What consitutes a good quality tool box or chest?

[mahkeetah]

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I am looking to buy a toolbox for my small home shop-not a commercial venture.

My wife will probably kick me out if I spent 6500 on a Snap On box, so I am looking for something high quality but not obscenely priced. What should I be looking for when shopping around? I noticed some boxes making mention of ball bearing slides and then have seen products with 'bearing slides'. Which is better?

So far the best option I've seen for a small tool chest is the KTC EKR-1004 and maybe the new funky looking one from Nepros.

Any ideas?

 

[mcj115]

I don't think there is a universal answer! How do you plan to use the box? what do you plan to keep in it? If you are keeping tools that don't weigh much then a good old box with friction slides may do well. If you keep your drawers filled with 3/4 drive sockets and wheel it around your garage normally then you want/need slides with bearings and locking drawers with heavy duty casters.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Are you trying to start fights?

But I will double down on what mcj115 said. It is largely subjective. Does it do what you need it to do? I have a Harbor Freight box and am quite happy with it, but it might not be the right choice for someone else.

Ball bearing slides seem to be the norm now for even fairly low end boxes like mine. I don't know what the difference between "ball bearing slides" and "bearing slides" might be unless some use roller bearings or some other kind of bearing. Some older boxes didn't use any bearings at all and could get really stiff when full. People that may need to move their boxes fairly often want their boxes made out of pretty thick steel. Others that will put a box in place and not need to move it for a decade think spending the money for that is overkill. It all depends on how you are going to use it.

 

[65ranchero]

Did you look at CL, EB, FB take your time and wait sometimes a good box comes up and the owner is desperate.

 

[RTM]

Also think hard about what you are going to put in them. Most standard tool boxes aren't worth much for woodworking tools, as most of the drawers are too small.

Then think about where you will put it, and how you plan to use it. Home repair work, auto repair, electronics repair, separate workbench, or working on top of the box

Way too many variables for us to tell you what to buy.

 

[89MustangGX]

What is your location? The ones you mention seem out of the norm for most of us on here. That will make a difference as well.

One thing I will say (on top of what everyone else said), if this is truly your first box, I would expect that no matter what you pick - once you start using it you will inevitably want something deeper or wider or with a different drawer configuration, etc. My recommendation is to start relatively inexpensive and try to figure out what you really need/want once you actually start using a box. Then, go shopping for the dream when you've got a better idea.

 

[619DioFan]

If you have a harbor freight near you go there and look at the us general line, pick one that fits your needs, they are very good boxes and priced well.

 

[FMB4]

Ya. HF or a used name brand box at good price.

 

[seber]

The first thing to look at is does it fit your need. Once you have a basic size determined you can look at weight. More weight means heavier guage and or better construction. The number and placement of welds is important but virtually impossible to determine. Ball bearing slides are nice but light duty ones are worse than plain slides.

 

[midorix]

Everyone already gave really good advices so I won’t repeat. One additional advice is once you figure out size you think you need, double that size because you’re hanging around here at GJ forum.

And…Costco is another good place to check.

 

[Dave455]

Well, you don’t have to spend $6500 to buy a Snap On box, especially if it’s a smaller one.

If a smaller box is all you need, how about a Kennedy. Although they are known for their Machinists chests, they make Mechanics boxes too. Decent quality, and made in the U.S.A

If that’s still too rich then the KTC probably isn’t bad, but generally you get poorer value for money, the further a product has to travel.

By all means have a think about what you need, but remember that if you buy a small box and you outgrow it, you can always add another. Easier in a home shop than if you’re a pro mechanic and want to keep everything, including pots of grease and aerosols, in one big box!

U.S. General were mentioned above. I know they’re made in China. I know they’re not Snap On quality, but they’re not total rubbish either, and this one is a lot of box for $230.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

Drawers, drawers, and more drawers. That’s the biggest thing you should focus on. What tools do you have, what tools do you plan to get, and how are you going to place them are what you need to have at the forefront of your mind while you shop. I’ve got cheap boxes that have lots of tall drawers at the house for all my cases and power tools but at work I went the opposite and have tons of small drawers for all my tiny hand tools.

 

[Shelbylex]

Mahkeetah, try to give us an approximate idea how extensive is your tool collection/planned tool collection and how much space do you need. If you are not completely OCD, would a used tool box work? Do you want it sparkling new or you do not care about some scratches and rust?
Options:
1. Buy several bottom, mid and top boxes (buy one at a time). This will give you flexibility to move things around.
2. Buy a larger box if you want a long drawer box

I would recommend buying used but higher quality - Snap On, MAC. If you have time to wait and look, you will find good deals. If you are not professional and are not planning to open and close drawers all day long, friction slides might work OK.

Example: this is my basement set up for now (just had it on my phone, sorry for bad picture)

Left: Kennedy bottom - $20, Snap On KR-58B above $25;
Right: Snap ON K200 - $275 (I just really wanted this one as one day I dream to have K60/200 combo), Snap On K420 $25, Snap On K-56 $40
NB you can get much cheaper SO bottom boxes. I could not bring Snap On KRA-300 from 60s with full set of drawers recently from my trip to CA in January for only $300NB for the ones who remember my posts and see some slight price discrepancies - in out garage sale threads I include money I spent on gas if I pick the item further than 5 miles away from home...)

 

[MushCreek]

My work tool chest is a 44" HF I bought about 20 years ago. I was a tool and die maker, and the drawers were full of lots of solid tool steel- much more weight than a mechanic would put in it. I also had a 150 lb. Granite surface plate on top. It works as well today as when it was new. I replaced my old Kennedy (non-roller drawers) with it. The Kennedy was so bad that it would move when you tried to open the drawers. I gave it away. I have 4 HF boxes- two 44" chests, a 5 drawer service cart, and a top chest to go on one of the 44's. They simply work.

 

[VolvoRyan]

The Catch-22 is that unless you already have a tool box, you don't know what you like and don't like. If you're in and out of the box often, some of the niggles can drive you mad. In other words, don't buy a crazy expensive tool box.

Go pull drawers at the home improvement shops and HF. The boxes that HF sells are very much with the current fashion for mechanic-ing.

-Ryan

 

[bcschief]

In 2002 I bought a brand new 41-inch Craftsman top and bottom box almost as soon as I got it, I regretted buying it should have kept my old 70s and 80s red and black 12 drawer top and bottom Craftsman set the new set was so flimsy compared with the old ones. A severe case of buyer remorse.

 

[Rinspeed]

In my opinion the main difference is how well the drawers hold up to the weight over time.

 

[redm18]

I have a 26 inch top and bottom 70s era waterloo made craftsman box I inherited from my grandfather, and a 44 inch top and bottom us general box from harbor freight. If I had to only keep one it would be the craftsman but that's just because of the sentimental value. The US General Boxes are really nice for hobby use. I also have some 4 foot or so lateral files I got used from the insurance company I work for that I use in the garage to store my hand held power tools and various other garage ****. I think I only paid like 10 buck a piece for those.

 

[bobg03]

Are you buying a tool box for the "look at me factor". There is no way in a non professional environment that I would ever spend snap on money for a box unless I lived in it or made $$$$ using it.
For the bang and less $$$, I would pick a US general that worked. You can add more later or if your ego requires you to obtain a snap on later the USG is an easy sell.

Everybody says buy a good used box, in some areas used boxes are a rarity, and if you find one it's usually close to new $$$

I had friends that only could be seen on a Harley, I had 2 myself. When the time came to ride with the LOOK-AT my Harley crowd I always showed up on my Triumph or Older Yamaha...drove them nuts.

 

[Rinspeed]

Everybody says buy a good used box, in some areas used boxes are a rarity, and if you find one it's usually close to new $$$

I paid 25% of new value for my SO and it was in very good condition.

 

[Bockscar]

Are you buying a tool box for the "look at me factor". There is no way in a non professional environment that I would ever spend snap on money for a box unless I lived in it or made $$$$ using it.
For the bang and less $$$, I would pick a US general that worked. You can add more later or if your ego requires you to obtain a snap on later the USG is an easy sell.

Everybody says buy a good used box, in some areas used boxes are a rarity, and if you find one it's usually close to new $$$

I had friends that only could be seen on a Harley, I had 2 myself. When the time came to ride with the LOOK-AT my Harley crowd I always showed up on my Triumph or Older Yamaha...drove them nuts.

