J

Juicegoose

Well Known Member
Guys the time has come for me to upgrade to a nice toolchest. I've had all my tools in this one small tool box for years and I'm tired of having to rummage around to find something. I've had my eye on the Craftsman ball bearing 26" tool chest for a while. Especially the series that has the Grip latch drawers. I've also more recently been looking at the Kobalt but the quality just doesn't seem up to par. I big box like this is a one time investment and I suppose thats whats been holding me back. To those of you with larger rolling shop tool boxes. What kind do you have and have you had any trouble out of it? Do the drawers with the ball bearing drawer slides start to gum up over the years and do they slide better when loaded with tools. Also is there another good brand out there any one can recommend besides craftsman that is in the same price range. Thanks guys
 
I have the big Kobalt roll-away. Not the huge one with the stereo and fridge, but one size down. I have been very happy with the setup and it has held up very well. I compared the Kobalt to like-priced Craftsman and didn't think much or the Craftsman boxes in that price range.

I am pretty darn tough on tool boxes and I have had no problem with durability of the Kobalt box and would buy it again without a second thought. The Kobalt box also comes with the drawer liners and large locking wheels.

Edit: By the way, the drawers on this box are so smooth that before I got it on level ground (the corner of my garage has a slight high-spot) the , the drawers, even the one with my rivet gun and bucking bars would close on it's own. No problems with gum-up or sticking of the drawers so far. An occational cleaing of the outside with some SS polish is all it needs.

FP11122009A00023.jpg
 
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Here's the mac daddy tool box:

Complete with radio and refrigerator and iPod ready stereo.

Only $1,698.00.

Seriously, I have three different tool boxes and one is nothing more than a 2/3rds height computer rack with shelves. The other two are smaller roll around models from one of the big box stores.
 
Toolboxes

...Are very personal items. I've been hanging around airplane shops since the 50's and my favorite style is a low rolling toolbox that has a flat work surface on top. Something about 40" high and 60" long. You can pull it up next to a project and overhaul a carb or mag on top of it.

Of course, everyone under-estimates the amount of tools they will collect over a lifetime of aviating.

Certainly some folks need no more than basic handtools, but the serious builders/maintainers need to start out with lots of future capacity including the possibility of add-on drawers/shelves on the sides of the main box.

The 7' tall toolboxes are not for me!
 
I have two Craftsman roll arounds. One was from my Dad (early 1940s vintage) and the other was given to me by Texas Instruments for my 25th employment anniversary (1990 vintage). Guess which one has the smoother sliding drawers.
 
I've been leaning toward the Craftsman Grip Latch styl efor the safety feature the locking drawer adds. When I've gone by and checked out the Kobalt they seem nice but just wasn't sure if they added up. Amazing enough I've heard some really good things about the U.S. General toolboxes from harbor freight. Alot of guys say you can get alot of toolbox for the money and the quality is right up there with craftsaman and Kobalt. Anyone messed with them?
 
One thing to check on the cheaper tool boxes is how do the drawers slide with weight in them. Many of them slide just fine empty, then bind up when loaded.
 
Sam's Wholesale

I got the one from Sam's (looks like the Kobalt) and really like it! Whatever you get, make sure the drawers have roller bearings.
 
Shop toolbox

Juicegoose said:
I've been leaning toward the Craftsman Grip Latch styl efor the safety feature the locking drawer adds. When I've gone by and checked out the Kobalt they seem nice but just wasn't sure if they added up. Amazing enough I've heard some really good things about the U.S. General toolboxes from harbor freight. Alot of guys say you can get alot of toolbox for the money and the quality is right up there with craftsaman and Kobalt. Anyone messed with them?
Click to expand...

I located this topic after reading advice about a harbor freight air hammer today stating "avoid Harbor Freight for anything with moving parts." Having just bought one of these US General rolling toolboxes last month (http://www.harborfreight.com/13-drawer-red-industrial-quality-roller-cabinet-90320.html), I wondered if I had committed a cardinal sin (if my drawers count as moving parts.) My thought upon purchasing, after reading the reviews, was that I can get this toolbox for half the cost of a similar name-brand (Craftsman; Kobalt) cabinet. If it isn't good enough, I can put it in the garage and get another one in a year or two.

So far, so good.
 
Toolboxs are a personal thing

I have 5 toolboxes 2 Craftsman and 3 Kennedys. The thing I can tell about them is they all hold tools and they all roll-a-round. On the flight line the guys with Craftsman all had replaced there wheels with something else. All the other boxes were fine. Craftsman wheel don't hold up if you need to roll the box around from place to place a lot. I like my Kennedy service box the best, it is one of the low long boxes that have the two big wheels in the middle and can turn on a dime. It also has ball bearing draws and they work nice all the time. One of my Craftsman has the slider type draws ( not ball bearing ) and they work fine its just that they open a little harder when there is a lot of weight in that drawer and they do not slide out even. I am not a big Snap-on or Mac tool box guy; they are just way over priced. Now if I found a used one at a good price I may buy it. Craigslist is a good place to look. Find one that has ball bearings and get the bigger one because you have more tools than you think.
 
Kennedy, yes, I'm happy, and you ought to be able to find what you want on Craigslist.

And get one size up from what you think you need - or better yet, get a couple of 'em.

Dave
 
I have two Kennedy tool boxes with many years of service on both of them. Never a single problem with either of them.
 
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