Sam's Club tool chest, is it a good value?

My current Sears tool chest is full and I can't find anything in it because there's no room to organize. I've been looking at a bigger chest with different drawer sizes where I can store all of my tools including power tools. I can't justify the expense of the large Crafstman chests. I found this chest http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=388158 at Sam's and it looks like it has plenty of storage and the price seems OK. It's made in Taiwan and I'm a bit concerned how well it will hold up over the years. Does anyone have any experience with this chest or the 42" chest that Sam's also carries?

Thanks,

Dennis

Hey Dennis,

I just wanted to point out a few things about this tool box from my own experience.

The Gage of the S.S. sheet metal is a bit on the thin side for a tool box this size. If you are planning to "park it" against a wall or in a corner then all will be well, but if you are planning to roll this tool box all over your garage then you may want to think about a slightly smaller, sturdier box. It will hold a bunch of stuff, but don't get "heavy handed" with the drawers. A fully loaded drawer will be "tweaked" if you are the type of person that yanks drawers open and slams them shut. The Stainless Steel outer cabinet is uncoated so if you put your dirty paws on it, you will be cleaning it up later. I used regular "windex" to clean the one I had. What I ended up doing was keeping all of my tools in this big box and then loading a smaller "roll around box" for the project that I was working on at the time. That worked well for me. For the money it is a OK deal and it looks really cool, but when I left Cali. I left the box there. I now have a slightly smaller box of better quality that has been much more useful and portable for me.

Just my thoughts,

Earl

Thanks for the feedback Earl. That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll probably just leave the chest parked in a corner. The 42" chest seems to have enough room for my stuff but I was thinking for the money difference I would just get the larger one and have room to grow. It may be wiser to go with the smaller one.

Dennis

Hey Dennis,

You may as well just go out and buy a bigger gas grill to go with that new tool box...this way we know where we could go for a TECH day M&E..

If you or a fried have a Costco membership check out their stainless chests, My neighbor bought on and it was a very good deal compaired to a lot of what is out there.

Hey Dennis,

You may as well just go out and buy a bigger gas grill to go with that new tool box...this way we know where we could go for a TECH day M&E..

 

No problem Eck, I've already got that monster grill from Sam's Club. Come on up Memorial weekend and we'll fire it up.

Dennis

If you or a fried have a Costco membership check out their stainless chests, My neighbor bought on and it was a very good deal compaired to a lot of what is out there.

We don't have a Costco local but there is one about 70 miles away. I checked their web site and their chests seem to be more expensive. A 42" at Costco was $950 or so compared to $700 for a 42" at Sam's.

Dennis

I do not like tall tool boxes. It is always a pain to see what is in the top. Over time, I toss stuff up in the top and it makes it worse.

I saw them last weekend at the local Sam's Club. Sure they may have looked pretty, but they sure were flimsy feeling. They might work for the back yard mechanic, but I think most any serious mechanic would do as I did and just walk away.

I saw them last weekend at the local Sam's Club. Sure they may have looked pretty, but they sure were flimsy feeling. They might work for the back yard mechanic, but I think most any serious mechanic would do as I did and just walk away.

I think they're pretty nice looking. Since most of us are shade tree's out of neccessity, and don't drag up and move from job to job, not being built like a tank doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Roller bearing drawers, and lots of space for do-dads are. Besides, $600-$800 for one of the SS's vs. $2500-$3000 for a Snap-On or Mac of the same size makes the SS hard to walk away from.....

Check out your local Home Depot & Lowes for tool boxes as well.

Larry

Check out your local Home Depot & Lowes for tool boxes as well.

Larry

Lowes has a nice one with speakers, lol. Too big for me though. I just need to mount cabinets on my garage walls.

HF has them too but not SS I do not think.

