New tool chest – Halfords of SGS?

As a birthday present I’m about to press the button on a new tool chest, never had one and been deliberating forever. I went to see the Halfords own (not advanced as can’t justify that set) but have now seen advert for SGS professional at around the same price, just less drawers, I would get the set of 3 from Halfords

So what would people suggest? Halfords or SGS?

https://www.halfords.com/tools/storage/tool-chests-and-cabinets/halfords-5-drawer-cabinet—black-574100.html

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/professional-14-drawer-roll-away-tool-chest-cabinet

I’ve had a similar Halfords one for years and it’s very good.    It’s really solid and feels a lot more expensive than it was.

My one has the extra chest that sits on the top

I bought that Halfords one 5 years ago and it still looks brand new. Perfect for a domestic garage.

There was a recent thread about this.

Try homebase. Same as sgs but sometimes on offer.

Also look at machine mart

I’ve had a Halfords chest that looks like the one above and with the set that sits on top for over 15 years. Drawers still run smoothly despite overloading at times and being used every day for business for over ten of those years, I use the locks but I don’t think that they would keep a burglar out for more than ten seconds! Hope this helps.

I’ve got an SGS one and it’s great. The Halfords one I have at work is better though.

Thanks all, looks like I’m ordering from Halfords

This is the SGS chest I’ve got; http://www.sgs-engineering.com/stc1000-mechanics-8-drawer-tool-box-chest-cabinet and this is the Halfords add on I use at work; http://www.halfords.com/tools/storage/tool-chests-and-cabinets/halfords-3-drawer-mid-chest—red-575438.html

My mate has this one from SGS; http://www.sgs-engineering.com/stc5000-13-drawer-tool-box-chest-roller-cabinet

Despite the usual dislike of Halfrauds… ive got a 5 drawer top chest – had it probably 10 years if not more. Still silky smooth and looking good.

I’m in the market for the lower chest now – or maybe a cabinet with a side-hinged door and fixed shelves inside. I’ll be happy if what I get is as good as the top one I already have

Careful if you go browse Homebase’s site, they not listing any sgs clones but do have the ‘ultimate’ range which are very spendy but rather lovely.

I have pro Halfords, when I bought it, it was much better quality than the base version. Might not be the case now, get down to a Halford store & have a look at both? ..use home delivery, I got all excited & ended up with a huge heavy lump to get in & out the car

Recent threads…https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/toolmasters-of-stw-please-educate-me-about-tool-chests/

One of the posts…

Halfords (good) ones are great, although they’ve confusingly changed the range recently. What used to be “Pro” (with the nice action on the drawers) now isn’t called that anymore (& the shitty range has been re-branded “portable” or “tool centre” or something). There is a new Pro/Advanced range which is even more substantial plus has a big top opening bit on the top unit which is great for using as a storage/charging centre for power tools, and is available in 2 widths – 3′ and just over 2′.

Maybe be careful about what you buy; your link is to one of the base models so the comment ^^^ is probably relevant.

If I was buying, my choice would be from the promo priced items in the Sealey premier range; more expensive than the Halfords Advanced range but better quality.

@rocco I have that Halfords offering, albeit in red. For home use I cant think of any reason to go more expensive.

got the halfords one cheap off a PSA on here years ago

still works perfectly, , unfortunately it doesn’t auto organise my tools , so its a mess inside

id buy the one i can pick up at the shop.

these are fairly thin material and are prone to getting dinged and dented – well the first set i got from halfords were and were rejected.

ive had 2 stacks of pro for going on 15 years now

Another vote for the Halfords kit here – i’ve had the cabinet and top-box combo for 12 years now and can’t see why you’d spend more for home workshop use.

(I’ve also got a Snap-on top box – its lovely, but so it should be for £600 – and its not worth the premium for home use)

As above, I’ve got the not-the-cheapest Halfords ones as a set years ago. Avoid their cheapest range, it’s cut too many corners even for home use. The only thing I don’t like is the lower cabinet has too many drawers. It’d be more useful if it had more drawers for air tools, grinders, etc, and less shallow ones.

My BiL’s a mechanic, and I briefly worked in a garage whilst redundant and the actual professional cabinets from Snap-On etc are in a different league, but you definitely don’t need to spend that much money for bike tools or a bit of DIY car maintenance 😂

Keep an eye out and have a google for past sales on hotukdeals etc as they fairly regularly do them half price, BOGOF etc so get an idea what a good price would be and unless you really need it now, wait for a sale.

My BiL’s a mechanic, and I briefly worked in a garage whilst redundant and the actual professional cabinets from Snap-On etc are in a different league, but you definitely don’t need to spend that much money for bike tools or a bit of DIY car maintenance 😂

Yep, when I left the trade I sold my two snap-on chests and all tools, bought the full Halfords pro setup bottom + top box with all tools and pocketed £2.5k for my troubles. 

Another vote for Halfords here, advanced 2′ with the top cabinet, purchased a few weeks ago. Seems pretty solid although the soft close on the drawers seems a little sporadic at the moment. 

With black Friday around the corner it might be worth waiting a few weeks to see what discounts turn up or find a friend with a trade card.

IME for home use it just doesn’t matter much, as long as it’s got roller bearings. Instead get the size and shape and price you want, worry a bit less about the brand. The heavier duty construction comes into its own if you’re using it constantly, or wheeling it around or using it as an engine stand etc but if it’s on a shelf as most people will have it then it barely makes a difference

Mentioned this in the other thread but, taller/deeper drawers are a godsend. Obviously reduces the number of drawers you get, but makes them way more useful and also, means you don’t get that thing where a tool falls over or gets bumped and instantly jams the drawers, which isn’t just inconvenient, it’s highly disruptive of the sense of smugness you get from having a tool chest.

On the same note, consider whether you can actually use a swing-open top. That takes up a lot of space if it’s in shelves. Though if you don’t move the chest it can be useful as you can magnet stuff to it. But on one of mine I’ve ended up taking the lid off and it just gets used to throw stuff on, I wish it had another drawer instead (ie I wish it was a bottom unit not a top)