Remember that Craftsman Griplatch heavy duty ball bearing tool storage cabinet that’s on sale through tomorrow (7/13/13)? I ordered one from Sears for in-store pickup and just bought it home.
Order & Pickup Process: A+ for Sears
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My local Sears location had 2 in stock, so I went ahead and ordered one for in-store pickup. I received a ready for pickup email in slightly under 20 minutes, and was out the door shortly after. I printed up my pickup slip, drove to Sears, waited maybe 3 minutes, and 90 seconds later I was on my way home.
This was seriously the smoothest in-store pickup transaction I can remember.
Initial Impressions
Packing is quite good, no damage.
Made in USA with US and global components. *Thumbs up.*
Pushing the bulky 100 lb package up 3 flights of stairs is slow and sweaty, but doable. An older neighbor walking his dog kindly offered to help, but I was worried someone would get hurt. These boxes could really benefit from reinforced cut-out handles.
The assembly process was relatively quick and easy, but not painless. I sliced my pinky finger on a sharp edge on the bottom, and my thumb on a sharp edge on either the bottom or side. I also tore two holes in my t-shirt when I used it to wipe a drop of sweat off the bottom near a caster. Grr.
The new “stylized casters” are made in China. One of the swivel casters does not swivel easily due to a defective brake. Eventually the brake will shave off enough of the plastic wheels that they’ll be smoother, but I’ll fire off an email to Sears to see if I can get a replacement wheel set.
Seemingly better casters are available on Craftsman’s premium units. For a rolling tool cabinet at this price point, I’m actually not upset. The minor defect is livable.
The Griplatch DynaGlide drawers seem to be smoother than my other Griplatch and Craftsman ball bearing storage units, but also noisier. The Griplatch locking mechanism seems to have been tweaked slightly compared to those on my older Griplatch chest. Or maybe not, it’s hard to say.
Overall, not bad for under $200 with tax.
Buy Now(via Sears)
Remember: the $185 Craftsman Club pricing ends tomorrow, 7/13/13. Hopefully it will be a repeat sale item, it’s a great buy at this price. Unfortunately, coupon codes don’t stack. “SAVE15” is supposed to take $15 off $75+ orders, but it won’t work on this because of the special Craftsman Club pricing.
John S says
thanks for the writeup!
Stuart says
Glad you liked it! =)
Colin says
What’s the difference between this and 113410?
Stuart says
Model 113410 and this one, 113669, look to have the same basic I-frame shell. The casters are the same size (4.5″ x 1.5″), bit the ones on this one have a new look and slightly greater weight capacity (650 lbs vs 600 lbs).
The drawer configuration is the same – 1x 4-1/8″ deep and 3x 6-3/8″ deep.
Both have Griplatch closing mechanisms.
This one has 75-lb drawer load ratings and new “DynaGlide” ball bearing slides. 113410 has 50-lb drawer load ratings and last-generation slides. 113410 is also a limited edition model that’s on clearance, so availability is uncertain.
This one also has slightly deeper and easier to grab drawer pulls.
I believe older Griplatch drawer slides had 70 lb ratings, and then for a short stint some of the models like the 13410 limited edition had lighter duty slides.
Steve R. says
Stuart–You mention that the ball bearing slides on your new unit are”smoother than my other Griplatch….” “…but also noisier”. I would have thought if they were smoother, they would, by definition, be quieter. In any event, have you oiled them to see if that quiets them any? One thing I used after I bought my 26″ Craftsman SS rollaway (Model 706.595190) four years ago was a lubricant called Militec-1, which is an oil used by gunowners. I don’t own a gun, but the stuff is super-slippery, so I put some on the ball bearing slides. This made them glide in and out smoothly; multiple applications are better than a single one. You might try it to see if it improves the action further and/or quiets the slides.
I was at Sears the other day and noticed the ball bearings slides don’t seem to move very smoothly on their floor models. In fact, they seemed no better than standard friction slides, as they had to be pushed all the way in. There were weights in the drawers, though not 30 lbs. plus, which would be a better test of how smoothly they would roll at home. I don’t believe there was any oil on the slides, so that probably made a difference.
One other comment I have about Sears tool storage units: DO NOT leave the store until you have opened the box to check for damage. They often drop or hit them with the forks of a lift in the warehouse, causing unacceptable damage, so buyer beware. I did not think to do this on the first one, so I had to return it. Two weeks later we opened the second one at the store and it, too, was damaged. After another two-week wait the third one was okay, so I accepted it.
Stuart says
I should have sound *louder* and not *noisier*. Ball bearings can be smooth without being silent. Sound typically means frictional energy losses, but I don’t really feel any friction. It just sounds like the balls are rolling around in the slides.
I can’t really see what’s going on in the slides, and don’t feel like taking them apart at the moment, but the greater loudness could simply result from a greater number of ball bearings in the slide.
As of now, I don’t think anything is necessary to improve the quality of the sliding motion.
I was at another local Sears the other day as well, and also played around with – err… *tested* – the floor models. Some of them handled well, others did not, but the problems I saw were likely attributed to forced drawers and slammed locks.
Here’s my policy about buying ball bearing storage at Sears. If it’s a locally-stocked item and I can manage the weight, I buy it in-store or for in-store pickup. If it’s a catalog item, I order it for home delivery. Most of the time the products are UPS-shippable, so I wait until there’s a free shipping promo.
My feeling is that regularly stocked items arrive in a group with like-products, while special orders are sent with whatever else is headed to the store that week. *Knock on wood* I haven’t encountered many instances of warehouse-damaged products yet.
Carol says
I am trying to get the drawers that go on top out of the bottom and cannot do it.
Yes, I am challenged!
Stuart says
I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to do, but it can be tricky to remove the drawers and slides. If you can further describe the issue you’re having I might be able to walk you through possibly remedies.