Need a new garage tool box

[1995droptopz]

So I sold my monster Matco Triple Bay today after nearly 20 years of moving it from house-to-house. Finally freed up space for me to be able to park my truck in the garage, and made a few dollars in the process.

But now I need a new box, as I have all of my tools split among 5 large rubbermaid totes. I am planning to downsize to something with a smaller footprint, as I no longer need all of the tools under lock and key like I did when I worked in a shop. But I do like things organized.

I am looking at the Husky 52" 15 drawer, as it looks pretty solid and nice at around $1000, or possibly at used Snap-on entry level boxes.

But this will leave me with a bunch of specialty tools in the red boxes they come in, and I am not sure how to organize those.

Any input on tool boxes or other unique storage solutions for a lot of tools and a smaller box?

 

[Professional Tool User]

Go buy some racking or a cabinet for the specialty tools. For all the stuff you use on a regular basis, buying a 50" box sounds good.

 

[zekgb64]

I got a bunch of free and nearly free large lateral file and supply cabinets and sprayed them with Rustoleum so they matched. Later picked up a MAC MB1500 for $600 and vinyl wrapped it to match. In for all this storage for little over $1K.

 

[Gurp]

^^^^
heck of a setup for the money!

 

[javyLSU]

For home use, it’s hard to beat the Harbor Freight U.S. General line. I’ve found it’s much better quality than the Husky boxes.

 

[Parrothead]

Lateral file cabinets are a great cheap way to go. I’ve got a bunch of them and they’re fantastic.

 

[Nineeightyone]

I have a 52" Husky, I didn't pay nearly $1k for it though -- mine was $400.

If you're going to spend four figures, I'd recommend the US General Series 2 all day. My two biggest gripes with the Husky are:

#1, the massive deep drawer at the bottom, and a ton of shallow drawers in the middle. It doesn't really help my choice of organization, so I've had to do some weird stuff to make it work.

#2, the 18" depth on mine is annoying, when there are options out now that are deeper and will allow for more storage.

The HF boxes are a good deal for the money, if I were in a situation where I could buy a new toolbox I'd be taking a good hard look at US General boxes.

 

[Mr_B]

^
husky he looking at is almost 22" depth and assume it the top and bottom combo for 1K .

Some of the Husky boxes better than others .

I would look at Masterforce and Homak RS Pro for new options but first I be looking for tidy used matco 2 bay .

 

[Bryanthegreat]

The US General or Masterforce would be my choice they are built better. The Husky has a short top drawer with single slides and the casters are attached with rivnuts.

 

[Nineeightyone]

^
husky he looking at is almost 22" depth and assume it the top and bottom combo for 1K .

Some of the Husky boxes better than others .

I would look at Masterforce and Homak RS Pro for new options but first I be looking for tidy used matco 2 bay .

My bad, I didn't see the specific box in question. There are definitely some better-built Husky boxes than the one I purchased, but at the price point I wasn't going to get the features I wanted any other way (primarily drawer layout, I didn't [and still don't] have a ton of tools).

 

[thr3squared]

Check out the Husky 56" model. 24.5" deep, rolling on 6 casters. Top drawer is full length on double slides. I've had my eye on one.

 

[crewchief888]

IF I was looking for garage tool storage, i'd be looking at masterforce (menards) or HF.

i'd probably add a locker for blow molded cases.

 

[m6z]

Look at the Homak RS Pro.

https://homak.com/product-category/chests-and-cabinets/rs-pro/

 

[thr3squared]

I got a bunch of free and nearly free large lateral file and supply cabinets and sprayed them with Rustoleum so they matched. Later picked up a MAC MB1500 for $600 and vinyl wrapped it to match. In for all this storage for little over $1K.

Very nice setup! One thing I never understood- why did MAC put the long drawer on the bottom of that particular box?

 

[tomwil]

Very nice setup! One thing I never understood- why did MAC put the long drawer on the bottom of that particular box?

Weight.

That drawer would probably be the heaviest, so the lower, the better. Less chance of toppling over.

 

[thr3squared]

Weight.



That drawer would probably be the heaviest, so the lower, the better. Less chance of toppling over.

Good point, didn’t think of that.


Sent from the depths of the sea

 

[1982fxr]

Weight.

That drawer would probably be the heaviest, so the lower, the better. Less chance of toppling over.

Almost every box like that has the wide drawer on top. They don't tip over.

Someone on here once said big torque wrenches like for diesels that don't get used as much. No clue. I just know I wouldn't like that layout. After having a full width drawer on top, it's hard to think of going back.

 

[zekgb64]

Weight.

That drawer would probably be the heaviest, so the lower, the better. Less chance of toppling over.

Except the subsequent iterations after the MB1700 moved the drawer to the top without changing anything else. From what I understand this is MAC's first all ball bearing slide multi-bay box so it's possible they just didn't think a full length drawer would be valuable at the top. FWIW I have all my breaker bars, long pry bars and 1/2" torque wrenches down there, but it's not quite deep enough for many of my other tools in blow mold cases and is definitely not being used to its maximum right now. Luckily I've got plenty of other places to store stuff (for now anyway lol.)

That said, it's probably why the market for these is so soft and I was able to buy it relatively cheaply despite it being in pretty good shape.

 

[BigBoreFan]

I'd go with US General or Masterforce in that price range.

 

[jgromada]

i have the Husky 52" box . It is not flashy but represents a good value. I have been very happy with it, slides etc have been very good.

 

[ed howell]

I just picked up a used 3 bay Matco. Going to take the wheels off of it and use it as my new work bench base.