How Many "Tools" Need a Toolbox??
 

Saw this while cruising CL today..."Trade my Matco Box for your Chevy Truck 67 - 72 - $4000"
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/970965387.html

yeah, okay:lol::lol:

I think this lad is dreaming just a tad. My 600-dollar Craftsman is just as big and works just as well.
The real "tools" are the ones that mortgage their homes to buy four-thousand dollar toolboxes :)

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Re: How Many "Tools" Need a Toolbox??
 

That tool box is not for a hobbist that is a box for a person that is a mechanic for a living and has to have a hell of alot more tools than the average joe...I have techs here that have easily over 50k in tools.See the one I have in front of the truck

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does matco buy back? i know snapon does trades.. whoknows :lol:

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I am one of those tools that spent around $5000 for my tool box and I quantee it will outlast that craftsman you have

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Guess I aim no higher than my local Sear's ;)....even when i was a heavy line mechanic at the local Dodge dealership. My Craftsman has been with me for over 30 years. Just gave me more $$ to invest in the good tools.

I dunno, I just don't see the value in "those" tool boxes. All of the tool vendors tried to get me to buy their chests. I just bought the tools....and very infrequently to boot.

Maybe I shoulda traded one of them a truck for one ;)

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I have one from Harbor Freight I will sell you for half that, tools included ;)

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I've seen craftsman boxes come and go in the shops I've worked in but the name brand suppliers stay or get traded in for larger ones.

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Gotta agree with you on this one....spend the big $$ on the tools, not the box they are kept in.

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I think I can agree with theyammieguy, as I have seen Craftsman boxes yanked open without a key after only a couple years old.

If you're going to put a LOT of tools in, you're going to wish you had a smoother box. Nothing compares to the way a nice box opens and closes.

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I guess to each his own but still, how many of you would trade your truck for a toolbox?

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well.... actually.... I traded a truck for my toolbox :P
granted, it was a 94 Mazda B4000... but I didn't want it anymore

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/...c9622b.jpg?v=0

holds all the tools I need to work on anything standard or metric, including air tools.

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I've never been a tech (I'm sure the customers were happy of that), but Dad, Brother, Brother-in-law all were. My bro-in-law started his own general repair/tranny business and I refer to his tools/box as his retirement. This is his profession, he has the tools that make his profession easier and the box to put them in...quality counts. Somebody was raggin' him about spending as much as he did. He opened the bottom draw, literally jumped in, and proceeded to open and close the drawer while standing in it...they never gave him a minutes more grief. Over the years he has probably collected $50-75K of tools I think his is one like the pic...thats not his I sniped it off another site

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I search CL every week for one of those. Looking to spend less though.

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I'd give him both of mine, that way I could sell the box/tools and buy a truck without rust! :lol:

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I understand why you posted you were broke in the Suspension forum now.

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I dunno guys, I have a large tool collection...three generations worth. I have a mix of MAC, Snap-on, craftsman, proto, cornwell, etc.

Honestly, the craftsman stuff all holds up as good as the other.

There is a stigma in the "tech" world about buying craftman...it really makes me laugh.

I don't need mac or snap on to prove to myself that I am a good mechanic.

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one of the mechanics at my shop bought his snap-on for 12000... the first day he worked at my shop he jumped on a drawer, lol

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I spent 5500 for my Snap On box in 1991. Well worth it even at twice the price. I've never regretted it a bit. Quality never fades.

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Actually, I bought that 10 years ago on my first job turning wrenches.
Im broke now because of a wife and two kids. Lol

And Im not dogging craftsman tools, hell I use them at home but at work I can break them in a heartbeat. I've been sliced open from the plating on their wrenches, broke tips off screwdrivers actually using them as screwdrivers and busted sockets left and right. Working on tractor/trailers takes it's toll on tools and it nice to have the tools come to you when you break one instead of going to sears. Plus each year it seems sears gets a little more strict on there tool return. Snap on, mac, cornwell, no questions asked.

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I use Craftsman tools at home and Snap-on tools at work, there is a difference in quality, period. Not saying Craftsman are bad, I'm just saying. Although I've never seen a Craftsman box anywhere near as nice as a Snap-on. I even keep my Craftsman tools in a Snap-on box at home, a small one.

I definitely agree that big name tools are too expensive, my Snap-on man keeps trying to get me to get a new box, I tell him I bought my last tool box.

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http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...0/tool_box.jpg
I'll buy off brand stuff... I have harbor freight tools in my box... but when buying a tool, I ask myself, how will this make me bleed WHEN i break it? Not iff... when. I break snap on stuff, mac, mat co... all of it.
However, the box, even craftsman's higher end boxes aren't as good in quality as the 'tool truck' boxes.

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I buy alot of craftsman and the are decent tool but in my book you cant beat a s-k tool

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I will buy any tool made in the USA, even the cheap allen brand stuff at menards is better then imported crap, it is just a hobby for me, wrenching 2 hours a weekend isn't worth 75K, I would just buy 100 C10s instead!

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We have a $5k Snap-On box, Gift of Life Special Edition with diecast Nascar model. My dad traded our Snap-On guy all of our not Snap-On tools for ALL Snap-On. So, total worth, at least $25k. Well worth it. All polished and organized too!

