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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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#1
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd
long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
#2
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
BB
I have a Costco/Price Club Stainless Steel tool box. Real nice. I think they are about $600.00. Bob AZ |
#3
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
I bought that Stainless set, 41" wide, top chest and roller cab, under $600
my brother is a professional mechanic, and bought the set that is around 50" wide, under $700 "Bob AZ" wrote in message ups.com... BB I have a Costco/Price Club Stainless Steel tool box. Real nice. I think they are about $600.00. Bob AZ |
#4
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
I bought the Homack they had before the Stainless model. Looks good but just
doesn't cut it when loaded. Just a half step better than the Craftsman. (Baby half-step). Drawers don't slide straight and bind, etc... -- Clif Holland KA5IPF www.avvid.com "Jon Grimm" wrote in message news:7I6gf.2613$BU2.2459@trndny01... I bought that Stainless set, 41" wide, top chest and roller cab, under $600 my brother is a professional mechanic, and bought the set that is around 50" wide, under $700 "Bob AZ" wrote in message ups.com... BB I have a Costco/Price Club Stainless Steel tool box. Real nice. I think they are about $600.00. Bob AZ |
#5
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:00:59 -0600, "B.B."
u wrote: My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. I can just imagine. I have a crapsman and it can't even handle the loud music without buzzing, about to take a BFH to it just to see if it will shut up. From the prices I've seen, it would be cheaper or the same cost to build my own and be twice as good. I've seen lots of expensive tool boxes and they don't seem be so great for the cost. |
#6
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 20:33:23 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote: On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:00:59 -0600, "B.B." . ru wrote: My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. I can just imagine. I have a crapsman and it can't even handle the loud music without buzzing, about to take a BFH to it just to see if it will shut up. From the prices I've seen, it would be cheaper or the same cost to build my own and be twice as good. I've seen lots of expensive tool boxes and they don't seem be so great for the cost. A friend of mine makes strong tool boxes, very similar to this one... http://www.pitboxes.com/medium.html I can probably get you a brother-in-law price. I helped him set up his shop with lathes and mills and whatnot as well.... http://www.genewoods.com Gunner "Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules. Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner |
#7
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
B.B. wrote:
My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. can you use a kennedy they seem very reasonably priced |
#8
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:00:59 -0600, "B.B."
u wrote: It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Oh oh...the Israilies did it, just like they did the WTC..using controlled explosives secreted in all the drawers. Chuckle...that must have been neat to watch...my Mac rollaway went over backwards when both rear wheels collapsed. Damnit Gunner "Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules. Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner |
#9
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
BB,
Been there, done that. What few people know is that SNAP-ON tool boxes are made in China. I do not have the name of the company off hand, but I can get it. I have their professional box in stainless. It is 41" wide 17.5" deep and stands 65" tall. It has pnuematic springs on the top box cover. All the drawers are roller. I did change the castors on mine to 250 kg greased swivel on all corners because of the overall weight (around 1200 to 1500 lbs). They are available around the $1,000 in the states under the original manufacturer's name. Here is a picture. This box is top of the line. http://www.valkenpower.com/index.cfm...getItem&id=455 Steve "B.B." u wrote in message news My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
#10
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
In article ,
"Steve Lusardi" wrote: BB, Been there, done that. What few people know is that SNAP-ON tool boxes are made in China. Few people know it because it's totally false. I do not have the name of the company off hand, but I can get it. The name of the company is Snap-On Tools, headquartered in Kenosha Wi. I have their professional box in stainless. It is 41" wide 17.5" deep and stands 65" tall. Snap-On doesn't offer a box in stainless. It has pnuematic springs on the top box cover. All the drawers are roller. I did change the castors on mine to 250 kg greased swivel on all corners because of the overall weight (around 1200 to 1500 lbs). They are available around the $1,000 in the states under the original manufacturer's name. Here is a picture. This box is top of the line. http://www.valkenpower.com/index.cfm...getItem&id=455 That isn't even close to a Snap-On box and it sure isn't close to their top of the line, especially at a dinky 41"wide X 17.5'deep. Their top of the line is 108" wide 29" deep (KRL1004) |
#11
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
aarcuda69062 wrote:
In article , "Steve Lusardi" wrote: BB, Been there, done that. What few people know is that SNAP-ON tool boxes are made in China. Few people know it because it's totally false. I do not have the name of the company off hand, but I can get it. The name of the company is Snap-On Tools, headquartered in Kenosha Wi. I have their professional box in stainless. It is 41" wide 17.5" deep and stands 65" tall. Snap-On doesn't offer a box in stainless. It has pnuematic springs on the top box cover. All the drawers are roller. I did change the castors on mine to 250 kg greased swivel on all corners because of the overall weight (around 1200 to 1500 lbs). They are available around the $1,000 in the states under the original manufacturer's name. Here is a picture. This box is top of the line. http://www.valkenpower.com/index.cfm...getItem&id=455 That isn't even close to a Snap-On box and it sure isn't close to their top of the line, especially at a dinky 41"wide X 17.5'deep. Their top of the line is 108" wide 29" deep (KRL1004) Could be perhaps confusing Snap-On with Stack-On which I believe is a Chinese brand. Pete C. |
#12
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
In article ,
"Pete C." wrote: aarcuda69062 wrote: In article , "Steve Lusardi" wrote: BB, Been there, done that. What few people know is that SNAP-ON tool boxes are made in China. Few people know it because it's totally false. I do not have the name of the company off hand, but I can get it. The name of the company is Snap-On Tools, headquartered in Kenosha Wi. I have their professional box in stainless. It is 41" wide 17.5" deep and stands 65" tall. Snap-On doesn't offer a box in stainless. It has pnuematic springs on the top box cover. All the drawers are roller. I did change the castors on mine to 250 kg greased swivel on all corners because of the overall weight (around 1200 to 1500 lbs). They are available around the $1,000 in the states under the original manufacturer's name. Here is a picture. This box is top of the line. http://www.valkenpower.com/index.cfm...getItem&id=455 That isn't even close to a Snap-On box and it sure isn't close to their top of the line, especially at a dinky 41"wide X 17.5'deep. Their top of the line is 108" wide 29" deep (KRL1004) Could be perhaps confusing Snap-On with Stack-On which I believe is a Chinese brand. Could be but then, who doesn't know that? ;-) BTW, I haven't forgotten to send you the pix of my brake bleeder, camera crapped out and now that I have a different camera, I just gotta find the time. |
#13
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." u wrote in message news My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. Kennedy makes some pretty decent roll-around cabinets, though retail is around $500 to $1,000, depending on style and accessories. J&L used to put them on sale once in a while and they seem to be offering 25% off sales periodically for 5 or more items which can be a roller cabinet + 4 small drill bits. Friction slide drawer models are a bit cheaper than the ball bearing slide models. I can't find drawer capacities anywhere but they are definitely higher than the Craftsman boxes and the casters are much better as well. I just picked up a decent one for $130 on eBay, plus the cost of a 250 mile round trip to pick it up and 2 hours spent digging swarf out of the caster tires. |
#14
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." u wrote in
news My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. The best box you can have is LISTA or a VIDMAR (Stanley) IMHO. These are industrial boxes designed to take years of use/abuse and still work perfectly. EACH drawer will support IIRC 450lbs. Cheap, they are not, but I bet you can get one for the same money or less than that snap-on you are looking at. Last one I ordered for the plant, 5' tall, double width (52"W drawers) with 6" casters was ~$4000. The added benefit being that you can customize the drawer configurations to suit you. -- Anthony You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make better idiots. Remove sp to reply via email |
#15
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"Anthony" wrote in message
. .. | The best box you can have is LISTA or a VIDMAR (Stanley) IMHO. These | are industrial boxes designed to take years of use/abuse and still work | perfectly. EACH drawer will support IIRC 450lbs. Cheap, they are not, | but I bet you can get one for the same money or less than that snap-on | you are looking at. Last one I ordered for the plant, 5' tall, double | width (52"W drawers) with 6" casters was ~$4000. The added benefit being | that you can customize the drawer configurations to suit you. They are so durable you can get well worn/abused ones on ebay for a tiny fraction of that, but you get someone else's colors. Plenty of miles left on them, though. Not so long ago I had the "pleasure" of overhauling a number of Vidmar boxes. What kills them is to have the drawer overloaded with several hundred pounds of bucking bars and to slam the drawers open and closed. Other than that, they take a beating like you wouldn't believe, and are built like tanks. |
#16
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
carl mciver wrote:
They are so durable you can get well worn/abused ones on ebay for a tiny fraction of that, ... I went looking on eBay, at the Completed auctions. There was one Dutch auction with 3 11-drawer cabinets full of electronic components with a starting bid of $400, looked to be in very good shape, but NO bids !?! When I clicked Calculate Shipping, it came to $3000! Are you ****tin' me? Bob |
#17
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
Bob Engelhardt wrote in
: carl mciver wrote: They are so durable you can get well worn/abused ones on ebay for a tiny fraction of that, ... I went looking on eBay, at the Completed auctions. There was one Dutch auction with 3 11-drawer cabinets full of electronic components with a starting bid of $400, looked to be in very good shape, but NO bids !?! When I clicked Calculate Shipping, it came to $3000! Are you ****tin' me? Bob No. International shipping of anything larger than a letter is very expensive. The quote I just received for shipping a 7500kg machine via slow boat to Europe one-way is over $24,000, including crating. -- Anthony You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make better idiots. Remove sp to reply via email |
#18
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
In article ,
Anthony wrote: Bob Engelhardt wrote in : carl mciver wrote: They are so durable you can get well worn/abused ones on ebay for a tiny fraction of that, ... I went looking on eBay, at the Completed auctions. There was one Dutch auction with 3 11-drawer cabinets full of electronic components with a starting bid of $400, looked to be in very good shape, but NO bids !?! When I clicked Calculate Shipping, it came to $3000! Are you ****tin' me? Bob No. International shipping of anything larger than a letter is very expensive. The quote I just received for shipping a 7500kg machine via slow boat to Europe one-way is over $24,000, including crating. This does not sound right. I would find a better shipper. For low volume, prices are likely to vary widely. How big (WxHxD) is the crated machine? Sea shipping basically goes by volume, not weight, unless the density of the crate exceeds that of water. Few things do, but a machine tool just might. Nor does it cost $24K per big machine to get all that Asian Iron across the Pacific. If it did, the US machine tool industry wouldn't be dying. In 1974, I shipped a ~3,000-pound Volvo sedan to Europe for $321 from Baltimore. A year later, I shipped it back on a ship that Volvo rents for its deliveries to the US, and paid $50. $321 in 1974 is equivalent to $1,300 today, according to the Inflation Calculator (http://www.bls.gov). Joe Gwinn |
#19
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
Anthony wrote:
Bob Engelhardt wrote ... When I clicked Calculate Shipping, it came to $3000! Are you ****tin' me? Bob International shipping ... "International"? That $3000 was from California to Massachusetts! |
#20
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 10:24:40 GMT, Anthony
wrote: No. International shipping of anything larger than a letter is very expensive. The quote I just received for shipping a 7500kg machine via slow boat to Europe one-way is over $24,000, including crating. That seems excessively expensive. Last year I bought 17 used tractors from Japan in a 40' container, shipping from Osaka to Fremantle, via some Chinese port and Singapore, was $3700US (about $220 each), moving the container by truck about 2 km to the unloading/quarantine depot was about $200US and the unloading/quarantine cleaning worked out to about $175US each. Plus other charges totalling about $1000, total weight was about 19 tonnes. A 20' container would probably be about $2800 freight to Europe and carry 16 - 19 tonnes, crate $2000 ???, road transport to port $1000 ($125 per tonne - expensive) and even allowing for European rip-off charges of about $4000, it should not be more than $10,000 Alan in beautiful Golden Bay, Western Oz, South 32.25.42, East 115.45.44 GMT+8 VK6 YAB ICQ 6581610 to reply, change oz to au in address |
#21
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
That seems excessive for shipping! Last place I was at got a Sip 6A
shipped from Switzerland to eastern Canada for around $5k in 99. Machine weighs in at around 12 tons. Anthony wrote: Bob Engelhardt wrote in : carl mciver wrote: They are so durable you can get well worn/abused ones on ebay for a tiny fraction of that, ... I went looking on eBay, at the Completed auctions. There was one Dutch auction with 3 11-drawer cabinets full of electronic components with a starting bid of $400, looked to be in very good shape, but NO bids !?! When I clicked Calculate Shipping, it came to $3000! Are you ****tin' me? Bob No. International shipping of anything larger than a letter is very expensive. The quote I just received for shipping a 7500kg machine via slow boat to Europe one-way is over $24,000, including crating. |
#22
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there
and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? Before you spend a ton of a Snap-On, Mac or other take a look at Vidmar and Stanley/Lista cabinets. IIRC the drawers are rated at something like 440 lb! They're not cheap but if you're not in too big of a hurry you can find them at auctions or even on the surplus market and they're hard to beat. One other thing to look at... Harbor Freight is selling one now that has ball bearing slides on all the drawers and it's often on sale for as little as $399.99 plus they keep sending me coupons via email good for 20% off on any one item, including sale prices, which puts it at around $320! If you have a local store get on their email list and I'm sure you'll get them too. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90320 I don't have any direct experience with using one but I've checked them out in the store and they seem pretty decent. My quickie test for drawer slide quality is to put quite a bit of down pressure on a drawer by leaning on it and see how well it slides and theirs was pretty impressive. Not as good as Lista and Vidmar though... They've been discussed here before but I don't think we've heard from anyone that's actually bought one and used it for awhile. Anyone??? Best Regards, Keith Marshall "I'm not grown up enough to be so old!" "B.B." u wrote in message news My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
#23
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"Keith Marshall" wrote in message
m... One other thing to look at... Harbor Freight is selling one now that has ball bearing slides on all the drawers and it's often on sale for as little as $399.99 plus they keep sending me coupons via email good for 20% off on any one item, including sale prices, which puts it at around $320! If you have a local store get on their email list and I'm sure you'll get them too. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90320 I don't have any direct experience with using one but I've checked them out in the store and they seem pretty decent. I checked the HF tool chest over too. A quick look and they appear to be a good box, but look one over well. The drawer glides, drawers and the box it's self are all made out of some pretty thin material! Craftsman tool chests are built much heavier than the HF model. I would spend the money on one! Greg |
#24
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
I am curious...was your Craftsman a slide or ball bearing version for
the draw slides? The failure you mention sounds like the drawer has sheared its guide supports off. While I have not kept current as to the offerings of HD, Lowes, Costo or Sam's Club (all of which I would check into before spending money again), the offerings of Sears are hard to beat for price/performance when you get the significant discounts in the scratch and dent sections. I have always gone with the ball bearing slides of the regular series and the 26" width types. Please note that the Professional series have ball bearing slides that are twice as wide and I would buy them for this feature if doing it again. I also limit myself to the 26" wide drawers to minimize racking and limit total weight per drawer....if you need more space one can always buy two 26" units and mount them on a combined base. If you really need a wider drawer, one can combine the different units to have different widths. As a matter of habit, I replace the standard casters with much better ones with larger wheels for easier rolling. Realize that there is an upper limit as to how much weight should be in a tool box...having hundreds and hundreds of pounds of weight on casters is not safe if it gets away from you. I assume that since your tools are sitting in a pile that you want a replacement toolbox NOW. If you can wait, there are values in the used market but as like used cars, there is the effort to separate the wheat from the chaff. TMT |
#25
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
Tough to beat Kennedy for function and value. I am still using
the Kennedy topbox that my Dad bought in WWII (and it may have been used). Over time I acquired the two drawer till, then the roll-around. Then expanded into one hang-on. (currently thinking about adding another. I have a grand nephew that will be using these boxes some day. Watch the Enco ads for specials on Kennedy boxes and be aware that the freight costs can be high. The Kennedy lookalikes are just that -- lookalikes with non-roller slides and thinner metal. Gerstner wood boxes look fantastic, but are for tool makers not metal butchers like me, however I would love to have one for the office in place of the small Kennedy I got when first starting out. see http://www.kennedymfg.com/ and http://www.gerstnerusa.com/ While the prices seem high, when you amortize it over the life of the box it is next to nothing. On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:00:59 -0600, "B.B." u wrote: My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. |
#26
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." wrote:
My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net Sounds like a pretty spectacular cascading failure. I've got a pretty decent Craftsman tool chest with the ball bearing slides and the grip-latch thing and it seems to be holding up just fine with quite a bit of weight in it. I hope it continues to do ok. Pete C. |
#27
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
B.B. wrote:
Know of any other box brands out there? Might want to see if you can find some Vidmar or Lista cabinets somewhere, maybe at an auction. Might be able to get something really first class for a lot less than SnapOn and such. I scored two Vidmar and one Lista cabinets at a yard sale a month or so ago for $450 total. One was locked with no key, upon getting it open, I found about a grand worth of tools! Long shot yes, but makes for a great day if you can score like that. Even getting them empty, they're worth over a grand each with the heavy casters. Jon |
#28
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
[...]
