Question about tool box layout

[CRXPilot]

I'm in trade school to become an auto tech and I'm looking for a thread or pics about good, common sense toolbox layout. "What goes in what drawer and why" kinds of discussion(s). Search brings up spotty results. Anyone have better links?

Thanks.

 

[Gone]

There's a 'show me your toolbox' thread that is several hundred pages by now. It would be a great place to look for idea and find what will work for you.

 

[tjmonsen5]

I organize mine like this... whatever is used most is closest to the top. I dont want to bend over every time to reach for my ratchet.
All ratchets and sockets/ extensions/ breaker bars/torque wrenches in the top wide drawer. Wrenches and pry bars in the second drawer. Screwdrivers in the third. Everything else goes where it fits. Unfortunately my pliers drawer is near the bottom of the box but thats they only place they will fit with the pliers rack standing them on thier side. Same goes for air/power tools.

 

[slob]

Remember, weight distribution is somewhat important. Don't put all your 24" pipe wrenches and 2# lump hammers in the top drawer.

 

[Alchymist]

I separate sockets and ratchets by size - 1/4" in one drawer, 3/8 in another, all 1/2 & 3/4 in the top till. Seems like the logical way....

 

[Givl Reggin]

K.I.S.S. = Most used in top drawer, least used in bottom.

 

[CRXPilot]

Thanks all. Just wondering if there was any kind of tool box "code" or if it's just whatever works best for the individual. Sounds like the latter so far.

 

[kossuth]

I'm not a pro mechanic but I'll throw these out there to consider.

First things first: Where will said items fit? If something will only fit in a certain drawer type allocate it inside that drawer first.

Second things: Start with your most commonly used tools like others mentioned and work from there. If you have just a single stack roller work from the top drawer with your most common tools needed and work down. If you have a 6' tall unit or something like that start with your most common tools waist high and fill the box alternating between the drawers up and and below the waist line as items fit and make sense. I'm 5' 10" tall and my top drawers on my old box were only for rarely needed tools because of how hard it was to look in and locate what you needed without a step stool. Remember keep the load as even and low as possible.

Third things: Just because I have room in the drawer for something that doesn't mean it has to go there. Working as a professional means you have to locate things in a timely manner and ensure that your tools get back to their proper home. Obviously this is a balance if you are running out of box space, but if you have plenty of box space spread it out as it makes sense. It's easier to locate something if a drawer isn't jam packed. It's also equally important to be able to not when something is missing just by glancing. If your losing tools or hunting for tools you're not making money.

 

[RCStocker]

Funny post.
If you have room to organize your tools you don't have enough tools to fill your box. LOL
Got tools. LOL It gets to the point you put things where they fit and then get more boxes.

 

[metaleltr]

At my school we have snap-on kra 2007s

1st drawer- Wrenches metric and standard, blow gun, electrical and electrical tape plus a few other small things- setscrews, random bolts
2nd drawer- 1/4 and 3/8 drive sockets, ratchets extensions, 6 and 10 in adjustable wrench, folding hex keys
3rd drawer- pliers, screw drivers, hammer and punches
4th drawer- body hammers, doilies, body file and sanding blocks
5th drawer- currently a cam and a bunch of scrap metal in addition to the usual pull rods and other rarely used stuff
6th drawer- snap on ratcheting screwdriver set, torque wrench, snips, square, mill file, wire brush
7th drawer is kind of a catch all as if 5 and 6 aren't too! the main things are my respirator, torch goggles, and penetrating oil, but i also have some random threaded rod and pieces of flat bar from a past project. Currently I also have two wilwood 6 piston calipers and mounting brackets wait for bolts to be ordered so I can install them on the camaro we are building.

My first three drawers are my go to. I work 80% out of those drawers no matter what I am doing. Although the bottom 3 are kind of a catch all they get opened quite often as well. The body hammer drawer gets opened the least because relative to everything else I use them the least.

 

[Givl Reggin]

The toolbox is your standard 3-piece 26" wide Craftsman bottom box, with an intermediate and a top unit to match. The bottom 3 drawers are extra deep so I made an insert drawer that hangs on the top lip to better utilize the space. The insert drawer can be easily taken out or slid to the front or back to gain access to the drawer bottom.

Pictures are going from top to bottom.

At this point downwards, just about everything you see is Craftsman brand, the drawer liner is an open weave mat that keeps everything in place nicely;

Top drawer of intermediate box;

Top drawer of bottom box, socket rails are Craftsman, black for inch. gray for metric;

Insert box to hold crowfeet & Whitworth;

Insert box with 3/8" impacts;

Insert box for automotive tools;

 

[crewchief888]

i lost count of how many times i rearranged, and reorganized my boxes when i was younger.

it probably took 5 or 6 years until my toolboxes got big enough that i could really get tools layed out like i wanted them.

evn tho i dont use that particular set of boxes at the moment,( i've been a field service mechanic since '04) toolbox layout is still pretty much the same, even if the boxes are different and much smaller.
home boxes are organized very similar to what i have at work/service truck


it takes a while, and everyone is set up different.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

Everyone has their own way of doing it, there is no wrong way or right way.

I personally divide my drawers by type of job and/or frequency of use. At work, I use a gangbox, so I have a series of smaller boxes and bags using criteria like "general hand tools", "alignment", "impact and sockets" and so forth.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Givl, that is a great setup, very organized!!

 

[bcradio]

Givl, that is a great setup, very organized!!

And a very efficient use of space there... If you come organize my boxes then I could probably save enough room to get rid of an entire toolbox

 

[JASTECH]

Givl, very well done, spent time sitting and laying down in bed thinking eh? I sure do, over think it i'm told.

 

[greasemonkey44]

its different for everybody
and for the first few years you will be moving it all around to get comfortable
after 3 years mine still isnt perfect, but im getting closer

top drawer - scantool, scope, powerprobe, multi meter and full set of metric and inch 3/8 sockets
second drawer - the majority of my wrenchs
third drawer- electrical, crimpers, jumpers, relays, test leads you name it
fourth - normal screwdrivers, hose picks, chisels, files, special pry bars, gauges
fifth - taps, dies, rethreaders, 1/2 to 3/8 extension, air hammer bits
sixth - sockets, torque wrenches, and more sockets, die grinders
seventh - everything else, 3/4 sockets, snapon ball joint press, pullers, 4 1/2 grinder, mapp torch, everything big and beefy

but honestly i do most of my work out of a cart with full drawers, and really only out of the top 3 drawers
top has 1/4 stuff, picks, upholstery tools
second drawer has 1/2 impact, torque sticks, commonly used 1/2 sockets, gear wrenches, tire gauge and blow guns
3rd has 3/8 sockets and tools

 

[vga]

Wreches pliers
wrenches elect/ testing/ tape/connectors
vice grips, torque wrenches
ratchets& extensions hammers, pry bars
sockets drills, drills bits,
Large wrenches timming lights, dremel tools, torch, mapp gass tanks

 

[JKady]

Here's the layout as of a month or two ago in my cart. My big box is a mess and not organized that well but most days I only open it to get my keys out of my pockets. I'm primarily an R&R tech, get diag work pushed off on me when it's busy but mostly it's my job to rip cars apart then put them back together in a timely manner.

This isn't current as that POS S-O 3/8 impact has been relegated to my home "I gotta fix this so I can get to work monday" tool set and replaced with a Cornwel CAT2150. There's another couple ratchets up here now and 1/4 and 3/8 deep sockets.

Wrenches in the first actual drawer, pretty much still looks like this just has more non-ratcheting metrics in it now

Plier rack and pretty much all the rest of the pliers I use all the time have been added to this drawer, otherwise just my torque wrenches and 1/2" impact sockets

Break stuff drawer and specialty sockets, has had a set of cornwell allen sockets added since and more air hammer bits

There's a timing light and quick disconnect tools down here along with my small scanner in addition to the front end set and air line when it's not in use.

