Tool Review : Westling Socket Trays - MADE IN USA

woodstockva · Mar 31, 2014

Hey everyone

About a month ago I picked up a complete set of the Westling Socket Trays made by Westling Machine Company. I got them to replace some older broken Hansen trays that needed to go.

I show in the video how well the pegs work to create socket retention, and why magnetic pins are not necessary (or a good idea).

I got the new style that have the size markings laser engraved on them, and the markings make it very easy to grab the correct socket.

Check out the video review here --> www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s6l4dndNM4

You can buy them direct from Westling Machine Company here --> http://westlingmachine.com/ToolHolders.html

Thanks!

Woodstockva

Strouty · Mar 31, 2014

Very nice video, I appreciate a nicely made review!

n8n · Mar 31, 2014

Wow. I've been using the fake Hansens from HF and honestly am happy with them, but these are really nice.

JDon99 · Mar 31, 2014

Great review! Do the sockets(chrome or impact) touch each other when they are installed in the trays?

cheechi · Mar 31, 2014

they do not.

woodstockva · Mar 31, 2014

Strouty said:
Very nice video, I appreciate a nicely made review!

Thanks!

n8n said:
Wow. I've been using the fake Hansens from HF and honestly am happy with them, but these are really nice.

Thanks!

JDon99 said:
Great review! Do the sockets(chrome or impact) touch each other when they are installed in the trays?

Nope, the sockets do not touch each other. I was concerned with this because the impacts are thicker, but the only difference is that the gap in between them is slightly less. The chrome sockets have a slightly wider gap between them.

Because they have progressively wider spacing between the posts, if you put a 21MM socket (for example) onto the 13MM post, then it would touch the neighboring socket....but used correctly you wouldnt have any issues.

woody 73 · Mar 31, 2014

I would like to try the above product but for now I have been using the following product, not sure if you guys have ever heard of these socket holders but they work ok for me:

http://www.magclip.biz/

north · Mar 31, 2014

Good job on showing how tight and sturdy those are. How are the pegs attached to the base?

woodstockva · Mar 31, 2014

north said:
Good job on showing how tight and sturdy those are. How are the pegs attached to the base?

Thanks! They are pressed into the base. Holes are drilled into the billet aluminum (not all the way through).

Hako86 · Mar 31, 2014

Do they ship to the Netherlands?

And yes I will give you a like and I will also subscribe

north · Mar 31, 2014

They do ship to the Netherlands. Click on 'add to cart' and then 'ship outside usa' to find shipping prices.

n8n · Mar 31, 2014

woodstockva said:
Nope, the sockets do not touch each other. I was concerned with this because the impacts are thicker, but the only difference is that the gap in between them is slightly less. The chrome sockets have a slightly wider gap between them.

Because they have progressively wider spacing between the posts, if you put a 21MM socket (for example) onto the 13MM post, then it would touch the neighboring socket....but used correctly you wouldnt have any issues.

Whose impacts are you using? Some of the higher end ones may be slightly smaller than 'lesser' ones due to the latter being overbuilt and the former relying on good alloy and QC. Actually I have some sizes in both Pittsburgh Pro and Snappy (yeah, ta HK about both ends of the spectrum) so now I feel obligated to measure and see if what I heard is really factual.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk

rmsg0040 · Mar 31, 2014

Another nice feature of them are the posts are not too long like hansens or equivalents.

On my 1/2 sockets trays which sit on the rear of the drawer, sometimes I have to slide the tray forward a bit to remove the deep sockets cause it will hit the top of the toolbox.

woodstockva · Mar 31, 2014

n8n said:
Whose impacts are you using? Some of the higher end ones may be slightly smaller than 'lesser' ones due to the latter being overbuilt and the former relying on good alloy and QC. Actually I have some sizes in both Pittsburgh Pro and Snappy (yeah, ta HK about both ends of the spectrum) so now I feel obligated to measure and see if what I heard is really factual.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk

Harbor Freight, Sunex, TEKTON, Mac, Matco, and Snap-on.....none have issues fitting correctly. Also, the HF (el-cheapo Pittsburg) are the thickest & still fit fine with none of them touching each other.

n8n · Mar 31, 2014

Thanks. Definitely these just went to the top of my list; they seem reasonably priced too compared with Hansen etc. I like that they split the trays for the larger drive sizes.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk

Hako86 · Mar 31, 2014

Just checked the shipping... $60 for shipping to the netherlands

!! So that's no go for me

Wamsutta · Mar 31, 2014

Jeez man......don't you ever stutter or make a mistake?

