New toolbox must haves

[Shoreline_]

I have two older boxes. One really old macsimizer from the 90s and a tall narrow KRL from the early 2000s. One thing I would love is at least two long top drawers and a power strip. I don't like splitting up my wrench drawer. I'm not big into side lockers or hutches but some guys really want that. What about you guys?

 

[whateg01]

I wanted drawers that latched but not the sliding thing under the drawer handle.

 

[Shoreline_]

I wanted drawers that latched but not the sliding thing under the drawer handle.

Yea the KRL has that slide thing. The epiq I think the whole thing lifts. I haven't seen an epiq in a long time my old shop was all Mac boxes.

 

[CGarage]

I think one top drawer that is both as long as the box and extra tall is ideal for ratchets and sockets (to stand them vertically) and most used tools that go with the ratchets and sockets (extensions, etc).

I sort of prefer separate drawers for wrenches, to split them between metric and SAE / Fractional.

I am not using tools to make a living, just for my own personal projects. But this is the layout I like.

I keep my power tools in a separate cabinet, so the power strip in a tool box is not something that interests me.

 

[AEAdam]

sounds like you need a new toolbox. I wish I had an narrow KRL for electrical stuff and hardware.

 

[Hakeem]

Side lockers are great for storing blow molded cases. They take up way too much space in a drawer.

 

[bigfunwmu]

For me it was a top drawer that I can stand up sockets in that will support the weight. A drawer big enough for my wrenches up to 1-5/8 and 41mm to all fit in one. And enough load capacity on the lower drawers that I don't have to split up my pullers.

I didn't want a power drawer, I can use the space a lot more effectively and don't need chargers taking up that much space in the bottom box. Power on the top of the box is great, very handy.

The Epiq I have is so very close. I think the super skinny drawers (speedrawer) are not useful for me and would prefer them to be taller. Otherwise it works pretty good.

Strictly Toolboxes 55" box was great value for money, but I couldn't stand up my larger wrenches in racks in the 2 shallow full length drawers which ate up a lot of space. If you were only metric, and didn't have a bunch of large wrenches for hydraulic lines it would be a solid setup. I do wish it had a power top option though.

 

[Shoreline_]

Side lockers are great for storing blow molded cases. They take up way too much space in a drawer.

I don't keep those cases I throw them out. Or if it's a kit they go in a 2 door cabinet

 

[CGarage]

A locking, 2 door garage storage cabinet is a great solution for cased tools.

 

[AEAdam]

There was another long thread talking about tool storage. If I read the OP correctly, the OP has an old fashioned narrow, tall “stacker” toolbox and wants a 50” roll cab like a KRL722.

I wrote in that thread that the roll cabs were designed for pros in specific sorts of shops and working conditions. I also said, the set up I believe out OP has is the most space efficient for smaller shops.

What I failed to mention is the Edd China setup. You can see it on older episodes of the British car restoration show “Wheeler Dealers”. Edd has a 2 post lift with a narrow toolbox stack at each corner. I never paid close enough attention to figure out how his tools were divided among the, but off the top of my head, if you had metric in one, SAE in another, frame and body work tools in a third, electrical and diagnostic in the fourth, that would make sense to me.

I have a few things I work on that have both metric and SAE hardware (2018 Bobcat) but most things are one or the other, telling me it’s ok to segregate units.

Maybe a second (or third) smaller box would make sense.

 

[dr_clyde]

I think it largely depends on what kind of work you're doing and what tools you need to store.

Machinists have different needs than HD equipment mechanics and so on.

I feel like no matter what work I am doing, I will want a drawer for sockets. To that end, I like the deep, wide drawer that allows the sockets to be stood upright on a peg.

On my welding and fab box, I have a locker to store my helmet and safety gear.

I STRONGLY prefer to have smaller dedicated boxes for each class of work. As a result, I have a mechanics tool box, a machinist tool box, and a welding toolbox as the 3 primary boxes. For each trade that needs a smaller amount of hand tools, I like hand carry boxes. So I have one for plumbing, one for electrical, etc.

If I attempted to fit everything one big box it would be enormous and unwieldy.

