Custom Magnetic Socket Holders - A Summary

[budget76]

Previously posted asking about sources for magnetic sheet and there was some interest in my project.

I am a huge fan of the Mechanics Time Saver style socket holders. BUT they're not only expensive, but the hole sizing doesn't work for some of my sets.

Kicked around the idea for years to make my own. Finally made the first one.

Materials are 1/2" or 3/4" Corian, some scrap 1/4" lexan, and neodymium bar magnets. Corian works well with woodworking tools, just smells. I had some scrap from a kitchen reno and just spent $60 on enough to make probably 100 holders, for some reason

these photos outline my process. All done by hand with table saw/drill press. I would love to have a CNC, you could knock these out crazy fast. it's simple, but time consuming with normal tools.

First step is measure & draw it up in Sketchup.


Next, cut your Corian to size (leave it a little long for flexiblity), mark it up, and drill. Corian will chip so make sure you've got support on the backside


Next, cut your lexan to size. then cut a groove to accept/recess your bar magnets


secure your bar magnets. these had double-sided tape. i used hot glue to fill the gap, you may need to get creative with spacing to catch all the sockets


secure the lexan to the bottom of the corian. i countersunk some short screws. you can see where I ran the pre-drill too far in one corner


round the edges on the belt sander and here's the finished project. holds the sockets more secure than the MTS holders, and holds strong to the side of the toolbox if desired.

 

[whateg01]

Looks good. I wonder how well it would cut with a laser.I made some like that for a couple sets of sockets but out of masonite. Worked fine but yours look better.

 

[texasprd]

Nice! Does the channel face up, so the magnets are sandwiched between Lexan and Corian? How thick are the magnets you used?

 

[johninct]

Nice!!!!

 

[budget76]

Nice! Does the channel face up, so the magnets are sandwiched between Pecan and Corian. How thick are the magnets you used?

confirmed. sandwiched with the double-sided tape on the not-socket side of the groove. Still plenty of strength to hold the whole set vertical on a toolbox if desired

used these magnets. will likely wind up ordering another set eventually. I used 4 for the set shown. my 1/2" impact set is probably going to require 8-10 magnets. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081W5P4GD/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[gearhead1]

Nice! I like the mechanics time saver holders also, they are expensive. This is a good alternative.

Good job!

 

[Kscardsfan]

I had a buddy whose into 3D printing make me a few custom socket holders for my spark plug sockets and 8 point sockets. It’s great to have them specific to your needs like that.

 

[budget76]

have been playing some more, got most of my sockets organized how I want now. I picked up WAY more 3/4" white material than I'll ever use for like $40 from FB market. Low on 1/2" green from my own kitchen reno since most of it is the work tables in my woodshop.

An idea of the shavings. Corian makes a lot of shavings with spade bits.


1/2" SK Deep, 1/2" SK shallow, and 1/2" Harbor Freight Impacts


HF Allen Set SAE, HF Allen Set Metric, Craftsman 3/8 SAE Swivels. notice the one upside-down socket. I made the hole too small, had to pull it apart and make another 1/16" larger


46" HF Drawer, mostly complete. At least 1 more to make to replace the Kobalt deep in the right rear, it's 1 short of holding the full HF 1/2 deep metric set. Need to find space in another drawer for the breaker & clickers.


bonus Corian use - 1/2" Corian was almost perfect thickness for 0 clearance on my Dewalt table saw. Used a couple small pieces of foil tape to get it flush.

 

[budget76]

I had a buddy whose into 3D printing make me a few custom socket holders for my spark plug sockets and 8 point sockets. It’s great to have them specific to your needs like that.

sweet. agree, the custom size is really nice. i have a couple spare off-the-shelf ones, but they didn't work for any of my sets. universal wasn't universal enough

 

[kbeefy]

Nice job, looks good!

 

[Ohmthis]

About how long do you think you have in making these? I really like these. I have the ubiquitous metal clip rails, rails that came with some sockets (actually pretty nice from Astro Pneumatics), and the HF socket holders. I feel like I could get more in a drawer without the wasted space between holders and unused holders.

 

[budget76]

About how long do you think you have in making these? I really like these. I have the ubiquitous metal clip rails, rails that came with some sockets (actually pretty nice from Astro Pneumatics), and the HF socket holders. I feel like I could get more in a drawer without the wasted space between holders and unused holders.

I figure 1-2hrs per, but if you batch them better than i did it ca be quicker. Also i'm limited on drill speed with my little Craftsman benchtop drill press, something with more balls could cut the drill time at least in half. Feeds are slow or else the belt slips - saves my hands, but ***** up my time. Did a couple of the bigger holes by hand and definitely didn't get them fully square to the surface

the first couple were slower, i was being more precise with measurements / drawing them out in Sketchup / etc. by the last couple I realized all I need is the centerline of the strip, then i just use the spade bits and eye to layout spacing, roughly 3/16" between each socket.

if you're really good you could use one solid piece and 'shadowboard' all your sockets with Corian. I couldn't plan that much, and you'd need to plan for future purchases too.

 

[Ohmthis]

Did you draw it out and then transfer the measurements or did you print out the drawing and use it as a template?

 

[budget76]

Did you draw it out and then transfer the measurements or did you print out the drawing and use it as a template?

initially i measured each socket and jotted down those measurements. then i drew it out in Sketchup like you see in the initial post. i marked centerline of the Corian scrap, then used a ruler to mark out the spacing. Wound up having to slightly adjust a couple on the fly due to available spade bit sizing, which drove me to realize all the measuring was extra effort vs just eyeballing