Tool Cabinets

[Colorspaced]

Any suggestions on the best brand of tool cabinets to buy ( and not to buy) on a limited budget? Currently I have a classic Craftsman cabinet and top chest but I need more space. I see Harbor Frieght, Home Depot, etc out there and am curious if anyone has compared them. Naturally brands like Lista, SnapOn, etc are out of my reach financially.
Thanks.

 

[Colin Len]

On a budget you're gonna be hard pressed to beat the Harbor Freight stuff. You can get some Craftsman, Husky...etc for a little cheaper but the quality won't be as good as the US General stuff from HF. So at that point it depends on if you need it for light or heavy duty use.

Do some searches, there's lots of talk comparing the HF boxes to the other stuff on the market. I personally don't see any reason to opt for anything other than the HF boxes except:
- If you're rich, go with Lista/Vidmar or other high end stuff
- If you have some Home Depot gift cards or only need light duty, then look at the Husky stuff

 

[smttysmth02gt]

I like the gladiator stuff but it's pricey. I have never checked out the HF stuff. The Lista/Vidmar deal is they are great quality but I can't believe how expensive they are. I will never buy any for that reason.

 

[Colorspaced]

Didn't know that the HF boxers were considered better than the Craftsman. I do need somewhat heavy duty any my Craftsman box doesn't roll very well.
Really appreciate the input!!

 

[zkling]

HF44", best sub $500 box new.

 

[smttysmth02gt]

Maybe I thought you mean just cabinets really....if you're talking tool boxes then U.S. General (HF) is pretty good for the $. I went with that after searching around and found that their prices could not be beat.

 

[Colorspaced]

I knew I came to the right place.
Thanks all.

 

[Colin Len]

Didn't know that the HF boxers were considered better than the Craftsman. I do need somewhat heavy duty any my Craftsman box doesn't roll very well.
Really appreciate the input!!

Old Craftsman stuff is pretty nice and possibly some of the high end newer stuff as well, but most of the stuff they offer now is cheap. I was blown away years ago when I was looking at boxes at Sears and everything in the low/med price range was complete ****. I was used to the basic Crafstman stuff my dad had when I was growing up that was nice, which this stuff was not. I ended up buying the black 4-drawer tool car from HF and couldn't be happier. For the $110 I paid it's twice the quality and strength of anything from Craftsman at twice the price even. Since then I've bought another 4-drawer cart which I hacked up and added to my original to make it an 8 drawer rolling box and I picked up a 44" roller box from them as well.

 

[67carl]

Everything you wanted to know about the available options and more:

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153445

 

[crewchief888]

HF44", best sub $500 box new.

agreed


if i needed a toolbox for the garage (i dont)

was on a limited budget (i always am)

i'd be on my way to HF to pick one up.


i'm kinda a toolbox snob,
all thats i my garage are snapon boxes...

 

[why worry]

Harbor Freight 44" box is on sale for 389 this month, tough to beat.

 

[gregpack]

Harbor Freight 44" box is on sale for 389 this month, tough to beat.

I believe they will also let you use a 20% off coupons, making the price very attractive.

 

[cabin fever]

I have the HF 44" box, and can't say anything bad about it. I bought it to take to the track (son races go karts) but found out quickly its to dam heavy to push in and out of the trailer loaded up.

So I went back to HF, and bought the smaller 5 drawer one (with the top that lifts up). I also bought the 18" side attachment for my 44".

All 3 pieces are well built, and much better then the last P.O.S. craftsman box I had that cost about the same.

also I think if you read the fine print on the coupons, it says its not valid for tool storage.

 

[megalo]

Right - you can't use 20% off coupons on any tool storage unless you luck out with a cashier that doesn't care.

 

[Trey T]

A very good tool chest is the HF 44". However, if you like deep drawers, step up to Gladiator.

Home Depot sell the 52" combo for $600. It's still a very good tool cabinet for most home owners.

 

[LXCam]

Also check out Saber. That's if your looking for a cabinet verses a box. Btw, General from HF gets a vote here too, it's really a impressive value all things considered.

 

[VolatileBeans]

You can set up a custom RSS feed of your local craigslist to search for popular tool box brands and will email you/alert you to any new listings. "Kennedy tool box" "vidmar" etc. are all good serach topics.