Husky has come out with a new 60-inch 10-drawer ball bearing mobile workbench, model HOTC6010BB2M. This model will be sold alongside a near-identical Husky mobile workbench that’s already available in stores, HOLC6010BB1M.
I have a review sample of the first model, and like it a lot. This new Husky mobile workbench looks to build off of the same strengths, but throws in a few features.
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The most obvious new feature is the addition of a pegboard back panel, but there are some small differences. I’m waiting to hear back from Husky about a few things, but I think there’s enough to talk about until then.
See More: Husky 60-inch 10-Drawer Mega Mobile Workbench Discussion
Main Features
To start off it, there is a new pegboard back, but it doesn’t seem to affect the dimensions of the drawers or benchtop. You still get a 60″ x 24″ top, which is pretty darned good.
The drawers are a full 21.85″ deep, just like the ones on the other Husky 60″ mobile workbench. Let me tell you – my review sample has me spoiled, and I now have trouble working out of smaller boxes.
This is as full-sized as you can get. Well, at least at the consumer level. Maybe multiply the price a few times and there will be some more industrial-grade options.
Each drawer has a 100 lb load capacity, and are soft-closing. Each box comes with a full set of precut drawer liners.
There’s a strong steel tubular handle on the side, which you can remove if you want to, and a power rail with 6 outlets and 2 USB charging ports.
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Casters
There are locking caster wheels on both sides, which I expected, but those center casters look different. Looking at the product description – yep! – those are swivel casters too.
I have been testing several large boxes in recent months, each with 6 casters, and each with 2 non-swivel casters at the center. It’s not hard to move such tool cabinets back and forth, but it’s eventually going to wear those wheels.
Having 6 caster wheels should give this bench a lot more mobility, whether you’re moving the bench into position between shelves or workbenches on a wall, or moving it around the middle of your workshop.
Sliding Pegboard Back
The pegboard is 22″ tall and can hold up to 200 pounds. It’s said to be height-adjustable and able to be lowered into 2 positions. It can be lowered, in case you need something to hang over the top.
Milwaukee’s mobile tool cabinet also has pegboard, with a vertical ball bearing slide system for lowering or raising the pegboard. It’s unclear whether the new Husky pegboard is lowered or raised in the same way.
On the new Husky workbench, the pegboard supports look to fasten on the side of the benchtop. Milwaukee’s supports are fastened to the benchtop.
Milwaukee’s pegboard and its associated lifting mechanism take up around 2″ depth, which is why the top is 22″ and the drawers 19.88″ deep.
This Husky box is said to be 26″ deep, which would suggest it does have a similar pegboard lift mechanism, or perhaps something different.
Husky throws in a 48″ pegboard shelf that can support up to 40 lbs.
Reversible Work Top?
In the product image you can see fasteners holding the benchtop down. Milwaukee’s has similar fasteners for their mobile workbench’s reversible top. So perhaps that’s another change brought to this new model.
Update 1
I heard back from Husky about a few things:
The peg board and peg board hardware can be removed from the unit if you’d like to put it flush against the wall in the future.
The work surface is reversible/flipable on the new version with the peg board.
All drawers extend fully.
The Husky mobile workbench has a full 24″ depth.
Price: $698
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
See Also(Husky Mobile Workbench without Pegboard)
Compare(Milwaukee Mobile Workbench)
First Thoughts
I really like a lot about the current Husky 60″ mobile workbench, and a lot of those likes will apply to this new one.
First, you get a full-length drawer. It’s an ENORMOUS drawer, with internal dimensions of 55.65″ wide x 3.88″ tall x 21.85″ deep. But it’s plenty sturdy, thanks to a 3rd ball bearing slide that supports the mid-section.
That third drawer slide is an unexpected but elegant way to ensure the huge drawer is easy to open and close, even when loaded. I wouldn’t load this drawer full of my heaviest tools, though.
