Hit some garage sales and estate sales, you can find some nice tool boxes with tools for cheap. A friend picked up an older Snap-On roll cab and chest with tools a couple years ago for $150 from a customer of his (he's a plumber). I've seen those boxes at Costco. The drawers themselves are kind of flimsy, thin. I've also seen them busted up pretty good, just from people playing with them in the store. If you have a lot of tools, or are planning on having a lot of tools, including heavy suspension tools and such, I'd probably have to suggest the Craftsman box. It'll last you better in the long run. My Craftsman cab/chest is 13 years old, still going strong. Just oil the bearings every couple of years. Only problem I had with it is I outgrew it. It's at work, storing the lesser used tools I have there, while my new Snap-On Harley box is at home. I have nice service carts both at home and at work. They hold a lot of tools, and roll right out to where you're working.

 

I've been lookng at tool box combos. I like the profeesional 36 inch combo at Sears (Craftsman), but it's about $2000.

Perhaps I would be better off looking at something else?

 

 

I have always had Cratsman boxes. They have never failed me. I have been thinking about getting a new one to consolidate several small ones but personally, I do not like thier "grip latch" system on the drawers. Seems akward to have to pull up on the handle to open it. Especially the upper drawers on a tall combo. Also looks like one more thing to go wrong. I am sure it is handy if you have it in a race car trailer and dont want the drawers coming open, but realistically how often is that ?

 

I busted up a nice Snap-On KR1000 because the drawers rolled open as I was pushing it. I was pushing it around a corner, and the drawers were to the outside. Stupid move. Should have locked the drawers. Broke several drawer slides, and cosmetically damaged several drawers. My next tool box has the Snap-On version of the Sears Grip-Latch. I'm now a fan of drawers that need to be unlatched before they will open.

 

for home use the sams/cosco is great. i have there 700 version sitting between two older craftsman. snap-on is great if you get a super deal on it or your a millionaire. had my sams-club quite awhile with no problems but i dont abuse it.1000 toollbox and 5000 tools or a 5000 toolbox and 1000 tools. like the say a fool and his money will soon part.

 

I have 2 of them and they are great. I would get a third tool box from them in a second. Well money spent!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I want to get the 56" stainless steel one next looks like my kinda of BOX:thumbsup:

 

I have one and for the money, it can't be beat. The only negative I can say is that the drawers are about an inch shorter (front to back) than my Craftsman.

Mike

 

If budget is an issue talk to any Mac or Snap-On tool truck guy. Most of them have good trade in boxes for significantly reduced prices. Thats how I got my Mac box in 1981. The thing is built like a Sherman Tank.

 

Im a professional mechanic for a living and have been working out of a Craftsman tool box for 13 years. I personally really like the craftsman boxes but I finally ran out of room. Last week our Matco guy said he got a really nice used 3 Bay tool box in on trade and wanted 3400 bucks for it. Normaly selling for 8 grand plus. I cant see paying over 4 grand for a tool box so I jumped on the deal. Couldnt be happier.

Been looking at Snap On KRL series boxes for a while on E-Bay and local classifieds for around the same price. But now I can at least pay in small increments instead of buying one outright. I didnt quite have the money anyways.

Mine is the Matco 7535. Slightly used by a guy at a Chevrolet dealership that turned out to be an aquaintence of one of my co-workers. He recognized the box just by looking at it.

 

There is another mechanic at work with a costo box. The only problem I see with it is growth in the future. I had aCraftsman roll aay but needed a bigger box and did`nt have cash to buy one outright so I bought a Snap-on box with the saftey latch drawers. I actually started to outgrow that one too and added a side box to it and it seems to have plenty of room now. If it is just for home I think the Costco one would be fine but I don`t care for the stainless finish. If it`s for work I would look at a different box. And like charbilly said, check with the tool dealers. They get trade-in`s all the time.

 

I agree. The only reason I bought the Snap-on was I could make payments. My box was $4000 but then a couple years later I added the side box and stainless tops so I`ve got about $6800 into my box alone plus I don`t know how much in tools. I know there are plenty of guys working out of cheaper boxes but I`ll probably never need another box in my life time. Working on Harleys I have pretty much all the hand tools I need but if I was working on cars I would probably need a bigger box. Mine was a 2 bay but with the side box it`s now a 3 bay.

 

ebay has two sellers 4rebeccac, i think and some other guy in tennessee who sell sears defects for cheap. Last one i saw was a 40 inch 13 drawer (retails for about 1,000) sell for 450 bucks. The onyl thing wrong are small dents and dings, but besides that they work great. i have bought a couple ball beaing ones from one of the sellers, and the thing is GREAT! if youre starting out i see them as a great value, for the more tooled mechanic, might be too small. Nevertheless, these boxes are worth a shot for the price. :thumbsup:

 

Those Costco boxes aren't as big as they look. A mechanic at work bought one to replace his toolbox and although it is bigger it has less usable space. It has no shallow drawers and therefore fewer drawers. If you look at some other brands of tool boxes you will see what I mean.
Paul

 

I work out of my tool box for a living, and I have to say that I am a firm believer in getting what you pay for. Especially tools. Though it is just a box that merely holds your tools, I found that Snap-on and Mac, even Matco boxes do hold more tools and more weight per drawer and is easier to roll around. I don't know how well a Costco box will take abuse, but the Snap-on and Mac boxes look like they are sturdier.