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Like it was said before in this thread, no one would recomend something like a snap on box for a hobby wrench. In reality, that would be crazy. My box alone is worth more than anything I own.

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I agree with longhorn... My dad is a mechanic and has been for 25 years. He has more time and money into tools that any one man should. But, tools are how he makes his living, and it just so happens to be the way I have been making mine for a couple years. Snap-On, Mac, Proto are all definitely a higher quality tool. We have these tools and we have very large and expensive Snap-On boxes to hold these tools, so that's what we use. Yeah, all the stuff breaks that's what happens when you use tools. The difference is in the frequency of breakage. For the average joe, this is not a very smart investment. That's why the average joe isn't making a living with tools.

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i buy the mac snap-on tools but i put them in my cheap craftsman box. i always get crap for having that cheap box but since when did a expensive box make any money?? i rather have the tool that makes me the money!!!
btw i got a job doing bodywork! wahooooo!

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i too make a living with my tools and have snap on, mac, matco cornwell, craftsman etc. well over 60K between the box and tools at work alone. i have a 3 bay snap on box at work but at home it's a an el cheapo stainless steel box i got at a "damage" sale from a local parts store.as for tools at home, i have the same selection here as at work along with some stanley, harbor freight , and others. the only complaint i have about craftsman tools are their ratchets-they flat ass suck, i've torn the guts out of more 3/8 and 1/2 drive ratchets than i care to count.

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I worked in a body shop for several years and i exclusively used Craftsman and still do. I have broken more ratchets, screwdrivers, sockets, wrenches, etc, than I care to admit. Some of the guys in the shop used Snap-on and Matco and they were fantastic tools. They look great, work great, and rarely break. If i had the money, hands down i would purchase them over Craftsman. The reality of the deal is that i cant afford snap on. Craftsman is an inexpensive good quality tool that offers free lifetime replacement. For someone who isnt making a ton of money, that is unbeatable. Our shop would generally toss their broken stuff in a bucket and once a year one of us would take in the hand full of broken bits and get new. The only problem we had with snap on was how pushy the reps are to get you to buy new stuff. they are like used car salesmen that come to you, its kind of annoying. in the end, it is what it is and you get what you pay for... i think anyway. is a Mercedes better than a Chevy because it cost $50k more?

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amen! those guys are really pushy to buy those big tool boxes! they hound me all the time!!

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Here is another one that I have n my shop that is available with all kinds of tools from snap on, matco , mac & some craftsman...One of my techs wants to get rid of it loaded..

any inquiries PM me.....

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It makes me laugh that someone would cut down a quality toolbox, but if it came down to it anyone that has ever turned a wrench would love to have that box. I have had probably 100 vehicles, but I have only had two toolboxes, my first was a Craftsman which kept my tools of the floor, as soon as I could afford it, I bought a little nicer box....one of my best investments, not a Mac Or Snap On, but a nice Waterloo, it is all I will ever need and more but would gladly trade it up for the one pictured. I like nice things:lol:

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I would not trust the locking system on a Craftsman box to secure my 60k+ worth of tools and diagnostic equiptment. I have a triple bay Snap-On box that I paid way too much for but dont regret it a bit. Quality never fails.

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...with the "Easy Roll" casters that make it a breeze to haul ass with it. :)

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Agreed...all the locks in the world won't stop someone from rolling off with it! A couple swings of the hammer will open any tool box lock.

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If someone wants my box they better bring a forklift or a rollback with a winch, if you have to lift it more than an inch you and all your friends wont get it without unloading first...hell even empty its not alot of fun to lift.

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First real job I ever had was doing brake jobs and tires at a GM dealer. I was 16 and used all the other guys' tools, largely Snap-On and Mac, but a few others here and there. I remember when a new guy fresh out of vocational school got hired, 22 years old, said he was already 25K in debt just for the box and tools he needed to land a job, not to mention the school loans. After working at that shop, and using my Craftsman tools I've had for a long time, I absolutely agree there is a difference.

It makes your work easier, more accurate, and less painful. It costs you less time, it helps you reuse parts because the tool you used fit the job.

However, I spend my money on parts at home. I don't make my living turning wrenches, I make my living so I can feed 4 kids and a wife, and spend any crumbs leftover on parts for my truck. If you gave me 1K and told me to spend it on myself, I'd buy parts (or a truck). If I needed a tool to do a job, I'd save my dough and buy the tool at Sears. Then, when it broke, I cuss and replace it. Well, I'd probably cuss even if i didn't break the tool (I spent 4 years in the Navy, and that's my excuse).

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They would probably walk off with the three piece craftsman box before having to bring four friends to lift that mac box.

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Something funny for all of you: I hang out with a Heavy Mech out here in Iraq. We got to talking about tools not too long ago and he has a nickname that I hadn't heard before and thought I would share.

He said that when he was back home working for a tractor trailer dealer the "Strap-On" man would come by twice a week and strap it on the other mechs. He deals with nothing but Craftsman and he could run circles around me in a garage! Granted, I dont do it for a living! As most of you have said -- " To Each His Own!!"