Best SMALL Tool Chest?

[gt eunuch]

I understand that the smaller tool chests are in the minority on this board, but I am really looking for something along the lines of a 26-32" tall stack tool chest.

I have a small 1.5 car garage and would rather not waste the room on a large 56+ wide box. I figure any tools that are too long (pry bars, large breaker bars, etc) can just be taken care of by 1, or 2 sunex pry bar racks

Any suggestions? I have been looking locally on Craigslist for used Old Cman boxes, snapon, etc but to no avail. So I am starting to stroll into the "new" arena and was wondering what is good out there.

 

[bobcatdan]

I would look at a 26" craftsman griplatch. I'm not techo savy enough for links, but sears has one that is 41" tall, full depth top chest and if you add the middle chest, is over 6 ft tall. This is one craftsman box I would look at. 1000 lbs weight rating and good drawer arrangment in my book. Other wise hf has a 26" box, but it don't appear to as well like as the 41" box. Menards has several 26" box choices. There is always the used SO or Kennedy box route, these would be the best build 26" wide boxes.

 

[vga]

Kennedy tool boxes are the way to go. I have 3 of them and am very very hapy with them.

 

[gt eunuch]

In reguards to the Kennedy boxes, they seem great for a machinist, or someone with TONS of very smalltools that they need to keep organized. However, I am really in need of some shallow-ish drawers (screwdrivers, wrenches), and some deep-ish drawers (Hansen Trays)

 

[wreckerman5357]

Check out the Craftsman Griplatch boxes. I have a 26" 8-drawer rollaway and it is a decent box, I use it proffesionally and its holding together. Nice assortment of different drawer depths. There are lots of nicer boxes out there but they cost more money. You don't need anything better for your home garage.

 

[dwm]

In reguards to the Kennedy boxes, they seem great for a machinist, or someone with TONS of very smalltools that they need to keep organized. However, I am really in need of some shallow-ish drawers (screwdrivers, wrenches), and some deep-ish drawers (Hansen Trays)

Kennedy makes many boxes other than their machinist chests and cabinets. Their Machanic's line and Maintenance line, for example. Of course it's more expensive than Craftsman or Harbor Freight, but better quality. Just as an example, look at their 2703MP, 3403MP and 3901MP.

 

[Jawn]

I've been looking at the selection of narrower boxes, and I see that Proto and International both have offerings that may be suitable.

 

[Slip_Kid]

A good used SO box is the way to go, or another nice used box. Should be a few on CL this time of year.

 

[wornoutoldman]

A good used SO box is the way to go, or another nice used box. Should be a few on CL this time of year.

Look for older 60s 70s 80s very managable size (but tough as nails) and very nice ones can be had under $400 all the time.

 

[JMcFly]

or, what ever you can afford. Craftsman griplatch boxes are nice. So are the boxes at HF. Just comes down to if you want to fit in with the cool kids here with their SO and Mac boxes.

 

[j.c.whitney]

http://omaha.craigslist.org/tls/2736008766.html

 

[pipsters]

I have owned the 42" Harbor Freight and a 56" International. I can tell you that I would like to own a Craftsman griplatch tool box instead, but they aren't ever around on Craigslist used.

The Craftsman pro griplatch boxes that advertise 70# per drawer are great boxes for the home user. The detents on other types of latching drawers eventually wear out - my 1 year old HF box and 10 month old used International box both have detents that are either completely gone or halfway there. I babied the HF box and still the detents were wearing away.

In addition, with the detents, you tend to have to push hard to get the drawer closed, and that messes up your arrangement inside (for me, especially the screwdrivers).

That being said, as far as quality of the box goes, Harbor Freight is definitely above Craftsman, but don't offer a griplatch-like option in their 26" box.

If you do go Craftsman, look into the 18" bottom/16" top vs. the 12" top which IMO is virtually useless. For top, middle, and bottom griplatch versions you're talking around $500-$600 on sale, which IMO is about 30% higher than what they *should* be priced at.

I would also look into the top and bottom 42" US General Harbor Freight boxes, around $650 before tax. IMO you really can't beat that tool box for quality and storage space.

They also sell the 26" top middle and bottom for $350 IIRC. Those are decent boxes but between that one and the griplatch Craftsman I would buy the Craftsman.

 

[dwm]

I agree with pipsters, the 26" Craftsman Griplatch are nice home boxes. I have two of the 8-drawer bottoms and two of the 6-drawer chests and I like them. The combo is $725 right now, but I paid about $100 less around this time last year.

 

[Packard V8]

A good used SO box is the way to go, or another nice used box. Should be a few on CL this time of year.

Look for older 60s 70s 80s very managable size (but tough as nails) and very nice ones can be had under $400 all the time.

Agree. I've got several of the older ones and they work well.

Craftsman Griplatch?

Yes, if I were going to sea and expected the ship to roll.

