Originally Posted by mechanicalmoron
I got them because NAPA does them, and I live in the middle of nowhere - as such, it's a major pain (could cost hundreds in fuel alone, depending on what I drive and what I'm getting) to go get a nice box in a city, so I got both of the homaks at their fiscal year end clearance.
The green one was not thought out for mechanics, I really don't like the drawer organization on top at all, though the bottom would be a nice box on it's own. I'd like to trade or sell the top, and get myself another bottom, I generally have decided I dislike tops, I find that I can't use them efficiently and it mostly makes the whole thing a tool-dump that I leave stuff I don't use much in.
They have latching drawers, the handles must be pivoted up about 40 degrees to unlatch each drawer - it could have a better feel and the catches can be frustrating because things in the drawer can keep them from moving right. The slides are good and the weight capacity is good in the sense that they're obviously not about to break, but they could be a little less wavy when they're heavy and open. Some of the fit could be better, my little drawers on top of the black one are not quite the same level, and I saw another one recently that was just the same.
The casters are pretty good, they're not the nicest feeling ever and have hard wheels, so they're not quiet, but they've taken plenty of abuse, we've got rough floors with a few steep cracked ramps to slightly different levels, including outside, and the black box has never complained at all, other than the horrible noises when a caster sticks in a crack and drags.
The drawer latches are also great for going up ramps or uneven ground, nothing more aggravating than 500lbs jumping out the opposite side of a box you're trying to move.
The year before I got the first one, I'd looked into homak and found their big boxes were all made in the US, but a while ago I found my papers from those and they're both china. I'm happy with my purchases, I got them to use and serve me now, not some day as my ideal box, but in future for things in this price range I will buy HF or used matco/mac/snappy. If I was buying a cheap used one I'd probably avoid homak, they're in the middle of the spectrum, so you get diminishing rewards from either expensive or cheap boxes.
I mean I like them and would acquire them again sans the top, but not without a total steal.
Other than the homak style drawer latches, the black one's a dead nuts copy of a matco, as far as I can tell.
I guess they're normal NAPA tool quality: not the most luxurious, but they'll do some work.
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