Show me (And discuss) your toolbox organizers...

[MidMoBob]

I've been working on organizing my tools. I've taken various approaches . . .
• Pliers, screwdrivers, hammers, squares, levels and a bunch of other stuff hangs on the wall
• I've spent a boatload of money on Schaller trays and have tried to puzzle them together as something useful
• I've used other commercially available trays, including the Tekton three-slots and 10-slots
• I've used stamped steel wrench organizers
• I've cobbled together some homemade dividers using 1/4" lumber
• Some things remain a hot mess (power tools, and a couple of drawers of still loose tools)

At this point, I have more drawer space than I have tools (that's a good thing). There's still plenty of room to fit more in and pack things more tightly.

Some pics (though not all the drawers)

 

[steed]

I worked on two drawers today, I can't speak highly enough about Schaller bins. They're reasonably priced, made in USA, and they ship quick. Also, I LOVE the Ernst wrench organizers!
*Very satisfying*

I've been working on consolidating a lot of the stuff in my big box to combat the urge to buy a larger one- this one is a 68" its plenty big for what I have if I move some things around.
See that? I just saved myself $5,000. LOL

 

[BWWgarage]

I worked on two drawers today, I can't speak highly enough about Schaller bins. They're reasonably priced, made in USA, and they ship quick. Also, I LOVE the Ernst wrench organizers!
*Very satisfying*

I've been working on consolidating a lot of the stuff in my big box to combat the urge to buy a larger one- this one is a 68" its plenty big for what I have if I move some things around.
See that? I just saved myself $5,000. LOL

Looking good! can you share where you bought the bins from?

www.schallercorporation.com ?

Thanks, Brad

 

[steed]

Looking good! can you share where you bought the bins from?

www.schallercorporation.com ?

Thanks, Brad

THATS IT! They sell individual bins and assortments in 1-3" heights! They also have a "drawer builder" that lets you digitally build an assortment for the span of a specific drawer- which is handy.

 

[MidMoBob]

THATS IT! They sell individual bins and assortments in 1-3" heights! They also have a "drawer builder" that lets you digitally build an assortment for the span of a specific drawer- which is handy.

Word of advice: Buy more bins in more sizes than you think you need when you place your order. The bins themselves are cheap but the shipping always seems to run at least $15. It ***** to need a couple of $2 bins and have a $15 shipping charge. Plan carefully (use their drawer builder) and then buy a few extra sizes to give yourself options.

Also, I find that unless you have a specific need (such as the drill bits shown above), the longer drawers are the most useful.

 

[KamiCrit]

I worked on two drawers today, I can't speak highly enough about Schaller bins. They're reasonably priced, made in USA, and they ship quick. Also, I LOVE the Ernst wrench organizers!
*Very satisfying*

I've been working on consolidating a lot of the stuff in my big box to combat the urge to buy a larger one- this one is a 68" its plenty big for what I have if I move some things around.
See that? I just saved myself $5,000. LOL

Wow nice job with the Schaller bins! I wish they were available in Canada.
While looking into drill bit storage ideas I found this picture of another Schaller bin setup as a drill bit dispenser.

 

[MidMoBob]

Wow nice job with the Schaller bins! I wish they were available in Canada.
While looking into drill bit storage ideas I found this picture of another Schaller bin setup as a drill bit dispenser.

I like what he did with the wooden "borders." Gives him a place to stick labels and keeps the bins tight together. I also tighten up my Schaller bins with wood strips at the sides or back of the drawers. Seems to help with my OCD.

As for drill bits (and taps/dies), I use a plastic drawer parts bin. I have devoted a drawer in my tool box for drill do-dads and longer bits that won't fit in my drill box:

 

[steed]

I was pricing machinists drill bit drawers and they are HIGH dollar, so I figured if I spent $35 on those bins it would work well and make use of a 1" drawer in my big tool box! Win/Win!

 

[Steve_P]

Word of advice: Buy more bins in more sizes than you think you need when you place your order. The bins themselves are cheap but the shipping always seems to run at least $15. It ***** to need a couple of $2 bins and have a $15 shipping charge. Plan carefully (use their drawer builder) and then buy a few extra sizes to give yourself options.

Also, I find that unless you have a specific need (such as the drill bits shown above), the longer drawers are the most useful.

