New Tool Box

 My tool box at work has been one of those Harbor Freight collections that my coworkers have been calling "the train". I guess thats because I had a couple boxes bolted together and when one of the guys called it a train I may have let out a "choo choo"! After that the name stuck.

  You may remember the hutch I built for the train that holds a laptop and printer. That setup has been great. Besides having the ability to instantly look up parts, I have easy access for hooking up the laptop to chainsaws and Automowers for service. What I didn't like was the short 18" depth of the drawers and the configuration of the drawers. One big drawer for all size sockets and ratchets would be nice. To do that I'd have to step up to a bigger box, so I did.

 This is the Harbor Freight/US General 72" cabinet. Its length is 8" shorter than the train but its 4" deeper so I did gain some storage space on the bottom. I still have to hang the locker and maybe add a smaller box next to the hutch. So far its been great although it may take some time to memorize where everything now lives.
 At first my plan was to build a new full length hutch for this cabinet. I'm still tossing the idea around but I'm not sure if thats really gonna happen. The smaller hutch I already have is working fine.
 I asked one of the tool vendors how much this would have cost as a name brand box. He said anywhere from 6-10 thousand. Yikes. I don't know about the quality comparison but at $1200 this was definitely the only option I could afford. There are a lot of US General boxes in our shop and I don't think we've had problems with any of them unless you count dents from bumping into them with a forklift. This one is still shiny so lets keep away from it with forklifts and lawn mowers.

Later.