've been busy but went and grabbed my truck and trailer and going to start messaging sellers on marketplace to pick up a bunch of file cabinets. I will try them out and see how they work for what I want. Will build a work bench top over them to store other stuff I currently have on top of the craftsman workbenches now.

I still plan on getting another bottom box at some point, maybe sooner then later. But since I can get 15 quality file cabinets for 150 bucks and can get them in all shapes and sizes I want to get a bunch and see what works best for me. Will use them for blow molded cases and other things like consumables and stuff like rolocs, sandpaper, etc. I think it will be a ton of extra storage compared to what I have now. Then sell or give away whatever file cabinets I don't use and add a bottom box when I decide what will fit or work best.

 

[Qualitytools]

I am in the same camp regarding deep drawers where you end up placing things on top of each other. I also have cabinets for that kind of stuff. I would rather have more drawers in the layout that will hold my sockets, wrenches, ratchets and so on not being too shallow.

 

[Hakeem]

Ok got some photos. Still getting used to all the extra space so my presentation isn’t the best. Also our shop is a mess so please bear w me:



I really like all the shallow drawers this cabinet has, as it makes it easier to organize all the little components. Unfortunately, the drawers are a wee bit TOO shallow, as my 24mm wrench rubs a bit when I open/close the drawer. Meanwhile I have up to 1-1/4” (so ~32mm) in my US General wrench drawers no problem.

Also I really like the power strip on the side. It’s very handy to be able to work on the bench top and be able to plug a heat gun or whatever in while you’re doing it. Nice feature missing from the USG.

 

[whateg01]

Ok got some photos. Still getting used to all the extra space so my presentation isn’t the best. Also our shop is a mess so please bear w me:



I really like all the shallow drawers this cabinet has, as it makes it easier to organize all the little components. Unfortunately, the drawers are a wee bit TOO shallow, as my 24mm wrench rubs a bit when I open/close the drawer. Meanwhile I have up to 1-1/4” (so ~32mm) in my US General wrench drawers no problem.

I find i have to arrange big wrenches just right to keep them from getting in the way but I don't really want to give up a deeper drawer in "the wrong spot" for them.

Also I really like the power strip on the side. It’s very handy to be able to work on the bench top and be able to plug a heat gun or whatever in while you’re doing it. Nice feature missing from the USG.

Clearly this wasn't the deciding factor, but it seems like it would be pretty easy to stick a $10 power strip on the side of any box of I needed one there.

 

[Hakeem]

I find i have to arrange big wrenches just right to keep them from getting in the way but I don't really want to give up a deeper drawer in "the wrong spot" for them.

Absolutely. I’d be pretty annoyed if this was my primary box. For the record this is no problem in my five drawer cart:

Clearly this wasn't the deciding factor, but it seems like it would be pretty easy to stick a $10 power strip on the side of any box of I needed one there.

Yeah that’s a fair point LOL

 

[51dueller]

It's your wrench holder that is holding you back from fitting the wrenches in the Masterforce. I have full sets of Wrightgrips 1 1/4 and 32mm in my Montezuma that has the same drawers.

 

[merkyworks]

Alien space savers wrench holder is what you need. I think they are better than tool widget personally.

New V2! 42 Wrench Organizer Set

The V2 wrench organizer set holds 42 wrenches with unmatched rigidity and adjustability. Perfect for professionals who want organized tool drawers. V2 42 Wrench Organizer Bundle – Engineered for Maximum Efficiency The New V2 Wrench Organizer takes tool storage to the next level with upgraded...

alienspacesaver.com

 

[51dueller]

Alien space savers wrench holder is what you need.

But Alien space savers hold the wrench vertically which would cause the bigger wrenches to not fit like he currently has. They need to lean slightly for the drawer to close.

 

[whateg01]

I went and looked at a krl722 this afternoon. Didn't buy it. I didn't realize they used similar latches to the series 3 us general boxes, which I really don't like. They do operate more smoothly, though. Apparently the epic bosses use the grip latch style latches but I don't see me spending that kind of coin. I looked at the masterforce 72 today also and like the drawer layout, especially the three 50-ish drawers. I wish that same layout was available on a 56. I would absolutely buy it.

 

[merkyworks]

But Alien space savers hold the wrench vertically which would cause the bigger wrenches to not fit like he currently has. They need to lean slightly for the drawer to close.

Alien holder are adjustable to litterally any width you want. So smaller sizes can be vertical to save space and as the wrench get bigger you can space the holders further apart, letting bigger wrenchs lay at an angle or flat. This pic shows how you can set the width to however you want the wrench to lay.


I like tool widgets stuff but there wrench holders like many other brands only allow you to hold the wrench one way. That is what I really like about Alien wrench holders, you can make the gap any size. Flexibility is the name of the game if you ask me.

 

[Bulldog13]

I got these Husky boxes for I think under 400 bucks each after Christmas…I also have the jumbo Husky box too…zero complaints…I’m just a diy guy but they suits my needs

 

[no704]

Bottom boxes =/= service carts.

Personally I absolutely hate service carts, if you want to put something on top, you lose access to everything in the top. Never made any sense to me. Just make the space on top another drawer, and then you can put as much **** on top as you want to and not lose access to anything

Coworker had a snap on service cart. Top was two parts and would slide outwards to access the top.

 

[dscheidt]

Bottom boxes =/= service carts.

Personally I absolutely hate service carts, if you want to put something on top, you lose access to everything in the top. Never made any sense to me. Just make the space on top another drawer, and then you can put as much **** on top as you want to and not lose access to anything

having to open the top every day prevents horizontal surface disease. For a flat rate tech, a pile of **** is just that -- a pile of literal **** that gets in the way of making money. A flip up top gives you a surface to mount things to, where you can see and find them quickly, and when folded down and locked, it's secure enough for most shop environments. that might not suit the way you (or I, these days) work, but there are lots of techs that it does work for.

 

[Madjik Man]

I’m working with an overpacked 22” top/bottom Kobalt I bought about 25 years ago.

Waiting to upgrade this fall.

I’ve convinced myself of the Masterforce 72” bottom. I’m a home gamer, but have collected a lot of tools over the years. So I’m hoping this is a good box for me vs USG Series 3.

Seeing that the closest Menards is 1.5 hours (one way) from me I haven’t seen the Masterforce in person and obviously haven’t been able to play with it.

I like the three “full length” drawers of the Masterforce vs the USG which only has two.

However I’m not a fan of how tall some of the lower drawers are on the Masterforce. Wish it had more lower profile drawers instead. I have cabinets that I keep the bulkier items in.

I knew I’d regret waiting too long.

72” are now $300 more. Ugh.