It’s rock-solid, but part of that is because it’s very heavy. The non-pegboard version weighs 440 lbs. This one weighs 451 lbs. But the metal is plenty solid, too. The frame is said to be made from 19 gauge steel, which is reasonably thick.
18 gauge steel would sound better on paper, but I’d hate to thick about what this would do to the cost, not to mention the weight.
That little cabinet is useful. I have mixed feelings about it, but it’s sometimes nice to have a bulk storage compartment that can fit random stuff that won’t hide away anywhere else.
Which would I buy?
This model, and the one without the pegboard, are both priced at $698. I can’t tell if there are any differences other than the ones I mentioned.
If the entire pegboard assembly is removable, so as to give the workbench a 24″ deep footprint rather than 26″, this model has the benefit of all-swivel casters.
If the top is removable or reversible, that’s another potential benefit, depending on your stance. Personally, I don’t care. If I mar up the surface of one of these workbenches really bad, I’ll sand it down and finish it. If I REALLY damage it all up, I’ll sand it down a little and then attach on a replaceable sacrificial top.
The 6 swivel casters on this model are very appealing. It might not seem like a big difference, and it might not be. With 2 fixed center casters, the other 60″ mobile workbench is still very mobile, and can be rotated and nudged front to back.
Moving the workbench into space between 2 other fixtures? Those 2 swiveling casters at the center are going to make your life easier. I guess? Having 4 swivel casters at the outside and 2 fixed casters at the center isn’t anything like smaller tool cabinets with 2 swivel casters at one end and 2 fixed casters at the other.
I really need to see this one in person before I can say for sure which I’d buy. Those 2″ at the rear of the workbench? Not a big deal if you’re pushing it up against a wall. But if you put the workbench elsewhere, it might be a downside, even if you have the pegboard lowered all the way.
There’s also the Milwaukee model to consider. Right now it’s priced at $598. It has a lot of the same features, and others, such as some useful M18 battery charger mounting holes and a shelf on the right side. There are two 26.69″ wide drawers at the top, with 3.89″ heights and 19.88″ depths.
The Milwaukee is also 2″ shallower. So you lose 2″ per drawer depth, and 2″ of benchtop depth.
You save $100 compared to the Husky boxes, but that 2″ drawer depth and benchtop depth difference isn’t insignificant.
The Milwaukee mobile workbench has its pluses, but I personally prefer the Husky. If the 60-inch Husky with no pegboard drops to $598, it’d be my preferred pick, even more so if the 2 fixed center casters are swapped for swivels.
e. baker
The Husky workbench with the pegboard is priced at 598 at my local Home Depot.
Stuart
Thanks! That might mean it’ll soon be discounted online too.
Anthony Abate
if you go to home depot on the sign for the 598 it shows a date of 6/21/17 for it to go back up to 698.
Adam
What are the chances husky had Milwaukee make this? It looks earily too similar. Only difference I see is the top drawer, aside from color.
Only thing I didn’t read, and I may have read over, is soft close drawers.
Stuart
They’re almost definitely made at the same factory, and I am not convinced that Milwaukee or TTI own that factory.
Tool brands NEVER comment about OEM relationships, so there’s not much I can ask anyone about it.
fred
Some of the Husky boxes seem to be exported by a company called Rabat Corporation – located in Shanghai. They are likely just a middleman for a factory elsewhere.
e. baker
Yes, this features the same soft close drawers that the Milwaukee boxes and other flat black Husky boxes have.
GB
CSPS Industries
Response from Tool Storage Expert
November 9, 2016
We are the manufacturer of this unit.
Thank you for your purchase. Please contact me when you have a chance to discuss.
Dominic
[email protected]
Kyle R
Yep, every Milwaukee tool storage box seems to have an almost identical Husky version. I paid $698 for the 46″ Milwaukee two-piece set that was then on sale for $498 in the Husky version less than 60 days later. If I didn’t love the Milwaukee brand like I do, I’d have been a lot more irritated by that. Love the box though.
Stuart
Do you happen to know the model number of have a link?
