Toolbox regrets

[cunninglinguist]

Has anybody regretting buying a friction slide toolbox even if it was intended for lighter stuff?

I'm planning on buying another toolbox. I've got a roller right now but I had a chance to pick up a friction slide one and I'm not sure if I would've been happy with it.

 

[djjack]

I have bearing and friction slide boxes . I like them all. My large box needs bearings since the drawers are huge and could hold >100 lbs of tools. The smaller boxes do fine with friction slides. I do think that the quality of things like the locking mechanism, handles, wheels, and paint make a difference. Remember that for many years friction boxes were the norm. Pros used them and they held up.

 

[ampegor]

If you have a friction slide box and you take the drawers out and buff the paint off the slides and then coat the slides with a heavy grease or never-seeze the drawers will move a lot easier and you will be happier with the box. But lets face it 100 lbs in a friction slide drawer just doesn't work to well.
Andy

 

[jeepgod]

i have never had any regrets.. and i have six of them... course all but one roller box were used when i got them.. and i mean used... and i still havent regretted it.. but i am in a market for a box with wider drawers... and am looking at ball bearings... but i am not sure i want to drop that kind of coin on something that just holds my tools... i only want the wider drawers so i can put all of my wrenches into one drawer.. same with my screwdrivers and pliers...

 

[kartracer55]

I dont own any BB boxes. The reason is Im in HS, and I dont have much$$, so Id rather put good tools in a lower end box, instead of sacrificing on my tools. If you go with craftsman, Make sure you get the premiums and NOT the home owners.

Also, like djjack said, ball bearing draws have only come around recently. Pro mechanics DID get along fine without them. Some boxes (certain waterloo's anyway) have friction slides, but the main top, full width, draw is BB. Thats nice beacuse of the extended load.

Jim

 

[dink]

Frictions are just fine I feel in my book as long as your getting a good quality one.....not some cheapo were you know you only bought it because of the price and not the quality

 

[crewchief888]

Has anybody regretting buying a friction slide toolbox even if it was intended for lighter stuff?

I'm planning on buying another toolbox. I've got a roller right now but I had a chance to pick up a friction slide one and I'm not sure if I would've been happy with it.

i have one set of boxes with rollers, my 90th aniversary snap-on harley davidson editions, they've all been home boxes are were never loaded with much weight
all the rest of my boxes are friction slide, my original 1986 snapon kr550/555 combo only has BB drawer in the bottom box, it's never been replaced, ive replaced one set of friction slides about 2 years ago in a drawer that was literally FULL of pullers, puller legs, bearing splitters, slide hammers and misc puller acc.
i have 3 other sets of 26" wide boxes that vary in age from the early 70's to mid 90's and haven't replaced a slide yet.
the box i have in my service truck is a 10 year old craftsman, the box has broken and collapsed to the point where the drawers had to be pried open, we tried to lift it out, but 2 of us couldnt even budge it. i emptied it out , straightened the frame and welded in some flat stock and angle iron , and tossed it back in, still havent replaced a slide.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Wow...talk about going back in time!

 

[mkdive]

No regrets. As long as you keep the slides clean and lube them when needed...they will last a very long time IMO.

My 26" box has friction slides. I have never had a problem with them. I also have a 40" BB, that is bigger of course and its built a little stronger....but truthfully the friction slide box is my favorite....(wife bought it for me a few years ago for ).

 

[Jay H 237]

I have a 3 piece friction slide Cman set (Quiet Glide) here at home and don't regret it. Once a year I put some drops of 3 in 1 oil on the slides and it makes a big difference.

 

[APEowner]

I have boxes with both and frankly in daily use it makes absolutely no difference to me. If they're well maintained it's just not that big a deal.

 

[rsanter]

I would never buy a new toolbox without the BB slides
used on the other hand, if its a great deal

bob

 

[mikeweb]

I use silicon spray on my BB sliders and it works great, id imagine that it would be even more beneficial on friction slides.

