Toolboxes? Craftsman? What else?????

[TONE]

Im looking to buy a nice size base and top chest. I dont need it crazy huge.

I think a 40" wide cabinet would work.

However, I dont know my choices.

I cant afford a $10,000 snap on box or anything like that.

I looked at craftsman and for "me" they would work.

Is there anything else comparable to craftsman quality, for the price im looking at?

I'd like to spend less than a grand...........

 

[ScaldedDog]

Did you look at the Gladiator stuff?

Mark

 

[bry@n]

Did you check Craigslist. Always deals. My snap on dealer just had a repo on the truck, for $1400. That was a kra box, three bank with a hutch and top cabinet.

 

[TheCarbideRat]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39584&highlight=kennedy+blackhawk

Kennedy 3901MP, right at about $1K, best bang for buck and made in USA I have 2 of them by the way.

 

[Stick Figure]

Did you check Craigslist. Always deals. My snap on dealer just had a repo on the truck, for $1400. That was a kra box, three bank with a hutch and top cabinet.

sounds about like the one my snap on guy had only he was trying to get $6000 still..... is your snap on guy willing to ship? lol

to the original poster ... are you planning on using this for home, or in a shop? and what version of the craftsman are you looking at for a quality comparison? the Pro and home style boxes are vastly different, at least the last ones i looked at.

 

[BigK600]

you should post this in the tool section you'd get alot more reposes.

 

[Mike83]

TONE,

Take a look at the new stainless Craftsman boxes with the clear coat on them. I looked at this in the store and it is damn nice. 40" wide and 18" deep, strong, smooth drawers and gas struts. Just about a grand in cost.

 

[pipehack]

You gotta check out the U.S. General 41" box set up. It good quality, very strong, finish is not bad. The price is right.

 

[momswgn]

Might want to check out www.strictlytoolboxes.com, they are a forum sponsor

 

[nissan_crawler]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42889

Shannon is a class act.

 

[brownbagg]

toolbox selection is bad because Snap on is the ultimate, not because they are the best but because they are the most exspensive. Their quality is close in lines to others. So you buy another brand that good but all you hear from your friends (here too) "its not a snap on, or you could of bought a snap on" "so so bought a snap on for....."

I like the old Mac boxes. Those from Lowes I cant stand, they are trying to get like snap on but are junk. why buy a $5000 box with radio and refrigerator. Kennedys are nice

Couple years ago, craftman was made by waterloo.

I have craftman, I would love a snap on, a complete loaded snap on but then I would have to keep my friends from stealing or scratching it.

maybe thats it with a craftman I dont have to worry about scratches. But then how come only mechanic use snap on. Is it a law that you cannot bring anything else in the shop.

Rich friend of mine bought a complete loaded 42 snap on from the dealer. It was 21k. I cant do that.

 

[ranunculous]

A local church has a Wednesday basement sale.
I've scored 4 of those old,hammertoned clothes cabinets that were prevalent in the 40's thru the 60's.The average interior is approx 30"x20"x 6 or 7 shelves.
Most have two doors with a center vertical divider and the cabinets are always in great shape.The most I've paid per cabinet is $7.
I have angles that I broke years ago that are used for the shelf supports and cut plywood for the shelves.The next project is to install under-cabinet lights for each shelf.
Lotsa space inside for automotive,carpentry or ? tools and supplies.
I think they look just as good as my Craftsmen red cabinets?
Inexpensive way to store....

I'll try to take and post some pics soon.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Does ANYONE make a 41" chest/cabinet that is 24" deep?

 

[TheCarbideRat]

http://www.ntxtools.com/network-tool-warehouse/ITB-92-4205.html

Does ANYONE make a 41" chest/cabinet that is 24" deep?

By the way, International has chests for this roller also and they MAY have a lighter weight/cheaper version, the version I linked is the heavy-duty.

 

[brownbagg]

that one still about $700 more than its worth

 

[TheCarbideRat]

that one still about $700 more than its worth

The International? I'm a bit surprised at this, can you point out why, thanks.

EDIT: since you have no premise as to why you conclude this box is so overpriced, you apparently are full of ****.