 

[JerseyBoatBuilder]

24 or plus deep with at least two or three upper full width drawers.
I am really missing the Snap On box I sold before we moved so I am looking for another

 

[Skellyii]

I have two older boxes. One really old macsimizer from the 90s and a tall narrow KRL from the early 2000s. One thing I would love is at least two long top drawers and a power strip. I don't like splitting up my wrench drawer. I'm not big into side lockers or hutches but some guys really want that. What about you guys?

I have a shop and a garage, with a bottom box in each that are 52". One has the two long top drawers and the other one doesn't. I never thought that I would want the long drawers...until I had them.

Both have power strips, but I only use the USB ports for charging my lights. I have my rechargeable tools and chargers on wall racks.

 

[Shoreline_]

There was another long thread talking about tool storage. If I read the OP correctly, the OP has an old fashioned narrow, tall “stacker” toolbox and wants a 50” roll cab like a KRL722.

I wrote in that thread that the roll cabs were designed for pros in specific sorts of shops and working conditions. I also said, the set up I believe out OP has is the most space efficient for smaller shops.

What I failed to mention is the Edd China setup. You can see it on older episodes of the British car restoration show “Wheeler Dealers”. Edd has a 2 post lift with a narrow toolbox stack at each corner. I never paid close enough attention to figure out how his tools were divided among the, but off the top of my head, if you had metric in one, SAE in another, frame and body work tools in a third, electrical and diagnostic in the fourth, that would make sense to me.

I have a few things I work on that have both metric and SAE hardware (2018 Bobcat) but most things are one or the other, telling me it’s ok to segregate units.

Maybe a second (or third) smaller box would make sense.

I have a krl1056 and KRL751 which is 36" x 30" x deep x like 72" tall. And next to it I have a 55" macsimizer which is like 27" deep. But only has one long drawer.

 

[CGarage]

There was another long thread talking about tool storage. If I read the OP correctly, the OP has an old fashioned narrow, tall “stacker” toolbox and wants a 50” roll cab like a KRL722.

I wrote in that thread that the roll cabs were designed for pros in specific sorts of shops and working conditions. I also said, the set up I believe out OP has is the most space efficient for smaller shops.

What I failed to mention is the Edd China setup. You can see it on older episodes of the British car restoration show “Wheeler Dealers”. Edd has a 2 post lift with a narrow toolbox stack at each corner. I never paid close enough attention to figure out how his tools were divided among the, but off the top of my head, if you had metric in one, SAE in another, frame and body work tools in a third, electrical and diagnostic in the fourth, that would make sense to me.

I have a few things I work on that have both metric and SAE hardware (2018 Bobcat) but most things are one or the other, telling me it’s ok to segregate units.

Maybe a second (or third) smaller box would make sense.

This is often what you see in Europe. The American fascination with 42” and longer boxes is not so common, but space is at a premium in most of the developed European industrial areas where tool use is common. Workers make out with multiple, smaller boxes.

The other advantage to this is portability and not needing a tow truck to move it between locations.

Up until the 90s, most wrench turners I knew made out fine with a 24” to 26” wide box, sometimes with a middle and top box added, and a step stool.

 

[Shoreline_]

This is often what you see in Europe. The American fascination with 42” and longer boxes is not so common, but space is at a premium in most of the developed European industrial areas where tool use is common. Workers make out with multiple, smaller boxes.

The other advantage to this is portability and not needing a tow truck to move it between locations.

Up until the 90s, most wrench turners I knew made out fine with a 24” to 26” wide box, sometimes with a middle and top box added, and a step stool.

Well they also don't have A/C so I wouldn't copy anything they do.

 

[LWB]

I just showed this pic in another thread. Old school 27" I keep thinking about a 72" but just don't think it's worth the extra money. I like this look and I will be renovating a 20' x 20' barn and when I do I'm going to add a walk in closet for all the larger tools and blow molds. I can close the door and not look at clutter. I don't see any point in buying a box just to house them. A closet makes more sense to me or under a workbench. It's far more economical. Between this box and a small cart it's plenty of space for hand tools.



3/8" and 1/4" impacts in a "wide" drawer. In hindsight 1/4" impact are fairly useless. Chrome would suffice.




