Tool chest wanted, snap-on, halfords industrial/pro......

Tool chest wanted, snap-on, halfords industrial/pro......

Author
Discussion

ROB_GTR

Original Poster:

1,818 posts

224 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Looking at getting a tool chest / cabinet in the near future, It will be used pretty lightly.

Are the snap-on ones worth the 400% hike on others of similar design, looks etc?

The halfords pro / industrial ones look pretty good and you get the top chest free when you buy the cabinet so total cost is £350 for the industrial or £250 for the pro and both look alright TBH.

I would take a second hand one if it was in good condition and a reasonable price.

A friend of mine has a snap-on limited edition jobbie and he is currently selling it for £3000!!!!!! Apparently it was £6000 new and only has slight cosmetic damage

ColinM50

2,630 posts

174 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Well Snap-On is THE brand to have and all professional mechs will have one. Used exclusively by aircraft techs and mechs and a lot of good car mechs have them too. But they're using them every day and a good box is worth it's weight. I know several aircraft mechs who's toolboxes are worth over £20k and cost a fortune to move from job to job. insurance costs are a pita too.

The Halfords ones are OK as a general tool box and if you're only going to use the box occasionally it's be OK. Also have a look at Clarkes or Tool Station, their's are OK too and a decent price.

Major differences you'll find are things like ball bearing runners on the drawers as against just simple plain sliders. If you use it a lot, the bb's are worth having, otherwise????? Also thickness and quuality of the steel frame etc

In your case, how often will you use it and is it worth paying the extra for the quality and name?

Like most things in life though, it comes down to yer pays yer money and takes your chances. You do get what you pay for.

furtive

4,498 posts

278 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Plenty of options on the Big Dug website for much more reasonable money:

http://www.bigdug.co.uk/search/tool-cabinet

spikeyhead

17,222 posts

196 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Unless I want to move the stuff regularly, I'd rather just put up boards on the garage wall and hang everything from nails or Terry clips. Far easier to see at a glance what I want rather than trying to remember which draw it's in.

singlecoil

33,307 posts

245 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
The Halfords box I have has ball bearing runners, and has proved entirely adequate of non-everyday use. I daresay the Snap-On boxes are better, but never was there a better example of the law of diminishing returns.

pidsy

7,958 posts

156 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
yours for just $24k


Justin Cyder

12,624 posts

148 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Just to bring everything down to the lowest common denominator for a moment, I bought one of these from B&Q for £20 last week. For the price & a reasonable quantity of hand tools, I'm delighted. I'm stuck for space & don't have a garage, so wheeling this in & out as required works for me.

Obviously not in the same league as the way some of you gents are thinking, but it'll do for now.


MDT

455 posts

171 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
I did a fair bit of hunting about this time last year to look for a tool chest. sick to death of not being able to find the right tool etc.

The Halfords stuff to my mind felt quite cheap and light.

I went for this http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...

My thinking behind it was.
far deeper than most of the tool chests available.
felt well built (just under 60kg empty)
could buy the bottom chest once this was full (it is full now)


moustachebandit

1,264 posts

142 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
The Clarke top boxes and roller cabs at Machine Mart are also very good and reasonably priced. Had mine for around 5 years now and its used regularly and has worn very well.

alock

4,224 posts

210 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
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I've been very happy with the Clarke HD Plus. Look out for the VAT free days from Machine Mart for 20% off.


pidsy

7,958 posts

156 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Perhaps my last offering wasn't quite for you OP, in all seriousness, if you or a friend are members at costco, theyve git lovely roller cabinets with solid wooden tops for around £279.00

Quality bits of kit too. Full bearing drawers included.

G600

1,479 posts

186 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
ColinM50 said:
Well Snap-On is THE brand to have and all professional mechs will have one. Used exclusively by aircraft techs and mechs.
Not where I work, probably 60% of them are snap on, the rest are halfords pro (what I've got) Clarke pro (or hd I can't rember) or Costco.

AndrewEH1

4,917 posts

152 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
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I've got a Teng Tools top box and roller and it is holding up pretty well. Not everyday use though.

Mark Benson

7,498 posts

268 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
singlecoil said:
The Halfords box I have has ball bearing runners, and has proved entirely adequate of non-everyday use. I daresay the Snap-On boxes are better, but never was there a better example of the law of diminishing returns.
100% agreed.

ARH

1,222 posts

238 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
spikeyhead said:
Unless I want to move the stuff regularly, I'd rather just put up boards on the garage wall and hang everything from nails or Terry clips. Far easier to see at a glance what I want rather than trying to remember which draw it's in.
2 sheets of plywood and a box of nails £15 and everything has its place. nothing is on top of anything else. takes up no floor space. I would much rather have it like this.



mph1977

12,467 posts

167 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
a lot of it depends on what you are doing and how often

- nails on the wall is great if you only ever do stuff in your shed / garage/ own workshop
or you work somewhere that supplies all the tools

- the big roll cabinets are generally for people who work somewhere,for someone, but have their own tools and/or might be required to lug most of their tools around a plant / site ( but even then they've probably got a little box / bag they decant into or have duplicates of the common stuff in ...

i don;t have a 'tools' job, neither do I do a huge amount of DIY but i've still got 2 * 24 in tool boxes, a collection of various saws and a smaller tool box with electrical bits and spare cables in ( scart / aerial/ cat 5 patch leads / usb ) etc, plus a 'recovery' box in the car with tow strap / rope , a light line , little hatchet thing, tree saw and crow bar as well as a screw driver fuses and bulbs)

AndrewEH1

4,917 posts

152 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
ARH said:
2 sheets of plywood and a box of nails £15 and everything has its place. nothing is on top of anything else. takes up no floor space. I would much rather have it like this.


Great if you've got the space!

ROB_GTR

Original Poster:

1,818 posts

224 months

Tuesday 16th October 2012
quotequote all
Cheers everyone. The Clarke hd seems pretty good too!

I have the space for the boards but I'm not keen really, I like a tool chest & cab to store them in really.

So I reckon it's between the Clarke and halfrauds ones so far smile

Mk1UTRich

60 posts

145 months

Wednesday 17th October 2012
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I got the Halfords Industrial top box and roller cab combo and have been very happy with it for the price.

It's fixable...

468 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th October 2012
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Another vote (considering ease of use) for shadow boards here. For security I have another board (with stiffened edges to stop it being prised up) that hooks over the top and padlocks at the bottom.

I also have a top and bottom box (Sealey American Pro) and two large roll chests (6' x 3' x 4') with flip top worktops and trays in (home made from old packing cases).

I don't use my tools for a living any more but like the ease of access of boards at home and can easily load out the top box or a heavy duty bag with a selection of tools to take to a workface in the house / garden or further afield.

A fully loaded top box will give you a hernia if you need to move it any distance, even a few metres (says he remembering taking it down to the van in the morning from his third floor flat and back again in the evening).

Whatever provision for tool storage you make at the beginning of your journey will be overwhelmed time and again as the years pass by. I started out with a cantilever box from Woolworths as a teenager and could now do with another of the home made roll chests.