Lowes has come out with a new Kobalt tool storage solution – a wall cabinet that will charge your cordless battery packs and give you a convenient place to stash your tools.
The new Kobalt charging station, model SHSKCS30, has a slew of features, most of which contribute to an overall “I want that!” sentiment.
The Kobalt cabinet measures 30″ wide x 24″ tall x 12″ deep. It has a top charging bay with built-in power strip, 4 tool docks that can hold drills, drivers, and other such tools. and a large storage compartment with 2 adjustable and removable shelves.
I wonder what else the drill/driver dock can accommodate – an LED spot light? A jig saw? I have my doubts as to whether it can fit a cordless nailer.
There’s shelf space underneath the drill/driver dock, so you can fit other odds and ends there if you want to, and if there’s enough vertical clearance space.
The sides are pegboard panels!
The whole unit mounts to a French Cleat-style rail, for easy installation. The cabinet is 30″ long, so you should be able to hit 2 studs.
Price: $99
Buy Now(via Lowes)
First Thoughts
The Kobalt charging station and tool dock looks to be versatile and convenient. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but I’d imagine it’s pretty sturdy, even if made from thinner sheet metal.
Here’s a good question: how would I make it better? Umm… USB charging ports. I can’t really think of anything else at the moment.
The Kobalt wall cabinet looks to have a lot of the storage features I’ve seen in DIY power tool cabinets – upside down drill and driver docks, an upper shelf with backwall, and bulk storage for fitting a circular saw or other larger tool.
The pegboard on the side is a nice surprise.
Priced at $99, it will likely appeal to a wide range of uses. In addition to being wall-mountable, it looks like ti could be easily added to the side of a workbench, mobile tool cart, or other non-wall fixture.
But given how it’s meant to be used, it’ll likely work best at typical wall cabinet height. I’d mount one above a workbench. There, it would be deep enough to hold a good amount of stuff, but shallow enough to not get in the way of whatever is being worked on on the workbench.
Some plywood and pocket holes will give similar functionality, but how many people have a similar charging station and power tool dock DIY project on their to-do list that they’ve been putting off forever.
Thoughts? And if you’re in the “just build your own” camp, what would you do differently in a DIY charging station?