1/2" right beside them in another drawer.



The cart with my most used tools.



While one long drawer would be cool I don't really see the difference when you can open a couple of drawers side by side. Maybe an identical stack to what you have would work for you? It's basically a 50" drawer if they were open side by each. I am hunting down another 7 drawer Gray tools bottom so I can do exactly that.

 

[LWB]

Here's a video that may interest you.

 

[AEAdam]

Stopped watching for no particular reason, but he opened his drawer of diagnostic tools and it racked sideways and he kinda jiggled it to straighten it and get it to fully open. That would be it for me. That’s why I could never own a box like that.

 

[LWB]

Stopped watching for no particular reason, but he opened his drawer of diagnostic tools and it racked sideways and he kinda jiggled it to straighten it and get it to fully open. That would be it for me. That’s why I could never own a box like that.

I saw that too. I was just trying to illustrate how smaller boxes can work. If you outgrow them, just get another. Not all of us are going to spend money on tool truck boxes.

I like the Gray boxes because they're Canadian made and vintage and the tools are more important to me.

 

[Shoreline_]

Milwaukee are way to shallow I'd need two of them for my one box.

 

[bigfunwmu]

Oh yeah, forgot to say 30" depth. It was my number 1 thing and I didn't even look at boxes that were shallower.

 

[dr_clyde]

I think another factor is whether or not you need to close up everything and lock your box at the end of the day.

I don’t like having to store power tool chargers and power tools in my box, but if I’m in a shop where I need to lock it up at night my box layout will need to reflect that. Things like a power drawer or a top compartment tall enough for chargers and stuff like that.

Same thing with clamps and welding setup tools. They take up an enormous amount of space and if I have to store them in a way that locks, I don’t think any standard mechanics boxes have the drawers for that. At my last job I had my own bar clamps, c-clamps, fireball squares, and other bulky fab tools. I kept them in a Knaack jobsite box because I couldn’t keep them in a mechanics box due to size and i couldn’t just leave them on a table or they’d wander off and get used by night shift.

 

[Shoreline_]

I think another factor is whether or not you need to close up everything and lock your box at the end of the day.

I don’t like having to store power tool chargers and power tools in my box, but if I’m in a shop where I need to lock it up at night my box layout will need to reflect that. Things like a power drawer or a top compartment tall enough for chargers and stuff like that.

Same thing with clamps and welding setup tools. They take up an enormous amount of space and if I have to store them in a way that locks, I don’t think any standard mechanics boxes have the drawers for that. At my last job I had my own bar clamps, c-clamps, fireball squares, and other bulky fab tools. I kept them in a Knaack jobsite box because I couldn’t keep them in a mechanics box due to size and i couldn’t just leave them on a table or they’d wander off and get used by night shift.

Oh yea 100%. I was visiting my friends shop and he build a caged storage area to store high dollar items in in case of break ins and whatnot. Security cameras are great but I'd rather not loose my stuff and try to get insurance money than just find a way to lock it up. They wheel ac machines, welders, etc in there.

 

[Hakeem]

Oh yea 100%. I was visiting my friends shop and he build a caged storage area to store high dollar items in in case of break ins and whatnot. Security cameras are great but I'd rather not loose my stuff and try to get insurance money than just find a way to lock it up. They wheel ac machines, welders, etc in there.

The few insurance policies I’ve seen for shops will only cover theft if tools were secured/locked up. If they break in and swipe something that’s laying about you’re outta luck

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

I don't know, you tell me.

 

[Shoreline_]

I don't know, you tell me.

You want me to tell you what you want lmao. Ok brochowsky

 

[AEAdam]

I saw that too. I was just trying to illustrate how smaller boxes can work. If you outgrow them, just get another. Not all of us are going to spend money on tool truck boxes.

I like the Gray boxes because they're Canadian made and vintage and the tools are more important to me.

Depends on the specifics of how one works, for example: You get out all the tools for a job, lay them out on a workbench, or tool cart, and at the end of the job, you wipe them all down and put them all away. In that case, really nice drawers are maybe not that big a deal.

