Tools & Fabrication - Insider info on a HF toolbox for those in the market

For starters, I'm a manager for Harbor Freight Tools. I've been meaning to tell everyone here about a tool box that HF sells, but never got around to asking the mods if it would be cool, until a few days ago. So here goes:

HF sells some cool/interesting stuff, but nothing there has jumped out to me as being a serious bargain and worthy of me telling people while im away from work as much as the 90320 tool box. Legend has it that a Snapon employee came to work for HF, and then HF was able to purchase the plans to a discontinued tool box of theirs. They then sent the plans to China and said "make it." I think you'll be hard pressed to find a tool box of this quality for less than HF sells them for... especially on sale.

I had one of these tool boxes as a store use piece, and we had probably 1500 lbs of tools in it. The drawers opened and closed like a dream, even with that kind of weight in it. Customers that owned snapon tool boxes commented on its similarity to the one that they spent $4000 on.

So, if any of you are in the market for a big tool box, want to get outstanding quality, but don't want to have any money in it, then I'd seriously look into this one. I'm not one to go home and start selling stuff for HF on my own time, but this is a genuine sweet deal that hardly anyone knows about and I just thought that yall could maybe benefit from my insider info.

Here's a link to what I'm talking about:

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=90320

I'm all about some craftsman tools, have lots of their stuff, and would like a bigger craftsman box. But when it all boils down to it you could purchase a set of ported heads with the savings between a name brand box and the us general. And thats what its all about :D

I encourage customers to lean really hard on the drawers. They're ball bearing and serious quality. They come in a crate, fully assembled, and offer room to grow with optional hang-on side cabinets and a top cabinet. The one I had was just the bottom and one side cabinet. It was almost like having a work bench. It comes in black too, but only special order.

If anyone has a questions, PM me.

It IS a nice tool box. It just went on sale for $349 with the coupon in their mailer.

I have not seen the mailer yet. When did it come out? I am looking into tool boxes currently.

End of last week. Offer is good until 8/24/09.

Guys, its a beast tool box. If the :turd: name gets to you, then just pry it off. I'm not trying to sell tool boxes for HF either, lol. Its pretty much the only bad ass thing that I've discovered within the company that can save some of my buds some serious cash. If I had to spend $4000 on a tool box, then it better have a freakin 100mm turbo, viper output shaft, dry sump oil system, and a 9" rear end on it.

Yes, the price is incredible. I wasnt going to drop that bomb, mainly because I didn't want to apear like I was undercutting a sponsor or trying to advertise for free. But, like I said, I just wanted to let everyone know about a bad ass tool box that's only a few hundred bucks... and literally unchanged from the days of Snapon.

Remember this about things made in China:
China makes things for the U.S. as well as the U.S. retailer tells them to make it. If you are talking smack about something because it was made in China, its because someone in the U.S. told them to make it as cheap as they could. The final product is uaually a piece of crap with slag, seams, simplified plastic design, and pot metal. This tool box is proof that they can make a true quality product.

The black tool box looks bad ass. These things are a crinkle coat, or not glossy. Looks good IMO. I've been looking at craftsman boxes lately in the catalog, and decent size boxes with the worthless "quiet glide" drawer is still hundreds more than this box... and not even close to its size. You really cant go wrong with it... as long as you don't let brand loyalty get in the way.

I will say this too: If you want to go to HF to get a quality tool box, then the one I'm talking about is the only one I'd look at, unless you're interested in the really big one that has the picture of the dude standing beside it on the web page. The others are... :eyes: a $199 tool box... but no worse than a regular non ball bearing craftsman :chug:

PM me for questions.

So they do carry it on black? what about stainless? any price difference? Can someone scan and post the coupon or email it to me artls1@comcast.net

Yes, its available in black. Its special order though, and I'm not sure if its on sale too. There is a stainless cabinet, but I can't comment on the quality since I've never seen it. I don't think its the same as the 90320.

Keep in mind the $399 price is just the BOTTOM roll around, not the entire setup...

that still is a great deal... I have eyeballed it, I woudl defintely pick that up if I was to upgrade.

Even double so because its offered in black, I kind of didnt' like the faded red/orange look. But in person Its good quality, easily as good as my pricier but not top of the line ballbearing stuff from craftsman.

Keep in mind the $399 price is just the BOTTOM roll around, not the entire setup...

Right. If an entire tool box set went for $399 new then it would be a piece of crap, a big piece of crap. If just the bottom was $699 then I would still call it miles ahead of the non ballbearing craftsman boxes. If this box had a glossy paint job, then I think people would class it better than any store bought craftsman box. And for the record, I love my craftsman tool boxes and tools. The 90320 is simply a better deal. Of course, I have a hard time justifying $4000 for a cabinet.

I like using my 20% off coupons for this kind of stuff.

I like using my 20% off coupons for this kind of stuff.

Z06PSI,
Scan and send me a copy of that 20% coupon so I can go tonight and pick up that tool box!!!

Art
artls1@concast.net

If you get one feel free to comment about it and post some pics!

If I able to find a 20% coupon I will pick one up by this weekend for sure.

I will post pix and comments. I have heard good things about this box recently.

