Husky Black Textured 52" Tool Chest

[Tscott]

Has anyone seen one of these close up? They appear to be comparable to the Harbor Freight 44" boxes as far as weight capacity but obviously with more space. The drawer capacity on the Husky is listed at 120lbs vs 80lbs for the HF box.

I'm going to be buying a new box early next year and my top pick was the HF 44" box, but I stumbled across a YouTube video today showing this box and I was intrigued. I like the built in power strips and USB charger as well as the magnetic panel on the back. I think I saw one of these in the deals section around Black Friday time, but I can't seem to find it now. If you've seen one in person, please share your impressions.

Tom

 

[archirelic]

They have those units in store. Check them out, build quality is great...same OEM as the Milwaukee boxes.

 

[SteveL]

Love the soft close drawers on it! Cabinet looked awesome in person.

 

[Mr_B]

Is a nice box in this price sector. textured paint does hold dirt and harder clean, handle or indent on lid would of been good, when on offer superb bang for buck . If drawer layout and features work for you then it right box to choose . 20" depth, if was just a bottom chest I would prefer 22" or 24" depth to get good storage and worktop space .
The 52" husky 22"depth or 66" 24" depth rolling chests are pretty good options too pending exactly what you after. Quite easy add power strip to a box, most important thing is drawer layout and sizes and is it strong enough for your usage style.

 

[Tscott]

Well right now, it's between the husky textured 52" box and the Harbor Freight 44" unit. It will hold all my hand tools and automotive stuff. I keep all my wood working stuff in a table saw cabinet I built about a year ago. It sounds to me that it is at least comparable in build quality to the HF units. Now I guess I just need to see which makes layout will suit me best.

Tom

 

[WWheeler]

I've been looking at these for a little while now. I'll probably be getting either the 52" or maybe the 60" new Husky textured matte black boxes as soon as I get through the holidays. I also have been considering a HF box but have pretty much ruled it out.

I will say this though. The HF drawer limit specs do say 80lbs for the bottom chest and 59 lbs for the top chest, but they easily hold that and more. The HF box is made of a heavier gauge metal and built a bit more heavy duty than the Husky boxes are. The new matte black Husky boxes are 20 gauge. I'm not totally sure what gauge the HF box is. The HF 5 drawer cart is 14 gauge, and I suspect their larger chests are the same. I've seen others say as much here at GJ:

just looked at the husky boxes... they are only 20 gauge steel. the HF is 14 gauge like the snap on's .

In any case the HF 44" top & bottom boxes are 18" deep and combined are 60" tall compared to the Husky 52" combo which is 20" deep and 64" tall (so the Husky is 16% longer and 10% deeper + taller too but that's mostly empty space with the higher top shelf clearance) but they weigh the same empty. The 52" Husky weighs 418lbs and the 44" HF combo weighs 417 lbs.

The only reason I mention that is because, at least on the older-style Husky boxes which were a slightly thinner 21 gauge, it was fairly common to be able to overload the long 4" deep drawer to where the bottom would sag and people couldn't get the drawer open. These newer all black Husky boxes should be a tad better in that respect, but it's not a problem people have had with the HF boxes.

I've went back and forth between the Home Depot and Harbor Freight nearest me comparing the boxes and when you pull out the drawers and give them a twist it's pretty easy to see the HF boxes are quite a bit more solid. There's almost no flex like you will see with the Husky chests. That said, the Husky boxes don't feel like cheap **** either. I'm impressed with them, just not as much as the HF in that respect.

All that said, I've pretty much ruled out getting a HF's US General chest because the drawer sizes and layout isn't anywhere near as nice a match for what I want to be able to store in it as the Husky 52" and 60" boxes are, and in the end that and the cost are what really matters to me. That, and I'm just needing a new box for weekend DIY stationary use. I suppose if I needed to move it around then perhaps the heavier-duty build quality might matter a bit more.

The HF 56" might could work for me but even at the best sale price I've seen for the top and bottom it's still quite a bit more expensive than the Husky boxes. Plus, I luv the textured black finish, both in how it looks and seems to be much more scratch resistant, and I can't say I'm a big fan of the gloss red.

 

[ford fanatic]

I picked up the Husky 41" box in July for their 4th sale. I paid $498. I'm really kicking myself now for not waiting, my garage wasn't even finished yet. I could have had this 52" for the same price... http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...l-Cabinet-Set-Black-HTC5206-HMT5212/205431577

 

[Mr_B]

that cheaper one is the 21 gauge and only 18" in depth.
newer 20 gauge is a slightly more rigid box, 18 would be nice or add reinforcement to bases of full length or deep drawers .
HF is indeed way better on steel gauge and way more rigid.
Both are good if used sensibly and loaded sensibly, layout and personal preference going be real deciders for most people.
Would be nice if HF did 2 or 3 drawer layouts for popular box in 44" 52" boxes.
I like the HF 52" but not keen on drawer layout or gloss red. They need do a satin black or something.

