Roll-around tool chests?

[Monte Milanuk]

I had some errands to run this morning... took a moment to swing by HF and HD on the way by.

One thing that jumped out at me on the Husky tool chest / cabinet (one of their higher end 66" ones) vs. the US General 44" lower cabinet (which is on sale this weekend), besides the onboard power strips and other 'bling', was the drawers appeared to be self-closing i.e. if you pushed them mostly shut, they'd go ahead and close the rest of the way, kind of like soft/self-closing kitchen drawer slides.

Not sure how well that would hold up when loaded with tools, or if it's really that big of a deal in actual use... but it sure seemed nice in the store!

[John Goodin]

Seville Classics Ultra HD. They are sold at Sams club. Google the brand and look if they make what you are looking for. The quality is pretty good and the price is great. I have 6 pieces from them with no complaints.

[Jim Becker]

Monte, the big Husky unit I have as well as a smaller one currently on my miter saw bench do have self-closing features and it works well, although I've determined I need to create better "organizational constraints" in side for the smaller stuff as closing the drawers manually or with the soft-close moves stuff toward the back. Nature of the beast.

[Greg R Bradley]

Lots of these manufacturers make different quality lines. Almost none make their own boxes so are not in complete control.

As far as Kennedy, I have two from the 1970s. Really nice units. One actually is Craftsman but is clearly made by Kennedy. I recently bought two more Kennedy boxes. Another 3611B Machinist Top Chest. a BIG step down in quality compared to the supposed same box from 50 years ago. If I had paid anything like the typical $700-1000, it would have gone back. I think I paid $368 on a vendor sale that was discontinuing them. I added one of the large bottom boxes when Zoro had them included in a 30% off and free freight sale. Zoro 30% deals are gone and those items are not included in the discounts either. The Kennedy box was barely worth that heavily discounted price. Nice box, just not worth the price. Drawers only extend 90% now instead of full extension like the older one. Kennedy does still make the high end chests but think all the semi-affordable stuff is now made by someone else.

Some of those Husky mobile benches are really excellent for the price. They are pretty light duty so not what you want if you are going to load them up or move around a lot. Also they are inconsistent in the line. I remember looking at a 46" one that seemed nice and another one about the same size but a different drawer config that seemed made by a different company. Didn't have full extension, didn't have dual slides on the largest drawers, etc. Might want to be sure you can touch the exact unit you will be buying.

[Rege Sullivan]

You are getting good advice here. One thing I'd add, woodworking tools a a somewhat different than automechanic's tool or machinist tools. I have an old (1977) Craftsman and newer (2000ish) Husky top and bottom rollaround and one tall Husky rollaround. My hobby switched from cars to woodworking. For me anyway, having mostly shallow draws were a benefit for automotive tools having more deeper draws are better for wood working. If I wasnt already attached to these boxes I'd be looking at the Seville Classics mentioned above. I am very happy with the quality of two 24x48x72 Seville cabinets in my garage. You need to do some digging on Sam's web site to find all the Seville offerings but worth at least looking. Bottom line. If you have the luxury of purchasing new, assess what you want to store then purchase accordingly. You will likely have them a long time.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a 20 year old Husky in the shop that has held up well, but I don't really move it around too often. I've been looking at the Cobalt's, scratch and dents, at Lowes lately

At work we've put some of the HF General Line through some pretty severe abuse and they've done okay. The drawers go first. The Snap-On's do a little better, but the Kennedy's do not last very long before we are splitting the weld seams on the back.
The best have been Lista's and Vidmar line. I think these could survive a nuclear blast. I mean we really, really, abuse them.
I think just about any of them would be more than suitable for a home garage/shop. There is just simply no way you will ever abuse one at home, like we do at work. No way.

[Dave Cav]

I have two of the old, smaller brown/black wrinkle finish Harbor Freight roll around cabinet sets, the older (brown) one has three sections and the newer (black) one has two. On both of them I added additional drawers to the open space in the bottom of the lower unit. The drawer slides are non ball bearing, but for light general use they seem to work ok. The older brown one I've had for well over 10 years and the black one, which my neighbor gave me new in the box, for four years or so. I use them for incidental stuff, not heavy tools. I just checked the web site and I don't think HF sells them any more.

I have one of the 26 x 22" lower / 26" upper sets from Harbor Freight. I bought them last year on sale and I'm very happy with the quality given the price. For home or light commercial work I think they would be fine but probably wouldn't be my first choice for heavy duty industrial use.

[Mike Wilkins]

Check out the Sam's Club site and type 'tool boxes' in the search box. I have one of their 6 drawer roll around chests which has ball bearing drawer slides. Real nice tool chest.
I also have 3 of their wall mounted cabinets. Really dresses up the shop with the stainless drawer/door fronts.

[Bill Dufour]

Several years ago the Hf red ones were rated as best homeowner cost ones for sale. Not the black ones. For the best look at Lista and Stanley Vidmar.
Watch Sears for closeout prices as they go bankrupt. They may also sell used ones from the auto shop.
At this time K-mart is not liqudating there stores, yet.
Bill D.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

If you have a Menards close, take a look at their Mastercraft tool boxes. Cheap and better than anything else I've tried (not counting Snap on)

[Lisa Starr]

Keep an eye on Craigslist. Someone in our area just listed a older Craftsman lower, middle and upper box for $200! If I needed it, I'd be on my way immediately. It won't last long. He's selling a Jet Drill Press for $50, too!

[Tom M King]

Check your CL for new ones too, if that's what you want. On several of the CL's that I watch, there have been some local sellers that have what look like the same thing that strictlytoolboxes sells, but for less money if you pick them up.

I'm planning to build a metalworking, and mechanic shop, hopefully this Spring, and looks like I'll be using Dragonfiretools boxes. Google will find them for you.

[Marty Gulseth]

Wow! Had no idea that I’d prompt this much discussion. All insightful and helpful, thank you! I had not gotten too far with planning this purchase, but here are a few details. Home hobby use, for my wrenches, screwdrivers, other general purpose hand tools, and some portable power tools. Roll-around, yes, but not a lot of movement expected. What I’m thinking is one of the “stacking” combos with MAYBE a hang-on cabinet on one end. Definitely roller-bearing drawer slides. I don’t need the built-in outlet strips, stereo sound system, wi-fi and/or whatever the various manufacturers are coming up with these days. I DO like the idea of a slightly taller top compartment with the hydraulic lifts. I have some good insights now, I’ll go do some more window-shopping. Thanks again.

[Jim Becker]

The downside with the stacking combos you have to watch out for is the lowest storage area. Be sure however that is setup is useful for your purpose. The old, old, red "Waterloo" stackable I have just has a big open bin behind a pull up door and it's very inefficient. I currently just throw my big plumbing wrenches and drywall tools in there but otherwise it's almost wasted space. The bigger Husky "bench cabinet" I bought for the shop last year has nice slide-out drawers all the way to the bottom. This isn't a brand thing...just a suggestion to make sure whatever you decide on is setup well for your uses.

[Peter Christensen]

I agree with Jim. And put your heaviest things lower rather than higher to keep the boxes from tipping if you catch a wheel. Sickening feeling when the box starts to go over and you can't stop it. Doesn't do the box much good either. Learned the hard way years ago.