Cheap Toolboxes

[Ralf11]

How bad are those little $300 Craftsman cabinets?

like this:

https://www.craftsman.com/products/...00-series-37-in-5-drawer-rolling-tool-cabinet

 

['52Chevy]

You'd probably be better off with a Harbor Freight box imho.

 

[andersen24]

Oh 100% I would go with the harbor freight over those. For $300 the HF is definitely a much better buy!

 

[ChefRex]

You get what you pay for, look at the used market.

 

[whateg01]

It has decent reviews. It's going to be lighter gauge metal than some others. But it's longer than the regular 26" box. I'd say go check it out and decide if it's too light duty for your intended purpose. If you are going to load it down with heavy stuff, the bottoms of the drawers probably won't like it. But you could put a piece of plywood in the bottom of each to combat that. That would be my main concerns.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Not sure on the bigger boxes. I have a small 4 drawer portable tool chest from Craftsman that was a Christmas gift in 2017. It wasnt exactly cheap though. But its a good box. I like it a lot. My big box is an old school US made crown logo craftsman. If you can find one, it's an awesome set up. Or, the Kennedy boxes are really nice as well,Can usually find some really nice boxes in around $300, see them all time on Facebook Marketplace. However If i were to be shopping new, I'd take my money to Harbor Freight and get a US General. Damn nice boxes for the money.

 

[Ralf11]

Not sure on the bigger boxes. I have a small 4 drawer portable tool chest from Craftsman that was a Christmas gift in 2017. It wasnt exactly cheap though. But its a good box. I like it a lot. My big box is an old school US made crown logo craftsman. If you can find one, it's an awesome set up.

Did they stop making those in the '60's ?

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Did they stop making those in the '50's ?

The crown logo craftsman? I think they used it throughout the 60's if I'm not mistaken. Really any old school US made Craftsman box is probably going to outlive us all if its taken care of. I dont have a pic of mine, but its the same one thats pictured here:



And I just noticed its not the Crown Logo its the older one with the 2 bars on each side lol. I got quite a bit of old school craftsman stuff, get them mixed up.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

They're really ******. But frankly they're up to the task of 99% of home owners. Once or twice a month a drawer gets opened, it slides roughly, and the drawer is closed.

 

[rangerfredbob]

If it's anything like the late '90's Craftsman box I have the drawer slides are just slides, like said above, good for light duty use but not heavy duty regular use...

 

[Ralf11]

so, there are no ball bearings or roller bearings for the drawers?

 

[whateg01]

so, there are no ball bearings or roller bearings for the drawers?

Hard to tell from this photo, but it looks like they are not ball bearing slides.

This commenter says he isn't happy with the "glides", so probably not ball bearings.
"My wife bought this for me for Christmas and I love it, the only problem was I did not like the glides used for the drawers, otherwise it was great, that is why it got only 4 stars"


This commenter says what I thought would happen if you load the drawers heavily:
"When only slightly loaded the the middle of the drawers sags and rub on the top of the drawer below when open and closing the drawers. Drawer bottoms need to be much stiffer"

Reading the reviews of the product will tell you more about it from people who have it than a bunch of us looking at pictures on the web.
https://www.craftsman.com/products/...00-series-37-in-5-drawer-rolling-tool-cabinet

 

[Mr_B]

^
they are ball bearing slides, think they had a soft close feature too.
not the nicest as built to the price and whole box is fairly thin and flimsy .

 

[dmdc411]

How bad are those little $300 Craftsman cabinets?



like this:



https://www.craftsman.com/products/...00-series-37-in-5-drawer-rolling-tool-cabinet

Ralf11, I have that roller with a hand made side cabinet, with a counter top!. It's all from 1996. Made the side box and counter top when I worked for the airlines. It's used,, but good shape.. If your nearby $100! Southern Minnesota. Otherwise, buy a Harbor Freight. My opinion, can't beat the price!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[kd3pc]

specs will say the drawers will support 100lbs each....not even close - 25lbs will render the drawer badly sagging, dragging on the drawer below and a constant source of annoyance.

Go used or HF for that money

 

[Mgdoug3]

I have a 52" bench top Craftsman 2000 box and it has served me well. I have had it over a year now. It's mounted on my work bench though and doesn't move around. I don't know if the drawers will hold 100 lbs because they're not big enough to stuff 100 lbs in them.

My shop is 36x36 so I'm never far from my toolbox. I figured a mounted toolbox would serve me well without having to push it around the shop.

 

[whateg01]

...I don't know if the drawers will hold 100 lbs because they're not big enough to stuff 100 lbs in them.

You just aren't trying hard enough!

 

[1320stang]

I have an older one like that and they are glides and they ****. Now I'll say I got it free, second hand and it came out of a side box on a utility bed of a truck. I'll toss it soon but I have to get my top 44" HF box in order first. I'll probably replace it with a 26" box.

 

[Hammer1963]

If you will be pulling out drawers on a frequent basis and have a medium to short fuse, then I would look elsewhere. There's not much there in rigidity and structure. An acquaintance of mine with a short fuse had one that survived less than a year before he gave it away over drawers binding.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I'm guessing no one has one? I bought one to put my grinding supplies in, all ball bearing slides, seems well made, soft close which is really nice. The fit and finish are good, made in us with global material, holds an anvil, lol and drawer slides smooth, I have to say its a good box. I wanted the 18" depth and larger bottom drawer, the hf us g is also good, but there's nothing wrong with this one if it fits your needs.

 

[BreeStephany]

If I had to get a rolling toolbox again, I would definitely go with Harbor Freight ("US General") again. Been using my 72" roller for since late 2016 and its still going strong and holding a LOT of weight!

It's not up there with Snap-On rollers, but the quality is definitely amazing considering the price and I haven't had any issues with it as of yet.

I have a 26" US General cabinet I've had in my work trailer for the past 3 years and its still going strong. One of the drawers, which is filled with pipe wrenches, chain wrenches, large channellocks and other heavy tools has tweaked a little bit over time and the slides no longer keep the drawer closed when its unlocked, but the locking mechanism still holds strong. I think part of the failure was due to the fact that its filled with more weight than its designed for and the fact that its in a tool trailer that has seen quite a few trips down rough roads to and from jobsites over the past 3 years. I still think it was worth what I paid for it and am still very happy with the quality for what I paid.

I have not been the biggest fan of the new Craftsman products and the lack of quality & strength, but have a few friends that have Craftsman boxes from the late 90's early 2000's that are still going strong and definitely filled with more weight than they were probably designed for.

If you are sold on going Craftsman, I would definitely go with older products and put a little work into cleaning them up.

Just my two cents.

 

[Ralf11]

They claim "BUILT TO LAST: 18 – 20 Ga. steel I-Frame® construction"

If the drawers are not rigid and flimsy then maybe they are made of 20 ga. steel.

But I thought I saw the US General boxes were made of 17 ga. steel.

 

[Ralf11]

This brings up the general question of what to look for in a rolling tool chest...

- thicker steel

- ball bearings (or roller bearings?) for the drawer slides

- what else?

I live in an isolated small town so there is not a big market for used chests.

 

[sick467]

I have a variety of boxes with drawers (8 for sure)...Craftsmen, Waterloo, and a couple unknowns. I live near a town where they were all made (Sedalia Mo.) at the same factory. It has since been bought by Stanely. I am very happy with them. I purchased them at an employee-and-guest scratch and dent sale. I filled up a 8 foot truck bed to the top of the cab for $500. It was a great deal. I use them constantly, but do not put anywhere near 50 pound in the larger drawers (all ball bearing slides - this is a must!). If I had not fallen into that sale...I'd felt real bad spending all the money on "common quality" boxes and held out for the more expensive ones, used ones, or built my own storage units.

My boxes are 8 years old and doing great. The Craftsmen boxes are my favorite actually. If you look at the linked site for the craftsmen box...

