My birthday is coming up and the Mrs has been asking what to buy me. I quite fancy a "proper" tool box, but there seems to be a huge price
difference between what I would consider the top brand ones and the others.
So my question is what is the difference between a £1500 Snap On one and a £250 Sealey like http://bigcw.net/z2ECXcyG? There is no way I
would expect her to buy the former (I can think of much better uses for £1500!) Are the cheap ones worth having or should I stick with the washing up
bowls I've used for years? 
Cheers, Chris
Nothing is as nice to use as a Snap On. Sealeys, Clarke etc just feel a bit flimsy and tinny in comparison. Personally I would look for a good
condition second hand Snap On.
I bought my large Snap On lower roller section second hand some years ago. One of the runners on the drawer failed - the metal had worn through due to
previous owners hard use. I phoned the local snap on man (whom I have never bought anything off) and despite being manufactured in 1987 and not even
in their catalogue these days two weeks later a brand new draw was delivered ordered in from the US completely free. It was the draw which had the
Snap On badge and even came with a new style badge.
I feel the Cost co ones are good value.
We have the machine mart heavy duty range at work and they are also good for the money.
I would also look at the Halfords ones.
Its only a box and wont earn you any money, I feel a shadow board it the best form of storage
http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/10/examples-of-exc.html
These are excellent for sockets
3pc SOCKET STAND SET holds 90 sockets 1/4"' 3/8"' 1/2"' drive tool box rail tray
Bought myself a monster 54" roll cab and top box in stainless last year off EBay. The brand was US Pro but the I don't think anything in it
had ever been even close to the US! That said it was silly money , about £750 I seem to remember and I have actually been very impressed with it. The
stainless is still stainless even though the workshop is quite damp, all the locks still work and the draw sliders are all still 100%. All in all I
have to say that for the money it knocks the likes of Draper etc into the weeds.
HTH
Only pic I can find of it:
I was really impressed with the quality of this toolbox for the money. At the time I got the top box half price on offer.
Think there's 10% off online at the moment.
In my opinion much better than Halfords range or Clarke.
Cheers
http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Cocraft-Tool-Cabinet/40-7818
Got some halfords pro boxes, roll cab, intermediate and top box.
Friends son worked in one of their branches, he got the top box and cab for £50 each as they had very minor damage. Intermediate one came in at same
price a bit later but undamaged, just a display one.
Quality wise pretty happy. All does what you expect, but most stuff at similar retail prices will work well for most people. Day in day out use may
justify snap on, but most of us use our tools far less, often once a week on average.....
Vote for the Halfords units from me. They're usually about £200 for the top box and £250 for the roll cab when bought individually, but every so often they have their promotions on and do both for £300! I do like the Snap-On units as well, but really couldn't justify the money for them- even second hand.
I've got some Clarke HD pro ones at work and after 10 years they are not showing any signs of use. Only thing is the paint has faded a bit where
they have been in the Sun.
Whatever you go for go into a shop and feel what they are like, the basic ranges can feel very flimsy.
Look at the Beta boxes.
Had one for years, not as good as Snap On, but pretty close.
I bought the cheapest Halfords one I could. Was about 50 for both 2 drawer and cupboard base unit and 5 drawer top. Perfectlyadequate for DIYer and has been going well for last 5 tears. Its obviously cheap but not to the point of detracting from function. Spend 200 else where, like on the tools where quality counts. Or on the car/project.
I am another that would go for Us-Pro, I bought this one for £700 and can't complain about the quality. The side cabinets can be removed and used
as a drawer unit under a work bench.
eBay Item
quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
I bought the cheapest Halfords one I could. Was about 50 for both 2 drawer and cupboard base unit and 5 drawer top. Perfectlyadequate for DIYer and has been going well for last 5 tears. Its obviously cheap but not to the point of detracting from function. Spend 200 else where, like on the tools where quality counts. Or on the car/project.
I just went for nails on a length of wood, screwed to the wall... socket sets are on those rail thingies, on the same length of wood.
The only thing I have been considering is a magnetic tray, just to keep everything together while I work on a job. But I've only ever seen tiny
ones that seem designed for half a dozen screws rather than what typically comes off a car during a brake change (for example).
Halfords INDUSTRIAL Top Box and Roll cab on offer for £399 at the moment.
I'm delighted with mine.
Halfords industrial here too. Very happy with it. Have a look around to see if you can get discounted gift vouchers from anywhere. I got 10% saving by buying gift vouchers through work.
I have had the Halfords box and it was great for the money. I've had Snap on and it's the best for a reason but to increase capacity I went
for a huge American pro stainless set up like snakebelly.
It's double skinned and built to last. What ever you buy is considered as professional equipment and is pretty much un insurable in a domestic
setting.
£1500 for a new Snap on is at the domestic end of the range.
it's a tool box myself and my son have this discussion on a regular basis buy a halfords pro or Sealey etc not a overpriced snap on one then the money you save buy some decent tools with the change
quote:
Originally posted by ian locostzx9rc2
it's a tool box myself and my son have this discussion on a regular basis buy a halfords pro or Sealey etc not a overpriced snap on one then the money you save buy some decent tools with the change
I have two halfords red tool chests, had both for almost ten years, I paid £99 each in various half price sales.
One is the wheelie base with storage, 2 drawers & a top box with about 6 drawers, the other is the same but came with a middle bit with 3 extra
full width drawers.
I grease the runners regularly as they dont have ball bearings & I cant really fault them for diy use.
They have been through 3 house moves, are both full of heavy tools & the paint finishes still look good.
If I came into some big money then maybe I would look at investing in something more expensive but im not so sure until they actually break.
I think if you are really heavy handed then maybe they might not last as long but ten years on they look like they will last me many years.
Good luck :-)
Just been in Costco and they have a large tool cabinet for £299 +vat
Should have taken a pic but left my phone in the car have a look on there website it should be on there
I've got the Clarke HD pro as well - 6 years old and still like new, has a very solid, quality feel,
buy from machine mart on a vat free day - go and have a look at their range as they do about
6 different model specs
SWMBO bought me one of these from ebay for xmas - X-LARGE TOOL CHEST TOP CABINET TOP BOX AND ROLLCAB BOX US BALL BEARING
SlIDES and it was pants !! It was really flimsy got damaged in transit and my spanners were too large for the draws - they were not deep enough
to take my 19mm
I sent it back and on xmas day Halfords did another 10% discount on their "Industrial" range so I picked up the top box and roll cab for
£275 in a combo.
The tool box is really good - all the spanners fit the draws and it also comes with some anti slip for the bottoms of the draws. My only
disappointment is that the top of the top box doesn't have an anti slip mat - but all the other draws do.
It could have done with another deep drawer at the bottom for your odds and sods, but on the whole, it's a really sturdy addition to my garage.