Thinking about a new toolbox

CJones

CJones

Final Approach
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uHaveNoIdea
I'll combine the mantra of Ted's threads with the recent tool thread.

I have accumulated enough crap useful mission critical tools that they're overrunning my current storage. Several years ago I built a pair of the standard EAA wooden work benches. They are very sturdy, but don't do much for storage. I also have an entry-level Craftsman 11-drawer stacked toolbox that is carried over from when I worked in Ag equipment operation and maintenance 20 years ago. Over the years, through various jobs around the house, I've accumulated more and more 'specialty' type tools beyond standard mechanic tools, so I've outgrown the capacity of my Craftsman toolbox. I've tried using plastic bins in shelves, but I always find I'm digging for SOMETHING.

Now I see that Home Depot (and others too, I'm sure) have these mama jama's:
upload_2023-2-10_8-45-13.png

62" wide by 24" deep. What I really like is that the wooden top can be raised which is looking better and better as my aging 6' 7" back is groaning more and more when I have to stand stooped over at a 'regular' sized counter in the kitchen or garage.

I figure two of these will be a direct replacement for my EAA workbenches and I can potentially retire my stacked toolbox to the hangar where more mechanic-sized tool storage would be nice.

Anybody here tried these Husky toolboxes (I think they call them a "mobile workbench" on the website) out yet? I've looked at them and I would definitely go with the "Heavy Duty" model out of the gate.

Any pros/cons people have experienced with these?
 
Had a smaller one. Loved it. Was the base station for hand tools on a few hotel renovations, VERY INDUSTRIAL use, held up well.
 
CJones said:
so I've outgrown the capacity of my Craftsman toolbox.
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FWIW: I tended to spend money on tools vs storage. If I had to do it over would have used the HF 44"x22" as my hangar box(es). Good solid box for the price. Bought one when I retired to consolidate the tools I kept. Adding a DIY wood top is always a bonus to any roll-away.
 
Harbor Freight US General will be built better than anything at the big box stores. I have the 44" top and bottom box and it is built extremely well, and at a price that beats the competition. They make it in 44", 52", or 72" sizes (I believe they are including the handle in the dimension). Ball bearing slides, decent gauge metal, double slides on deep drawers. It really is a good box. They make an ICON line as well, but it's much heavier-duty and designed to go up against the Snap-Ons/Matcos. I looked hard at Husky/Kobalt/Menards/Craftsman as well but could tell the difference in quality and heavier build without ever putting a tool in it.

Add a butcher block top and you're better off. I seriously doubt you'll need the adjustable height top on the Husky. Once you find the height you like, you'll leave it in one spot for the rest of time.

64167_W3_2.jpg
 
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After 25 years I wore out a snap on and mac tool box that I bought used that I used at work everyday. No way I was going pay snap on the going rate for their boxes at this stage of my life. I hated to do it but I bought a similar box from HF for work and home.
The only thing I do not like about them is they have a detent in the roller for the drawers which causes all your tools to bounce to the back of the drawers every time you close it even with liners. 9 years later they are holding up alright.
My home garage with HF boxes. I'd rather buy Husky from HD than General from HF. Not sure if they had those at HD in 2014 when I replaced my old boxes?
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My race shop at work.
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Humorous sticker that was on my tool box when I bought it used back in the 80s.
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I found this old old craftsman bottom box in our metal scrap pile at work. I pulled it out and nothing was wrong with it. I saved it and don't know who put it there, I asked around. I bought a new box on top from Lowes for my hangar tools. I only have cessna specific tools at the hangar. Both boxes are full now and the surplus goes on shelves in the back.
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I recently purchased a HF US General 44"x22" box to replace an overflowing 20+ yr Craftsman box that was overweight capacity and not happy about life. I compared to several of the big-box models, and the US General models seemed to be better made than the others in comparable price range.
 
MIFlyer said:
Building mine out for efficiency
Not done yet. I’m high grading from my random assortments and buying a few nice things


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Even with my 44" top/bottom box, I'd still like to get a small rolling tool cart like that to have around the garage to hold screws/parts/multiple tools a little closer to where I'm working on a vehicle, lol.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Even with my 44" top/bottom box, I'd still like to get a small rolling tool cart like that to have around the garage to hold screws/parts/multiple tools a little closer to where I'm working on a vehicle, lol.
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That is what I use that black cart for, rolls to the job.
 
CJones said:
Now I see that Home Depot (and others too, I'm sure) have these mama jama's:
View attachment 114805

62" wide by 24" deep. What I really like is that the wooden top can be raised which is looking better and better as my aging 6' 7" back is groaning more and more when I have to stand stooped over at a 'regular' sized counter in the kitchen or garage.
Click to expand...
I have one similar to that. Have had it for about 18 years anyway. The drawers have detents to keep them shut, which wear and don't hold them shut anymore. I wish I had the handles that lift-to-unlock the drawers. Much safer. See, when rolling it around, the drawers can drift open, and if enough of them do that the whole thing falls forward on its face and destroys itself.

The six casters create wobble on uneven floors. I took them off and put a set of fixed casters at one end and two of the swiveling casters at the other.

I eventually had so many tools in it that I had to run angle iron between the casters and the box, to prevent deforming the box.

Then I built a back and top cabinet out of Baltic birch plywood and installed it on the box. It also extended the depth of the benchtop about three inches. The CG moved up and aft, so I made a thick plywood base that enlarged the footprint, and that went between the caster angles and the box. While I was at it, I shimmed the front casters to tip the box back a little to discourage drawers drifting open. I keep seldom-used stuff in the back cabinet and more sensitive stuff in the top cabinets a facing the front. Multimeters, reading glasses, marking pens and pencils, reference material. Stuff. Right now it's a real tangle that needs cleanup.

I made a plywood extension for the very top, which would be about 5.5 feet off the floor. It sticks out about three inches toward me, and mounted under it are three strips of LED lights. On the right end of the bench top is a three-inch vise. Mounted to the top cabinet above that is an articulated reading light with an LED bulb. On both ends of the box are surge suppressor outlet strips, and on the right end are two or three cordless battery chargers. Also attached to the right end is a plywood table the depth of the box and about 24" wide, hinged to the box and held up with plywood over-center supports. Folds down when not used.

Moving it is now a chore. Must weigh 700 pounds. I need to install a motor and steering wheel....
 
I've been impressed with the quality of the HF US General boxes. Pretty good stuff for the money, and for someone like me who's not turning wrenches every day I think the boxes should hold up well. When I got my hangar 1.5 years ago I picked up one of these tool carts with a HF discount coupon:

upload_2023-2-10_18-16-23.png

So far I've been happy with it. I can roll it to the job when I need to, though I'll probably get a smaller and lighter cart to use for that soon. It has plenty of capacity for my hangar tools and I like the storage underneath for a large item or two.

The HF boxes and benches might be worth a look. I think they're a pretty good value.
 
I have the OP's Home Depot box at work. Added an 18 inch side cab. The drawer locks are wearing out, but they can be replaced or flipped over when bad enough.

For the money, best value for a 24 inch deep toolbox in my opinion.
 
The airport here is full of these Seville Classics rolling workbenches and also the upright cabinets. Sams Club was stocking them at a good price.
 
Caught this guy on sale for 89 and added a homemade tray off the back to hold a socket set, and a small trash can on one side, and a paper towel holder on the other side.
It's great for rolling around the hangar loaded with wrenches, pliers, sockets, lights, trays, and a multitude of frequent use things.
Cut down on trips to the big tool box by probably 90%. My feet love it.

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Lots of people spend tens of thousands on tools or more- mind boggling.

Mother Marine Corps used to issue these Armstrong / Pelican toolboxes to their helicopter mechanics - they used to be billed at $6/7k. They included everything from safety wire pliers, different size socket wrenches, hammer, box wrenches, ratchet wrenches, screwdrivers and Allen’s. Certainly heavy but transportable, durable and laser cut inserts in the rolling pelican box…

Certainly does plenty for the room it takes.


