To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

What do you look for in a rollcab

N

NJHandyGuy

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
3,997
Location
Brick Nj baby
What do you look for in a roll cab?

Besides the obvious

my current unit is falling apart the slides are coming aprt welds are fatiguing and i am looking for something more industrial. i.e if i bring it to work i won't get completely humiliated (not like i give a royal rats ***).

i have noticed alot of drawer configuarions seemed to lack REALLY dep drawers but where i keep in i need height not width

waht do you look for?
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
K

Keep

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
1,398
Location
Oshawa, Ontario
When I was shopping I had to have:

At least a depth of 24 inches - This allows me to put my Hanson trays (or any other rack type system0 North/South in the drawers.
A full length top drawer with double slides. For all my sockets, ratchets.

After that I was pretty flexible. Mine will never be wheeled around the shop so once it was in place its staying.
 
M

mrholeshot

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8,043
Keep said:
When I was shopping I had to have:

At least a depth of 24 inches - This allows me to put my Hanson trays (or any other rack type system0 North/South in the drawers.
A full length top drawer with double slides. For all my sockets, ratchets.

After that I was pretty flexible. Mine will never be wheeled around the shop so once it was in place its staying.
Click to expand...

Pretty much my veiws
 
F

fordbroncodave

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
4,555
what i look for in a toolbox is how well the drawers slide. they have to be effortless to open when they are full and heavy.
the drawer also needs to withstand the side to side movement (cheap slides allow alot of slop)
i put one hand on each corner of the front of the drawer pulled all the way out and twist it right and twist it left. if its rigid then its a good box, if not then it sure as hell won't hold any weight for very long.

size of drawers is a big issue for me. they need to be deep and wide like 30" wide and 30" deep. not 24" wide and 10" deep

paint is a big issue too. a color i can stand to look at and how well it was painted.

everything i liked in a toolbox i found in my 1987 KR1000 snap on box
 
OP
N

NJHandyGuy

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
3,997
Location
Brick Nj baby
anyone know of a quality box with multiple DEEPER drawers 26" platform ball bearing secure and under $500 not loo0king at configurations with 4000 topchest drawers and not 1 usable 1
 
G

gatewaysysop

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
3,311
Location
Arizona
Well, probably not super relevant to your case, but FWIW I was looking for wide, shallow drawers to store wrenches since I have so freaking many of them. I'd rather have a wide, narrow drawer (or, on the Montezuma I bought, two of them) than multiple narrow ones. Depth is also important. Never used to think about this, but stepping up from 18" to 24" boxes is a huge improvement. I wish I could have gone 30" deep on the drawers but I didn't have the room and couldn't justify the extra expense.

I would say try to get a minimum of 24" depth on the box so you still get at least 21" of actual drawer space out of it. That's plenty for most people and a good balance. Knowing what I know now, and having a 24" box, I would never go less than 24" again.

Another thing I wanted and found in the same box was a very wide, very deep (5"+) top drawer for Hansen trays and the like. They don't need that much room, but having extra height in the top drawer is not a bad thing. I like being able to stack a couple of 1/4" drive sets in blow-molded cases up there and have room to spare on top of them, for example.
 
B

blue dog

Banned
Joined
Jul 4, 2010
Messages
4,051
Location
Culver City Ca.
I like wide drawers, i use kitchen drawer organizers for small things, like said before, able to use Hanson trays in height. 24" depth is nice. built in beer tap and licorice dispenser is a bonus and remote control so when you need to move it, all you have to do is guide it with a joystick. The self cleaning tool option is nice as well as the self loading to the correct spot for every tool after use thingamajig. Sorry, just came in from having a couple cocktails with the ladies and could not resist being a smart ***.
Buy what you can afford
 
M

mbalka

Active member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
33
Location
Crestwood,KY
Whatever brand or manufacturer you end up with make certain it has full-extend drawers. I have a Kobalt in my garage for general storage next to my Cornwell unit and the Kobalt drawers drive me absolutely nuts. You can't get to that last two or three inches of drawer when the thing is packed full.

MB
 
OP
N

NJHandyGuy

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
3,997
Location
Brick Nj baby
shampoop if i had a garage that's my first choice but because it has to go in my closet i donn't have the 40 inches i need for it
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
M

mrholeshot

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8,043
NJHandyGuy said:
anyone know of a quality box with multiple DEEPER drawers 26" platform ball bearing secure and under $500 not loo0king at configurations with 4000 topchest drawers and not 1 usable 1
Click to expand...

Look at that 26 wide US General box. I saw one and it's pretty nice. Drawers are decent depth. 349.00
 
M

mrholeshot

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8,043
Also I look for a quality build in a roll box. Beauty is important and it doesn't get much better than this

IMG_1073-2-1.jpg
 
6

61falcon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
898
Location
ohio
i bought this a few months ago to replace my plastic mac tool cart. i was a little sceptical at first as it was different from the standard cart with conventional lid. after organizing it with all my tools i use everyday, i am very happy with it. the top is a usable space compared to the standard style cart most of my co workers have. i place my lap top on it quite often when doing drivabilty work and have to connect to the cars computor network. and i paid less than that as i am a "good customer" with my local snap on distributor.

forget the link, http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=21364&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
 
C

Chris Adams

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
2,117
If a single wide box, deep drawers.
Depth of box is very important. 18 boxes hold almost nothing compared to 22-24-29 deep.

Deeper and taller drawers are the best bet. You can always put dividers in it. You can't stretch a smaller drawer...

If you get a double bank box, always try for asymmetrical, that is, one set of drawers wider than the other. The longer ones are way more useful.

Get decent slides. You will know them when you pull them out. If the box glides, it's a winner. If it drags, leave it there.

For work avoid 'cute' colors or you will get abused.

Used boxes are a lot more bang for the buck, except the HF 41 wide box. I see those used for more than list:headscrat
Avoid Vietnamese boxes.
Maybe the next crop of those will be worth using, first couple runs they are godawful.

Husky boxes range from paper thin to very decent.
Craftsman boxes range from slightly better than paper thin to excellent.

Prices are not always a reflection of quality on a tool box.
The old 'get what you pay for' is not always true.
I have seen Torin boxes, 56'' wide, 24'' deep top and bottom sell for 800 bucks new and they would handle pro work for years.
I've seen 700 bucks for Vietnamese CSPS that a ten year old kid could screw up in a week.
 
A

amolaver

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
835
M

mrholeshot

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8,043
amolaver said:
that is one of the nicest feats of craftsmanship i've ever seen - with every set of pics in the build thread, my jaw fell further. amazing work!

ahm
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. It's my first shot at woodworking and have been thrilled to death with it. I have some really nice roller bearing slides in it and it is effortless to open and close. My tools don't get any moisture on them as with a steel box. I will have to give it a coat of poly every year or two to make it look good.

I had people tell me that they didn't think it would open and close easy. I posted this for the skeptics

http://s788.photobucket.com/albums/yy166/Sapponytribe/?action=view&current=MVI_1176.mp4
 
S

scottmlew

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
1,028
I think everything I was looking for has been mentioned already, but to consolidate it into one place: 1) full extension drawers, 2) at least 24" depth with 30" being better, 3) a top drawer that can accommodate Hansen trays, 4) lots of shallow drawers since most of my tools fit in shallow drawers, 5) several very wide drawers. I went with a customized Montezuma box from STB and have been extremely pleased with it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom