I'm having a dillema. I'm looking for a second tool cabinet for the home, possible use on the job for restoration work. New Snap On tool cabinets are reaching thousands of dollars in the market today, but I can locate fifty or sixty year old tool cabinets for 80% less on the used market. Is there any risk in investing hundreds of dollars in half a century old cabinets, would Snap On products hold up that long for professional use. Anything in particular I should look out for, or am I better off biting the bullet and buying a new tool cabinet?
Tool cabinets should protect your tools from theft, be organized to find the tools quick and know when something is missing before the job leaves. My bottom chest is an old scope cabinet and the top chest is bolted to it. Thieves would probably pass my box by to get into one of the high dollar units. Make sure to have a quality lock and substantial cabinet not easy to pry open.
It this going to be your primary cabinet, or just for the overflow? Vintage cabinets rarely have the features of newer ones, and the lack of ball-bearing slides can be a wear issue. Repair/replacement parts can be an issue too. I hate to say it, but some of the 'import' toolboxes out there come damn close in quality to the USA-built models at a fraction of the price. I bought mine a number of years ago, absolutely zero issues with it, and it was about 10% of the cost of a Snap-on....
I have a couple old Kennedy boxes that a keep micrometers and such in but they are not near what my 10% of snap-on box is. I may spend 8 hrs a day in the shop but I am not a professional mechanic. Pete
I’m old fashion and like the old boxes if you can find them. I bought a set of “Mac” towers. Back in the seventies, after taking the slides out and hand filing them, the boxes are still in use today, with no problems. Buy what makes you happy, that’s what made me happy back in the day because of their appearance. At the time they were the top of the line. They still make me smile when I step into my shop today because I bought the best! Today they would just be an ordinary set of boxes. My friend just bought a set of Snap-on boxes that cover a whole wall and are six ft tall, paid more for those boxes than I did for all my tools. Bones
What kind of box are you looking at that costs just thousands of dollars? The cheapest Matco Series 4 tool box new would set me back $14,000 with a $2,500 lit hutch. Snapon is even more. Me I have a $2,500 rolling matco service cart and once I get out of the field and move I am just going to use it for my most used tools and build my own tool storage out of wood for my other tools that are not used as much. Such as my snap on carb adjustment wrench or my snap on alignment tool for a 75 - 80 ford/Lincoln/mercury vehicles.
Just a six drawer, something like this for what is in my budget to go along with my other tool cart. Here is what I was thinking about snagging up at a yard sale about an hour away, for around $400 from the mid 1960's. Looks like a lot more bang for your buck, but not if I would have to put a lot of $$ down to restore it.
Shakedown, I feel that $400 for the older Snap on is a fair deal, and if you could live with a clean up and buffing the paint, I’d go for it. But if you wouldn’t be happy with modest improvements to the box, I’d wait for one in better condition or buy new. Just my .02. Bones
I picked up a set of 3 Kennedy boxes from the widow of a machinist, paid $400. Still full of micrometers, tap and die set (snap on) and more. I told the widow she could get a lot more for it but she wanted it gone. Not as nice as a snap on box but I don't use it every day, have another box for the most used tools.
Under $2K..... https://www.jdindustrialsupply.com/...MInIyB6qWa2gIVT2B-Ch2H1QwrEAMYAiAAEgKC-PD_BwE This is very nearly the twin to what I bought (although it was cheaper some years ago..) and has been a very good box.
I'd grab that older SO you posted. I think it's neat! I like older boxes though. This is in my storage shed waiting for a resto. But, if you just need a usable box the HF $400 box (even cheaper when on sale with a coupon) should last a long time. These HF boxes have a pretty good reputation, considering they are HF! Check out www.garagejournal.com for everything you've ever wanted to know about toolboxes. https://www.harborfreight.com/44-in-13-drawer-glossy-red-industrial-roller-cabinet-69387.html
Regardless of what you buy, new or used, take along some weights and load the drawers with them, and see how the function is....I'm assuming you're going to be in and out of it many times a day. Me...I don't care if I have to keep the drawers straight when pulling out, but I don't make a living out of my tool boxes...at least not the ones I use at home.
