Harbor Freight 13 drawer tool boxes for workbench

[Colonial Cobra]

I'm considering using two of the Harbor Freight 13 drawer tool boxes as bases for a workbench. Space them a few feet apart and top with wood or metal.
Anyone have a long term use review of the box or additional ideas?

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa...o?itemid=90320&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=

 

[autowerks9]

I think thet would be a great idea..The Harbour Freight ones seem to have a heavier gague metal than my Husky( H-depot) and alot of the craftsman boxes. Great idea for the money..I believe they are also on sale early this year.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa...7&preview=true&type=RET&simple=&r=7347_152258

http://www.harborfreight.com/hftusa/magpromos/popsci.pdf

 

[Colonial Cobra]

Looks like the sale price will be $339. Hard to beat for that size box........

 

[Markgyver]

It will be $271 with the 20% off coupon. I might get two and bolt them together with my butcher block Costco work bench top.

 

[djjsr]

It's pretty common to see benches built like that in racecar trailers. Works great. Make the top slightly larger than the boxes so if you spill something on the top, it doesn't run down the front of the boxes into the drawers. I learned that the hard way.

 

[autowerks9]

it's pretty common to see benches built like that in racecar trailers. Works great. Make the top slightly larger than the boxes so if you spill something on the top, it doesn't run down the front of the boxes into the drawers. I learned that the hard way.

good call^^^^^^ +1000

 

[Jack Olsen]

Overhang is also good when you want to clamp something.

 

[Stick Figure]

you could also connect the two bottoms together with one of the side cabinet options, that would help keep everything square and more solid. Either way, yes they would make decent work benches, i've had mine for a few years now with no complaints. Got a few dents and a little bit of bent metal from bringing down the loading ramp on a moving truck. (side cab drug a bit) and yes it was fully loaded.

 

[TONE]

I was thinking about doing this very same thing with some c-man boxes.

These look really nice though.

One question, I cant see prices when I click any of the mentioned links. And what 20% off coupon?

thanks

It will be $271 with the 20% off coupon. I might get two and bolt them together with my butcher block Costco work bench top.

 

[Jack Olsen]

One question, I cant see prices when I click any of the mentioned links. And what 20% off coupon?

Whenever you get a big-ticket item from HF, do a quick Google search and you can almost always dig up a 20% off coupon that you can print out and bring with you. On some items, Home Depot and Lowes will honor the same coupons (check with a manager first). I printed one out, brought it into Home Depot, and saved $80 off of a $400 air compressor last week.

 

[greg]

I went with the boxes under the workbench , but I did not attach the counter to them . With all the metal work I do I didnt think it would be a good idea to have the vises mounted directly to the boxes .

 

[nutjob]

I need to do the same thing to replace some old drawers under my bench. Looked at this box as an option and the only thing I don't not like is it is only 18" deep, so drawers are about 16" deep. My workbench is 30" deep so I would like to get 24" deep drawers.

I have been watching some Lista and Vidmar cabinets on ebay as an option. They have been selling for around $300-$400 each. With shipping this could be $2000 worth of drawers for my 8' work bench area.

But from a cost standpoint, this HF box/solution is hard to beat.

I could weld a frame together, add some accuride slides, but have not found any decent drawers. So still looking around.

 

[Colonial Cobra]

Greg, I only have room for two but that's exactly what I'm planning. Thanks for the post.

I went with the boxes under the workbench , but I did not attach the counter to them . With all the metal work I do I didnt think it would be a good idea to have the vises mounted directly to the boxes .

 

[kbs2244]

I echo the concern about the depth.
19 inchs is a pretty shallow bench.
I would build a 24 or 30 inch deep bench and leave room under it to park the tool boxs.

 

[jpoe]

I got them to honor the price that they have listed for the middle of the month and I used the 25%coupon today. Out the door for top and bottom for $450. And then I got a bunch more stuff, they place is starting to cost me!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd build the bench and make them fit right underneath. It'd just make it easier if you had to move it out for some reason.

 

[tdkkart]

Hmmm, I need to do some measuring. I think I have a perfect place to put one or two of those, especially if I take the castors off.

 

[RoarkIndustrialSolutions]

Sent you a PM.

 

[greg]

I built my countertop 22" deep and it works well for me . I have found that a deeper countertop just collects more stuff . I will say that I am building an outfeed table for my table saw and I expect I will use that for really large projects .

 

[12valve]

They are great for the price. I have the HF benchtop milling machine on top of one of these cabinets and has held up pretty good. The only thing that I don't like is most of the drawers are very shallow. The bottom drawer is pretty deep though. For the money you can't go wrong

 

[krooser]

This same box is available from other sources... Grizzley being one of them.

NAPA carries a cheap line of boxes that are a little deeper... the 41-something wide top and bottom are $899.00... at least at my local store. US made, too..

 

[Colonial Cobra]

I've seen boxes like this around but not close to the same price. A Craftsman box close to the same quality was over twice the price.

 

[GregPGH]

Whenever you get a big-ticket item from HF, do a quick Google search and you can almost always dig up a 20% off coupon that you can print out and bring with you. On some items, Home Depot and Lowes will honor the same coupons (check with a manager first). I printed one out, brought it into Home Depot, and saved $80 off of a $400 air compressor last week.

For HF I found out about a similar way from a weldingweb post that has worked wonders each and every time for the past few months by bookmarking these two links for quick access to a 20% when needed.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/hotrod
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/carcraft

On Ebay, you can purchase Lowe's / HD coupons all the time for $1-$4 and if you find the right auctions they're instant electronic coupons that you have after a few clicks. Essentially a PDF of the REAL Lowe's coupon / working barcode shows up in your inbox within seconds of your PayPal transaction being finished. I've used this particular source for 3 years now and have had 100% success each and every time (sells on Ebay, I go direct now). If you're spending more than $40 its worth the 1 minute it takes to buy a coupon and print it out for $4 (or less if you buy more than 1) and I can't recall leaving the place spending less than $40 too many times in my life... I was reluctant to post this so hopefully a good thing doesn't go away by doing so / I don't offend anyone with it. The HD in my area was honoring these originally too but they caught on after a few months I think given how easy they are to print 10 copies of one valid coupon and quit accepting them from me all together but once in a while I squeak one by a new cashier if I'm lucky to find an isle open that isn't self checkout of course.

 

[rburke65]

In a lot of the hot rod mags.every month, there are HF ads that have the 20% off coupons right in the ad page.

 

[Costner]

On Ebay, you can purchase Lowe's / HD coupons all the time for $1-$4 and if you find the right auctions they're instant electronic coupons that you have after a few clicks.

Let me save you $4 Greg. Just go to your local post office and pick up a "relocation packet" which includes a change of address form. Within that packet there will be a Lowes coupon giving you the same thing you are spending $4 to get.

Heck -grab three of four relocation packets if you think you will be shopping at Lowes often. The coupons are free, and you don't need to send your money to some scammer who has reverse engineered Lowe's barcode system.

I would have a real ethical problem giving my money to someone who is clearly breaking the law and committing fraud by forging coupons for personal gain. I'd rather pay full price than save a few bucks like that.

 

[SunDvl]

They stopped making the relocation packets at the PO (at least around the Chicagoland area). They are now little brochures and you need to go to the web to get the coupon by registering.

 

[Colonial Cobra]

Just picked up my two. Killer deal with the 20% coupon. $271.99. The sale runs through Monday.

Anyone else get any?

Time to start moving things around.....

 

[Colonial Cobra]

These boxes are back on sale again until Feb 25th. Coupons can be found in several magazines for an additional 20% off.