Recommend me a good quality tool cabinet

[HOGEPH]

My nephew has started out as an apprentice mechanic, so I thought I'd treat him to a decent professional quality tool cabinet.

How does the Halfords Professional range compare to the likes of Clarke, Draper, Sealey, etc?

Looking for a solid cabinet with ball bearing drawer runners.

He won't be getting a Snap-On cabinet from me!

[Mojooo]

Guy at work has a son who was a mechanic but has moved jobs, he was trying to sell a limited edition england (football, i think) snap on tool cabinent.

due to the size of it he and how specialist it was he was having trouble shifting it - not sure if he ever did get rid of it.

i will ask on monday but i imagine it would be going for a lot less than retail

he is based in hampshire though - so u would need to be nearby to pick up.

[B16JUS]

how much do you want to spend ?

tbh nothing will touch snap on for tool box's

ring up the local dealer will have some part ex boxs cheap a they recently had special offers on

if your in essex i can give you my dealers number as i know he has a few

J

Edited by B16JUS on Saturday 12th December 21:44

[dogbucket]

I actually think the halfords pro range boxes are pretty good. The top box is full depth so the drawers are a better size. Some of those you mention are shallower so not like that. Halfords often do deals on buying both top box and roller cab (even bogof) so might be worth waiting for a deal to come up.

Of course being branded Halfords he will be under pressure from the other mechs to upgrade and the snap-on man will there offering finance on a 4k snap-on box!

[Getragdogleg]

If he is in a garage of any size with other mechs he will soon want a Snap-on box, I did, i started with a simple box but after a while I wanted a big shiny box.

The pay on the drip is good if the dealer does a local credit, mine has let me pay for stuff over time and i did not take out a snap-on credit arrangement, they will bite you on the ass with interest.

You could try ebay, snap-boxs come up all the time. I found that with other tools/boxes they dont take the daily knocks as well.

[Extra 300 Driver]

I am not sure what he will be doing but it is best to start with a top chest, then as his tool collection grows he can then add a roll cab and other bits. When I was learning my skills I went straight out and got the whole shooting match from the off. It was ok but took me a while to get enough tools to fill it, and while it looked ok it was a pain to move about the hangar.

I have recently got one of these and while this may be overkill for you the guy selling them had lots of others which will be ok for him. Having had Snap-on and Halfords I can say that tese are as good as Snap-on at a fraction of the price.

I have nothing to do with him, just think they are good value for money

Edited by Extra 300 Driver on Saturday 12th December 22:26

[Getragdogleg]

the USpro one looks excellent, mobile work bench and box rolled into one.

I fancy one now ! as well as my existing box !

[Rollcage]

Getragdogleg said:

the USpro one looks excellent, mobile work bench and box rolled into one.

I fancy one now ! as well as my existing box !

I have seen these in the flesh and the build quality is pretty good - nice and solid. Hugely cheaper than Snap-On (about a fifth of the price) ,but just as useable.

Snap On boxes are good ,but hard to justify at that sort sort of price differential.

[Popepaul]

Halfords stuff is good quality, ok it doesn't have the snap-on name plastered all over it but i would bet, every body he works with knows that snap-op is overpriced, its the same stuff as MAC, halfords. draper, sealey, teng. they are all made in the same factory they just get branded differently. i was lucky enough to get given a simple american pro bottom and top box full of cheap tools lol from my work when i started my apprenticeship. it lasted me 3 years then i sold it because i was offered a big black MAC box for £400, i wish i had not brought it TBH it looks pretty but it does fk all lol

[Getragdogleg]

I liked the fact they are stainless.

My snap-on boxes were expensive BUT i did not pay for them all in one go, spread out over a year it was ok, I traded up a few times and now have my big box and the smaller trolley, I put a wood top on the trolley lid so I have a mobile bench.

[Getragdogleg]

Popepaul said:

Halfords stuff is good quality, ok it doesn't have the snap-on name plastered all over it but i would bet, every body he works with knows that snap-op is overpriced, its the same stuff as MAC, halfords. draper, sealey, teng. they are all made in the same factory they just get branded differently. i was lucky enough to get given a simple american pro bottom and top box full of cheap tools lol from my work when i started my apprenticeship. it lasted me 3 years then i sold it because i was offered a big black MAC box for £400, i wish i had not brought it TBH it looks pretty but it does fk all lol

There is a big difference in quality between snap and halfords ! the roll cabs are worlds apart, yes they hold tools but the build of a snap on cabinet is way better. I can stand on mine and sit on the drawers and in 8 years it still works and looks like it did when new.

There is a certain amount of cock waving about boxes, but the snap gear does what it says it will.

[Glassman]

Costco sell a heavy duty stainless roll cabinet for about 200/300 quid. There is also a top box to add to it. Very good and quite heavy for what works out to be about £500.00.