I had a 64' Triumph Bonneville and rode with a lot of Harley guys from casual riders to hard-core riders and not a one gave me **** about it usually they was always asking questions about it.....Hell Fronzie rode a Triumph so its gotta be cool

 

[Steve_P]

What is your location? The ones you mention seem out of the norm for most of us on here. That will make a difference as well.

This. Based on his choices, it doesn't seem like he's in the US; so most of the recommendations here are not going to help. No sense giving him ideas until we know where he's at

 

[WagonHo!]

Go with vintage, the search, restoration and collection is gratifying (and addictive).
Really all told $6500 spent will not be obvious to your wife at all so no problemo.

 

[mrvm]

Good strong drawers and slides. Drawer configuration is also paramount if you want good tool organization. Hang out at places like the GJ and the first box will never be big enough and may become the auxiliary box when you buy a bigger one. Rinse & repeat

 

[username2]

Since the apocryphal super-cheap Snap-on box will never show up on Craigslist (you can trust me on this), I'd go one of three directions.

. Harbor Freight. They're fine.
. Non-tool boxes if you're doing this on the cheap (lateral file cabinets, map cabinet)
. Really cool vintage stuff, typically smaller/portable. Old Kennedy, Plomb, Craftsman, Proto, etc. I've picked up a lot of them at the local ReStore Habitat for Humanity outlet mall. Put on hotrod stickers or pinstripe them if you feel the need.

I've become a big fan of hand boxes as I noticed that I use 10% of the stuff 90% of the time and since it's useful to move the tools near the work.

I appreciate the expensive tool chests but would rather buy more geegaws to put into one (or more car stuff).

 

[MongoTA]

You want a box that rolls well and that rotates/spins around on its wheels easily. Some guys prefer two fixed casters and two swivel, others prefer all four to swivel. I prefer 2 and 2.

Drawers, you want them to pull out easily and slide back in easily. I'm not overly bitchy about this, I have ball bearing slides on some and basic friction slides on others (on some my Kennedy boxes). As long as the slide goes in and out I'm good. I don't need soft close, I don't need it to lock in or out. I just need it to function.

Drawers. Slide one out and put the palm of your hand in the middle of the drawer bottom and press down. Steady? Clink clank clunk?

Drawer depth. This is important. Shallow drawers are fine, but you do want varying depths for what you'll store in them. If you already own socket trays, the socket holding geometry itself might define what drawer depth you need. If you don't have socket trays, then the drawer depth can define what type of tray you need.

I have several Kennedy rolling boxes that I've picked up on FB Marketplace or at auctions. They're great for me. I don't need shiny. But I do need functional. And being $100 for each stacked set of rolling boxes in the photo below? Me like. The one on its own wheels was in pretty good shape when I brought it home. The one on the furniture dolly came without wheels and must have been in standing water, it had some surface rust on the bottom. Cleaned that up and primed it. DUN. When I bring them home I take the drawers out, then take the slides out. I'll clean up the box, clean and relube the friction slides, then put them back together again. They'll be good for the rest of my lifetime.

Style-wise, there's nothing wrong with caring about what you care for, or wanting what you want because it's simply what you want. You want a shiny box get one. You want it to color coordinate with your car, get one that does. You just want one that works, then get one that simply works.

But you want sturdy. You want functionality. Still, give yourself some grace in the selection process. You think you need four boxes to hold your tools? Then get one. Load it up and use it. If you like it, then get three more. If you hate it, sell it, donate it, or put it in your basement and start again. Or just become eclectic with a mix and match set of boxes.

Good luck with your search.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

You want a box that rolls well and that rotates/spins around on its wheels easily. Some guys prefer two fixed casters and two swivel, others prefer all four to swivel. I prefer 2 and 2.

Drawers, you want them to pull out easily and slide back in easily. I'm not overly bitchy about this, I have ball bearing slides on some and basic friction slides on others (on some my Kennedy boxes). As long as the slide goes in and out I'm good. I don't need soft close, I don't need it to lock in or out. I just need it to function.

Drawers. Slide one out and put the palm of your hand in the middle of the drawer bottom and press down. Steady? Clink clank clunk?

Drawer depth. This is important. Shallow drawers are fine, but you do want varying depths for what you'll store in them. If you already own socket trays, the socket holding geometry itself might define what drawer depth you need. If you don't have socket trays, then the drawer depth can define what type of tray you need.

