a row of nails in the wall.
Mind you, I'm rapidly running out of wall.
Hi guys and girls
I am currently in the process of doing up my garage to make working on projects including the kit alot easier. I have only ever had little tool boxes
and chest but now im planning the lay out i have always wanted a big box due to my ever expanding tool collection, so on this theme i am curious to
see what others are using and at what wildly high or low cost.
A box i am leaning towards is the sgs 42inch tool chest at around £600 but i am also looking at the usa husky 52inch tool box at a similar price but
my issue is trying to get one sent to the uk as home depot dont ship this far very often and belive it to be very pricey.
Regards
Sam
I just went for a Halfords Professional Roll Chest and Cabinet bundle when they had an offer on - paid something like £230 from memory. They don’t
seem to have that range on offer right now but worth a look at the store (especially if you know someone with a Halfords trade card)
They do have a bundle on the top of the range Advance boxes
Halfords bundle
Our Kennedy and Kennedy PRO ranges are well received
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/storage-and-handling/tool-storage/060101
I have the Halfords pro stuff, bought when on offer (dented IIRC so very cheap) and it seems a decent bit of kit. No dramas.
Probably need something better if used all day every day but most of us it is weekend etc use so will last for donkeys years.
Worth checking fleabay. Many are bought by people who think they want to have lots of tool storage, but never use them etc, and can turn up bargains
as invariably pickup only.
Between son and myself we have a few different makes of tool boxes......son has a really large Snap on roll box , for his work tools. Lovely ....but the price was lovely too !!!! Far beyond fathers budget. I have four US PRO TOOLS boxes...bought off ebay a few years ago.....they are fine for me , heavy weight and the drawer mechanisms seem to be holding up very well. I have just bought a top box and middle drawers from Halfords , they are part of the INDUSTRIAL range. £125 for the top box and £90 for the middle drawer unit.....they are being discontinued. While I was in our local Halfords to collect them , I looked at the NEW range , Halfords ADVANCED.......they looked just the same to me......apart from the ADVANCED badge , rather than the INDUSTRIAL badge. I also have an ancient TASKMASTER bottom box , I bought some tools of a friend and they were in this .....it could do with a paint but that too is still going strong !!!!
I did notice that Aldi have a rolling box on offer this week in their stores. May be worth a look.
Theses guys have some decent stuff
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/tool-chests-cabinets/chest-cabinet/stchd4100-professional-14-drawer-roll-away-tool-chest-cabinet
It might and I stress might , be worth looking at used Snap On boxes, they frequently come up for sale on Gumtree etc . If you manage to find a bargain it will still have some resell value in a few years time.
I prefer the lo-tech approach;
a row of nails in the wall.
Mind you, I'm rapidly running out of wall.
Halfords pro on offer
the halfords mid range ones are pretty good for the money (the ones that were sold as 'professional' but it looks like they might have
changed them recently)
but keep an eye open for deals / sales - I got a bundled set of 3 in a sale with an extra 10% online flash sale (only had to reserve it online
and pay on collection) - all in I got the set for £225 
(it was meant to be well over £500 at the time)
I agree with Paul 907 above, some nails in the wall !
I for years had tool boxes etc cluttering up the floor space in my small garage, but about 10 years ago,
had a major declutter and sort out in there, and now have a board on the wall with L shaped hooks, that all the most used tools are hung on,
The beauty of this board, is that if a tool is missing, theres a gap,
I also now, pretty well after using a tool, put it back on the board, and not leave anything lieing around on the floor, as I used to
The downside of having a board, is if you spend any time away with tools, but I don't so it works for me
Any tool that is not used frequently is in a tool cabinet, and out of the way
steve
I also went for halfords, waited months for the offer to come up, but eventually got Base, top and mid boxed in the professional version (roller
bearing) for £200.
I had already had the basic £80~ version of their chest, which I had had for 10+yrs and had done well but was lacking in drawer space. It still have
it in the shed as a 2ndry store.
My Dad, brother and neighbour have all run car maintenance businesses from there home garages. All retired now. Guess what they used? Nails on the
wall or those hanging brackets screwed to the wall that the tools hang on.
If you work in a busy workshop with other mechanics I can understand it. A tool chest is lockable!! At home I use a cheap chinese tool chest that
works fine that I had for site work years ago.
Snap-On 4 draw + tray top box (given to me).
Clarke 7 draw roll cab (bought 2nd hand).
Both are lockable and with 10 and 12 year old sons they stay locked to keep the tools in them.
Both have a thin layer of black foam stuff in the base of each drawer to protect tools and paint and prevent rattles.
Both work just fine for me.
Starting again and buying for myself I'd probably be looking at the Halfords ones.
Well I would consider this, most of the tools in ready made tool sets will not be used, quite simply they won't. It's surprising in fact
just how few ever get used. Also many tool sets include imperial sizes, you'll just never use those at all unless it's an old classic you
have, even then it's just a few sizes of those.
Over the years I've bought the sizes I need, the normal metric sizes 8 - 24mm, doubled all my sockets and ring spanners for those sizes, two 1/2
ratchets, various extension bars, lots of good quality mole grips. Good long allen key set. These are the tools you'll actually need. Along with
a large hammer & blow torch... With modern cars a quality torx driver set both male and female is mandatory.
Yeah it's a nice comfort factor having 100's of bits of metal sitting there but 90% of them will never be used.
Halfords professional tools seem very much up to the task, no quibble lifetime guarantee, spare parts & rebuild kits for their tools on the shelf
at reasonable prices. Take a fair beating even when used totally inappropriately (needs must sometimes)
Yeah I'm sure F1 teams use stuff like snap on etc but they are sponsored to use them, they work on stuff that is brand new, a rusty nut to deal
with yeah right as if...
[Edited on 13/8/18 by Mr Whippy]
I have and can recommend this from Costco
https://www.costco.co.uk/Hardware-DIY-Tyres/Storage-Organisation/Cabinet-Sets/Kirkland-Signature-42-106-cm-6-Drawer-1-Cabinet-Top-Chest-42-106-cm-10-D
rawer-Bottom-Tool-Chest/p/803353
£599 delivered and really a great bit of kit.
If you want one and are not a Costco member, just let me know - you can send me the money and I can order it for you/get it delivered to your house.
:-)
quote:
Originally posted by Paul_Arion
I just went for a Halfords Professional Roll Chest and Cabinet bundle when they had an offer on - paid something like £230 from memory. They don’t seem to have that range on offer right now but worth a look at the store (especially if you know someone with a Halfords trade card)
They do have a bundle on the top of the range Advance boxes
Halfords bundle
Just took delivery of my Aldi Workzone Rolling toolstation.
140 quid, and it seems pretty good at first glance, probably going to get the 3 drawer tool chest to go with it.
Now I need MORE TOOLS to fill it
quote:
Originally posted by matt5964
Our Kennedy and Kennedy PRO ranges are well received
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/storage-and-handling/tool-storage/060101
The clarke stuff is pretty good too. like Halfords it worth waiting for an offer.