Replacement tool box / roller box recommendations

[Davie]

Morning,

My current tool chest / roller is one of those cheapy, non-branded Halfords efforts:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

Basically the earlier version of this... it's been sufficient for my needs in terms of size but it's was always a bit flimsy and last night it finally gave up.

So, now on the hunt for a replacement, ideally something a bit more robust but at the cheaper end of the scale in terms of budget.



I did spot this initially but a second look would suggest it's basically the same as the Halfords one above both in terms of size but looks to be a slightly different construction and it's got a 10yr warranty and unless made up, all the reviews are positive.

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/t...

That said, seems to be the same thing as the US Pro Tools / Halfords / Unbranded stuff on eBay so not sure...

Any other suggestions or sub £200.00 deals / sales to be had just now?

Cheers

Edited by Davie on Saturday 23 September 10:28

[GreenV8S]

I don't have any of their equipment but I recognise the name. There are quite a few reviews of that tool chest on Amazon, all positive. Nothing definitive here, but if I was looking for a tool chest I'd be comfortable buying one like that from SGS.

[tapkaJohnD]

Keep your eye on Halfords. They sell better quality tool chests, with ballbearing shelf slides under the "Industrial" brand as well as cheapos.
£300 at present http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too... but they have frequent special offers. If you can get a Halfords Professional card, regular 15% + discounts.

John
(No connection excpet as a customer)

[Davie]

Thanks gents,

Have a Trade Card for Halfords but their pro 7 drawer top box and 5 drawer roller cabinet works out around £399.00... however for £399.00 they're doing this combo which is the better buy, but it's also a bit overkill in terms of sheer bulk and the cost.

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

Probably a cracking deal to be honest but I already have a 6ft tall metal cupboard and two metal benches, one with cupboard doors and one with three huge drawers so not really needing the extra space... and to be honest that sort of thing is probably too big.

Seems a bit vague if these fall under the Trade Club... some say yes, some say no. If so and it's 15% off the ticket price, that's a storming deal.

Upside with these is they do the modular trays that fit the drawers perfectly... but time you buy all that over and above, the divorce would be looming!

The SGS one seems like a not bad effort for £100.00, upside it the top unit never gets too heavy thus can be put in the back of the car as and when required, though something somewhere between it and the Halfords bundle would be ideal... ie a wee bit bigger and a wee bit sturdier than what I have,

Cheers lads

Edited by Davie on Saturday 23 September 11:42

[Davie]

Spot the tight Scotsman here but this...

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

And this...

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

Retail at £399.00 but £319.00 with the Trade Card unless I got my maths wrong!

Budget creep alert!

[imagineifyeswill]

Im a fulltime mechanic and needing to replace my box, Ive been looking at the much bigger SGS boxes, they certainly look god and seem to be excellent value but would like to see one in the flesh before I commit.

[B17NNS]

tapkaJohnD said:

Keep your eye on Halfords. They sell better quality tool chests, with ballbearing shelf slides under the "Industrial" brand as well as cheapos.
£300 at present http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too... but they have frequent special offers. If you can get a Halfords Professional card, regular 15% + discounts.

John
(No connection excpet as a customer)

This. Halfords Industrial is often on special. Cracking boxes for the money.

[Davie]

Must admit, I've been sat here browsing for an hour and the Halfords stuff does seem to be the best value for money... the industrial bundle at £399.00 does seem like a huge amount of kit for the cash but probably overkill for me plus it's a fair sized unit. The red combo package (top box and roll cab) comes in at £319.00 with the Trade Card and seems like a decent deal too.

The SGS stuff seems fairly good, they seem to get good reviews for all their stuff... their 26" bundle seems like a decent deal but then I noticed the highlighted price was plus VAT... looks nigh on identical to the Halfords red boxes?

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/t...


The pain in the arse is that I have a Stanley Fat Max box that I use for chucking in the car / general use...



It's great as I have the top filled with bulbs, tapes, fuses, some fixings and general crap that is handy for roadside running repairs plus some basic tools / sockets etc so the top bit can go on it's own in the car, or the bottom can come too with more tools as required... but there's always something in the garage kit that's needed...

The small top box I currently have is light enough to go in the car is needed (bugger lifting one of the bigger ones!) but rarely does but I my head I think I'll end up filling up a big unit and then have to buy duplicate tools for the mobile jobs!

