PSA; VAT free day at Machine Mart and which Clark tool box?

Machine Mart have got a VAT free day coming up on Sunday 2nd November and Thursday 6th November.
You need to be on their mailing list to get the invite, but you can take up to three guests, so if you haven’t got an invite yourself you could always hang around outside the door asking strangers if they want to take you in as their guest. 🙂

Anyway, I’ve been thinking of getting a new toolbox for a while.

Any opinions on;

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cbb226b-16-drawer-tool-cabinet
combined with

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cbb224b-14-drawer-tool-chest
for about £730 total

Against;

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cbb3011df-11-drawer-mobile-cabinet
plus

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cbb309df-36-9-drawer-tool-chest-with-f
Which is a bit smaller, but only about £570.

I had the same choice 5 years ago I decided to go for the blue industrial clark hd plus box, the paint finish is harder and with the double ball bearing draws it just feels like a very well made box.

this draw is full of sockets and it opens just like an empty draw

perhaps its just your local one ? or the english ones ? all i got from them yesterday was them trying to flog some clarke gennys on light of the brown outs and arctic winters on the daily mails front pages

im wanting a new compressor and the vat free price is about 100 quid off.

Yeh good point I’ve not got an email either lol

Is this just your local store?

Nothing on the website about this offer.

What’s the quality like compared with the Halfords pro range? MM seem more expensive…

the ones pictured – they are bigger at a start – hence price difference.

the halfords ones are small … id love a 48 like above instead of my 36s.

worth looking at costco as well they have a nice robust feeling blue 48 set for home use.

MTG,

I thought you were a Bus technician? Surely this is the default option:

More seriously I’d go for the heavy duty range.

And @ Sbd16v . . . Sorry, but that is a disgrace. Can I come round and organise your sockets 😆

Marko

And @ Sbd16v . . . Sorry, but that is a disgrace. Can I come round and organise your sockets

+1

yep my garage might be a mess with on going projects…… but i can lay my hands on any tool at any time – and once finished with it goes back in the same place – increases productivity on said projects if i dont have to look for the tool for half an hour in a pile.

might look like the tray wastes space but it takes up significantly less room than the same sockets did in their previous incarnations on pins. (oh and its fully populated now.

Hi just signed up on their web site,received email about vat free events that are starting.

Might not be big enough for MTG but if anyone else is looking for a tool chest Halfords have a bumdle offer on the Industrial 6 drawer roll cab and top box. £350 instead of £610, basically the price of the roll cab with free top box.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/garage-equipment/tool-chests-tool-boxes/halfords-industrial-6-drawer-ball-bearing-tool-cabinet#tab1

perhaps its just your local one ?

Maybe it is then, although I’m sure that years ago when I was on their mailing list I got the offer via my local branch in Worcester, but I went to the Gloucester branch as I happened to be there that day anyway.

Another option for around the same price would be this rather nice looking stainless box on ebay.

41″ for £600

Or this monster

54″ for £750

I’m a bit wary of spending that much money on something unknown without having a look at it first, although the ebay feedback looks good.

does look well made – double runners onthe bottom drawers there.

how ever somethingthat stuck with me was my buddy has the big 54″ snap on colin mcrae chest (he has his own repair shop – so his tools earn him dosh)

hes a short bloke – he has a shelf above his box that he cant reach from the floor.

pulls out the bottom drawer of his chest and stands on it to reach up.

now you wont do that with those ones you picture , i certainly wouldnt do it with my halfords ones.

my local costco doesnt seem to have the blue toolboxes anymore (they were metallic darkish blue not like the Clarke above).

They sell the stainless ones like above in the USA and I would go for one of those every day. I would be careful with the ebay ones though, some are a lot thinner metal and shallower depth. Choose carefully.

In response to the comment about about the Halfords Pro – I didn’t like them. I ended up going for the Halfords industrial although I have already had to take one bottom unit back due to 2 drawers not witting right so only locking on one side.

My neighbour has the halfords industrial and some clarke ones. You will spot a lot of similarities between the halfords and clarke ones but I would suggest you go into the store and take a good look at them. I really like proper drawer catches on the halfords industrial instead of push locks but not seen any others with that feature. The Clarke range is quite confusing but the drawer options are better than halfords and future proofing is better as you can get add-on boxes etc.

trail-rat – is that the halfords drawer thingy or did you just cut up your tool box? I’ve got the old 150 piece kit and the newer 170 piece kit.Box on the old set is falling apart but they don’t do the inserts for that one anymore so thinking about cutting the skin off the box and putting it into the drawers.