 

[Kevin54]

Im looking to buy a nice size base and top chest. I dont need it crazy huge.

I think a 40" wide cabinet would work.

However, I dont know my choices.

I cant afford a $10,000 snap on box or anything like that.

I looked at craftsman and for "me" they would work.

Is there anything else comparable to craftsman quality, for the price im looking at?

I'd like to spend less than a grand...........

I have two 41" MasterForce boxes from Menards and think they are great. Not SO quality, but for home and shop use, they more than serve their purpose. With the top, base, and side cabinet, I have right under $1000 in all three pieces. The only thing about them is that if you don't like Forest Green, you are out of luck. I think they are built way better than Crapsman. The drawers all have BB slides in them, and a pop out shelf in the base.

 

[sberry]

In the near future I am going to retire the old Crafty to storage, it served well for the 75$ I paid for it. I see some in the box stores that dont look that bad as was said, especially considering they are around a grand.

 

[Chris Adams]

There are some good choices mentioned here. I have a 36 wide Craftsman Industrial that is 20 deep, get good service from it. I have a 40 wide SnapOn 4114 top chest 40 wide, also 20 deep. Those are nice but unless you get a good price on them, not really worth the extra cost.

I would highly recommend a Torin if you can tolerate import boxes. I have a 42 set,
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...duct_6970_200321993_200321993&issearch=380003
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200321995_200321995

and it is a very good combo. Only 18 deep which is not the best for big tools but it is narrow enough you can use it in a regular garage. Lots of people don't have the room for a deep box, which eats up space you normally have to park a car in.

The Torin boxes are good quality, decent slides. Locks are nothing fancy, better than Craftsman standard locks but not as nice as Craftsman premium locks.

The Vietnamese boxes being sold by Costco right now are weak. Very weak. They look good but I've inspected about a dozen of them and have to say they are inferior boxes. Thin, crummy design, lousy rollers. The CSPS boxes sold by Costco over the years range from kinda cheesy to excellent. Just depends on the box you find.
I see Craftsman Stainless boxes (just the bottom) being sold pretty cheap on CL often. They may be closing those out, or changing the model because it is vendors selling the boxes.

PLUG for my CL sales;

Too bad you are not local to me, I'm selling my Torin box cheap.
Too many boxes, not enough room in the new shop for all of them, so everything 18 inch deep is on the block.
Sold a nice 5 drawer Griplatch top chest for 100 bucks yesterday, selling a complete stack of Griplatch today for about 275, like new.

pics in my classified add.

 

[Graham_E39_528i]

Snap-On cabinets are very nice. I have Craftsman cabinets which are a better value. If I could go back and repurchase I would still get the Craftsman items, but would get the ball bearing slides.

My 2c

cheers

Graham

 

[RodneyPierce]

if you have a Menards there, check out there "Master Force" brand of boxes. Some of the nicest boxes I have seen, and cant beat the price.

 

[pipehack]

if you have a Menards there, check out there "Master Force" brand of boxes. Some of the nicest boxes I have seen, and cant beat the price.

Those are nice. same quality as the HF. Just green. Nice color. nice to see something different.

 

[ihredo4]

Watch ebay and CL for Lista, Lyon, Equipto, Vidmar or Stanley. Unfortunately they typically are not portable but you can't get a better box...Especially the Lista. The one I bought is about 30"X30"x60" and I got it for less than $500. One drawer is banged up but not that big of deal for me. It either has 11 or 13 drawers all with ball bearing fully open drawers. I would love to add this one but can't afford it at this time. http://cgi.ebay.com/LISTA-VIDMAR-18...in_0?hash=item1c0cc98b71&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[jrb2]

I have to put in my vote for the US General Boxes sold by Harbor Freight. I know HF doesn't have the best reputation but these boxes can't be beat for the price. I have a bottom and upper box for hand tool storage and another bottom box for storing lathe tooling and milling cutters. I like them much better than the old Craftsman box that I had and I think they are much better than any of the newer Craftsman boxes. I specifically don't like the griplatch feature that comes with the newer roller bearing Craftsman boxes.

