craftsman – Adam's Auto Advice

My Harbor Freight Toolbox

Last Wednesday I made a trek up to Harbor Freight to get something fun, the US General Harbor Freight Toolbox. This is actually my first toolbox I have ever bought.

I had looked around at all sorts of different options for toolboxes about everywhere you could think of besides Harbor Freight. I went to Sears and checked out the Craftsman line as well as the website extensively. They had nice setups, but most were too much for what I wanted to spend. I went to Lowes and Home Depot, poorly designed units that were waaay overpriced. I even checked online and tirelessly prowled Craigslist for months. I considered spending a good bit of money on Mac unit, using my 50% student discount. That probably would be worth it, but I don't have much money.

I kept coming back to the Harbor Freight Toolbox though. With 13-drawers and considering the quality… honestly for the money you can't beat it. Out the door, with tax, it came out to be around $370. It's not the best quality toolbox, but for home use and what I need it should be fine. It's sturdy, the slides on the drawers work well and have smooth action, and it holds a good amount of tools considering how much we loaded it with. I was just tired of having tools all around the garage unorganized and impossible to find. I'm pleased with it and I should get good use out of this Harbor Freight toolbox for years to come I believe.

Do you own a Harbor Freight Toolbox? What do you like or dislike about it? If you are consider getting this Harbor Freight toolbox leave a questions below if you have want to know something about it and how it has held-up.

An Interesting Tool… Matco/Craftsman Ratchet

The Snap-On truck stopped by at work today. I noticed something interesting on the truck. This Matco stubby ratchet that the Snap-On man had.

He told me, “This was a ratchet that one of my customers sent back to Matco for warranty replacement. They sent him back this one! It was a manufacturing mistake. This Matco ratchet is $75 on the Matco truck, while at Sears it's $20. I keep it to show people if you are going to pay premium prices for a tool, you should get a premium quality tool!”

The first thing that crossed my mind… maybe the Snap-On dealer bought the Matco and Craftsman ratchets, then put the Matco head on the Craftsman handle. Obviously he wants you to feel like spending big money on his tools is worth it. As Snap-On tools are quite expensive.

Of course you do need to consider Craftsman and Matco hand tools are both made by Danaher. It's totally possible this is manufacturing defect that they overlooked. Maybe both the Matco and Craftsman ratchets are made in the same factory and on the same line.

If you have an on opinion on this, please post a comment below. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Sears Student Discounts

Sears has a brand new program offering 20% Off Automotive Tools and Tool Sets for students in Vocational and Technical school. All you have to do is show a valid student ID and they will give you the discount. The 20% off discount can even be used on specialty tools, such as multimeters, OBD scanners, brake tools, etc. However I spoke with a Craftsman Representative about the program and 20% off will vary by store and location. Also the discount will only apply to regularly priced merchandise. It would be best to call and ask your local Sears store what tools they will give you under the program. Under the program you can also get 5% off sockets, wrenches, or auto specialty tools that are on sale. You can also get 10% any Craftsman branded tools and items that are regularly priced, including shelves, tool chests, power tools, air tools, etc. I'm sure students will find these discounts helpful. I called the Sears store I usually visit (Hunt Valley) and confirmed they are running the discount. It's also right on the Sears website. Be aware the discounts are only good until March 31st, 2011.