Why are American's tool boxes so big?

[toolslut6.0]

Why are our tool boxes so big?

It's like the average American mechanic can't get by without a 54 in or bigger box. Foreigners seem to do just fine with little 26" boxes. Do American shops require its mechanics to have more tools? Are foreign shops providing more tools to its mechanics? Could it be we have a greater variety of cars, so our mechanics need more tools? What gives?

Because America is awesome. Plain and simple tools are awesome. If you put both things together you get________________________________________________
(Tools and America are awesome).

On a more serious note though, we deal with see and metric that means twice as many basic tools. Then you stack on the big **** pry bars and that takes a big drawer. Not a 26" craftsman. Also, like most people I do not like stacking tools on other tools making it hard to get too.

I would like to say America one more time. America.

 

[Dust Devil]

Merica!!! **** yeah!

 

[shocker998md]

Because the girls like a big one...wait wrong thread.

 

[toolslut6.0]

What do you guys have for boxes anyways? I just have a junky masterforce 72. Gets the job done for me though. Things been full for a while. Thinking about getting a napa slide top roll cab for pulling hydraulic pumps apart and **** like that.


America

 

[owenst7]

I can do 90% of what I need to with tools in small hand-carry bag. But getting things 90% done isn't especially popular. I'm not a pro and have limited my cars to a single brand, but it's easy to fill a full box with just a subset of the required tools. Like the thin-walled extra deep 30mm impact socket required to remove the transmission output flange. Or the narrow swivel sockets needed for the exhaust downpipe nuts. Or the several subframe bushing pullers.

I liked the comment "even bigger in Alaska".. If I had to hop on a small plane every time I needed a missing tool, I would have a huge toolbox array.

True, although I was referring to the misconception that Texans commonly have that they live in the biggest state in the Union

 

[spoon671]

You ought to last a long time with that attitude. Are you on your 3rd or 4th stint? Or is it more then that Taking a dig at another mans tools, SMH.

Give me a break buddy. :/

In my defense though, I copied that pic from a post in another thread where the quote was "a box like this". So honestly I don't even know if that is a GJ member box or not.

But anyway...

 

[crewchief888]

well, i have 2 set of tools,
one for work, i'm a const eq field mechanic
another for the garage at home.

double the tools, double the storage.

i was never a huge fan of double, triple & quad bank boxes. way too much $$ and waaayyy too heavy for me to move by myself.
i dont have any boxes wider than 36", but i have multiple boxes.
to me it's easier to arrange and store multiple smaller boxes in the space available, than to find "real estate" for a single large set of boxes.

as i've mentioned before, i can do 95% of my work with 5% of my tools,

the other 5% of work takes the other 95% of my tools...

 

[Murphy4570]

Automotive techs can get by with small boxes. It's us DIY homeowners that need big boxes and lots of them. We have to deal with:
- Automotive
- Woodworking/Carpentry
- Plumbing
- HVAC
- Electronics
- Painting
- Machining/fabrication
- Various hobbies
- Welding
- Outdoor Power Equipment
- and the list goes on and on

I've never understood why techs have big boxes and homeowners have little boxes.

Get in the trenches with us and find out. Professional techs need large boxes to handle any and all repairs on over a dozen different makes and hundreds of designs of automobiles. Those vehicles have a dozen sub sect of operating systems, all of which require their own tools to diagnose and repair effectively and correctly, in a quick and efficient manner. It isn't 1970 dude, cars are incredibly complex, and have ten times the computing power and multiplexing capabilities thn what was used in Apollo 8!!! It isn't all nuts and bolts.

 

[Ruger_556]

Get in the trenches with us and find out. Professional techs need large boxes to handle any and all repairs on over a dozen different makes and hundreds of designs of automobiles. Those vehicles have a dozen sub sect of operating systems, all of which require their own tools to diagnose and repair effectively and correctly, in a quick and efficient manner. It isn't 1970 dude, cars are incredibly complex, and have ten times the computing power and multiplexing capabilities thn what was used in Apollo 8!!! It isn't all nuts and bolts.

x2 The amount of tools it takes to do this work is a fair bit more than most think...

