Drill Bit Storage drawer organizer / Divider

[andgott]

I've been looking for a good way to organize my ever-growing 'collection' of drill bits. I have several incomplete sets that used to reside in different sorts of storage boxes.

I wanted a cabinet, like a Huot, But just couldn't justify the price, especially since I Had a spare toolbox or two laying around. I tried to some kind of insert or divider, but nothing seemed to be available that would work quite right. So, I decided to make one. This is what I came up with-

I wasn't sure what I wanted to make it from, but then I remembered that I had some Sintra board left over from another project, and thought that it might work well for this. For those not familiar with it, Sintra is a lightweight board made of expanded PVC. It works well with woodworking tools, and can also be scored and snapped easily.

I cut the board down to size (1 1/4" strips) using a table saw, then cut everything down to size using a utility knife to score and snap. Everything is glued together with CA gel glue (Superglue). The whole thing was made as an insert, which can be removed from the drawer in one piece if I need to.

It seems to work out well... Everything is in it's place, and I can FINALLY right size bit when I need it. And, They are all in one place instead of being spread all over the shop.

The Sintra worked so well for this particular project, I think I'll be using it for more similar projects. I'd like to put more dividers in this box for other tools- Screwdriver bits, etc.

 

[LMS]

Nicely done!

 

[jrb2]

I guess I have never seen this material. Where did you get it?

 

[never enuf time]

Excellent !! I have seen 4 x 8 sheets of something similar at menards

 

[Slednut]

Makes my drawer look pitiful.

 

[TonkaJoe]

Awesome job! I really like that idea, all neatly labelled too. I just bought this cheapy from Wal-Mart, might have set me back $4 max... I have a main shop in the garage where most of the power tools etc are and another smaller one in my basement so I split the common sizes of drill bits, sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers between the two so that no matter where I'm working I have almost the exact same tools without always running back and forth. I'd still love to somehow incorporate that into my set up!.

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[taumac]

Well done![emoji482]

 

[andgott]

Thanks! I'm happy with how it turned out.

I guess I have never seen this material. Where did you get it?

It is available locally at sign and graphics shops, Or you can get it online... There are a number of people selling it on E-Bay. You can get it in various colors and thicknesses.

It is good stuff- Kind of like a rigid foam board. It's pretty strong, Easy to work with, and WATERPROOF. It also seems to resist most solvents and oil- Making it ideal for the shop.

I used it to replace the interior panels in my '65 plymouth, originally they were backed with a masonite/hardboard type material which, when it got damp, turned to mush. This material doesn't have that problem.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Andgott, I like that and may steal part of it for my drill bits thanks for posting...Richie

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Nice work

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[Ainsley]

That's an awesome idea! I was going to do something similar but use lista inserts.

I picked up this pair of huot dispenser cabinets for $30 off kijiji and refinished them. Got all my taps and drills in there along with all my other individual bits. Still gotta snap some pics of the finished product.

 

[andgott]

That's an awesome idea! I was going to do something similar but use lista inserts.

I looked at Lista inserts, too- But they would have cost ALMOST as much as Huot cabinets...

I'd love to come across some of those Huot cabinets still- They're on the wish list.

 

[metalmagpie]

It would be a lot easier to grasp a bit if the slot bottoms were rounded instead of rectangular.

metalmagpie

 

[rk5n]

I imagine plastic silverware trays would work well for the larger bits

 

[Aberdale]

Nice job.

I've been wanting to build a similar divider out of PVC pipe ripped in half and glued side to side with PVC cement. I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'm planning on making one toolbox drawer for drills, and one for taps.

 

[AndrewDouglasBird]

I've always liked this style Lista inserts:

 

[Chevy-SS]

I've always liked this style Lista inserts:

Now THAT's freakin' beautiful...........

-

 

[rslaback]

Nice work. Have you considered color coding them as well?

 

[andgott]

Nice work. Have you considered color coding them as well?

Thanks.

I hadn't thought about color coding, but after looking at your thread I might have to consider it.

 

[greasyfingers01]

I've always liked this style Lista inserts:

We have those dividers at work. They look like a great idea but the dividers pop out with the all the time.

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[kylefitz]

A dot of hot glue would fix that problem. I would think anyway.

 

[andgott]

A dot of hot glue would fix that problem. I would think anyway.

If I spent that much on inserts I would be pretty pissed if I had to use glue to keep it together!!

 

[andgott]

I decided to color code them, too- This will make it a LOT easier to get them back in the right slot!

Each size group is assigned a color-

That's 8 in total. All 29 sizes are labeled, and the colors repeated.

Then I painted the ends-

I made sure that visually similar colors weren't side by side, to be less confusing in the shop. Colors DO repeat, but it is easy to tell the sizes apart-

The two reds (1/4 and 3/8) are easy enough to visually tell apart, to make sure that they get in the right bin!

Hopefully, this will make it easy to keep the drawer organized!

 

[Kpaige]

With this Sintra expanded PVC could you use pvc glue?

 

[Johnny chaos]

Nice job....They look great

 

[andgott]

With this Sintra expanded PVC could you use pvc glue?

Tried it, didn't work. I used a couple of different types of PVC cement and no go.

 

[southalabama]

What kind of paint you using?

 

[fourjeepin]

Nice work! You even have a space for the pens! I have wanted a Hout box for years, but couldn't bring myself to spring for it. Because what do you do about sizes bigger than 1/2"? And where do you put concrete bits? And glass/tile bits? Bits that need to be sharpened? Do they all go in the same bin together?

What about the much longer spade bits? My OCD can be very annoying

 

[Jess]

Years ago, I worked for a company doing mods on equipment. We used a stamp and coloured marks to identify the modified units. The colour was regular nail polish...

 

[evintho]

I've posted this before. Cheap and easy.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I really need to come up with better drill storage. The indexed sets are awesome, but I have multiple where I have extra bits to make up for missing/broken bits. I've got a pile that need to be sharpened, and those should be stored separately. Now I need space to put such an organizer.

Bah. Need a bigger garage.

 

[viikinki]

Good ideas for drill bit storage, folks. so here is one more design which i made to my shop.

There has places for 140 drillbits. Each shelf has row of specific sized holes, so another sized bit won't fit wrong place. It contains bits from 1mm to 29mm

 

[cliftonbros89]

I leave mine in the metal boxes they come in. Have 3 full sets. There's plenty of times I need them on the go and not just in the shop. Then I have a Hout box for all the spares and extras from sets past. Everything over 1/2" is in a seperate box. Then a full set in its own box up to 1". There'll all kept by the drill press. Which is also kept close to the drills. Any hard bits for concrete are kept in the box with the DeWalt hammer drill. The real long bits for concrete and for wood are kept in the box with the Milwaukee hammer drill. There's also a full set in my tool box to have handy. I guess that I'm getting at is its more convenient to have my drill bits spread out. Also, if they weren't I'd need a whole separate storage cabinet to keep all of them.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I like what you guys have done, I need to do something.

 

[MFortie]

Still working on a system, but am thinking about using a few Plano boxes for bit storage: