If you could design your dream tool storage...

[Daddy B]

...What would it feature? I am planning to build a tool cabinet or something for auto mechanic type tools this summer. Thought I'd pose this question to you guys and see what kind of ideas I can steal!

What dimensions do you prefer? Drawer size, number and lay out? Do you prefer a tall cabinet or bench height? Any particular features you'd like?

 

[ADSR]

Pretty much this....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311519&highlight=lista+build

 

[MarkWilliams60]

To do it the right way you'd need to build it yourself and design and build one drawer or shelf at a time after determining a fixed depth, height and length.
It would be nearly impossible other than for a specific set of tools. Some drawers would only be 3/4 or 1" deep for me. Punches and prybars come to mind as do taps and dies, measuring devices, layout tools, die grinder and Dremel accessories. With no top box I'd like a stand up computer setup up there and a place to draw and read prints. Maybe 46-50 inches like a walk up bar.
Anything else approaches generic. There's a whole lot of wasted cubic inches especially in these monster boxes everyone thinks they need today.
Most of their stuff belongs left in blow molds or left in tool rolls and stuffed in a cabinet but Big Richard disease runs rampant in the auto crowd.

Yeah. Lets waste a whole drawer on Whitworth when we havent seen a Whitworth fastener in a decade syndrome.
Epiq !
I like these things a lot. They make good sense to stuff a whole pile of things in a small space without piling things on top of each other. Some of the guys here with pliers and ratchets could put hundreds after hundred in a few drawers like this.
&&& The weight might be a problem but home built you could pull it off.

 

[JKady]

Somewhere between 7 and 8 foot wide, 30" deep, 40-45" high. Bulk storage cabinets at full height on either end and a hutch over the middle so that it can all be locked up when I leave the shop. Multiple 50-60" wide drawers preferred, in 4-5" depths so that they're usable, the rest filled in with the usual assortment of smaller drawers. Basically, S-O Epiq without the 25k or whatever that would end up at price tag. Heavy steel frame with Lista or Vidmar cabinets and a custom hutch would work.

My current setup at work is 96" wide if you park both boxes next to each other but I've got some drawers that are just a little too shallow and some that are deeper than they need to be. It's mostly full though. I'm going to look into building some trays for the deep drawers on one of the boxes so that I can organize a little better.

 

[matt_i]

It would be a StrongHold big enough to fit 2-3 vidmars inside

A Gerstner is a pretty nice box but its not for auto mechanicking.

 

[Blazinzuk]

I would need about 50k more in tools before I designed my dream storage

 

[Jon_E]

To do it the right way you'd need to build it yourself and design and build one drawer or shelf at a time after determining a fixed depth, height and length.
It would be nearly impossible other than for a specific set of tools. Some drawers would only be 3/4 or 1" deep for me. Punches and prybars come to mind as do taps and dies, measuring devices, layout tools, die grinder and Dremel accessories. With no top box I'd like a stand up computer setup up there and a place to draw and read prints. Maybe 46-50 inches like a walk up bar.
Anything else approaches generic. There's a whole lot of wasted cubic inches especially in these monster boxes everyone thinks they need today.
Most of their stuff belongs left in blow molds or left in tool rolls and stuffed in a cabinet but Big Richard disease runs rampant in the auto crowd.

Yeah. Lets waste a whole drawer on Whitworth when we havent seen a Whitworth fastener in a decade syndrome.
Epiq !
I like these things a lot. They make good sense to stuff a whole pile of things in a small space without piling things on top of each other. Some of the guys here with pliers and ratchets could put hundreds after hundred in a few drawers like this.
&&& The weight might be a problem but home built you could pull it off.

Is that your wood flat file? It's a beauty. I have a similar one which is one piece but eight drawers. I am looking for another one - they are all but impossible to find. Might have to build my own.

 

[speed bump]

My storage going forward is going to consist more of cabinets. Most of the specialty tools I have purchased recently were all sent in blow molded cases and I can't see any reason not to just stack them in cabinets.

Otherwise lots of roughly 30x30 drawers of depths of 1-4" and 1-2 of those tiny side cabs that Waterloo used to (maybe still does) make.

 

[simpler=better]

Remember that scene in The Matrix where the racks of guns come plying up to them?

That would be pretty handy, but with ratchets.

 

[MarkWilliams60]

Is that your wood flat file? It's a beauty. I have a similar one which is one piece but eight drawers. I am looking for another one - they are all but impossible to find. Might have to build my own.

No. Thats one I pulled of Pintrest as a "sorta model" for one I'm building at 24 x 48" and, I think, 10 drawers. 5 sets of combo wrenches is about 35-40 lbs and 6 air tools with bits is about 50-60 so the 200 lb slide syndrome on the monster boxes is delusional too.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Since you mentioned dream storage.
All tools would need to be accessible to a robot that would automatically hand me the proper tool for whatever job I was thinking about.
Yep, that would be the dream. Look at a nut. The robot automatically fetches the necessary tools (combination wrench, or if necessary any/all of the following, ratchet and socket, breaker bar, cheater pipe, impact wrench, penetrating oil, torch).
At that point I don't care if the tools are all in a big pile, as long as the robot brings what I need when I need it.

 

[ItsNemo]

Since you mentioned dream storage.
All tools would need to be accessible to a robot that would automatically hand me the proper tool for whatever job I was thinking about.
Yep, that would be the dream. Look at a nut. The robot automatically fetches the necessary tools (combination wrench, or if necessary any/all of the following, ratchet and socket, breaker bar, cheater pipe, impact wrench, penetrating oil, torch).
At that point I don't care if the tools are all in a big pile, as long as the robot brings what I need when I need it.