Agree 110%. I always buy extra Schaller bins, but then it seems that I use all of one size and have to order again. $20 in bins, $15 shipping... every. single. time. And I realize that I'm not being ripped off on shipping, UPS is expensive, but I'd love for someone like Tekton to add the Schaller line so that I could add a few bins to an occasional Tekton order and not pay $15 shipping when I need a few bins.

 

[Dig Doug]

Has any used the Schaller bins for nuts and bolts organizing in a drawer?

if so let’s see em !

please

 

[MidMoBob]

Has any used the Schaller bins for nuts and bolts organizing in a drawer?

if so let’s see em !

please

Post #84 (page 3) of this thread.

 

[Dig Doug]

Post #84 (page 3) of this thread.

Got it

Thank you!
@MidMoBob

Somehow I missed that

 

[MidMoBob]

Has any used the Schaller bins for nuts and bolts organizing in a drawer?

if so let’s see em !

Schaller has a few pics on its website:

https://www.schallercorporation.com/drawer-projects/

They also have more pics in an imgur gallery:

https://imgur.com/a/83rFQ

 

[moemc]

I think I’m going to order some tonight for this heat shrink drawer I’ve been looking for an organization solution for.

 

[LeeG]

The 2” deep bins for washers and nuts

Lee

 

[Dig Doug]

This is what my current set up is

I like the yellow cups / bins but they are cheap and flimsy - Amazon purchase

&
Lucky has to get her nose into everything

 

[LWB]

Just ordered some Alien space saver wrench rails to replace these in front. I want to reorganize this cart. You can see a VIM magrail in the rear. Expensive but awesome. Magnetic pads on the lid. I have OEM wrench rails in my main box. I have magnetic socket holders at home. I have Ernst wrench rails at home too. I like them all so far. My least favorite wrench holder is the Ernst. These ones,

Ernst Manufacturing Wrench Rail Set, 20 Tool, Red : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Ernst Manufacturing Wrench Rail Set, 20 Tool, Red : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

And, I finally put them in. Life has been busy in 2025. They do what they say, space savers. I was able to get 8 wrenches off the lid, granted I had some space left above. My favorite wench organizers so far.

 

[Jgaz]

And, I finally put them in. Life has been busy in 2025. They do what they say, space savers. I was able to get 8 wrenches off the lid, granted I had some space left above. My favorite wench organizers so far.

Vendor for the flat, magnetic?, plates on the top lid?

 

[LWB]

Vendor for the flat, magnetic?, plates on the top lid?

Lots of different vendors have them. Here's one from Mechanic time savers. Mine are from Canadian tire.

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Time-Savers-Magna-Panel-Organizer/dp/B002XMS7T4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Jgaz]

Lots of different vendors have them. Here's one from Mechanic time savers. Mine are from Canadian tire.

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Time-Savers-Magna-Panel-Organizer/dp/B002XMS7T4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thank you

 

[moemc]

Got my Schaller order in. Organized my heat shrink drawer. I just need to make some labels to finish it off. I ordered a bunch of extras to use in various drawers/boxes and will see what else I can improve with these.

 

[BWWgarage]

Got my Schaller order in. Organized my heat shrink drawer. I just need to make some labels to finish it off. I ordered a bunch of extras to use in various drawers/boxes and will see what else I can improve with these.

Just curious, Do you use heat shrink enough to justify drawer space? Mine goes in a cabinet and pulled out the 2-5x/yr when I need it.

 

[moemc]

Just curious, Do you use heat shrink enough to justify drawer space? Mine goes in a cabinet and pulled out the 2-5x/yr when I need it.

My personal use of it would be similar to yours, but this is a business. That tool cart is in a work area dedicated to professional automotive wiring.

Most the sizes barely get used, but it just makes sense to keep it all in one place. 3 of the sizes in there I use every day. The rest of the cart is mostly wiring tools. Heat shrink is the only consumable in that cart.

 

[BWWgarage]

My personal use of it would be similar to yours, but this is a business. That tool cart is in a work area dedicated to professional automotive wiring.

Most the sizes barely get used, but it just makes sense to keep it all in one place. 3 of the sizes in there I use every day. The rest of the cart is mostly wiring tools. Heat shrink is the only consumable in that cart.

Thanks for reply. Drawer looks good!

 

[moemc]

Thanks for reply. Drawer looks good!

