Dewalt has just come out with two new ball bearing tool storage products – a 6-drawer chest and a 5-drawer mobile cabinet. Both tool storage products are 36″ long and they stack nicely to create a 11-drawer tool storage combo.
As with their new air tools, it looks like Dewalt is trying to make a strong push into the automotive industry. These storage units also sport features and pricing that make them appealing and suitable for other types of users beyond mechanics and auto techs, such as DIYers and even industrial users.
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Dewalt DWMT73678 6-Drawer Chest
The new 6-drawer chest features strong heavy-duty metal construction, 6 drawers with ball bearings slides rated to 100 pounds each, and a very spacious top compartment.
Grommeted knockouts in the rear of the chest allow for power cable pass-thru so that you can charge batteries or power devices that are stored in the top compartment while the lid is open or closed.
As expected, gas springs on both sides prop the lid open and help ease opening and closing motions.
The 6-drawer chest drawer slides feature an auto-return closure mechanism, which is a bit surprising at this price point.
Features and Specs
- 35.75″ width
- 17.75″ depth
- 23″ height
- 600 pounds total weight capacity
- 100 pounds capacity per drawer
- Weighs 128 pounds
- Side carrying handles
- Lockable (tubular-style)
Price: $250
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Dewalt DWMT73679 5-Drawer Rolling Cabinet
Dewalt engineered the roller cabinet to be tough, durable, and with what they say is a new level of convenience. It features 100 lb auto-return drawer slides, a 1,400 pound weight capacity, a large side handle, and (4) 5″ tall x 2″ wide casters – (2) swiveling with brakes and (2) non-swiveling.
The extra-large bottom drawer features extra-heavy-duty ball bearing drawer slides that are rated to 200 pounds.
As with the chest, the drawer pulls are made from aluminum with plastic end caps.
Features and Specs
- 36″ width
- 18″ depth
- 38″ height
- 100 pounds capacity per drawer, 200 pounds for bottom drawer
- Weighs 135 pounds
- Side pull handle
- Lockable (tubular-style)
- Top work surface
Price: $350
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Coming Soon
A 52″ 8-drawer chest will also be available for $600, and the matching 9-drawer roller cabinet will be $700.
First Thoughts
Quite frankly, I don’t know how Dewalt is able to produce good quality tool storage products with the features they boast at such price points. $600 for a 36″ chest and roller cabinet combo? Wow. So either there are sacrifices in build quality, which seems unlikely given how Dewalt seems to be looking to build a name for themselves in the automotive market, or they were able to work engineering wonders to drive pricing down.
As a reminder, Stanley Black & Decker has a lot of know-how when it comes to ball bearing and heavy duty tool storage products. In addition to Mac Tools and their automotive storage products, SBD owns Stanley Vidmar, their industrial storage brand, and they purchased Lista more than two years ago. Not too long before Lista and Vidmar merged, Lista had been targeting the automotive market with a line of technician series mobile toolboxes.
It is unclear where Dewalt engineers draw inspiration from when designing these new ball bearing storage products, but I do know they had plenty of places they could look for experience and expertise.
I find myself a little hesitant about these products, and only because of the low prices. The top compartment of the chest looks a bit large for my tastes. This could mean a lot of useful space for bulk accessories and power tools, but it also means fewer drawers for hand tool storage.
Overall, I am optimistic and hopeful that Dewalt delivers on their claim to reinvent the rolling metal storage product category.
I spotted these custom finished Dewalt industrial cabinets at Dewalt HQ four years ago. It would be safe to assume that under the yellow paint these are Stanley Vidmar cabinets, but these are the kind of storage products I want to see Dewalt tackle next – high storage density heavy duty shop cabinets.
Jon
Those last pictures are clearly Lista cabinets.
Stuart
Hmm. I guess Dewalt must have purchased the units before Stanley and Black & Decker merged.
Hang Fire
Great specs… great price… but just too much Yellow for me.
Stan
Agreed, that box reminds me of something out Peewee’s playhouse or something out out of a 90’s show.
I wonder what the coo of this is? I’ve read and seen that Dewalt is trying to bring jobs back to America, but I honestly can’t foresee this being USA made, even partially though.
Stuart
I’m already looking into it, waiting for response.
As long as it’s made sturdily, I wouldn’t put much weight into COO. If you want USA-made, you’re going to have to spend a lot more.
Stan
Actually Stuart, you can buy partially USA made tool cabinets if you don’t mind the Westward (Waterloo) brand. Search Grainger and you’ll see what I am referencing to.
Recently I also bought a brand new Made in USA of global and imported goods Proto J442735-3RD for about the price of that Dewalt box on Amazon.
Stuart
This one? That Proto is smaller, has fewer drawers, and is double the price of the Dewalt cabinet. This is an 11-drawer 36″ combo for the price of the small 3-drawer Proto combo.
That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Proto team chimed in or had a big part in the Dewalt cabinet’s design.
Regarding Waterloo – their quality has slipped. My Waterloo-made Craftsman cabinets are quite good for the money, but sharp edges, sub-par components (e.g. casters), wobbly stacking, and uneven gaps limits how much I’m willing to spend on Waterloo products moving forward.
Stuart
Made in China.
Stan
I figured this was made in China. I figured since Black and Decker Stanley was starting to bring some jobs back to the stateside with Dewalt, I was wondering if that was the case here.
I’ll stick with my partially American made Proto tool chest, but ideally I would always recommend Kennedy. All American made and those are truly built to last as well.
Stuart
I would always recommend Lista, Vidmar, Kennedy, and other such brands as well. But those brands require much larger investments.
Where can you buy a comparable Proto or Kennedy combo for less than $1000?
As I said, if someone wants USA-made, they’re going to have to spend a LOT more than $600.
Steven B
I’m really upset…I bought Harbor Freight’s Excellent US General Pro Tool storage drawers at xmas. I love them and they’re highest quality. However, I have a weird, unnatural love of all things DeWalt and would much rather have these…for the color alone. But I am a DeWalt fanboy
Tomas
I just bought the same harbor freight drawers last month. I’m happy with the purchase and prefer the red color but I AM curious as to the build quality of these dewalts at the same price point. I’ll be sure to check them out next time I’m at the home depot
Joe M
I’m there with you. DeWalt Devotee here. I would buy these because they’re DeWalt, and despite all the skepticism of the price, it means they fall more into my price range. My tool storage is a mess, and I’ve been having nightmares about trying to afford some decent storage to remedy it.
I really, REALLY hope these come to Canada. I’ll save up if I have to. As to the Yellow? Well… I’m colourblind anyways, Yellow is one of the few colours I can actually see, so it doesn’t bother me at all.
I Want these! (The already released ones, not the bigger, upcoming ones. The big ones are too big to fit anywhere for me.)
Stuart
The larger ones will be available at Canadian Tire, and I presume these will be as well.
Joe M
Cool! Thanks Stuart! I’ll keep my eye out for them!
Joe M
Okay, dumb question time… Do you happen to know when they’ll start carrying them? Canadian Tire hasn’t started yet, I’m wondering if you know.
Stuart
Unfortunately, no. I would guess soon, unless Canadian Tire will only carry the larger models, in which case you’ll start seeing them later in the summer.
Greg Flores
I am starting to amass enough tools, that I’ll soon require some sort of storage cabinet. The bright yellow color aside, how would these compare to a similarly priced offering from Husky, Craftsman, Kobalt, etc.?
Stuart
Craftsman will offer the most configuration options and great bang for the buck. Husky and Kobalt often have similarly good prices, but their selection is lousy.
I bought and use Craftsman heavy-duty ball bearing products. Not the highest-grade ones, but the 3rd level 26″-wide ones.
mike
If they werent so yellow I wouldnt mind having a set of these in the garage if the build quality is good.
I’ll stick to my love of Kennedy boxes for now.
Al
Interesting how the writer differentiated techs and mechanics, nice to not be bundled up for a change.
Mahalo
Yes, but nice for who, the “tech” or the “mechanic”? 🙂
Matt
Would like to see them black with a yellow dewalt logo
Joe M
That would be nice too!
Stuart
My guess is that they tried a couple of color schemes and settled on the yellow and black as being the best of the bunch. In my opinion, yellow with black trim is a pretty safe move. I’m sure that, if the products are well-received, a black-finish version will be in their plans.
Martin C.
My only concern is how 6 + 5-drawer suddenly can be a 10-drawer combo!
Can I pull out the entire drawer In its full length?
And finally, does anyone know where I can buy the Vidmar/Lista best & cheapest?
Stuart
How so?
Yes, they’re full-extension drawers.
Lista, Vidmar, Lyon and like-brands of industrial storage aren’t synonymous with “cheap.” The prices of new units are typically fixed or at least very similar across distributors.
