Tool Boxes?

Looking to purchase a new toolbox for myself. Looking for something at least 52", any recommendations? This will be for home use, I've simply outgrown my current toolbox which is a 26", and I figured if I'm upgrading, I might as well go bigger. Not looking to spend a fortune, and I wouldn't rule out a quality used one if someone can recommend a good place to find those as well. Any recommendations, brand preferences, brands I should stay away from, etc are welcome.

Thanks!

I'm a dealership tech so I see all kinds of boxes and the big name boxes for the most part last pretty much forever. I've had the same 60" Cornwell box for over 25 years and it's probably the last box I will ever own. Quality ball bearing drawers are a must on the large drawers . You can find good deals on used toolboxes now in this crap economy . I looked at a Milwaukee tool box at a surplus store a few weeks ago and it was pretty good quality for a $1200 toolbox. I paid about $4500 for my box 25 years ago and I can still get a good trade in value.
Waterloo makes a lot of your better mid level boxes so research boxes made by Waterloo
Gus

I bought a new Matco. Wish I’d done that years ago. Last box I’ll ever buy. Great slides.

Bought a used Snapon from a guy who was getting out. He built a 440 on top of the thing. There is no way I’d buy anything new. I agree about looking around and get a quality used box. Cat not included.

I have the Snap On tool box that I bought new in 1993, two more Snap On tool boxes at home and a Matco tool box with side cabinet at work. My wife uses the pink Snap on box for her sewing stuff. She loves it because you can lock it. I would search Marketplace on Facebook for a used one. You can buy a used box sometimes for half of what a new one costs. Stay away from the big box store tool boxes. They are not the same quality and will not hold up over time.

I bought one of these maybe 6 months ago. No complaints. drawers open and close really smooth loaded
Right about $400 at home depot.
The black ones are less than that


Ive had Snapon and Matco both over the years when I was a dealer tech .

I had drawer slide issues on my snap on box before it was 10 years old
IMO Far FAR to much money compared to whats avail out there today

The Harbor Freight boxes are plenty good for home use. $1100 for 96” box that you can upgrade end lockers, tops, side cabinets...

I put a row of Lista tool boxes against the wall in my shop and then put a wood top on them. I really like the Lista boxes.

One of mine is the same looking box but black. There are 2 sizes and I was after the wider one but got smaller one because it was on sale and after HD card discount was less then half price. The only complaint I have is the trays my tools came in are just a touch too wide for it. Had I bought the wider one they would have fit.
My other tool boxes are the 40+ year old size asin not too wide so I have side boxes on both of them.

I bought one of these stainless deals at Costco 8 years ago.

https://www.amazon.com/Drawer-Stain...Thor+Group&qid=1599799022&sr=8-3

But mine had an open cabinet on right side instead of drawers. And for $600 it was about $300 less than the Harbor Freight at the time.

Same box sold under a bunch of different nameplates

It is more shallow than typical, so makes it nice for smaller home garage. But the drawers depths are a little wacky. You have to make your stand up socket drawer the second from bottom and it’s more depth than you need. Also the three top drawers are really too shallow to have your pliers standing on their sides.

i am a autobody tech. i have been using the HF 56" bottom box for the last 5 years it works OK. the slides have worn out on the top drawer, just replaced them with new parts from HF.
the standard HF boxes have OK slides. if you have a lot of heavy stuff in the drawers it will mess up the slides. this is the case with any other aftermarket box. when looking at the box you plan on buying i would suggest opening a drawer fully and leaning on it to see how they bend and support the weight before buying. most non name boxes are built pretty weak compared to the tool truck brands.

with that said i highly recommend looking at the new ICON line of tool boxes at HF. they compare directly with the name brand tool boxes sold like snap on and rest of the tool truck brands. the side lockers on these boxes look really nice. if i wasn't in the process of doing a custom modification car project i would buy the 72" box with side locker tomorrow and have no regrets.
in the store i have opened the bottom drawer and can stand in it without it bending, i am pushing 260lbs.
there is currently a coupon on the internet for 20% off your entire purchase of icon products. also i see a sign on the tool boxes they will give you 10% off if you finance it thru HF. i don't know if you can combine the 2 discounts, but my gut feeling is yes they will combine the 2.
i also see a FREE DELIVERY of ICON tool box purchases in the store display also.