For me, I tend to put tools back in the box just to keep track of them and because I typically don't have convenient surfaces to put tools on. So for me, I really appreciate having toolbox drawers that are AT LEAST as good as or better than a decent kitchen cabinet drawer. I want to yank it open and hip check it closed and concentrate on the repair, not the tool box.

So I think some here see boxes like those and think "that makes perfect sense, what more could you want?" Having used boxes like that most of my life and now having better, what I saw in the video I would probably not be happy with.

 

[CGarage]

I really like wall storage “peg board style” for most commonly used tools.

This may not work in a commercial shop with other workers, where theft is an issue.

But this is the most efficient way, in my opinion.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I have two older boxes. One really old macsimizer from the 90s and a tall narrow KRL from the early 2000s. One thing I would love is at least two long top drawers and a power strip. I don't like splitting up my wrench drawer. I'm not big into side lockers or hutches but some guys really want that. What about you guys?

I think one top drawer that is both as long as the box and extra tall is ideal for ratchets and sockets (to stand them vertically) and most used tools that go with the ratchets and sockets (extensions, etc).

on both of these. I have a 72" x 24" from Strictly, quite a few years old now, and that was the deciding factor. Top three drawers span 2 of the 3 banks, and the top one is extra deep. Zero regrets on the layout for those 3 drawers, it has worked fantastic for me as a hobbyist/home gamer, but YMMV.

 

[AEAdam]

I really like wall storage “peg board style” for most commonly used tools.

This may not work in a commercial shop with other workers, where theft is an issue.

But this is the most efficient way, in my opinion.

Centuries old approach, particularly well suited to a small garage. But the preponderance of small tools like sockets has rendered this less efficient.

Recall, my company paid a Japanese lean consultant significant amounts of money and all he really said was “move your toolboxes 2’ closer to the product line”.

Forget about the whole zen master incrementalism lesson. Having your tools as close as possible to the job is most efficient.

When pressed, the other thing he said was “try to reduce or eliminate twisting. Twisting is very bad”. When I can, I have my roll cart immediately adjacent to my work, not behind my back. I think industrial twisting IS very bad and causes workplace accidents.

But I’d say in wood shops, machine shops, tools on walls can work really well. I don’t really use sockets on an every time basis in my machine shop. I use wrenches and tee handled allens. They could absolutely live on a peg board. But automotive…..not convinced.

 

[LWB]

Depends on the specifics of how one works, for example: You get out all the tools for a job, lay them out on a workbench, or tool cart, and at the end of the job, you wipe them all down and put them all away. In that case, really nice drawers are maybe not that big a deal.

For me, I tend to put tools back in the box just to keep track of them and because I typically don't have convenient surfaces to put tools on. So for me, I really appreciate having toolbox drawers that are AT LEAST as good as or better than a decent kitchen cabinet drawer. I want to yank it open and hip check it closed and concentrate on the repair, not the tool box.

So I think some here see boxes like those and think "that makes perfect sense, what more could you want?" Having used boxes like that most of my life and now having better, what I saw in the video I would probably not be happy with.

Totally get where you're coming from. On my personal vehicles I work from a small cart (above) and keep a cake pan on one of the flip up sides. All the tools go in there when done, get sprayed down with WD40 and wiped down. Some of them end up in the box above, most go back into the cart.

At a cart would be right beside me. A harbor freight cart where you can do as you described. It would drive me nuts to use friction slides.

Also to the tool wall for woodworking. Do that too. A small one but I still want the most used tools at my fingertips.

 

[whateg01]

Recall, my company paid a Japanese lean consultant significant amounts of money and all he really said was “move your toolboxes 2’ closer to the product line”

Sorry, when I hear lean or six sigma, I need a mental health day!

But I’d say in wood shops, machine shops, tools on walls can work really well. I don’t really use sockets on an every time basis in my machine shop. I use wrenches and tee handled allens. They could absolutely live on a peg board. But automotive…..not convinced.

I recently added a magnetic tool strip to the side of the box next to the mill. Now the collet wrench lives there along with the hex keys for the vise jaws and work stops. There are a couple other things too, but I don't recall what they are.