Home Depot and Lowes Tool Box Storage Brands to BUY and AVOID | US General, Kobalt, Craftsman, More

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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro Music
'Wowzers' - Kirk Osamayo
From the Orange Season 3 Album
'Wowzers' - Kirk Osamayo is licensed under CC BY 4.0

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[rtz]

Lowe's would be better off if they ditched Craftsman and embraced Kobalt and pushed Dewalt.

[kelliw]

This was very helpful. I am shopping for a nice toolbox for my husband for his birthday and as a clueless shopper, Craftsman was what I almost bought. You’ve convinced me to look into US General.

[dippitydoinit]

If you live in the Midwest and have access to a Menards then definitely check out their Masterforce tool boxes. They're priced competitively but are a bit more expensive than others because they're 24" deep. I promise you'll be happy with them.

[brianburmeister]

Man is squatting in the tool chest aisle all of January and buying em all as soon as the markdowns happen

[nicko]

I have a craftsman 52 top and bottom purchased the bottom at sears in 2019 and the top at lowes in 2020, both are great boxes. The drawers don't scratch or squeak. Ever consider that for $40 you were buying factory seconds?

[JoeVan]

So that 26-in US general you have is one of the first generation. If you look on the sides of those small drawers you'll see two little levers. You push one down and pull the other one up, the drawer will slide right out. There are little detents on the end of the drawer, you may have to use a pair of pliers and manipulate them to get it to slide better. The other thing you can do is add a little grease to the bearings as it slides in and out. If you tinker with it for about 5 minutes you'll probably be able to get that drawer to function just like the others. The first generation boxes were pretty decent but a lot of them did have minor issues like this. I have one the same way and had to fix a couple of its manufacturing tolerances so to speak. The series 2 was a little bit better quality control and now they are on series 3. Still the best boxes you can get for the money that I have found though

[claysomething]

Mastercraft is a brand sold by Canadian Tire in Canada and is still sold today.
( most of my tools and my box are by this brand )

[ericpigg]

I picked up a Husky 36x18" 12 drawer (bottom and top) at Home Depot last weekend. With the military discount, it was $392 out the door. I bought the red one. For some reason the exact box in blue was $698. It seemed like a lot of box for $400 and so far I have been pleased. I basically emptied 2 of the US General rolling carts (like the green one in this video) into it and still I have a considerable amount of room to go. Loaded at about 80% capacity, it feels solid and not wobbly or top heavy. It is also has the no slam drawers the pull themselves in about the last 2 inches or so. Cool feature in this price range. Time will tell, but so far it seems like a good value for the money and it saves some floor space. I will probably sell one of my US General carts at this point.

[putergd]

New Craftsman is junk, but the old school Craftsman boxes are great. I have a stainless top, bottom, and middle drawer 41" combo with ball bearings and grip latch that is over 20 years old and still looks great and works great. Never had a single issue with it. I also have three of the black with yellow trim Craftsman Pro Series boxes (26", 42", and 52") and they are great! Very close to what you can get from Snap-On and Matco, but at a MUCH lower price. All of these are American made by Waterloo Industries before Craftsman sold out.

I also have a 52" Husky from Home Depot - the "heavier duty version", and it's complete garbage.

[HumberNorton]

Hey Indy ~ Nice primer on some tool boxes. Mostly useful. I think the emphasis on how to get a great deal on a closeout or damaged ("hit with a forklift") box is irrelevant here and misleading regarding value-for-dollar.

Your garage is so clinically clean though, and your tools so perfectly arranged (and you have the hands of a surgeon, not a mechanic), I wondered—"what the heck does this guy actually work on?" LOL

Whatever, I do agree with you on the Crapsman (did I misspell that?). I've had mine for a decade and the joke is, the tools I need to repair it are stuck inside it and I can't get them out! Screw it, I'm going Matco. Snap-on quality at under 3/4 the price. For all their tools.

Rolls-Royce has one of the most brilliant mottos of all time, penned in the 1930s: "The quality remains long after the price is forgotten." I rest my case.

[jasonc]

The US General box for the money you cant beat them. I have a 72in gen 2 top and bottom. The bottom has the same layout as the older Snap-on 72in. I only wish they were deeper. The new 3rd gens are great and like the drawer layout better. I also have 2 US General carts, 1 is a 4 drawer and 1 is a 5 drawer. For the money you cant go wront... The 4 drawer is a little wobbly out of the box, needed some tweaking. I also have a Husky special edition (purple color) 36in top and bottom, this is great box too. Good info and agree with your reviews, spot on.

[bradydowling]

master craft is a Canadian brand and they still make them today and they are just as good as they once were. you can buy them from Canadian tire in Canada

[EverythingisFire]

I wish U.S. General made a top box layout like the Kobalt 26" 4 drawer. Thanks for warning about Craftsman.

[JP]

Great video, buddy! I have a few Craftsman tool chests, and you are so right--they are not that great--the drawers are all messed up and don't slide that well. I plan to replace with the U.S. General 30" 5-drawer cart. Thanks for the video. New sub!

Appreciate the reviews. Waiting until Jan or Feb or maybe black Friday to pick one up.

[pugmalley]

When Sears sold Craftsman to Stanley it truly became Crapsman. Had a job a couple years ago that had a toolbox provided for shop use and it was a Sears Craftsman with ballbeering drawers I think it was purchased in 1998 and the drawers still slid well in 2021 when I left and the box itself still looked great and moved around well on its original wheels.

I had brought in a cheaper toolbox to hold some of my stuff that wasn't provided that I would use. At home these days I have a HF series 2 42 bottom that I will put a older Craftsman top on it with generic slides just cause I have it there.

[Jeepsteve]

What has happened to craftsman should be a crime. I wish people would be punished for what they did to us. It's so sad.

[swiftraider]

A tin can on wheels...lol...I agree with you. I would love to get a deal on the Kobalt with the wood top..I dont see them much in store anymore.

[charlotteantiquepowerengin]

Don't judge a wheel by its appearance. I have never been able to figure out weight ratings on them.

[tonym.]

Thinking you may have got a defective/return on the S2000. I got my set at only a slight discount, but it came with mats and it's overall pretty quality with none of the imperfections shown in this video. Not that my one anecdote is any hard evidence but not coming with the mats strikes me as a red flag.