Craftsman Drop front tool box, anyone have one?
- Thread starter zkling
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customh
Well-known member
Dads got an old one. Had it for 30 or so years. Held up pretty good to 20 years of pro abuse.
Kurt4440
Well-known member
I purchased one last year at a yard sale around the corner from my house. I saw it when we drove by, pulled over, looked it over, it had some Mac, Armstrong, and Snap-On tools inside. I asked how much, she said $20, I bought it and put it in the back of my truck. The quality is typical of older Craftsman tool boxes. Friction slides, with enough small drawers to organize your tools. A good box for a younger guy, or another box to keep in the basement. I would not go out and buy a new one, but I would not pass up a good deal on a used one.
celticbhoy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2013
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- 540
Yeah I bought one of those too for $60. It may seem like a rip off to you guys, but you don't live in Vancouver. Everything here is overpriced, but we're used to it.
bobcatdan
Well-known member
They have been around for a long time. For many years hiding as a catalogue only item. A few years ago they did appear in stores paired with an 11 drawer bottom. Other then having the drop front, I don't see were them built any different or better then the standard style.
Around 30 years ago, a company called Waterloo (located in Waterloo, USA) used to make a lot of the Craftsman tool boxes (and some SnapOn boxes as well). In addition to being the actual OEM other toolbox lines, Waterloo marketed a couple of their own lines also... one was called Waterloo, and the other was called Magnum.
The one thing I didn't like about the Magnum line was that drop down front cover. Here's why:
First, yes, the cover provides some windblown dust protection from dirt blowing through the gaps between drawers... but usually, the airborne dirt generated in a shop is generated when the shop is open and activity is present. The HVAC system is blowing or the roll up shop bay doors are open... the airtools are spinning or a grinder/sander is spewing... and all this happens when you are working, needing access to tools. So that flippin' door is in the up position anyway. The flip down door is presumably closed when the shop is closed, which is also when no activity, no doors open, no HVAC blowing, and not much in the way of airborne particles blowing into the gaps between the tool drawers.
Second, and notice that I did say second, security. Or so-called security. The boxes with the flip down door cover appear to be more secure, but they are often are built less secure, offering a single, more easily accessible point of entry. A short jigsaw blade on a battery operated recipro saw can cut through the rotating lock lever tab on the bottom fairly easily. The problem is, that because of this drop down door, the manufacturer dispenses with all of the other security interlocks that are inherent in some boxes without that cover, in order to reduce manufacturing costs. I preferred the invisible integrated interlock that prevents the drawers from pulling out without showing what exactly is preventing the drawers from pulling out. The drop down door makes it obvious to see how to brute force or cut through security. The integrated design takes more time, more force, more cleverness, or more of some combination thereof.
Thirdly, and most importantly for me... gravity. It would be a lot easier for my if I worked on cars up in the Space Station. I could let parts and tools and spec books go, and, absent any cosmic winds, they would float around me within easy reach to retrieve as needed. But here on Earth, gravity takes hold, and so often I need a place to quickly set something down. The top of that tool box is a very handy place to set things down. The problem is, that EVERYTHING has to be cleared off the top of the tool box in order to lock up the drawers for a lunch break, or whatever. Since boxes built like that rely soley open the closure of the entire front face to lock, and do not have individual locking drawers, then one has to be able to defy gravity at least on that convenient horizontal plane above the tool box. I do not have that power. Some people might though.
I hope this was the type of feedback you were looking for. You bumped this thread three times, so I decided to pitch in my 2 tarnished pennies in the fountain of ideas.
The one thing I didn't like about the Magnum line was that drop down front cover. Here's why:
First, yes, the cover provides some windblown dust protection from dirt blowing through the gaps between drawers... but usually, the airborne dirt generated in a shop is generated when the shop is open and activity is present. The HVAC system is blowing or the roll up shop bay doors are open... the airtools are spinning or a grinder/sander is spewing... and all this happens when you are working, needing access to tools. So that flippin' door is in the up position anyway. The flip down door is presumably closed when the shop is closed, which is also when no activity, no doors open, no HVAC blowing, and not much in the way of airborne particles blowing into the gaps between the tool drawers.
Second, and notice that I did say second, security. Or so-called security. The boxes with the flip down door cover appear to be more secure, but they are often are built less secure, offering a single, more easily accessible point of entry. A short jigsaw blade on a battery operated recipro saw can cut through the rotating lock lever tab on the bottom fairly easily. The problem is, that because of this drop down door, the manufacturer dispenses with all of the other security interlocks that are inherent in some boxes without that cover, in order to reduce manufacturing costs. I preferred the invisible integrated interlock that prevents the drawers from pulling out without showing what exactly is preventing the drawers from pulling out. The drop down door makes it obvious to see how to brute force or cut through security. The integrated design takes more time, more force, more cleverness, or more of some combination thereof.
