Best way to organize wrenches?

[bans25]

Figured I would break these questions up into seperate threads.. I searched and read but threads were all over the place

I have mutiple sets of wrenches, SAE & Metrics, straighs, angled, rachet heads, line wrenches, etc etc..

What do you guys use?

The only things that look decent to me are :

http://www.ernstmfg.com/Assets/pdfs/wrench_flyer.pdf

I like that any set can be picked right up out of the box and carried to where I am working... I have the kind that the wrenches sit in, but always knocking them out..

What else do you guys use?

 

[Jeeper]

I have been using sort-a-tool wrench organizers for a few years. Just picked up another tray when i bought my SK ratcheting wrenches. They work well, don't take up too much room. Only complaint, is my long pattern cman pros barely fit.

Pic:

 

[bans25]

I like it.. I am going to get a couple of those to try out. Where did you get them?

-Bill

 

[dxdexter]

I use a few methods from organized to messy:

 

[bans25]

My wrench draws look like your #2 and #3 combined

 

[Jeeper]

I bought the sort-a-tools at sears. $10.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965223000P?vName=Tools&keyword=sort-a-tool&sLevel=1

 

[chad s]

The ernst soft plastic (also available from snap on) are the best in my opinion.

 

[bans25]

The ernst soft plastic (also available from snap on) are the best in my opinion.

Are these the ones you are talking about?

https://www.ernstmfg.com/products_gripper_main.php

 

[chad s]

Are these the ones you are talking about?

https://www.ernstmfg.com/products_gripper_main.php

Yes. The wight of the wrenches hold down the whole rack, but the flexible "teeth" allow one wrench to be removed without the whole rack shifting around. I wound up buying mine from Snap On, because with the free shipping, it actually came out cheaper than buying elsewhere.

 

[edl]

for what its worth and to give you a different slant, i use pegboard - i bought the straight (as in straight out) long pegs, put 30 or so in a 30, on the left i start with the largest sae, where that ends, the smallest metric starts and goes out to the rights side - they are quickly available and in order - the one drawback is that various TYPES of wrenches are all on one peg (in my case, if you wanted to you could certainly do various rows)...so, on the 9/16 peg there is a stubby various box wrenches, an offset, a skinny etc. - ymmv - thanks,

 

[wrenchr]

for what its worth and to give you a different slant, i use pegboard - i bought the straight (as in straight out) long pegs, put 30 or so in a 30, on the left i start with the largest sae, where that ends, the smallest metric starts and goes out to the rights side - they are quickly available and in order - the one drawback is that various TYPES of wrenches are all on one peg (in my case, if you wanted to you could certainly do various rows)...so, on the 9/16 peg there is a stubby various box wrenches, an offset, a skinny etc. - ymmv - thanks,

That is the same idea I have, But my complete wrench set's will stay in the toolbox, My misc, wrench's will go on the peg board. The same way you said.
I have a bunch of misc wrench's.

 

[boiler7904]

I have been using sort-a-tool wrench organizers for a few years. Just picked up another tray when i bought my SK ratcheting wrenches. They work well, don't take up too much room. Only complaint, is my long pattern cman pros barely fit.

Pic:

I've got those too. Only problem is that they don't go up to the larger sizes of wrenches like 7/8. It would have been nice if they would have gone to 1" and the metric equivalent.

On a side note, my wife was in the garage when I was pulling a wrench out of the rack and noticed that there were a couple of empty slots. She thought I should just go buy the wrenches to complete the set regardless if I had an immediate need for them or not.

 

[Cashed]

I've got those too. Only problem is that they don't go up to the larger sizes of wrenches like 7/8. It would have been nice if they would have gone to 1" and the metric equivalent.

On a side note, my wife was in the garage when I was pulling a wrench out of the rack and noticed that there were a couple of empty slots. She thought I should just go buy the wrenches to complete the set regardless if I had an immediate need for them or not.

Shes a keeper

 

[boiler7904]

Shes a keeper

I know. Our anniversary is coming up in about a month and her question the other day was what tool do I want for a present.

 

[george4]

Shes a keeper

I have no doubt she is a keeper but it has been my experience that when the SO tells you to get a new toy, she has already picked up something for herself, perfectly fair I guess.

 

[boiler7904]

I have no doubt she is a keeper but it has been my experience that when the SO tells you to get a new toy, she has already picked up something for herself, perfectly fair I guess.

In my case, she has a project for me to do around the house. This weekend's job was to install and paint a chair rail around the dining room.

Oh well, that was one of projects I had in mind when I bought a pancake compressor and nail guns with part of the tax refund this spring.

