Tool Boxes - Who needs 'em?

[ThumbsUp]

I've finally got the floor finished, and am moving on to building in work benches in two opposing corners of my shop. Around most of the perimeter walls, starting at 3' up the wall, will be 4' high white peg board. In my last shop, I learned that keeping a few essential tools where they are most used was a real time saver; especially in a 4500 sq ft shop.

So as I'm thinking about the arrangement of shop tools, refrigerators, sinks, etc., I asked myself where I would put the two roll away tool chest I've had for 'umpteen years. But I've come to think that I don't need the tool boxes at all.

Why do I need to tuck the tools away in a drawer, causing me to walk half way acroos the shop, search for the right tool then walk back to where I'd use it? Please don't mistake that statement as one that I'm unorganized. I learned a long time ago that time spent searching for parts and tools is time lost in the shop, so I keep my tool boxes arranged like the carts in the hospital ER ( and I have lots of experience in the ER - as a patient!). Everything has a given place and everything is in it's place.

But I'm going to have massive amounts of wall space to put every hand tool I own at the ready. Security is not a concern since I live in a rural area, down a private road.

So why do I need tool boxes? This is a legitimate question, and I'd appreciate the pros and cons of your viewpoints.

 

[ddawg16]

It's a good question.....and for years I got by with all my tools on a bench top box and on the wall.....

Then I got my first decent roll-around.....wish I had done it sooner.....
I roll the tool box over to my jeep or what ever I'm working on.....I spend a LOT less time getting tools and I'm more likely to put the tools back in their proper place so I can find it again.....

I hate to think how much time I spend trying to find a tool I just put down.....when the box is near...I put it back where I got it....

So....keep the boxes...

 

[sammerdog]

Set up your shop however it works best for you. About the only thing I'd throw in the mix is you may want to hold onto either a deep-drawered chest or cabinet for any pneumatic tools you may have - just to minimize dust contamination.

I out grew a couple of Craftsman combos and started looking at another bigger unit. Scratched my head and instead started setting up portable "grab" boxes. One with all my plumbing stuff, one with all my electrical stuff, etc....

I could see a decent tool cart being your life saver. Hit the walls and grab the tools you need for your project, have them laid out like a surgical table next to your patient, and wheel them back over to the wall when you're done.

A lot of older guys who do woodworking hang most everything on their walls. Some of the guys outline their tool's homes on the pegboard. When something is not in it's "home", it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

A lot of older guys who do woodworking hang most everything on their walls. Some of the guys outline their tool's homes on the pegboard. When something is not in it's "home", it sticks out like a sore thumb.

That's because we are getting old enough that we forget what we have. What forum is this???

 

[Harley Monster]

Hey Thumbs...I agree with Dawg.

If you have a small garage then a big tall chest is great so all your tools are at one location, but if you have a big shop like you have (4500 sq ft) then the centralized tool thing doesn't make as much sense because your tool storage is always going to be on the opposite side of the shop from where you need it...that's one of those laws, isn't it.

A lot of my background is in aviation...hangars are huge, even compared to a 4500 sq ft shop. In a work environment like a hangar roll around tool storage is the only way you can do it.

I have two Craftsman "bases", the largest they made at the time, they are about 40" high and 40" long and 18" deep. They have big casters with brakes, a push handle at one end and a folding shelf on the other and a rubber mat on top with ball bearing drawer slides. They each have 15 drawers in two columns, one column is wide the other more narrow with the bottom drawers being real deep for big tools like 1/2 impacts.

Just grab the handle and push them up to where you are working whether at a car, under a lift, next to a bench, where ever you go your tools are right there.

I only push one around, the other is for storage of the less often used tools but if I have a big project I can easily put both boxes within reach.

To me this is the only way to go in s shop as large as yours.

Harley Monster

 

[GrantMLS]

my father who has an amazing collection of tools that he has collected over hte years has never once had a tool chest.. he never saw the purpose in spending all that money.

 

[petty4243]

I agree with most of what has already been said, however i also like the wall idea...
I would consider investing in a 2-3 drawer quality tool cart... lighter weight easy to move... keep the basic set of sockets wrenches etc in the drawers and when you need others tools grab them off the wall...