 

[Southern]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Givl seems to have an ungodly amount of duplicate wrenches.

 

[Inkncraig]

My top drawer. I know where everything is (most of the time)
It thins out when i take my daily tools

 

[SGKent]

heaviest items at the bottom.

 

[Kevin54]

Every individuals toolbox will be laid out different depending on what they do and what they need. I don't know anyone that has laid out their box from someone elses layout. I'd just put the tools where you think they will work, but guaranteed, they will be rearranged from that configuration. It's surprising though that once you get it to where you want it, how you know exactly what is in each drawer or what is missing. On my boxes that I had at work, I think it may have taken me 6 months to get them to where I wanted them and felt comfortable with the drawers.

 

[CRXPilot]

Thanks for all the replies. Food for thought.

Now I gotta work on how to spend my $1000 Snap-On credit with my 50% discount during school (13 more months). Looking around here, that amount won't last long.

 

[RV77]

jesus christ VGA ! 24 ratchets ? Im a professional and only use five.....I think you have a ratchet fetish

 

[braol]

Wreches pliers
wrenches elect/ testing/ tape/connectors
vice grips, torque wrenches
ratchets& extensions hammers, pry bars
sockets drills, drills bits,
Large wrenches timming lights, dremel tools, torch, mapp gass tanks

The langest ratchet in the 3rd pic, what is it? brand? model #? thanks

 

[metaleltr]

The langest ratchet in the 3rd pic, what is it? brand? model #? thanks

Don't know a model #, but it appears to be a matco.

 

[braol]

Thats what it looked like, long 3/8 Matco. Hoping it's as long as it looks

 

[vga]

Its a Matco BFR 158t and its 15" long. its fine tooth but Im not sure how many I have had it for about 2 yrs, Its a grt tool and I use it often.

 

[archirelic]

It also matters on what kind of box/size of box you have as well.

 

[DodgeMech]

My kra5311

Drawer 1...various basic hand tools...

Drawer 2...screwdrivers...

Drawer 3...1/4 inch stuff...

Drawer 4...3/8 and 1/2

And finally, drawer 6 with air and my nice big ****** awesome cman 1/4 inch impact driver that I would kill over some days and would like to see it explode on others...

Drawer 5 has wrenches but at the time I took the pics not any worth showing...maybe I'll get some of my purty new blue point ratcheting wrenches next week...

As for the drawers on the right side, they have boring stuff like tool truck receipts, various gaskets, clamps, and o rings I've "collected" from different jobs, and for some resin I have a perfectly good condition cummins flexplate in there

 

[Givl Reggin]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Givl seems to have an ungodly amount of duplicate wrenches.

I'm from the school that says; "There is no such thing as too many... of anything!"

Actually, I bought one of the largest sets that Craftsman sells... something like 1500 pieces... but, I've add quite a bit to it over the years too.

 

[Givl Reggin]

Givl, very well done, spent time sitting and laying down in bed thinking eh? I sure do, over think it i'm told.

Thanks.

It is my 3rd tool box over a 30-years span... learned a lot from the first one that was just tools thrown in drawers... 2nd one I made individual holders for everything... worked well, but took up a lot of usable space... 3rd time the charm!

 

[Hotrod Addiction]

Givl's box just makes me want to go out and buy more tools. My tool box is looking a touch on the empty side all of a sudden. Seriously though very nice collection Givl.

 

[texasprd]

Givl,

How did you mount those tools in the lid of your top box? I don't recall seeing anything like that before.

 

[Givl Reggin]

Givl, How did you mount those tools in the lid of your top box? I don't recall seeing anything like that before.

Three words; Rare-Earth-Magnets!

And trust me, those are stuck on there good... I mounted two 'doughnut' style magnets (about 2" diameter) to each of the carriers with epoxy and through bolts/washers just to be sure the magnet stayed with the plastic socket carrier and not stuck to the top lid when I pull them off! I think the magnetic pull of those magnets was rated at something like 25LBS each.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Givl, that is a great setup, very organized!!

everything seems .....unused