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Rolling Tool Boxes....


mcbrat
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I'm in my new house now, and instead of having tools all over, and some hung on peg boards, I want to consolidate into a big rolling tool box...

 

What do you have, and what do you like or dislike about it...

 

what width?

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I'd probably prefer more drawers, specifically more larger drawers, and zero of the bottom "open" space. With pullers, air tools, and all sorts of other large stuff I don't have enough large drawers. I hardly have any need for that large cavity, drawers, more drawers please!

 

If I had more larger drawers I'd dedicate one to chemicals - PB Blaster, Brake caliper grease, brake cleaner, anaerobic sealant, RTV, anti seize, thread locker, grease...etc. That would make it a one stop shop except for very rare occasions.

 

Also - one of mine has a handle that the top portion (5 drawers or so?) comes off and is very portable. I like that.

 

I need portability. I'm often helping someone out or work on more than one car at once so needing the car pulled into the same spot in the garage isn't my cup of tea.

 

I have two rolling cabinets but honestly the biggest help to me rather than specifics on those is having two bags, as lame as that sounds. One is for all normal Subaru socket stuff. I use those socket holders to keep things organized. The other bag has everything else used for typical jobs - brakes, tune ups, timing belts, fluid changes, hoses, etc.

 

Honestly I haven't ever thought about switching it up and putting all my tools into the top "portable" section of the rolling cabinets. The bags are so functional I've never considered doing that. I think the bags work better for my situation.

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I have a two bay extra deep matco at work and love it. I have a older mac two bay top and bottom at home with friction sliders and hate it. If it were me I would spend the extra money on getting a tool box with the ball bearing sliders. Costco has stainless boxes with bb sliders and they seem pretty decent for a reasonable price.

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My local Snap-On guy has a collection of used boxes that he makes available to his customers at considerable discount. I got one similar to Rob's above but it's an 8 drawer bottom and a 12 drawer top with a side cabinet for $750. Was a good deal for me as I am able to make payments to him (not Snap-On) of $25 a week and there's no interest, etc. When I decide to upgrade he will take it as trade also. Plus I can throw the occasional new tool on my "truck account" with him and it's the same deal - $25 a week.

 

It's kinda neat to have some of the vintage stuff - my top box is a 1969 model and the front is covered in vintage stickers.

 

It doesn't have BB slides but I don't have any issues with it. Works great, lifetime guarantee, and the price was right.

 

GD

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well, they way my garage is laid out right now, I'm not sure how I want to configure it....

 

the 3rd stall is where I want to have my Firebird parked, but it's also the stall that has the cabinets, work bench, and existing pegboard....

 

garage1.jpg

 

I'm hoping to build a separate shop so I can be noisy at night and not wake up the wife/kid... this is my first "attached garage"....

 

and I agree with the "bag" statement... I have a "junk yard bag" that has almost anything I'd need at the junkyard.... most of it is duplicates of what was in my main "tool room" at the old garage....

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I guess my one suggestion is get something big enough for future expansion. I've got two craftsman boxes (more or less one setup), and could use some extra room. It's not critcally needed at this time, but I could use it.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/images/newplace/DCP_2260.JPG

http://main.experiencetherave.com/images/newplace/DCP_2262.JPG

 

I've since added a little hanging section on the right side for some extra drawer space for screwdrivers, and other misc stuff.

 

I did end up buying a large storage cabinet, so that will help with keeping some of the larger tools. However it's not rollable. For what I do, it's not that big a deal though.

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That is an epic garage. Think of it this way. You can still keep all your tools in that one area and if you need to get to it you can always move your car in the driveway. There is also i noticed a HUGE unutalized space between the double and the single door. Perfect for racks, or rolling tool boxes. If you put stuff there you would still have plenty of room for your car and access to yoru tools. I dont know how comfortable you are about opening and closeing a bunch of drawers around your restored classic car though.

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This is the setup I got:

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_009H0225000B?vName=Storage+%26+Garage&cName=Tool+Storage&sName=Chest+%26+Cabinet+Combos

 

I bought the top used for $250 and the bottom was on sale for $900. This was a couple years ago. Love the ball bearing drawers. The two largest full size drawers feel alittle flimsy if you have them loaded with sockets & air tools, like I do. But the drawers stay latched securely & require you to lift the handle of the drawer to open it.

 

I opted to buy a cheaper box and fill it with more expensive tools. The box & my sockets are the only craftsman items I will use. I also have this as my workbench that i picked up about 6 years ago:

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00959746000P?vName=Storage+%26+Garage&cName=Garage+%26+Work+Area&sName=Work+Benches

 

Except mine does not have ball bearing drawers. Its a pain in the rump roast, but works for a bench :)

Edited by TheSubaruJunkie
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$750 is a discount :eek:.

 

It's a bit different when you wrench every day of the week for a living. I had a Craftsman box for a while - it was ok till I ran out of space in it. The problem is that if you want to go up into the 40"+ sizes with large, deep drawers, the Craftsman stuff is not any cheaper than the Snap-On box I bought used - but the quality isn't as good. Ball-Bearing slides are all the rage now and don't get me wrong - they are very nice, but you put my Snap-On greased slider box alongside a cheapy BB unit and you won't see much difference.

 

For reference, if I were to buy a comparable (but brand new) Snap-On box to the one I got for $750, I would be looking at around $2500 - only real difference would be BB slides and shiny, new paint (and me a lot lighter in the wallet!).