I would look pretty close at the slides, and also where the axle has replaced the casters on the left. It may be cracked and fatigued there. I also, think 400.00 would be a fair price for those.
I restored this old Kennedy set last year. I just use it for my ammo. Bought the top new back in the early 70s and found the bottom in great shape at a swap meet for $35.
As a body man with a 5 drawer Craftsman box I wore the slides out. Stretched them to crap on my two bottom drawers. Hammers, dollys and that stuff. Would have never worn them out on home use only. But if you're buying used check for excess play in the slides.
probably out of the price rang your looking for but this is over eight years old and it’s a current pic but this is how my box always looks because I paid a lot for it and take pride in my job as a body man , plus taking care of it I won’t ever have to replace it Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have two buddies with big expensive tool boxes. every drawer is full of crap to the point where they could have bought a box half that size and only put tools in it. 2 grand for a tool box? no thanks.
I've got pretty much the same box that Eventho showed in post 12 that I have had since the early 70's. It's dirty and cluttered right now being in the back corner of a tiny one car garage. One thing to watch for on these older boxes is the condition of the slides. They didn't have roller slides then and if they get tweaked a bit they don't work good and one of mine got bent when a coworker let a hoist down on it at Midas and dumped the box in the process. I have never been able to get a new slide from SnapOn even when it happened in the late 70's. When I get my shop finished a lot of stuff out of this box will go in another one that is stashed away so both can be a lot better organized.
dental tool cabinet circa 1950s Hello, I was fortunate to be able to get this old 1950s rolling dental cabinet from a Los Angeles closeout. It had a myriad of smooth rolling pull out drawers and the design was pure 50s modern. The top of the cabinet felt like granite and had a very trick, pop up, hidden shelf for secret dentist stuff. (pills, shots, antibiotics, Mercury silver solution, etc) Some of the drawers had white glass inserts for small hand tools, like the ever popular sharp picks and scrapers. Yuck! When I got it home, I did not have to clean it out, although I tried many times using my moms household cleaners to get that nasty dentist, office smell out of the drawers. Especially, that pop-up, secret drawer. What happened was some of our automotive tools were too long to fit. The sockets lined up perfectly in the thinner drawers. SAE in one drawer, Metric in another and Whitworth (England) tools in another. The big wrenches were placed in the deep drawers, while the standard 7/8 to 3/4 inch "open-enders" had their own drawer. There were so many drawers...each set of tools had a place to call home. Everything seemed to fit perfectly, but I noticed the glass inserts had to come out. It was like being inside of a dental office and putting back a part, tool or wrench gently so as not to break the glass. Those came out and were all stored away. The next thing was the granite-like top surface was not for automotive work. It was for small, intricate dental work and a powder mixing station, not for laying down all sorts of tools, again, gently, not even a metal yard stick. Jnaki Overall, it was a great looking dental tool cabinet that just did not work out as our major automotive tool cabinet. But, the pop up shelf had all of our spark plugs in a nice rack ready for their final adjustments. warm up ones on one end, the race plugs on the other and the removal tool laying on the bottom plate. it was easy to lift out the row and take it to the portable tool box for the drags. We finally found out that it was too dainty. So, back into the metal Craftsman tool box and metal workbench cabinet for all of our automotive tools. What became of our 50s dental cabinet? I gave it to my best friend from high school (57 Chevy Bel Air/4 speed, dual quads, etc…) who became a dentist. We traded the cabinet for some custom made, lathe turned, wood and metal ball point pens he was making as a side business. There were all sorts of wood from Rosewood, Oak, Walnut, etc. Machining learned from our high school metal shop and automotive shop helped him in dental school/mini lathe work later on in life. similar to the custom lathe turned pens It was sad to see such modern 50s design go away, but practicality was most important. Plus, my dentist friend now had a dental cabinet that drew raves and caused his patients to be a little bit calmer, while getting awful things done to them. We all know about those blood pressure raising “things.”
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