If it brings it, why wouldn't it just turn the nut too? lol

 

[BikerDad]

If it brings it, why wouldn't it just turn the nut too? lol

Skynet. An AI's gotta know it's limitations, and if it don't, we'll damn sure see to it that it does.

 

[panknuckshovel]

Shallow closet style system that is attached to outer work space walls, maybe 6" deep. Hooks, pegs, shelves to store all tools from floor to top of closet. Work bench that folds down toward the floor and out of the way. We all know floor space is what we all lack.

 

[Stuey]

Bigger on the inside, TARDIS style.

 

[pmiranda]

Light weight. I love the idea of a set of custom wood drawers to allow for the right depth for each drawer, but that would start to get heavy. For that matter alot of steel boxes are heavier duty than necessary for hand tools. Most of my hand tools are just in plastic tool boxes or (for larger items) bins. Even my wife or young son can grab a bin and get what they need.

 

[72Anthony]

A wall of Lista DW series, counter height. The interior drawer width is something like 52 inches.

Plus a service cart with a typical compliment of tools with room for the parts, supplies, and any tools for the job at hand.

 

[sberry]

I want a new box. My box or one of them I use was really worn out when I got it 25 yrs ago for 75$ Idont need it fancy but a HF 44 or dream big and go for a 52 would be ok and get a chance to retire this one to hold junk.
Mine works so good I actually cant improve it much anymore.

 

[bushmechanic]

It would feature a servant to hand tools to me as I need them and put them away when I hand them back, so I'm not always misplacing things.

 

[brownbagg]

it be very small box with just enough tools to change the oil and maybe a light bulb

 

[colt zantop]

This is it.......

 

[sberry]

It was never a race for me to dump as much as I could in to a tool box. I don't have everything they ever invented and duplicates of a lot of common stuff I bought discount. Sears sales etc.
I prolly got 10K in general hand tools, maybe less and I got a lot of stuff. Nothing I need or want another 50 K in tools for.

 

[nickleone]

Check out these videos:

Nick

 

[pmiranda]

The guy that does race prep for me has a smaller version of that tool stand from video 1 he bungees on the back of his golf cart. It's got a few general purpose tools and every tool he needs in pit lane. The only thing missing is a "place for every thing" so you can tell at a glance if somebody has borrowed something and you're driving off without it.

I've got a few container store hardware boxes like in video 2 for small parts but I need them to be a bit bigger and I need to get a few more and build a rack for them.

Edit:
Shut up and take my money!
http://www.sortimo.com/products/

 

[pcmeiners]

Let see...
Have one Vidmar 44" high 27.5"D,30" W on 1000 lb casters, I want another same dimensions; 44" so I do not need to bend down except for the bottom drawers. One box for SAE, one for Metric, top 2 drawers of each, 5-3/8"H for sockets. 8-9 drawers each
Load up some steel plate ( 150 lbs) in the bottom rear of each so they can't tip.
Now for the thing the Vidmars lack, a top chest drawer, so I could have it contain all socket, and still be able to open a drawer fully below it, for full access to the top and a drawer below at the same time. Maple top on each, overhang on the front (2" beyond cabinet) so I could rig LED lights aim downward, switch on upon opening a drawer, recessed into the maple top so they would be hidden. Edge guards like some SOs have.
Have a 22" and 18" deep cabinet/chest, but 18-22" just dose not do it with my socket rails (wastes to much space, not enough for all my sockets in 1 drawer). Ribbed rubber liners in all drawers. 6 more 59" Vidmars, to go along with my present units, master keyed, loaded with Akro/Schaller bins.

 

[jeffsautomobilia]

This is it.......

This X2

 

[crewchief888]

dont know if this was a dream,
or a nightmare...

but i had enough room for my "working" tools

 

[larry_g]

Tool storage is only a part of a work area. How you work in your environment, the size of the work area, and the work you choose to do all affect your storage options. Open your mind a bit and look at the big picture, not just storage.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Daddy B]

As for dimensions, everyone seems to want something deep, like around 30". And with a comfortable work bench height. That's kinda what I've been thinking. I would have the space for 30" but that's deeper than my arms are long. Might not be as useful if I'm using this as a workbench too. 22" seems like it would be perfect for me. Maybe I just have T-Rex arms!

I also like the idea of cabinets for the blow molded cases. Will definitely have to incorporate that into the plan somehow.

Thank you for the LED idea to light up the drawers. Definitely going to steal that idea!

Thanks for the ideas guys, and keep 'em coming if ya got any more.

 

[Daddy B]

This is it.......

Those are freakin awesome! Would love to have it for the cool factor but would never be able to afford it. Maybe I could do a poor man's version with some old metal kitchen cabinets and 2 tall cabinets! lol

 

[kwschumm]

Since you mentioned dream storage.
All tools would need to be accessible to a robot that would automatically hand me the proper tool for whatever job I was thinking about.
Yep, that would be the dream. Look at a nut. The robot automatically fetches the necessary tools (combination wrench, or if necessary any/all of the following, ratchet and socket, breaker bar, cheater pipe, impact wrench, penetrating oil, torch).
At that point I don't care if the tools are all in a big pile, as long as the robot brings what I need when I need it.

Maybe a few additional robot responsibilities including cleaning/recharging the tool when done, going to the store to buy whatever it is you need when you need it, keeping consumables in stock, and keeping track of purchases, receipts and warranties.

For some reason I can't do ANY job without needing to go buy a new tool, maybe that's why I keep looking for new jobs to do. This must be the male equivalent of the need women have to shop.