Buying individual tools: How do you organize things?

[bmwpower]

I have a bunch of odd-ball tools. One 17mm Mac wrench. One 3/8" Snap-on socket, etc. How do you guys keep order to these? I like to keep same brands/types with same brands/types, but I just don't have the complete sets. It makes organizing things a real pain.

Do you search for the remaining tools from the set or do you say the heck with it?

Do you look for and buy only complete sets?

Do you mix brands to form a single "set" of wrenches, sockets, etc.?

 

[the_duke]

i like to buy complete sets, but if i can't get a complete set, i'll buy the sockets and leave the space on the organizer tool (normally foam) for the missing tools.

 

[Junkman]

I keep a list of the missing tools with me when I go to flea markets. I then buy what is missing until I find the complete set. I don't care if some are newer or older than what I have, but I do like to have complete sets, so I am not fumbling around looking for what I don't have when I need it. Most of my sockets are older (1960's) Snap-On and I try my best not to loose them. If I were to loose all my tools, I know that I couldn't replace them today. It would be too expensive, so figure out a way to organize what you have and stick with it. If you misplace a tool, then search till you find it, because if you let it go for another day, you will forget till the next time that you need that tool, and it isn't where it should be. I speak from years of experience.

 

[TheToolWarehouse.net]

Here's a little list if needed

 

[1320stang]

Not to get too off the subject, but as far as organizing tools.

I have a Craftsman box, but no real organization in there. I have an old blow molded case that has a Craftsman socket set I bought close to 20 years ago. The hinge failed and I have each half in consecutive drawers in my toolbox. I have two complete sets of Craftsman combo wrenches from 1/4" to 1" and another set of metric from 8mm up to 21mm.

A few years ago, I took a scrap piece of 3/4" plywood and lined up my wrenches on it and put some drywall screws in it and hung it on the wall. My SAE wrenches are on the top and run left to right small to large, the metric ones are below it and run opposite, I used a Sharpie to label the spots they go in.

I have ADHD and find that consistantly, I tend to put the wrenches back up in their proper place on this board far more than I put anything else back into it's proper place. I guess once the door is closed, it's out of sight, out of mind. Having ADHD and also liking order and things in their place is quite the struggle I have.

I'm thinking of making another board with 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" dowels mounted at a slight angle that I can put my sockets on it and mounting it above my bench as well. I'll likely put a place for adjustable wrenches, all sorts of pliers, screwdrivers, etc., putting all my commonly accessed tools in plain sight.

I'll save the box for less used tools like pullers, slide hammer, allen wrenches (harder to hang).

 

[eschoendorff]

I have a bunch of odd-ball tools. One 17mm Mac wrench. One 3/8" Snap-on socket, etc. How do you guys keep order to these? I like to keep same brands/types with same brands/types, but I just don't have the complete sets. It makes organizing things a real pain.

Do you search for the remaining tools from the set or do you say the heck with it?

Do you look for and buy only complete sets?

Do you mix brands to form a single "set" of wrenches, sockets, etc.?

1... usually, the heck with it, but it depends. If I find a MAC wrench for $1, I'm gonna buy it and put it in the wrench drawer.

2.... not necessarily

3.... no, I don't mix brands to make up complete sets.

I have started putting some of my "homeless" or less-used (25/32) wrenches up on a couple old Proto tool boards on the wall of my garage:

 

[kartracer55]

I try to make a complete set of something. I dont like mixing wrenches and sockets, so I typically dont buy individual tools like that unless it is either a VERY common size I know having duplicates of are good (10,13,17mm) or I need to fill in a set. I find I never have enough 3/8's extensions so I just keep buying those. I have about somewhere around 5-10 3 inch extensions alone, becuase I use them so often.

Some guys only want a box full of one brand of hand tools. A guy at work is like that. He only buys Snap On hand tools. Not because of quality, but he simply knows that any tool he breaks will get replaced on friday. No dealing with the non-existant MAC dealer or waiting till the next week for the Matco Guy. I like having things in different brands simply for variety.

I have a little collection of universals and adapters, so they all go on the same rack. Loose sockets go into a little cardboard box inside mine. If I wanted to mix and match I could probably make another complete set, but they make good backups. Mostly older Snap On sockets.

 

[Uncle Buck]

1... usually, the heck with it, but it depends. If I find a MAC wrench for $1, I'm gonna buy it and put it in the wrench drawer.

2.... not necessarily

3.... no, I don't mix brands to make up complete sets.

I have started putting some of my "homeless" or less-used (25/32) wrenches up on a couple old Proto tool boards on the wall of my garage:

Hey! I thought we all voted for you to buy new proto sets for those cool old vintage boards! What gives?

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

I only have complete sets of each thing. That's not to say I would have Snap-On ratchets and Mac sockets, but for each set, it's all the same. If I lose an individual tool, then I replace it with an identical one.

