What’s your take on tool cabinet hutches, which are enclosed space add-ons that sit on top of mobile workbenches, roller cabinets, and other such base units?
Harbor Freight launched new hutches as part of their US General Series 3 tool storage line. That, and the height of the Husky Pro Duty tool cabinet I have been reviewing has got me thinking about the pros and cons of hutches.
Hutches are generally less expensive than top tool chests, and they still provide some added tool storage, usually in the form of a back panel pegboard or similar.
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They also provide an easy way to mount light strips and magnetic mounting accessories and holders.
Most hutches I have seen come with fold-down doors so that you can secure their contents.
I see hutches as a way to transform a tall mobile workbench into more of a workstation.
The worktops of taller roller cabinets, as I have been learning, cannot really be used to do work on. Instead, they’re great places to stage your tools or place parts and equipment over the course of a project or task.
In that respect, top hutches extend the capabilities of a workstation. They put more tools close at hand.
I can see how they can be beneficial.
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It’s not for me, though.
I have tested a wide range of tool storage products over the years, and have found that pull-out shelves and work surfaces, enclosed or lockable laptop drawers, and other such features can be restricting.
Top hutches aren’t as restricting, and allow for some customization, but they still enclose the work surface on 3 sides and limit the clearance on top.
The way I see it, unless I need a secure and lockable top compartment, I can achieve much of the same benefits using shelf risers, similar to those found on technician workbenches, DIY pegboard or slatwall back panels, and various tabletop tool organizers.
Lighting is all but essential when adding a hutch to a tool cabinet, because they block light from 3 directions.
I think they can be a great idea in certain environments. Hutches also help make large-footprint roller cabinets look tidier.
There’s also the question of what else might be used in lieu of a hutch. Maybe a tool chest? I have found that tool drawers can get cumbersome above a certain height. At shoulder or eye level, for example, back panel and pegboard tool holders work better than drawers.
What’s your take on tool box hutches? Are there added benefits that I seem to be missing?
I can see how they’re beneficial for specific user needs, but they seem specialized, rather than a worktop accessory anyone can use.
I do like top cabinets, however, either wall-mounted or part of a system.
Top cabinets, such as in this Rousseau setup, give you some of the benefits of a top hutch, with fewer restrictions.
See Also: What do You Think About Vertical Drawers?
MM
In my opinion it really depends on where you are working. If it’s *your* toolbox in someone else’s shop and there’s a risk of other people walking off with your tools & supplies then I think they could be useful since it’s a means of securing items that don’t fit in the main toolbox. For a home workshop or a professional situation where there’s little risk of the items on top of your box walking off I don’t think they offer much benefit. Over the years I have purchased many toolboxes and drawer units for my lab work, personal use, and machining business ranging from basic Craftsman and Harbor Freight to Snap-On and Lista but not a single hutch.
That assumes we’re talking about a very basic hutch like the first pic. As things get more complex with shelves, cabinets, and specialty organizers? Those could be useful, it just depends on what your particular needs are. I could see them being useful for some situations but I’d rather have either a work surface on top of the box or a top cab with drawers to store more tools.
Jared
I feel the same. I’d want one to prevent stuff from walking away or because it looks cool. Generally though, I’d prefer more storage from a top chest or just the clear table space.
Franco
I agree completely with MM’s assessment and would add that aside from the person working in a garage and needing to lock things down, for the diy, home user, they represent poor value.
The same money buys you a more flexible system, compared to the tight, locked down hutch. (which is what the hutch is made to do.
Steve L
Do have a Husky mobile workbench but would not put a hutch on top. Use in a personal workshop so security is not an issue.
Prefer wall-mounted cabinets which are under and over a counter top. Also use an assembly table and woodworking bench – both on casters to move as needed.
DRT42
No hutch for me. It kinda forces you to push the cabinet up against a wall. Either that, or it becomes a wall. My tool cabinet is out in the middle of the shop. The hutch doesn’t offer very efficient storage, and for horizontal surfaces, I am like Steve. All my work benches and tables are on wheels – they get moved around to suit the job, and I can work from all sides of the table.
TomD
Hutches as others have mentioned are great if your toolbox needs to lock when in an area you don’t fully control.
Otherwise a pegboard on the back and maybe a light or two does just as good and gives you much more room to work.
Andy
I love the idea, but I’m in a small beach house with no garage working out of a 7′ x 10′ shed, and there is no way I can make that big of an item work. Guess I can dream though.
Chris
yeah, but……………………………..you’re in a small beach house locale. So cry me a river.
Jim Felt
E x a c t l y !
Andy
Yeah, I guess I’ll own that.
Kurt
I had a DeWalt toolbox combo that had a hutchlike top; on of those ones that has an angled lid. .
I found it to be a dust catcher when open and inefficient in the use of space when closed. I ended up selling the combo and replacing it with a shelving unit stocked with plastic boxes that had a set of tools or supplies for specific tasks in my shop. I already had a smaller box for my mechanic’s tools.
This strategy might not work for other folks, but for me, this has worked out very well.
Steven+B
Hutches keep the tools clean and slow corrosion if you don’t have consistent humidity (think garage). I like them in theory, but I’m not organized enough to make full use of them and justify the HUGE cost.
