Tool Box Organization

[BrokeEF]

I FINALLY got a tool box after years of not having space for all my tools. Well now that I got one I want to organize it nicely but I'm having a hard time deciding how to and what to use. I'm going to start with the sockets but I haven't really seen anything that jumps out at me. What is everyone using, where did you get it, what do you like/dislike, and can I see some pics? Thanks in advance for the help and pics.

Sean

 

[krusty the clown]

you might read this.......

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26727

 

[Kevin54]

I FINALLY got a tool box after years of not having space for all my tools. Well now that I got one I want to organize it nicely but I'm having a hard time deciding how to and what to use. I'm going to start with the sockets but I haven't really seen anything that jumps out at me. What is everyone using, where did you get it, what do you like/dislike, and can I see some pics? Thanks in advance for the help and pics.

Sean

You will organize that toolbox and re-organize it a dozen times until you get the right feel. I seriously doubt that there is any two toolboxes on this site that are organized the same way. And organization depends on what you do or what your intentions are to use it for. A motorcycle mechanic will organize differently than an auto mechanic, who will organize it differently than an auto-body repairman, who will organize it differently than a machinist, who will organize it differently than the weekend wrencher. But botom line is....organize it according to what feels comfortable with you and what your needs are.

Oh and BTW....post some pics of the toolbox

 

[Jokeman]

You will organize that toolbox and re-organize it a dozen times until you get the right feel. I seriously doubt that there is any two toolboxes on this site that are organized the same way. And organization depends on what you do or what your intentions are to use it for. A motorcycle mechanic will organize differently than an auto mechanic, who will organize it differently than an auto-body repairman, who will organize it differently than a machinist, who will organize it differently than the weekend wrencher. But botom line is....organize it according to what feels comfortable with you and what your needs are.

Oh and BTW....post some pics of the toolbox

Can't say it better than that.

 

[BrokeEF]

Oh I know I will move stuff around a million times. I was trying to see what was out there as far as holder and trays and such. I like the Hansen socket trays, but they seem limited for what they hold. I dunno, I went through the entire post your tool box thread and saw some good ideas. Ill just mess with it for a while and see what I like and don't like. I'm planning on setting it up Friday and seeing how empty it is Ill get pics up then, even though its nothing special.

Sean

 

[rockvr4]

Sean do you also post on mwir.net? There is a Sean there with the same handle you use

Doug

 

[Jokeman]

I'm planning on setting it up Friday and seeing how empty it is

There will be a feeling of despair when you find your box is more empty that you thought. You will fill it quick. Then need to upgrade to a bigger box. Believe me.

 

[Merkava_4]

You guys are always complaining about American tools being overpriced, but I never hear anyone complaining about the price of Hansen sockets trays. Let me be the first - Hansen socket trays are overpriced!! They're just a bunch of plastic stems sticking up at you. If you got too close to them, they'd poke you in the eye!! I say they shouldn't cost more than $4.99 tops.

Boy do I feel better......I always wanted to say that.

 

[eschoendorff]

You guys are always complaining about American tools being overpriced, but I never hear anyone complaining about the price of Hansen sockets trays. Let me be the first - Hansen socket trays are overpriced!! They're just a bunch of plastic stems sticking up at you. If you got too close to them, they'd poke you in the eye!! I say they shouldn't cost more than $4.99 tops.

Boy do I feel better......I always wanted to say that.

That is precisely why don't use the Hanson trays.

 

[rockvr4]

You guys are always complaining about American tools being overpriced, but I never hear anyone complaining about the price of Hansen sockets trays. Let me be the first - Hansen socket trays are overpriced!! They're just a bunch of plastic stems sticking up at you. If you got too close to them, they'd poke you in the eye!! I say they shouldn't cost more than $4.99 tops.

Boy do I feel better......I always wanted to say that.

I like Hansen trays because they poke you in the eye. Reminds me of dear old mom!

Also I only payed $25 for all six of mine.

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

You guys are always complaining about American tools being overpriced, but I never hear anyone complaining about the price of Hansen sockets trays. Let me be the first - Hansen socket trays are overpriced!! They're just a bunch of plastic stems sticking up at you. If you got too close to them, they'd poke you in the eye!! I say they shouldn't cost more than $4.99 tops.

Boy do I feel better......I always wanted to say that.

Not only that... The other component of the Hansen trays is that you have to polish down the pegs if you want to use them with Snap On sockets made before 1983.

Yeah, they are "spensive", but then again, so are the Wrench Racks you get from Matco, but they look OH So Nice. )

Adam

 

[iamhistory]

I would love to use the Hansen trays, but I too think they are overpriced and I don't "need" them that badly.

And, one of the reasons I was considering them was to be able to see a complete set of sockets and keep things organized. I looked them over in Sears one day and realized they don't even offer trays with a "complete" set of size numbers. Depending on the tray, they skip size numbers...........what I was actually trying to avoid.

Are there any sockets sizes out there (in a typical set of course) that do not exist or do most organizaton type strategies only incorporate the most used/common one? For example a 20mm socket and/or wrench is hard to come by in a "set". I saw one the other day sold separately and it was over $11.00!

 

[T56 Impala]

I picked up mine at Sears, on sale for $9.99 each AND I had a 25% off your purchase coupon. So... I think I did okay. I don't think things that serve a purpose are over priced. Paying for an iffy improvement in quality (un-noticeable if any improvement) is a waist of money. (Like buying SO tools over Craftsman or Toptul) We all know you don't like our choice of tools. Does every post have to reflect that mentality?

 

[BrokeEF]

Sean do you also post on mwir.net? There is a Sean there with the same handle you use

Doug

Thats me

Sean

 

[rockvr4]

Welcome and look forward to seeing the box organization. I just picked up the Craftsman 41" and starting my setup.

 

[BrokeEF]

Yeah the Hansen trays are expensive, and they don't have anywhere near enough spots for all my sockets never mind that I have 6 and 12 point. I'm gonna guess that I will need something that isn't labeled with sizes so that it can hold the real small and the real big ones. Ill have to look around for a while to find what I want I think.

Sean

 

[garfunkle24]

Yeah the Hansen trays are expensive, and they don't have anywhere near enough spots for all my sockets never mind that I have 6 and 12 point. I'm gonna guess that I will need something that isn't labeled with sizes so that it can hold the real small and the real big ones. Ill have to look around for a while to find what I want I think.

Sean

I get the lack of storage for big sockets but I don't know what you mean about 'not enough spots'. Also which smaller sizes aren't there places for? I didn't think that the Hansen trays really skipped any sizes, but I haven't looked that closely I guess.

 

[BrokeEF]

Ill have to verify Friday but I believe that I have sockets that wouldn't be included in the openings on the Hansen trays. Like for an example tray has spots for 3,4,5,6mm and I have 1,2,4.5mm sockets (thats only an example)

Sean

 

[rockvr4]

Hansen trays go a low as 4.5mm. What would a 1 or 2mm socket be used for?

 

[BrokeEF]

It was an example just to make it easier to know what I was talking about.

Sean

 

[benny27]

I have my sockets on ernst rails.

http://www.ernstmfg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=88

what I like about them is that you can have them set up any way you want 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 on the same rail if you like. ez to see if you have a socket missing since there is not those extra spots like on the Hansen trays.

have my Wrenches on the Wrench Organizers from snap-on.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=storage&Group_ID=3225&Group_name=Wrench+Organizers&Cat_ID=134049&Cat_NAME=Tool+Storage+Accessories&Sub_Cat_ID=134120&Sub_Cat_NAME=Hand+Tool+Organization&store=snapon-store

was going to get the 40 wrench holder from ernst. they are about the same but the ernst the wrench slots are small to big and the snap-on are the same size all the way up. you can cut both to fit in your box the way you like.

 

[komobu]

I will post some pics of my box later...but for socket organization, I like magnetic rails. You can get your sockets quickly, and you can expand them as you get more sockets. I also like foam for my wrenches and screwdrivers, ratchets and extensions. When I am done with a ticket, I can quickly look through each drawer and see if I am missing something. An empty space where a socket or ratchet should be really stands out. It really ***** to leave a snap on socket or extension behind on a car. You might make only ten or fifteen dollars in labor off the particular car, but leave fifty dollars worth of tools under the hood.

Always check your box after every car!

Pat

 

[BrokeEF]

Thank you for the links, I'm kinda leaning toward something like that. I will have to poke around that site for a while and see what they have. Foam is way in the lead for the screwdriver drawer. Wrenches I like the holders a lot they have the same open space advantage as foam. I don't work on cars for a living, but I still like the open spot for a missing tool. Loosing tools ***** no matter if it was left in a car or just walked out of the garage some how.

Sean

 

[rockvr4]

More organizational ideas http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15375

 

[beelsr]

Let me be the first - Hansen socket trays are overpriced!! They're just a bunch of plastic stems sticking up at you. If you got too close to them, they'd poke you in the eye!! I say they shouldn't cost more than $4.99 tops.

Indeed they are! Which is why I waited until this year when Sears had them on sale for 9.99 and I had a coupon for 1/2 off. Close to your max price too...

Of course, I bought one less than I really needed so that one will gouge me but.....

 

[TejasBimmer]

More organizational ideas http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15375

Made it to my Favorite List!

 

[beelsr]

I have my sockets on ernst rails.

http://www.ernstmfg.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=88

what I like about them is that you can have them set up any way you want 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 on the same rail if you like. ez to see if you have a socket missing since there is not those extra spots like on the Hansen trays.

Ernst rails are cool but Sears has them for $10/3 pack. HF has them for $5/3 pack. With either place, it's cheaper to buy another 3 pack than buy the additional packs of attachment pieces.

The really nice thing about these that you don't think about until you find out you can't fit everything on the rail is that you can use BOTH SIDES. If you do so, you can fit about 25-30 sockets on one rail. I don't have that many on my u-pull-it rail but I do have about a dozen on the "back" side...

 

[Fedwrench]

Ernst rails are cool but Sears has them for $10/3 pack. HF has them for $5/3 pack. With either place, it's cheaper to buy another 3 pack than buy the additional packs of attachment pieces.

The really nice thing about these that you don't think about until you find out you can't fit everything on the rail is that you can use BOTH SIDES. If you do so, you can fit about 25-30 sockets on one rail. I don't have that many on my u-pull-it rail but I do have about a dozen on the "back" side...

The Black and Grey plastic racks that Sears and the grey set Harbor Freight sells don't have two sides for attaching clips.

 

[beelsr]

Yeah the Hansen trays are expensive, and they don't have anywhere near enough spots for all my sockets never mind that I have 6 and 12 point. I'm gonna guess that I will need something that isn't labeled with sizes so that it can hold the real small and the real big ones. Ill have to look around for a while to find what I want I think.

Sean

What I did is get the Hansens. For numbering on the holder that didn't match what I had on the peg, I just gave it a quick swipe of the file to remove the # and wrote my own with a ultra-fine sharpie.

Where I ended up with extra sockets that wouldn't fit on a peg, I arranged the holders so that the extra sockets were clustrered as much as possible and then made my own socket board. I arranged the sockets to the side of the trays so that they kept going in order and traced them onto a piece of hardboard/masonite. Drilled the holes out to hold the sockets and then glued the hardboard onto a piece of 1/4" ply and bob's your uncle. I made the masonite a bit biger than I needed in case I need to add some more sockets later.

For the sockets were they won't physically fit on the hansens (hex, torx, flex, crowfeet, etc...), I put them on the ernst rails and screwed them all to a piece of 1/4" ply.

 

[beelsr]

The Black and Grey plastic racks that Sears and the grey set Harbor Freight sells don't have two sides for attaching clips.

Holy carp batman! You're right. I never noticed that when I got them from Sears and never tried to double those ones up....

 

[BrokeEF]

OK here is my box, its a lil empty but that will change soon enough.

3/8 deep sockets and other stuff

3/8 sockets and drivers

Standard wrenches

Metric wrenches

Screwdrivers

Pliers

1/4 drive sockets and drivers

1/2 drive sockets and drivers

Misc.

We'll call this one electrical/misc.

Drill (takes up to much space in the case so it will be changed around to get more power tools in there)

Whole Box

I DID have more screw drivers, I have no clue what happened to them but thats first to be ordered. Some Ernst organizers are on the way as well.

Sean

 

[jkeyser14]

That's a sad tool box, too empty. Go buy more tools!

 

[garfunkle24]

The grips on those pliers account for 3/4 of the volume of your tools!

Seriously, that look like a good start. Neat, tidy and room to expand! Now as I think someone already said, go buy more tools!

 

[mkdive]

x3 buy more tools! Good start though, looks clean.

 

[sputnikv8]

What I did is get the Hansens. For numbering on the holder that didn't match what I had on the peg, I just gave it a quick swipe of the file to remove the # and wrote my own with a ultra-fine sharpie.

Where I ended up with extra sockets that wouldn't fit on a peg, I arranged the holders so that the extra sockets were clustrered as much as possible and then made my own socket board. I arranged the sockets to the side of the trays so that they kept going in order and traced them onto a piece of hardboard/masonite. Drilled the holes out to hold the sockets and then glued the hardboard onto a piece of 1/4" ply and bob's your uncle. I made the masonite a bit biger than I needed in case I need to add some more sockets later.

For the sockets were they won't physically fit on the hansens (hex, torx, flex, crowfeet, etc...), I put them on the ernst rails and screwed them all to a piece of 1/4" ply.

snap a few photos...sounds like a good compromise

 

[beelsr]

I'll try when I get a chance. today was cleaning day because friends are coming over tomorrow for a couple days of completely programmed days. good thing is they'll have a dig cam - mine took a dump... :-(

 

[BrokeEF]

Ok I redid a little of the box, nothing to special but here it is anyway...

Redone top

Redone 3/8 drive and socket drawer

Redone power tool drawer

And here are some randoms of the garage...

Worlds loudest air compressor and 100' hose reel

Work bench area

Our pesudo fab area (Its behind a 17' fishing boat which was pushed further back than normal in this pic)

Sean

 

[beelsr]

snap a few photos...sounds like a good compromise

here's a shot of a mock-up I did. B-i-L came over and took his 56" Extreme box back. He's moving and will have a garage again. I let him have the blocks. I need to buy a box now - my old 42" Costco special is now overloaded....

Here's the theory using a piece of scrap. You put the wood next to the hansen and mark the holes and drill them. hansen 3/8 metric goes to 20mm, so in the mock up, that's 21 and 22 you're seeing in the block.

Just lay out your stuff so that you don't need a dozen pieces of wood in your drawer.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=24406&stc=1&d=1230630504

 

[Vinko]

It really ***** to leave a snap on socket or extension behind on a car. You might make only ten or fifteen dollars in labor off the particular car, but leave fifty dollars worth of tools under the hood.

Always check your box after every car!

Pat

I wonder how many people are innocently driving around, having recently taken their car to the mechanic, with tens or hundreds of dollars of tools in the engine compartment?

 

[Vinko]

BrokeEF: who makes the cushioned-grip locking pliers you've got there? Are they Blue Point?