I have several Kennedy rolling boxes that I've picked up on FB Marketplace or at auctions. They're great for me. I don't need shiny. But I do need functional. And being $100 for each stacked set of rolling boxes in the photo below? Me like. The one on its own wheels was in pretty good shape when I brought it home. The one on the furniture dolly came without wheels and must have been in standing water, it had some surface rust on the bottom. Cleaned that up and primed it. DUN. When I bring them home I take the drawers out, then take the slides out. I'll clean up the box, clean and relube the friction slides, then put them back together again. They'll be good for the rest of my lifetime.

Style-wise, there's nothing wrong with caring about what you care for, or wanting what you want because it's simply what you want. You want a shiny box get one. You want it to color coordinate with your car, get one that does. You just want one that works, then get one that simply works.

But you want sturdy. You want functionality. Still, give yourself some grace in the selection process. You think you need four boxes to hold your tools? Then get one. Load it up and use it. If you like it, then get three more. If you hate it, sell it, donate it, or put it in your basement and start again. Or just become eclectic with a mix and match set of boxes.

Good luck with your search.

I love Kennedy. I’ve been using my meant for the house Craftsman at work until I could purchase a Kennedy. I could never find a decent one used so I bought new. The machinist chest was perfect but the roller has issues. Luckily Kennedy’s customer service is outstanding and they’ve been helping me get the parts to fix it under warranty. I love the brown because it’s about the only thing that doesn’t look filthy after a few months in the shop. Used Kennedy carry boxes are all over marketplace and the like for dirt cheap.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I love Kennedy. I’ve been using my meant for the house Craftsman at work until I could purchase a Kennedy. I could never find a decent one used so I bought new. The machinist chest was perfect but the roller has issues. Luckily Kennedy’s customer service is outstanding and they’ve been helping me get the parts to fix it under warranty. I love the brown because it’s about the only thing that doesn’t look filthy after a few months in the shop. Used Kennedy carry boxes are all over marketplace and the like for dirt cheap.

I found for Kennedy rolling tool boxes with friction slides, the best two things I found to to improve them were:

1) Replace the factory casters with quality 5" x 1.25" casters. I used Colson casters on one box and it were much easier to move around than before.

2) Slide lubrication. I removed all the slides and cleaned off all the old hardened grease. Then I rubbed the slides with a block of paraffin wax (Snap-on recommended this in their maintenance manual) and reassembled. A major improvement is ease of opening the drawers.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

I found for Kennedy rolling tool boxes with friction slides, the best two things I found to to improve them were:

1) Replace the factory casters with quality 5" x 1.25" casters. I used Colson casters on one box and it were much easier to move around than before.

2) Slide lubrication. I removed all the slides and cleaned off all the old hardened grease. Then I rubbed the slides with a block of paraffin wax (Snap-on recommended this in their maintenance manual) and reassembled. A major improvement is ease of opening the drawers.

Did you keep two swivel casters and two rigid or did you change out the casters to all swivel? I’m going to try the wax idea too, but is that a one time deal or should I do it annually?

 

[tool_scrounge]

Did you keep two swivel casters and two rigid or did you change out the casters to all swivel? I’m going to try the wax idea too, but is that a one time deal or should I do it annually?

2 fixed, 2 swiveling. 4 swiveling is hard to roll straight.

I bought a brick of parafin wax used for canning. It lasts a long time. How often you need to reapply depends on drawer loads. But less frequently than yearly.

 

[RancherRob]

Are you buying a tool box for the "look at me factor".

Some of us just appreciate and are willing to pay the extra for quality. It's not necessarily to show off. I live out in the country and rarely have anyone over outside of immediate family so don't show off my tools. I'm getting old and tired and crotchety and impatient and don't have the energy to mess around with lower quality stuff that tends to break/bend/rust more. When you bump hard into a 14 ga drawer it isn't going to warp and dent like the 18 or 20 ga drawers will. I just want something that works the first time and stays working (which is surprisingly hard to find these days). I can't keep up with maintenance on the good quality stuff much less the cheap things.

 

[richfinn]

This is a necro-thread!!!

But heavy gauge steel, good hardware quality, decent paint job are the obvious things. Then you want a layout that works for you, if I had my time again I would go for a Tekton with all full width drawers and a stainless steel worktop.

Very traditional style, no flip tops or small drawers for me thanks