Joe M
Yeah… that gave me a double take too… 6+5 is not 10. So why does it become a 10-drawer combo? Is this a typo in the review or in the DeWalt press release? Or do you lose a drawer somewhere when they’re together?
Stuart
Oops, that was me mis-typing.
The chest has 6 drawers, the cabinet 5.
Matt
Seems like a pretty light box for its size. Guessing pretty thin sheet metal..
Julian Tracy
Gotta believe these are just simply yellow colored boxes from some no-name manufacturer much like the boxes at Sam’s club and Costco or Menards. No doubt they’re better then a Craftsman or Husky box, but not by much.
No reason sat all to suspect these are any different or any better than any other box at this price range.
Have you guys been to Sears or Home Depot lately and opened up the drawers and seen how wambly they are?
Also – I’ll bet the bottom drawer just has two slide on each side to accomplish the weight rating, the slides aren’t any more heavy duty than the slides above, just doubled up.
At least there’s no plastic on these – whats the deal with Lowes’ Kobalt boxes the last few years with the thick plastic spacer componants on all of their boxes – no chance in heck that crap would last.
JT
Matt
I looked one over today. Bottom drawer is 2 slides. But also only opens maybe half way its pretty lame..
Over all the box did seem ok for a home owner box.
John
My local Home Depot was starting to set 5 or 6 of these combos on the floor Thursday afternoon. They were just barely unwrapping the first one when I walked by but since I was in a hurry, I couldn’t wait around to take a look to see what the quality was like. I wonder if they have plans for additional boxes like a mid drawer unit or side locker.
Something about DeWalt yellow on a box that big just screams “hey look at this big box of tools” to passers by when my garage door is open that would keep me from buying it.
David Wiley
Let’s face it, you either like yellow or you don’t and I like it! The Dewalt logo is one of the top recognized names worldwide and Dewalt has done a fine job with protecting it, i.e.keeping Dewalt separate from Black Decker, and other tool lines! I intend to purchase these but only it they bring in more configurations. I like a drawer for everything and having that big empty space above seems to be the norm now a days but like Stuart, I would rather fill the space with more drawers!
I went to the HD website and the picture they show is that the bottom chest has DEWALT embossed on the sheet metal which I like even more. It is kinda humorous, however, that the chest is shown in one of the pictures with a mechanic pushing it across the shop but the other picture shows carpenter cordless tools in it. I am sure this is because HD is not known for mechanics tools but woodworking tools. I myself do not keep my cordless tools in my tool chests but on a shelf. I wonder if they will have the Mac Tool guys selling these off the truck as an alternative to the Mac Chest, especially since Dewalt is now making pneumatic tools?
Joe M
Yep, these were finally released in Canada at Canadian Tire. And by “These” I mean the 52″ versions. Same dimensions, same style, only wider. And the bottom rolling cabinet has two sets of drawers side-by-side instead of just a single stack. Specifically it has two shallow drawers that go the full width of the cabinet, then two stacks of a shallow, medium, and deep drawer below that, side by side. The upper chest is the same configuration, with wider drawers. Well, wider everything.
Only one problem: They’re not $600 and $700, they’re $1099.99 and $1199.99, “On Sale” for $599.99 and $699.99. And I suspect they’re serious about final pricing at $1099.99 and $1199.99 Canadian once this “Summer Sale” is over.
Just as an update! That’s what the 52″ versions are configured like!
Michael
I love the new boxes. I can’t wait for the 52 inch.i had the same colors on my Matco box that cost over $10k. I am so happy they are making their way to auto industry. I have no problem with the colors.
john
I bought the 36 inch combo markd down2 wks aftr blk fri only one left floor model with a small crimp on front lip of the boottom box that keeps top in place the sales guy gave me an additional 10% off the the markdown price of 350got for 315 sweet deal nice box for that price cant beat it
77Ford
Pick up a couple tops for $100 each…Great boxes at this price point.
Ken
Can somebody with these boxes take a micrometer to the sheet metal to check the thickness?
Also, has anyone checked the bottom frame/wheel mounting to see how heavy duty that is? There is a post on GJ that compares some tool carts and the 44″ US General Pro has double angle iron (boxed?) for example.
riff
I bought this combo and love them much better quality than craftsman for the same price also the bottom opens all the way with the release of the white plastic catches on the slides its 200lbs 1/2 way open and less with it fully extended
Michael
Home Depot is not selling the Dewalt tool chest no more.
Jerry Giesbrecht
I’m looking for a 56 inch dealt tool chest Can I get one still
Stuart
I don’t think so?