Thankyou for the suggestions. I now have my heart pretty much set on a brown Kennedy roll a round unit: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...l?ItemKey=1RG3 2 Just need to either locate someone who can get it to me now (and maybe for less) or just bite the bullet and order it through Grainger. As an aside, I know I can't order from Grainger over the internet as an individual, but if I personally voyage to one of their branches can I buy from them then? Or do I still need to figure out some way to buy through work? Never actually been to a Grainger, so I don't know. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
#29
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
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#30
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
is LISTA a tool box or something else? their stuff seems well built and a
used Lista cabinet can be got for $100 to $500 |
#31
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." wrote:
[...] Thankyou for the suggestions. I now have my heart pretty much set on a brown Kennedy roll a round unit: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...l?ItemKey=1RG3 2 Just need to either locate someone who can get it to me now (and maybe for less) or just bite the bullet and order it through Grainger. As an aside, I know I can't order from Grainger over the internet as an individual, but if I personally voyage to one of their branches can I buy from them then? Or do I still need to figure out some way to buy through work? Never actually been to a Grainger, so I don't know. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net Grainger, unlike MSC, McMaster, ENCO and others, can be a real PITA about the business thing. What you get when walking into the local branch can vary greatly depending on who is working there at the time and what kind of day they are having. When I needed to order some stuff from Grainger (they do have a few things that others don't), they gave me some grief about the business thing. I convinced them that I was a business, albeit a very small one by faxing them a copy on my Sch. C from my tax return. One from a year when I moved halfway across the country and didn't do much consulting, but a gross consulting income of $750 is still a business. Pete C. |
#32
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
In article ,
"Pete C." wrote: Grainger, unlike MSC, McMaster, ENCO and others, can be a real PITA about the business thing. What you get when walking into the local branch can vary greatly depending on who is working there at the time and what kind of day they are having. When I needed to order some stuff from Grainger (they do have a few things that others don't), they gave me some grief about the business thing. I convinced them that I was a business, albeit a very small one by faxing them a copy on my Sch. C from my tax return. One from a year when I moved halfway across the country and didn't do much consulting, but a gross consulting income of $750 is still a business. Pete C. As luck would have it, MSC has it, and for slightly less. Of course, tax and shipping will push it up to over $1800, but that's still less than half the Matco cost for about the same dimensions. Only about $100 more than Craftsman when all is said and done. MSC has some nice customer support people, too. I like 'em! -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
#33
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." u wrote:
MSC has some nice customer support people, too. I like 'em! Not always cheapest, but good selection, and generally ship so fast it'll make your head spin. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by |
#34
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
Ecnerwal wrote:
"B.B." u wrote: MSC has some nice customer support people, too. I like 'em! Not always cheapest, but good selection, and generally ship so fast it'll make your head spin. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Indeed, typically on my doorstep in like 26 hours from placing the *ground shipping* order and I'm not exactly in a major city. Pete C. |
#35
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
I don't know which pieces you are getting but you can request
that these are keyed alike so you wont have to have a bunch of keys. Also look in the Kennedy catalog for drawer liners/dividers, dust covers, etc. lots of neat stuff. Uncle George On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:30:29 GMT, Ecnerwal wrote: "B.B." u wrote: MSC has some nice customer support people, too. I like 'em! Not always cheapest, but good selection, and generally ship so fast it'll make your head spin. |
#36
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." u wrote:
As an aside, I know I can't order from Grainger over the internet as an individual, but if I personally voyage to one of their branches can I buy from them then? Or do I still need to figure out some way to buy through work? Never actually been to a Grainger, so I don't know. Wow, must be tough getting to a Grainger from tw.ch.ru! :-) Seriously, the counter person might just put it on another account and let you buy something but I wouldn't count on it. (If you have a business license, you can get a grainger account.) If you have a buddy or acquaintance with a smaller business and a grainger account, they can boost their buying total with Grainger and get a bigger discount. Funny how Grainger is totally ripoff for some/most stuff and quite low priced for other stuff. Jay |
#37
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
B.B. wrote:
... I now have my heart pretty much set on a brown Kennedy roll a round unit: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/... ($1600) I Googled "Kennedy 4410b" and the 1st hit had it for $1334. It was in N.J., so may not apply to you, but you might want to Google yourself. Bob |
#38
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
I was told a secret once on how to get around this. You tell them you're a shareholder. Shareholders are supposedly allowed to purchase without being a business. Just talk convincingly - I doubt if they'll make you produce your stock certificates... bB [...] Thankyou for the suggestions. I now have my heart pretty bB much set on a brown Kennedy roll a round unit: bB http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...l?ItemKey=1RG3 bB 2 Just need to either locate someone who can get it to me now (and bB maybe for less) or just bite the bullet and order it through bB Grainger. As an aside, I know I can't order from Grainger over the bB internet as an individual, but if I personally voyage to one of bB their branches can I buy from them then? Or do I still need to bB figure out some way to buy through work? Never actually been to a bB Grainger, so I don't know. bB -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net -- ================================================== ==================== Larry Strollo Remove NOSPAM to mail me ================================================== ==================== |
#39
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
"B.B." u wrote in message news My little red craftsman tool chest finally got too overloaded. I'd long ago reinforced the bottom and replaced the casters, and I've been temporarily fixing the drawers when they'd fall out, but yesterday it had a total failure. Which was actually pretty funny to watch. It's a top chest and a bottom roll a round, 26 inches wide. Anyhoo, I pushed in the top drawer of the bottom chest and it fell off its rails and landed on the drawer below it. Sheared the rails of that drawer off completely, causing the two to hit the third, and so on until all five of the bottom drawers came crashing down to the bottom. Then the whole mess slid forward, fell out, and with so much weight suddenly shifting one way, the remainder of the toolbox (with top chest) went the other way and slammed into the ground, bending basically every part of it. I so wish I had a video of that. But now I need to invest in a new box. To anyone who's been there and done that, are the hideously expensive Matco/SnapOn/Mac/Etc boxes worth the money? I investigated and I can swing the payments, but I sure don't want to. OTOH, I know first-hand I can annihilate a Craftsman, though they do offer the more sturdy "Craftsman Professional" boxes with actual drawer rollers instead of stamped metal slides. Know of any other box brands out there? I guesstimate that little red box was holding about 600 lbs of stuff when it died. It's most likely rolling around the halls of Valhalla right now. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net Do you know if 600 pounds of stuff is more than it was designed to hold? When shopping, try to press down in the middel of the drawer as you slide the drawer back and forth. It may give you some idea of how well it will work with tools in it. Good luck and happy shopping. |
#40
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Oh no! Buying a toolbox...
In article 0Rlgf.563870$x96.361471@attbi_s72,
"JWho" wrote: [...] Do you know if 600 pounds of stuff is more than it was designed to hold? Yeah, it was roughly six times what it was designed to hold. (: Seriously, this is amusing: when you're in Sears next time, poke around in their toolboxes and once in a while you'll see a weight plate. It'll have a little label on it, stating that it represents the weight of a drawer full of tools. It's maybe 20 pounds. So, going by that, my bottom box was made to hold 100 lbs, and my top was made for perhaps half that. -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net |
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