"Spring Type" Wrench Holders?

[garfunkle24]

Great ingenuity and easy for others to make with on-hand materials. Wouldn't last 2 minutes in my road box though.

 

[mooman]

I started this project last night. I used 10ga. on one and 12ga. on another. I wrapped it around a piece of 3/4" pvc pipe. Worked well. Now I need more wire.
The only think I'm pissed about is the drawer that I used to have them in is too shallow for standing them op. My 1" wrench just hits the bottom of the next drawer above it. I may have to leave that one out of the wire stand.
Great mod to tool storage!!

 

[mdbeck1]

I started this project last night. I used 10ga. on one and 12ga. on another. I wrapped it around a piece of 3/4" pvc pipe. Worked well. Now I need more wire.
The only think I'm pissed about is the drawer that I used to have them in is too shallow for standing them op. My 1" wrench just hits the bottom of the next drawer above it. I may have to leave that one out of the wire stand.
Great mod to tool storage!!

This particular project is on my list of "to do" but I haven't gotten to it yet.

So how about bending the loop to allow the wrench to sit at an angle?
I'll have the same problem I've got a shallow wrench drawer and everything from 1/4" to 1-1/2" in the same drawer. The 1-1/2" have to lay down flat.

Maybe if you posted a picture???

 

[jeffk14]

Well, now I'm REALLY done, lol. I've bent up the 10 gauge for the larger wrench sets and left some of the smaller sets with the 12 gauge. Maybe the difference in sizes of wire is noticeable in the pics if you look close enough. I also bent up one last rack for an 8-piece set of offset box ends that are on order.

Oh, now I'm color coded. Metric is white wire and SAE is black.

 

[mooman]

Great idea guys. Here's my take on the holders.
I wound the 10 ga. wire around a 3/4" piece of PVC pipe.
Much more room in the drawer!!

 

[PSYKO_Inc]

Not as cheap as wrapping copper wire around a broomstick, but I wonder if an AR15 buffer spring would work well for this...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YMV2QM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[peelman]

With the price of copper right now that might not be a bad way to go

 

[Slow Gray Mule]

I did this using a wire coat hanger and the tapered end of a small baseball bat.

 

[porphyre]

I did this using a wire coat hanger and the tapered end of a small baseball bat.

That is an excellent damn idea. You are thinking outside the box, sir!

 

[peelman]

That is an excellent damn idea. You are thinking outside the box, sir!

+1.

My next batch I'm going to try and wrap tightly/squarely around a 1x2 or 1x3, see if i can get some long, flat "springs" like others have suggested...

 

[a350z4me]

How do these hold up in actual use? With an actual wrench organizer, wrenches can be picked up and put back very quickly, without disturbing any of the other wrenches. I can't help but feel that with these types of holders, I would spend more time than I should when I was putting everything back and making it look nice. After all, there is actual work to do...

 

[jeffk14]

How do these hold up in actual use? With an actual wrench organizer, wrenches can be picked up and put back very quickly, without disturbing any of the other wrenches. I can't help but feel that with these types of holders, I would spend more time than I should when I was putting everything back and making it look nice. After all, there is actual work to do...

Very quick to get wrenches out but not quite as quick to put them back as with a regular holder. Not a big deal to me though since I'm not a flat rate mechanic.

Everything usually gets put back when I'm done with whatever job I'm working on. The thing I like about them is the tremendous space savings and that I can easily tell if anything is missing when I put the wrenches away.

 

[jeffk14]

+1.

My next batch I'm going to try and wrap tightly/squarely around a 1x2 or 1x3, see if i can get some long, flat "springs" like others have suggested...

That's a good idea but I'd look for a piece of square/rectangular steel tubing of the size you desire. Others have reported that the wire digs into wood just enough to make it hard to slide off without distorting the shape.

 

[peelman]

If i have trouble I may seek out something a little more solid, but I think the wood I have in mind will be fine; i'm using coated 12ga solid, and I'll round the corners off on the block with some sandpaper before wrapping. as long as i pay attention when wrapping it shouldn't be a big deal. We'll see i guess.

 

[mdbeck1]

That's a good idea but I'd look for a piece of square/rectangular steel tubing of the size you desire. Others have reported that the wire digs into wood just enough to make it hard to slide off without distorting the shape.

BTDT. The coils looked nice but when I tried to slide them off the wire bit into the 1X2 and I had to bend the coils to get them off of the board. Once off the board the coils didn't look too good so I straightened the wire back out and tried a round one.

The most promising one that I have come up with was grabbing the ring sizer from the wife's tool box. It's tapered and seemed to do okay but I still wasn't pleased. It's a good idea but I haven't found the right mix yet.

 

[BoilermakerNate]

What an awesome idea, works great!!!

 

[Krokodil]

You guys make this look good!

 

[BEAVO]

this is awesome. i like it because its very cheap and simple thanks for the ideas guys srmofo where in sw ohio u live?

 

[route246]

I've been messing around with this using 8-gauge copper wire and 10-gauge Romex. I actually like the Romex better, even though it is thicker and wastes a little space.

 

[bchee]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BP7M4G/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[balrog]

Yesterday I used some "hanger wire" that supports grid ceilings in commercial buildings. Much more rigid than romex. If you know an electrician or HVAC tech ask them for a couple lengths.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_89091-61-78..._prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1

 

[dragonle87]

Where did you get the black wrench holder (bottom of your drawer)

 

[DodgeZ]

here is my overloaded box. I think it is time to get rid of the junk tools and sell off the random tools I have 3-4 duplicates of.

wire mod for the win.

