Wooden Machinist Tool Chest By Windsor Design

I've been wanting a Machinist Chest for some time, but I could never justify spending the money required to buy one. Then I happened across this little beauty while Googling around on Easter day:

Harbor Freight Eight Drawer Wood Tool Chest

It had some good reviews on Amazon, a list price of $99.99, is almost always on sale for $79.99, and HF had an Easter day sale of %25 off the sale price of one item. So I took the chance. (Please forgive the iPod pictures, my daughter had the camera at the time.)

Here it is as it arrived, shipped in the box that they display it in on the shelves at HF. Not a bad thing in itself, but doesn't offer the best protection (as you'll see later on):

Unpacked, I found it to be sealed air tight with several moisture adsorbing packets in some of the drawers:

After unwrapping it, I gave it a thorough look over, and found one small manufacturing defect in the frame between the drawers. Nothing major, just a blemish you have to look for:

There was also a shipping damage spot on a rear corner, where the box had been hit (Of the reviews that I had read on it, the shipping box was really the only bad thing anyone had to say about the whole chest):

The all wood box is quite attractive (the drawer bottoms are composite material), it's light colored, with almost all the construction being either tongue and groove, or glue and nail with the holes filled neatly. The center of the work area, the top section, and the drawer bottoms are all felt lined:

Drawer cover / work area open:

Lid up, with the protective film still on the mirror:

Film removed from the very attractive metal framed glass mirror:

Front again with a little less glare:

Solid wood inside and out:

Tag on the work area:

Three stop hinges on the lid, seem small, but work quite well:

One issue that I noticed is that when resting on a table that the work area is slightly angled due to construction design. I'm thinking about maybe adding some feet to the outside corners of the work area to level it (notice the metal comer protector, there's one on each of the eight corners):

The work area tucks away about %75 as needed:

The only area where I found "assembly line style" construction were the staples on inside edge of the drawer bottoms:

Drawers opened slightly:

Two sets of keys, cabinet lock for the lid, and a tumbler lock for the drawer cover / work area:

All the drawers are removable, with tongue and groove style slides. Here is one of the small drawers, only the top two have dividers, which are wood, and individually removable: