Tool box woes

[BrokeEF]

Well it finally happened, I have filled my box to capacity. I dont know if I should be overwhelmed with joy, or saddened that I cant buy tools for a little while. Now of course the proper route would be to buy either a second box, or a bigger box ASAP, but there is a problem with that. Other than the cost of it, my box is currently stored at an off-site facility because I do not have my own garage. This brings up two big issues, the first of which is space. While it is a nice large garage, room is becoming a premium these days and my box taking up more space is not winning anyone over. The second problem I can see is transportation of said box once I get my own garage. In a perfect world I would like a 72" box that I can use as a work bench as well since I wouldn't really need a top box on it. But because a 72" is bigger than our current work bench that is going to be a HARD sale, never mind the heavy hit on my wallet. So I can see 4 options, with 3 being remotely realistic.

1. Stop buying tools (unrealistic)
2. Buy a intermediate box for my current set up
3. Buy a 41" roll cab
4. Buy a 56" roll cab

Option one is really not an option at all, lets be real. Option 2 does not sit well with me because it is very temporary. I currently have a 26" C-Man set up, and one thing I need is more deep drawers. What I mean by deep is front to back space. The top ones (and the ones on most intermediates) are very shallow front to back. That brings me to some of my gripes on options 3 and 4. From what I have seen the 41" boxes are 18" deep which is the same as my current Craftsman bottom. The 56" boxes seem to be 20" deep which is a step in the right direction if you ask me. Technically speaking the 18" box is fine, but more is better . As I said space is a premium, and while that make looking at large boxes sound out of the question, I am already taking up 26" with my current box. Plus I have some misc **** on the side which is at least a couple of feet wide, that I could get rid of with a larger box.

Anyway, the budget is around $1,000.00 Lets hear what you all have to say!


Thanks,
Sean

 

[tonydanzah]

menards 37" masterforce bottom box

 

[BrokeEF]

menards 37" masterforce bottom box

We just got one of those at work, and I am impressed. Does anyone know if the 41" is deeper, or is it just wider? I know from reading that the drawer layout is not as great. I would have to stare at it for a while, but I wonder if that would hold all of my current tools. I am kind of obsessive about tool organization...

Sean

 

[bczygan]

I just don't see a better solution than the one below. Tough, strong box with great weight capacity, BB drawer slides, add on system of top box, side cabinet and side drawer unit available. Beats any other option.

 

[BrokeEF]

I just don't see a better solution than the one below. Tough, strong box with great weight capacity, BB drawer slides, add on system of top box, side cabinet and side drawer unit available. Beats any other option.

This is a 41" box correct?

Sean

 

[Red Green]

Craftsman sells intermediates that are as deep as the bottom boxes.

Whats on cragislist or ebay for your area?

 

[mrholeshot]

Buy a used toolbox that is around 35 inches wide but 24 inches deep. You be shocked with the extra room you will have in a deep box. 1000 dollars would buy you a nice used box. Then sell the craftsman to recoupe some money. Something like a Snap-On KR550/555 of 650/655 combo can hold about 3 times what a set of 26 inch craftsmans. Careful shopping can yeild a nice set of either. The only differance is the 500's don't have roller slides but friction slides work well

 

[Boiler]

If you're up for the trip to Muncie Indiana (4-5 hrs I'd guess) I've got a pretty nice craftsman ball bearing box that I got with a collection of tools off of a guy. I believe it is 41" wide, its pretty tall (top and bottom box) and the boxes are either 18" or 20". I need to get $550 out of it. It is in pretty nice shape, lots of fingerprints, some stickers that I (or you) could remove, etc. Some drawer liners included.

That would solve your storage issues for quite a while and leave you with $450 for tools. Oh, I happen to have lots of those for sale too =)

If interested, PM me for more details.

 

[leod]

or sell us your old tools so you have room for new ones

 

[Kilo70]

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?R=TSSNA07019412_0059143895#

Heres a Box from Napa Auto Parts for $999.99 ,41" ,60" with the Side Box.
Looks pretty good.

 

[BrokeEF]

or sell us your old tools so you have room for new ones

I dont understand

Sean

 

[bczygan]

This is a 41" box correct?

Sean

Yes,
Here are the specs:

http://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/90000-90999/90320.pdf

Look here to see the add on cabinets and drawer units:

http://www.harborfreight.com/13-drawer-red-industrial-quality-roller-cabinet-90320.html

Bill

PS I love mine and will be getting another and their red service cart too.

 

[Steevo]

Who makes the boxes for Napa?

 

[lowbucktruck]

Who makes the boxes for Napa?

Looks like the manufacturer of the NAPA box there is Homak, according to the warranty info.

 

[marcusicp]

From the NAPA box link:

" Drawers Hold 88 lbs Each On Top Chest & Rolling Cabinet; 44 lbs Each On Side Cabinet"

Not sure that sounds very strong at all!

 

[tonydanzah]

We just got one of those at work, and I am impressed. Does anyone know if the 41" is deeper, or is it just wider? I know from reading that the drawer layout is not as great. I would have to stare at it for a while, but I wonder if that would hold all of my current tools. I am kind of obsessive about tool organization...

Sean

i have both the 41 and 37, the 37 hold more since the drawers are full length. the 41 is like a 26 and 16 together.

 

[BrokeEF]

Not to nit pick guys but...
The Harbor Freight box has drawers that are less than 16" (shallower than the current box)
The Napa one has the noted lower weight capacity, and is a large box with the side cabinet. Of course I don't have to put that on, but then I need to store it somewhere.
The Masterforce is nice, and the price is good so that is still an option. The only issue I have with a 38-41" box is that I feel I will need a top box in order to have enough space.
The Craftsman listed above is a GREAT deal, and seems like it will work for what I need. BUT its far away (gas is expensive in a truck) and I still need to smooth over the idea of a larger box with the garage owner....

Thank you for all of the input so far, lets keep it coming. I just got two more Snap-On ratchets today, and a third is on its way sometime this week...


Thanks,
Sean

 

[Stick Figure]

with out know more about the current situation and what you use your tools for i'll throw out another option:

buy a cart.... keep your most used tools in the cart, and you can pack your main box a little more tightly if you don't need to be in and out of it every 10 seconds. The cart can usually be rolled around easily enough that it can't get in the way.

 

[crewchief888]

Buy a used toolbox that is around 35 inches wide but 24 inches deep. You be shocked with the extra room you will have in a deep box. 1000 dollars would buy you a nice used box. Then sell the craftsman to recoupe some money. Something like a Snap-On KR550/555 of 650/655 combo can hold about 3 times what a set of 26 inch craftsmans. Careful shopping can yeild a nice set of either. The only differance is the 500's don't have roller slides but friction slides work well

^^^^

what mrholeshot said.

when i bought my kr550/555 comb, i had a 5 drawer kennedy roller, 2 SO 3 drawer mid boxes, & a kennedy 10 drawer top that were pretty full.
i had a lotof empty space in the new boxes when i moved tools in.

of course, that left room for more tools
and then no room
then another box
then more tools
again, no room

kinda see a pattern developing ?

ive seen a couple kr550/555 in the $500-$750 range. lots of room to grow into, and $$ left over for more tools
and at least for me, i can move an unloaded box this size without help.

 

[Sterff]

Are you sure its "full" because alot of people say that and I end up seeing alot of wasted space.

 

[hedjhawg]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45628

 

[livey]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45628

i dont think they carry that box anymore. It was on closeout a couple weeks ago for like 1300 bucks.

 

[BrokeEF]

Are you sure its "full" because alot of people say that and I end up seeing alot of wasted space.

There is some wasted space, but its full enough for me. Some drawers are packed, and others have some space because of how I have to lay out the tools. Wrenches for example are bad in my box. I had to keep them in the upper chest which has shallow drawers (front to back) meaning I could only lay them on thier sides. I would really like to use the Ernst wrench rails, but I could only fit those in my bottom box which is full.