 

[jeffk14]

Where did you get the black wrench holder (bottom of your drawer)

Those 2 holders at the bottom of the pic came with the sets of wrenches pictured in them. "Ace Pro" brand, bought at Ace Hardware. I didn't need them but they were marked over 50% off at $9.99 per set (SAE and Metric).

 

[91bronc300]

Since I just got linked back to this thread today I though I would post mine. 10 gauge solid THHN wrapped around a steel pipe. I LOVE these holders compared to the racks I was using before. Now the wrenches are completely vertical and as close together as possible.

 

[bhalv]

hey, where are you guys picking up this coated wire?

 

[peelman]

I picked up mine at Menards. Lowes or Home Depot carry the same stuff. I think i ended up getting 12ga, but I'm pretty sure 14ga would be sufficient for all but the largest wrenches. Copper was higher than hell the last time i looked, wire prices were all way up; i'm not sure where they are now.

 

[mod600]

I joined this site after finding a link to this idea.

This looks like a great idea. When you wrapped your wire aound your broom handle/pipe/PVC/etc did your wrap the coils tight against each other and then spread them out to fit your wrenches or did you space the coils out while wrapping. I've got a few miles of electric fencing wire that I might practice with. I like the idea of the copper electrical wire, just cause of the insulation to grip/protect the wrenches and the color coding.

 

[4x4gearhead]

I joined this site after finding a link to this idea.

This looks like a great idea. When you wrapped your wire aound your broom handle/pipe/PVC/etc did your wrap the coils tight against each other and then spread them out to fit your wrenches or did you space the coils out while wrapping. I've got a few miles of electric fencing wire that I might practice with. I like the idea of the copper electrical wire, just cause of the insulation to grip/protect the wrenches and the color coding.

Welcome! This is the first of many great ideas you will find here on the site. If it were me I would start out by trying to wrap them pretty tight and then stretch them out when it came time to put wrenches in them.

 

[srmofo]

Welcome! This is the first of many great ideas you will find here on the site. If it were me I would start out by trying to wrap them pretty tight and then stretch them out when it came time to put wrenches in them.

I did the same...except I used a steel pipe. It was a PITA when I tried to slide the wire off a wooden dowel.

 

[Outlawmws]

Has anyone tried winding the wire onto some rectangular tubing? You could even make one loop as a higher loop for the carry handle srmofo was looking for earlier and tied the thing to a thin support plate. the only think I don't like about the handle idea is it may force you to keep the wrenches in a deeper drawer.

This might make a decent rack for files as well, to keep them vertical and away from each other.

 

[mdbeck1]

Has anyone tried winding the wire onto some rectangular tubing? You could even make one loop as a higher loop for the carry handle srmofo was looking for earlier and tied the thing to a thin support plate. the only think I don't like about the handle idea is it may force you to keep the wrenches in a deeper drawer.

This might make a decent rack for files as well, to keep them vertical and away from each other.

Back when this thread was new.... I tried to wrap the wire around a 1X2 and then a 2X4. It didn't work well for me. It seems like I tried 1X1 square steel tubing as well. I couldn't get the corners to come out pretty so I gave up.

Yes I wrapped them tight then pulled the ends to get the spacing I was looking for. However I have a habit of grabbing a group of wrenches so I eventually went back to the Sears "Sort-A-Tray". Still looking for a better solution and haven't found anything I like..

 

[jeffmoss26]

Not sure if you guys are using solid or stranded wire, but I gave this a try with some #10 solid wire I had laying around. I don't have too many wrenches but it definitely cleaned up the drawer!
Before:

After:

 

[78Bird]

I've used this for wrenches and pliers/cutters as well. Made some larger coils, and its just enough support so they dont fall over in normal drawer movement. Not superb for grabbing whole sets, but if you work direct from the box you wont find a better solution thats custom, easy to implement, and cheap.

 

[Catamount]

I like the idea but can you guys really see the size markings on the wrench? When I'm going for a wrench, I want that exact size. It seems like the wire holds them almost 90-degrees to the drawer and very tight to each other which would make reading them difficult?

Am I wrong here?

 

[91bronc300]

I like the idea but can you guys really see the size markings on the wrench? When I'm going for a wrench, I want that exact size. It seems like the wire holds them almost 90-degrees to the drawer and very tight to each other which would make reading them difficult?

Am I wrong here?

I used a red paint marker from the craft store to mark the size with. My handwriting looks like $h!t but then it's hard to write neatly on wire. You could probably try a label maker if you want a cleaner look.

 

[peelman]

My springs are laid at an angle. I can see the sizes just fine.

 

[ajchien]

I used to use the spring holders. Then I got a bigger box. Pretty soon, I'll need to use the spring holders again. Thus is life on the Garage Journal.

 

[mdbeck1]

I like the idea but can you guys really see the size markings on the wrench? When I'm going for a wrench, I want that exact size. It seems like the wire holds them almost 90-degrees to the drawer and very tight to each other which would make reading them difficult?

Am I wrong here?

you can bend the coils so that the wrenches sit at an angle. That makes the numbers easier to see.

As previously stated... you can also put labels in.

 

[GarageWarrior]

Just tried this last night. Straightened out clothes hangers and wrapped the wire around jack handle.

Heavier wire also works great for pliers, channellocks, crescent spanners, wise-grips, snips, etc.