Vigo wrote:How much is, say, a 15mm mid-depth 3/8" drive impact swivel nowadays?About $50 (EACH) i think.
Okay, so $10 more than MAC then. (He was JUST in the door, and I had to replace a 16mm that walked away, my cost $40.99)
OTOH, my MAC guy warranties everything I throw at him, while Snap-On won't give me the time of day. Guess who gets my dollars?
(And yes, $400 socket sets are a bit absurd. I use Murray's parts-store junk for chrome sockets, but anything impact is brand-name all the way)
I have been a flat rate tech since 1980. A quality tool box is essential if you have daily work use. I purchased my "last tool box" in 1991 it is a Matco Space Station the first of the big boxes. I came to the shop on a freight truck and weighed in at 891#. Boxes have increased in price but as my tools go this was one of the best investments I made. I would say that the Matco boxes and the tool company it self is the best out there, but as we all know that depends directly on your personal dealer.
Flattop wrote: I have been a flat rate tech since 1980. A quality tool box is essential if you have daily work use. I purchased my "last tool box" in 1991 it is a Matco Space Station the first of the big boxes. I came to the shop on a freight truck and weighed in at 891#. Boxes have increased in price but as my tools go this was one of the best investments I made. I would say that the Matco boxes and the tool company it self is the best out there, but as we all know that depends directly on your personal dealer.
Cool! I did the validation tests on that box! 
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Learning to settle on the big boxes with roller bearing drawer slides and big ball bearing castors that Sam's Club sells for $399 - $799 is worth every penny not spent. Who cares if it is "the last tool box you will ever buy". It is like a Sub Zero fridge in your kitchen. Is it good? Sure. Is it worth $5k to keep your food at the same temp as the Kenmore that runs $799? No berkeleying way. It is fashion for the shop.
Don't get me started. Bought a house with a SubZero- built in. It was 30 years old an needed to be replaced. Guess who was the only manufacturer who made one that size? Damn well better bet the last fridge I buy- it cost more than most cars I've owned.
Has anybody ever bought the tool boxes that Summit sells? I just saw them today in their tool catalog and was wondering what they were like.
In reply to jimbob_racing:
They're junk.
Think outside the box: "building" may just be modifying stuff that already exists.
Old hospital equipment is great, I have a rolling cart with drawers from an endoscope setup which I use for my welder and air tools, this thing is heavy duty and cost $15 from a hospital auction. The equipment that it had was a few hundred pounds so this thing is built sturdy.
That filing cabinet setup is sweet!
It is grey and on the right, with a blue (HF obviously) mig on top.
As far as being a "car guy" and living in an appartment, my new lease spells out no playing with cars, I can even get fined for washing my car on the premisis. So I have to go over friends houses to get stuff done. I dislike this place for that reason alone, it is a nice unit.
alex wrote: This HF tool cart, by the way......is identical to the one that comes off the Snap-On truck. (They're nice.) Two guys in my shop bought them off the truck before HF started carrying them. They weren't happy when I brought in the GRM ad...
I have that tool cart. I really like it.
When I graduate and have to start spending my own money to have fun, I'll have to think long and hard about how much of my money can go towards toys and how much needs to be invested responsibly.
Sounds like a plan. 
A friend of mine just bought the 13 drawer red box and i messed with it a little bit. I think it's a great deal for the money. But, overall i would say if you're not in a hurry, to try and shop for used deals on nicer boxes if you have the time and the willingness to spend it going around looking at things that may end up being junk. My matco box is a lot nicer than the HF one, and i paid the same for it, but it is smaller. With enough time and vigilance, i probably could have gotten a nicer box that was the SAME size for the same money. But finding good used deals is effort-y and sometimes you just want something right now!
Im actually seriously considering the black 4 drawer cart now. I have heard the same thing about the red 5 drawer being nicer, but i dont want anything bigger if i can avoid it and i am also horribly cheap.
As for those impact wobbles i did price some shallow Matco impact wobbles last week and they were ~$43 each. I just rounded up a little for the mid-depth thing.
I bought the 40" Craftsman professional stuff a few years back. They used to make the top box w/ a full width bottom drawer, roll chest w/ full width top drawer. Put the mid chest in and you have 3, 40" drawers all together in the middle. Very useful. I added the side box and I'm done. In my garage shop they're plenty good and holding up fine. I have 2 additional older craftsman red 26" stacks - one in the hobby corner of the basement and a bigger one in the machine shop.
As the machine shop just got a lot bigger - I bought the assets of a small shop that was closing - I needed a lot more storage for tooling. Stanley Vidmar cabinets and the best for stationary tool storage. About every real machine shop uses them - they'll hold 400#/drawer - but they're incredible expensive, like $2500 for a new 12 drawer. They fetch a G used regularly. So I went to a Dovebid auction of a manufacturing plant and managed to pick up a 12 drawer for about $350, and 3 units of chrome Metro shelving for another $200.
I refuse to buy a Chinese box. My craftsman stuff was last generation of US made.
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