Best socket organizing system?

[Yesmar]

i replaced my henson trays with the harbor freight versions, they take up less real estate in the box. havent had any issues with them.

 

[6PTsocket]

I hate to say it, but for the $3 the HF grey plastic rails are just fine, the clips are a bit brittle if you drop them when they are full, but for the money, I won't complain.

I have not had good luck with the HF gray rails. I have had too many break. The part of the post that straddles the rail just breaks. The bigger the drive size, the more failures. The 1/4 has not been too bad.

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[Agentwho]

I'm a fan of the Lisle socket holders myself. They keep everything organized, are easy to take with and stack nicely. Admittedly I don't think they would work so as well for torx, hex n flex sockets so I keep those on rails. Check them out you may like them.

http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?product=236&division=1&category=16

 

[pstemari]

Westward - 10E864
https://www.grainger.com/product/WESTWARD-5-8-Alloy-Steel-Socket-with-10E864

Blue Point - BLPLS1458
https://store.snapon.com/Deep-inches-chrome-Blue-Point-174--Socket-Deep-5-8-6-pt-Blue-Point--P646492.aspx

That's odd, available in Blue Point but not Snap-On proper? I would never have guessed that.

 

[michelin]

Some of mine would not lock at all. There is a limit to the sane amount of force you want to exert. You are trying to force a ball into a space between a socket detent and and an eccentric internal post that it does not fit into. The post assembly is plastic. There is no doubt what will break. I pull the rail out of the box so I want one that locks. If you don't lock them why spend the money, when a simple Hansen post will do? The Gearwrench rails are less expensive and use a simple spring loaded detent ball that is strong enough for my non inpact sockets. When I buy more impacts I will buy more lock a socket rails.

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Hansen are good for hex/bi-hex stuff no doubt. But they are only designed for those types of sockets.

I have a vast amount of Torx sockets, both male and female in various sizes, shapes and forms as it's by far the second most used fastener I work with in my projects.

Allen sockets of various lengths & sizes, a few XZN - all this resides in the LOS.

I've had a few individual rails but as my collection grew I found that dedicated Torx/Allen/Impact trays work better and save time. I pull the whole tray out, carry it to the car or workbench and I don't need to get up anymore.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

That's odd, available in Blue Point but not Snap-On proper? I would never have guessed that.

They didn't for a long time, but another member recently posted that they found the Snap-on socket on the site.

Just found out snap on started making1/4" drive 5/8 deep chrome sockets.
Part# stm20a

Its not listed on the web site but it does come up if you search the part number.

Now my Hanson tray ocd is a little better

 

[cliftonbros89]

I've been gradually switching from Hanson to Ernst. I can say I definitely prefer the Ernst rails. I've already saved quite a bit of space compared to the Hanson trays. I also don't used the trays the Ernst rails go one. I've been buying separate rails, all in black, directly from Ernst. They're not all that expensive. Plus with them sitting against one another none of them fall over. I have a few more Hanson trays to swap out. Mainly some 3/8" stuff. The Hanson trays with my 1/2" impacts don't bother me too much. Plus some of the larger sockets can just stand on their own. But I highly recommend the Ernst rails for sure. I've been satisfied with all the rails and wrench racks I've purchased.





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[CafeTools]

These metal, twist lock, and portable trays are very heavy and my favorite, they also look the best and most professional. I dont like lightweight socket holders that tip over and move when your picking up a socket!

 

[whatsitsname]

I'm a fan of the Lisle socket holders myself. They keep everything organized, are easy to take with and stack nicely. Admittedly I don't think they would work so as well for torx, hex n flex sockets so I keep those on rails. Check them out you may like them.

http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?product=236&division=1&category=16

Ditto.
Easy to remove, easy to put back.

 

[555]

I had Hansen trays and they took up too much room. I was looking for alternatives when I found these at our local WalMart. So far they have been great and a low cost alternative @ $5.74 each.
Regards,
John

 

[AntonLargiader]

These metal, twist lock, and portable trays are very heavy and my favorite,

Those are the MTS Lock-a-Socket trays that a few of us have mentioned. They have other cool stuff also: http://www.mechanicstimesavers.com

I'm a fan of the Lisle socket holders myself.

For shallow drawers, I think those are the nicest but for deeper drawers they'd burn a lot of space. I like that the slots aren't labeled for certain sizes.

I don't like any system that defines what has to go where. For instance, on the stuff I work on I need my 3/8" allens to be 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. 1/2" is 12, 14 and 17. I don't have or want 9, 11, 13, 15, 16 or anything above 17 in the drawer at all. But that's what works for me, based on what I work on, so I think flexibility is important. I am NOT a tool collector... I weed stuff out if it's not useful (I don't have 9mm in my wrench racks either).

