Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,984
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Jun 27, 2016 11:58:04 GMT
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I have been looking at tool chests for my home garage, just to keep stuff safe and together.
I saw a nice one at Costco over the weekend - made by Kirkland - £500.
I have seen a few US PRO Tools on Ebay for circa £250 - does anyone have one of these are and are they any good?
Thanks.
R
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alecf
Part of things
Posts: 424 
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Jun 27, 2016 12:37:49 GMT
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got the Halfords black industrial one, cant fault it.
Got a us pro tools trolley , had it about 5 years before they were all over ebay, its had a tough life with landrover axles rested across it, and even driven into it, it still works like new, and the casters are spot on, very good product and would buy another tomorrow.
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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Jun 27, 2016 17:16:56 GMT
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Don't want to sound like an echo here but I got the black halfords one a few years ago at £300-£250 for the pair. 400mm deep draws are a must in my opinion.
I think I've had mine 3/4 years now and it's still top notch. Otherwise machine mart do some boxes and kit which can be quite reasonable with their VAT free days.
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Jun 28, 2016 12:01:25 GMT
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If it's just for home and your not in the motor trade or making a living from being on the tools IE it's not going to get heavy use
Then I would think any of the ones you've seen or have already been mentioned will do the job fine
The best advice I could give you would be
Look at what your going to put in it things like the size of the tools how many screwdrivers/spanners etc and then look at the boxes and work out what's going to go where and will it all fit
You don't want to get it home and then find there's nowhere to put the club hammer or that nice fancy hydraulic puller
If you get what I mean
Normally the only difference between the more expensive tool boxes is the quality/thickness of steel it's made from and the locking mechanism
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1992 240 Volvo T8
1955 Cadillac
1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold )
1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2
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1971 VW bay window (work in progress)
1999 Mazda 323F
1987 Jaguar XJ12
All current
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Pid363!
Posted a lot
Madness is all in the mind!
Posts: 1,042
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Jun 28, 2016 12:24:27 GMT
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I have a few one from the Littlewoods catalogue from when I was a teenager, a very old us pro one and a couple of smaller machine mart ones. They are all still in use only for hobby type stuff. The only real problem with any of them is the runners on the drawers they seem to give up. A while ago i was looking for a bigger one for my garage at home and found the Halfords ones better than Machine mart but ended up with a second hand snap on one which had runner issues but was able to get replacements from local snap on dealer free of charge!!!
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Stupid is as stupid does!
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Jun 29, 2016 10:26:17 GMT
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Worth looking for second hand stuff, as long as it's not been hammered. A few weeks ago I got hold of a Sykes Pickavant 10 drawer top box (looks identical to Britool ones) for 20 quid. It's a few years old- a found an old tax disc and an envelope with a 1977 post mark in it along with an old champion spark plug tester card  but it weighs about 45kg and all the drawer runners work perfectly. It's bigger (deeper) than the machine mart and Halfords ones too. Made my tool collection look quite small after decanting it from the 2 big plastic toolboxes I had before. It has to be at least 25 years old and I have no reason to doubt it will last another 25 years. |
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Wilk
Part of things
Posts: 528
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Jun 29, 2016 10:33:27 GMT
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If you decide to go for separates make sure you choose a common size so it's easier to add more sections at a later date
I made the mistake of buying the 26" wide Snap On boxes but they come in 3 different depths 12" older versions that are the cheapest option, 18" version and lastly the rarer 14" version. You can guess which one I bought lol. Been looking for a second hand 2 drawer mid box for over a year
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If it can be fixed with a hammer, then it must be an electrical fault
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gazz81
Part of things
Posts: 842
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Jun 29, 2016 12:18:45 GMT
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Ive got a couple of Dirty Pro tool boxes. Pretty cheap on Ebay and well made.  |
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G4vBr
Part of things
Posts: 200
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Jun 29, 2016 15:12:42 GMT
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Jun 29, 2016 16:50:59 GMT
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I bought one of these and despite it being a bit on the small side I'm quite happy with it.  |
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Last Edit: Jun 29, 2016 16:55:54 GMT by Rebuilda
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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Jun 29, 2016 20:11:23 GMT
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Get the black Halfords Industrial ones when they're on sale. I'm very happy with mine.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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dazcapri
North East
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Posts: 1,057
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Jun 29, 2016 20:13:39 GMT
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Make sure you get ball bearing slides on the draws I've got an old taskmaster set up and the draws struggle with a bit of weight in them. If I was buying new I'd go for either the Clark or halfords stuff that the others have recommended.
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Mk3 Capri LS
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Having owned or a lot of experience with all of the following, I would say that the Costco ones you've seen are on a level with Clarke Industrial and the black Halfords Professional boxes at "Well made, overbuilt and solid, finished off nicely with good quality handles and runners" whereas the eBay boxes are "cheaply made from slightly too thin gauge of metal, with the cheapest possible runners and nasty chromed plastic handles"
IMO the US pro/Dirty pro ones (they're the same boxes with different badges) are like toy tool boxes. I own a couple but use them for light storage of stuff for my electrical hobby. Like you would a normal chest of drawers - They're at home in the attic. They do the job fine but if you loaded them with much weight the drawer runners would struggle and even unloaded you have to mind how you pull them open otherwise they can twist and bind.
At work we have Clarke industrial boxes which are nice - I would say a little overpriced but if you can get one on offer with 20% off then go for it. The gaffers at work only bought them because they were blue and matched the workbenches!
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Tool Chests - For a newbieDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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i have the big clarke industrial black and gold top box. had it quite a long time now (5yrs+) of trade use and its held up well.
i got it 1/3 retail from the machine mart 'reduced' section as some numpty had dropped something on it and dented the lid. didnt bother me as it doesnt effect its operation and you cant see it when its open. definately worth checking that section of your store to see if they have anything on the cheap.
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Aldi have one for £130 currently, might be worth a look
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'73 Commer Campervan under full restoration, '83 VW T25 Doka under partial restoration to become rolling project, '04 Saab 9-3 Vector Sport modified and certainly not finished...
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andy-v
Part of things
i like cookies :D
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ndg
Part of things
Posts: 109
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If you're looking at Costco ones, wait until they get the blue Homak one back in as a deal. I looked at the Kirkland one and the drawers are all too deep, more shallow drawers are useful for tools.
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Pid363!
Posted a lot
Madness is all in the mind!
Posts: 1,042
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Aldi had some tool boxes for sale thursday don't know what they were like
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Stupid is as stupid does!
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but it weighs about 45kg and all the drawer runners work perfectly. It's bigger (deeper) than the machine mart and Halfords ones too. Made my tool collection look quite small after decanting it from the 2 big plastic toolboxes I had before.
