tool boxes

Junkyard Dog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Sanford, NC
just wondering what boxes everyone is using. right now i have 2 craftsman BB,1 snap on none BB,1 kobalt BB. i am looking to upgrade to a roll cab type box and am curious if anyone has had one of each and what you thought of it.i am going to buy a Snap on,Matco,or MAC.how do you think the three compare to each other.
 
All three of those boxes are typically super heavy duty.

They all have a super heavy duty price tag....

If you primarily keep the boxes stationary and don't have a ton of weight in them I wouldn't spend that kind of money.

A guy I work with has a 40 inch Craftsman BB cart with another smaller box on top of it. Total weight is just under 1000 pounds. He did upgrade the casters and has no problems rolling it around a nasty ass shop floor.

He doesn't have $1000 in the setup and it works.

A Snap On setup like that would cost well over $5000.

Most all boxes are made by WaterLoo, so there isn't much difference in brands, just the bells and whistles.
 
Having just sold a MAC Macsimizer roll cab, do yourself a favor DON'T BUY OFF THE TOOL TRUCKS !!!

There is an ass load of used boxes on the market right now, some can be had for excellent prices compared to new, or even used off the truck.

Craigslist has dozens of MAC, MATCO, CORNWELL, and SNAP-ON boxes of all sizes.

The only thing you'll miss by not buying off the truck is the opportuniy to make payments.
 
I gave $3500 for an $11k snap on box..never buy new, if you buy off the tool truck buy it used and lowball the hell out of them.
 
tool box

it will be a home box,probably going to buy used. Not that i have as much money as some, but i'm not a cheap ass either. i don't mind spending money on a good tool box. i will never buy another craftsman unless it is real cheap or an older box,i think they get worse every day on quality. i am 24 and would like to buy a box that will last atleast until i outgrow it.
 
Craftsman is definately getting worse quality but I have two large craftsman professional BB roll around boxes with smaller boxes on top and they have been more than suffiecient for what I use them for. I tend to roll them around a lot too. Like previously stated I'd check out craigslist, sometimes you can find a mac or cornwell box for the same cost as a craftsman prof. but much better quality.
 
I bought this off of the truck for $2000 with the stainless top

Definatly heavy duty,
My buddy has a black one just like mine that is for sale, he wants $3000 and it is full of tools. I would buy it if i had $3000 sitting around, the box is worth that nevermind the tools
 
I vote you go with a Matco. I had one and outgrew it and then got a big Snap On. Same color as the one right above but with another bank of drawers. The Matco I feel was a better built box and I like the close of the drawers better.
 
i also have a 78'' wide snap on box for sale. it has the top workstation riser with a door that opens and closes. 2 (2ft) lights and power strips inside workstation. stainless steel work area and stainless drawer guards. overall dimensions are approx. 78'' wide, 72'' tall and 28'' deep i paid 13,700 for the box 6 months ago i'll take 9000 for it.
 
i am totally open to hearing peoples' reasons( i would like to hear the justification), but i cannot fathom spending thousands of dollars on a freaking box......... i have a small box that i use when i need to be mobile, but otherwise i use small, single purpose containers on the shelves. if i need to tap a hole, i grab the tap box, brakes? i grab the brake tool bag, and so on... but why spend more than ive got in my entire rig on a damn toolbox?
 
awspence said:
i am totally open to hearing peoples' reasons( i would like to hear the justification), but i cannot fathom spending thousands of dollars on a freaking box......... i have a small box that i use when i need to be mobile, but otherwise i use small, single purpose containers on the shelves. if i need to tap a hole, i grab the tap box, brakes? i grab the brake tool bag, and so on... but why spend more than ive got in my entire rig on a damn toolbox?
Click to expand...

WOW, there are SO many different reasons.

Having a box large enough to hold everything is sometimes a goal, sometimes a trophy, and sometimes, an ego trip.

As a professional, having a box that WORKS EVERY TIME I open and close the drawers, having something large enough to hold all the tools ( would you believe some techinians/mechanincs have more invested in tools than they do their home and vehicles combined ? )

A quality built box is a nessesity. I had a Craftsman top and bottom cab and chest, and when I had it at home, it was fine.

when I started wrenching professionally, I wore out the drawer slides, and broke a drwer, too much weight from the tools I had added and tried to store.

So I bought a nice USED SNappy box, worked well, held everything and then some, then it got full again. Traded up to yet a larger box, and started again. But, then I my career direction made a turn and " The Box" was now too big and has been sold off.

Now I am back to a Craftsman box in a mobile environment, and it'll stay cheap, tool boxes in vehicles ( aka "Road Boxes" ) have a real tough life, even the ones designed as "Road Boxes) don't live long in a mobile environment.

The trick is to buy the best you can for the least amount possible. Horse trading at its finest. Know the market, and exploit it.

I never understood spending thousands on a "theme" box, $10k, for a bright orange box with a Camero on it never made sense to me. There are many others out there who think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Function goes so much further than cool.

I don't know what you do professsionally, if you don't use your tools to make a living, you really don't NEED the big spendy boxes.

OH, and for those who say "For the security of having stuff locked up in a quality box" Thats horeshit, ANY tool box can be opened without a key, I have a $3500 list of proof as to how I know this.

Locks are to keep the honest folks honest, a thief will get what he wants, it don't cost him much at all.
 
I have a snap on box for 3 reasons
1. Quality
2. Warranty
3. I am a profesional and it is a status thing people expect to walk into a shop and see a nice box.