 

[toolslut6.0]

I've seen guys with monster tool boxes, and all they do is PDI Chevy Cruze's all day.

American tool boxes are more often just storage containers for tools, and are otherwise useless. Just my opinion of course.

Take the box below for example...what the hell do you do with this? Lol

I may be just an American idiot (not trying to quote green day) but I'd say they probably put tools in it. I guess I don't have the luxury to work on precision European equipment that doesn't require a 1 inch impact wrench or a large prybar. Oh wait I do. Lol I don't think I've worked on one lexion combine that didn't require a large prybar to persuade the machine to get its life figured out.

 

[Jarhead0408]

In defence of those with 3" space around each tool, it's hard to criticize when we don't know if they have just upgraded from a small box where the same tools were buried 3 deep. You have to have room for expansion because we all know what happens when a drawer gets overcrowded .

I gotcha man. True, we don't know if they just upgraded. True, you ABSOLUTELY need room for expansion. But I've got a feeling that some of those techs actually have a few inches between each tool, aren't really expanding tool wise, and yet decide they've run out of room. I think it relates slightly to the ego thing that a few others have mentioned.

 

[Ruger_556]

That box pictured is dumb, and that's case-in-point and why this thread even exists. Sorry if that's your box. Now can we move on?

Why do you care? You didn't spend your money on it obviously... Tools and boxes are like a guys woman or pickup truck. Someone is proud of it so don't mess with it.

 

[RedneckWelder]

That box pictured is dumb

HOW is it dumb?

By the way, it's boxes. Plural. Looks like something on the order of a 56 inch set on the left and then a narrower set on the right.

 

[ezgosparky]

Geez and I was considering buying a bigger box.

 

[243]

It's because we need both SAE and metric tools. Imagine how much all of us could've saved had we gone metric like the rest of the world?

Also, we are a consumer society. We like extra tools to make life more convenient. We could get by on less tools, but we don't want to.

Or, metric and sae were not both used on every freaking vehicle and some with the third little bassturd called metricsaexual fasteners.

 

[Farmall450]

Don't read too much into my GJ join date, snappy-boy. I've been around a while. You've got bigger fish to fry, I'm sure of it. Like, how you're going to afford your next fruity custom colored behemoth tool showcase to impress your pals? Better get on that, junior.

One month?
I'll have you know it is a sin to insult another man's tools!

 

[spoon671]

One month?

I'll have you know it is a sin to insult another man's tools!

So I've heard. Sometime's we learn the hard way..or is it just me? ;-)

 

[chris142]

i have a so kra2418 and its packed to the top.i have one large drawer thats dedicated to diagnostic stuff.another is just screwdrivers,torx drivers etc.

 

[Murphy4570]

Big toolboxes are filled with tools, plain and simple. Here's a sample:

 

[theknurl]

mine aren't so big but I have a lot of tools.....

my SO tool boxes and roll cabs are all 26", 6 counting the side box

2 wood and 1 steel machinist's tool boxes (my Grandfather's and my Father's are the wood ones)

a 4' box is under my work bench, full of sheet metal stuff, blacksmith stuff and lathe attachments probably weighs 1,000 lbs+

2 Lyon 60 drawer parts cabinets are mostly specialty tools, 40% parts

a 3'x4' Simplicity pattern cabinet has the lubes, spray guns, respirators and Plano parts boxes

the 30" cabinet next to that has all motorcycle project bike parts, parts boxes, drill chucks, lathe tooling and my Senco nailers and staplers

there is a 36" 36 hole drafting roll file for welding rod and shotgun barrels on top of my TIG machine with 1 of the SO top boxes full of welding stuff, bicycle tools and valve seat tools

there is a PEXTO stake plate full of stakes, the others are under machines

all specialty vises are under the welding table except for the engraving vise

press brake dies lean against the wall.....one of the PEXTO bead rollers is under the press brake with the big C-clamps

a shallow 26" drawer will barely fit my good tin snips.......the ones NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO TOUCH

where are my ERCO shrinker dies? in my tool box along with my CP planishing hammer dies, the machines are 2 miles away

that's in a 3 car garage with a lathe, MIG & TIG machines, Bridgeport, motorcycle air lift, 3 bikes, a 10' workbench and my washer and dryer.......


and then there is all my stuff in Mom's 4 car garage LOLOL....and yes, there are machines outside too

 

[Paulcurtis]

I've not been here for long, but I think I can offer a different perspective...

I was working full time for a monster truck team a couple of years ago. We had a custom built 54 inch box. It was a classic 78 with the top box welded to it. It was a beautiful setup, wish I had pictures of it. Anyway, we had 3 monsters(2 race trucks and a ride truck) and 2 rigs. That box had everything we needed in it. It had all the stuff for the monsters, the rigs, the jack ext... It was bolted down at the front of the trailer.
Then we also had what we called a hot box. It was one of those old taco wagons from s-o. It was just for the trucks during the show. There was a lot of overlap between the boxes, we had enough tools in the hot box to do everything to the monster except Engine work. Everything from 1/4 drive to 3/4 drive plus power tools.
The last show I did we waded up a truck during the wheelie contest, ended up having to replace the trans, 2 4 link bars, driveshaft and rear axleshafts(had to disassemble the planets and rear ring n pinion to get the shafts out. We, 4 guys, did all that in less than an hour. If we didn't have those 2 boxes full of tools, we would have been dead in the water, instead we made it back for freestyle to wad it up again. Monsterlife.

 

[HairMetal]

Companies like Gedore, Hazet or Stahlwille don't make those huge boxes.

 

[amlv20]

Because when you work at a ford dealer that takes anything through the door from a tiny fiat to a huge f750 and motor homes you are going to need a lot of tools like I did and I still borrowed tools,now I'm at a REAL truck shop and still going to need more tools.guess what I'm gonna need a bigger box!

 

[The Frisco Kid]

we need a place to keep all our guns.

ding ding!

 

[Fedwrench]

it's all of those damn blow molded cases!!!

 

[David Jackson]

Two standards, lots of new specialty sockets and tools every few years, demand to be prepared for anything and a general idea that if one set of wrenches is good then 47 sets of wrenches is great.

The truth is most of us only use one set of wrenches regularly and the rest are mostly drawer decor. In Europe a handbox with a decent set of metric tools will cover most car owners well. Toss in some Whitworth if he's driving an old British car maybe.
The pro mechanic might need a stack of boxes if he has the fancy specialty stuff but I'm told most shops that is supplied by the boss.

They don't have nor desire three drive sizes of sockets in three depths plus all the oddball specialty sockets under the sun in those three drive sizes. A basic set of standard depth metrics in one drive size in more the norm.

Try this:
Grab a handbox from the corner of the garage and dump out the bent nails and the spiders. Then place in it the things you use the most, the things you grab first for any given job leaving all the duplicate 'just in case' stuff out. One hammer, one boxed set of sockets, two wrench sets for SAE and metric. Normal sizes of allen and torx, two screwdrivers, just the common stuff. No big stuff, no rarely used specialty stuff.

I got mine to fit entirely into an old 1970's single level 1/2" socket set box. And I took it out on a few jobs, completed them with no problems.
Sure, I have more than that set back in case of the job that requires something different but its not more than another medium handbox full.

I like your idea. That is what I have done for tools I carry in my car. I have a couple more old boxes and plan to make up a couple more sets to carry in other cars. Probably won't make a real dent in my tools because the ones I will carry around will be ones I don't care about losing. Good place to make use of all the Japanese and Chinese stuff you find at yard sales.

 

[spoon671]

Because when you work at a ford dealer that takes anything through the door from a tiny fiat to a huge f750 and motor homes you are going to need a lot of tools like I did and I still borrowed tools,now I'm at a REAL truck shop and still going to need more tools.guess what I'm gonna need a bigger box!

They have cars and SUV's and RV's and although Americans will never like to admit it, they have big Diesel trucks in Germany also.

I will acknowledge though, that the American mechanic has all the SAE to deal with that the German's do not.

It's all a money grab for the corporations.

 

[Lippyp]

In the UK anyone that works on older cars needs to have both Imperial and metric tools, I have both and I'm just an amateur. As has been said, pros tend to have big toolboxes or lots of smaller ones which lets face it are easier to move about rather than something the size of the average kitchen that weighs a ton or two full up.