[Rollcage]

Popepaul said:

Halfords stuff is good quality, ok it doesn't have the snap-on name plastered all over it but i would bet, every body he works with knows that snap-op is overpriced, its the same stuff as MAC, halfords. draper, sealey, teng. they are all made in the same factory they just get branded differently. i was lucky enough to get given a simple american pro bottom and top box full of cheap tools lol from my work when i started my apprenticeship. it lasted me 3 years then i sold it because i was offered a big black MAC box for £400, i wish i had not brought it TBH it looks pretty but it does fk all lol

Sorry but that is absolute bks.

[wolf1]

Glassman said:

Costco sell a heavy duty stainless roll cabinet for about 200/300 quid. There is also a top box to add to it. Very good and quite heavy for what works out to be about £500.00.

Had one of those and the problem is they can't be secured properly. You only have to yank the drawers open when it's locked to get in. The snap-on tool chests are worlds apart from all the halfords etc stuff. Buy him a good secondhand snap-on box off ebay and he'll thank you for it.

[Glassman]

wolf1 said:

Glassman said:

Costco sell a heavy duty stainless roll cabinet for about 200/300 quid. There is also a top box to add to it. Very good and quite heavy for what works out to be about £500.00.

Had one of those and the problem is they can't be secured properly. You only have to yank the drawers open when it's locked to get in. The snap-on tool chests are worlds apart from all the halfords etc stuff. Buy him a good secondhand snap-on box off ebay and he'll thank you for it.

Good advice. I suggested the Costco one as an in-between Halfords and Snap-on.

As a matter of fact, the cabinet makers of Snap-on also supply to distributors such as Cornwell and Mac. I've had a Snap-on cabinet and it did last years (but the locking mechanism didn't). Opted for a blue number from my local Cornwell guy - saved a few hundred against the price of a Snap-on equivalent and I got it in a nice blue to boot.

[Rollcage]

If these cheaper options were as good ,then garages across the country would be full of Halfords tools!

Snap On stuff is not cheap ,but the old adage of "You get what you pay for" is generally true. Also, the fact the distributor will come to you is a handy bonus, as is the warranty.

About the most indispensable tool I have is a 1/2" Snap On 18v cordless impact gun. It was hugely expensive ,but has never failed to get undo anything - to the point where I have used to to snap stuff like wishbone bolts on purpose. Hub nuts, crank pulley bolts, headbolts, it does em all without breaking a sweat.

Tools should be viewed as an investment, not an expense - get the best you can afford!

[Popepaul]

Rollcage said:

Popepaul said:

Halfords stuff is good quality, ok it doesn't have the snap-on name plastered all over it but i would bet, every body he works with knows that snap-op is overpriced, its the same stuff as MAC, halfords. draper, sealey, teng. they are all made in the same factory they just get branded differently. i was lucky enough to get given a simple american pro bottom and top box full of cheap tools lol from my work when i started my apprenticeship. it lasted me 3 years then i sold it because i was offered a big black MAC box for £400, i wish i had not brought it TBH it looks pretty but it does fk all lol

Sorry but that is absolute bks.

ok sorry i was more referring to tool quality than box quality, i didnt really get my words right lol, damn beer lol, what i was trying to say about boxes is even if you buy a lower end box, if you look after it it will last for 20 years.people tend to maintain snap-on boxes at a higher standard because it has cost them an arm and a leg, have a toolbox that costs £2000 wont make you any better at your job

[AndrewW-G]

Rollcage said:

Snap On stuff is not cheap ,but the old adage of "You get what you pay for" is generally true. Also, the fact the distributor will come to you is a handy bonus, as is the warranty.

The other plus for Snap-On and one of the reasons lots of people buy cabinet from them, is the credit account facility

[Glassman]

Cornwell and Mac (even Blue Point) are the same quality as Snap-on but cheaper.

[scotty_d]

Rollcage said:

If these cheaper options were as good ,then garages across the country would be full of Halfords tools!

Snap On stuff is not cheap ,but the old adage of "You get what you pay for" is generally true. Also, the fact the distributor will come to you is a handy bonus, as is the warranty.

About the most indispensable tool I have is a 1/2" Snap On 18v cordless impact gun. It was hugely expensive ,but has never failed to get undo anything - to the point where I have used to to snap stuff like wishbone bolts on purpose. Hub nuts, crank pulley bolts, headbolts, it does em all without breaking a sweat.

Tools should be viewed as an investment, not an expense - get the best you can afford!

I do and dont agree there it depend what you use them for i use halfords for DIY on my cars and they work fine at home never had issues but they do not get worked day in day out just time to time.

On the other hand if it were busness use i agree the better quility tool's that get used every day of the week need to hold up.