I went back to Sam's today and looked over the chest again. The material is certainly not as thick as a good Sears unit. However for my use it will sit in the corner and rarely be moved, if ever. Probably half of it will be used for tools and the other half for storage of other stuff. I looked at the Lowe's Kobalt units and I like them but they seem to be about twice as expensive for comparable models. I haven't looked at Home Depot yet. I'm going back to Sears tonight just to check again but I expect they will fall out on cost.

Dennis

I think they're pretty nice looking. Since most of us are shade tree's out of neccessity, and don't drag up and move from job to job, not being built like a tank doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Roller bearing drawers, and lots of space for do-dads are. Besides, $600-$800 for one of the SS's vs. $2500-$3000 for a Snap-On or Mac of the same size makes the SS hard to walk away from.....

Ya, I can't justify paying that much for those BIG name brand boxes either. I've gotten it by the generic brand tools and and boxes on occasion. I bought one of those Harbor Freight air compressors because I don't use one a lot and the price appealed to me. But when it gets cold out, its breaker kicks out. When I say cold I mean below 45*F. I took it back and got another one that does the same. It's reasons like this that make me leery of the off brands. That SS box felt like it was made from a thin gauge steel. If it was made from a thicker gauge, I probably would've poked around in it some more. Even some of the generic brands I've seen felt sturdier.

Check out your local Home Depot & Lowes for tool boxes as well.

Larry

I wasn't impressed by the Kobalt boxes at Lowes, they seemed poorly made (The welds looked like I did them!). I have been told that the big SS one seems ok but I didn't look at it.

I ended up getting the Husky stainless base and chest from Home Depot. The quality seemed pretty good to me, although "flimsy" by Snap On, Mac etc. standards. I liked having shallow drawers because I use mostly smaller tools. The 36" width was just right for my work space. It's got a pull out work platform in the bottom of the chest which I didn't care about but do find myself using from time to time.

At $750 it's better quality than Craftsman at twice the price.

Dennis,

If you haven't bought any thing yet I have a Craftsman three stack box for sell. Tall, I can barely see into the top compartment. Not the prettiest box, but roller drawers, huge lockable casters, and less than half the price of a new one.

I ended up buying a Craftsman yesterday. I have been wanting one for a long time. I know that the Craftsman boxes aren't "professional" duty but I think for my use at the house that it will hold up OK. They had a good sale going on. I got this one at 50% off. Got the bottom roller, intermediate and the top box for $289.89. Of course they were out of stock so I had to order it. Should be here in 7-9 days. MAYBE after all these years I can finally get some of my tools organized. I don't know how long the sale continues.

Here is the one that I ordered. I did store pickup because I didn't want to pay the $65.00 for home delivery and there is a Sears store about 10 miles from here.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_009C0530000B?adCell=W1

The one I have for sale is almost exactly like the 3 stack picture in your link, it has roller drawers instead of glides, more drawers on the intermediate and more in top chest. It stands every bit of 6' tall.

I guess looking at the pricing there my asking $275.00 for all 3 may be a little high?

You aren't necessarily high. Sounds like yours is about the same height as mine. The step up to the roller drawers was another $100.00 though so it would have been $389.00 or so. If yours is in very good condition, I think it is worth what you are asking. If you had been closer to me, I would have been interested.

That looks good for that price Don. I've been putting one off and hunting thru everything when I need tools. Think I'll go look at Sears. How long is that sale on??

I upgraded the elcheapo wheels Craftsman uses for some real industrial rollers, with bearings. I guess I could have put a hitch on it and pulled it up there.

I'm not sure when the sale ends. They told me that yesterday was the last day but I see it is still on the website so I'm not sure now.

I got Tooo many projects going right now anyway. Need building to put around tool box..

I got Tooo many projects going right now anyway. Need building to put around tool box..

I also have a 24x26' metal building that has never been erected! It comes as a 3 sided building and you are to finish it out as you please or leave it open for a run in. Looks like this;http://www.steelmasterusa.com/wp-content/gallery/garages/metal-buildings-metal-garage-a-model.gif

Instead of buying a larger box I use two roll around boxes and just separate my stuff accordingly. Just a thought