 

[kylerohde]

I bought the 46" Milwaukee version for myself last week and have been moving everything over from my old, smaller Craftsman set so this isn't final yet, but I love it so far:

Favorite things:

• Soft-Close Drawers
• Comes with pre-cut liners and a great Milwaukee-branded pad for the top area
• Top Area: Not really sure how I will use it but love the space, pegboard, power strip and the gas strut open/close
• Matte Finish (love the look, unsure how it holds up though)
• Quality - hard to imagine a better box for the $698 price I paid

 

[WWheeler]

I bought the 46" Milwaukee version for myself last week and have been moving everything over from my old, smaller Craftsman set so this isn't final yet, but I love it so far:

[snip: pic]

Favorite things:

• Soft-Close Drawers
• Comes with pre-cut liners and a great Milwaukee-branded pad for the top area
• Top Area: Not really sure how I will use it but love the space, pegboard, power strip and the gas strut open/close
• Matte Finish (love the look, unsure how it holds up though)
• Quality - hard to imagine a better box for the $698 price I paid

The Milwaukee box and the new Husky boxes share most of the same features (it's been written a bunch they are made by the same manufacturer which I can't say for sure but when comparing them seems pretty evident / likely) and for the same $698 price as the 46" Milwaukee you can get the larger 52" Husky box.

They do have a couple differing features though. The Milwaukee has a drawer with a lid for a pull out work surface - ostensibly to be able to store a laptop in and use it on, a pegboard back wall, a removable power tool organizer in one of the bottom drawers and an external power strip with a place to mount Milwaukee chargers on the side.

The Husky is larger both in length and depth (52" x 20" vs 46" x 18" or 35,767 cu. in. vs 27,223 cu. in.) and has a 20lb higher drawer weight limit rating, usb ports on its power strips, a magnetic back wall for mounting tools, an extra set of casters for better stability, and a bottle opener on the side. lol

 

[whonut]

Seriously considering the Husky. Patiently waiting to see if there will be an after holiday price drop!

 

[WWheeler]

Seriously considering the Husky. Patiently waiting to see if there will be an after holiday price drop!

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't expect a price drop on the new all textured black Husky boxes in the heavier gauge & weight rating for two reasons. (1) They are new. They only have a few sizes out so far and those are not even in most stores yet, and they are still trying to get rid of the older design boxes. (2) As mentioned above, they just dropped the prices on the older boxes in the same sizes as the new ones trying to get rid of them. The older-style 52" box is only $500 right now vs $700 for the new.

I would suspect that we won't see any sale pricing on the new style boxes at least until all the old style are gone, and probably not until the full line of the new style in all sizes are out. I'm not expecting that to happen before next summer or maybe Black Friday 2017.

We can all hope I'm wrong.

 

[kylerohde]

Seriously considering the Husky. Patiently waiting to see if there will be an after holiday price drop!

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't expect a price drop on the new all textured black Husky boxes in the heavier gauge & weight rating for two reasons. (1) They are new. They only have a few sizes out so far and those are not even in most stores yet, and they are still trying to get rid of the older design boxes. (2) As mentioned above, they just dropped the prices on the older boxes in the same sizes as the new ones trying to get rid of them. The older-style 52" box is only $500 right now vs $700 for the new.

I would suspect that we won't see any sale pricing on the new style boxes at least until all the old style are gone, and probably not until the full line of the new style in all sizes are out. I'm not expecting that to happen before next summer or maybe Black Friday 2017.

We can all hope I'm wrong.

Agree - the Milwaukee one has been out for over a year now and the price has not dropped below $698 so I wouldn't expect a brand new Husky one to drop any time soon.

 

[rednotch]

The few I have seen where pretty beat up, textured surfaces heavily scratched up and that's was when they first put them on the sales floor. I would say its not as stout as the HF box but I only spent a few mins checking it out.

 

[whonut]

Hmm. Now thinking about the HF box. Just joined here, and I'm already a hot mess of wallet indecision.

 

[CSRPenFab]

I was all set to buy the Milwaukee combo that's $698 but wound up with this Lowe's unit on Black Friday. Very happy with it, and it's built a lot heavier than the Milwaukee or Husky in my opinion. $675 online now. Has power strips with USB on both the upper and lower units.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-22-...all-Bearing-Steel-Tool-Chest-White/1000134081

 

[ishiboo]

They have those units in store. Check them out, build quality is great...same OEM as the Milwaukee boxes.

Good to know... feeling one I thought it felt almost exactly same as the Milwaukee 46" which I like. You get a few more inches of space for the same price.

Wish Husky/Milwaukee would be like Masterforce on those boxes and offer 4+ powder coated color choices via special order... it'd be a no-brainer.

Although I wish they offered them with two full-width drawers - one for sockets and one for wrenches.

