One Big Snap On or A Few Smaller Rollcabs?

[michelin]

Has anyone on here had this dilemma:

One x KRL1033 with matching top box

or

3 x KRL1056 with matching top box

???

I think 1033 will come cheaper and full length drawers are to die for but I may be forced to give up my current place and move in a few month to a smaller shop so thought moving and organizing 3 smaller stacks would be easier?

Any of you guys use multiple identical SO rollcabs around your work/home?

Pictures would be nice.

Thanks

 

[Greg85mcss]

My old shop had all the room in the world so this is an issue I never really thought about until recently. We had a guy come in with a 1033 & hutch. We pretty much had to rearrange the whole shop to make room. Another guy had a 7022 that had to go in between bays & it was tough driving past it. That actually led me to buying a 25" deep. If you like the wide drawers what about a 1056 & a 1022 or 7022? That would probably save you some $ too.


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[Roddyo]

I've thought about this too. Just keep buying KRA boxes used.....most of the time with some tools.

 

[unslow1]

I much prefer multiple smaller boxes. You can put little used stuff in ones tucked out of the way.

 

[Packard V8]

Yes, there are a few tools which don't fit well in smaller stacks.

No, there's no one best answer.

Maybe, buy both and learn which you like. I've got several older stacks I've picked up cheap over the years. they work well in the basement shop and for specialized tools in the garage. The new tall, wide roller slide stack gets the most used tools, but the wide drawers fully loaded have several hundred pounds of inertia to open and close. A short tech would never see the top till; a really short dude couldn't use the top bank of drawers.

jack vines

 

[kwschumm]

I have an older tall snap-on cabinet and a few smaller Craftsman rollers. I have to say the smaller ones get used quite a bit more.

 

[jakemac]

Get two smaller boxes. You can put one on the right side of the bay for right-handed tools, and one on the left side of the bay for left-handed tools. You'll never get them mixed up again.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I'd probably suggest going with multiples in whatever size/color/style you want.

I say that from the perspective of working in my personal shop. When I moved in I setup a couple large "Lista Type" Cabinets next to my KRL722...all my tools are nicely put away, but it seems like I'm forever running to that end of the shop for tools. So I've started up a cart (Rubbermaid Industrial Cart) and put common stuff on it. which makes working much more easy...but I'm really thinking of getting a smaller box...something like a KRL756, slapping a worksurface on it and using it as my "Common Tools" roll cab to move around the shop closer to where I'm working.

 

[Adam.C]

If you work with a lift, it's super nice to have a base roll cab, instead of a stack. I'm happier moving base cabs more than stacks.

That said the guy on Wheeler Dealers has 4 Teng stacks surrounding his 2 post lift. Seems to work okay for him.

 

[canuckian]

why not do a larger main bottom box and a 6 drawer cart or 2? keep the most used tools in the cart(s) and everything else in the big box.

 

[PSYKO_Inc]

I'm just a DIYer, but my current setup is a 3 piece 27" stack (Proto roller, Craftsman middle and top), a 33" stack (Snap On roller, Matco chest), a separate 33" Mac top chest (looking for a bottom roller for it), a 27" Snap On road chest that I'll be using at the workbench after some repairs/paint, and a HF 4 drawer cart.

 

[rsanter]

I buy my stuff used so I am at the mercy of luck of what I find.

You need to look at what tools you have and how many.
I currently am up to 17 toolboxes and it works good for me as I have them segregated to what they are for. Three of the, have top boxes and the rest are just the bottoms.
General tools
Metric tools
Specialty tools
Engine building
Valve grinding
Clamps
Measuring instruments
Mill tooling
Lathe tooling
Etc.
this works great for me as I can push the lesser used boxes into a corner and just pull them out when needed

Bob

 

[Wamsutta]

3 x KRL1056 with matching top box

???

That would be absolutely AWESOME. 3 of those bad boys.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

Size wise, multiples will take up just about the same as a single 1033. I have a KRA2422, a KRSC246 and a Sunex cart I use and it takes up just a little more room then the 1033 the guy has next to me. I've actually thought about changing to a single 1033 also, just waiting for the right deal to come along. All the tools in one spot just is my preference. I'd keep my Sunex cart just to take to what I'm working on or in the lot if needed. I'd post pics but not at work right now.


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[GSMotorrad]

In a shop, I'd rather just have one large box. I wouldn't want to unlock 3 boxes every day, and I wouldn't be moving it around much, if at all. A larger box is more prestigious, and commands respect.

For the home, I'd probably rather have three smaller boxes, as long as I already had homes for the longer tools. I wouldn't lock/unlock them all the time, and it'd be nicer to move them around.

 

[crewchief888]

i'm in the multiple smaller boxes club.

pic is my old setup at work 18 years ago, nothing bigger than 36" wide.

that setup was disassembled over the years

and a current pic from my garage

i also have a 26" SO roller/vintage plvmb top, a "spare" vintage CM top in the basement.

CM top, lyons mid box, and a vintage mac side box in my service truck.

i even used a SO side box for the "base" of my computer desk


it's easier (for me) to rearrange, and move boxes around as needs change over the years.

 

[Ghost11]

Im all about big tool boxes but smaller boxes obviously easier to move, arrange, but also easier to sell if you need to get rid of any. Tough choice. Good luck

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Just for the hell of it I looked on the SO website at the KRL1033 and the matching top and I almost choked at the price! How much off retail do these boxes usually sell at? I could not fathom spending that much on a box. I have a Matco 8525 and a Craftsman 18" deep top and bottom next to it. As for the comment

A larger box is more prestigious, and commands respect.

your knowledge is what people will respect you for. some of the worst techs I have seen have had the largest boxes.

 

[zkling]

As for the comment your knowledge is what people will respect you for. some of the worst techs I have seen have had the largest boxes.