20% off

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayCoupon.do?week=3209&campaign=RetailB&page=3209_retailB.html&r=5515_1130712&cust=78040101719&keycode=0000

I did check out the box today and it looks like a good deal. You can tell it sure isn`t a snap on box, but for the money it feels pretty nice. Definitely felt a lot sturdier than the storehouse box next to it....that thing felt like a cheap toy.

i may go to our store this weekend to see if they have it damn 20 percent off of 399 is like 80 dollars so i could pick this up for 320 plus tax not bad if this is a nice box. i may have to sale my ball-bearing craftsman box to get this monster.

I'm sure snapon went the extra mile and used superior metals. But, the design is Snapon... from when? I'm not sure. HF has been selling this cabinet for a long time, and when they got the plans they were probably pretty old (seeing as how they were discontinued). I'm not sure in what decade snapon was manufacturing this cabinet, probably a long time ago.

Either way, if you were to have the two side by side, what would the differences be worth? $3000? mmm... not since all I do with tool cabinets is keep tools in them. I supose if the real deal were to clean, polish, lubricate, and sharpen the tools it contained, then there would be a substantial difference in features worthy of that extra. But, I'm no pro, so I would rather have my money in extra car parts :D Don't get me wrong, it will never be as good as the real snapon. I just don't have a need for a $4000 box. The HF box doesnt accumulate the amount of :drool: that the snapon does, that's for sure!

When I get a garage of my own I'm almost positive that a US General cabinet (most likely just the bottom and a side) will be housing my tools!

Thanks for posting the coupon!

No problem, I always like the 20% off coupons:).

I`m not saying its a bad box, I may even buy one (The garage is a bit crowded though and I`m not sure where I would fit it.) It was a little better quality than I expected, but still not as thick/strong as a snap on. Then again I could not see spending the $$$ for a snap on box either. But I do have to say, nothing is built like a snap on. My dad inherited one, and I have actually stood on the open drawers (the new garage has a 12' ceiling so to get to the shelf over the toolbox I open a drawer and walk up it and onto the top of the box). The snap on doesn`t even flex, but I probably wouldn`t want to walk up the drawer of the us general box. That snap on is stupid heavy though, two people struggled to load it into the truck when we were moving, and that was after we had taken all the drawers out.

look in the newest gmhightech mag, there is a 20% coupon in their ad also

Thanks Kurt!

Its almost embarrassing how long I have meant to subscribe to that damn magazine, and keep forgetting... years :eyes:

i went to hf yesterday and of coarse i got a speeding ticket on the way. but anyway the us general box is decent for the money the sticker on the bottom was 499 and when i called they said it was 399 but it must be on sale or something. but i think when i get a bigger box it will be a clearance craftsman or sams ss box, or the big kobalt box not the one with the radio and the frig in it. but the hf box is ok but not deep enough but worth the money is u get it below like 350.

They were on sale total for 349.00 with the in store coupon.

Well hell! Looks like i stumbled across this thread a day to late! Im in the market for a new box since my Snap-On KRA4813 full of snappy tools along with EVERY other tool i had to my name was stolen. I was looking at a crapsman ball bearing SS top box for $599, but i would definitely buy this bad boy for $320! Anyone know when they will be doing another 20% off sale??

I'd say it will be on sale again soon. It will most definitely be on sale durring the sidewalk sale, when ever that is.

Picked up 1 yesterday! Dude hooked me up with the 20% off too! This is NO Snap-On box, but a damn nice cheap box!! Drawers fell way more sturdy than Crapsman Ball Bearing and Lowes SS boxes. The weight rating on the box is 2884 Lbs. Im going to sand it down and repaint it, i cant stand the red. I also got a 2 ton cherry picker for $144 bucks! Man i love HF!

I've had one for over a year now. The top and bottom and its a great piece.

I use it all the time and for the money its been well worth it. I did a head swap on my 330ci and afterwards the box was quite a mess, cleaned right up.

I put silicon spray on the sliders every few months and its been perfect.

I also got the $349+20 percent off deal and I found this thread because a buddy of mine is picking one up today after seeing mine this past week putting a lift on his Jeep.

They do make them in Yellow and Black now, but special order only. There is also a new matching side piece that is more like a storage locker.

This cabinet is worth every penny there is nothing in the price range that can touch it. Its better than the Craftsman Pro series and if you want to compare it to Snap On or Matco fine but those boxes are under $700 for the set.

Just another comment...I did go in and lean hard on the drawers. My center large drawer is loaded with air tools:

1/2" impact
3/8" impact
1/4" air ratchet
3/8" air ratcher
Cut off wheel
Wire Wheel
2 Air hammers
4 sets of 1/2 and 3/8 impact sockets
2 sets of impact extensions
Impact swivels
Set of Axle nut/hex sockets from 31mm to 37mm

Opens and closes as easy as can be. You even get the liners for it at that cost.

Im glad you guys enjoy them. When I get a garage I'll join the owners club too. I'd like to learn how to do some custom paint work one day and the tool box would definitely be on the list... right after the avacado colored freezer :eyes:

Im glad you guys enjoy them. When I get a garage I'll join the owners club too. I'd like to learn how to do some custom paint work one day and the tool box would definitely be on the list... right after the avacado colored freezer :eyes:

What a shame, my parents just got rid of one of those. If I'd have known, they'd have saved it for you. :D