M
I’m torn on them. I like the concept, but I don’t know how good they are in practice. It would be nice to “close the door” and have a dedicated clean horizontal space that I can’t just “toss crap onto”….if I can get into that habit. My problem is I don’t have enough horizontal space, or enough readily usable storage, so stuff sorta piles up. I get that, that’s a personal problem I need to work on but damn if it’s not frustrating.
MM
This article brings to mind a related product which I do like: the “middle tool chest” aka “intermediate chest”. You can use one in conjunction with a top chest if you want to make a very big toolbox setup but if you just use the middle chest on top of a roll cab without the top chest you get a tall workbench with a lot of extra drawer space.
For example:
https://vipertoolstorage.com/product/41-inch-2-drawer-intermediate-chest/
MKY
Stuart –
Typo
Top hutches aren’t as restricting, and allow for some customization, but they still enclose the work surface on 3 ***sizes*** and limit the clearance on top .
Bonnie
Like others I think I’d only be interested in one if I were working out of someone else’s shop. Maybe if I were setting up a commercial space and laying out production operations.
JoeM
At this second? No room for it. Literally, there are no rooms to put a setup like that in. But ideally? With enough room to work with, a nice big shop? Forgive the language, but abso-freakin-lutely, yes.
I’d easily use something of that size for first aid supplies alone! Maybe a second of that size just to hold batteries and chargers. Another to hang holsters for tools. And all the drawers for consumables and safety gear. In an ideal world, of course. Give me enough places to store what I need, and I will overwhelm it faster than I can get it set up. I have enough unused skills that, should I have the chance to re-engage said skills again, the need to expand will be rapid, expensive, and necessary in all forms, including metallic cabinetry such as these hutches.
A true tool user can be handed nearly any form of tool, or tool storage, and they will reasonably figure out both if they can use such a thing, and how many more they need of that thing. The rest is just repetition.
Chip
In a shared shop they are worth it and I’ve owned one.
They typically are a place to lockdown an open project with all tools needed left out.
The only homeowner use would be t
In keeping kids out….that I could see.
Wider drawers are the best option, for bulk items an open shelf above…..or locker cabinets flanking main box.
Am building an 8ft long X 8ft tall,32 8nxh deep rolling cabinet for my garage,it will have a center locker.
Ricky Bobby
Keeping the kids out…..Im a weekend diy and got the hutch for that purpose to keep my kids out of my projects I’m working on whether it be gun smithing or car projects. Don’t need any parts “magically” disappearing. Also when working on my guns/rifles, its enclosed in case a small spring shoots out I have a better chances of finding it than searching the whole garage.
Nathan
I see a few out in the hangar but it’s not prevalent
First I take a bit of umbrage to the idea you can’t do work on a tool cabinet top. I’ve watched people pound out pins and weld on them. I’ve cut metal and rebuilt a carb on one. So depends on the work and I suppose the tool trolley.
Woodworking maybe not. But I’ve seen people rebuild transmissions on a snap on 60 inch. So I see the hutch as limiting for things like that.
But second. Depends on the work. I could see where doing electrical or electronic work or even some mechanic work with smaller things. Working out in a hutch type top with lights and a peb board back. A few guys in the hangar have one and I see some benefits. But your not putting a 777 hydraulic pump in one. Ok. But you could test out a harness in one.
Do I need/want one? No. I have no need. But I can see pros and cons based on job
Stuart
Sorry – I didn’t intent to offend anyone, and appreciate that you shared your experience and observation!
Work suitability really depends on the height (of the person and cabinet), parts, and task.
Hard work tends to require a lower worktop height. Mixed work is generally most comfortable in a slightly taller worktop height.
The Husky I’ve been testing, which is designed with a top hutch, lockers, and side lockers in mind, is a little too tall for even mixed working. It’s – in my opinion – in precision work territory, and a lot of other other roller cabinets are similar sizes.
You *can* do work on them, it just depends on the work. Mounting a vise to taller cabinets is also somewhat impractical – at least in my opinion.
It’s hard to look down on a part that’s resting on a taller cabinet.
I have also seen eye-level drawers and top lid compartments on automotive industry top tool chests. There’s no right solution for everyone.
Nathan
Lol wasn’t offended. Poor fancy word choice I guess.
Bob
Hutches are good for securing tools when you have those “dump your tools and leave now situations.”
I find the common hutch sizes limiting but I’m fairly tall at 6’4”. Another option is a dedicated tool dump draw that is kept empty. Altho keeping a drawer empty can be difficult.
My ideal setup would be a tall hutch for working on smaller projects, electronics projects, projects that may need to sit after disassembly while parts are on order and have a dedicated steel workbench for heavy stuff. Something that I can mount a serious vise, beat, weld, grind on etc. I find workbench tops way too fragile for medium to heavy work.
Freddy G
I think the top hutch is a good solution if you have a need for a computer and other electronics gadgets like interfaces for tuning or flashing certain vehicles , especially in a do it all garage like mine where I can be woodworking one day and working on upgrades on my Harley Road Glide the next day.
The top hutch would keep everything out of harms way , from spills to accidental knock overs , and other types of hits and bangs that may occur if they were left out in the open. You’d be far less likely to throw a hammer up into the hutch than you would be to toss it on a standard height workbench. Plus you can close the top hutch to protect the electronics whenever you are not using them for even more piece of mind.