Was in Harbor Freight this week, they now have a line of "pro grade" boxes named ICON. ICON also has a large line of "pro grade" tools.

They seem ok, the drawers have a better than harbor normal slide to them, but not much.

I would say between harbor and husky, for a home box, your best bet besides buying used. Craigslist and market place are usually littered with them

Bought mine at Menards. One of the nicest and solid that I looked at.

I refuse to buy a $9000 tool box from the tool trucks, thats nearly as much as a new car (nissan versa or hyundai accent with rebates can be had just over $10,000). I can buy 9 harbour freight boxes for the price of a crap on, smackco or smac and they are way easier to deal with than the tool truck drivers who don't want to come out and deal with warranty issues unless you are spending tons o money on other tools or at least making payments and since I pay cash and not payments they barely come by.

I have had real good luck with craftsman (though the new ones don't seem as sturdy as my 15 year old one) and the US generals. I tried Husky cheap ones but the slides crumple up with anything but feathers in em.

The Icons feel a tiny bit better but not worth 4 or 5 times as much as a US general. The icon tools are no better than my craftsman tools but are almost tool truck price.

I do buy a handfull of tool truck tools, there are somethings that you just need really good stuff, I went through breaker bars like crazy till I steped up and bought a snap on, I even bought a really long 1/2 inch ratchet that holds up better than craftsman or Icon breaker bars do.

Buddy has these. Very nice for the money. Tool box

Yep, The aftermarket tool boxes have come a long way in the past 20 -25 years. And so have I. My last tool truck box was a Mac. I think it was 60" long lower cabinet. with a really thick wood top. I gave $4500 for it.

Sold it maybe 3 years ago. Took everything I could do to get $1500 for it .

I paid $400 for my 48" husky and have ZERO regrets.






I will say the best 3/8" air ratchet is a Snapon, bar NONE . And worth the price to step up to it if you're trying to make a living with it.

Mine are Stanley-Vidmar, but basically the same thing. I bought a couple at auction, and found a guy who bought out a plant that was closing and did some trading. I've got 6 of the 54" high by 30" wide cabinets against one wall, for less than $1500... Machine shop auctions are a great source.

OMG! We had Stanley-Vidmar drawer cabinets in the inspection office where I worked. It was incredible how many steel gages and tools they held and the drawers glided in and out with ease.

I have a large Kobalt tool box I bought about 12 or so years ago. I haven`t had any issues with it. The drawers still slide nice. Rolls fine. I`m happy with it.

I have a,limited area in my Single car garage. So I bought the very best Craftsman on sale in SS tgat,Waterloo makes for them.
It had great rollers on the slides. That was,14 or 15 year's ago.
Waterloo ones I bought in the past before tgat were also good.
I like the Harbor Freight new ones are the bomb but I have no room.

I have a Kobalt wife got me about 5 years ago. Works real well for home use. I had a small 24-26" craftsman my dad got me when I was about 8 that just wasn't big enough. My dad bought a Snap On back in the early 90's as he was a service tech and it is a SUPER nice quality box, but for home use I could never justify the price for home use. The Kobalt one is 42" I think. Kinda wish I went a little bigger, but I looked around at Lowes/Home Depot/Sears (When they were still open). and for the money at the time Kobalt were nice for the $. Since than some of the ones at Home Depot seem nice and even Harbor Freight higher end ones seem pretty good. Go to the stores and open and close the drawers, the good ones will feel smooth and be made from thicker metal.

The white tool box was not my first choice for color, but I picked up this Kobalt tool box setup (top chest and bottom) on clearance for $190.00 at my local Lowes. I've had Harbor Freight tool boxes and did not have any issues.

How much weight do you guys put in the drawers that you need the super sliders ?

Nice box for the money

Ya know im cheap Doc, so I watch CL for the crooks selling NIB products and have had great luck with the simple blue craftsman ball bearing roller slider series of boxes. A couple drawers I might have 50-70 pounds in with no troubles.

Oh nO pOtO... I beez cheaper !

Here’s what I settled on .... along with 3 EVEN CHEAPER craftsman rollaways ....

I have two tall Craftsman boxes that I've been using for 20 years and they've been great. They don't have the real deep/long drawers so they don't stress the slides like the huge boxes do.

Here's mine:

Sonny RUFF sure makes some big bucks on those muffs to afford such a tool box combo ...