Customer Reviews

Sisco MTV7 Solid Hardwood Utility Chest

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Four problems with the unit:

1) Finish/Oil was not dry before being bagged. The bag was saturated with the finish and the chest still smells like the finish. Not a big problem as it will dry over time.
2) Top of cabinet lid is severly warped. Probably due to moisture in the bag after finishing. Does not impair the top compartment in terms of storage space--from my point of view.
3) One of the brass corners was missing a screw and had to be reattached. This obviously did not happen in shipping.
4) Hardware is tarnished and [of lower quality]. Again probably due to the moisture/finish in the bag.

Positives:
1) Wood is nice and unit seems fairly durable for small tool storage.
2) Unit was packaged as if it were fine china! Well boxed.
3) Felt lining is nice.
4) Drawer heigth is wrong on description. The two top drawers are 1-3/8" allowing storage for 1-1/2" tools. Bottom two drawers are taller! 1 5/8" for 1-3/4" tool storage. This is great for more storage space.

Now, all of that being said, this unit only deserves 2-2.5 stars on quality. On price, this unit deserves 4-5 stars. Similar professional scandanavian storage chest can cost you $200-1200!! I gave it three to average price versus quality. I would probably buy another one. If you want something of the highest quality, then you'll have to go pay for it! If you want something that is [lower quality], but looks fairly decent, then this is a great tool box.

I am disappointed with the quality of the product. The finish is poor quality. It is not uniform in color or application. The hardware is poor quality. The buyer must install the pull knobs, which is okay, but the screws were too long. I had to find and add some washers so they would tighten. The side handles do not match. One raises above horizontal, the other does not reach horizontal. A nail, intended for one of the drawer slide rails was inserted above the rail and was scoring the drawer.

Solid Hardwood must be the name used to define the laminated fiberboard. From the outside, it appears the chest is constructed from real wood. If you remove the drawers and look inside, you find that the drawer bottoms, the side panels, back panels and bottom are fiberboard.

The top compartment and the drawers are lined with something similar to felt. They hold the material in place by way of an adhesive. Wrinkles have formed due to improperly sized fabric.

Finally, when the top is closed the drawers are not secured. You must take extra care to prevent drawers and contents from dumping when moving the chest.

The quality of the wood and workmanship of this chest is a little better than the typical "made-in-China" quality. But the hardware is pretty low-grade. Having said that, what you do get is a pretty solid (it survived UPS unscathed) utility chest with velour-lined drawers that fit and slide nicely. It is now housing my woodworking measuring instruments. Recommended.

I've read a lot of reviews talking about the quality of this cabinet. I just received mine. The first thing I'll say is this is definitely not a quality unit. There were three major problems. First, the unit was put in a plastic bag and entirely surrounded by hard foam before being boxed. This was excellent packaging. However, it was very obvious that the finish/oil had not dried before being bagged. The bag was very discolored with stain and the chest absolutely smells of it. The problem can be overlooked as it will eventually dry. Second, the top veneer panel was severly warped--or pressed in. This does not pose a problem for me as there is still ample room for storage in the top compartment. This either left the factory like this is warped due to the moisture being trapped in the bag. Fianlly, one of the corner protectors was missing a screw and was nearly completely off the unit. I replaced the screw and all is well. However, it was obviously like this before it was boxed. There is NO WAY this happened in shipping due to the exellent packing. Now, all of this said, the box cost less than I could easily have paid for a similar chest. These problems would not have existed. But at what price delta?! It probably only deserves 2-2.5 stars on quality. Price----this probably deserves four to five star. I just averaged the two to rank the item. It would be nice if there were drawer catches to keep the drawers from being pulled all the way out. However, it's nice to be able to reach/utilize the full depth of these drawers. It would also be nice to see different drawer sizes on multiple chests. The felt lining is also great for storing expensive files, planes, tools, etc. The drawer height of the unit are wrong!! The two top drawers are smaller and have a heigth of 1 3/8" allowing storage of almost a 1 1/2" item. The bottom two drawers have a heigth of 1 5/8" allowing storage of a 1 3/4" item. This was a pleasant surprise. A chest with three or four larger drawers (2"-2.5" heigth) at this low price (or a little more) would be awesome. All in all, I'm still satisfied with the purchase. It's made of beautiful wood and has a nice stain that is similar to a padauk/spanish cedar wood tone. I will probably buy another one in the future.

The workmanship of this chest is poor. Two of the drawer bottoms sag - the staples holding the bottom in were dislodged. The staples had been carelessly inserted, defacing the inside drawer backing. The drawer pulls are missing. One drawer side is made of rough crude lumber with no sanding or finishing. The upper right front was crudely fitted - the gap was poorly filled with wood filler.

While the picture looks like stained oak what you get is orange colored "wood". Mine was warped and poor fitting in several places, but it just isn't worth the shipping cost and hassle to return it, so it will live some kind of life in the back of a closet, like a stray puppy I just don't have the heart to throw it away. Skip this product and get something worthwhile.

The picture looks great but once you get it, you'll find the product is substandard. It is NOT SOLID Hardwood construction overall. The back is cheap 1/8" hardboard. The draw glides are chinzy strips of the same material stapled into place. The finish stain is barely applied-you can see that it was a rush job. The green lining cloth is sloppily put in place so you can see the uncovered wood along the edges. The piece I purchased came with the front corner unglued and the back corner joint had been forced, causing the wood to split longitudinally! I am totally disgusted with this slip-slod product!! Buyer beware!

I read all the reviews on this item and just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. I got mine last week. It was shipped with no problems. Everything was there, nothing was broken. They obviously got the oil problem taken care of because mine was just perfectly finished. It's not a Gershner box, but you didn't pay $500 for it either. It's a good place to put your "critical" tools so they don't get damaged. For $50 bucks, it's a good buy. I had no problems what so ever.
Rick O.

I don't know what "solid hardwood" means to you, but this isn't it as far as I'm concerned. When it arrived, the hinges had already pulled through the "wood". The box even states that it's not solid hardwood. It's a great price and you may get luckier than I didn't, but it was a disappointment overall.

If you are expecting a finely tooled, expertly crafted tool box at this price you will be sorely dissapointed. What you will get is a box that is a good art box, craft box, or hobby box at a price that you could not build yourself. The drawer fit is not comparable with a chest costing $$$$. The overall look is impressive for what you pay. In short, you get a fairly good value for the money.