 

[WWheeler]

I was all set to buy the Milwaukee combo that's $698 but wound up with this Lowe's unit on Black Friday. Very happy with it, and it's built a lot heavier than the Milwaukee or Husky in my opinion. $675 online now. Has power strips with USB on both the upper and lower units.

[snip: image]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-22-...all-Bearing-Steel-Tool-Chest-White/1000134081

The link says $675 for just a 41" wide x 18" deep top chest. How much more for the bottom?

Ouch!

 

[CSRPenFab]

The link says $675 for just a 41" wide x 18" deep top chest. How much more for the bottom?

Ouch!

That web page is messed up. It should be $675 for the combo. Here's my price from the one per store Black Friday deal, $599, and that was a great deal for a box of this quality.

 

[JerseyJeff]

Do the Husky boxes feel solid with a good load in the bigger,drawers? The box size vs cost seems really good. I have been eyeing the HF 56" box for $799

 

[JoJoSnap]

Dont like lowes tool chest design.. many drawers are divided up broken in half. The craftsman one stainless steel topchest i bought three years ago has full length drawers.


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[minytrker]

I have been eyeballing the black textured husky box. I really like the look and feel of it, for the price I think its hard to beat IMO.

 

[ncboat]

Went to Lowe's on veterans day to see what I could use my discount on. Found this set of blue cabinets for $560 that were being discontinued. I never knew they had anything but the stainless. They didn't want to separate the set and all I wanted was the roller base. The sales person got on the computer and found other stores with just the roller. He had them shipped to my store for no charge. Long story short I ended up buying 4 of them for $250 apiece with my veterans discount and a credit discount. I am going to build a Steevo inspired 14' cabinet with them.

 

[jonti48310]

I've been needing to move into a bigger box at work. I currently have the HF 44" but have out grown it after two years. I was going to get the 56" but for the same price the new Husky is looking very tempting. Now I just keep trying to convince myself to fork up the extra $400 for the HF 72". Decisions decisions!

 

[Whitworth]

Checked out the Husky and Milwaukee sets. Not super impressed. The drawers feel flimsy and a bit wobbly in action. The Harbor freight by comparison has a sturdier build. My concern with any tool storage in this price range is when the drawers are loaded to capacity do they act jerky or start to bind against the drawer underneath. I find this can be a problem especially when the drawers hold an unbalanced load.
At that price point though, I still see alot of value regardless of whichever set one may be considering. I've been looking, planning on buying now or just after the holidays.

 

[Tscott]

Finally ran into one of the Husky units in a Home Depot and it just so happened to be about a block away from a Harbor Freight store. I took the opportunity to check out both units back to back to see which one I prefer.

My basic observation was that the Husky feels as well built as the harbor freight 44" box but is lacking in my opinion when it comes to fit and finish. My 2 biggest problems with the Husky were the trim pieces on the vertical edges and the soft close drawers. The trim pieces were attached with a 2 sided tape and were falling off of every display unit in the store. They would not last long in a shop environment in my opinion. The soft close drawers were great when closing, but were sticky as hell to open. So much so that the whole box lurched towards me as I opened the drawer. Obviously, as the box was loaded with tools, it would likely not move due to weight however the drawers would still be difficult to pull open.

On the HF side, the 44" felt a bit sturdier than the Husky. Over all I'd say that both units are almost identical in construction with a slight edge to the HF box. I like the depth of the Husky box more as well as the extra space under the top hood however my box is in my shop and will almost definitely never be closed so it doesn't really matter.

After seeing both I'm still sold on the HF box as my best bang for my buck due to its flexibility of layout associated with the multiple side boxes you can buy. I like the idea of having different types of storage all in one box. Instead of just having drawer type storage, I can have a small hanging locker for my welding helmet and jacket on one side and additional drawers on the other. Both boxes are good but I think the HF better fits my style.

Tom

 

[tcianci]

I have recently purchased the HF 44" roller, top chest and side cab. One thing that no one seems to make the distinction of is that the Husky and Milwaukee boxes are tool chests and the HF boxes are classic mechanics boxes.

If you look at the real estate in the offerings from Depot, you will notice that the tops of both boxes have lots of space that works out great for storing your Milwaukee or other brand cordless stuff along with deep drawers that can house other power tools, blow molded plastic kits and homeowner/DIY gear.

I went with the HF box because it has more, shallower drawers. Automotive tools tend to be flat and slender and having a shallow drawer that lets you see everything at a glance without things getting buried under each other was a big plus. And the quantity of drawers just sealed the deal. A tool box is for organization, and being able to sort and store stuff without having to resort to multiple different tools occupying the same space was exactly what I needed. The HF drawers are a little deeper than the SO box I replaced but just a little. In fact, I checked the drawer depth in my ancient Walden-Worcester top chest and they're even shallower than the SO box.

I just mention this because I often see folks equating deep drawers with a "better" tool box. The fact is that a box with more drawers of lesser depth sometimes is the best choice.