I find that it works better then 3in1, white lithium grease, wd40, ect

 

[srmofo]

what do you plan to put in it?

my first couple of boxes were craftsman frictions.I still have them at home they still work great. My biggest complaint on friction boxes is the drawer size. it seems they are always too shallow, too narrow, or not deep enough. and once you put a quality drawer liner in it, youre really sol

 

[crewchief888]

Wow...talk about going back in time!

the last new box i bought was the craftsman box in the service truck and that was 10 years ago.. it bounced around in the back of my pickup, and in the race trailer for a couple years. during our race season the truck was in a couple different locations, and our sponsors shop was brand new, only had a welder, plasma cutter, set of torches and an air compressor in it. so i loaded up what i needed and just kept it in the truck until it was rebuilt over the winter. once the season started it got loaded in and out of the trailer, our race truck was in the owners garage, and the trasporter and trailer at the sponsors house.
i need another toolbox like a need a hole in the head, and the f#ckers are so damn expensive now, i dont want to have to takeout a 2nd mortgage to pay for it.
i'd guess if i had to have all my tools in one place, i'd probably have to get a quad bay with 2 full size lockers and possibly a top box .
i know they're an investment, but my days of really needingtools has long passed me up. if i do need something, most of my friends are forklift, heavy truck, heavy equipment, or automotive techs. somebody always has what someone else needs
and i can keep the 'fridge stocked

 

[Mickey O]

I have a couple of very old tool boxes with 4 friction slides on the large drawers and even loaded down the drawers open and close almost as nice as my boxes with bearing slides. But on my 27" wide Craftsman from the early eighties the drawers are quite a bit harder to open compared to bearing slides when loaded with sockets. I also had a newer International box (same as Proto box) with friction slides and they were fantastic.

 

[Vinko]

I'm happy with the KRA59A chest with friction slides. But I was just noticing today in fact that I think I've got two much stuff loaded in the second to the last drawer and made a note to myself to redistribute the tools.

On the KR537/557 set of boxes I have, with friction slides (or "runners" in SO lingo apparently), everything's good except the jackass who repainted the 557. A lot of work to get those things to really slide well, even with replacement slides, some of the sheet metal appears to be warped and I've got to work on that.

That said, I probably don't open and close them as much as some of you pros might.

 

[sickytwisted]

I've been trying to figure out a practical and inexpensive way to put some bearings on my friction slides. For now, grease works fine.

 

[tbmaker]

Kennedy boxes http://kennedymfg.com/KenCatrev32708.pdf the smaller boxes generally less then 34 inches in width are interchangable for reference sake *customer choice ball bearing or friction.. High quality friction work just fine although of course ball bearing will always be smoother operating but they cost more too.

Most bigger boxes 34 inches wide or up are ball bearing. One box i build uses heavy duty dual 200lb rated slides on the top drawer. *2 each side*. We also have per say a light , medium and heavy duty version of a ball bearing slide used dependent on use. As long as the track that the friction slide rides on isn't welded on you might be able to contact the manufacturer and purchase ball bearling slides. We have customers who have 20-30 year old Kennedy tool boxes that call us for replacement parts and more then likely we have them.

We use heaving weight oil on the friction slides during assembly i would compare it to 90wt gear oil. I've had friction slide boxes and i used wheel bearing or any heavy duty grease to make them slide easier. Just make sure to buy from a company preferably US that services what they sell. This applies to all things not just tools or tool boxes.

 

[Vinko]

We use heaving weight oil on the friction slides during assembly i would compare it to 90wt gear oil.

Good to know. Thanks. On friction slides, I used 3-in-1 that worked okay. And Wurth HSS but I don't think either is the best. I'm thinking heavy weight oil or lithium grease instead.

 

[c130herc]

I prefer the craftsman quite glide boxes over the non griplatch ball bearing boxes because of that annoying detent as you close it, my tools always slide forward along with the liner pad everytime I close the drawer, its causing the liner to bunch up exposing about a couple inches of metal.

 

[gumbudah]

My father in law has two friction slide snap on boxes, both are approx 20 yr old. I don't like the friction slides at all. would much rather have ballbearing drawers. Particularly a kind that could be disassembled to thoroughly clean periodically.

 

[mrholeshot]

The last toolbox I owned with Friction slides was a Snap-On 550/555 combo. I had it way overloaded. I had no issues with the friction slides. A well lubed quality slide will take some serious abuse. Never had to worry about the drawer creeping out and tipping the box over

 

[regguy1]

No Regrets here
I've had these since 1992 (used professionally until late 2009) and they're still going strong. They're Waterloo boxes with friction slides. I put Snap-On logos on them I call that prestige without the price.

 

[Bolster]

Yes. I bought friction years ago, thinking I'd never fill the drawers. Now I wish I'd bought BB as I have a lot in each drawer.

 

[Bolster]

A well lubed quality slide will take some serious abuse. Never had to worry about the drawer creeping out and tipping the box over

Holeshot what do you use to lube friction slides?

