Mobile Workbench/Toolbox

[Tom K.]

I'm looking at mobile workbench/toolboxes and know nothing about them, so thought I'd check in with the Ski Talk Hive for some knowledge and opinions.

This one at $450 is the perfect size and perfect in about every other way, but.......upon viewing in person, it seemed a little flimsy:

Husky 46 in. W x 24.5 in. D Standard Duty 9-Drawer Mobile Workbench Cabinet with Solid Wood Top in Gloss Black H46MWC9V2 - The Home Depot

The all new Husky Extra-Deep 46 in. 9-Drawer Mobile Work Bench has arrived. This work bench is 24.5 in. D, which creates 36% more storage capacity than traditional 18 in. D units. The extra-depth also

www.homedepot.com

This one looks great, but is pretty pricey at almost $900, and I'm not sure it would be much sturdier?

Milwaukee High Capacity 46 in. 10-Drawer Roller Cabinet Tool Chest 48-22-8542 - The Home Depot

Loaded with the extra features you want, the Milwaukee 46 in. 10-Drawer tool cabinet boasts a massive 19,440 cu. in. of storage capacity and can hold over 2,500 lbs. The 10-drawer cabinet is an extra-deep

www.homedepot.com

This is another Husky model, but heavier duty, so perhaps the flimsy factor would disappear. The rub here is that unlike almost every other Home Depot item under the sun, they will not ship it free, even to the local store, so another $150 added:

Husky 61 in. W x 23 in. D Heavy Duty 15-Drawer Mobile Workbench Tool Chest with Solid Wood Top in Matte Black H61MWC15HP-C - The Home Depot

The all new Husky Heavy Duty 61 in. 15-Drawer Mobile Workbench with solid wood top will be a great addition to any garage or workspace. Built to withstand the demands of any workplace setting, this unit

www.homedepot.com

 

[scott43]

Do you want it for a workbench? Or just roller cabinet/storage on top.

 

[Philpug]

I have been really happy with my Harbor Freight US General one.

 

[scott43]

Make sure if you're going to use it as a work bench that you have a wooden or replaceable top. Otherwise it will look like hell in a short time. Make sure the wood can be replaced. You can MacGyver something if need be. And you need a good floor if you actually want to move it. My toolbox weighs like 1000lbs. That doesn't roll well unless it's a proper concrete floor

 

[Tom K.]

Do you want it for a workbench? Or just roller cabinet/storage on top.

Less of an actual workbench (well covered there) than DRAWERS.

I'm leaning toward springing for the Milwaukee unit, as it's 18 gage, while the Husky and US General units are 20 gage.

The 20 gage Husky unit was actually "okay" in most regards, but the full-width drawer across the top was too great a span for that light sheet metal, and did not impress.

Calling known "tool guys" on the forum, @crgildart , @KingGrump, @tomahawkins, etc.

 

[KingGrump]

Out of the three listed, I would pick the Milwaukee. The frame on the small Husky is too light. The 61" Husky is too unwieldly to move around unless your shop is huge.
If you need to maneuver the box in tight space frequently, consider replacing the two fixed caster with same sized swivel casters.

Much depends on your work habits and site condition. I have several boxes in my garage. The box that I work out from is the Montezuma box. It contains a pretty complete set of sockets, wrenches (both SAE & metric) & ratchets. I have several other complete sets of wrenches and sockets in other boxes. This is my primary go to set. This set up will also let me know what is missing.
I'll pick the sockets, wrenches, ratchets needed. Put them in a mag socket strip and trays before heading over to the vehicle I am working on. I also have a small 2 drawer cart I can roll over to the vehicle being worked on to keep thing neat and organize. A mobile tray table is great for engine work from above.

My Montezuma box.

Mobil tray table.

 

[OldJeep]

Depends on the husky I guess. I have one of their rollers, a Waterloo and an older craftsman (also Waterloo built). The husky is the beefiest of the bunch and has about 70 lbs of sockets in that full width top drawer.

 

[Tom K.]

Out of the three listed, I would pick the Milwaukee. The frame on the small Husky is too light. The 61" Husky is too unwieldly to move around unless your shop is huge.

Thanks! Perfect assessment. I'm leaning Milwaukee, but it's spendy, so I'm lurking for some BF deals. I won't be moving it much, but it must be movable, so the 61" would be OK, but a bit of a cramped fit in my bike/ski/whatever shop.