 

[mechamunch]

Im looking to buy a nice size base and top chest. I dont need it crazy huge.

I think a 40" wide cabinet would work.

However, I dont know my choices.

I cant afford a $10,000 snap on box or anything like that.

I looked at craftsman and for "me" they would work.

Is there anything else comparable to craftsman quality, for the price im looking at?

I'd like to spend less than a grand...........

A bunch of us were trying to win http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42225&highlight=ranger a little while ago. The winner seems pretty jazzed about it.

 

[offroader30]

I am a big fan of the Torin Tool boxes. They are great quality and they are really strong for the price. I recently bought one from Torero Industries and got a smoking deal on my box. I would check them out.
http://www.torerostore.com

 

[brownbagg]

I look at the harbor freight tool box today, it was a nice box. I played with it for about twenty minutes. It wasnt price too bad. It was still high for harbor freight but compare to snap on and other is really nice price $9000 cheaper. It might be a little thinner, paint might not be as good, but $9000 cheaper it worth it. I would hate to work in a dealership with it due to others ribbing but own shop or home it great. You could get both piece under $1000. Everybody wants a harley davidson but a honda is still a very good vehicle. this tool box is a honda.

 

[BigRed390]

A bunch of us were trying to win http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42225&highlight=ranger a little while ago. The winner seems pretty jazzed about it.

I won the floor jack from this contest, and if their toolboxes are anything like the monstrosity they sent me, GET ONE OF THESE BOXES!!!! Seems to be a great company, and the product I received was top notch. My next box will be one of theirs.

 

[sasquach]

I have the Huskey 40 in bottom and it works great just wish i would have bought the top to match

 

[lawfarm]

I second the recommendation on US General above, and recommend you search the tools forum for posts on it. I have the 41" bottom cabinet and the tall side cabinet. They go on sale frequently, and you can get an extra 20% off coupon. I've been very pleased with mine...easily as high of quality as my non-griplatch roller slide Craftsman boxes, for much less $$.

 

[Ggg]

Couple years ago, craftman was made by waterloo.

Craftsman has always been made by Waterloo, still is today.
I'll second Kennedy is a good box. I was very impressed by the write up in the link posted on Montezuma boxes.

 

[PistolWhip]

I suggest you look into Ranger Products. I actually just compared my Ranger with the US General at HF and the Ranger has it all over the USG in every way. The Ranger is great "bang for the buck," if you will.

If you click this link, you'll find my complete write up on my Ranger roller set up.

In my opinion, you can't beat the value of the Ranger. The prices are very resonable, shipping was super fast and the quality is flat out awesome. I actually had some time since posting that thread initially, to load my box up and get some use out of it and I can tell you without hesitation that I like it more and more each day. If you have any questions at all about the Ranger, feel free to ask. I'll take any measurements you need and take pics of whatever you'd like to see.

 

[tdkkart]

If the Menards Masterforce boxes were anything but GREEN I'd have one by now. I looked at them again the other day and I really like them, just can't deal with the green.

 

[gotta56forme]

The 40" Craftsman Griplatch BallBearing top & bottom combo (in black) goes on sale Sunday, 10/4 thru 10/31 for 50% off - $700. The 52" top & bottom combo (in black) in the same line is also 50% off - $1000. I believe those are Craftsman Club prices. I'm to understand that tomorrow, 10/4 is a Friends & Family 10% off event and that it is available on the sales prices, so they can be had for $630 & $900, respectively. I'm gonna snag me a 52" combo.

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

[mad57]

I bought some big file cabinets with locking cover doors and sliding interior tray from an auction i bought the whole room for $10 bucks, these are heavy and solid iam gonna paint them black and caster them should work great for all tools ,look into it design your own.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have a Craftsman 40" top and bottom box with ball bearing slides. I bought a side box to hang off bottom box. I am perfectly happy with it.

I've checked out a couple of boxes at TSC and they seem pretty decent. I actually bought a 3 drawer tool box for my chain saw stuff. I think it's the same as the one Craftsman sells. They use the name Masterhand.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/tool-storage/tool-boxes-cabinets/


What ever you buy, I think you'd better off with atleast getting ball bearing slides.