Socket and wrench holders?

[Bob]

What are some GOOD socket and wrench holders? I got sick of having my sockets all over in the tool drawer so I bought these cheapo socket holders. They **** pretty bad. They are the old style where the socket just snaps on to a spring bent peice of metal. The sockets either fall out or are on so tight I bust my knuckles trying to get them off.

Thanks!

 

[eschoendorff]

I bought this organizer for sockets called "socket-to-me" (cheesey, I know) at Harbor Freight. It was about $9.00. They also have one for wrenches called "wrench-it-to-me." The organizers take up the better part of one drawer. They may not hold enough for large collectiosn, but they sure have helped me organize my toolbox. Unfortunately, I can only find them in the Harbor Freight stores and not on the website. Hope this helps a little...
-Ed

 

[Bob]

Thanks! Thet is where I got these ones actually. I did not see the ones you speak of but I can always go back and look again.

 

[wythors]

The ones I have I got from Sears. I have 6, one for each drive size in both standard and metric. I don't remember what they call them, but they have posts that the sockets slide over that have the size stamped on them. The sockets just sit on them rather than snapping on and you don't have to take them off to read the size. Very convenient.

 

[JohnHenrys48]

I still use the knuckle buster socket strips. They're a pain to R&R the sockets but are convienent to pickup and move around. I grab the strips I think I'll need and put them on my cart. They tray style look great for organizing a drawer but I didn't see how I would be able to pick up a whole tray and take it where I needed it. The ones I have are Craftsman and I do think they are a little more rugged than the ones I've seen at Harbor Freight.

 

[gb387]

If you have a deep enough drawr here is a good option for sockets. I have a full set and really like them. They are made by "Hanson Glodal" and you can get them at Sears and Northern. You can get them for metric and standard 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 dirves.

 

[wythors]

If you have a deep enough drawr here is a good option for sockets. I have a full set and really like them. They are made by "Hanson Glodal" and you can get them at Sears and Northern. You can get them for metric and standard 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 dirves.

Those are what I have! I looked through www.craftsman.com and couldn't find them for the life of me.

 

[erok01]

I went with the craftsman socket rails as well.

 

[capo72]

They are made by "Hanson Glodal"

At the place I used to work, we built the molds for these. I did alot of the EDM work on those molds. I have a few sets that were tryout parts. They are ok in my opinion. I probably would never buy them, because I think they are kinda flimsy when loaded down. They will only fit in a deep drawer, so I just leave them on the bench. They are not nearly as portable as the rails, where the socket snaps on, and if you knock it over your chaseing rolling sockets for a while. Just my .02

Jeremy

 

[Luckydevil]

I'm using these plastic Kobalt socket holders I bought from Lowes. I think they were about $6 each and I am very happy with them.

 

[Wile1Coyote]

At the place I used to work, we built the molds for these. I did alot of the EDM work on those molds. I have a few sets that were tryout parts. They are ok in my opinion. I probably would never buy them, because I think they are kinda flimsy when loaded down. They will only fit in a deep drawer, so I just leave them on the bench. They are not nearly as portable as the rails, where the socket snaps on, and if you knock it over your chaseing rolling sockets for a while. Just my .02

Jeremy

Interesting that you say that Jeremy as I have been using these for about two years now, got mine from Griots but sears and or Northern has em cheaper now. At Sears I think they are a catalog only item not sure you will find em online. Anyway They are flippin awesome! The marked sizes means that I don't have to squint at the sockets trying to figure out what I have grabbed and I can take the whole setup right to where I am working. They will spill if you tip em but I have never had that problem and the fact that you can easily pull em and return them to where they go means that I am more likely to put them back when I am done. I had rails for a long time and the sockets just never seemed to make em back on the rail. The only improvement I could see would be to put four rows of pegs on each set so that I could keep my deep and std, 6 and 12 points all together, but I just bought two rails for each size and I am good. Probably isn't an issue for most. The fact that they color coded Metric VS SAE is nice too. All in all a great product in my opinion and well worth it. I keep mine in the flip up top of the box so the height wasn't a factor for me. In most cases they will probably NOT fit in a drawer.

 

[Wile1Coyote]

As a side note, I noticed today at Lowes that these are available there as well under the Kobalt brand name. Seemed a bit cheaper.

 

[dirtrider]

I know this is an old thread but just for reference I really like my Craftsman socket organizer (http://bit.ly/ebKae4) it provides an easy way to store and organize the sockets, which includes a marking for the size of every socket and it fits perfectly in one drawer. And each hole is custom sized for each socket. No more dealing with scattered rails or hard to read sockets.

 

[JayL]

What would be a good wrench holder / rack for these Short and Midget wrenches?

 

[crewchief888]

i use combinations of socket holders, some hansen trays, some SO & CM metal socket rails and clips, some OEM stamped metal trays.
for wrench holders most of mine are MTS, and a couple metal wrench trays from matco.

 

[SpeedCoach]

check these out (plus the other storage options).

http://www.ernstmfg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24_20&products_id=68

 

[NOTABLAZER]

I know this is an old thread but just for reference I really like my Craftsman socket organizer (http://bit.ly/ebKae4) it provides an easy way to store and organize the sockets, which includes a marking for the size of every socket and it fits perfectly in one drawer. And each hole is custom sized for each socket. No more dealing with scattered rails or hard to read sockets.

I have these too,makes it completely idiot-proof for me to see what's missing

 

[Fueler]

I have tried them all over the years. The craftsman snap on thingies work the best for me, especially for carrying a set to the job.

Wrenches. Unfortunately all the holders available are too cute and take up too much room so I just have them laid out in a "somewhat" decent order in the box. Holders also don't work out real well when you have multiples of some sizes.

I once thought these were a cool idea but the magnets aren't near strong enough for the larger sockets if you have to carry them around.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941377000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11

 

[supertooljunkie]

I use socket rails, Hanson trays, and the Harbor Freight Hanson knock offs for sockets. I have a few Ernst wrench racks, but mainly, I use these wrench strips from Snap on. They have double stick tape on them, and you cut them to lenght. They can be as wide or narrow as they need to be. Only problem is.............they aren't portable.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=3225&store=snapon-store

 

[SJK2]

These also look interesting, but have not tried them yet........

http://tritonproducts.com/index/products?family=7&detail=about

 

[JayL]

I purchased one SK Wrench holder around 2 years ago and it works really well. Material is soft enough ( without sacrificing the product durability )that the wrenches are easy to get or store . Are these still sold and in smaller sizes too?

 

[The Rider]

I purchased one SK Wrench holder around 2 years ago and it works really well. Material is soft enough ( without sacrificing the product durability )that the wrenches are easy to get or store . Are these still sold and in smaller sizes too?

Looks almost identical to:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965272000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

 

[unclemoak]

The ones I have I got from Sears. I have 6, one for each drive size in both standard and metric. I don't remember what they call them, but they have posts that the sockets slide over that have the size stamped on them. The sockets just sit on them rather than snapping on and you don't have to take them off to read the size. Very convenient.

I just ordered 12 of them. 3 red, 3 gray, 3 black, and 3 blue so I can sort all my sockets by SAE/Metric, 6pt/12pt, and by drive size 1/4" / 3/8" / 1/2".

 

[Underdog]

I've got these. They work well for me, quick in and out, somewhat pricey.

http://www.wrenchboss.com/home.asp

 

[y2knole]

anyone use one of these? just came across them online this morning:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965223000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11

for portable use, for wrenches, I hvae a few big rings that I fit my std and metric wrenches over from HF, and put them in a tool bag:
these here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-wrench-rings-37074.html

work like a charm.

 

[84bimmer]

These look like the best socket holder to me. These trays are really nice, but expensive. Known as lock a socket and twist socket.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XSI8MG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

And for stubby wrenches check out this site. I'm about to order some myself.

http://www.tiretoolsonline.com/Wrench-Organizers_c_4203.html

They have just about any wrench rack you could want in just about any color. Cheap too. Don't bother trying to get any SK wrench racks from a retailer, I've tried there are virtually none left.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

anyone use one of these? just came across them online this morning:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00965223000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11

for portable use, for wrenches, I hvae a few big rings that I fit my std and metric wrenches over from HF, and put them in a tool bag:
these here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-wrench-rings-37074.html

work like a charm.

I used the sort a tool racks and actually bought two so I have one for metric and one for standard sizes. I even modified it a bit to fit larger ones.

And as for the sockets I use the grip trays

 

[Mario]

I use 2 of these for metric and SAE wrench. On one "plate" I can fit long, ratcheting and shorts wrenchs.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/76-Piece-Ultimate-Wrench-Organizer-Toolbox-Wrench-Rack-/380301702768?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item588bbf7670

For socket I tried socket rails and custom plastic tray and I now use and like the Hanson knockoff.

I still use sockets rails for 3/8 sockets bits (Phillips and Torx)

 

[84bimmer]

I use 2 of these for metric and SAE wrench. On one "plate" I can fit long, ratcheting and shorts wrenchs.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/76-Piece-Ultimate-Wrench-Organizer-Toolbox-Wrench-Rack-/380301702768?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item588bbf7670

You can get these at harbor freight for around $10. This is what the guy in the first response was talking about.

 

[Jeeper]

I use craftsman rails for my sockets and the sort-a-tool for the wrenches.

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

I really like the Ernst Mfg line for any toolbox organizational need.

www.ernstmfg.com

Here are my sockets on Ernst Rails. Red is for SAE, Blue is for Metric:

And here is how I organized my wrenches. Red is SAE, Black is Metric:

All of this stuff can be found on the Ernst Mfg website. Great company with a great product!!

The only other thing I use for organization is the Hansen Socket Trays. I use that for my impacts. The Ernst rails seemed to grip way too tightly to the sockets, really turned into a pain.

Here are the Hansen socket trays:

Hope this helps.

 

[Ohio Auto]

For wrenches I use the older snap on red holders..

For sockets I use the metal clips..you can adjust them to fit your sockets by using a small screwdriver. Here's a pic of my 3/8" drawer:

 

[Mario]

You can get these at harbor freight for around $10

No Harbor Freight here in Canada...

 

[rhdave]

No Harbor Freight here in Canada...

I've seen the basic wrench racks at Sears and Canadian Tire, never the full drawer type one though. I'm not sure I'd the big one, I'd never be able to rearrange items if I wanted to.

 

[whatsitsname]

I use these http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941378000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00941378000P
Great for on the job or take to go. Magnetic so the sockets don't fall out.

 

[Skin]

I know this is an old thread but just for reference I really like my Craftsman socket organizer (http://bit.ly/ebKae4) it provides an easy way to store and organize the sockets, which includes a marking for the size of every socket and it fits perfectly in one drawer. And each hole is custom sized for each socket. No more dealing with scattered rails or hard to read sockets.

that would be fine if drawer space is at a premium but they really do waste a ton of space especially at the larger sizes. Also if you mix and match brands you'll find issues.