The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest New tool chest help

I was at Home Depot the other day and they had a Milwaukee 46" tool chest. I'm really digging it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...ack-48-22-8510-20/206126307?N=5yc1vZc2gk

The only thing I don't like about it is the "made in Vietnam" sticker.

I'm partial to American made items.

The Dewalt tool chest they had was nice too, but the "made in China" tag was all I needed to see.

The Husky brand, seem to be a mixed bag. Some made in the USA, some not.

Any advice on an American made chest, that's similar?

Armstrong and most Kennedy are still made in the USA, but they are expensive.

Was at a buddy's garage a few years back and he had just
bought a tool chest from Menards. They carry Masterforce
chests and I was so impressed by the quality of it that I
took the Craftsman chest that I had bought the week before
back. The Sears chest was absolutely no match for the Masterforce.
They had much larger beefier casters, much more solid feeling
cabinet, smooth strong drawer slides, strong grasp handle
and came with nice drawer liners also.
Menards is owned by Paul Menards dad and I'd bet dollars to
donuts that the race driver son had some input to choosing
this line of boxes.
Have no idea where they are made.
dg

HF tool boxes are made pretty well. We all know where they come from though. I rather spend more $$$ on what goes in it. They are worth a look.

The old Craftsman chests were great but they seem to be tending towards the cheaper quality these days, unless you buy the high end model.
I after twenty year sold my old Craftsman but only to expand tool space for stuff accumulated. I have shifted to the HomerD Husky and Dewalt. I picked the Dewalt for the large top allowing battery chargers to sit on, and Husky for a workbench with large drawers for bigger tools.
Kobalt over hat lowes had a really sweet setup but the price was to high at time I was buying. They since have dropped its price by half at our lowes making for a very tempting buy.

I used to think that my Craftsman tool cabinet was just fine, until I got my hands on a Snap-on cabinet. I know they aren't for everyone, but you need to play with the drawers of one so that you can compare the sweetness of them with other less expensive cabinets before you buy.

I do agree with the snap-on niceness, but even a used one eats way more then I could ever spend, I would have to give up truck and car repair and restoration for a year or two to buy it.

Have a Lowes brand and won't buy another one. Old beer cans had thicker metal. The most recent addition was garage sale old craftsman made back when Sears still cared about their tool quality. It needed some cleaning, but was well worth the price and effort.

My wife bought me the 3 high Craftsmen setup about 10 years ago. It's served me pretty well for a gift. I pulled the middle section out and put it on the bench, since I'm not 6'7". It was aweful hard to see in that top drawer and use the area under the lid.

Since then, I've accummulated lots and lots more tools. Grinder, sawzalls, battery drills... you get the picture. Thats not even counting all the accessories that go with them. Grinding wheels, blades, sanding discs... Some found there way into small tool boxes, some the cabinets, and some on the bench. Basically, I got tools everywhere.

I want something with deep drawers that can hold a little more.

I'm hoping it will help me with garage organization more than anything.

I am really liking that Milwaukee...

Chris

Of all the toolboxes I have, I think the Cornwell is the strongest.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/1126369...6814900258&oid=112636930370126476644

I have never bought a new tool box. I used to find deals at pawn shops. I comb Craigslist now because my toolboxes get overloaded in a hurry. I have a couple more that are not in the picture.

My current Snap-on was similar to my Mac. Both were a step above my Cornwell. But, those are work boxes that see a lot of use. My home boxes are Mac, Snap-on and Craftsman. All non-ball bearing drawers which would drive me nuts if I had them at work. All stout boxes when you take care of them.

My Mom and Dad bought me my 1st ever box back when I was in HS in 1970 and starting Boces/Wilson tech.
Still Have it.
Bought the top box to match 5-6 years later.
Only regret is the mid box doesn,t match COLOR wise.
Top and bottom are grey with red drawers, mid is the opposite, red with dark grey drawers.
Still goin strong...
I,m All for that yard/garage sale steal of the week!
regards,
steve sr.
OOOPS, Craftsman!