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Whether you just do odd jobs or are tackling a full home renovation, these holders will keep you organised
Tool boxes are important to anyone who so much as owns a hammer or a screwdriver, so it’s important to keep your tools well maintained, secure, and easy to access.
However, finding the right box for the job can be a bit of a minefield. Do you want one that rolls? A complex kit that can hold powertools as well as tiny nuts and bolts? Or something more basic so you can get to all your kit with ease?
Ultimately, it will come down to which type of DIY-er you are and how frequently you’ll be needing to use it. Until recently our own need for tools has been strictly limited to small jobs around the house, but, with the biggest DIY task of our lives coming up, we knew our tools would be going rogue a lot. So, we decided we should put some tool boxes to the test.
Having recently moved to a beautiful fixer-upper, there were plenty of jobs that needed our attention. Over the course of two weeks, we did everything from tear up carpet to assemble flat-pack furniture, as well as re-fit lights and electrics, and take our washing machine apart. We. Are. Exhausted.
We used a range of tool boxes – with prices stretching from a very affordable £2 option from Wilko, to a more spenny £400 by Makita – to keep us organised and on track. Some could be rolled, stacked or even came with tools, but ultimately we were looking for a sturdy box that had plenty of storage space for all our items and could withstand all our DIY jobs to come, no matter how big or small.
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Each one featured in our list is decent in its own way, and none of them are a rip-off, but we did have a few favourites. Read on to see which came out on top and why.
Little tools, like screwdrivers, screws, and pliers, go in the little trays at the top, and bigger or longer ones, like hammers (and in one case, our cat), tend to go underneath in the bigger spaces lower down.
It’s important to maintain order and make sure that the tools you use the most are easiest to find. You should also keep tools well maintained and group similar ones together so you don’t have to go ferreting through everything every time - sharp tools tend to be the best hiders.
Depending on the size and the material it’s made from, a good tool box can weigh anything up to 20kgs, plus tools. You don’t want to be lugging around more weight than you need to though, so there’s a fine balance between security, durability, storage options and manoeuvrability to be considered.
The bags and boxes on our list generally take a max load of around 25kg.
For basic needs at a reasonable price, we’d go for the DeWalt. Fact is, you can’t beat a classic, though it could do with a few compartments. It just does the job and looks the part. However, we would pick up either the Wilko 12.5in (£1.70, Wilko.com) or its slightly larger cousin (£9, Wilko.com) for smaller projects without hesitation as they were surprisingly versatile for the price.
For the latest offers on tools and other DIY products, try the links below:
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