Craftsman 7 Drawer Top Tool Box

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Craftsman Modular Tool Chest Storage System

Craftsman has come out with a new modular and stacking tool chest storage system that they say willgrow with your needs. We've seen something similar before from Keter, but have yet to see a current source. The Keter modular tool box system was previously sold at Sam's Club.

Keter Modular Tool Boxes

The new Craftsman modular tool storage system ships with 3 tool chest and a rolling base. The tool chests can each be repositioned to any location in the stack, and they lock together at the sides. Each unit also has side carrying handles and a central locking system. Inside, the drawers can be customized with removable dividers, and you also get 32 removable small parts bins.

Weight limit: "less than 200 pounds" according to Sears, 154 pounds according to Keter.

Additional features include fully extendable drawers, top tool trays that provide a tool catch-all and work surface, and padlock eyelets on each chest for securing their contents.

The chests are made with polypropylene resin construction, except for the drawer slides, which are ball bearing glides. Craftsman says that the units canfunction under tough conditions without sacrificing appearance, but they're still going to be better suited for DIY or less intense work environments.

From Keter's product description, the entire stack measures ~23.6″ wide x ~14.9″ wide x ~32.8″ tall. In the promo video, the entire stack reaches up to the model's hip.

While I've been waiting for the Keter modular storage system to finally be available, Sears' undiscounted price is a little high. Hopefully the price will drop a bit in a couple of weeks – I think that $99 would be a more appealing target.

I would love to see how well system compares with the Ryobi ToolBlox tool storage system, which sadly isn't available in the USA (yet?). The last I heard, there weren't even any plans for Ryobi to bring the ToolBlox system to the USA.

The new Craftsman system looks interesting, although I also wish they kept the red and black Keter color scheme.

Price: $130

Buy Now(via Sears)

First Thoughts

As I tried to hint at – I think this could be a very appealing storage product for DIYers with light duty storage needs. It's a product I feel very positive about, but there are some hesitations. On one hand I'm excited that Craftsman is bringing the Keter storage system to market – at least beyond a limited Sam's Club run. On the other hand, I don't think Craftsman or Sears is going to maximize its appeal or effectiveness.

Keter offers a 3-drawer chest, a 2-drawer chest, and a 1-drawer chest. The modular storage combo ships as a 7-drawer combo that includes (2) 2-drawer units and a single 3-drawer chest. I like the idea of that 3-drawer chest, as a lot of tools are better organized in shallower drawers. Craftsman's looks to ship with (2) 2-drawer chests, and a 1-drawer chest.

The Craftsman configuration looks like it would be better for users with more power tools than hand tools. It's really not a big deal that it doesn't come with a 3-drawer chest.

But will Craftsman sell individual or add-on tool chests separately? Will they sell the tool cart configuration shown in Keter's promo video? Unfortunately, there's no indication that they will. So this isn't so much a modular system, as it as a stacking tool chest system. How can it be modular if you cannot customize the setup as you could with other brands' modular tool storage systems?

I am hopeful that Craftsman might sell add-on or modular chests separately, but if they don't, then just the 3-chest combo and rolling base as a complete system doesn't look any less appealing as a compact DIYer tool storage setup.