It's been a while since I showed off my stuff, so here's my current setup. I just bought a tool cart from Harbor Freight, and still have to completely organize it.
Tool Cart
Fliptop Lid
I love fliptops. Keep all the heavy daily stuff in the bottom portion, and use magnets for all the small stuff. I buy neodymium magnets from
www.kjmagnetics.com, who have good prices and ship quickly.
The photos are of my girlfriend.
Top Tray
I prefer the lock-a-socket rails, but I'm amassing too many sockets that I use often. Lock-a-sockets are expensive, so I kind of want some post-type holders for my less-often used sockets, and use the LAS rails for my main sockets, because they space them out and make them more visible. I don't like the Hansens though, since they go right to left, and not left to right.
The Black-n-Decker screwgun is absolutely essential. The time it saved driving screws has already paid for the tool many times over. Everyone should have a tool like that in their box,
especially if they do interior work like I do.
Most of my hand tools are Craftsman, if you didn't notice. I did get a bunch of Powerbuilt tools when Kragen did their 50% Off deal.
Socket Drawer
This drawer isn't organized simply because I don't need it to be yet. Eventually all these sockets will be in the top tray, properly organized. As it is I just don't use them enough at the moment.
The other drawer is empty.
Assorted Drawer
All my main pliers and cutters, my air ratchet, and my battery service tools. Also have my Handicutters and hose puller, and my retaining clip pliers. Basically stuff I barely use.
The bottom drawer is empty.
Electrical Box
This is what used to hold all the stuff in the tool cart. My previous post in this thread shows how it used to be arranged, and it was fairly tight, but it worked. Each tool had a place, and it fit perfectly. Now this box holds my electrical tools and supplies, which were previously in my main box and overhead cabinet. It's still not quite organized.
Electrical Box - Open
This is the fliptop area. The rest of the drawers are just stuffed with connectors and zip ties, and aren't that interesting.
The Main Box
This box is provided to me by the shop as part of an apprenticeship program. Don't worry, that US-66 shield is just a magnet.
Main Drawer
This is the main drawer, where I work out of every day. As you can see, I mostly do lube work. The eight-points are for spare tires.
Drawer 2
I keep my Tier 2 wrenches in here, along with my 1/2" drive tools and sockets, and some cheapie screwdrivers for when I actually need to use one. Most of the time they're just used for prying small stuff when my pocket screwdriver doesn't work.
Drawer 3
My interior trim and miscellaneous tools are in this drawer. The tackle boxes are interior clips and plastic rivets, along with the riveter.
Drawer 4
The impact, brake, and tire drawer. All my common sockets are on the rail, with the others in their boxes. The visible calipers are Mitutoyos, which were given to me by a fellow tech because he though they were just Harbor Freight junk. My micrometers are in the large box next to the impacts. Those
are Harbor Freight, but they're dead accurate. I've checked them.
Drawer 5
This used to be the main electrical drawer. Now it's air tools, scrapers, and odds-n-ends.
Drawer 6
Bulk storage. For stuff that's too big for anywhere else, or not used very often.
Overhead Cabinet
Kind of a mess because I don't really need to store a lot of stuff in it any more, but still a big part of my work flow. It serves my needs.
Service Cart
Picked it up from HF on sale. Before I moved my main box over to this bay, I worked out of this. Having only three shelves each with a small space for tools really makes you work smarter. Like my old flip top, each tool had a place, and when then shop was busier, it really helped me do jobs quickly.
I don't really subscribe to having a lot of tools, as you can see. Unless I need it on a fairly usual basis, I usually don't keep it in my box. I have more tools stashed away in boxes in other cabinets, but they are so rarely used I don't mind digging them out. I also think I'm too spread out, since I have two boxes and a cart now, plus my service cart. I'd love to consolidate into a larger tool box and move the Matco box over to a corner and use it for storage. But as it is, my setup works pretty well, and just needs to be a bit more organized. I'm going out tomorrow to get some bins and trays to do just that.
Oh, and I almost forgot my little buddy.
