A tool chest is what every handyman should own. Without tool chests, it would be rather difficult to keep track of all your handheld tools, along with any screws and other parts all in one place. Tools chests are beautifully crafted pieces of steel that can occupy a lot of space with very little and can save you the runaround of gathering your tools for your next project.
Best Tool Chest Under 1000 – Comparison
| IMAGE | NAME | FEATURES | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
 | The Original Pink Box PB218MC |
| Check Price |
 | Homak 27-Inch Professional |
| Check Price |
In this review, we will be looking at five great tool chests that are priced below a thousand dollars, from brands such as Wen and Excel. We will analyze their strengths and well as weaknesses, and then determine which is the best tool chest for your money. So without further ado, here are the most popular tool chests for your budget.
Best Tool Chest Under 1000 – Reviews
1. BOSTITCH BTST19802 Rolling Tool Box
Bostitch’s tool chest is not meant to look vintage or simple, like Excel’s, and instead follows the trend of hard plastic. This chest weighs 19 pounds and is 13.6 by 30.6 by 19.2 inches in size. This is considered an affordable option for all your tools.
This tool chest has its own wheels, can be carted like a recycle bin. It has two wheels to make it considered a portable chest that you can take with you for all of your important projects.
This chest comprises of three different sections, each with a drawer, that can be removed for even more portability. They stack on top of one another to combine into one so that you can move them all at the same time with minimal effort. These drawers also have ball bearings.
Furthermore, this toolbox can carry up to 70 pounds, making it very strong for a portable chest.
The problem with this chest, however, is that it is made of thin plastic. It is possible that this chest could have been upgraded with thicker plastic, but that is apparently not the direction they went in with this chest. The drawers have shown some strain after just a few uses.
- Is affordable.
- Can carry fifty pounds of tools or more.
- Is easy to carry.
- Drawers will not get stuck.
- Has wheels.
- Made from a cheap plastic.
2. The Original Pink Box PB218MC Chest
The Original Pink Box has made a small tool chest that is available in eight different colors, from pink to orange to lime green to traditional grey. This chest is 10 by 18 by 11.5 inches big, and weighs 23 and a half pounds. Right from the bat, we can easily tell you that this is a small tool chest, but maybe small is all you need for doing one or two different things for projects.
This chest is made of 18-gauge steel, and the powder-coated finish makes it scratch or chip-resistant. Even though there are only two drawers that come with this chest, each drawer can carry up to 50 pounds of weight. The drawers also include ball bearing slides that make it free of getting jammed or stuck.
There are two side handles so that you can easily pick this chest up and carry it with you wherever you go.
You can lock this chest up with a secure tubular lock system with a pair of matching keys. Locked drawers are not able to be pried open.
While the specs on this chest are impressive, it is still a small chest that you cannot store all that much inside. If only it were less expensive than what it goes for, we would tell you that this is a tool chest that is worth a try.
Unfortunately, you can find more space for far less money elsewhere.
- Available in eight different colors.
- Can carry fifty pounds of tools or more.
- Is easy to carry.
- Drawers will not get stuck.
- Is too small.
3. Homak 27-Inch Professional Series Chest
Homak’s tool chest is another nice one, available in black, red, or blue. It is like Excel’s tool chest, in the traditional sense. It weighs about 50 pounds and is 26 by 17.5 by 17 inches in size.
This tool chest has not three, not four, but nine different drawers. There are six small drawers on top and three wider drawers on the bottom so that you can organize your tools, even more, especially pieces such as nuts and bolts.
The drawers also come with ball bearings, making each drawer easy to slide in and out, without worrying about any problems.
This chest also has a tubular locking system with matching keys. This makes all your drawers secure, and the only way to open the drawer after it has been locked is if you have a working key.
The problem with this tool chest is that the metal is quite thin and cheap. If you dropped the chest on a hard surface, you are sure to encounter a dent, making the tools inside more vulnerable than you would hope. Unfortunately, this decision for making the metal so thin was to drop the price and make the chest lighter overall.
