Clarke CTC1300C Mechanics' Tool Chest review

Take it from us, the worker ants that make up the Visordown team, there’s nothing worse than walking into an office with work kit strewn everywhere. Or going home to junior’s bedroom, not affectionately known as the bomb site! It’s the same deal when striding into the garage, shed or the Visordown storage area.

You’ve paid money to equip yourself with tools to maintain the safe, clean running of your bike – let’s not forget the car, lawnmower and more – so why would you want to leave paid for tools all over the place or dumped in a pile on a bench /  bought-used desk?

Order in the garage is a good thing. There aren’t many of us who haven’t stared into a dealership’s workshop and seen tool chests and cabinets loaded with neatly placed sockets, ratchets, spanners, electrical spares and more. These tool chests are a mechanics object of worship; they’re their go to place for all things tools. They are also off limits to anything else that breathes. Some tool chests and cabinets are also elaborately coated in stickers – most motorcycle related be it lubricant brand names, 1990s magazine freebies or I.O.M. / Nurburgring circuit silhouettes. Personal customisation isn’t purely for your bike.

Reading all of the above is a pointer to the fact that a tool chest or cabinet, or a combo of, is a much needed, highly prized bit of kit. And it need not cost the earth for a decent starter set up. The Clarke CTC1300C Mechanics' Tool Chest & Cabinet Set is testament to this.

You might think that the CTC1300C’s list price of £227.98 is a tad steep just to keep tools in. No, it isn’t. Not when you consider it consists of a “tool chest” and a “tool cabinet” that can be stacked to be one unit that can easily be manoeuvred thanks to four large castor wheels – two of which have park brake facility – and handles! The upper chest section has two carrying handles, which means it’s easy to load it up with the necessary tools for a track day and put it in the car boot or van. The chest has a bolt on single bar-type handle the width of the depth of the chest to make light work of steering it complete with tool chest on top.

The tool chest and cabinet are lockable. Yay! The tool chest locks with a key ensuring the drawers and lid cannot open, particularly useful when carrying it out to the vehicle of the day. A removable vertical bar slots into the bottom edge of the cabinet and is locked into place at the top edge. Again, this stops drawers from opening. Okay, we know that if  unwanted visitors do get past your workshop security, having to carry a tool chest isn’t going to stop them staggering off with it. But locks are a deterrent in the same way any security system is. FS0-called friends or visitors who might have a sticky-finger moment are also going to be miffed that they can’t simply open a drawer unit and pocket another 10mm socket.

In true, traditional tool chest style, both units are made from sheet steel and topped with a durable red powder coat. The chest features a hinged lid that when fully opened doubles up as a sticker board or somewhere to tape glance-at service specs (tyre pressures, chain slack measurement, type of oil used etc).

The top tier of the tool chest is an open area that nearly always serves as a throw-in area for keys, odd nuts and bolts, and other oddball stuff you think might be useful another day.

Six small drawer compartments can be filled with tools of your choice – we’d recommend tools of the same ilk per drawer, e.g. pliers (long / short nosed, cutters etc) in one, spare fuses, soldering wire, cable connectors in another, and so on. The remaining three drawers are larger; the lowest one is also deeper. These drawers are ideal for laying out spanners, ratchet and sockets, screwdrivers, Allen and torque sets… the list is huge.

The lower cabinet drawers are just as effective at swallowing up your tool collection especially when it comes to heavyweight kit such as hammers and tyre levers or just use to secure, say, a hand drill and accompanying accessories, or other household DIY kit. The cabinet’s lowest storage section features a lift and slide back doorway to reveal an area big enough to stow a full-face lid, boots and gloves. Or maybe a bike washing kit of bucket, detergent, polish and so on. Also note that all drawer units run on ball bearing assisted slider bars (think modern kitchen drawers) for a smooth and easy open and close action. Metal drawers working on metal shelving supports are a no-no. Fullstop.

Now, being of powder coated steel construction, any tools placed in the drawer units are usually met with a loud clatter and will slide about. Lining the drawers with anti-slip material is definitely worth it; an additional five minutes of scissor action just adds to the joy of owning a tool chest or cabinet, or both. Seriously, if you’ve never felt the need to have your tools neatly and securely laid out with easy access, just filling the first drawer of the Clarke CTC1300C Mechanics' Tool Chest & Cabinet Set will make you wonder why you’ve never done it before.

It goes without saying that Machine Mart lists and stocks a vast array of Clarke tool chest and cabinet options to suit every pocket depth. We are talking professional race teams through to the many shed owners. See for yourself at the Machine Mart website, or call in to one of the many stores for a good, old fashioned, touchy-feely shopping experience. 

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