How do you do that?

There's no way I could talk that fast without flubbing up.

woodstockva · Mar 31, 2014

Wamsutta said:
Jeez man......don't you ever stutter or make a mistake?

How do you do that?

There's no way I could talk that fast without flubbing up.

Haha.....a little editing goes a long way! Luckily everything is recorded on SD cards now & not on film

I dont like the "one try, oops I screwed up, oh well" mentality that a lot of Youtubers have. I hate watching that & wouldnt expect any of you to watch it either.

1950mercury · Mar 31, 2014

They look nice but i have no complaints with my Hanson's

n8n · Mar 31, 2014

well, I've had the exact same issue with the reviewer, if you have a drawer that is really crammed full you can't remove the sockets at the back of the drawer. Plus given that the prices I've seen for Hansens are about $15 a tray anywhere I've seen them for sale, $100 for a full set of metal trays doesn't sound like a bad deal.

I really want a set of these, just can't justify it right now.

sselander · Mar 31, 2014

Very well done, Alex should have a link to this on the Westling website

http://westlingmachine.com/

BFHtime · Apr 1, 2014

I clicked on the magclip link, that product looks possibly better. Maybe the OP can do a review on that as well. Interchangeable posts and you can hang them magnetically without magnetizing the tools. I wonder how they do not magnetize the tools but can still hold them. I would think that it would still magnetize.

Anyone else try these?

wvrailroader · Apr 1, 2014

I don't know if the engraved 1/4" SAE would work for me. It was hard enough to find a 5/8" 1/4" drive socket for my HF socket trays. I can't imagine trying to find a 1/8" socket. The OCD factor would drive me nuts :lol_hitti

JoeMA · Apr 1, 2014

They seem nice but what has stopped me from ordering these is that they aren't space efficient. You can't adjust the spacing between sockets or rows.

candikid · Apr 1, 2014

I have 12 of these in total and love them. I have three of them in my service cart to organize sockets while I'm working, and the rest in a drawer. Shipping to Norway was expensive, but well worth it! Unfortunately one of mine friends found it a good idea to use two of my socket trays as a support when pressing out a bearing with the shop press, so esthetically I'm down to only 10 now.

kngelv · Apr 1, 2014

I love them. Much nicer than any of the other stuff out there. I currently have them in my service cart. I plan on ordering two more sets for my main box.

James

woodstockva · Apr 1, 2014

Just in case anyone is wondering....here are the socket sizes for each drive size.

1/2" Metric - 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, & 27mm

3/8" Metric - 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22mm

1/4" Metric - 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15mm

1/2" SAE - 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 1, 1-1/16, 1-1/8, 1-3/16, & 1-1/4"

3/8" SAE - 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, & 1"

1/4" SAE - 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, & 5/8"

GSMotorrad · Apr 19, 2014

BFHtime said:
I clicked on the magclip link, that product looks possibly better. Maybe the OP can do a review on that as well. Interchangeable posts and you can hang them magnetically without magnetizing the tools. I wonder how they do not magnetize the tools but can still hold them. I would think that it would still magnetize.

Anyone else try these?

I have them, got them from sears on clearance many years ago. All the pegs are evenly spaced, so they take up more room if you're using them for a set. Also, the number of pegs never matched any of my sets.

The non-magnetizing aspect is kind of weird. It's magick. The magnets are extremely powerful, but they really don't magnetize the sockets. Maybe just a tiny bit, but not really.

