help me develop a new socket tray

[gdf_77]

i was looking at making a tray for my sockets and hoping to get some feed back. i was thinking that i could bend some steel in a sort of stairstep and coat it with either plastic or rubberized under coating and than set the sockets into the coating to make an impression for them. maube even "stamp" thesocket size into the coating. the sockets would be sitting at about a 30* angle so you could see what size the were. tell me what you think.

 

[dink]

Eh it could work....personally I like the idea of using wood and using hole saws to make the holes for the sockets

 

[gdf_77]

i found this stuff on the web today. the only thing that has me worried is that you can re-mold it. i guess it could work out good for getting the design right.

http://www.shapelock.com/index.html

 

[markl]

I made a socket holder out of 1"x6" wood, dowel rods of 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" diameter, set each set of sockets, marked where to drill the holes then drilled, cut the dowel rod in approx 1-1/8" pieces, put them in the holes with a small dab of glue and viola! custom socket holder designed for your space. I decided nothing available was excactly what I was looking for so I made my own to fit the drawer space I had available. I'll post some pics tomorrow since I'm at work now.

 

[gdf_77]

i was thinking about doing the same thing, but i want to have something different, call it my desire to forego the norm. but pics would be good. thanks for replying and giving your input.

 

[Gregdoo]

GDF, I like your idea. It sounds like it wouldn't require a lot of space to store and could keep deep and shallow sockets close to each other (or 12 pt. and 6pt. for those who have both). I've also considered the wood option, but getting numerous hole saws that are the diameter of all my sockets would be pricey.

The moldable plastic that someone provided the link for seems like it would offer good options too.

 

[trainer]

Body Filler?

 

[gdf_77]

im not sure if that will work or not. i found something on the web today that maybe just what i am looking for. sample of some mold and part making rigid urethane. i'll order some next week when i get home from kansas. i'll let you guys know how it goes. i won't be able to make the whole thing but atleast get an idea of what i need to do.

gabriel

 

[markl]

heres the pics od what i did with wood

 

[markl]

heres the pics of what i did with wood. The best part is you make it to fit your box and what sockets you have. Next time i will plan it out better before starting but it works great for me.

 

[eschoendorff]

heres the pics of what i did with wood. The best part is you make it to fit your box and what sockets you have. Next time i will plan it out better before starting but it works great for me.

Wow, that looks great! You can even paint it to match. I may just have to steal that idea...

 

[gdf_77]

markl,

i love what you have done. it's just not what i am looking for. thanks for the pics, seeing all of those sockets that close together really makes me understand how much room they take up.

 

[W-Cummins]

Mark nice work on the socket tray! what is the tray next to the one you made some type of demo board??

 

[brownbagg]

the red one on the right, harbor freight sells for about $7

 

[markl]

That's right, Harbor Freight except it was $9.00 when I bought it.

 

[Tim240Z]

I have been thinking about one just like Mark's, but I was thinking of using aluminum. I was at the steel yard last week and saw lots of pieces of 1/2" to 3/4" thick aluminum off-cuts. I was going to polish and buff the blocks of aluminum and then use aluminum dowls just like what was done with wood above. The only reason I didn't actually pick any up was because I hadn't measured my drawers and counted and spaced my sockets to figure out how much AL I needed....
Tim

 

[markl]

Here's the whole drawer with the HF organizer and my own.

 

[eschoendorff]

Here's the whole drawer with the HF organizer and my own.

Yours is a more efficient design, IMHO.

 

[markl]

Thanks, appreciate the compliments.

 

[Kevin54]

I like the wood dowel idea the best. I have a set like the one you have from HF but mine is Crapsman. The spacings are too far apart and by the time you have all your sockets put in then a complete drawer is taken up whereas the dowel idea will let you hold three times the amount in the same space. This idea is saved for my future project. Thanks for sharing.


Kevin

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

I got these at Canadian Tire. It cost about $25, and it comes with 3 trays (80 holes each) and 100 pegs in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". I believe they are discontinued now, because they are no longer on the website, but it worked perfectly for me. I was able to design and place the pegs as I wanted them. The sockets stay on securely but can be removed with one hand.

*Not sure if you can see them in this picture (due to computer problems), but here they are*

^My old, tiny toolbox. Kinda expanded since then, LOL.

 

[toolfreak]

I'm not trying to steal the thread but i saw this along time ago and have never seen this socket holder on any of the threads. It is made by DSS Racing and is pretty expensive but here is the link to it
http://dssracing.com/protools.html. I think everyone will want atleast one until you see the price.