When I began this blog, it was not my intention to make it all Milwaukee, all the time, but my enthusiasm for their tools has had considerable influence on the content! While I am currently working on other posts, the introduction and release of the new 46″ Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet has prompted me to go with the Red and Black yet again. I have a fair amount of new and old Milwaukee tools spread around the shop in cabinets under the workbenches, only a few of which have drawers, so getting to the tools has been a trifle awkward. There are three canvas bags, three hard plastic cases, two steel cases (old!) and lots of loose hand tools spread here and there behind padlocked wooden doors. It’s better than having them in piles but not as organized or convenient as I would like. When the announcement came of this tool storage solution it appeared to be the answer for me.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call on my cell phone which I declined to answer. It seems that every time I answer an unknown number, I regret it. It’s usually a survey or a sales pitch or I’ve won a trip to Bermuda, but this caller persisted so I finally answered. It was the driver of a Cape Cod Express truck trying to confirm my delivery address. Needless to say, it’s a good thing I gave in and accepted the call. I ran home to meet him and boy, was I glad! We were able to back our trucks together and unload the Milwaukee boxes directly into mine. I doubt very much that I could have wrestled these beasts myself. Back at the shop I had help to get the the boxes inside, where I did my best to be patient and not tear into them like they were gift-wrapped.
They were very well packed with styrofoam all around, and heavy angled cardboard pieces along all edges. Cutting the bands allowed the systematic removal of all the packing to reveal the boxes without having to lift them out.
There was some assembly required. The nifty part of the assembly was that the bolts all have precisely located threaded inserts in the boxes already welded in place. The hardest part for me was getting the cabinet up on a pair of low benches so I could fasten the wheels. The instructions say to lay the cabinet on its back to do this, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever get it upright again without chasing it all over the shop every time I tipped it onto a pair of wheels. Keeping it upright worked well for me.
The upper chest is pretty much ready to go as it comes, save for a few things like putting the rubber mats in the drawers and feeding the power cord out the port in the back. I had imagined lifting it up onto the cabinet myself, but the reality is that it’s too wide and too heavy for one person to do it. The chest is located and secured onto the cabinet by a pair of steel tabs fastened to both with screws. Additional tabs are provided to wrap the power cords around when not in use.
After enlisting some help to stack the boxes, I finished up a few details and started loading them up. I’m half convinced that these are bigger on the inside than they are on the outside, and they’re big on the outside! I thought I had a lot of Milwaukee tools, but when I stashed them all away in this unit, I still had empty drawers. (You there in the back! I heard that snicker!) I’m 6’2″ and the assembled unit nearly reaches my chin. When opened, the total height is close to 6′ 7″. I had to do some additional redecorating of the shop to make room. Those with small shops will have to plan carefully when adding this set-up.
While waiting for this cabinet to arrive, I wondered if the drawers would be deep enough to hold the larger of my M18™ Fuel™ tools. I was glad to find that the Sawzall and similarly sized tools fit easily in one drawer while the M18™ Fuel™ 7¼” Circular Saw and it’s smaller siblings fit in the deepest drawer with room to spare. The ample left-over space in that drawer makes me want another tool to fill it.
I’m starting to feel very organized. It’s a lot easier to take tools out and put them away in these drawers than it is in floppy canvas bags, with the added benefit of them not banging together whenever moved. Incidentally, these deep drawers with the double slides each have a 200lb. capacity. The whole set-up will hold well over half a ton!
A feature that is already proving to be very popular in social media is the Power Tool Drawer. This will hold four drill/drivers, four M18 batteries and probably eight M12 balleries. It’s an obvious advantage to have four tools within easy reach like this, but when they are in their cases, they can still wear their most commonly used bits for immediate use. I think that I’ll find the ready availability to be worth having to perform the “onerous” task of putting a bit in a modern keyless chuck. I do regret that I can’t fit more than one belt hook-equipped driver here without interference. Three of my drivers have hooks but I guess two will have to come off.
It may seem a bit extravagant, but I like having the M18™ Fuel™ tools for heavier outside work and the compacts for the shop.
“What about the hand tools?” you ask. There are ample shallow drawers that make arranging and retrieving hand tools a breeze.
The deck of the tool chest is up pretty high. If you are tall, you’ll find it a useful height. If you are not tall, you might find it like a closet shelf. I wonder if some people who don’t need a rolling unit might prefer theirs without the wheels, which add quite a bit to the height. A nice feature of both the top and bottom units is the built-in switched power strip with provisions for mounting chargers nearby.
I was amused/irritated to find that the press release image that showed screwdrivers in a neat little rack on the pegboard was a photo opportunity but not a viable storage solution. I bought two of the same racks only to find that they don’t hang nicely straight, the holes are too big for the driver shafts and there isn’t enough height for two of the screwdrivers that came with the set I bought for that location. You could make it work long enough to take the picture, but within minutes they’d be all akimbo. That’s why my screwdrivers are now in a drawer, an equally good place for them.
A couple of pleasing features of the chest and cabinet are the soft-closing drawers and the pneumatic struts on the lid. If you close the drawers most of the way, the slides will finish the job for you like a high-end kitchen cabinet. When you start opening the top, the struts will finish the job for you and hold it open.
This works well for me. I’ll put something else topside!
One of the drawers has a hinged top that makes a good work surface for a laptop or plain, old fashioned paper and pen. It might even do as a lunch counter.
The tool chest has a switched power strip inside similar to the one on the outside of the lower cabinet. Each comes with a 14 gauge power cord that exits the rear of its box.
Everybody that’s come into the shop and seen the new storage cabinet and tool chest has been wowed. This will not be just some small step up for me here, it will be a big improvement in organization, productivity and security.
The Milwaukee Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet (48-22-8500) does not show as available on their web site as of this writing, but can be had from Home Depot, for one, for an on-line price of $699.
-dvl
I bought one several years ago and liked it so much I bought a second one to hold more tools:)
There are multiple options. Harbor freight and Snap on have the plastic rows that are easy to cut for short rows and easy to arrange. I like the harbor Freight because they are also magnetized and stay put in the drawer.
To organize your wrench’s. A magnetic bar for each set should work easily. I have customized the length on several and the left over magnets have given me storage for my chuck key and wedge for removing the taper with the chuck.
I usually get mine from harbor freight.
Yeah I have this box too. Just assembled it. I specifically bought the 8 pack Milwaukee screwdriver set and pegs so I could put them on the peg board with the same results. I ended up putting the large ones in the drawer and the smaller ones in the pegs. It’s still a real nice box but the peg board issue irks me lol.
Do you know if Milwaukee (or someone else) sells a wrench holder/organizer? I want to have a solid row for my SAE and metric that lets them all fit in one drawer (?)