 

[mrholeshot]

Holeshot what do you use to lube friction slides?

Graphite spray.

 

[crewchief888]

The last toolbox I owned with Friction slides was a Snap-On 550/555 combo. I had it way overloaded. I had no issues with the friction slides. A well lubed quality slide will take some serious abuse. Never had to worry about the drawer creeping out and tipping the box over

+1 on the 550/555
same boxes i have, and have replaced just one set of slides, in a drawer that has ALL my pullers and adapters

 

[moparmuscle88]

i bought a friction slide box, for cheap, and hate it. now granted i have 3 times as many tools as i did when i bought it a year ago, and no money for a new box right now, but i wish i had bought a better box from the start because my box is way overloaded

 

[crewchief888]

good friction slides are good

cheap friction slides are just that cheap

 

[back2class]

I am in a snappy right now with mostly friction slides. I only use them as a hobby so I can not justify a good reason to need BB as I open each one maybe once a week these days. However, even though well oiled they are a little stiff and BB would be a hell of a lot nicer.

 

[Miter Wrench]

I have a Craftsman 26" 6 drawer top chest sitting on top of a 5 drawer roller base. They're both QuietGlide and work great for me. I contemplated getting the ball bearing but the sale prices and the acceptable quality worked for me. As a homowner DIY mechanic, I'm sure these will last for life. My only regret is the prices keep going down compared to what I paid - but what are ya going to do?

 

[Packard V8]

Bottom line, the quality of the box is more important than the slides. Some BB boxes are junk underneath:

Average size box for average use, friction slides are fine. Lube them well.

Big box, wide drawers, heavy loads, ball bearings are the way to go.

jack vines

 

[Stick Figure]

Wow thread is very old, but to add my 2¢ .....

Can anyone name a NEW box with friction slides that is worth buying? I'm not a tool box expert, but i can't think of a single one.

As far as ball bearing slides, like everyone else has said heavy items or large quantities in a single drawer ball bearings are great. My 70's area Craftsman box that holds most of my machinist type stuff is friction and slides great.

 

[tjmonsen5]

My 26inch craftsman box is friction slide, and i never had a problem with it. It might be a little annoying that you need to push the drawer in nice and straight, otherwise it gets stuck. But that isnt a very big deal.

What i noticed while emptying that box today, was that as the drawers became lighter, they felt WORSE!! The empty drawers feel extremely cheap and flimsy!! They make alot of noise, and wiggle alot. You need to fill those drawers up with tools for them to slide nicely.

 

[Rickster]

My main box is has ball bearing sliders. I have a back-up box with friction sliders that I use for the "not used as much" tools. This works out OK for me, but when I was working out of the friction shider box only it was a total pain compared to the roller version I now use.

I found the Kennedy friction sliders to be the best operating drawers of all. They seemed to operate better the more loaded down the drawer is.

 

[mrholeshot]

I have an old 50's Snap-On box I use in my little shop to hold pullers, bearing seperators, press spacers, ect. It's overloaded but still works fine. I have no problem buying friction slide quality boxes. The last new ones were KR550/555. They were nice boxes. Like said before a good friction slide is great but a cheap one is just horrible. Mac 900 series boxes have friction slides. I'll buy a set of those in a split second and they always bring decent money. The last set I sold went for 600 dollars. They were in great shape but still good money for a smaller friction slide box

 

[gilbs]

I've got an old Snap-on top box that I bought in 1985 that has friction slides, that still works fine. By contrast my KRA3700 roll cab, bought in 1999, and converted to ball bearing slides, has been less good, just had to replace the slides again (3 times now) to be fair though, it took a lot of weight, and rolling around on rough floors. I work on fork lift trucks, so lots of heavy kit. If I had to do it again I would buy a KRL roll cab, funds permitting. Not sure ball bearing slides would be so good in a Service Van either, where you often park on slopes and at odd angles.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

My regret is no full length top drawer and I should have went bigger. 72" would have been much wiser.

 

[kool_BOY8323]

regret friction slides? no. the only box i ever regret was the one i didn't pick up at the flea market for 50 bucks. i had no idea back then what snap on was...but that's another story.

i've used 80w90 gear oil on my friction slides for years. works flawlessly. arguably smoother than some of the brand new dry ball bearings i've witnessed in brand new boxes. i even lubed up my first ball bearing slides in my cart with gear oil. that was 2 years ago, and i haven't had to re-apply since.