This has been on my mind for a while, ive been accumulating a bunch of tools recently but no where really to put them. I've been looking around at tool cabinets and such but all the ones that I have seen at Home Depot or Lowes are flemsy and just seem like theyre not put together very well. So I did some searching on the internet and found some. I like Kennedy tools chests and cabinets but they are a pretty penny. So my question is should I go ahead and spend some money on a solid tool chest? or should I spend about half that on one from Lowes/Home Depot?

Ive been looking at this one...It's a Kennedy BTW

 

The Stainless Steel ones at Sams and Costco are both nice bangs for he buck. Some of the Craftsman ones are a good buy also. You could also look at Snap-On used on eBay.

One of the members at TOOLandFAB has some Snap-On ones for sale. He's on Cali, so shipping would likely kill the deal though.

http://toolandfab.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161

 

Whatever you get, make sure it has decent slides. Preference goes to ball-bearing slides.

Always buy twice as big as you currently need. If you find one with "just enough" room now, it's to small.

 

Ain't that the truth...

 

I have a cobalt one with ball bearing drawers .. it's pretty solid.

 

Thanks ill look into some of those

 

Got the stainless one from Sam's and love it. Oh yeah its got ball bearings for the drawers

 

I've seen the stainless steel ones too. They are nice for the money but still a little steep. Snap On, Matco, Mac, etc. are all top of the line but very pricey, even used. They are not worth the money unless your wrenching out of it all day, every day.

Look around at used ones if they are out of reach for your budget. Ball bearings are nice but aren't really necessary unless you're opening it 400 times a day.

I have a Craftsman box my father bought brand new in 1966. All the drawers and slides work fine. They are built a little nicer than the newer non-bearing type though. Just keep it lubed and treat it right and it will still last many years, even using it every day. He was a machine mechanic and used it for about 18 years in the field. I have used it almost daily for the last 12 years without any problems. The worst thing that ever happened was me loosing a couple of the clips that hold the drawers on the slides. Fortunately, you can still get them from Sears.

Just be sure to buy one that will accomodate your tool collection as it grows. I could use a bigger box but I can't seem to part with my 40 year old box for sentimental reasons.

Good luck.