Better box?

[chavist93]

Hi, I'm new here and actually this is my first post. I have been searching the forums for weeks though. I'm looking for a new 40/41in. bottom tool chest. Something with ball bearing slides, and preferably with the top drawer that is full width. I saw this chest at sears and it's pretty much exactly what I want. With the 20% sale off the $759 its only $607.20. What I am trying to find out is ther anything comperable to this box for around the same price? It's pretty much at the limit of my budget. Herer is a link to it and thanks in advance for any advice!

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...L&subcat=Chests+&+Cabinets&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

 

[rhpaw]

Personally, I felt that the Harbor Freight 41" felt better.. It 400$, with 15% coupons readily available, it came to $360.. With other glowing reviews from this board I decided to take the plunge. I couldn't be happier unless I had to pay for a SNAPPY (which I didn't)

Go to the store, try both out.. for the price you're talking there, you could buy bottom AND top

The box I'm talking about.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90320

 

[strizzy]

Personally, I felt that the Harbor Freight 41" felt better.. It 400$, with 15% coupons readily available, it came to $360.. With other glowing reviews from this board I decided to take the plunge. I couldn't be happier unless I had to pay for a SNAPPY (which I didn't)

Go to the store, try both out.. for the price you're talking there, you could buy bottom AND top


The box I'm talking about.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90320

Just make sure you check what the drawers/slides are rated for

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/manuals.taf?f=form&ItemID=90320

 

[MAD]

Just make sure you check what the drawers/slides are rated for

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/manuals.taf?f=form&ItemID=90320

This is a very good point. I recently ordered this box from Sears. My final price after all of the discounts was $431.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Storage%2C+Chests+%26+Cabinets&pid=00959626000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Chests+%26+Cabinets&BV_SessionID=@@@@0888541541.1175323496@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccaddkhmjhmfmcefecemldffidfni.0

The load rating is more than double the capacity of the H.F. box. Also factor in that most Craftsman tool chests are made by Waterloo Industries which has excellent customer service and part availability.

 

[Deafautotech]

i like harbor frieght toolbox because it is so cheap and i dont care about it is dirty or abuse. but i am care about craftsman "professional" like 41in wide because it will service long and you can have 100 lbs load in one drawer with double slides but you have to buy other bearing slides as 15 dollars for one slide. i did paid 30 dollars for both on my past craftsman 26in wide with 8 drawers. i had it used for stroage all my heavy sockets like 3/4dr sockets set and big sockets. it is very smooth slide and wont bend.

 

[eschoendorff]

If it were me, I'd buy the Craftsman box, if only for after-the-sale support.

 

[Deafautotech]

the final thing that i did is trade in my toolboxes for big one snap on (used and gave me half price for KRL1001) then i already have full sockets in my top drawers and it hold almost 500 lbs but i only have about 230 lbs in it and it work good.

 

[dps]

Having just done the Craftsman thing, you can save a little if they offer what you want without the Griplatch. Everything else is still the same as far as bearings, but they use a piece of plastic to hold the drawer tight when it's pushed all the way in. I didn't like the feel or the resistance of that, but they were easy to remove.

 

[Deafautotech]

i prefer griplatch because it only need little lift then pull out. then you just push drawer to closed itself... i love my snap on Krl1001 because it is have latch and you only pull little on right under of drawer's handle then drawer is open.

but i still like craftsman because it is good quality and good price but i must have high quality toolboxes for my work where i will work a lot in shop for my life.

 

[wilbilt]

Just make sure you check what the drawers/slides are rated for

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/manuals.taf?f=form&ItemID=90320

Wow...that's an eye-opener.

I would be looking for much higher capacity than that. What does it weigh empty? I had a couple of similarly-sized Snap-On boxes that were in the 350-400lb. range with nothing in them.

 

[Deafautotech]

my krl1001 weight about 730 lbs. my kr1201 weight about 400 lbs.

 

[MarkH]

Also thanks on the eye opener. We are looking to replace some old ones. Looks like high use shops will go tool vendor, lower use area a Craftsman.
Home use will also stay Craftsman. I know how much we load on them.