“future proofing is better as you can get add-on boxes etc.”

many of the addons work just fine with the halfords boxes as the front to back depths are the same.

the drawer catches on the halfords industrial stuff did my head in.

i had the old 200 piece kit – which had the seldom useful big up to 1.5inch sockets.

i just bought the inserts for the new kit – at 9.99 it wasnt too much of a risk and in the end there were not too many gaps or extra bits – mostly it was a few less big sockets and more 3/8″ torx/hex/screwdriver – and populated the empty slots with ebay stuff cheaply … ie halfords wanted about 50 quid for the parts to fill the emptys and i got them off ebay for 15 quid in total.

i looked at hacking up the original box but the box was just the wrong shape.

the drawer catches on the halfords industrial stuff did my head in.

Really? I quite like them. Seemed to be more reliable and easier to operate than the friction closers on the pro one I tried. But then the friction was very variable between drawers on that one and when I looked at the display one in store you could tell which drawers were played with a lot as they no longer stayed closed. I guess not all ball bearing sliders are the same. I would be happier going to machine mart for them as you can compare them all and decide which you want to pay for. They are more expensive though.

I didnt think about getting the newer inserts and populating them myself. You do see a lot of halfords pro tools on ebay from people splitting up boxes.

Mu next purchase has to be a set of 3/4″ drive sockets and bars though. Borrowed a neightbours set when working on the landrover and it make life much easier with the extra leverage and larger handles, especially with two knackered wrists and arthritis in my right hand.

a 3/4 socket set – really . I would get a good quality flank drive hex socket set and 4ft 1/2″ breaker bar – halfords dont have either.

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-355402/sealey-ak7302-750mm-1-2sq-drive-breaker-bar.html

mines a draper but makes light work of most bolts.

I know it’s overkill but there was something about the chunkier handles that I liked as I struggle to grip things when my hands start to hurt. I’ve got a 1/2″ drive sliding T-bar but the 3/4″ one I used was nicer to use. Maybe I should just get a couple of 3/4″ drive handles and a reducer. I can’t see me putting in so much torque I am going to break any 1/2″ drive fittings.

Haven’t had to resort to 3/4 drive on a LR, big bar as above and/or….

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarke-CEW1000-Electric-Impact-Wrench/dp/B0039BQRUO

And a set of 1/2″ impact sockets, which are also useful on a wratchet if you need a flat drive socket and you normal ones are bi-hex.

i have that gun too -its unreal – it either removes it or breaks it. 450nm.

also i can recomend the silverline impacts – ive given them real shit and they are good quality – at 15 quid you wont get better. As with always with impacts though -wear your safety specs and do not use chrome sockets.

bahco dual 80 ratchet handles are far nicer – bigger than the halfords ones – the halfords ones as you say are tiny.

I Looked at the various Halfords, Machine Mart tool chests last year.

I ended up with a roller chest and top box from Clas ohlson, excellent quality, decent metal, full roller bearing drawers and a 10 year guarantee, currently £340 for the pair. I just checked and they are doing 10% off today. Clas Ohlson tool chest

seen in Costco today:

well built, at least as good as the halfords black pro ones, but bigger and with a much more usable combination of drawers etc

and worth mentioning these as well:

Those US-Pro ones available on Ebay are actually really good.
I was dubious at first and didn’t want to spring that much without seeing one close up.
One of the guys at work brought the 6 foot stainless roll cab with the wooden top, and I had a good look at it here.

Its really nicely made, and the drawers are deep enough.
They work just the same fully loaded too.
My Only criticism is that it does not have the full length top drawer like the Snap-on roll cabs do (Just superb for all spanners in one drawer) but I would happily buy them and will get 2 or 3 when I finally get a House with a Big enough Garage / Workshop to warrant that much storage.
For the money, I don’t think there is anything comparable quality wise.

EDIT:
This is the one
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26-US-PRO-TOOL-CHEST-BOX-BENCH-STAINLESS-STEEL-72-FINANCE-AVAILABLE-/311124252061?pt=UK_Garage_Equipment_Tools_Tool_Boxes_Storage&hash=item487073559d

“Those US-Pro ones available on Ebay are actually really good.”

some of them are … its hit and miss between the specific models from what i see – different gauge materials used.

the wood top ones do look really good – but really could use a 3rd set of wheels* in the middle as they are a big span when loaded with tools and start to flex a bit when you move em around

*have since seen some of them do come with 6 rollers and not the 4 on the one ive seen – but not all do.

Saw the black one in COSTCO at the weekend – very nice, but not as good as the blue ones they were doing last year…