Labeling itself isn't bad, though, which is why those Ernst rails look nice to me. They look very flexible. I actually am OK with the Hansen I'm still using now; the 6-20mm socket range is not terrible although I repurpose a few of the posts. But a similar setup for allen sockets wouldn't work for me at all. A modular system like that, with interchangeable posts, made of something a bit more durable would be very nice. Sounds like a time-burning machining project.

 

[mbshop]

who sells the old style metal rails ? has to be local. will be holding rarely used stuff.

 

[WWheeler]

who sells the old style metal rails ? has to be local. will be holding rarely used stuff.

Is a Harbor Freight local to you?
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-pc-steel-socket-rail-set-68103.html

They've also got the plastic kind which are marginally better imho
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-pc-socket-rail-set-68101.html

 

[mbshop]

sadly i had a few of those. but after a few years the tabs that hold the sockets in get brittle and break. i tossed mine.

I'm a fan of the Lisle socket holders myself. They keep everything organized, are easy to take with and stack nicely. Admittedly I don't think they would work so as well for torx, hex n flex sockets so I keep those on rails. Check them out you may like them.

http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?product=236&division=1&category=16

 

[mbshop]

nice. but i can't even find those on the walmart site. got any numbers ?

I had Hansen trays and they took up too much room. I was looking for alternatives when I found these at our local WalMart. So far they have been great and a low cost alternative @ $5.74 each.
Regards,
John

 

[bucktruck]

I made this a couple of decades ago out of wood. Pretty sure that the only tools I had available to me at the time were some drafting paper, a compass and a straightedge, some drill bits and a jigsaw.

It fits fine in the bottom drawer of my Craftsman top box, but I've outgrown it. At some point I'll CNC machine a new one out of Delrin so I have a place to put my impact sockets and random Torx bits.

 

[heytrid]

Nylon socket rails with detent ball.

I like that I can change the layout, change the amount of sockets, have different size sockets on each rail, easy to add or subtract rails as needed, and they are cheap.

 

[crewchief888]

i use a little bit of everything

"working" sockets are in MTS magnetic holders, metal trays, (like socket sets used to come in) SO metal rails, kobalt double sided rails, and a lisle tray for some 1/4" dr stuff.

"garage" sockets are on some hansen trays, metal trays, metal & plastic rails, and a set of SK 1/4" dr in a blow molded case.

 

[Nodakwalleyer]

I make my own, can move them around easier for me!

 

[Project_shadow]

I've been gradually switching from Hanson to Ernst. I can say I definitely prefer the Ernst rails. I've already saved quite a bit of space compared to the Hanson trays. I also don't used the trays the Ernst rails go one. I've been buying separate rails, all in black, directly from Ernst. They're not all that expensive. Plus with them sitting against one another none of them fall over. I have a few more Hanson trays to swap out. Mainly some 3/8" stuff. The Hanson trays with my 1/2" impacts don't bother me too much. Plus some of the larger sockets can just stand on their own. But I highly recommend the Ernst rails for sure. I've been satisfied with all the rails and wrench racks I've purchased.





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Need to see the rest of this box

I use the black harbor freight socket trays
My 3/4 stuff has its own case



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[cliftonbros89]

Need to see the rest of this box

Lots of pictures of it on here. It's in the toolbox thread, lots of drawer pics in multiple threads, especially threads about drawer storage.

I make my own, can move them around easier for me!

I've made several of those myself for my road box. Works good for the 1/2" and 3/8" stuff, 1/4" are in an old SK box.


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[ImportTuner]

Best socket organizer/rails I have found. Non-magnetic, a allen wrench locks the socket peg in place and the base is made out of aluminum.

 

[shawhite]

Best socket organizer/rails I have found. Non-magnetic, a allen wrench locks the socket peg in place and the base is made out of aluminum.

Nice who makes them?

 

[ImportTuner]

Nice who makes them?

These used to be made by rhengineering .. wish I got more then.

 

[Devin Harvey]

I bought the cheap metal rails off Amazon. Attached them to 1/8 aluminum sheet. I plan to get 7/8 sail track and make full length rails. Since I can't seem to find any rails long enough for what I want.

 

[KM223]

I use Hansen for my full sets of shallow/deep sockets and Gearwrench rails for sets that won't allow posts.

 

[Wyoming09]

These used to be made by rhengineering .. wish I got more then.

rhengineering also made those rail that help the sockets on a 45 degree angle. Nice stuff. Wish I'd bought some. Does anybody know if they are still making them?