texchappy
Well-known member
Just ordered a Hazet 190L cantilever tool box to replace my dented, broken, and over flowing husky box. What tool organization have you found works well with a canti styled box?
Organizing cantilever tool box
- Thread starter texchappy
- Start date
Wes J
Well-known member
It's easy to organize a cantilever box well beyond the point that you can actually carry it.
You have to be selective about what you put in it, otherwise the weight goes thru the roof and you can't find anything quickly.
Depends on the relative numbers of different types of tools e.g. wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets etc. you want/need to carry.
What I used to do :-
Only put in what I needed to work on a particular make of vehicle e.g. Ford.
and leave out the sizes of wrenches/sockets I didn't need.
Sockets went in the smallest compartment on top tier, ratchet, extensions etc were beside sockets.
Other side, top tier were wrenches.
Middle tier, screwdrivers on one side, pliers on other side.
Bottom compartment was used for hammers,speedbrace, hacksaw,heavy items, items too large to fit in upper compartments.
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You vary this to suit what tools you have/need to carry.
e.g. you might use a drive handle and bit selection instead of seperate screwdrivers, you might not need many pliers thus freeing up space for other small tools. Many small tools sets come in storage boxes which are too wide to fit in an upper compartment, so will have to be placed in the bottom tray etc.
When I worked as a professional auto mechanic many years ago, I used 2 cantilever (3 tier/5tray) toolboxes. In one I kept the tools I used frequently, as in every day. Following the above advice, kept it reasonably easy to carry around the workshop.
The other box I used for infrequently used items, e.g. broken stud extractors, files, taps/dies,pullers and the other wrench/socket sizes I might need occasionally e.g if a different make of vehicle came in.
The 2 boxes ended up roughly equal in weight which meant I was balanced rather than lop-sided if I needed to carry the boxes out to my car.
It's surprising just how much can be fitted into the above two inexpensive boxes and that individual items can still be found easily.
Al.
Depends on the relative numbers of different types of tools e.g. wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets etc. you want/need to carry.
What I used to do :-
Only put in what I needed to work on a particular make of vehicle e.g. Ford.
and leave out the sizes of wrenches/sockets I didn't need.
Sockets went in the smallest compartment on top tier, ratchet, extensions etc were beside sockets.
Other side, top tier were wrenches.
Middle tier, screwdrivers on one side, pliers on other side.
Bottom compartment was used for hammers,speedbrace, hacksaw,heavy items, items too large to fit in upper compartments.
------------------------
You vary this to suit what tools you have/need to carry.
e.g. you might use a drive handle and bit selection instead of seperate screwdrivers, you might not need many pliers thus freeing up space for other small tools. Many small tools sets come in storage boxes which are too wide to fit in an upper compartment, so will have to be placed in the bottom tray etc.
When I worked as a professional auto mechanic many years ago, I used 2 cantilever (3 tier/5tray) toolboxes. In one I kept the tools I used frequently, as in every day. Following the above advice, kept it reasonably easy to carry around the workshop.
The other box I used for infrequently used items, e.g. broken stud extractors, files, taps/dies,pullers and the other wrench/socket sizes I might need occasionally e.g if a different make of vehicle came in.
The 2 boxes ended up roughly equal in weight which meant I was balanced rather than lop-sided if I needed to carry the boxes out to my car.
It's surprising just how much can be fitted into the above two inexpensive boxes and that individual items can still be found easily.
Al.
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Sam'sAutoParts
Well-known member
This is my Bluepoint box, I previously was using two bags for all the tools in the box. Bottom is socket sets, metric wrench set in a roll. Lower trays contain Pliers and screwdrivers on one side and SAE 3/8 Deeps and misc. and the other side. The top trays are ratchets and extensions in one and SAE wrench set, and vise grips and adjustable wrench in the other.
This was my junkyard tools, but I have been mainly using it for a emergency kit to help friends and pull parts away from the garage. It was also my only tool kit at my house for a few months before I brought home my Craftsman stack and started filling it.
This was my junkyard tools, but I have been mainly using it for a emergency kit to help friends and pull parts away from the garage. It was also my only tool kit at my house for a few months before I brought home my Craftsman stack and started filling it.
Attachments
What I did with my cantilever box was use wrench racks in the ends of the very bottom so tools stood up and weren't all in a pile you have to dig through. Next I installed corner plates inside at all the corners. These supported a tool tray I made that sat just below the cantilever trays when the box is closed. This stopped the deep accumulation of tools in the bottom that was hard to dig through or find things.
Now I wish I'd installed those little roller balls they make for loading tables so the whole box would roll on the floor. It's gotta weigh 80 lbs.
You can see the wrench racks in this pic of my smaller box. I have SAE on one side and Metric opposite. Some SAE wrenches below.
Now I wish I'd installed those little roller balls they make for loading tables so the whole box would roll on the floor. It's gotta weigh 80 lbs.
You can see the wrench racks in this pic of my smaller box. I have SAE on one side and Metric opposite. Some SAE wrenches below.
John in OH
Well-known member
I've got two cantilever tool boxes that I use as "grab n go" boxes for miscellaneous jobs .... one box in Ohio and one in Virginia. Both are organized exactly the same way that Al describes above. And, yeah, it can get heavy quickly!
These pics are of the smaller, 16 in. El Cheapo (Stanley) box:
