Plastic Toll Boxes versus the Rest

Plastic Tool Boxes versus the Rest.

Plastic Tool boxes are lightweight – they are cheap – and they look great. So what could possibly be wrong with them ?
They look great for a while. If you work in a busy workshop then it’s not long, maybe a few months, before someone stands on your one or a ladder falls on it and it doesn’t open easily and a clip breaks off or a handle parts company with it and it’s starting to look tatty and you think it’s time to get another one. This can’t be right; plastic comes from petroleum which is a finite resource. So it’s not cheap – it may not have cost a lot of money but it certainly is not cheap, especially if you have to have a new one every year or so.

A plastic tool box says very little about you and your ability as a craftsman; it indicates that you are probably tidy.

A well made wooden one says a lot about you, and it will be remarked upon by clients who will be impressed by your skill in making it…. I have a showroom and people visit it to see what kind of furniture we make. If you are a jobbing joiner this could be the nearest thing you have to a showroom – the fact that you carry tools around doesn’t mean that you can use them !

A wooden tool box could last a hundred years and you can sit on it, even stand on it without damaging it.
If it sustains an injury you can mend it – fit new handles, even change the internal layout if it doesn’t suit new tools. You can’t mend a plastic tool box, and there is one thing you can be sure of (like death and taxation) it will get broken. If it doesn’t, then you are probably not using it, or you keep embroidery threads and darning needles in it.
A canvas holdall is very handy if you want something that will last and is made of sustainable materials. In fact a medium sized wooden toolbox and a canvas toolbag or holdall make a good combination for the environmentally conscious jobbing joiner.