I was getting a picture here. I do a bit of custom wiring, but the majority of the supplies get spent building adapter harnesses like this for our customers who can’t handle wiring and need plug and play solutions. I’ll sometimes put together 10 of these or similar in a day. The funny thing is, the focus here is on custom billet machined and fabricated parts. But to install those parts usually involves some wiring. That’s where the need to create adapter harnesses etc comes from.

 

[pfbz]

I'm also going to throw a link up to a video on another organizer that I really love, Westling socket organizers.

 

[Firebird1975]

It's always good to see a classic Porshe. What a great looking car.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Combo of Tool Box Widget, the Snap-On trays they came in, the Tekton rails they came with.


Magnets on the lid


Magnetic holders from Etsy on the wall

 

[66HertzClone]

It was a nice enough day yesterday that I could open the garage doors and sweep it out and put away some stuff. I decided to tackle the reorganization of my drawer of pliers, I've got to stop adding to my collection. I used the Alien Space Savers and they worked really well for this, I pulled out these pliers to snap the dividers to the rails, made it much easier I thought.

 

[BWWgarage]

Playing with my screwdriver drawer. Jammed some paint sticks and foam for a pressure fit. Fairly optimized for space/density and easy enough to find what I’m looking for. Elimanated the wasted space with bins. Now I need to look at a similar, but more permanent’ish solution.

A little more permanent ... grabbed some 20g c channel at HD, folded a short part of c over itself to make an L and non-sharp. 2 side taped other side c to drawer bottom and then cut liner to fit between the 4 dividers. I though about making wood like some others but didn’t want to lose any room in my small HF drawer.

 

[66HertzClone]

I have 3 drawers in my workbench dedicated to holding hardware, course thread, fine, and a drawer with metric hardware and some other miscellaneous items. I have some benchtop Durham 4 tray mini drawer cabinets for self tapping, machine screws, and electrical terminals.

 

[Jgaz]

A little more permanent ... grabbed some 20g c channel at HD, folded a short part of c over itself to make an L and non-sharp. 2 side taped other side c to drawer bottom and then cut liner to fit between the 4 dividers. I though about making wood like some others but didn’t want to lose any room in my small HF drawer.

Yes! I often use aluminum for dividers for exactly the same reason, to maximize space.

However, I rivet my dividers to the bottom of the drawer.
For years my box was rolled around every shift, often outdoors, in our lovely Arizona summer weather.
I never worried about a few extra holes under the drawer liner if I changed the configuration.

 

[Tchicken]

Guess it depends on usage - I've used some aluminum 2X2 1/8" aluminum angle the same way - without much movement for the box I haven't needed tape or fasteners (yet)

 

[AJHD]

I need to find a more efficient use of space/organizer for my wrench drawer. It's full and I have more that won't fit.

 

[BWWgarage]

I need to find a more efficient use of space/organizer for my wrench drawer. It's full and I have more that won't fit.

That’s looking pretty efficient. Some toolboxwidgets or alienspacesaver to get tight against sides?

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

Combos (metric and SAE) in a n EBay tray. Bigger SAE in widget style holders from Temu. Ratcheting combos (metric) in Temu holders.

Next drawer down my DBEs, DOEs, and line wrenches in the Temu holders. Black are metric and red are SAE.

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

My SAE sockets are all in their original cases (1/2”drive is from ‘47!Sears catalog), except deep wells. Deeps and metric (except 1/2” drive are on socket rails.

 

[BWWgarage]

Combos (metric and SAE) in a n EBay tray.

I have the same tray. Just 3d printed
Alienspacesaver-like wrench organizers. I’ll give a review on efficiency comparison in next day or two.

 

[AJHD]

That’s looking pretty efficient. Some toolboxwidgets or alienspacesaver to get tight against sides?

Ideally I still want to pick up a cart or 2nd box.

But in the meantime I'd to find a way to store wrenches perpendicular front to back instead of horizontal left to right.

I don't know if the drawer is actually big enough to do that, but maybe I could have 2 rows one in front and another behind it.

 

[BWWgarage]

Combos (metric and SAE) in a n EBay tray. Bigger SAE in widget style holders from Temu. Ratcheting combos (metric) in Temu holders.

Next drawer down my DBEs, DOEs, and line wrenches in the Temu holders. Black are metric and red are SAE.

Did those labels move? I’m stressed out