Home users tend to have smaller boxes, Snap-on is out of reach of most home users financially and tools are correspondingly more expensive here than in the USA, take the $ price and simply change the sign to £ so $10 becomes £10 which is a fair bit more depending on the exchange rate.

I keep most of the stuff thats in cases on a shelf not in my box and all my DIY type tools are in a bag and several plastic boxes rather than a mechanics type tool-chest. My power tools live in cases in a cupboard. I'd love a bigger tool chest but can't justify it, might have to get a mid chest next as I keep adding tools.

 

[mmack66]

Having three or five of each tool, in each color, takes up room.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

enough said?

 

[Piece-it Pete]

Howdy Hutch!

SuperSheep cardboard boxes LOL.

I'm currently putting together a junkyard box with my seconds, something grab and go. It'll be interesting to see how well (or poorly) it works.

I can see tool creep and I'm not a pro. But man, when you need a tool you need it. It's often been mentioned among my friends, after trying to make something work for a hour or more, 'this is why it takes us twice as long as a mech'.

Pete

 

[GTA Matt]

The reality is, most have zero idea how many tools it takes to do some jobs. Sockets, wrenches, metric and sae aside, there are an incredible amount of specialty tools, testers, diagnostic equipment, pullers, installers, timing chain and belt alignment tools, the list goes on and on. Now, not saying everyone with a big box 'needs' one, I've seen many that could get away with an HF44 with some organizing, but to each there own. I've also never seen anyone complain when A: I am fixing their car or B: when a co-worker is borrowing

 

[McFarmer]

Why are our tool boxes so big ?

Because our TOOLS are so big.

I'm sure someone has said this already, sorry to waste your time.

 

[Fretters]

By 'eck; six pages in and people are still being defensive and sometimes pissy. Seriously chaps, there's no need to either defend or explain your choice of box(es). You bought them because you either want or need them. It's that simple.




p.s: I still find the John Thomas theory amusing though.

 

[Fretters]

enough said?

No.

 

[greasemonkey44]

Because I can
Muhahahahha
Seriously, I'm a one man shop and a tool addict. If it makes work faster, cleaner, better I buy it. This box is a trade in; it's wonderful having so much room to find stuff.
I had a guy subbing in for me; drove him nuts. Everything is grouped by job not type.

 

[Piece-it Pete]

Sorry Fretters I couldn't resist Cheers.

Pete

 

[jb3]

I disagree with all the posters that go on about our tool boxes being bigger because our tools are bigger, but thats silly, even in jest. Makes all Americans sound foolish and unable to see beyond our noses. Makes us fit right into that preconception all these damn snooty foreigners already have about Americans. An F350 pales in comparison to a Unimog as far as bolt sizes.

Tools are tools, some of the biggest tools ive ever used were on some of the smallest rusted together POS vehicles ive worked on, and some of the smallest tools ive used on the biggest vehicles. For example, lets say you need to replace a pair of cracked exhaust manifolds on a V10 super duty F series; You need elf hands and lots of stubbly little tools.

Ive also used a 5 foot breaker bar to snap off suspension bolts on a rusted out geo tracker.


I have a smaller box, and I want a larger box because its overflowing.

I see a lot of international guys on this forum with big boxes. I think every mechanic or home mechanic around the world would love one or two of the biggest boxes available, if for any other reason than perfect organization is a beautiful thing, and space makes perfect organization a lot easier in the tool realm. The small box can always be retained and used as the mobile tool station.

IMO size of boxes has everything to do with cost and where they can be obtained, end of story. Apparently big boxes appear to be cheaper in the US and Canada, you could have fooled me from the price tag on some of the snap-on stuff, but I guess 5 grand is better than 15 grand imported. Plus there are lots of used options available from people that get themselves in hot water buying a big expensive box that they can't afford. Craigslist is full of those kinds of deals as well.

 

[Blöckw@rt]

I like big toolboxes, but whether they are really necessary !?!

 

[retfr8flyr]

The real reason is because of the Snap On and Mac Tools trucks that hit all the shops. Mechanics can get everything they want by paying a little each month. Most mechanics are tool junkies anyway and the pay as you go system is like feeding an addict.