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R. Stratenstein
July 7th, 2012, 10:40 PM
My boss had gotten some great deals with Harbor Freight's Insider Track Club, and all excited about it, talked me into joining a few months ago. For quite a while it looked like it would be wasted money, then along came the latest flyer showing this:
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5483.jpg
Having recently stowed my most recent guitar-building tools, equipment, and materials into a series of banker and copy paper boxes, I'd been mulling what to do to get organized, put most of my guitar tools in one place, and protect them. This tool box seemed like the right idea at the right time.
It has 5 drawers that pull very smoothly, and latches on the drawers so they don't come open when you wheel the box around the shop. It has big, heavy casters, and is heavy itself (box said it weighs 172 lbs., and it was a bear to assemble my myself, too). It has a big tray in the bottom for my fret press, gallon size containers of finish stuff, and other large objects, plus a tray on the side for rattle cans and small cans of finish materials.
It has a large top compartment that's covered by a locking lid (that locks all the drawers when it's locked), it's wide enough to hold a guitar neck (photo shows my template in there), 2-foot fret sections, and my master templates. I'm still working out exactly where everything needs to go, but am looking forward to getting it organized and protected.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5485.jpg
BTW, a more a propos decoration for the inside top can't be found than tdown's awesome tele drawing. The whole thing wouldn't fit, but most of it will with a little trimming.
Speaking of protection, a product was recommended to me a while ago that I just now got around to trying out. With our muggy summers, rust is always a threat, even when you try to keep your tools oiled.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5478.jpg
This stuff is called a rust blocker emitter, and the 6 little foam pads inside go inside your tool box drawers. It emits a "cloud" of material that supposedly bonds to the exposed metal of your tools, keeping moisture and oxygen out, thus preventing rust. It's supposed to be safe for plastics and non-metallics, too, but I don't think I'd put it in a drawer with some vintage tortiseshell material.
Here's what one of the pads looks like, you just peel the self-sticky off the back and stick it to the inside front of your tool box.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5479.jpg
Eventually, I'll probably need to designate it strictly for tools, and move supplies, etc. elsewhere, but I think for now, it'll hold most everything I have. Some tools I use extensively on non-guitar projects, so they won't go in this box.
I'm pretty pleased with it, at $179, I thought it was a great deal, and exactly what I needed. I thought it was a pretty good deal, even considering the $25 I paid for the Insider Track Club. With this one purchase, I'm pretty far ahead already. (No, I'm not associated with HF in any way, other than a customer!)
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5483.jpg
Having recently stowed my most recent guitar-building tools, equipment, and materials into a series of banker and copy paper boxes, I'd been mulling what to do to get organized, put most of my guitar tools in one place, and protect them. This tool box seemed like the right idea at the right time.
It has 5 drawers that pull very smoothly, and latches on the drawers so they don't come open when you wheel the box around the shop. It has big, heavy casters, and is heavy itself (box said it weighs 172 lbs., and it was a bear to assemble my myself, too). It has a big tray in the bottom for my fret press, gallon size containers of finish stuff, and other large objects, plus a tray on the side for rattle cans and small cans of finish materials.
It has a large top compartment that's covered by a locking lid (that locks all the drawers when it's locked), it's wide enough to hold a guitar neck (photo shows my template in there), 2-foot fret sections, and my master templates. I'm still working out exactly where everything needs to go, but am looking forward to getting it organized and protected.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5485.jpg
BTW, a more a propos decoration for the inside top can't be found than tdown's awesome tele drawing. The whole thing wouldn't fit, but most of it will with a little trimming.
Speaking of protection, a product was recommended to me a while ago that I just now got around to trying out. With our muggy summers, rust is always a threat, even when you try to keep your tools oiled.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5478.jpg
This stuff is called a rust blocker emitter, and the 6 little foam pads inside go inside your tool box drawers. It emits a "cloud" of material that supposedly bonds to the exposed metal of your tools, keeping moisture and oxygen out, thus preventing rust. It's supposed to be safe for plastics and non-metallics, too, but I don't think I'd put it in a drawer with some vintage tortiseshell material.
Here's what one of the pads looks like, you just peel the self-sticky off the back and stick it to the inside front of your tool box.
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j383/rickspeir/Toolbox/IMG_5479.jpg
Eventually, I'll probably need to designate it strictly for tools, and move supplies, etc. elsewhere, but I think for now, it'll hold most everything I have. Some tools I use extensively on non-guitar projects, so they won't go in this box.
I'm pretty pleased with it, at $179, I thought it was a great deal, and exactly what I needed. I thought it was a pretty good deal, even considering the $25 I paid for the Insider Track Club. With this one purchase, I'm pretty far ahead already. (No, I'm not associated with HF in any way, other than a customer!)