 

[NOMAD]

I don;t like the pegboard thing because to get to one wrench you have to take off several and put them back on.
I have a handle carrier like the ones linked but since I don't have a super-slik toolbox yet I can't fit the organizer into the tray with the handle in place. I may reorganize my box to utilize a deeper box for wrenches or something. I'm saving for the set of GearWrenches and some Craftsman pro slim ratchets anyhow.

 

[wilbilt]

On a side note, my wife was in the garage when I was pulling a wrench out of the rack and noticed that there were a couple of empty slots. She thought I should just go buy the wrenches to complete the set regardless if I had an immediate need for them or not.

Uh Oh. Does her China Cabinet/Jewelry Box/Shoe Rack have any empty slots?

 

[wilbilt]

The ernst soft plastic (also available from snap on) are the best in my opinion.

Those look like the ticket. Zero waste of space.
It also looks like the silly handle is easy to cut off.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I've got those too. Only problem is that they don't go up to the larger sizes of wrenches like 7/8. It would have been nice if they would have gone to 1" and the metric equivalent.

On a side note, my wife was in the garage when I was pulling a wrench out of the rack and noticed that there were a couple of empty slots. She thought I should just go buy the wrenches to complete the set regardless if I had an immediate need for them or not.

I think I actually got a little wood on that one!

 

[boiler7904]

Uh Oh. Does her China Cabinet/Jewelry Box/Shoe Rack have any empty slots?

No. Since we bought our house last August, we've been concentrating on taking our house from bland builder white to what she wants - things like painting (only have two more rooms to go), installing a stone tile back splash in the kitchen, replacing light fixtures, etc. Now we're turning towards doing outdoor and garage improvements even though I epoxied the floor last fall. I'll be doing garage electrical, insulation, and drywall over the next couple of months. She understands that the better (and more comfortable) the garage is, the more likely I am to do the projects she wants.

 

[mulepackin]

I went with Sears soft plastic tapered racks for the bulk of my combos. Cut the handles off to fit my drawers better, SAE on one side and metric reversed nest to them. Then like many others, just kind of shoe horn the other stuff in and around them in the drawer. Have my large sized wrenches in another drawer.

 

[Mario]

I bought 2 of these recently and I really like them. Communication and shipping was fast too.

For canadian: The guy also ship to Canada with USPS.

http://http://cgi.ebay.ca/76-Piece-Ultimate-Wrench-Organizer-Toolbox-Wrench-Rack_W0QQitemZ250160889245QQihZ015QQcategoryZ35001QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[-lecroix-]

I bought 2 of these recently and I really like them. Communication and shipping was fast too.

For canadian: The guy also ship to Canada with USPS.

http://http://cgi.ebay.ca/76-Piece-Ultimate-Wrench-Organizer-Toolbox-Wrench-Rack_W0QQitemZ250160889245QQihZ015QQcategoryZ35001QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have two of those I picked up at Harbor Freight to use in my "home box" ... they were $9.99 each. One for metric ... one for SAE.

The only thing I don't care for is the space in the front for Allen wrenches ... I keep mine in a seperate drawer ... trying to figure out something else for this area of the organizer.

 

[ImportTuner]

Very nice ... see, not all things from HF are junk ...

 

[Uncle Buck]

I was once tempted to buy those trays from HF, but I did not because of the reason you just mentioned, plus they did not go up to 1&1/4 size wrench, I like to keep my sets together.

 

[dragginbalz]

Not really wrenches, but has anyone seen these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget
They look cool as heck (I think)
Anyone see any down fall?
The thought of fitting all of my sockets in one drawer that organized seems awesome!

t

 

[Rickster]

OMG! Where am I going to get a 3/8 drive 1" socket to fill that rack!!!

 

[-lecroix-]

Not really wrenches, but has anyone seen these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget
They look cool as heck (I think)
Anyone see any down fall?
The thought of fitting all of my sockets in one drawer that organized seems awesome!

t

Yes, I have one but don't use it anymore. I now have Hansen trays!

 

[tweety652]

Yes, I have one but don't use it anymore. I now have Hansen trays!

well then can i have yours??

 

[wrenchr]

OMG! Where am I going to get a 3/8 drive 1" socket to fill that rack!!!

Proto / Cornwell / Williams.

 

[tweety652]

dont forget SNAP-ON.

 

[BoostAddiction]

I've been thinking about this for some time, and recently made up a custom wrench storage solution.

