Tool Storage Question

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Seems the trend in tool storage keeps getting bigger, boxes that are wider, deeper, and taller. Which makes me wonder how is that the old time mechanics, the ones in the '60s, '70s, and '80s could have average sized boxes, maybe 33" wide 18" deep and chest high or so, but still have plenty of tools to do the jobs they needed to do?

Recently I saw the estate of a guy that passed away a couple years ago. He was a mechanic who worked on all sorts of things. His brother was in charge of selling off his tools and was about to start doing that. Anyway, I got to see his tools and equipment, and the only actual toolbox I saw was a '60s Craftsman rollaway with a top box.

There's a new tech in another thread who's looking at a new Snap on box he wants to buy with his student discount that's 53" wide, 38" high and 19" deep and people are telling him it's not going to be big enough. That's seems a little crazy to me. I'm not criticizing anyone either way, I like toolboxes as much as anyone...but are these very large roll cabs all that necessary? Especially for a tech just starting out? Are there that many tools mechanics need nowadays?

Just wondering.

 

[Bull]

Necessary only in the sense that this is America, the land of excess. Conspicuous consumption run amok, you know? A guy on here recently mentioned fear of getting razzed by co-workers if he had a HF box. It's lame. And, it's self perpetuating in the sense that now that the truck brands have established themselves as the only "legitimate" brands a self-respecting tech can use, what's a tech gonna do, roll his vintage C-man box and tools into the shop? There is a saying in Japan that encourages young students not to stand out or be different. It goes: "The nail that sticks up, gets pounded down."

Now, this is my 1am ranting as an amateur. I'm not a tech, so I have not been in a shop and seen this first hand. So, people are free to tell me I am full of ****. This is just my opinion based on reading far too many posts on this site.

As you say, though, the old timers didn't have any of these mongo boxes. Now, new car techs DO need a lot more scanners and whatnot, but that isn't usually what you see filling the drawers of these Godzilla boxes.

 

[engineboy]

In the 60s and 70s you only needed a couple wrenches or a screwdriver to do a simple fuel filter.

now a days you practically need to have a drawer full of different disconnect tools for all the different makes and models.

It simply takes a wider variety of tools to do the same jobs now. More tools = more space needed.

 

[Merkava_4]

Which makes me wonder how is that the old time mechanics, the ones in the '60s, '70s, and '80s could have average sized boxes, maybe 33" wide 18" deep and chest high or so, but still have plenty of tools to do the jobs they needed to do?

Techs these days need lots of test equipment and that test equipment comes in bulky blow molded plastic storage cases.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Techs these days need lots of test equipment and that test equipment comes in bulky blow molded plastic storage cases.

Wouldn't a side locker or side box solve that problem?

 

[wreckercologist]

I hate those damn plastic boxes! I hate the crappy plastic hinges even more!

 

[yellowbox]

many more tools needed today , but yeah the boxes are huge as so are the prices
i have metric and standard that in itself takes more room , not to mention specialty tools
for any and every application , the days of the screwdriver and half a dozen wrenches are gone

 

[Dust]

That's why I save all the little cardboard boxes my parts come in. Most of the time one of my specialty tools, along with its attachments, will fit in it perfectly, and then I can store it without much wasted space.

I use an old box from an MSD ignition coil for my Fluke meter, for instance. Fits, and still has room for some misc. cables and batteries.

 

[back2class]

Figure every mechanic only needed metric or SAE. Now anyone who works on american stuff needs both. Test tools and just nice new items that make work easier that did not exist are a must as well. I believe that explains about 80% of it but there is a trend by some types that they have to have the biggest and best around their shop. World is full of dipshits and so are most shops.

 

[billymade]

There are more tools needed no question and blow molded cases are a factor as well... I think, large boxes help you have all your tools spread out in a obvious visual way; this is so you can access all your tools quickly and efficiently! If you use all of the blow molded trays for screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.; that also fills things up. I think there is a difference between having everyone "laid out" and everything "stacked". I seem to have most things "stacked" and have to dig or remove things to get what I want. Kinda back to the old story about the two mechanics: one organized and one disorganized.... they as the old story goes, have a competition and see who can get a certain job done faster! Of course the more organized tech wins..... moral of the story? To be organized and efficient; I think it helps to have a bigger box to do this... I wish I had bigger boxes to be able to do this! Digging, seems to be part of my daily process of accessing my tools at this point; sigh....

 

[global72]

It seems to me anyway that a lot of people years ago had a "wrench drawer" just that a drawer packed solid full of wrenches.

Where today it seems many people are organizing there toolboxes very well.