"Proudly Made in the U.S.A. with Global Materials in Sedalia, Missouri."

If that matters to you.

 

[crewchief888]

personally
i'd look at anything BUT a box with the CM name on it.

i have a couple CM boxes one from '71, and another from '98

the older one is far and above a much better box than the one from '98.


when i get a new service truck sometime this year, the '98 CM box is going in the scrap pile....

 

[DIY_Guy79]

This brings up the general question of what to look for in a rolling tool chest...

- thicker steel

- ball bearings (or roller bearings?) for the drawer slides

- what else?

I live in an isolated small town so there is not a big market for used chests.

On the drawer slides, on old school stuff like my old CM they had friction slides. I keep mine greased. They feel plenty smooth and they're very solid. I'm confident I could stand in any one of those drawers fully extended and then if I could fit someone could smoothly close the drawer with my weight in it. Obviously not as smooth as ball bearing but good enough. On my little 4 drawer 2017 CM, it has ball bearing slides. Yes they're smoother, but the drawer/slides when extending have a lot of wiggle/wobble and in comparison to my old school CM, just comes off as flimsy. I'm confident the drawer slides would just double over if I were to put half my weight in it lol. Meanwhile higher end stuff like Mac and Snap On rock ball bearing slides and they feel very solid. So the quality of the ball bearing slides is very important. Just because it says it has ball bearing slides, it doesnt automatically mean its a better box over one with friction slides. And just because it has friction slides, it doesnt mean its bad. Granted my little 4 drawer craftsman is a portable tool chest meant to be carried around, so its not meant to take an insane amount of weight. But there is a clear difference in quality & structural integrity. I'm sure if i could find a vintage portable tool chest like this, there would be no question about it. And I'm not saying its a bad box by any means, I love it, I'm just making a point about drawer slides.

This is the the 4 drawer tool chest I'm referring to:

 

[London21]

Harbor freights us general for good cheap boxes hands down. I before I started my current job had this drawer stuffed with probably 60lbs in powertools, drawers slid just as easily loaded and they did empty. Overall have a pretty quality feel to the slide mechanisms considering the money.

 

[Truckdoctorandy]

They are not bad boxes, but as much as I hate to admit it, the Harbor Freight boxes are much better. As long as you don’t put a lot of weight in them, or have to roll them around on a rough shop floor loaded, they will be ok. I dearly miss Sears and the Real Craftsman Tools. The “warranty” process at Lowe’s is an absolute joke. I’ve had to argue to get Sears Craftsman Tools warranted. I will not buy new Craftsman any longer.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Al Borland]

Go to Harbor Freight.
Get a decent box for a reasonable price. (Check for dents and maybe bats)
Get on Garage Journal.
Wring hands about American Made vs. CCP-made.
We all do it.
Welcome to the club.

 

[Fost9171]

How bad are those little $300 Craftsman cabinets?

like this:

https://www.craftsman.com/products/...00-series-37-in-5-drawer-rolling-tool-cabinet

I sold one of them couple of months ago. Cheap construction, roller-bearing slides, auto close, but the handle used sheet metal screws to secure it. Also had a Harbor Freight 26 inch, top and bottom. Much better box, lots of room.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=7739&pictureid=110445
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=7739&pictureid=110446

 

[seber]

When they don't give the weight, I have all the information I need. Pass.

 

[seagullplayer]

I'm guessing no one has one? I bought one to put my grinding supplies in, all ball bearing slides, seems well made, soft close which is really nice. The fit and finish are good, made in us with global material, holds an anvil, lol and drawer slides smooth, I have to say its a good box. I wanted the 18" depth and larger bottom drawer, the hf us g is also good, but there's nothing wrong with this one if it fits your needs.

Anytime you don't have to roll it around and can leave it on the floor without casters you are money ahead.

 

[Pwaley]

Just bought a 41" Series 2000 10-drawer bottom roller and 6-drawer top combo from Lowe's. See my mini write-up here.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476056