 

[chavist93]

I looked at the harbor freight box a few days ago. It's just not for me. I dont like the textured finish and the weight capacity is just not enough. It's 475lbs versus the craftsmans 1000lbs. i know the carftsman boxes are made by waterloo, but are the ball bearing boxes made in the USA?

 

[volvo]

You might take a look at those big Costco stainless boxes, they make a good home box, lots of room, bearing drawers, heavy as **ll. Sears is also a good choice...H

 

[danski0224]

For the money, especially in the Sears Professional or tool truck brands price range, you can't beat the specs on a Lista box.

 

[MAD]

i know the carftsman boxes are made by waterloo, but are the ball bearing boxes made in the USA?

The one I just ordered is made in USA. I know some of the home owner series tool chests are made in China now (and it shows). I don't know if any of the non-home owner boxes are imported. I did not assume anything and called to make certain mine was not imported. You can call Sears customer service or better yet, Waterloo Industries if it is a weekday during business hours (faster).

Waterloo Industries, Inc.
P.O. Box 2095
100 E. 4th Street
Waterloo, Iowa 50703
Phone: 1-319-235-7131
Fax: 1-319-235-6408

Customer Service
Phone:
1-800-833-8851
Fax:
1-319-235-6408

Service Parts
Phone:
1-800-833-4405
Fax:
1-319-833-2350

 

[Coach James]

I think the Sears 706 prefix boxes are USA made.

I can't believe the ratings on those HF boxes are so low.

Coach

 

[chavist93]

Ok guys, I may have forund a much better deal. The sale went off at sears and the box i was wanting is now $683.99. I was looking at the wwgrainger site and found this. Looks to be one heck of a deal. Made by Proto, with the exact drawer config I want. A 200lb drawer capacity and 3000lb load rating! All for $658, and I'm assuming its USA mad since its Proto. What do you guys think?

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613597938

 

[ImportTuner]

Ok guys, I may have forund a much better deal. The sale went off at sears and the box i was wanting is now $683.99. I was looking at the wwgrainger site and found this. Looks to be one heck of a deal. Made by Proto, with the exact drawer config I want. A 200lb drawer capacity and 3000lb load rating! All for $658, and I'm assuming its USA mad since its Proto. What do you guys think?

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613597938

Pretty nice looking ... any idea how much shipping is going to be?

 

[chavist93]

I have a grainger warehouse about 30 minutes from my house. They will order you anything they carry. I ordered a compressor there about a year ago and it was there in less than a week. No shipping charges, they load it right on your truck!

 

[Deafautotech]

damn... 200 lbs on ball bearing slide on drawers.

 

[MAD]

Ok guys, I may have forund a much better deal. The sale went off at sears and the box i was wanting is now $683.99. I was looking at the wwgrainger site and found this. Looks to be one heck of a deal. Made by Proto, with the exact drawer config I want. A 200lb drawer capacity and 3000lb load rating! All for $658, and I'm assuming its USA mad since its Proto. What do you guys think?

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613597938

That looks like a good deal especially if you can pick it up and not pay shipping. If it matters to you that it is made in USA, I would call Proto and check. The Proto PDF catalog has made in USA at the bottom of the page on all of the j45 series boxes. The country of origin is not listed on the j44 series pages. This is a Stanley company so it would not surprise me if it turned out to be imported. Even if it is imported, I would expect it to be a well made box. I would certainly trust the Proto over anything you might find in your local wholesale club. No offence intended to those that bought one of these. I just consider a tool chest purchase to be a long term investment. I cannot afford or justify buying a Snap-on or Matco, but I am willing to pay a few bucks more (if I have to) for the known quality of a Waterloo, Craftsman, Kennedy or Proto box. And I prefer made in USA when I have a choice.