 

It was also a good way to befriend the Snap-On guy that is at my work every Thursday - It's a good relationship to have in my business - If I'm in a jam and need a tool I know I can call him and he'll be there. He's quite fair and routinely gives me discounts far in excess of the retail price from the Snap-On web site. Plus I don't have to pay all at once and there's no interest on my account with him. It's a good deal for me anyway.

 

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I guess my one suggestion is get something big enough for future expansion. I've got two craftsman boxes (more or less one setup), and could use some extra room. It's not critcally needed at this time, but I could use it.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/images/newplace/DCP_2260.JPG

http://main.experiencetherave.com/images/newplace/DCP_2262.JPG

 

I've since added a little hanging section on the right side for some extra drawer space for screwdrivers, and other misc stuff.

 

I did end up buying a large storage cabinet, so that will help with keeping some of the larger tools. However it's not rollable. For what I do, it's not that big a deal though.

 

yeah, my dad said I couldn't get all my stuff in one :) I definitely need a 40" wide at least....

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I definitely need a 40" wide at least....

 

Check craigslist for out-of-work professional mechanic's selling boxes - decent used high-end stuff is my preference over the Sears catalog replete with Chinese import garbage. I have 20+ year old Snap-On stuff that I have bought off eBay for less than the cost of a new one at Sears - I just had a ratchet rebuilt for free on the truck (took him 5 minutes tops) that cost me $27 shipped out of the bay - I can't buy a Craftsman for that and I would be back there every 6 months having it replaced for not ratcheting correctly or being stripped out. No thanks!

 

My bottom box is a 1982 - it's on it's second owner as far as I know. The drawer capacity is something silly like 125 lbs and they slide freely even loaded up - without BB's. If I break a slide it will be replaced for free - even on something that old!

 

You do enough garage time to warrant something decent Mick - don't go the Sears route if you can help it. I've been there and although you may never have a problem with the thing there's always the chance that you might - it's partially the customer service that's the issue, but mostly it's just that should you find something indadequate about the product the most you will receive is a replacement - a replacement that's just a cheap as the first one you broke.

 

GD

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I LOVE my carts.

 

I have 2 Craftsman toolboxes. A larger pretty good one (holds most tools not in the cart) and a cheapie that I viewed as cheaper than a cart if I remove the top box.

 

But I have 2 carts that I use all the time. One holds my former JY Craftsman socket set with a bunch of other stuff in it like expensions, razor knife, pics 14mm 12 point for heads, 14mm flex for eng/trans bolts and nuts, stuff like that.

 

I have a few bags as well. But I'm getting to the point where a JY run is rare. So most of that is in my main cart. The other cart is usually full of crap. But I like to put the stuff I've removed in it when working on a car and the currently being used air tools, pry bars, breaker bars, etc. And I have a small collection of magnetic ash tray gizmo's. I find them handy - I loose less stuff which saves time looking for what I lost or looking for a replacement.

 

I also find it real handy to put engines on furniture dollies with a cement mixing tub on them. Much more portable and they don't leak everywhere. I probably have 6-8 Suby engines on furniture dollies, more on industrial shelving units, on a wagon, etc.

 

So in addition to boxes I'd recommend carts and furniture dollies(for junk/engines and such).

 

Oh - and I LOVE my lift. Best 2k I ever spent. Too bad the garage isn't quite tall enough! 10' isn't truely enough - atleast when I'm 6'2". If I were 5' I'd be o.k.

 

It'll fill up in no time. Garages and sheds are never big enough.

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Oh - and I LOVE my lift. Best 2k I ever spent. Too bad the garage isn't quite tall enough! 10' isn't truely enough - atleast when I'm 6'2". If I were 5' I'd be o.k.

 

 

I'm hoping if I can build a shop to make it tall enough to put a lift in too..... but any other buildings I put up, can't be taller than my house....

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Side Question:

 

How many of you have both SAE and Metric Tools, or do you just use one set to cover both...?

 

Thinking 2 smaller tool boxes. one metric, one SAE.....

 

I have both SAE & Metric. The SAE doesn't get used much, but when I need an SAE tool, I need it.

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Old stuff mostly SAE (American stuff of course).

 

New and foreign stuff Metric. In hand sockets, wrenches and stuff I have both but use metric much more often. In impact I only have Metric stuff.

 

Other than old American cars and trucks muffler clamps, perhaps some hose clamps, everything really is Metric it seems - and often with an equivalent.

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I use both SAE and Metric. Almost all Metric at home and both at work - a lot of stuff I work on is Metric these days but I also work on a lot of old stuff that's SAE - Industrial equipment doesn't get retired just because it's old. Very often I find myself working on gear that's older than I am. But probably 75% of my time is spent working on a specific brand of german pumps and obviously that's all Metric. I have to be prepared for whatever though and I find that most of my BIG stuff (over 3/4") is almost exclusively SAE. I do run into the odd 24mm 6-point or 17mm Allen though.

 

I bet I'm the only one on this board with Ford wrenches (monkey wrench) in 4 different sizes up to 18" :lol:

 

GD

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Side Question:

 

How many of you have both SAE and Metric Tools, or do you just use one set to cover both...?

 

Thinking 2 smaller tool boxes. one metric, one SAE.....

 

Mines big enough to have both in it.

I just keep them separated.

I also have a bag I keep in what ever I'm driving.

Have enough tools in to do a complete tear down if needed.

 

I also have a 9 drawer Craftsman, but its full of electronics :rolleyes:

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