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ChrisFix’s Craftsman Toolbox Factory Tour

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Andres26tnt

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Where that steel from? better be mined, processed and formed in the USA. (sarcasm)

joking aside, people really think they just assemble stuff at the factory lol.
 

jayemm

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Where that steel from? better be mined, processed and formed in the USA. (sarcasm)

joking aside, people really think they just assemble stuff at the factory lol.
Yea, and if there is a product defect (even perceived) then it's always a QC problem. For the even less aware, they think stuff comes from stores.
 

Monte

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Interesting to see that they dip the boxes in paint rather than powdercoating. So is all of the Stanleyblackanddecker storage made there ? The sign next to the front door says so ...?
 

Etchase

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SWK said they buy $500 million in steel a year in their 3rd quarter conference call.
 

Andres26tnt

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Interesting to see that they dip the boxes in paint rather than powdercoating. So is all of the Stanleyblackanddecker storage made there ? The sign next to the front door says so ...?
I believe so, probably different setups for the other higher quality boxes.
 

zendriver

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Geez it’s American jobs making those cabinets.

Most of our steel is recycled so you better look out there might be a Chinese toaster melted in it somewhere

The “all or nothing” world people seem to relish in now days, just looks like a real drag.
 

CHI_Tool&Die

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How could anyone hate chrisfix? His videos are real upbeat and idk if the information is bad I’m still learning but he seems pretty knowledgable tbh

hes so enthusiastic makes me excited to take on car projects
People find a reason to hate on everyone and everything. It’s stupid, but I think he got grief for some of his branded merchandise. I don’t know why that would bug someone but apparently it did.

I love my Craftsman stacks. As a kid in the ‘90s, I saw those boxes everywhere. My first “real” toolbox when I became an apprentice was a Craftsman 26” stack. I have three Craftsman toolboxes covered in stickers at my house. While my Kennedy and US General are more stout, I still find myself smiling at my Craftsman boxes.
 
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KnurledNut

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I feel like SBD was pretty flexible to collab on this and allow such a detailed video to be made public. IMO, the camera work and editing is very professional. It should be beneficial social media exposure for them. Props to the guys that made this happen.

I know for me, it changes the way I look at those boxes sitting in Lowes when I walk past them now. Sure they are light duty storage, but I never appreciated what went into making them and the level of build quality. That factory is moving a lot of product and, from what I could see, doing it with quality base materials, modern calibrated equipment and in a safe environment.
 

Kurt4440

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Love him or hate him, I found this video informative and educational.
Follow along as he shows his personal toolbox getting made in the USA for his new shop!
I am not sure I could hate a self made man that focuses on helping people with car repairs. He certainly is not doing this to make himself a celebrity.
Good video.
 
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KnurledNut

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Interesting factory tour. Nice to see domestic manufacturing.
First time I've watched this guy, I think he does a good job.
I’ve been watching his channel off an on since he started. I love his enthusiasm! Its untelling how many people he has motivated to tackle projects that might otherwise intimidate them because of lack of experience. He deserves (and earned) his own garage! Looks to be a nice setup. This factory tour stepped outside of his normal DIY video format.

A stark contrast from the guys like Last Best Tool that show off how much money they have to spend on tools they will never use and can’t come up with creative content on their own so they troll forums such as this to feed off the ideas we share. Pretty sad.
 

Steve_P

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Great video. Obviously, plant management worked with him on it and maybe used a small film crew.

I've got a bunch of Craftsman Griplatch chests from ~2010 and they were also e-coat dipped. You can't easily tell unless you know what to look for and then remove all the drawers; one or two drawers showed some minor, and otherwise hidden, evidence of the dipping process on a rear outside corner, or similar.
 

mcj115

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I was shocked to see a plant that is Craftsman! Historically, in my mind, Craftsman has just been a marketing brand who just contracts with manufacturers to product product for them. Seeing he name on the door of the site seems to be a change as Craftsman (SDB) manufacturer and marketer of the product themselves. I wonder if SDB uses the manufacturing site for other brands under their umbrella....IE do they make Proto boxes in heavier gauge? Lets face it the process and equipment to make tool boxes for different brands is similar; the real differentiator would be in the quality of materials used such as gauge of steel, slide weight, paint color.
 
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M635_Guy

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I like Chris Fix just fine. He explains things simply and does a good job overall.

