Howdy guys. I have been looking into toolboxes for about a month now, my search has led me to this site. I finally registered in order to look at some pictures, well now I am making my first post. You guys have helped me out with so much info, I figured I would try and return the favor.
Like many others here, I looked at Craftsman. I know that I have wanted to buy one of those toolboxes since I was a boy going into Sears with my father (I am 35 now). When I recently looked at them in person however, I was terribly disappointed to see how much cabinet you get from them for the price. Now I haven't looked at Husky, Kobalt, Sam's Club (tried to, but I didn't see that stainless cabinet when I looked recently in my local club), or whatever else is sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. but from what I have read on this forum and others they seem to be about the same as Craftsman, give or take (not great value for your money).
On the other end, the Snap On, etc. boxes are just priced into the stratosphere. I have been scouring Craigslist for about a month or two, and also as many others have reported, there really aren't any "good deals" on there on any of the high end boxes. I realize that if you use them every day, they will hold up for 20 years, but that is not my usage scenario. I own a business with some equipment and trucks that I would like to be able to do some more work on myself, but turning wrenches is not the primary function of the business, it is a secondary function. So my use is probably about the same as, or maybe slightly more than "home enthusiast" but nowhere near "commercial shop."
So, after looking around quite a bit, basically my decision has come down to either the 13 drawer, 44" crinkle finish lower + upper vs. the 56" shiny finish Snap On knock off box (i.e., the units compared in this thread). Since these appear to be the best thing going as far as "best boxes for the money" at the moment, and there are so many posts (and therefore interest, obviously) in these boxes, I figure I would distill everything I have learned on these to date down into one place, as well as performing a $ per cu. in. analysis on them, as I haven't seen that done anywhere yet.
In Person Impressions
I have been into my local HF store and looked at / fondled both. Incidentally, the lower roller cabinet on the crinkle finish was locked (as others have reported, why do they do that? lol) but the upper cabinet was unlocked as well as the shiny red one. I placed 3 full sets of pretty heavy deep drive impact socket sets into the topmost drawer in the upper cabinet (of the crinkle finish box), and it rolled just as easily as when empty. Now I didn't try any weight in the top big drawer of the shiny cabinet, but that drawer did feel to me that there was some flex in it. I figured it was due to it's size, but it concerned me (I have since read that it's not so bad / feels much more stable after you put some weight into it). On the crinkle finish cabinet, the lower unit was locked, so I didn't get to check out the large top drawer. But overall the build quality (of both), thickness of steel, finish, etc. was far superior to the Craftsman models, especially for the price.
Maths! ($ per cu. in. analysis)
I have also done a lot of research online. One way I thought might be helpful to decide between the two was to figure out the actual square and cubic footage storage capacity of each unit, then divide by price to arrive at a "dollars per cubic inch" comparison.
The problem I ran into here, is that I found conflicting information. The website lists one set of drawer dimensions (and in the case of the shiny cabinet, simply a total cubic inch capacity), and then the respective manuals list different drawer sizes and/or capacities from what is listed online.
Well, I compiled all the data anyway onto a big spreadsheet and did the math. The following is what I came up with (summary results):
Code:
13 drawer 44" lower (90320) + 44" upper cabinet (92099)
at "regular" price $389.99 + $299.99 = $689.98
(according to website) 18,827 cu. in. $0.0366 per cu. in.
(according to manual) 21,452 cu. in. $0.0322 per cu. in.
or at "best sale" price $249.99 + $299.99 = $549.98
(according to website) $0.0292 per cu. in.
(according to manual) $0.0256 per cu. in.
11 drawer 56" lower cabinet (67681)
at "regular" price $799.00
(according to website) 28,240 cu. in. $0.0283 per cu. in.
(according to manual) 24,216 cu. in. $0.0330 per cu. in.
or at "best sale" price $699.00
(according to website) $0.0248 per cu. in.
(according to manual) $0.0289 per cu. in.
I have attached a .PDF of the full spreadsheet as well as the original .XLS spreadsheet itself (in a .zip file), should anyone be interested in checking my math, or just want further detail. There is also some info in there about lbs. of weight capacity per cu. in. as well as per $, should anyone be interested in that.
So I guess I have figured out that the chests are about the same on a $ per cu. in. basis. Even though the shiny chest costs more money, the drawers are taller and the entire cabinet is deeper. Plus the variations in the data between website and manuals make the differences within the margin of error and/or just plain unreliable. Maybe I should actually go and measure the cabinets and see what the drawer sizes
really are (I think someone may have done that already, I remember reading a post about it, maybe I will look into it more later, running out of time right now). But I suppose for comparison purposes, we can say that they are "close enough" (from the perspective of $/cu. in.) to make our decisions based on other factors. Therefore...
Pros & Cons
The pros of the crinkle finish cabinet(s) are that you can buy the bottom piece for a few hundred dollars, then add the top, sides, etc. later as budget and/or need dictates. Also just the fact that there are expansion pieces available is a plus (there are none for the shiny cabinet). Another plus, is that the set seems more sturdy / less flex. This is no doubt due to the fact that it is smaller in all dimensions. In all fairness to the shiny box, I have read that it feels better once you put some weight in the drawers (perhaps some who may own it can comment on this?). I believe I read on here that you can interchange all the drawers (the sliders are evenly spaced apart, and the bigger drawers have double sliders that line up perfectly). Also I read somewhere (I think in here) that you can order additional drawers in the sizes you like (taller / deeper) should you want to do that, for a reasonable price from HF customer service ($14.95 per drawer iirc + some shipping). I don't think you can do that with the shiny cabinet (manual says: "no replacement parts available"). I didn't call the customer service number to confirm that.
The biggest con of the crinkle finish cabinet(s) is the finish itself, imo. That rough surface seems as if it would be difficult to clean greasy fingerprints off of (and I have read a few comments from people who actually own the chest exactly to that effect). As a counterpoint to this, I have read recent rumors of HF changing ALL of their cabinets to the shiny finish. I don't know if that's true or not yet, but wow that would sure be awesome if they did, and imo clearly tip the scales in favor of those cabinets. Also, the drawers are not very deep (Around 16" +/-, compared to 19.5" on the shiny cab, a difference of 3.5"). Not to mention the drawer heights, widths and configurations (the shiny box is better in this area imo, although this is somewhat mitigated by the fact you can order different drawers for the crinkle cabinet).
The biggest pros of the shiny box are the nice shiny finish, and drawer configuration, imo. This box is laid out a lot like a Snap On or similar type box, with a main bank of full width drawers (37 3/8" wide x 6 drawers!), while the upper and lower crinkle finish cabinet only has one full width drawer (36.7" wide). This may not be a concern for you if you have few or no long tools, or just like many subdivisions of your tools. In addition to that, the shiny cabinet has an entire another bank of 5 more 12" wide drawers! The thing is pretty dang big, about a foot longer and like 4" deeper than the other one (the difference in depth looked like more than that from what I recall, but those are the specs from the website and/or manuals). More of the drawers are taller as well.
One con of the shiny set is, as discussed, there are no expansion boxes. There is no top box available, and according to my research, none in the works either. The cost is also more initially, although as my math shows above, the cost per cu. in. is comparable. The slight flex in the large top drawer still concerns me. It's not flex really so much as a wobble. In other words, the drawer itself does not flex or bend, it's just that it's so big it sort of floats / wobbles around on the tracks a bit when you pull it in and out. In fairness, the other cabinet's large drawer may do the same, I was not able to test it as it was locked. I have also read that it's not as bad when tools are in it.
(my post runneth over, please see Summary in next post)
