Tool Chests

[mhill]

Well i finally had enough yesterday, after several replacements for various reasons i cut my losses and got the lot refunded, the Top Box wouldn't open properly and the struts would cause random closing, the 4 Draw Intermediate Box decided it wouldn't like the top draw to lock any longer and the 5 Draw Roller Cabinet decided it wouldn't like the key to function in the lock any longer.

At the moment i have a large collection of tools cluttering my work bench needing a home, no you get what you pay for and i cant afford Snap On or even the Blue Point range. The Halfords Industrial 6 Drawer Ball Bearing Cabinet with the Halfords Industrial 6 Drawer Ball Bearing Chest sounds a good idea especially with the Trade Discount is £360.98 Though i cant help but think ill have the same problem again and its got "Halfords" embossed into the top. :headhurt:

Does anyone have any views or experience with the Clarke boxes from Machine Mart or any other alternatives im missing?

[Ewan S]

Gedore stuff is good quality but pricey. Costco allegedly do nice tool boxes.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I/ve got one of the cheap Clarke ones (no ball bearings) and it's reasonably solid. Why not pop down to your local Machine Mart and try out the ball bearing ones in the shop?

[Meeja]

Topic bookmarked....

I've been wanting a decent tool chest for years, and am finally now "sorting out" the garage.

Re-roofing it in a few weeks (It has leaky corrugated panels at the mo!)

Re-wired it properly fixing the excuse for wiring that had been in there since we moved in ten years ago

Made a workbench (I did read Martin's other thread on this!) from an old kitchen worktop and some 4x4 planed timber for the legs (again, left over from the extension build.... I never chuck anything away!)

Now have the excuse to sort my tools out, and house them in a proper chest!

[magpie215]

speak to the snap on man and the mac tools man both will have secondhand boxes from when mechs have traded up to larger boxes.

[browno]

I'd second the costco recommendation - I got a 42" width CSPS branded chest from there about 2 years ago for about £380. They sometimes change the versions they've got in stock (mine's black powder-coated, but they also sometimes have a smaller stainless one), but I compared mine to the halfords options and IMO it was much more solid feeling, not to mention it was twice the size for the same price!

If you've got a branch nearby, I'd recommend a look in (you can also get some decent quality bits to fill the chest too at the same time!)

[B16JUS]

As above mint second hand snap on box, if your in essex let me know as my friend is a snap on dealer

Here is my 53" roll cab, just sold my 40" top box



J

Edited by B16JUS on Friday 16th April 19:29

[4mo]

I purchased one of these from ebay last year, got it with a 3 draw roll cabinet for £250 delivered. Very happy with it, looked at halfords and machine mart before buying , I would say the quality is much better than anything halfords had and on par with the higher spec machine mart stuff which was much more expensive.

[dirty boy]

http://www.f1tools.com/Category/7-roll-cabs.aspx

??

Saw them at the Silverstone Classic last year, quite nice.

[Sukh13]

B16JUS how much did that snap'on box set you back?

[B16JUS]

Sukh13 said:

B16JUS how much did that snap'on box set you back?

I give £1200 for it which is very good rrp is over 2k

just got to get he butchers block top for it now.

J

[Sukh13]

Wow, a lot of money. It looks good and I'm not knocking it any way, but to me its just a bunch of sheet steel bent into a box with a few nice draws and rollers?

I always wondered how these tool boxes cost so much, but they all seem to cost a lot, could someone shed some light?

[B16JUS]

Sukh13 said:

Wow, a lot of money. It looks good and I'm not knocking it any way, but to me its just a bunch of sheet steel bent into a box with a few nice draws and rollers?

I always wondered how these tool boxes cost so much, but they all seem to cost a lot, could someone shed some light?

Life time warranty is one thing ( apart from misuse ) quality of build, the roller draws etc

J

[Sukh13]

I did some serious looking into tool boxes and it seems the price is somewhat justified!
The build quality is top notch and the security is good. People seem to sit on the open drawers with no ill effect.

I was wondering, in the tool trays, do you just lay out your tools in an orderly fashion, or are there like trays you get with slots for things?

[magpie215]

The snap on box build quality is leagues away from the halfords stuff. Thicker metal, double skinned in certain areas and box section reinforcing they weigh a lot heavier for a given size box like for like.

[RegMolehusband]

These are good quality products at a sensible price and there's loads of other stuff on there too if you want to sort out your garage TOOL CHESTS

Edited by RegMolehusband on Thursday 29th April 15:34

[B16JUS]

Most good tools come with packing case etc

e.g





and yes the mrs does hate it in the spare room

while on tool boxes how about this very very very limited edition snap on 8" metal box for a custom chess set made of tools







J

[Sukh13]

Thanks for the pics

No idea what those gold things are, but they look very shiny!

[B16JUS]

Sukh13 said:

Thanks for the pics

No idea what those gold things are, but they look very shiny!

Chess set made from snap on tools ( sockets , extension bars , sparg plug sockets etc )

[Sukh13]

O right you were being serious, I thought it was a special set of tools or something!

The more I look at it I think having a nice tool chest seems like a good idea, dunno if I do enough work to warrant the outlay though.