Harbor Freight Tool boxes?

BoostedBrandon wrote:

JoeyM wrote: Here are pics of my Sam's Club tool bench http://www.samsclub.com/sams/ultra-heavy-duty-12-drawer-rolling-workbench/prod1480010.ip

I'm pretty sure that's the one I saw. *droooooooool*

Yeah, it is pretty awesome . Between that and the lighting in the garage, I feel really blessed.

I also have the matching six drawer unit that I still need to assemble

Wow, that Sam's Club box/bench looks great! I could really use table top space in my garage too.

Maybe I'll ask my wife for that one instead. I also like the 13 drawer red HF box...

my dad bought that sams club bench/box pictured above to use as his primary workbench in his garage. no complaints.

Anyone besides Snap-On making these in the USA? I don't see getting a Snap-On box (in fact, I'm not in the market at all) as a hobbyist but I have heartburn over the HF etc stuff.

Can you mount a vice on that Sams Club workbench?

pres589 wrote: Anyone besides Snap-On making these in the USA? I don't see getting a Snap-On box (in fact, I'm not in the market at all) as a hobbyist but I have heartburn over the HF etc stuff.

I think Cornwell boxes are still made in USA.

But i don't think that helps the pricing issue.

docwyte wrote: Can you mount a vice on that Sams Club workbench?

The top is solid oak, but there's no overhang. Getting to the bottom side of the wood to tighten a nut would probably require you to temporarily pull the drawers out. I don't think it would be difficult.

I have a Craftsman box with slider drawers that's about 10 years old and it's crap. Thin-gauge metal, sliders failing, just generally feels chintzy. I do want to get something new, but I hate to give up the rather impressive sticker collection I have on it.

I bring this up in every HF toolbox thread, so I may as well do it again: This box here

is identical to one that Snap-On sells. The badge on the front is literally the only difference. (EDIT: My mistake, just remembered the Snappy box has hydraulic struts for the lid. Snazzy, but unnecessary.) Two guys at my old shop had the Snap-On versions, and I can't imagine what they paid for them. HF also makes a red version of this one with a side pod for screwdrivers. Both are very nice carts for the money.

I have this box in the old red crinkle finish.

My only issue is that the positive stop to click the drawers shut is getting lazy on mine. I'm guessing that can be attributed to gunk in the drawer sliders, and I could probably fix it with a thorough interior cleaning. Otherwise, it's a great piece. I'm just about to outgrow it, so I'll be getting some of the side pods to expand.

Tool boxes have to be one of the greatest depreciating assets ever. I have a giant 3 bay Matco I got a screaming deal on when I was a tech by buying used from a guy leaving the business. Whenever I saw a name brand box for sale it seemed like it was going for 20% of original selling price.

That's mostly a reflection of the ridiculously high prices most techs are willing to pay in the first place, not anything about the boxes themselves. Buying a new toolbox from one of the big, higher-end brands is kind of crazy to me. I bought my small Matco box at probably 40% of new and think that's about what its worth (for the record, it's great! I just need a bigger one now..).

I actually assembled one of these and used it as storage at the last shop i worked at and was generally impressed. Of course, they arent very cheap so it's no HUGE surprise. If the bigger bench/box is built the same i'd say its a fairly high-quality product.

We have some of those big Sam's Club wood/stainless boxes at FM as normal working benches. The fact that we can roll them from one car to another is a big plus. Really nice. I have two in my home shop, one of the big mamas and a shorter one with pegboard on the back. The latter is in front of my storage cave, which works out well because I can easily roll it out of the way to access that area - which happens about once every two months. The wood tops are pretty but honestly I prefer steel plate for function.

Otherwise, I've got a mix of older Craftsman, Husky and probably something else. All ball bearing, all working well with no complaints. None of them ever leave the garage anymore.

I have this one - loaded to the gills. No complaints other than I could use a second one. Wasn't super cheap - around $600 on sale.

I have the big one from Harbor Freight at work. It's got latching drawers, ball bearing slides, and was only $799.99. Saw a coupon for it recently that was $699.99-it's this one here.

I love it-very solid, and much better than $5,000 for a Snap On or Matco one. I took the US General badge off and put a sticker over the holes. Now it's just a red tool box.

I have a big craftsman ball-bearing toolchest. It wasn't terribly expensive. I have it loaded up with some serious weight and the drawers always open smoothly and easily. I think it's a "griplatch" model.

sethmeister4 wrote: I have the big one from Harbor Freight at work. It's got latching drawers, ball bearing slides, and was only $799.99. Saw a coupon for it recently that was $699.99-it's this one here. I love it-very solid, and much better than $5,000 for a Snap On or Matco one. I took the US General badge off and put a sticker over the holes. Now it's just a red tool box.

Harbor Freight used to make a 72" box... i'd love to find one.

just used my mediocre googlefu to send a young fellow our way specifically on this topic.  after reading through all the posts I realized they're app. 6 yrs old by now.  heck I know there are more recent threads but this is pretty good for its age.  hopefully it will have opened up his horizons. 

My red HF tool box is holding up fine.  There's another thread here somewhere on them.  Don't get the cheap black one.  The higher price red one is every bit as good as my 30+ year old Craftsman.

They revised their toolbox line in the last year or so, the new ones are even nicer than the versions from the beginning of this discussion.  They come in several colors as well, not just black or red anymore.  https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-chests-roller-cabinets.html  The double bank roller cabinet is very nice, and they often have sales and/or coupons for lower prices.

I got this tool box for work last year.

I only move it once per month but it rolls very smooth. I like the top design that lets you clamp a ladder to it to take with you.

92CelicaHalfTrac said:

pres589 wrote: Anyone besides Snap-On making these in the USA? I don't see getting a Snap-On box (in fact, I'm not in the market at all) as a hobbyist but I have heartburn over the HF etc stuff.

I think Cornwell boxes are still made in USA.

But i don't think that helps the pricing issue.

Old I know but cornwell boxes are USA built. A large portion of them hear in van wert at the old Kennedy tool box facility 

Bought this one on sale to handle overflow from my main cabinet  https://www.harborfreight.com/26-in-x-22-in-single-bank-red-roller-cabinet-64162.html

40+ years of buying tools has a tendency to catch up with you, especially when you retire from work, and downsize from an enclosed trailer.  

The box has been great so far, my biggest complaint was that one of the included drawer liners was miscut.  Boo Hoo.