Sean

 

[Stick Figure]

just for fun you should post drawer pics and see what ideas everyone has for re-arranging to gain more space. Even if the ideas don't work for yourself, could be helpful for someone else in a similar situation.

 

[BrokeEF]

Here ya go!

Here is the top which is somewhat of a catch all.

Drawer 1 which is misc stuff. The bags are various wire terminals

There is a Snap-On TL72 on the far left now, and the cardboard thing was a joke which has to be in the box

This is SAE wrenches and I hate this layout

This is metric, with the small wrenches at the top being SAE since I couldn't fit them in the proper drawer

There is a matching pair of smaller channel locks that is in the empty space most of the time

Screwdriver run off in the electrical drawer (hence why the terminals are in a different drawer).

SAE 3/8 drive, Metric 3/8 drive, and SAE/Metric 1/4 drive

Nowhere else for the nut drivers so they ended up here. 1/2 drive SAE/Metric. There is a Snap-On S80 and SL80 across the front between the drawer front and sockets now.

Only room for one set of rails in this DEEP drawer near the bottom of the box

I don't have a picture of the very bottom drawer, but it is the most full. It houses my drill, light, 4" angle grinder, solder gun, bit/driver set for the drill, and brake bleeder tool. If it was my garage that stuff probably wouldn't live in my box. Lets hear it guys


Sean

 

[bmxr4life87]

take your socket rails off those grey holders and turn them sideways that will free up about half of your drawer, take all your electrical connectors and put them in a container similar to whats below, find a deeper drawer to stand your pliers on end, or place all the stuff from the top of your box in a shallow drawer and move your sockets to the top open area with your extensions that will allow you use of your current 1/2 drawer to place a wrench organizer even if you have to chop it down a little to fit depth wise, use a drawer organizer to keep various small stuff in better order

 

[harvero]

I guess others would consider my draws a bit over loaded.

Separate boxes for metric and SAE.

 

[Sterff]

Ernst wrench rails would do the job nicely.

 

[BrokeEF]

Ernst wrench rails would do the job nicely.

They would, if I had a drawer to put them in. All of the drawers in the top box are to shallow to stand anything up in. I couldn't even fit some of the larger screwdrivers in them. That is the same problem with the pliers, I want to stand them on edge like is shown above, but simply do not have a drawer to do that in. The sockets are used the most, so they way they are works the best for me, and they are OK on space. I know that I could make them take up less room, but I like the current accessibility. Also they wont fit on the rails in the top of the box, that is where I wanted them. As for the organizer, I defiantly do need one or two. The drawer with the connectors changes quite often and is hard to keep it as useful as I would like. I need more drawers that are deeper both top to bottom, and front to back.

Sean

 

[SM Racing]

I can fit all my 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4 sockets in the top drawer of the HF box. All my screw drivers below that, etc. The drawers are close to 18in deep. All of my sockets are on metal rails. I would post a pic if I had them on this computer. I am also using a tool cart as well, but I have two 41in boxes, a craftsman single 41in drawer box, HF addon cabinet, a crapsman 26in stack and the HF big Red roll cart. I have had great success with all that. The sockets are in the big HF drawer, most of my metric wrenches are in the craftsman single drawer on top of the HF box, the standard are in the top drawer of the Waterloo 41in roll cabinet. I would like one more of the Craftsman single drawer units to put on top of the Waterloo box. I will try to post pics tonight when I get back to the shop.

I would go with the HF box, if you can find their 56 that could also be an option, but they are kinda hard to find. I don't like having tall boxes, I can't see in them, so having a wall of 41in boxes work well. I wouldn't mind having a 24in deep Snap On box but I am not coming out of pocket for that right now.

 

[eyeboltman]

Budget ??? !!! ??? Just go with a nice Snap On Mr. Big .

 

[W650Mike]

No offence buddy, but you are storing a lot of air. Racks, rails, and other organizers would go a long ways in freeing up space – for more tools of course.