I bought mine used and cheap.

The test of a quality box is to stand in the drawers or have someone stand in the drawer and see if you can open and close it (less than 200lbs). If it breaks, won't open, the box is not pro quality i wouldn't spend a $100 dollars on it.

With that said i have a box from costco at home that is BB and is stout, i can stand in the drawers and still open them. I paid $640 for it brand new, and it is every bit as good as my snap on box BB, it did have a interlocking mechanism, that only allowed one drawer open at a time, that had to be done away with. When i grow out of my snap on box i will probably buy 2 more costco boxes, and only store my everyday essentials in the snappy. again b/c if it does break snapppy comes every week and will fix it even though i did not buy it from him.

Craftsman non profesional are absolute trash, half of them are broke in the store already.
Crap pro series is not that much better
Kobalt/husky- junk

Matco/mac/cornwell/snappy= all about the same but there are diff levels of each the best snap on boxes have at least 2 BB slide for each draw and can handle some serious weight. those are the real expensive ones.
 
well, for the reasons both of you mentioned, i do understand a person who makes their living having a nice box, and i know a lot of places will require you to do so, and i also know that i would spend the money in that type of situation. what i was mainly referring to is people with $3000 toolboxes in their homes

i guess i honestly just havent used mine enough to start wearing out drawer slides and stuff like that, and doubt if i ever will, around the house. That is mainly because i never use the box unless im going out on a job or something( i do fix some hot tubs on the side)

let me add to this discussion, that i am well aware that i have very low expectations about tool storage, and people remind me of this every time they wrench with me in my garage, hopefully i will grow out of that one day......
 
tool box

some people don't seem to understand. I wasn't asking why you think nice boxes are over priced, I want to know who has owned what and if they were happy with it. I won't a nice box for the same reason i want a nice 3/8 rachet. I don't want a box that is going to end up a piece of shit 3 years down the road. There is atleast 2 diff. size Craftsman rachets that have been throwed through the woods b/c they are shit. So who has owned one of the top three and were you happy with it?
 
I've got a 14 year old(it sat for 6 years) 75" Matco box with side boxes on both sides stuffed to the brim and it works the way it's supposed to everyday
My old boss has a 25 year old 78" snap on top and bottom box that you couldn't fit another socket in that he uses everyday since he bought it brand new and it works great
 
Junkyard Dog said:
some people don't seem to understand. I wasn't asking why you think nice boxes are over priced, I want to know who has owned what and if they were happy with it. I won't a nice box for the same reason i want a nice 3/8 rachet. I don't want a box that is going to end up a piece of shit 3 years down the road. There is atleast 2 diff. size Craftsman rachets that have been throwed through the woods b/c they are shit. So who has owned one of the top three and were you happy with it?
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My snap-on is a 92 model and still works great, no issues at all and has been used daily by me since 96 or so...
 
I am all about the Snap On. if you buy a great box it will last forever.

Quality tools are a necessity for anybody who is serious about making a living at using them. Tools are just another form of addiction much like 4x4 junk. We call the Snap On truck "The Crack Wagon" around here.
 
BIGWOODY said:
My snap-on is a 92 model and still works great, no issues at all and has been used daily by me since 96 or so...
Click to expand...


Your toolbox can't be used here for any comparison, all it does is gather dust, while all your tools are strewn around the shop. There's what, $10 worth of tools in it now?
 
Mine is the Torin one they sell at Northern. 40" wide, I think I paid about $800 for the top and bottom units together.
I really like the one 40" wide drawer, wish it actually had 1 or 2 more.
The drawers work very smooth even with lots of weight in them, but I don't think it would last 10 years in a professional shop.. but it'll last 20 at home. The black crinkle finish will look good for a long time, but stickers don't stick very well at all to it.. :rolleyes:

toolbox.jpg
 
rockmafia said:
Your toolbox can't be used here for any comparison, all it does is gather dust, while all your tools are strewn around the shop. There's what, $10 worth of tools in it now?
Click to expand...
They still make a nice living for me.Keep polishing your tools but remember they only way to make money with them is to use them...:flipoff2:
If you take your car/truck to a super clean shop they either don't have anything to do or are paying someone to walk around and constantly clean...either way you're going to be paying for it in the end.
 
I've got a 2002 Mac(68" wide?) got a 36-38" stacked Mac(older) 40" Snap-on and a Kennedy


in all honesty, alot of people complain about the cost of these boxes but most of them dont own any tools:flipoff2:

look to the left(Blue Mac box)
ai36.photobucket.com_albums_e15_ROCKWELLEDTOYOTA_Cages_Picture005.jpg

two red boxes(snap-on, mac)
ai36.photobucket.com_albums_e15_ROCKWELLEDTOYOTA_Sliders_Picture033.jpg



My tools are strewn about the shop aswell...I have NOT seen the top of my toolbox in a long time, It's got everything but tools on it....


I've had Crapsman...they bend...my grandkids will have my toolboxes, here's a tip for ya...go to your local Community College...take an automotive class...get in on the student tool buying program from MAC....I could have got my box for 1/2 price! Save over $1000 easy
 
I like having a big box so I don't have to dig through everything in a bag to find what I'm looking for. I have to do that now with my Home repair tools and I hate it. I waste more time looking for the right thing than finishing the job. When you're on flat rate and time is money, it pays to be organized.
 
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