I’m an old timer, turned 67 years young this year, and I’ve been wrenching ever since I was a lad. Pop was a mechanic and the big bro was an avid street rodder his whole life. As most of us do, I’ve accumulated a lot of tools over the years. But in all that time, I never really had a toolbox, I mean a real toolbox. I just kept my tools in separate little tote boxes, 1/2 sockets in one box, 3/8 in another, Phillips in one box, Straight blades in another, pliers in their own box, I think you get the picture. With out lying I must have several dozen totes most of which I’ve inherited or picked up at garage sales for a buck. I’ve never been a big buck earner, because I’ve always been to busy learning different things and never focused my efforts on one single area long enough to become an expert. Because of this butterfly mentality and my financial fix, I just couldn’t justify spending the big bucks that those big fancy roll around toolboxes demanded.
But, and here comes the but, I taint getting any younger for sure, and the sand is running out of the hourglass and since I committed myself to tearing the old gal down over the winter in my crowded attached garage, I figured a good place to start making room was to find a home for the pile of tools that has taken up half my 8 foot work bench for the past 25years. With the sales going on this Labor Day weekend I decided to spring for a real roll about toolbox base.
Now since I don’t make a living as a mechanic and twisting wrenches has more or less been a hobby with me, Craftsman has always been the tool of choice. Fact is, the Government funded accelerator that I worked at for 27years in Batavia, IL supplied only Craftsman tools for us to use. I started buying Craftsman tools when I was in grade school. Every time I got a spare buck I’d run by the local Sears Roebuck and Co. store and pickup another wrench. About 30 years ago I did buy a 12” x 26 1/2” Craftsman 9drawer top box because I was working on midgets at the time and building an airplane and needed something that was portable and held a good handful of the tools I need on the run.
This past Friday I dropped by our big Fox Valley Sears store and checked out their sales. Their 8drawer roll about base listed for $599.99 but was on sale for the bargain price of $410. I wanted to match the red and black top box that I had, but they didn’t have a base to match it in stock and I was stuck with waiting a month for a special order or settling on black, so I took the black one. Of note, their boxes don’t have drawer liners, that’s extra and would run about another thirty bucks, which brings our 26 1/2” base up to around $450 before taxes so I gave the liners a pass. (I’m still skimping you see!)
I got it home, unboxed it, assembled it and loaded it up with a bunch the tools from the bench and discovered that THERE TAINT ENOUGH ROOM for everything.
Saturday morning I was over by a buddies house and he was showing me the box that he was gonna buy from the Menards when his ship comes in. I didn’t put to much credence in that idea, I mean a tool box from a hardware store probably wasn’t much better than one form Harbor Freight. But, on the way home I stopped and took a casual look, WOW was I impressed, is that a nicely made toolbox or what! When I got home I talked it over with my accountant and we decided that at my age I’d earned the extra tool storage that I needed and we agreed that I should get another roll about.
Here’s how the two compare. You’ve already read about the Sears base, but compare the specs on Menards box. Top box and roll about base 16” x 36”, it has much heftier handles, much heftier casters, nicely chromed handle on the base, gas struts to hold the top open, nice solid extruded handles on the drawers, smooth sides that will not catch dust and dirt, the handles and casters attached with bolts into weldnuts vs sheet metal screws on the Sears. And all fifteen drawers have liners in them, and did I mention that the metal feels much heavier than the Sears. The sears 8drawer base weight was 125lb the Menards 7drawer base weight was 190lbs. When I put the mic the thickness of the drawer, the Sears is .031” and the Menards is .050”, both are powder coated so you can take a couple of mills away for that.
Her are a few pictures that show the two together and if you happen to be out looking for a tool box, do your self a favor and take a look at this one from the hardware store. Oh and I did take a look at the Snap On boxes but that was about it, just a look, don’t see where they would rate any better than this Master Force box from Menards for three times the money.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/tool_of_the_trade So with GM, Stanley, Levi, Sears and the rest of our old standards going down the dumper ya think this could be a sign of the Apocalypse?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