 

[Rickster]

I started with a complete set of Craftsman and through acquisitions from garage sales and estate sales I upgrade individual pieces. I have several drawers of displaced pieces that I keep together and try to form a set. I'm at a point now that I'm going to start ebaying some of this stuff. I also have divided up the displaced sockets into manufacturers where I'm putting together sets.

 

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

I honestly try to keep sets and keep them divided by brand, but if I can't its nothing that I lose sleep over.

However my dad has collected various tools and lost parts of sets over the past however many years, and now has VERY mixed sets of everything, but he doesn't care.

 

[goodfellow]

I mix only quality tools. Over the last 30 years I've had to buy from several different jobbers and as long as they are top of the line I'll mix 'em. I keep a seperate drawer full of "junk" (off-brand) tools and will use these to make specialized tools when needed for a specific job.

I've ground, bent, twisted, extended, modified, etc. many of these tools over the years for specific jobs -- when I take inventiory, there are tools that I can't even remember for what pupose they were modified.

 

[wilbilt]

My tools run the gamut from complete sets to inherited/found/scored/whatever tools.

Complete sets of sockets I keep together on rails in the top of one box, with complete wrench sets in the drawers below. A drawer below that holds mismatched/oddball wrenches.

Oddball sockets that get used regularly are on their own rail in the top.

I have put together sets of mismatched sockets and wrenches to keep in the vehicles, as they will be there when needed but I don't have to look at them all the time.

Now that I just use them at home, organization is not as critical. When they were at work, I would painstakingly organize every drawer, even making little nooks and crannies for specific tools out of cardboard or foam. That way, I would instantly know if anything was missing.

Getting a new tool box was an event with mixed emotions. One one hand, it was a great thing. On the other, it meant that everything had to be reorganized, a process that usually took weeks, if not months.

Screwdrivers and "similar" tools are another story. Hard to organize in any meaningful manner. I have tried sorting by drive type, brand, overall length, frequency of use, and even color. Good luck with that. Currently, they all live in a divided drawer basically sorted by length.

I am not happy with that situation, and may have to...God Forbid...make with some pegboard...;(

My current tool storage is a mix of freebies and yard sale/pawn shop beaters. I sold the good boxes years ago because they were rusting away. Total investment in the pictured storage is about $50.

 

[eschoendorff]

Hey! I thought we all voted for you to buy new proto sets for those cool old vintage boards! What gives?

Yeah, well, Mrs. Eschoendorff had a different take on the whole thing....


But it's okay because she got me a few Snap On things for Christmas.

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, well, Mrs. Eschoendorff had a different take on the whole thing....

Thats funny

 

[Junkman]

Just keep it in mind that if it comes in the garage door, she doesn't have to know a thing about it. I bought a car 2 years ago, and it was 3 months before she realized that I was serious about it. She thought that it was a joke until she read the email from the shipper in Alaska. She believes about 5% of what I tell her, and I like it like that.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

I have heaps of mismatched stuff and I sure I don’t own a ½ inch spanner (wrench). When I move into the new space its all getting chucked in a bucket and I’m going to the tool store for matching sets.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Most of my new stuff is "complete sets" (complete:- ie sold as a set when bought and kept as such, not meaning every size made).

Now my inherited stuff, is a conglomeration of tools from Gramps garage he owned in the 20's to early 30's, and his days as a mechanic again in the 50's-60's. So some things have been lost, others he might buy one at a time (specialty, like wobbles), etc. I took all those misc and tried to put them in size order, for usefullness, as compared to brand. Most of them are lifetime warranty tools, that the companies are either no longer (lot of Indestro, durochrome), to ones that have been bought out/merged (challenger tools).

If I had a bigger shop/garage, then it might be different, but it needs to be usefull first.

 

[jerryW]

I keep all mine in different boxes. I don't think that I have a complete set of anything brandwise. I've got alot of the same size but in different manufacturer. Ijust keep buying odd pieces hoping to get a set out of them.


jerry

 

[KingPerformance]

Complete sets of multiple tool companies.

Not all of my tools are from 1 company, but I purchased those wrenches in a set.
Ex:
Snap On long handle combo wrenches
Craftsman Pro flare nut wrenches

Craftsman Socket Set
Snap On Wobbles

Etc etc etc etc …

 

[wythors]

Yeah, well, Mrs. Eschoendorff had a different take on the whole thing....


But it's okay because she got me a few Snap On things for Christmas.

After that experience at the Sears return counter, I would think so.

Your ******-pinching not good enough? Now you need a snap-on?












I crack myself up.

 

[Canadian Charlie]

I try to stick to a few brands as to not make my tools look shabby. My SAE wrenches are Grey, metrics are Snap On. Sockets are hard to stick to just one brand but I'm trying to weed the oddball ones out with Gray, Snap On, Beta or Stanley