Scuffy6
02-18-2009, 08:24 AM
Hi all! I'll get some pix to back this thread up in a few but I wanted to at the very least get this post typed..
I am trying to outfit my arsenal of tooling for my vertical mill, now that I've got a decent amount I'd been looking for a place or way to keep it all organized... so off I went to Sears and just about any other place that sold tool boxes, chests and cabinets. First stop Sears. :shaking: I went through their whole line of storage options from the cheaper grade up to the "Pro" with the ball bearing slides. I can honestly say that all felt like flimsy cardboard. No weight to the sheet metal, the slides felt loose and did not feel smooth at all. I mean I literally tried ALL of the different models on the floor!!:eek: Needless to say I left.
I searched at a few other places that had their own brand and in the end, in the most unlikely of places I found what I was looking for! Tractor Supply. Their house brand of cabinet/box is built like a tank! I really am amazed at how nice the box I got was, it was $200, about $50 or so cheaper than the Crapsman equivilent. The whole thing feels like it weighs a ton. The slides are tight and SMOOOOOOOOOTH! Plus each drawer has a little catch while closed, a notch in the slide or what have you, that keeps each one securely shut. The metal itself is a much thicker gauge. I saw that it had heavy handles while I looked at it on the floor... now I understand why! It's beefy!
I'm not sure where they are made as there are no "made in" stampings on the box itself. Nothing listed in the destructions either. Only references to TSC's office in such and such a place. Any ideas whether they are US made? At either rate I highly recommend the TSC house brand of tool boxes and chests, Masterhand.
I am trying to outfit my arsenal of tooling for my vertical mill, now that I've got a decent amount I'd been looking for a place or way to keep it all organized... so off I went to Sears and just about any other place that sold tool boxes, chests and cabinets. First stop Sears. :shaking: I went through their whole line of storage options from the cheaper grade up to the "Pro" with the ball bearing slides. I can honestly say that all felt like flimsy cardboard. No weight to the sheet metal, the slides felt loose and did not feel smooth at all. I mean I literally tried ALL of the different models on the floor!!:eek: Needless to say I left.
I searched at a few other places that had their own brand and in the end, in the most unlikely of places I found what I was looking for! Tractor Supply. Their house brand of cabinet/box is built like a tank! I really am amazed at how nice the box I got was, it was $200, about $50 or so cheaper than the Crapsman equivilent. The whole thing feels like it weighs a ton. The slides are tight and SMOOOOOOOOOTH! Plus each drawer has a little catch while closed, a notch in the slide or what have you, that keeps each one securely shut. The metal itself is a much thicker gauge. I saw that it had heavy handles while I looked at it on the floor... now I understand why! It's beefy!
I'm not sure where they are made as there are no "made in" stampings on the box itself. Nothing listed in the destructions either. Only references to TSC's office in such and such a place. Any ideas whether they are US made? At either rate I highly recommend the TSC house brand of tool boxes and chests, Masterhand.