Popped into Halfords today to check out their tool chests. Little disappointed with all of them - seemed a bit flimsy. And the black "industrial" ones had fiddly catches on all the drawers which I thought would be a pain. Only 3% off with my friend's trade card was another disappointment.
Still, came away with some wobble drive socket extensions and side cutters so not a wasted trip. The sales guy reckons I won't need a receipt to take up the lifetime guarantee for their professional stuff. Handy as I'm bad with receipts.
Might pop down to see the guy that sells those US Pro boxes on eBay next week. They look fairly tidy.
Costco boxes - last time I looked these were around £420 (6 months ago) at Watford. For that you got 41" Roll Cab and Top Chest. Heavy items and reasonable quality by all accounts, though can't remember if they were Ball Bearing or Roller Bearing. I think most of the drawers had a single-slider rivetted each side, apart from the biggest bottom drawer which had two. Have to say they appeared good value and I was tempted - but not that keen on Stainless and came upon a lightly damaged H/D Sealey instead.
If you google 'CSPS Rollcab' you will find much commentary from people in the US, a lot of it positive. I looked on a favourite Auction site back then and noticed the same CSPS items selling for up to £650, some of them featuring pictures clearly taken in Costco.
The guy did it for £300 inc VAT but picked it up myself. I've got nothing to compare it with but quality is OK, it's not professional everyday hammering standard but is perfect for my home use. The paint finish is a rough texture as opposed to the shiny finish I've seen on every other box.
As far as I'm concerned it's worth the money but then again I could never bring myself to spend the few grand for a red metal box that some of our workshop mechanics do.
That sounds quite promising. Hoping to pop down on Wednesday to have a look at the things in the flesh. I'd not stretch more than £300 either. Will post back if I come home with a box.
I have a Halfords Pro cab and a Clarke HD Pro top box and they're fine for me. The Halfords one I've had a few years and is full of really heavy stuff and the drawers still open and shut really easily.
I picked up the toolbox this morning. (One of those US Pro ones from eBay). Been a struggle to get it here what with not being at home during the day so ended up picking it up from the haulier's yard. It needed a fair push to get it all into the Renault.
Very pleased with it - nice and sturdy, though matt black is a poor colour choice for me - gets dirty very easily and doesn't wipe clean. It's a bit tall with 3 boxes so I've moved the top one onto a bench. It's lovely to get the garage properly organised.
I find i cant fit hardly anything in little drawers, all mine are 3" or more deep. Although, that does mean theres a bit of a mess in a couple of them
Room for the deep sockets to be clipped in stood up.
Im seriously lacking space, so might have to go upwards or outwards at some point. Thats the trouble with big tools
i just got a 5 drawer roll cab from halfords, and you get the 7 drawer top box for free worth £150. the roll cab is up at £250 now but i reserved mine a few days ago when it was £230. bargain
Has anyone bought one of the halfords cabinets using a trade card? If so, how much discount did you get? I cant believe how much they've gone up since last year! Makes me wonder if they offer as good value as they used to, so might look into clarke instead!
mmm. Some interesting posts. Glad you got what you wanted Malcolm.
As for me, because of space issues I built a workbench on castors with fixed shelves underneath. I hate toolchests. They start out nice and tidy and after one job they're a mess and you can never find the right spanner or socket etc in the jumble of sockets or spanners. So now I have tool boxes for certain tasks. When I start the job I pour the contents on the shelf below and because it's a big area you can see what you want with a quick scan as and when you need it. I just scoop the lot back in the box when done. What can I say. I'm a slob without paying the normal penalties of being a slob. I can still find my ****
not hard hammering no but he uses his as a small work surface. there is always something you will need to give a little tap with a hammer.
and if you put anything reasonably hot on there (spark plugs after an engine has been run for example) the mat will melt slightly. his was full of small holes.
this rubber does not absorb workshop fluids and does wipe quite clean though i have to be honest.
I have to admit - with some embarrassment - to having forked out a bit last week on this stainless steel sealey (from here - pricey but about half what I've seen it elsewhere).
Why embarrassed? Cos it's not for my workshop (where I have a nice blue Clarke HD Plus which is still shiny and works beautifully) but for my...um..kitchen
I'm doing a re-build and needed a narrow cabinet with lots of draws and this was perfect and tbh on a par price-wise with some of the tacky kitchen cabinets. I can justify the expense as my kitchen will end up costing about a quarter of what mr. rats paid out for his AND I'm having fun doing it.
The quality is great, beautifully made and looks pretty too. I'm going to replace the rubber mat on top with a piece of slate or something similar (still looking...)