I was browsing Lowes last week, looking at some of the new Craftsman tool chests and Porter Cable clearances, when I spotted this strange new tool storage chest and cabinet combo. It looked similar to other offerings I’d seen, with the exception of these two vertical “drawers” on the side. I pulled them out and found pegboard racks.
I took photos of the tags with the model and item numbers so I could look them up when I got home. Surprisingly, when I entered them into the Lowes website, it brought me to the old 3000 series cabinets with no pegboard drawers in the back. I searched and searched, but could find no evidence of these new storage combos on the Lowes website or anywhere else for the matter.
I figured they must have mislabeled them at the store, so when I took my kids out for lunch, we swung by Lowes again and this time I found the manuals.
The photo of the manual above clearly shows the new cabinet with the sliding pegboard drawer, the item number is 0893824, and the model number is SHS41RCSSKS. If you go to the Lowes website and type in the model number you get the page shown below.
At the top you can see the item number is 893824, and the model is SHS41RCSSKS2. The model number has an additional “2”, but otherwise is identical and both items have the same item number. If you type in the item for the chest, you get similar results: a model number differing by a trailing 2. This time the older version of the chest has a flat front rather than the chamfered front of the in-store model.
Interestingly, if you look at the webpage the cabinet and chest depths are listed as 18″, but the cabinet and chest in store are labels as 24.5-in D.
Since there is really no way of knowing which version you’ll get if you order online, I’m not going to link to the cabinet and chest online. If you are really interested in this “updated” tool storage combo, you should really go to the store and make sure that you get the correct items.
The pricing doesn’t seem to have changed. The cabinet is still priced $750 while the chest still runs about $600.
First Thoughts
I have several questions. Why did Lowes and Kobalt keep the same item and model numbers for these “new” cabinet and chest? Doesn’t that make it horribly confusing for the consumer trying to order and for the company keeping track of stock? I thought at first it was a mistake by my local Lowes, but the product manuals clearly show the model and item numbers.
When I first spotted this updated Series 3000 cabinet and chest, I thought, “that’s a cool use of space,” but after more thought I’m not really so sure.
How useful will the slide-out pegboard actually be for most people? In order to get access to the contents hanging on the pegboard, you need about 30″ of open space on the right side of the cabinet. Since I see most people put these tool storage combos up against the wall, that means that you’ll lose 30″ or so of valuable wall space.
Also, for the amount of depth the sliding pegboard adds, is pegboard the best use of the additional space? If I’m going to have a 24.5″ deep cabinet, I think I want deeper drawers.
It’s also interesting that they tacked on 6.5″ onto the back of 18″ tool cabinet and chest. The pegboard slide-out sections are clearly bolted onto the back of the chest and cabinet. Is this addition meant to get around the import tariffs on tool storage under 24″ deep?
So, are the pegboard drawers a good use of the extra depth, or is this just an attempt to get around the import tariffs on their current tool box storage combos?
At least the pricing is the same, so that you’re not paying extra for a feature you might not want, and you might be able to remove it for improvised use elsewhere.