With over 10M subscribers, he's making enough money to have some help.
 

mooman

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I was shocked to see a plant that is Craftsman! Historically, in my mind, Craftsman has just been a marketing brand who just contracts with manufacturers to product product for them. Seeing he name on the door of the site seems to be a change as Craftsman (SDB) manufacturer and marketer of the product themselves. I wonder if SDB uses the manufacturing site for other brands under their umbrella....IE do they make Proto boxes in heavier gauge? Lets face it the process and equipment to make tool boxes for different brands is similar; the real differentiator would be in the quality of materials used such as gauge of steel, slide weight, paint color.
This is not a Craftsman plant, it's a SBD plant that manufactures Craftsman branded toolboxes. These are SBD employees.
We do a lot of work at SBD facilities across the US and get to see a unique perspective.
Sadly, the production of this particular plant has been down since the retail distribution is limited to Lowes and Ace, pressure from offshore manufactures (Harbor Freight) and the decline of Americans that actually are looking to by these type of tool boxes.
 

Hohn

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How could anyone hate chrisfix? His videos are real upbeat and idk if the information is bad I’m still learning but he seems pretty knowledgable tbh

hes so enthusiastic makes me excited to take on car projects
He has a good bit of knowledge, and where he lacks that, he compensates by being enthusiastically wrong.

Always entertaining, though.
 

Hohn

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Good on SBD for helping Chris film the video.

It increased the odds of me buying an SBD product by zero percent.

I'm not brand loyal or disloyal per se. I prefer to buy American but mostly I buy American when buying American means excellent (Wright). I'm not going to buy the discount bin junk from Grand Rapids Industrial Products even if it is MIUSA.

I just dislike the mega-corp aspect of TTI and SBD, which means I minimize what I buy from them. They are conspicuously rare in my house and garage. Not missing entirely, but the "massive corporation" tiebreaker ranked high enough to make them lose out.
 
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KnurledNut

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Does Waterloo make boxes anymore? I think they had shifted production to Mexico at some point. Does SBD
As of July 28, 2017 Waterloo Industries has been acquired by The Stanley Black & Decker Corporation.
 

jetlag

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I love my Craftsman stacks. As a kid in the ‘90s, I saw those boxes everywhere. My first “real” toolbox when I became an apprentice was a Craftsman 26” stack. I have three Craftsman toolboxes covered in stickers at my house. While my Kennedy and US General are more stout, I still find myself smiling at my Craftsman boxes.
a few years ago, I gave away a Craftsman stack to one of my brothers. I had outgrown it, and needed more storage. When I got a good deal on a double bank Snap On combo, I grabbed it. Sadly, I didn't have enough room for both the Craftsman boxes AND the Snap On set, so gave the Craftsman stack away. I have regretted that in the years since, but at least my brother has put it to good use (and still has it in his shop). One of these days, I'm going to find something else that my brother wants, so I can reclaim it.
 

dscheidt

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This is not a Craftsman plant, it's a SBD plant that manufactures Craftsman branded toolboxes. These are SBD employees.
We do a lot of work at SBD facilities across the US and get to see a unique perspective.
Sadly, the production of this particular plant has been down since the retail distribution is limited to Lowes and Ace, pressure from offshore manufactures (Harbor Freight) and the decline of Americans that actually are looking to by these type of tool boxes.

they're also selling the same products they made 15 years ago, and what people want has evolved. Ironically, a lot of that change in preference is due to SBD getting tariffs put on boxes like the ones they make, so importers started importing better ones.
 

zktk01

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That was an impressive amount of tooling to make those boxes, they have seemed to take out almost all possibilities for human error.
 

Andres26tnt

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they're also selling the same products they made 15 years ago, and what people want has evolved. Ironically, a lot of that change in preference is due to SBD getting tariffs put on boxes like the ones they make, so importers started importing better ones.
I don't remember the Stanley B&D craftsman boxes being sold in sears 15y ago. You mean like 12y ago? From what I remember sears had a different Waterloo box but idk maybe I just don't remember this box. I say sears cuz 15y ago craftsman was still own by them.

I agree, everyone is selling a much better package box. I'm surprised they don't have a tool cart or any other configuration like the rest of the brands out here.
 

Etchase

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The line has been tremendously improved since SBD took it over and modernized the Waterloo plant, keeping it located in the same town. They have increased the weight rating of the slides and castors, increasing the gross weight. They also introduced their completely new line of v-series boxes. SBD is the leader in tool storage with not just their commercial brands including Craftsman, but also the dominant player for industrial storage with their Lista and Vidmar brands.
 