- Available in three different colors.
- Can carry fifty pounds of tools or more.
- Is easy to carry.
- Drawers will not get stuck.
- Has nine drawers.
- Made from a cheap metal.
4. WEN 77041 41-Inch Silver Tool Chest
This last tool chest is made by Wen. It weighs 45 pounds and is 40.4 by 17.1 by 19.5 inches in size. It comes in a black body and is made of 15-gauge steel for durability and ruggedness.
This chest has 12 drawers in total; six small drawers, four wide drawers, and two tall drawers. These 12 drawers combined can fit 100 pounds of tools inside. And of course, each drawer has ball bearings for easy opening and closing.
You can stack this chest on top of another chest of the same family. The combo version of this tool chest has wheels, making it easy to push or pull across your workshop. This chest, in particular, has handles on its sides so you can easily pick it up.
The problem with having this tool chest is that the lock that it comes with is flimsy. With a simple drop on the ground, you can bust the lock, and then your drawers will never stay shut again. This is an unfortunate thing that you must be super careful about.
- Can carry fifty pounds of tools or more.
- Is easy to carry.
- Drawers will not get stuck.
- Has twelve drawers.
- The lock is cheaply made.
5. Excel TB2105X-Blue 26-Inch Steel Top Chest
The first tool chest is from Excel. It comes in a nice blue steel body. It weighs 51 pounds and is 26 by 16 by 12 inches in size. There are five drawers in total, with one lock to lock them all up. Two keys are included for this lock. A flip-top lid is included atop the chest for easy access of tools on the top drawer.
This chest can be stacked on top of other chests from Excel so that you can add even more storage to your current inventory of tools. If you are only going to use this chest to store your tools, that is also perfectly fine.
There are recessed side handles on the sides of the chest, making it fairly easy to lift off and put down. If you prefer to carry this chest with you as you are working, this too is acceptable.
This chest is capable of carrying up to 10 pounds per drawer, so that is 50 pounds total. Excel’s chest can not only stand up for heavy tools but also protect tools from outside as well, with scratch-resistant powder coating. Each drawer has ball bearings, making it difficult for one of them to get jammed or stuck.
Over time, however, this chest can get rusty, and there are many entry points for moisture to get inside the chest and rust your tools. Rusty tools mean that the quality of them will deteriorate, so be sure to also have a dehumidifier nearby so that the chest will never collect moisture.
- Can be stacked atop other chests of the same brand.
- Can carry fifty pounds of tools or more.
- Is easy to carry.
- Drawers will not get stuck.
- Can get rusty.
How To Buy A Tool Chest
Tool chests come in many shapes, sizes, and other characteristics that make them unique from one another. Here are a few things to consider for the tool chest that you are intending to buy.
Number Of Drawers
Some tool chests have a few drawers, and some have very many. With fewer drawers, you can place bigger tools inside of the chest, and perhaps smaller boxes as well. With many drawers, you can organize all of your tools better, but not only does more drawers mean less overall space, but it also means there might not be any room for bigger tools.
Material
Chests can come in plastic, steel or metal, in either a thick or thin variety. Thick materials will cost more, but they will better protect your tools from any outside elements. Thin materials will cost less, and they are lighter to carry, but they will not be built to last. Like with the number of drawers, you should decide which thickness is better for you.
Size
This will solely come down to your scenario with your own tools. Do you have many or just a few? With many tools, you will certainly need a larger tool chest. It may be heavy but think of the possibility of having your whole inventory of tools with you anywhere you go. Smaller tool chests mean that they are lighter to carry. If you have more tools than your chest can hold, you will have to only carry a limited amount of weight at a time.
Final Verdict:
The tool chest that we declare the winner is the WEN 77041 41-Inch Silver Tool Chest. With twelve drawers, you can get the most organization for all your tools, and thanks to its two tall drawers, you can put big, or tall objects inside of them. Because of this extra feature, and since this chest is of exceptional quality, we have found this chest to be the best for your investment.
