Sport-Touring
The Tech Zone => Mods & Maintenance => Topic started by: sleazy rider on April 20, 2014, 08:00:26 AM
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http://www.harborfreight.com/56-in-11-drawer-glossy-red-industrial-roller-cabinet-67681.html (http://www.harborfreight.com/56-in-11-drawer-glossy-red-industrial-roller-cabinet-67681.html)
http://www.harborfreight.com/56-in-8-drawer-glossy-red-roller-cabinet-top-chest-61370.html (http://www.harborfreight.com/56-in-8-drawer-glossy-red-roller-cabinet-top-chest-61370.html)
Is anyone out in the ST.o world using these? I'd love a real life review other than the HF website reviews. I'm running out of room quick in my current 27" boxes with the new job and adding massive amounts of tools to the collection. The most attractive part other than the price is the depth of the drawers @ 24"! I just can't force myself to pay the truck rate of over $7000 for a tool box to just store the tools that really make the money. :bigsmile: Cash is king and these fit the cash in stock.
The 44" boxes tempt me for the price, but I'm afraid I'd find myself in the same situation of a lack of space in just a few months.
And for reviews - I love my Motion Pro compression tester kit. Bought just a week ago, it's been used three times already and fit every bike I've had to test. Also, their steel tire spoons and bead buddy are the cat's ass. They just eat up everything I toss at them on dirt bike jobs.
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If you have a weekend to read head over to the Garage Journal Forum.
In short: HF boxes are probably the best bang for the buck in the market today.
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*sigh* Time to spend money. The other good part is I get my old tool boxes back in my garage. :bigok: All my home stuff is in cardboard boxes at the moment.
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If you have a weekend to read head over to the Garage Journal Forum.
In short: HF boxes are probably the best bang for the buck in the market today.
interesting... can't wait to get my own hobby shop to store all my tools. I SOOOOOOOO need more tool storage.
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I can't tell you from experience, but I have looked at them at the HF here in Jackson & they seem to be okay. I would personally compare the to Craftsman's less expensive tool boxes. Unless you plan on using it 8 hours a day fot the next 25-30 years, I wouldn't buy a super expensive one. Just my $0.02. Good luck.
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We've been using the 44" box setup in the chump car shop, and trailer for a while now. So far it has survived being transported, but we don't have it loaded real heavy. Quality seems on par with other budget boxes.
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I've looked at them in person too, but was looking at long term durability. I'm using mine 9 hours a day, six days a week for the foreseeable future. Granted, most drawers don't get used that much, but the sockets and wrench ones sure are. The reviews on GJ are all positively radiant.
I didn't see that damn 72" bottom box before though! :eek: :drif:
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We have the red harbor freight set you linked to. Purchased it a couple months ago so I can't tell you about long term durability yet, but so far so good.
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Son is a dealership mechanic and one of his workmates uses this very box.
Buy a set of extra heavy duty castors and use THEM when you put it together.
The box itself works real well, the drawers work nicely and you can LOAD this puppy down.
If you change the wheel castors that is. (One folded on his....had to lift it with a chain and a come a long to replace it.)
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roller bearing slides on the drawers are good, I have a cheapo canadian tire toolbox with ordinary slides, and they're not great.
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If I had room in the garage for one, I'd pick one up in a heartbeat.
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In short: HF boxes are probably the best bang for the buck in the market today.
+1
Had one previously. Lasted a long time, rocked its job.
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Did some measuring at the shop and the big boxes just won't fit. It looks like I'll end up with the 44" set as they'll just squeeze into my workspace and leave me room on the bench top. The 56" bottom box was too tall to fit under my bench. :bluduh: I can add my side hang box to the HF kit and still have a good amount of storage. Need to pick up some more socket racks too. The big impact sockets in 1/2" and 3/8" were on sale last weekend at HF. I also got the Craftsman very large allen key sockets. They're all been pressed into service already.
It all works since I'm a short bastard and couldn't see into the top of the 56" box without a step stool anyways. :lol:
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Indecisive? Damn straight! :lol: After measuring, the 56" without casters is the same height as the 44" and either will fit minus wheels. Tomorrow, I spend money. Pics after it's all set up.
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Indecisive? Damn straight! :lol: After measuring, the 56" without casters is the same height as the 44" and either will fit minus wheels. Tomorrow, I spend money. Pics after it's all set up.
That was going to be my suggestion: wheels are only necessary if you actually move your box around. For a home garage, wheels are, 90% of the time, superfluous. :thumbsup:
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Indecisive? Damn straight! :lol: After measuring, the 56" without casters is the same height as the 44" and either will fit minus wheels. Tomorrow, I spend money. Pics after it's all set up.
That was going to be my suggestion: wheels are only necessary if you actually move your box around. For a home garage, wheels are, 90% of the time, superfluous. :thumbsup:
this is my experience, as well.
but, if you won't use the HF wheels, DO replace em with either blocks of aluminum (get the box off the concrete with something that won't wick moisture) or with better wheels.
My (non-HF) box only moves a couple of times a year, but those times, it needs to move.
YMMV
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Good tip on the blocking. Bottom box purchased and waiting for the guys to bring it out now. Off to the shop to swap things around and take my old boxes home.
Added: Holy fuck, this thing is huge. Being in the HF store, you really can't get a size perspective. Put it next to my old ones and it doubles the old capacity.
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Put it next to my old ones and it doubles the old capacity.
And you'll probably still run out of space in the near future. :naughty:
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Put it next to my old ones and it doubles the old capacity.
And you'll probably still run out of space in the near future. :naughty:
Not until the tool fund recovers. :blbl:
One week in and the box is fantastic. We blocked it up with some plywood packing from the crate it came in. The shop is high and dry, so I'm not worried about moisture wicking. Drawers are solid, roomy and glide like a penguin on ice. Our Snap On guy swung by on Monday and I spent a few hundred with him on good screwdrivers and snap ring pliers. Yeah, a wee bit pricy, but damn they just fit your hand. Bonus was I sold the Husky boxes I had to one of the other techs and got a quarter of the money back on the new bottom box. He's happy, I'm happier. That cash is going towards a HF 5 drawer tool cart for home use when they go back on sale. :naughty:
I'll snap some phone pics next week of the whole rig. I've got three full sets of SAE and Metric sockets in standard and deep along with all the other ratchet stuff in the top drawer alone.
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Oooops! Spoke too soon. Linda got me a new cart for the garage.
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Again, they look much smaller in the store. My DR in the background is 40" tall at the handlebars. Now I gotta go back and spend more money on socket and wrench racks.
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I've had my five drawer for quite a while. Still solid as a rock. The new smooth finish should hold stickers better than my crinkle finished one.