One good thing about evenly spaced pegs and how they're shorter than the hansens is how I can slap my torx/hex/bit sockets and adapters or universal/swivel joints on 'em. They're SERIOUSLY magnetic though, from the bottom. Through my drawer liners, I almost need a pry bar to lift them up - of course I don't need a pry bar, but you really need to dig and use your finger-muscles. It's not convenient to just grab and go. You really have to wrestle with them to move them. I've had 'em mounted vertically, just magnetized to my tool-cart, and they stay put, seriously.

The steel pegs come out, so you can interchange drive sizes, but since they come out, I've lost one of the 1/4-inch pegs, and now that tray bugs me.

I have two 1/4 single row trays, that hold 10 sockets in one row. They're both grey. The other two are rectangular for the 3/8-drive and they have four rows of seven, equalling a total of 28 sockets each, and they're black in color.

They have, "CRAFTSMAN" embossed into the plastic at the top.

Magnetic_Socket_Craftsman_Trays.jpg~original

I'm thinking I need to get those Westling Trays to replace these unwieldy bastards that take up too much room, and don't have enough spaces for the 1/2" stuff.

GSMotorrad · Apr 19, 2014

Anyone notice any galling issues on the aluminum pegs? I guess I could keep them lubricated.

JDon99 · Apr 19, 2014

GSMotorrad said:
Anyone notice any galling issues on the aluminum pegs? I guess I could keep them lubricated.

Why would they gall?

kippieland · Apr 19, 2014

Love the review. Agree totally. I love mine but I wish I had the engraved markers. Not a big deal though. I will buy more!

Dave88LX · Jul 10, 2014

Thanks for the review. Glad I found this post. About to put some money down for some of the plastic Hansen trays, but for the same price, these make a lot more sense.

Ratchet. · Apr 19, 2015

Love the look of these trays, appear really nicely made etc :thumbup:

Thinking of getting a couple of those universal 3/8 and 1/2 drive ones for all the sockets i have on random rails (which are either non-standard types/ odd ones or bigger than 27mm)

Currently I have Hansen ones for my 3/8 drives and metric 1/2, mainly as they are fairly easy to get over here (albeit the snap on versions off the van, which cost more, but once you figure in shipping to the UK it works out about the same), and i would rather not buy made in Taiwan knock offs, may replace them with Westling ones in the future though.

deanlutz · Apr 21, 2015

Nice review. I just ordered the 1/2 drive standard and metric because my proto sets don't fit on the Hansen trays. Looks like these will work and last forever.

Strouty · Apr 21, 2015

I bought multiple sets of them, I love the finish, I think the price is very fair, but I am not satisfied with the layout. My major problem is that they made the bases for standard and metric different sizes. I feel they should have been identically sized so they would fit the drawer uniformly. Instead I have to leave space between them to make everything line up the way I would like it. I am pretty sure I am going to have to just make my own so I can have them "just right", but it seems like a no brainer to me that the base of the SAE should be the same width as the base of the metric. The metric ones are narrower and it makes the entire layout unbalanced and annoying.

deanlutz · Apr 24, 2015

Just got mine today and the 1/2 dr Proto's don't fit. Other than that they're very solid and high quality. I am thinking about switching my 1/4 and 3/8 drives over to these.

arz71 · Apr 24, 2015

Like the Made in USA for sure, quality product.

Jazz1 · Feb 17, 2019

Never seen the WESTLING socket holders before. They sure are pretty. Have you found any sockets that just won't fit over them?
I made socket holders with dowel as I found not all deep sockets would fit over generic socket holders.

eyeball · Feb 17, 2019

Strouty said:
I bought multiple sets of them, I love the finish, I think the price is very fair, but I am not satisfied with the layout. My major problem is that they made the bases for standard and metric different sizes. I feel they should have been identically sized so they would fit the drawer uniformly. Instead I have to leave space between them to make everything line up the way I would like it. I am pretty sure I am going to have to just make my own so I can have them "just right", but it seems like a no brainer to me that the base of the SAE should be the same width as the base of the metric. The metric ones are narrower and it makes the entire layout unbalanced and annoying.

I agree whole heartedly... while I continue to use them and think the are a very high quality product, they just throw everything off in my socket drawer.

The end result is lots of wasted space.

Tool Review : Westling Socket Trays - MADE IN USA

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