Thirdly, and most importantly for me... gravity. It would be a lot easier for my if I worked on cars up in the Space Station. I could let parts and tools and spec books go, and, absent any cosmic winds, they would float around me within easy reach to retrieve as needed. But here on Earth, gravity takes hold, and so often I need a place to quickly set something down. The top of that tool box is a very handy place to set things down. The problem is, that EVERYTHING has to be cleared off the top of the tool box in order to lock up the drawers for a lunch break, or whatever. Since boxes built like that rely soley open the closure of the entire front face to lock, and do not have individual locking drawers, then one has to be able to defy gravity at least on that convenient horizontal plane above the tool box. I do not have that power. Some people might though.
I hope this was the type of feedback you were looking for. You bumped this thread three times, so I decided to pitch in my 2 tarnished pennies in the fountain of ideas.
Thanks for the replies guys.
All, thank you for spending the time to respond. Actually I only bumped it twice, not 3 times as you say. Just looking for more feedback, that was all. Quite honestly your feedback was not really what I was looking for, but is applicable to all drop front boxes, nothing specific to the craftsman. Snap on primarily, mac, matco, proto and now I guess craftsman/waterloo all made drop front boxes.
I personally haven't seen one posted on here, hence why I thought it would be fun to discuss them. Evidently not.
All, thank you for spending the time to respond. Actually I only bumped it twice, not 3 times as you say. Just looking for more feedback, that was all. Quite honestly your feedback was not really what I was looking for, but is applicable to all drop front boxes, nothing specific to the craftsman. Snap on primarily, mac, matco, proto and now I guess craftsman/waterloo all made drop front boxes.
I personally haven't seen one posted on here, hence why I thought it would be fun to discuss them. Evidently not.
cvcman
Well-known member
bobcatdan
Well-known member
Drop fronts are a classic older style. I have a Kennedy roll cab from the 50's that could be called a drop front. It was a simply way of locking drawers. I personally like drop fronts, but for most they serve no real purpose over behind the drawer locking. The one place they do work better is on the road. When in a service van, behind the drawer locks will over time fail resulting in a box that will not lock.
I have two drop front boxes, neither are Craftsman and I can't say I have ever even seen a Craftsman until today, so thanks for posting. That said, both of my drop front boxes are in storage waiting resto, but to be honest, I don't know if I will use or sell them specifically due to the drop fronts. I have no purpose of locking my drawers, my shop is locked and cameras are rolling when I'm gone. I could see it used as a truck box or when a guy works around others and needs to lock his box periodically. Also, like someone else mentioned, I would not buy one new but if I ran into a drop front Craftsman at a good price, I would buy it but just to say I had one...
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
I seem to recall seeing those toolboxes in the Craftsman catalogs of my youth, early 1990s.
bobcatdan
Well-known member
That is were I first saw them.
Anyone know if the 80's and 90's cman catalogs are online somewhere? I know that the later catalogs are on the antiques site, but they stop in the 70's.
Dang Jeff, I thought you were around my age (mid 20's). Were those catalogs your first reading material?
Dang Jeff, I thought you were around my age (mid 20's). Were those catalogs your first reading material?
SpiderGearsMan
Banned
18 inch depth
I actually have and still use one of those old Waterloo drop-down stacks. Pretty nice tool chest all in all.
One problem with the drop-down cover is that it can fall foreward under the right circumstances. I have been clipped on the forehead more than once over the years when I bumped the stack or something. On my box, I would have to cut the thing off, couldn't get the hinge pin out, and I simply decided to live with it. I now have a StrictlyToolboxes rolling cab, but I still use the old Waterloo. No idea how they compare with the Craftsman boxes, but my old one is way better made than the newish Craftsmans I've seen over the past few years. Way better.
One problem with the drop-down cover is that it can fall foreward under the right circumstances. I have been clipped on the forehead more than once over the years when I bumped the stack or something. On my box, I would have to cut the thing off, couldn't get the hinge pin out, and I simply decided to live with it. I now have a StrictlyToolboxes rolling cab, but I still use the old Waterloo. No idea how they compare with the Craftsman boxes, but my old one is way better made than the newish Craftsmans I've seen over the past few years. Way better.
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
Anyone know if the 80's and 90's cman catalogs are online somewhere? I know that the later catalogs are on the antiques site, but they stop in the 70's.
Dang Jeff, I thought you were around my age (mid 20's). Were those catalogs your first reading material?
I am 25, and yes, those catalogs were definitely my first reading materials.
I have not found any of them online, I guess they are not old enough
That statement right there just made me feel VERY old. 1990's and "youth" in the same sentence?
I still think of the 1990's as the distant unachievable future. I remember when 1984 was an impossible decades away doomsday. Wow. I think I should find the forum called "Grave Journal" to help me pimp out my casket.