 

[BrokeEF]

No offense taken, but given the drawer sizes that I have to work with I cant fit many with any kind of organizers. When I move to a larger box I will have a LOT more space mostly because my drawers will be deep enough (top to bottom, and front to back) to use things like plier racks, wrench rails, and so on. If my box was full of drawers the same dimensions as the very top drawer of the bottom box (Picture #8 with my sockets), then I would be in business.

Sean

 

[tvfd911]

I understand having everything easy to get to, but I don't think you'll have to give that up to gain some room in there.

Ernst low profile racks won't even fit in there? http://www.ernstmfg.com/products_lowpro_wrenches.php

I'd put a rack like what BMXR posted for pliers in your current screwdriver drawer and move the pliers there which would leave lots of room in that drawer yet. Utilize that deep drawer space.

Move the screwdrivers to the current pliers drawer.

Nut drivers in the matching metric/SAE combination wrench drawers assuming the low profile ernst rack fits?

Just a few quick ideas off the top of my head seeing those pictures...

 

[BrokeEF]

I understand having everything easy to get to, but I don't think you'll have to give that up to gain some room in there.

Ernst low profile racks won't even fit in there? http://www.ernstmfg.com/products_lowpro_wrenches.php

I'd put a rack like what BMXR posted for pliers in your current screwdriver drawer and move the pliers there which would leave lots of room in that drawer yet. Utilize that deep drawer space.

Move the screwdrivers to the current pliers drawer.

Nut drivers in the matching metric/SAE combination wrench drawers assuming the low profile ernst rack fits?

Just a few quick ideas off the top of my head seeing those pictures...

Ultimately I don't want the low profile rails, I want the regular ones. So they may fit, but I don't want to try. On top of that the screwdrivers wont fit in the plier drawer for a few reasons. First off that drawer is much smaller than the current drawer they are in front to back (4" I think). Second some of the bigger drivers have handles that are too big to be able to close the drawer without a rack (if the rack would even fit). When I first laid out the box I wanted it MUCH different than what it is now, but it just wouldn't fit any other way. I have made some changes as I could, but overall that is the best way I can get what I have in there.

I took a tape measurer to the Master force at work today. My only gripe is the front to back depth of the drawers is a little less than others I have seen. It was just a touch under 16" where some of the nicer ones are a little over 16". I believe my craftsman bottom box (which is 18" OD) is a little over 16" inside the drawers. I haven't fully decided if that is a deal breaker or not. I know what I want to fit in there WILL fit in there but I like a little breathing room

I also know that I can improve my box layout somewhat but there is no way to gain a sizeable amount of room. Say I got a full set of T-Handle allen keys, there is NO WAY I could get them anywhere in that box. I am considering this
http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com/all-toolbox/montezuma-tool-boxes-56-11-drawer-tool-cabinet.html
BUT I am having a hard time selling moving to a 40" box, so I may do nothing at all untill I have my own garage and I get something like this
http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com/all-toolbox/72-montezuma-classic-16-drawer-tool-cabinet.html


Sean

 

[jay50]

You sound like you are just a tool collector and tool polisher.
Just sell your excess; you don't use them anyway.

 

[BrokeEF]

You sound like you are just a tool collector and tool polisher.
Just sell your excess; you don't use them anyway.

Yep, that must be it. I must have forgot about that while building this...

And here is its third pass (9 psi) with about 20% converter slip and the wrong gear

I should just give them all away because they obviously get no use at all...


Sean

 

[atari]

You sound like you are just a tool collector and tool polisher.
Just sell your excess; you don't use them anyway.

Wow, do they sell Snap On brand tact

 

[BrokeEF]

Wow, do they sell Snap On brand tact

It's OK, I know I use the hell out of my tools for a non pro. I guess because I take care of my tools, and like them well organized they must not get used.

Sean

 

[crewchief888]

You sound like you are just a tool collector and tool polisher.
Just sell your excess; you don't use them anyway.

wtf
kinda harsh