I had a co-worker with a HomeDepot brand box and when loaded down with air tools and heavy equipment, the drawers were hard to open and the box would not roll very easily around the bay. I've seen this happen on lower line Craftsmen boxes as well. He ended up buying a separate cart to roll around and kept his box in one place. The Snap-on guy wouldn't even take the thing on trade for another box.

At work, I have two older Snap-on roll cabinets (...the new ones are the KRL1023s I think..,) plus a Craftsment lower box to roll around and a Snap on roll cart that holds my scanner and Laptop with Alldata on it. All full and looking to expand. As you can see, you can never have enough...Nothing makes a job easier and faster than the RIGHT tool.

For home use, I think a Costco box or a Lowes/Home Depot box may be well enough, I just wouldn't trust it in a work enviorment.

 

It's probably true that you get what you pay for with boxes, as it is for tools. BUT, I for one don't have 2-5K to spend on a giant box. I've been looking at the Sams Club box (same as Costco). It's built better than my budget line Craftsman, which I have used and abused for almost 20 years, so I suppose this one would last at least as long.

I just need a bigger box, since my tools are in buckets, boxes, and rubbermaid containers right now
Andy

 

I like the craftsman grip latch ball bearing boxes. I just bought a stack for my trailer and they are great. I like the feel of the ball bearings and the drawers feel strong compared to the lower end boxes. I bought a 26" wide bottom and top for just over $500 while on sale, normal price was $750. I like the grip latch because the drawers will not open without lifting the handle, for me I need this in the trailer, in case I forget to lock the box, the drawers are always locked. Or if you move the box a lot, the locking drawers can save a tip over. I have had the larger grip latch boxes (36" or 40", whatever it is) in the garage for a while with the side unit that hooks on. Very nice box and it has stood up to a lot of use.

 

i have a craftsman box, and it's working for me so far.
what i would like to get though, is one of those matco boxes. the matco rep that comes by the school here has several in his truck and he showed us something... the tool boxes are strapped to the walls of his truck, but his demonstration was just to show the strength of the drawers and everything.... He opened up a drawer, stepped inside and started hopping around in the drawer. got out, and the drawer still worked perfectly. i know i couldn't do that with my craftsman box He also showed us a video of different toolboxes (matco and competitors - even though they couldn't show the name of the competitors' boxes) and the boxes were being dropped from a height of 20 feet i think. sure, it beat up the boxes pretty good, but the drawers on the matco ones were still functional. other boxes literally blew into hundreds of parts.
that kind of sold me on the matco boxes. so, eventually i'll probably end up getting one.

 

Like I had mentioned earlier. I just got a Matco box and I love it. Its like getting a new toy and you cant stop playing with it. The detents are adjustable so you can make the drawers as easy to click closed or harder. I wish Matco had some sort of grip latch but lets face it. The box I got is a large 3 bay that really isnt something you roll from one side of the shop to the other. So I really dont need a grip latch for mobile purposes. But I really do like the Snap On grip latches. I had my heart set on my next box being a Snap On but knew that, whatever deal I got first on the Big 3 (Snap On, Mac, Matco) would be the box I got. The Matco guy came to me with a great deal first. But Snap On had a nice KRL1003 on his truck for 3800 that was very reasonable in my opinion too. Very slightly used. Already got the Matco earlier in the week. It was bigger and cheaper anyways.

 

I was looking at this 36 inch Craftsman Professional Combo. It looks good and sturdy. What do you folks think? It's around $2K.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Storage%2C+Chests+%26+Cabinets&pid=009H0109000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Chest+%26+Cabinet+Combos&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

What do you folks think?

 

I had three carry boxes and decided it was time to buy a roll-a-way. I checked Craigslist.org and found a Craftsman top box and a Kennedy bottom cabinet with large casters. It also had a nice side box built onto the side of the lower cabinet plus a smaller aluminum box with a hinged lid for manuals, etc. It was well used but very servicable.

Cost... $50!!!

 

I have a Kobalt 41" rollaway and top box. as far as price goes, i couldn't resist, $700.00 for both with tax on sale. i first got the rollaway thinking that was all i was gonna need. that quickly filled so i got the top. when that got filled, i got one of those delux matco service karts for my most used tools and for the convinience of rolling around the bay. Im happy with the quality of the kobalts. The matcos and snap ons are def better quality, but also the matco double bay that holds the same amount of tools as my kobalts was $4100. i generally dont get too many things off the tool trucks, since if you shop around, can find the same lifetime warrenties(sp??) for about 1/4 of the price. sometimes they sell the exact same thing you can get at home depot. they are real convinient when you don't have the cash to pay for something on the spot, but they def charge a premium. they also have some things you cant get any place else, like matco has those small panel removal tools with the u and v shaped heads that are the shisnit

ill stop rambling know.........