Depends on the husky I guess. I have one of their rollers, a Waterloo and an older craftsman (also Waterloo built). The husky is the beefiest of the bunch and has about 70 lbs of sockets in that full width top drawer.

Thanks! The problem with the Husky boxes is they have three levels, and the one that fits my space best is the "regular" and you could not put 70 lbs in the top drawer of that one. Their heavy duty boxes look and feel great, but sizes are either wrong, or delivery fees are silly.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

Ive got 6 tool chests/carts. Two sears generation craftsmans, two harbor freights and 2 snapons. The snapon boxes cost about 10 times the harborfreights, but they are maybe 1.5 times as good. I was a total tool snob that wouldn't even go near a harborfreight, but some of their stuff is legit.

 

[Philpug]

Ive got 6 tool chests/carts. Two sears generation craftsmans, two harbor freights and 2 snapons

With a user name like @chris_the_wrench I would expect nothing less.

I was a total tool snob that wouldn't even go near a harborfreight, but some of their stuff is legit.

That is good to know.

 

[OldJeep]

Thanks! Perfect assessment. I'm leaning Milwaukee, but it's spendy, so I'm lurking for some BF deals. I won't be moving it much, but it must be movable, so the 61" would be OK, but a bit of a cramped fit in my bike/ski/whatever shop.



Thanks! The problem with the Husky boxes is they have three levels, and the one that fits my space best is the "regular" and you could not put 70 lbs in the top drawer of that one. Their heavy duty boxes look and feel great, but sizes are either wrong, or delivery fees are silly.

Delivery fee? If you lack a truck, find a friend with one?

 

[Tom K.]

Delivery fee? If you lack a truck, find a friend with one?

Plenty of room in my Transit, but that tool box is odd. Closest one in stock at HD is 100 miles away, and the usual "Ship to Your Local Store Free" is not an option.

Even after 10 minutes on the phone with a nice HD employee. Makes me think that model is going away, and they're just blowing out remaining stock where it sits.

Darn @KingGrump has me lusting after a Montezuma box now -- a brand I was blissfully unaware of two days ago.

 

[KingGrump]

Darn @KingGrump has me lusting after a Montezuma box now -- a brand I was blissfully unaware of two days ago.

 

[OldJeep]

Plenty of room in my Transit, but that tool box is odd. Closest one in stock at HD is 100 miles away, and the usual "Ship to Your Local Store Free" is not an option.

Even after 10 minutes on the phone with a nice HD employee. Makes me think that model is going away, and they're just blowing out remaining stock where it sits.

Darn @KingGrump has me lusting after a Montezuma box now -- a brand I was blissfully unaware of two days ago.

My son has a Montezuma, I would have no issues owning one.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

My son has a Montezuma, I would have no issues owning one.

I know a few service guys who have those bolted to their flatbed trucks and they get the sh!t kicked out of them bouncing around orchards and crop fields. No drawers to get mis-aligned. They are pretty bomb proof.

 

[OldJeep]

I know a few service guys who have those bolted to their flatbed trucks and they get the sh!t kicked out of them bouncing around orchards and crop fields. No drawers to get mis-aligned. They are pretty bomb proof.

To be clear, his is one of their rollers cabinets.

 

[johnnyvw]

I will second the Harbor Freight line, they are nicely built. The one nice thing about HF is you can get a rainbow of colors, if you want something besides red or black. I have an 18" deep rolling cabinet (my garage is tight for space) and I recently purchased a Husky upper cabinet that was on clearance at Home Depot that was white. I didnt care about the color, I just wanted to save a few bucks. But it was the best built of all the ones I looked at. The one thing I have found is a lot of higher end cabinets now have "soft close" mechanisms....which require a little more effort to open and I hated that feature.

 

[Philpug]

I will second the Harbor Freight line, they are nicely built. The one nice thing about HF is you can get a rainbow of colors, if you want something besides red or black.

I kinda hoped that they would do a harlequin collection for the VW fans.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

I kinda hoped that they would do a harlequin collection for the VW fans.

I could totally see that as a different color for every drawer, not my thing but someone would probably dig it.

 

[sparty]

I could totally see that as a different color for every drawer, not my thing but someone would probably dig it.

Just buy enough to swap them around until you've got a full Harlequin box.

I had a friend years ago with a VR6-swapped Harlequin, back when that was considered a pretty damn quick engine. Coming from a Mk2 8v 1.8L, sitting in the passenger seat when he got on the highway and pushed the loud pedal was sure something.