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Andres26tnt

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The line has been tremendously improved since SBD took it over and modernized the Waterloo plant, keeping it located in the same town. They have increased the weight rating of the slides and castors, increasing the gross weight. They also introduced their completely new line of v-series boxes. SBD is the leader in tool storage with not just their commercial brands including Craftsman, but also the dominant player for industrial storage with their Lista and Vidmar brands.
All good, but they have been lacking in the options department. The basic box is still quite basic(home gamer). Basically setup for big tools home owner tools. The V line is non existent in B&M stores. People need to see it to make a judgment on its quality and price. Fyi I like the V line box, it's a bargain imo compared to other USA made boxes. Especially if you buy it at discount or special. They have no tool carts, hutches or a big option line the other competitor have.
 

Steve_P

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All good, but they have been lacking in the options department. The basic box is still quite basic(home gamer). Basically setup for big tools home owner tools. The V line is non existent in B&M stores. People need to see it to make a judgment on its quality and price. Fyi I like the V line box, it's a bargain imo compared to other USA made boxes. Especially if you buy it at discount or special. They have no tool carts, hutches or a big option line the other competitor have.

The reality is that it's not 2010 when I bought all of my Griplatch boxes- too much competition now. And Sears is gone and Craftsman boxes are now mostly? sold in Lowes. 98% of Lowes customers aren't looking for a lot of options, just a low-cost box to put their limited items in. The Lowes customer is a "home gamer" as you said. SBD knows their market on this; they're not going to introduce a bunch of chests that won't sell. They know they can't compete with HF and the Tool Vault/ Montezuma upscale imports. 98% of Americans don't give a **** about USA made, so that's not a selling point.

Craftsman could come out with ten different tool chests, carts, hutch..... options, to match HF, and they wouldn't sell, just like some of the stuff they had 15 years ago- when there was limited competition and before HF and all of the imports took over. How many here have seen the Craftsman Industrial boxes in person? They also made Craftsman side chests and side lockers; I've NEVER seen one other than in the catalog, and I've been looking for a "parts" griplatch box on FB for several years, so I see all of the Craftsman boxes. Even the middle chest for the Griplatch stack is extremely rare. Snap On boxes are commonplace in comparison to a Griplatch box.

The reason I bought four 6' stacks of Griplatch boxes wasn't because I was dedicated to the brand, but because the options were extremely limited in 2010. HF was selling the first gen "pink crinkle finish" boxes and that could've been the greatest in the world, but it was ugly AF, IMO, and I never considered it. And tool truck boxes were out of the question because of the cost. But, again, it's not 2010 anymore and the market is flooded.

I never knew the V series boxes existed until I saw them here a few months ago. No idea what you do to market them, but they're not doing it.
 

Andres26tnt

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The reality is that it's not 2010 when I bought all of my Griplatch boxes- too much competition now. And Sears is gone and Craftsman boxes are now mostly? sold in Lowes. 98% of Lowes customers aren't looking for a lot of options, just a low-cost box to put their limited items in. The Lowes customer is a "home gamer" as you said. SBD knows their market on this; they're not going to introduce a bunch of chests that won't sell. They know they can't compete with HF and the Tool Vault/ Montezuma upscale imports. 98% of Americans don't give a **** about USA made, so that's not a selling point.

Craftsman could come out with ten different tool chests, carts, hutch..... options, to match HF, and they wouldn't sell, just like some of the stuff they had 15 years ago- when there was limited competition and before HF and all of the imports took over. How many here have seen the Craftsman Industrial boxes in person? They also made Craftsman side chests and side lockers; I've NEVER seen one other than in the catalog, and I've been looking for a "parts" griplatch box on FB for several years, so I see all of the Craftsman boxes. Even the middle chest for the Griplatch stack is extremely rare. Snap On boxes are commonplace in comparison to a Griplatch box.

The reason I bought four 6' stacks of Griplatch boxes wasn't because I was dedicated to the brand, but because the options were extremely limited in 2010. HF was selling the first gen "pink crinkle finish" boxes and that could've been the greatest in the world, but it was ugly AF, IMO, and I never considered it. And tool truck boxes were out of the question because of the cost. But, again, it's not 2010 anymore and the market is flooded.

I never knew the V series boxes existed until I saw them here a few months ago. No idea what you do to market them, but they're not doing it.

Not entirely true some Home gamers like myself are looking for some options, nothing crazy. The retail store across from Lowe's has the same customers for the most part(home depot). Yet they have multiple options from various brand, not to motioning the online exclusives. In no way am i saying they need to release 20 different boxes. But they need to at least match what Huskey/HF and some other direct competitors are offering. For example Where is the the Craftsman Tool cart? Those have been exploding in the last few years, how popular where the releases of both Huskey and HF carts? i know many who will be interested in a USA made tool cart at the HF price. it can be done, the current line isn't extremely expensive.
 
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