Depending on vintage everyone has had to switch drawer slide suppliers at some point. Truck boxes included.
Lista vs. Snap-On
- Thread starter Nicnumber1
- Start date
Depending on vintage everyone has had to switch drawer slide suppliers at some point. Truck boxes included.
Heavy Metal Doctor
Well-known member
Glad to see someone with a real world view.
I'm not in aircraft myself, but L.Cheapo's description above is the same story I have gotten form my buddy when we chat about tools / tool boxes. He's lead tech / shop foreman for a local aircraft service company.
My very limited exposure to hangers while in the military showed me Listas and the like only used as parts / hardware storage -- the mechanics all had regular "general mechanics" type tool boxes.
Apples to oranges. Lista makes technician tool boxes, too
http://www.listabox.com/
Specs right on par with the rest of them.
For industrial storage solutions, they have a wider catalog compared to Snap-on, Mac, Matco, etc.
http://www.listabox.com/
Specs right on par with the rest of them.
For industrial storage solutions, they have a wider catalog compared to Snap-on, Mac, Matco, etc.
alexigtivr6
Active member
I’ve worked in the Aviation field in maintenance , manufacturing , and overhaul . Deffinently lista or vidmar was rare too see when I was working as a AME ( aircraft maintenance engineer . When i was working as a Gas Turbine technician we had lista everywhere .
WittHay
Well-known member
This thread was about the right storage for the fantasy ultimate home workshop. I kind of like the stationary custom made boxes.
In real life, I am partial to the Snap-on KRL. Lots of shallow drawers to organize tools. The right capacity slides, don't need 400 lb. slide drawers to hold small tools. The lock n roll latch works for me.
In real life, I am partial to the Snap-on KRL. Lots of shallow drawers to organize tools. The right capacity slides, don't need 400 lb. slide drawers to hold small tools. The lock n roll latch works for me.
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Firebrick43
Well-known member
I have 3 vidmars, a lista, a snap on, and a Kennedy at work.
I would take the listas overall. They are heavier, like the individual drawer latches mine has or the only one drawer at a time the ones without latches have, and the drawers are smoother if heavily loaded and the drawer chassis are more durable than snap on. The snap on ball bearing slides are smoother if lighter loaded
You can get listas/vidmars customized however you please and they are easy to rearrange in the drawers to whatever your fancy is. My lista is 13 drawers 2" tall.
I would take the listas overall. They are heavier, like the individual drawer latches mine has or the only one drawer at a time the ones without latches have, and the drawers are smoother if heavily loaded and the drawer chassis are more durable than snap on. The snap on ball bearing slides are smoother if lighter loaded
You can get listas/vidmars customized however you please and they are easy to rearrange in the drawers to whatever your fancy is. My lista is 13 drawers 2" tall.
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OP
Nicnumber1
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Anyone have any pictures of their Lista set-up in a home shop with wood working tools stored in them?
OP
Nicnumber1
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Reference thread?
sourabhdeepsingh
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I work in factories that use Lista for toolboxes, foreman stands, lab setups for measuring parts, general storage...
Lista is lovely. It drawers can support insane amounts of weight.
One thing that I have never seen on a Lista, is a hutch. Having lockable personal space is a luxury. You can have your battery chargers, flashlights, electronics, scanners... accessible all the time. ... and be able to lock it up in seconds.
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seber
Well-known member
One thing you might want to consider is drawer width. Not everyone offers those 40" full width drawers for unusual tools. My long handles lean against the wall. It's a pain in the ***, but I'm not reinvesting in boxes at this late date.
bsaint
Well-known member
I'm with you. We use lista at many places I've been a vendor at. They must be made out of tin can steel. Always mangled and there's at least one drawer that doesn't open anymore. They are also super noisy.
But in the defense that they are good, if one person who cared about the cabinet was using it and only him maybe they would last long. But I wouldn't regret buying a 2nd krl ever.
The Lista cabinets I have are quite thick. I'd guess 12 gauge.
I know they are crazy heavy, and sturdy.
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
I picked up two Vidmar cabinets for $500 total and then repainted them using a true 2K automotive paint system.
I then ordered custom foam for them and am pretty damn happy with the setup.
I relubed all of the drawers with super lube, and while they are extremely rigid, they are not as smooth as my neighbors new snapon box. That being said the Vidmar drawers actually feel better once you put more weight in them, and I am sure they can take a hell of a lot more weight than a similar size snapon drawer. IMOP Vidmar / Lista really shine for parts storage, and still work very well for tool storage (especially for the price) Snapon would be my choice if I was using the drawers at a full time daily job.
I then ordered custom foam for them and am pretty damn happy with the setup.
I relubed all of the drawers with super lube, and while they are extremely rigid, they are not as smooth as my neighbors new snapon box. That being said the Vidmar drawers actually feel better once you put more weight in them, and I am sure they can take a hell of a lot more weight than a similar size snapon drawer. IMOP Vidmar / Lista really shine for parts storage, and still work very well for tool storage (especially for the price) Snapon would be my choice if I was using the drawers at a full time daily job.
wow really nice setup !!!I picked up two Vidmar cabinets for $500 total and then repainted them using a true 2K automotive paint system.
I then ordered custom foam for them and am pretty damn happy with the setup.
I relubed all of the drawers with super lube, and while they are extremely rigid, they are not as smooth as my neighbors new snapon box. That being said the Vidmar drawers actually feel better once you put more weight in them, and I am sure they can take a hell of a lot more weight than a similar size snapon drawer. IMOP Vidmar / Lista really shine for parts storage, and still work very well for tool storage (especially for the price) Snapon would be my choice if I was using the drawers at a full time daily job.
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Thanks. I'm really happy with it so far. I just need to find some of the 10 or 12 drawer taller cabinets now.
tjansson
Well-known member
I have a few Listas which are stationary without rollers. I like them for power tools, batteries, pneumatic nailers, consumables, nails, screws, parts, raw material. The dividers make organization easy and used Lista usually come with plenty. For hand tools and automotive tools I prefer mechanic type boxes on rollers. The shallow drawers and smaller footprint work better for me for working on cars, etc.
I think the Lista's really shine in the 28x28x60" tall format. I love how much I can store in a refrigerator sized space.
I worked for a injection mold component company. Their factory was 100% Lista boxes. That's where I got my expensive taste...
I think the Lista's really shine in the 28x28x60" tall format. I love how much I can store in a refrigerator sized space.
I worked for a injection mold component company. Their factory was 100% Lista boxes. That's where I got my expensive taste...
Not So Legendary
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you should check out GovPlanet they have military surplus vidmars listed recently.
This Is Beautiful.I picked up two Vidmar cabinets for $500 total and then repainted them using a true 2K automotive paint system.
I then ordered custom foam for them and am pretty damn happy with the setup.
I relubed all of the drawers with super lube, and while they are extremely rigid, they are not as smooth as my neighbors new snapon box. That being said the Vidmar drawers actually feel better once you put more weight in them, and I am sure they can take a hell of a lot more weight than a similar size snapon drawer. IMOP Vidmar / Lista really shine for parts storage, and still work very well for tool storage (especially for the price) Snapon would be my choice if I was using the drawers at a full time daily job.
CGarage
Well-known member
Do not forget Equipto brand, either. Similar to Vidmar.
CGarage
Well-known member
Well I have a 54" SO box 30" deep and my main wrenching box is 29 drawers of lista magic not including 4 other lista cabinets I use for other purposes. I like the additional depth of the snappy but didn't much care for the drawer depths, it's really suited to laying your tools flat which ***** for me. All in all I'm perfectly happy with the lista set up I built. The link in my sig is the thread, but if you aren't able to see the Photobucket stuff it doesn't do ya any good.
Just the same here is the finished product that's adjacent to my lift.
Can you please post details and pictures of your screwdriver slant rack?
Really nicely done.
CGarage
Well-known member
Beautiful, and he spent his money wisely. $500 total. It would take at least 12 TIMES that in Snap-On new retail spending to get something close in capability to what he has. Probably much more.
Im going through the same decision process. We have a ton of vista/lidmar at work (machine shop) and I really am not impressed with how they hold up. Dent easy, drawer slides arent real smooth, and the drawer gaps always get tweaked and make them look old and beat. But all I see on the web is how great they are, so I keep contemplating them. IDK! These do look quite a bit different/better than the standard cabinet they offer though (link below). its either this or a KMP1022 snapon masters series used. I cant decide.
Lista quickship Technician Carts
Lista quickship Technician Carts
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2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
I mean, that's kind of apples to oranges.
Yeah, if you have a reliable and consistant source for $500 industrial cabinets that's they way to go obviously.
I will agree it's a super nice setup. Industrial cabinets and tool box layout storage are two different things IMO. I think the brutal simplicity of the industrial models has it's own charm even against a glossy tool truck box.
CGarage
Well-known member
Garage Cabinets | Garage Storage Cabinets | NewAge Products (US)
NewAge Products garage cabinets let you organize gear, tools and supplies with modular pieces engineered to fit together perfectly. Get exactly the storage you need with premium garage cabinets, shelving, slatwall, lighting and a full line of accessories.
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Thanks C. There isn't much other then a couple pictures of the build within the thread where I built the lista set up shown here.
Building my ultimate Lista work bench
And then it was time to start on the hose reel stuff. First order of business was cleaning up the spray boom job I did a couple decades ago. I only blasted off the scaled paint and the rust. I kinda figured looks really didn't matter, but preservation did. And because I didn't want to take...
www.garagejournal.com
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Here is a version of a slant screwdriver rack that I built for my bench using ½ starboard. It has served me very well over the years. It works especially well with the PBSwiss drivers that have their ends marked.
csp
Well-known member
Not really comparable when you're talking new Snappy to used industrial cabinets.
CGarage
Well-known member
BarrelRoll
Well-known member
I just went through the hunt for a new work toolbox. I'm on the millwright/ industrial side and a lot of my stuff doesn't fit in a standard automotive 2" depth drawer unless it's laying flat and a mess. I wanted a box with a minimum of drawers less than 3" deep. I'm limited on box width at some potential future employers though nobody cares about depth or height. I looked at everything from normal Lista/ Rousseau stuff and stacking a top box to the lista automotive boxes to extreme tools and proto. I didn't really like the idea of buying an expensive bottom box and having a non matching top box. I ended up buying a KMP 1022 the snapon guy had on the truck and ordering a matching top box. The drawers on the KMP1022 are perfect for bigger tools. It only has 1 shallow drawer, I can't remember what snapon calls it, though it has dividers like a lista cabinet for organizing small stuff.
Duster346
Well-known member
![20211128_164342[1].jpg](/forum/data/attachments/1437/1437774-2e5cd3449c2ef45d4a5cd6562883e1bc.jpg)
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
Going modular seems like a brilliant idea.... as long as you never plan to move. 
-Ryan
-Ryan
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Vidmar’s are designed to be moved with a pallet jack. I’d trust that 1000x over the Snapon castors with a loaded box.Going modular seems like a brilliant idea.... as long as you never plan to move.
-Ryan