Craftsman 9-65142 Chest SD 6 Drawer 7-7/8 Caddy

Folks, Craftsman stopped making these side boxes in the USA about six years ago. I already own the American-built version of this 7-7/8 Caddy (with all red drawers) and recently purchased this version (red with the black drawers) when I ran out of space for my small tools. This side caddy chest arrived in a package that clearly says "Made in China" on it. I CLOSELY examined the Chinese-made box against the USA-made box, and here are my observations:

1. The drawer slides on the USA chest are superior beyond description to the Chinese version. The USA slides are smooth and all-metal. The Chinese slides are substandard, with a partially slopped-on enamel powder coat finish on them that interferes with the drawer's action, makes a terrible noise and is sharp and flakes off (whatever happened to quality control?!?) The Chinese box also uses rubber stops. Yes, rather than using simple metal indentation at the end of the slide like on the USA version, the Chinese version...Read more

I found this box at the Sears Outlet for 50% off. It is all red, including the drawer fronts, and has riveted rubber like plastic stops on the drawers. To install the hanging bar it required me to drill the rivets on the top drawer and replace with pop-rivets. This installation step was the only disappointment for an overall good product. I will use it for small tools and for that it works very well. Thus, I am happy to rate it good but not as great as I might have expected.

Craftsman 9-65142 Chest SD 6 Drawer 7-7/8 Caddy

Overall, I believe that the factory has produced a fine product for Sears, Roebuck.

This tool caddy/chest is correctly constructed with right angled surfaces, the drawers slide freely, welds are substantially continuous, and the red paint on my particular chest is a relatively smooth finish.

Structurally, this chest is more than adequate for my needs, namely storage of gauges, micrometers, and #00, #0 and #1 tools, with a cumulative weight of less than fifty pounds.

The factory neglected to include its label on the chest, and I guess that the factory is either Changshu Tongrun or is located in Changshu, China.

Both keys, and a pouch, were properly attached, and the chest was snugly cushioned with stryofoam within its box...Read more