Yes, if I were moving it often over rough ground - but wait, that would trash a Craftsman box in short order.

Yes, if I were an aircraft tech and had to tow it out on the flight line - but wait, that would trash a Craftsman box in short order.

Guess I just don't get griplatch concept on a light-to-medium duty box. Can someone enlighten me as to why it's worth the trouble on a home-use box?

jack vines

 

[pipsters]

Guess I just don't get griplatch concept on a light-to-medium duty box. Can someone enlighten me as to why it's worth the trouble on a home-use box?

jack vines

I just find it very easy to open and close them. Almost a pleasure. With the detent I am just fighting the drawer it seems. Obviously a personal preference but I prefer the easy open/close to the push/shove of the detent.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have one very like this one. Mine is from the mid 90s.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=3518&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

I think its the cat's patootie.

 

[dwm]

Packard, the better Griplatch boxes are nice for the reasons pipsters stated. Unlike the detents on some of the other inexpensive boxes, Griplatch just works, almost indefinitely. They glide shut with VERY low effort, and open easily. They're the only boxes I have at home that are trivially easy to lock each and every time (no kneeing/shoving drawers again to get the lock to work). My Internationals, by comparison, are a pain in the **** to lock so I can move them and the detents are toast on a couple of the drawers. And they're newer than my oldest Griplatch with a lot fewer miles (only used for specialty tools).

Craftsman no longer sells a heavy-duty box, and also sells some truly awful ones (including some with Griplatch). But the 18" deep ones with "BALL BEARING GRIPLATCH" labels on the upper left of the front face are respectable home boxes. I wouldn't pay the normal price for them, but they're on sale fairly frequently.

 

[Jawn]

Guess I just don't get griplatch concept on a light-to-medium duty box. Can someone enlighten me as to why it's worth the trouble on a home-use box?

I like it better than the typical hard detents. Easier to close a lightly-loaded drawer without making everything slide to the back of the drawer

 

[Hyster Gareth]

Its a shame that Snap On dont still manufacture the KRA 53 or the KRA 56J. I think they would be ideal.

 

[MattPersman]

have not seen it in person and do not know what your budget is but these are made in USA and seem ok from the specs for the $ http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=24675&store=snapon-store

for more money but possibly nicer
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=18012&store=snapon-store

 

[Packard V8]

Thanks for the explanations on why griplatch. All but one of my many boxes are older friction slide. The only ball-bearing box I have is huge and heavily loaded; thus I hadn't noticed the problem.

jack vines

 

[Outlawmws]

I would look at a 26" craftsman griplatch. I'm not techo savy enough for links, but sears has one that is 41" tall, full depth top chest and if you add the middle chest, is over 6 ft tall. This is one craftsman box I would look at. 1000 lbs weight rating and good drawer arrangment in my book. Other wise hf has a 26" box, but it don't appear to as well like as the 41" box. Menards has several 26" box choices. There is always the used SO or Kennedy box route, these would be the best build 26" wide boxes.

I was in HF last week looking at the boxes, and the 26" boxes that were in the store were shite. The Pro series HF boxes were decent.

Was unimpressed with every box my local Sears had in the showroom, but they did NOT have all classes Sears sells represented.

 

[Jawn]

I was in HF last week looking at the boxes, and the 26" boxes that were in the store were shite. The Pro series HF boxes were decent.

I'm curious, were you looking at the black/brown Kennedy look-a-like, or the deeper red box?

 

[Danglerb]

I bought a scratch and dent Craftsman roll away off ebay for about $110, and its a good functioning box for me even though its glide and I load the drawers pretty heavy, it works fine. You can't find the intermediate or top chest with a full 18" depth cheap, and the 16 and 12 give up a LOT of storage space and layout flexibility.

Plan on having some 41" wide box envy, as more than a few things won't fit in the 22" or so inches of drawer width on a 26" box, but the Sunex pry bar holder works pretty well for a lot of stuff.

Keep your eyes peeled and your money ready and buy a nicer older used box.

 

[Butters]

I don't know about the red ones, but I wouldn't touch the black ones. I own the HF 41" and it's great, so I'm not a HF hater. But those black ones aren't near the same. Here's the black one:

Looking at the HF website, it seem like the red 26" is more on par with the 41". But it is also quite a bit more expensive than the black ones.

 

[jjjrmx5]

I don't know about the red ones, but I wouldn't touch the black ones. I own the HF 41" and it's great, so I'm not a HF hater. But those black ones aren't near the same. Here's the black one:

I agree Butters.
The black/grey/brown HF box you show is the equivelant of a filing cabinet touting itself as tool storage. Avoid at all costs IMHO.
Major suckage. And I'm not talking a military rank here. LOL.

The 26" HF boxes are adequate, but less desireable than the 41" (HF calls it 42") and the 56" HF roll cabs.

To the OP, 26" boxes used to be the standard, but have now become the "starter" size and most techs/wrenchers/pros buy low end and then graduate up to 41", 56" or 72" long truck brand boxes as income grows, thus why good used units in 26" are hard to find. To add to the problem , I just don't think they sell a ton of the 26"ers to begin with, which makes the low end bloat of boxes even more obvious.

For the price of a semi-current Snappy 26" box, you can usually get into a used 41" or bigger (or given HF prices, get a new 41" box), and as I stated above, the 26" high end boxes just are seldom sold off or traded in unless a few decades old.

For me, I love 26" boxes for my basement as anything larger than 41" will not fit and 41" is tight enuff I do not want to try but good for garage duty.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm curious, were you looking at the black/brown Kennedy look-a-like, or the deeper red box?

Both, but the brown one was the worst of the two

 

[jjjrmx5]

A small cross post but HF has just put a "in ur face" ad out that arrived in my mailbox today via Autoweek Dec 12th issue. Full page ad.

16 dwr. 26" box 6ft. tall for $289.99

C'mon HF.
Craftsman just got served. LOLOLOL.

I'm not a big fan of the off-shore unloading, but man, that just plain dumping like Prada fake bags at $20 each.

Wowsa a woo woo.

 

[gt eunuch]

That 8 bottom/8 top HF box looks pretty nice honestly...

I want to go Poke around at one tomorrow...

 

[Butters]

I don't know how much storage you need, but you may want to check out the 5 drawer service cart (bottom right of that flyer). As good of a value as the red 13 drawer/42" chest is, I am absolutely amazed at how good that 5 drawer cart is for the money. We bought a couple for work (where we also have Snap On and older CMan chests). They're really well built. Plus you can generally use the 20% off coupon because it's a cart, not a chest. For under $150, it can't be beat.

If I didn't already have a similar Craftsman setup (which ***** and was 2x the cost) I would get the HF. Heck, I bet I could sell the POS Cman one for the price of the HF cart. Hmmmmm.

 

[pipsters]

I wish Harbor Freight made the 42" tool box in a 24" depth model.

 

[wmartin]

Lista perhaps.

 

[Jawn]

It's uncheap, but here's one I like.
http://www.qualitytoolsforless.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=4

Only things I don't like:
Appears to not have gas cylinders for the lid, despite the description (see pic)
Top till area is divided into 4 compartments according to the mfr.

 

[crewchief888]

I understand that the smaller tool chests are in the minority on this board, but I am really looking for something along the lines of a 26-32" tall stack tool chest.

I have a small 1.5 car garage and would rather not waste the room on a large 56+ wide box. I figure any tools that are too long (pry bars, large breaker bars, etc) can just be taken care of by 1, or 2 sunex pry bar racks

Any suggestions? I have been looking locally on Craigslist for used Old Cman boxes, snapon, etc but to no avail. So I am starting to stroll into the "new" arena and was wondering what is good out there.

i agree with you, in a smaller garage, 26" wide boxes are the way to go, even if you have 2 or more.
many times you dont have the wall space for a 41" box, couple smaller boxes can be placed wherever they'll fit.
over the past 10 years or so, new truck branded 26" boxes have become nearly extinct, many older boxes are beat up pretty bad, or the "old timer" that has them never upgraded to larger boxes and they are still in use.
if you have room for a 33" wide box, they seem to be more available used, mac & matco 900 series, and SO kr 537a/637/kra 300 .
to me, the 33" wide boxes are a decent choice for larger homeowner/diy/enthusiast use, small enough to fit in tight garages, and big enough for most storage needs.

i have 26" SO/lyons/CM in my reloading room, 2 sets of 33" SO w/ bulk end cabs in the garage. i keep my so kr550/555b at work, no room in the garage, and a PITA to move around.


just my $0.02

 

[jjjrmx5]

over the past 10 years or so, new truck branded 26" boxes have become nearly extinct, many older boxes are beat up pretty bad, or the "old timer" that has them never upgraded to larger boxes and they are still in use.

Yep x 1000%.

For the price of a top and bottom 26" truck box you can get a 41" roll cab with = or better storage space and option to add top box.

It's a combo of the way they are sold, space available and the way us Auhmericans love things that are big since we have so much space.

If you can fit a bigger box and it's = price to the smaller cab, go big.
Not my premise, but I'm in the minority.

 

[Jawn]

On the big side of "small", but certainly small compared to a lot of the boxes out there...

36" Homak H2PRO
My local NT store has one on the floor. I haven't seen a Homak box I was impressed with til now. This thing is stout. Only thing I don't like is the detents (short travel, not very positive feeling, takes a lot of effort to engage them).

Top chest: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200494282_200494282
Roller cab: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200494283_200494283

 

[peghead]

What about those 99 dollar Stanley specials at the big box stores. They look pretty darn good to me and cheap. Of course you get what you pay for, as the old story goes!