The Mother of all Tool-Boxes

Behold, let your eyes feast on the picture on the left, all ye citizens of Gearheadistan. This is the grand-daddy of all tool boxes. The dream of every living breathing, eating, sleeping gear-head alive today. Some have achieved the dream, others working their way towards it. If there is one major force that binds gearheads of all nationalities, gender, age and and creed, THIS IS IT!

Besides the current Playboy Centrefold, this is the other thing most red blooded boys drool over and dream of. This topic is so close to my heart that I had to choose another font and dedicate 2 paragraphs for the introduction alone.

Now read closely people, you are about to be enlightened. The roller cabinet or toolchest came from America. It was developed in the late 1800's for woodworkers and cabinet makers. In the years leading up to World War II, American tool makers saw the need for more storage space as cars got more complicated (if you think they were complicated then, look at the cars now!!) and needed more tools. They came of age on US Navy Carriers operating in the Pacific as it cut down on maintenance time.

Being traditional DIYers, most American homes had one of these in the garage. This culture caught on rather late here in Malaysia. It first gained popularity in the late 1980's and early 1990's when a DIY concept store known as HandyMart opened its doors in Section 14 Petaling Jaya. They carried a Taiwanese brand called Waterloo. It was rather pricey though. I bought a 9 drawer topchest for RM500.00. It was an ex display unit with scratches n dents but in my eyes, it was a dream come true. Bringing it home, I proceeded without delay to wax polish the red powder coated surface to bring back some of the shine, lined the drawers with non-slip liners, paste stickers all over the box and just sit and admire it for hours.


The advantages of having a tool chest is that there are the endless storage combination's and possibilities. There are places for sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers etc. It cuts down on the time needed to look for particular tool. Besides, it's also eye candy that really feeds the ego of the owner.

I prefer keeping my sockets at the highest compartment within easy reach. Having smaller drawers allows me to separate my AF and Metric wrenches according to type. The wider lower drawers allow me to display (ahem) I mean arrange my pliers and screwdrivers.

The bottom cabinet is useful for storing bigger tools such as spring compressors, torque wrenches and other tools and equipment. Personally, I can find no disadvantage with the tool cabinet/ chest except that its BLOODY EXPENSIVE and out of the reach of most Malaysian handymen. It costs a minimum of RM1000.00 for even the lowest quality example from China.

Although it is expansive, it is worth every cent. As with any other tools, proper care and maintenance it will last for years to come. In the following posts, I will discuss the various tools, how they are used and maintained. Happy Chinese New Year and happy reading.