One of the problems with the existing holders was the assumption that you only had one of any specific size wrench. Over the years I have accumulated dups of the popular sizes, so extras had to be stored with their twins.

Another problem was that the overall density was pretty low- you really had to work to get a large number of wrenches in a given drawer, especially as the holders were evidently not engineered to be optimized for the size drawers I had.

Finally, I have some big wrenches I need to adjust the suspension on the race car, and I wanted them to be as readily available as the others, but existing holders really didn't accomodate the really Big Dogs.

So, as is typical for me, I made my own.

The pic below shows the details, but the key points are dual, very strong magnetic strips at the top and bottom to anchor the wrenches, along with custom channels to locate the wrenches laterally (so they don't slide sideways).

The magnetic strips hold the wrenches very firmly, even when the drawer gets slammed shut (not that I ever get frustrated).

I made the floor and channels from thin aluminum sheet that I cut and bent up on my shear/brake. The channels are held to the "floor" using trailer tape.

I pulled a couple of wrenches away in the pic to show the details of the thin aluminum channel I made for each size wrench.

I was going to make labels for them, but found I could usually just picj the right wrench by sight. Either years of experience, or just good karma- you decide!

And the obligatory pic:

-Will

 

[-lecroix-]

well then can i have yours??

no. i gave it to my dad.

 

[TNToy]

...The pic below shows the details, but the key points are dual, very strong magnetic strips at the top and bottom to anchor the wrenches, along with custom channels to locate the wrenches laterally...

I like this. I think I might just end up stealing it.

 

[chad s]

I've been thinking about this for some time, and recently made up a custom wrench storage solution.

One of the problems with the existing holders was the assumption that you only had one of any specific size wrench. Over the years I have accumulated dups of the popular sizes, so extras had to be stored with their twins.

Another problem was that the overall density was pretty low- you really had to work to get a large number of wrenches in a given drawer, especially as the holders were evidently not engineered to be optimized for the size drawers I had.

Finally, I have some big wrenches I need to adjust the suspension on the race car, and I wanted them to be as readily available as the others, but existing holders really didn't accomodate the really Big Dogs.

So, as is typical for me, I made my own.

The pic below shows the details, but the key points are dual, very strong magnetic strips at the top and bottom to anchor the wrenches, along with custom channels to locate the wrenches laterally (so they don't slide sideways).

The magnetic strips hold the wrenches very firmly, even when the drawer gets slammed shut (not that I ever get frustrated).

I made the floor and channels from thin aluminum sheet that I cut and bent up on my shear/brake. The channels are held to the "floor" using trailer tape.

I pulled a couple of wrenches away in the pic to show the details of the thin aluminum channel I made for each size wrench.

I was going to make labels for them, but found I could usually just picj the right wrench by sight. Either years of experience, or just good karma- you decide!

And the obligatory pic:

-Will

Well, you ave saved a lot of space, however, the visability of the wrench type and size has been compromised conciderably.

 

[jimvannoy]

Here are some of mine:

 

[Rrumbler]

I worked out of boxes for many years, and they have their good points; but when I moved into the shop I have now, it already had the heavy duty pegboard on most of the walls, and especially above the benches. So I just got a mess of straight hooks and some other varieties as well, and set up the wall above the bench where I do most of my work. Since I have collected many duplicates over the years, and not all of the same brand, all of one size combo hangs on one hook; metrics on their own set of hooks, SAE on theirs. My racheting combos came in those trays similar to the Ernst, so they hang on their own pairs of hooks; same for all of my sockets - they got put into magnetic trays that I picked up at Sears on sale, and they hang on the wall - all within easy reach; rachets, screwdrivers, some pliers, and hammers, too. There are also numerous tool belts, boxes, buckets, etc., around the shop. The rest of the shop is frequently a disaster area, but that one wall over the main bench is always neat; and, it is easy to keep that way. When I clean up, I can just wipe the wrenches and other stuff down and hang them right up where they belong.

 

[Uncle Buck]

OMG! Where am I going to get a 3/8 drive 1" socket to fill that rack!!!

Sears Craftsman! 15/16" & 1" I bought them in both 6pt & 12pt 3-5 years ago when they added those sizes! Check the tool catalog under open stock sizes BTW, you can also add a 1&1/2" size 1/2" drive while you are at it!

(not to mention the other good brands already mentioned)

 

[Uncle Buck]

Well, you ave saved a lot of space, however, the visability of the wrench type and size has been compromised conciderably.

I would agree, Even though I cram many of my roll cab drawers so full I sometimes have difficulty opening and closing them I still want to be able to see the sides/sizes of my wrenches.