 

[Fedwrench]

Wouldn't a side locker or side box solve that problem?

Absolutely! In fact if I was starting out again, I would opt for my 7 drawer Cornwell cart flanked by two large double door storage lockers. It would be much cheaper and give you immense storage for those blow molded cases and still give you mobility for enough tools to do 90% of common tasks.
I actually think the new trend in tool storage is built in cabinets from shure or someone similiar to present a neater standardized shop appearance.
Does a tech really need a 60 inch wide roll cart? It's hard to say. Cars are more complex and a laptop comes is used as much if not more than regular tools. You can still do alot with basic tools although there is probably more demand for metric tools than sae these days.

 

[caper]

A lot of it has to do with organization.I worked out of a normal size box for years but it meant I had a screwdriver drawer where every screwdriver was thrown in instead of neatly organized.Same idea with wrenches and sockets.Wrench racks,hanson trays,plastic trays,while making things easier to find,take up a huge amount of space.At one time those diagnostic tools in the blow molded cases were considered shop tools and the techs didn't have to buy them or store them,the shop did it.I have the bigger box now because I prefer to be organized and be able to lay my hands on the tool I want without having to dig thru the drawer.The big box may have cost me more but it also saves me money in lost tools.Now if something is missing when I pick up at the end of a job it's very obvious by the empty spot in the tray or rack.When I was using the smaller,less organized box I lost tools all the time since you didn't know they were missing until the car was long gone and you went digging thru the box looking for it for the next job,which might be a week later in some cases.

 

[picshooter]

I was a mechanic in the 70's. I got along fine with the 10 drawer top, and three drawer craftsman bottom. It had an opening for my bigger tools like drill etc. They were a HS graduation gift from my parents.I still have the top and regret selling the bottom. I don't see myself as ever replacing them, as I no longer wrench for my living.
They had plenty of storage room when I was a fleet mechanic working on bakery trucks. When I switched to cars I needed more room, a lot more room.
I guess my point is storage depends on the individual.
There are guys who work on boat motors at Disney World who get by with little more than a tackle box, a few wrenches, two screwdrivers and little else other than a hammer.

Does anyone have a dedicated junk drawer.Back in the day I had one with common screws, nuts, and odd parts.

 

[autoace]

Techs these days need lots of test equipment and that test equipment comes in bulky blow molded plastic storage cases.

Techs need alot more tools today, like merk. said..............in the old days it was just SAE and a handful or special tools. Today it is SAE and metric, and a boat load of special tools, scanners, more power tools.....................etc...the boxes have grown with the business.

 

[babzog]

There is a saying in Japan that encourages young students not to stand out or be different. It goes: "The nail that sticks up, gets pounded down."

And we in Canada/USA would say "In other words: If you want to be noticed, be the nail."

As you say, though, the old timers didn't have any of these mongo boxes. Now, new car techs DO need a lot more scanners and whatnot, but that isn't usually what you see filling the drawers of these Godzilla boxes.

That would have been my guess too (also as a non-professional). More high-tech cars requiring specialized tools and diagnostic equipment, not to mention, having many things in both SAE and metric. I've got a wrench set in both SAE and metric, ditto (mostly) for sockets. Since both of my cars are Japanese brands though, anything new I'll be buying in metric first and worrying about SAE if and when required (smoking deals notwithstanding).

 

[chrislehr]

back in the day people didnt steal, so you could cleverly hang and store everything.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

back in the day people didnt steal, so you could cleverly hang and store everything.

There's always been thieves.

I think we dealt with them much harsher in the 'old days'

 

[A_Pmech]

I think old-time mechanics knew how to do more with less. They also needed less. Mechanics do more than change parts. In the oldest usage of the word a mechanic is also a machinist and an engineer. This can be seen in very old dictionaries, where the term "mechanic" refers not only to "one who fixes things" but "one who builds things".

Mr. Henry Royce was a mechanic when he single-handedly designed the greatest engine of his time, the Rolls-Royce R. First sketched in the sand with a stick on the beach at West Wittering and perfected in his private study it won the 1929 Schneider Trophy.

The "R" was improved though many iterations and came to be known as the "Merlin", one of the greatest internal combustion engines of all-time. They are not simple mechanisms by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, they were designed and manufactured largely by people with training that would be considered anything but "formal" by today's standards.

If anything, today's products are less mechanically complex than they used to be. Electronic sensing and control has replaced many complex mechanical systems. Automobiles are one of the few products I can think of that have become more complex in the past few decades as disposable incomes have risen and automobile companies have played to this with additional "stuff" to cram into the chassis. They have also become more "disposable".

Machines were more thoughtfully designed in the "old days", designed for repair, if you will. They were designed this way because the designer was aware of how maintenance and manufacturing is carried out "on the floor" as he was, in many case, previously a mechanic or machinist himself. In addition, manufacturing methods in the "old days" were largely manual or mechanically automated. Design changes were expensive and complex contours hard to reproduce accurately. Thus, many mechanisms stuck to the basic shapes: Circles, Squares, Rectangles, Triangles, etc. Contouring, so often done today with numeric machines was avoided at nearly any cost.

Modern drafting tools provide an easy way to visualize in three dimensions, however, they also reward laziness. When I learned drafting and technical illustration I learned the "hard way", with a pencil. As a consequence, I feel I learned how to visualize in ways I wouldn't have learned had I used modern drafting tools. Visualization during the conception phase is a large part of designing for maintenance. If you can't imagine repairing it in your head, you're not going to design an assembly that is ultimately easy to repair. I taught myself to think in three-dimensions as those before me did. My friends who went to engineering school can't think in the same way.

I suspect we'll see a return to design and engineering practices centered around long-term maintenance for all classes of products as disposable incomes fall in the coming years.

What's needed is a return to "practical design and engineering". When mechanics, machinists and engineers are once again one in the same, we'll see that.

 

[Merkava_4]

In fact if I was starting out again, I would opt for my 7 drawer Cornwell cart flanked by two large double door storage lockers.

Yeah you'd do that..................

 

[southpier]

"... the more you know, the less you need."



and always the 20%/ 80% rule.

 

[Diesel_Crawler]

"... the more you know, the less you need."
and always the 20%/ 80% rule.

It always seemed like the more I learned the more I had to do and always had to get more tools to do it

 

[bindernut]

Does anyone have a dedicated junk drawer.Back in the day I had one with common screws, nuts, and odd parts.

When I was a mechanic at the lawn mower shop the bottom drawer of my box was a jumk drawer. I did keep my walk mower battery chargers & nut drivers(in a case) in it, but everything else was used parts. Recoil handles, handle knobs, a plastic divided box full of commonly used/misplaced bolts, extra gaskets, spark plugs, an air filter or 2, etc.

Granted I worked on mowers, But i had a 26" wide Crafstman 5 drawer top & 7 drawer bottom pretty filled. LOTS of snap on tools. My SO dealer once asked when i was going to buy a box. I told him if I bought a box from him I wouldn't be able to buy any more SO tools to put in it. He never asked again, though I did get a dented locker for a killer price.

I agree about the blow molded plastic cases & the plastic trays wrenches & screwdrivers come in taking up lots of room. I had some sets at home i never took to work because the cases wouldn't fit in my Cman box. At home I have a Mac Tech1000 w/ a 26" craftsman top box in 1 corner & a SO side locker, so lots of room.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Of course I agree with a lot of what everyone said (twice the tools, more electrical/electronic tools/diagnostics, etc).

The one thought that I hadn't seen mentioned........

Go sit in an engine bay of that original 50 Merc and change the plugs, now try to sit in the engine bay of a current one and do the same.

 

[nissan_crawler]

It seems to me anyway that a lot of people years ago had a "wrench drawer" just that a drawer packed solid full of wrenches.

Where today it seems many people are organizing there toolboxes very well.

Yep. Dad had most all the farm hand tools in a 26" Craftsman box. Yeah, it worked, but every freaking drawer was full to the top, you had to dig to find what you wanted, never knew if something was missing at the end of the job, and had to arrange it justtttt right to close it again.

BAH.

At the end of the job, whether at work or home, I can go through and see what's missing. Often, something is, especially at home.

 

[Danglerb]

None of the real old timers I knew put away their tools, except to hang some of big stuff on the wall. Only chest was the wooden thing micrometers etc. would be stored in.

OTOH I bet a lot of those old guys would be firing up the torch after about 10 minutes with a modern car.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I think alot of comes down to tool availability, in addition to needing more for certain tasks in the first place.

I started out as an A&P mechanic with $2500 or so of tools, and could do many jobs. I probably have $30,000 of tools now. They don't necessarily (although some do) allow me to do additional work, it just makes it EASIER to do the same work.

Way back when, you had your socket/ratchet set, and your standard sae wrenches. Now you have standard/metric/torx/hex/long/short/impact/chrome/universal sockets, standard/metric/combo/box/open/ratcheting/stubby/4-way angle/s shape/u shape/etc.

60 years ago, you could probably bet on doing a starter change with a ratchet, one extension, and a 1/2" or 9/16" socket.