 

[Rickster]

You should check out the Kennedy line of boxes. I had one many years ago when I worked in the test lab. It had friction slides but handled the tool weight well and performed great. I bought a used one for home use not long ago and was surprised to find that the newer ones have removable drawer slides that allow you to reposition the drawers and I was able to move a taller drawer to the top. I purchased several sets of the roller slides from Kennedy and replaced the friction sliders on the heavy load drawers. My box came with a lower bin door but I was able to order new drawers from Kennedy and the red color match was really good. Here's a link to their boxes but you need to shop around for the best price.

http://www.toolstoragewarehouse.com/index.asp?PageAction=MFGSEARCH&ManfID=3&Page=2

 

[MarkH]

On Proto, I treat them like any Stanree, oops Stanley division. I never make assumptions on country of orgin. I see the made in XXXXX that should be it, without that assurance, it is a guess that has often disappointed me. Stanley did get in major trouble a while back on inaccurate and incomplete statements of orgin. Companies who do that do know that for many daily users country of orgin is important.

Second as mentioned earlier the weight drawers can hold is important. We have bent many drawers. So after listening to a couple comments on this thread, I weighed a few and pulled out a Sears catalog to see what we should have and what tools weighed.

Had a shock we had each cart over loaded by 2 - 5 hundred lbs. One drawer on each was at least 75 lbs overloaded. So the industrial Craftsman and tool companies set ups with 200lb drawers are getting more interesting. It may take us out of a it breaks every few year cycle.

Any one else do any weighing and what are you getting?

 

[chavist93]

Good news everyone. I called Proto customer service today. They lady was very nice. She said none of their toolboxes are currently imported from overseas. They are either made in the US or Canada. She tried to find out where exactly the one I want is made, but they guy that she tried calling was out to lunch. It didnt really matter to me US or Canada. She also said their toolbox line just came out a few months ago and everything is upgraded from the old models. I just got off the phone with grainger and took the plunge and ordered the roller and chest. They didnt show it in stock at any warehouse so he said give it a couple weeks to come directly from proto. These are the two I ordered.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613597938

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613597937

Here is the new tool storage brochure from proto if anyone is intrested.

http://www.stanleyproto.com/xhtml/literature/ProtoProfessionalToolStorage_P20627.pdf

 

[strizzy]

Very nice man. Those boxes remind me of the big husky pro boxes. Once you receive it you will have to take some pictures and bring back the tool box picture thread

 

[chavist93]

I will definately do that. Too bad its going to be a couple of weeks.

 

[ImportTuner]

I will definately do that. Too bad its going to be a couple of weeks.

Post results ... I'm interested in the lower box also ...

 

[Deafautotech]

please post what your opinions of Proto toolboxes when you get it. some of members of this forum like to know what your opinions of it. i love my snap on toolboxes because i got it used and cheap. it come with lifetime warranty which good for me so if i have problem with it then my snap on guy will have it repair or replace what it is problems like bearing slide failure or worn out.

 

[JeremyS]

I'm guessing something got lost in translation there. I've got the top drawer of mine full of sockets, and I still put in 50 lbs of plate steel so that I can just nudge the drawer and have it close all the way by itself. I easily have 100 lbs in there and it works nicely. Bottom drawers are also full of air tools and work smoothly with 0 sag. I hate the finish on the box, but the drawers safely hold a lot more than those ratings. Short of stuffing it full of lead, I don't see drawer capacity being a problem for anyone.

Just make sure you check what the drawers/slides are rated for

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/manuals.taf?f=form&ItemID=90320

 

[MarkH]

It is not what they will take opening and closing. It is what casters will take and the drawers and slides will take in repeated cycling. We have bent or broken both, so we are looking heavy for the future. Some people get lucky, most do not.

Still I have heard many reports of abuse and items surviving. Usually I look and find an abused item or less abuse than thought.

 

[sscherin]

I joined the forum to defend the HF box.

The Owners manual and specs on the HF site are wrong..

The spec sheet I got with the box lists a 1600lb load rating for the bottom box and 2800 for the full set (top and side)
I can post a pic of the sheet of you like.

The 475 limit makes no sense. After you added the 275 lb top box and 150 lb side box it would be almost maxed out.

I bought the box yesterday so it's not a case of the old models being better.

It's probably a mistake they made converting from metric to US

 

[M5 LiTE]

$650 at Costco (both top and bottom) and the ball bearing drawers take 160 pounds per single slide drawer, 320 pounds per double slide drawer. Couldn't be happier...