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Always worth hitting up your Snap On/Mac/Matco/Cornwell guys about trade in and repo boxes.
 
Skyrys62 said:
Caught this guy on sale for 89 and added a homemade tray off the back to hold a socket set, and a small trash can on one side, and a paper towel holder on the other side.
It's great for rolling around the hangar loaded with wrenches, pliers, sockets, lights, trays, and a multitude of frequent use things.
Cut down on trips to the big tool box by probably 90%. My feet love it.

View attachment 114865
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Yeah, I have a small cabinet with a few more drawers that I have my most frequently used tools that goes right up to the plane. The other cute one is a small toolbax that are mounted on a pair of equipment rollers that I can slide under the plane when I'm working from underneath.
 
Skyrys62 said:
Never really thought about repo tools/boxes.
I'd hate to be that guy
Taking my car is one thing...but...
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Usually happens when a guy buys well over what he can afford, or thinks he'll make more but doesn't produce. A 200$ or more a week payment to the tool truck is as much as a house payment in some location.He has a bad week at work and doesn't make a normal paycheck and he's behind within a week or two.
 
I have a HF chest in my shop. It's fine. When I got my hangar, I wanted a box like the one you posted, but I wanted to avoid Chinese made of possible. I ended up with one of these:

https://www.ruralking.com/mbi-9-drawer-mobile-work-center-black-mwc46-9bk

Mine came from Menard's on sale. MBI (metal box incorporated... how's that for a creative name? ) actually still makes them in the US. I think they used to make a lot of the store brands before they all went overseas. Quality is maybe a bit better than the HF, but very similar. I really like the wooden top, although it's not adjustable. It is however solid enough that I could mount a vise to it for cutting filters and whatnot.
 
Both of my main tool boxes (one's a large triple chest thing) and the little one I wheel to the plane are Craftsman. The big one I got on a special sale at a Sears Hardware-only store decades ago. The little one came from Lowe's when they subsumed the Craftsman name. My original tools are still the same Craftsman set I bought in 1995 when I bought the Navion.
 
Thanks for all the info so far, folks.

I'll definitely take a look at the HF boxes. I have noticed them among my visits to the local HF, but didn't really consider them due to wanting something more durable than my entry level Craftsman box, but will double check on them based on the feedback here.

I'm really trying to replace the footprint of those EAA workbenches with storage that doubles as a workbench which is why I'm looking at those large (50-65") flat top boxes. Has anyone ever put a solid wood top one of the standard metal top/stackable boxes?

They likely will never be rolled away from where they sit other than for cleaning or rearranging once every 10 years or so, so I'm not worried about being small and nimble for this mission.

Good feedback for sure.. Lots of options to consider.
 
Craig said:
Here's the lead thread in a long running pair on building a bench set, using the HF boxes. Long read, as the pair of threads are over 1000 posts, but will give you some good ideas, and Steevo has posted the plans for the steelwork. Link is on post 838 of the second thread.
Part 1: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/hf-toolboxes-workbench-phase-2.120386/

Part 2: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/hf-toolboxes-workbench-phase-3.126086/
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Oh man... That's the bee's knees! Also, another message board to death spiral into time suck.
 
CJones said:
Oh man... That's the bee's knees! Also, another message board to death spiral into time suck.
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Lol yeah I looked through several of the GJ posts when I was looking for my tool chests. The Craftsman brand has just gotten too cheap/poor build quality over the past couple of decades. I had seen several of the US General boxes/carts in a manufacturing environment and they seemed to hold up to daily abuse pretty well. They may not outlast the expensive brands (Waterloo/SnapOn/Matco) but you can buy them 2 or 3 times over for the cost of one of those, lol. If you want to spend a bit more, Tool Vault and Gatorbuilt are really solid options that sit between the US General line and the expensive stuff. Probably on par with the Harbor Freight "ICON" line.
 
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