Other option is to just get a pro top box for now, probably have near enough as much capacity as the current top box and roller cabinet... and stick it on the bench and if I want a roll cab at a latter date... plus I'm sure I could have a tidy and move the ste in the bottom to the benches instead.

The other issue is Halfords do 50% deals every so often so rest assured I'll buy one and next week it'll be half price !

Nae wonder my wife just shakes her head at me...

[tapkaJohnD]

Ther's always this.
John

[Davie]

Ha ha, aye... my Googling has lead me down and dark and dangerous path!



As grand it would be to have a have an unlimited budget to buy something ridiculous, sadly it'd very much be a case of "all the toys, none of the talent" so trying to reign it in here... also having to avoid reading the "Best Garage" thread again because that could prove ruinous too!

Think the Halfords boxes are appealing, same sort of cash as the SGS ones so it's more a case of deciding whether to get a top box for now or just jump in... four times the original budget but such is life! That say, would make sense to be patient (ha!) and wait for their next 50% off sale that will no doubt be looming and whilst I'm waiting, tidy up the garage and free up space by chucking out crap rather than just buying increasingly huge amounts of storage!

Cheers!

[S6PNJ]

It seems the Halfords storage bundle is back again - all 3 units for £229 - I have a trade card and with it, they cost £239 (inc VAT).

Hmm, should I buy this and then add my purchase to the frivolous items thread as I've already got 5 Costco Whalen heavy duty storage racks with various items on in the garage.



But I can't wheel these around the floor can I? Man maths at work?

[E-bmw]

S6PNJ said:

Feck me! A levitating ladder!

[rigga]

I have the roll cab and middle box, not bad for the money to be fair, and for the home mechanic more than adequate, feels solid enough, nice action draws and plenty of storage space.think I got them half price at the time.

[Ynox]

I've got the stack. They're worth 229 quid I think. Metal is a bit thin in places and not great quality, but acceptable for the price and plenty of storage.

[n3il123]

I kept a look out on Gumtree/ eBay and found a 2nd hand snap on roll cab for £200 perfect size for me.

[blade7]

I looked at the Halfords Pro boxes and thought they were a bit flimsy, so I bought the Industrial bundle when it was cheap. I've got a couple of 25 year old Snap On boxes, and the Industrial boxes were the only ones that got anywhere near.

[Davie]

Just bumping this back up as I still haven't done anything about my broken tool box aside for get annoyed every time I try and open it...

Couple of decent deals on at Halfords just now:


This bundle deal can be had for £130.00 trade:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

Or...

The professional option, basically the same but roller bearings and drawer liners... all in £180.00 trade:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/storage/too...


Guess the question is, the extra £50.00 is got to be worth it...?

Also had a shop round and can't find anything that comes close, even second hand so seems like a bit of a no brainer to me unless anybody knows of any "buy X, get Y free" deals on the go or any bundle deals that are better?

Being honest, even the top box would be sufficient but you now how it is... go big or go home!

Cheers!

[Davie]

TVR Moneypit said:

IMO the extra money for the roller bearings is well worth it. Also the deal that Halfords is offering at the moment is a good bargain.

My advice would be to buy the complete set asap before they go up in price. You might not need the extra storage space now, but you will do at some point in the future.

Perfect sir, just confirmed what I was thinking... only thing that makes me wonder (being of tight Scottish stock) is there have been some mentions of "buy the base, get the top box free deals" and that'd be a stonking deal if both could be had for £124.00... but I suspect not!

[Davie]

TVR Moneypit said:

Well, I'm a staunch Yorkshireman, so not that far behind you in the being carefully with my money stakes. I've never heard of the deal where you buy the bottom box and get the top box free. Would that deal also include the step up box?

If it were me, I'd be buying all three today, except for the fact that I've had them for about 10 years now

To be honest, neither have I but just noted in one of the customer reviews that he's gone to buy the top box but there was a deal where one of them came free... however, I'll take that with a pinch of salt though I know there are bundle deals on the go at times but I assume they'd be based on full retail for one bit, get the smaller bit free perhaps? I think for £180.00, it's a pretty decent deal and yes, did debate the middle box too but that's maybe overkill!

Kinda hoping this is is a one off purchase, hopefully they'll last a long time given it's really just home garage usage!

Thanks

[tapkaJohnD]

Machine Mart Have a special Pre-Xmas offer on Clarke tool cabinets:
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/machine-mart-offers/...

John