Date:         Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:53:58 -0600
Reply-To:     Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Subject:      Santa Got Me A New Vanagon Tool Chest!  Masterforce (Menards)
              Review.....
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If you live in the upper Midwest, you likely are familiar with the
Menards chain of Home improvement super stores.  I've been looking at
tool box/tool chest combos for some time and not finding what I
wanted at a price Santa could afford.  To get a quality Craftsman set
you were looking at well over $800,same with Waterloo, Kobalt,
Clarke,and the Tractor Supply store had little to get excited
about.  Snap On and Mac were way out there in Lotto Winner land, so I
kept returning to Menards to look at their MasterForce line of tool
storage devices.  The factory rep. happened to be there working with
the department manager and once they were through, I asked him, "Are
these made in China?"  He was honest and confirmed that suspicion,
but proceeded to defend the line quite successfully.  The strange
green color will have to grow on me, but this is definitely the best
built Chinese tool storage I've found yet.  The 26" wide set was what
I was looking for, but Menards had a sale going on  for all three
sizes and the 36" set was under $500, just over $50 more than the
sale price of the 26" set.  The biggest set was too big for my needs
despite also being a good deal.  The top weighs a whopping 123# and
the bottom 190#..

The drawers will handle 100# each which is more than any of the Sears
stuff.  The ball drawer tracks are replaceable as opposed to being
spot welded or riveted in, it has a limited lifetime warranty, the
finish is powder-coated, and the 5"x2" casters will handle 1200#
total.  The rubber mats to pad the drawers are pre cut, fit
perfectly, and of high quality 1/8" neoprene, not the cheesy padding
Sears offers.  I wanted to buy American made stuff, but this time I
backslid and got Chinese instead.  We'll see how all the American and
German made tools coexist with the Chinese storage as the years go
on.  I didn't have the need for all that storage space, but the price
was too inviting to just buy the top chest alone..

To quote Mr. Briggs,"  Joe Bob says check it out".