True, but to the unknowing customer, guess which one looks better.

 

[crewchief888]

some of the worst techs I have seen have had the largest boxes.

to some extent, thats a very very true statement.


we have one at our shop...
what a knucklehead....

 

[Holzarbeiter]

I just went from a krl722 to a ktl7023. I use a 6 drawer matco cart daily and am happy with the ktl but think a better set up (for me) would be krl7022 or 1022 with top box and a krsc46 cart.
Mobility with the krsc and plenty of storage at the main box

 

[Richard Cranium]

how much floor space do you have?, How deep can you go.

 

[countryroad82]

I like one box. Keeps more of my **** in one place therefore less going from one end of the shop to the other.

 

[michelin]

Thanks everyone for their very helpful input. I'm a DIYer not a pro. I'm doing a nut and bolt restoration on a couple of family cars in my spare time so don't 'need' the massive expensive storage. It's more of a 'want' thing. I love SO storage, having owned industrial brands like Lista and Vidmar in the past. These days I want my tool boxes on casters not static and looking good too!

Once I'm done with the restorations it will likely be a maintenance job although I was also toying with the idea of building a track purpose kit car. I do all my work myself and very rarely need to borrow a tool from a neighbor (who is a SO nut and it doesn't help LOL). Usually I just prefer to buy my own, hence why my collection of tools grew a bit above overage. By world's standards anyway, as I'm sure it will be pretty modest by this site's standards.

After giving it more thought and spending some time in the new potential unit with a tape measure, I may actually go a bit shallower as suggested above. Again thanks for that as I initially categorically rejected anything smaller than 29". So a double/triple KRL756 stack may be on the cards as well.

My SO dealer tried to tempt me with a KRL722 yesterday. Apparently they are on deal at the moment. A pair of those would work well and as they are 24" deep. That being said, I fear stuffing and organizing 2 x 54" boxes in the new place could be a hassle. I had a 54" box before and you could feel its presence in a small single garage. It was eating away all the space I had at the time.

So I'm back to square one. I will see my SO guy next week again so will crunch some numbers and see what deal I could get out of all this. My only concern is if I go 2 x 722 roll cabs, I will need to wait for a deal on top boxes which could never come and I will end up splashing more money on the whole setup.

Decisions, decision

 

[michelin]

UPDATE.

So after two months of waiting my deal is finally here. I've looked at everything from Classic to EPIQ. Liked them all for different reasons:

- Classic 96 is an excellent box with very reasonably priced accessories. For me this is its strongest point. I could easily see it being my last tool storage purchase. Start with a rollcab and a locker, then add a top box and another locker or an end cab. I particularly liked the idea it is 24" deep. Deeper than 20" Heritage but less than 29" triple bay KRL or 30" EPIQ.

- 84" triple bay EPIQ. To say I was very tempted would be an understatement. That thing was like a magnet. The fact it was roughly the same money as the 72" KRL made it even more desirable. It was a hard choice to make as being 84" wide it's be all end all kind of box for me. Doubt I'd ever look at anything else, other than just add more and more bits to it - top box, side cabs - same way as I'd do with the Classic. And while it's great to have all those options, the eye watering price of them was an ultimate deal breaker for me. Anything EPIQ is very rare to come up on ebay near me and it's usually mega money.

- 7023 KRL & 7012 locker is what I went with. I've had a 54" KRL before and even though it sold for what I paid for it, I always regretted parting with that box. I absolutely love how they look. Very clean, minimalist and not pretentious. EPIQ never managed to impress me as much as the KRL looks wise. I've read that structurally, EPIQ and KRL are the same and this, plus the more reasonable cost of accessories is what sealed the deal.

Finding the floor space will be a challenge. Even with getting rid of a workbench (which is why I didn't go with the top box for now), over 96" of cabinets in a row is a tight push. May need to split them apart. Will see!

 

[michelin]

Got the 7023 and the locker - LOVE THEM. Lockers are the best invention since sliced bread. They hold so much stuff that previously lived in the drawers! I thought I'd be out of room but I have a few empty drawers now. Want the hutch now to complete the setup. Will probably move some frequently used tools in to the hutch (wrenches at least) so that will free up even more room in the box. Great box, I'm liking it alot!

 

[a52-830]

i have been thrashing about this a lot recently. i think the choice of box really depends on how you store your tools. if you lay your wrenches flat, like i do, you want a lot of shallow drawers. if you use "racks" or "stands", you want deeper drawers.

having said that, i can't help addressing the larger issue. most vendors list their boxes with a cubic inch figure. snap on catalogs list that, and a square inch figure, which i find much more useful. it lets you know how much floor space is in your drawers. a 26" stack with a lot of shallow drawers can have more square inches than a 44" stack with deeper drawers, but the 44" will have more cubic inches, cause the drawers it does have are deeper. which is better depends on how you use the drawers.

i find that when boxes have one wide drawer across the whole box, you maximize space. you can find 40"er's with all full width drawers, but most larger boxes only have one full width drawer across the top of the bottom box. you lose a lot of space when you put those vertical posts in the middle of the box. otoh, a 68" wide drawer would be a complete pain, i would imagine, and i bet part of the reason you dont see them is that it would create a huge tipping problem.

i have done a lot of research. the end game seems to me that the sweet spot for value per linear foot of width seems to be 26" stacks. the sweet spot for space per linear foot seems to be 40" stacks with full width drawers.

that is the result of a considerable amount of research, and two spreadsheets comparing various options.

 

[Waggoner72]

Go big or go home right?

I like to have one big main box with some sort of roll around cart to get right beside whatever you are working on.
Good choice on the KRL box with the locker. Lockers are the best for all those speciality tools in blow mold boxes and any other junk you want to stack up.