Tool Chest

A tool chest is used to store tools. It may be the bottom drawer in your kitchen counter, or it may a massive steel affair on heavy-duty casters. It all depends on how many tools you have and how highly you value them. There are tool chests for home, hobbyist, and professional tool collectors.

Many convenient multi-tool collections sold at Walmart and home improvement stores come in their very own plastic tool chests. Each tool or set of tools nests in a compartment tailor-made -- or blow-molded, actually -- to fit its contents perfectly. Unfortunately, these cheap tool cases are poorly made and generally don't last too long. Their latches and hinges are usually the first things to go, as they are merely thin flexible strips of plastic that break pretty easily. Then you need to buy a proper tool chest.

Fishing tackle boxes make pretty good tool chests for small to medium-sized collections of tools. They come with a deep compartment at the bottom that can hold bulkier tools and sundry boxes of screws, nuts, nails, etc. On top of these rest trays on hinges so the trays can be swung back for access to the bottom compartment. The trays often have dividers that can be moved to create compartments of various sizes as needed. Pliers, screwdrivers, and other hand tools need longer compartments while wrench sockets, drill bits, and smaller items don't need much space. Tackle boxes are cheap and handy, but professionals generally opt for specially designed metal tool chests.

Stainless tool chests are obviously made of stainless steel, which is tougher and more durable than plastic. They are extremely rugged and can be tossed into the bed of a pickup truck rather carelessly. Of course, the interior of a steel tool chest must fit the tools snugly to prevent them from getting all jumbled up, scratched, tangled, etc. Stainless tool chests can be much larger than plastic ones because the sides won't sag and the bottom won't fall out under the weight of a great many tools. But at some point, a stainless tool chest becomes too large and heavy to carry.

Then you need a tool drawer chest, also called a tool cabinet chest. A tool cabinet chest is often the size of an end table or mini-fridge, up the size of a bedroom dresser. A tool drawer chest is generally mounted on heavy-duty casters so it can be moved around easily. Shallow drawers keep tools organized and easily accessible.

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