As far as I am aware, there is just one Husky combo made from the same company, the 56″ 18″ deep model.
Kyle R
Well, it’s not the exact same thing (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52-in-18-Drawer-Tool-Chest-and-Rolling-Tool-Cabinet-Set-Black-HTC5206-HMT5212/205431577) but it’s basically the same unit as my Milwaukee 46″, but 6″ wider and 2″ deeper for $100 less price, right now.
Anton
CSPS seems to make the 56″ for both of them, and probably others. But the 52″ is from a different manufacturer. Theres a video comparing the slight differences.
Anton
I’m in love with the 56″ 23 drawer. The black on black line seems to be much better then the one with the chrome handles.
How often are you guys moving your boxes around? I find it nice to have a bottom chest to use as a project center kind of thing. But I realized that my actual tool box has never moved. With these filled up they’re gonna be over 1000 lbs. Wouldn’t you bring your project to the box instead? These aren’t really geared towards pros that might be moving around.
Stuart
I love the 56″ too. 18″ drawers put 16″ units to shame. The drawer configuration has been working well.
I like to rearrange things every so often.
Right now I have the 56″ at the wall and between 2 windows, and the 60″ bench coming out perpendicularly. There is a workbench to the right of the 56″. I can work from the front, with access to both sets of drawers, or from the back with the workbench to my right. The workbench is lower, but I might raise it to be the same height as the Husky.
I might put the other bench in a similar arrangement on the other wall, and there might be times I want themy back to back for large work support. Or maybe I’ll need to move it out of the way to clear floor space for a sheet of plywood to be broken down.
Mobility is nice, even if it’s fixed in place 364 days a year.
Anton
The 18″ drawers and soft close is the main reason I like it. I just don’t like drawer layout on the black/black 52″.
I’ve only got an undersized 2 car garage to work with that I have to share with laundry, bikes, camping stuff, and seasonal storage. Theres really only one spot that makes sense for a large box. And everything else can be mobile around it. I also want just one large box for security so I might start locking it on a regular basis.
Question: is the top lid diffrent on the 56″ then on the 52″. Theres a pic of the 52 and the hinge point is a couple of inches from the top but on the 56 it is almost at the very top. So if I try to bolt the box to a wall will I need a spacer for the lid to clear?
Stuart
I tried to check, but I have stuff on top of the 52″ that I can’t move very quickly.
The 56″ does also require a little clearance too, I’d say an inch and a half or so. I remember having to shimmy it back and forth to get things just right.
You always want some clearance. With these units, the cord enters the unit on the right, but maybe your power outlet is to the left.
And if it’s right on the wall, momentum of closing drawers can knock it into the wall, causing damage over time. I guess that’s not a big concern if it’s fastened to the wall.
I’ll try to move things around and do a comparison tonight.
firefly
This look awesome. Husky has been upping their game lately with the tool chest and workbench. I find a lot of their offering very appealing. I prefer the long top drawer vs the Milwaukee.
I also really like the mid swivel casters as well. The non swivel on the Milwaukee gave me pause when I look at it. In fact if I got the Milwaukee I would swap out the two middle casters with swivel casters that have swivel lock. I hope the the middle caster on the Husky have a swivel lock though. Since with the swivel casters they actually make it harder to push the cart when it’s loaded and heavy. There is a reason why most tool box have two swivel and two fixed casters. However it’s much easier to get something with four swivel casters into a tight spot. So there are pro and con to each. Having a swivel casters with swivel lock is the best of both world at at small added cost.
Nathan
almost wish they would sell a static model for say 100 or so less. as I wouldn’t move it much in my current garage. and yes I can make a workbench and drawers etc, but for 500? I doubt it.
nice box though. On mobility I do move my smaller 41 inch fairly often – but I bought it on purpose to do just that which is why I never got the smaller box to put on top of it.
Stuart
Don’t attach the casters, and use them for something else.
Lower demand for a stationary model might diminish any cost savings in leaving the casters out of the package.
JC
Do either of the husky boxes have the mounting points on the side that could accept the Milwaukee shelf or rack for long breaker bars?
I was looking at a 2nd milwaukee work center for a custom reloading bench base but was going to replace the worktop with an 8′ top. With new husky I don’t have to cut 2″ off the depth of the top to get the fit I want. Will be getting Husky if I can get for 598 or less. Though a ways away, 498 would make a great BF special.
Stuart
No, but if you were insistent I’m sure you could add mounting holes if you’re careful about their placement.
JC
Do you know the dimensions of the pegboard shelf?
KL
I replaced my fixed center casters w swivel and it’s a vast improvement. It wanders a bit when going the length of my 50′ deep shop but completely manageable. I guess the only time this might be an issue is if you regularly have to thread between two vehicles or something (I don’t). But no regrets w 6 swivel casters for me. If anything it might make sense to put the fixed casters at one end; then you’re essentially trying to parallel park a long bed crew cab truck.
JC
Does the pegboard need the side brackets in order to be functional, or is it like the Milwaukee where the thumb screws and ball bearing rollers are enough to hold it up?
Stuart
I don’t know.
But imagine someone mounting 9″ hooks at the very top of the pegboard and then loading it up with hammers. And then moving the workbench across a workshop floor.
I haven’t had a close look at this bench, but I would imagine that the side brackets are for stability and strength.
Whether they’re required or simply recommended might depend on what you want to mount to the pegboard.
Leno
Father’s Day came early for me!
I just picked up the 60″ workbench (@$598) with the peg board and let me tell you, what a great feel to this box! Every drawer feels way more stable to anything that’s out there. I went to Home Depot last, after visiting Sears and HF first. I am glad I did that! Otherwise I would’ve bought the 44″ at HF, since I already had scratched out anything that Sears has for my price range of $400-600. Husky has came a looong way in their tool boxes, both in quality and design. Every detail in this article has been covered. That huge top drawer is so smooth and sturdy! The cabinet on the left has a small tray on the inside of the door for some paint cans perhaps. I would highly recommend that you do your homework, and go feel every tool box out there that you can get your hands on! I will guarantee that you will love the way this new Husky 60″ is built!
jerry keefe
Which company makes the correct peg board accessories for this unit. Since it is steel I am not sure which to buy.
Stuart
It should accept standard pegboard accessories.
Steve
I bought the Milwaukee version a few months back now I wish I waited. Seems like the OEM took the Milwaukee version and tweaked it a little to make it better (Deeper drawers, middle swivel casters, USB ports on the power strip, peg shelf, long top drawer, smarter way to secure the pegboard, more overall storage)
If you are in the market theres no reason to buy the Milwaukee over this one.
Adam
I think I would have to agree with you, but I got mine at price no one could pass up (half off delivered). I plan to swap the power strip to a USB one myself, so that’s a negligible factor, but wish I had all swivel casters. A few peg hook accessories, like a shelf would have been cool to see included, rather than the useless tool? holder they have you put on the side, to only remove a day or 2 later. Ironically, I bought Husky peg hook accessories for mine such as magnets, can holder, & organizer pouch.
How is the peg board held up better? Not that it make a huge deal, as mine is set & not moving
Steve
Forgot to mention the Husky also has a shelf in the lower left cabinet door which is also nice.
By being held up better I mean the brackets for the peg board. The Milwaukee version you need to screw it into the wood top. The husky goes into machined holes in the side of the box. Smarter.
Anyone want to buy my Milwaukee?
Mike
The peg board looks awesome but I cannot find peg hooks that work with the husky unit because the pegs are so loose because normal peg board is 1/8 thick and the husky is metal and very thin. The hooks fall out all the time I grab a tool. I’ve purchased nicer hooks for peg board and it is still loose, I finally had to buy and cut normal pegboard to it and secure it and hooks work fine no. Any other ideas?? It was very frustrating and I bought 3 different peg hooks brands.