Over the past few months I have been trying to buy a couple of
practical toolboxes for two or three different purposes. I have a big
workshop/garage where many tools (especially car tools for example)
live permanently but there are obvious needs for toting tools around
sometimes and a basic set ready in a box are useful for emergencies
and quick jobs. So, what I'm looking for is one or more toolboxes to
cover the following uses:-

1. General 'about the house' toolbox with cordless drill, some
bits for same, spirit level, a hammer, probably a mole wrench,
etc.

2. 'Electrical' toolbox, electrical screwdrivers, strippers, crimp
tool, some crimps, side cutters, pliers, cheap meter, etc.

3. Plumbing stuff, but a simple 'tote box' seems to handle this
OK.

4. An 'up the garden fencing' toolbox, as our 'garden' is 9 acres
it's a bad idea to forget anything important when you go to fix
the fences. This needs to be quite big to take more than one
cordless drill, a supply of big screws, mallet, saw, etc.


Before I started rethinking I had a couple of simple 'tote' boxes (one
with a drawer underneath) and a couple of metal cantilever toolboxes
one of which was my 'electrical' toolbox. I have now bought three or
four new toolboxes (over a year or so) but none has really lived up to
expectations. Are there *any* really practical, hard-wearing
toolboxes out there?

What I have tried so far a-

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...6914&langId=-1
This is (for me) about the best so far, it's a reasonable size and
I can *just* get my cordless in the bottom though it's not really
big enough. It has one really stupid design fault though, when
you open the lid the handle drops down so that it won't lie flat
with the catilever trays fully open, you have to put your hand
under and flip the handle out of the way *every time* you open it.

http://www.pvrdirect.co.uk/productin...ef=STA192 083
The one I have isn't exactly like this but near enough. I thought
this might 'do everything' for me but it hasn't. It's too big for
the house really, I can't wheel it upstairs. I also don't like
the tote trays really, I *always* want my cordless out and that's
always at the bottom. It may become my 'up the garden fencing'
toolbox though.

http://www.rackingshop.com/cantileve...y-box-24-p.asp
I thought this was going to be it! It's a cantilever box which
appeared to be bigger than the Halfords one. What a
disappointment, it's not bigger, basically because it's an odd
shape. It suffers from exactly the same handle problem as the
Halfords one and the component trays are not very practical
because they don't seal when closed so rattling the box around
will shake things out.

I also have a straightforward Stanley (I think) plastic toolbox
with tote tray, like nearly all of the 'ordinary' toolboxes around
it's just too long and thin. I can't get a cordless drill in the
bottom.


So, as I said, are there any good, practical, tool-boxes out there?
Price isn't terribly important but I'd want to be sure it's good if
it's expensive.

--
Chris Green