I also agree with sammerdog... you will definatly want a decent cabinet for electrical testing and air tools just to help keep them in optimal condition

 

[mmg440]

My self I don't see the wall replacing the chest. I think things like sockets and torx bits pliers, vise grips, door tools. Pressure tester or scanners just won't hang on a wall well. I also think air tools and measuring (mics dial indicators and such) tools should be in a protected area for longevity. I will hang a row of wrenches as well as screwdrivers and stuff on the wall but not to replace the ones in the roll around cabinet.

 

[rsanter]

depends on several factors
how many tools do you have?
what kind of tools do you have?(basic hand tools? specialty tools? etc)
what kind of work you do in there?
how much work you do in there

I would think you would need to use botom boxes only and have them portable so you can take them to where you are working

bob

 

[jerk_chicken]

I've always been back and forth myself about hanging tools on the wall. I've always done my work on the ground, no lift, so it's convenient to have everything there, rather than running back and forth to get the right socket/rail or wrench, or whatever. My tools also look like hell from rolling and dragging along the pavement. Anyhow, for my future garage, it will likely be a combo. Bike tools go up on the wall, but the good stuff goes in a box. Most of the stuff I'll be getting comes in its own boxes, so I can pull the set out of the drawer and have it on my helper cart or on the ground with me.

As far as hanging goes, I always wondered about this, as I plan on having some sort of regulation for the temps in the garage, and with the car going in and out and doors opening and closing, I wonder about humidity and other factors in the air that can lead to tool corrosion. You guys might have better experience.

 

[JOHNMAN]

I have several boxes. Each box has it's purpose (for the most part). I keep the tire changing/balancing stuff near the changer and balancer, I keep the welding stuff over where I do most of the welding. My general tools are in a big roll around that quite frankly is too big to roll around, but it is located near the lift where I choose to do most of my wrenching.

My benches will wrap around most of the walls in my shop (still under construction). I do keep some specialized stuff in smaller hand held boxes for other home repairs like "samerdog" suggests.

I simply dislike pegboard (and most other dust collecting stuff) hanging on the walls.

Occasionally (at most annually) I get rid of spider webs and other bugs that seem to accumulate in the shop. When I have had **** hanging on the walls, it simply seems to get in the way and makes the whole place feel cluttered like grampa's old shed.

Each of us will have our own opinions and this one is mine.

just my $0.02

 

[hodag]

I plan on doing a bunch of built in cabinets and pegboard above my bench when the new garage is finished. But I also plan on keeping my one smaller roll-around.

My reason for keeping the roll-around is that I have friends whose "tools" consist of 2 mismatched screwdrivers and a pair of vise-grips. When those guys call for me to come work on their dead-in-the-water stuff, I take the top half of my roll-around with me. I can roll it right up to the tailgate of my truck and slide the top right into the bed. Since it probably weighs well over 100lbs, this is a nice feature.

Hodag

 

[russlaferrera]

Thumbs up, I tried to see your point and lost it somewhere between "walking 1/2 way across the shop to get a tool."

IF you put your tools on a pegboard am I correct in thinking that's where you will be working? If so , why would you not place your rolling toolbox in the same area?

Should you have a project in the pegboard area that is not near completion. What is your secondary work location? How do you get to your tools?

I know this system would not work for me, as I have several projects which pop up during the week that are not planned.

 

[Frank Elson]

My drive is currently 50 yards from my workshop. And no "wheeled" access.
If I'm working on my car I can traipse up and down the garden a dozen times, carrying heavy stuff. Whatever I take to start you can bet I need something else in a while.

When I move, and get my proper garage, all of my tools will be in roller boxes. They will be rolled right up alongside my car at the start of any job. This is my dream.

 

[ThumbsUp]

Thanks for all the valuable input. I have enough tools that they will be repeated around the shop, so my statement of "walk halfway across the shop" only applies to using the roll aways. With the wall system, I'll have most everything I need at each end of the shop, save for a few specality tools. I mean, what's the use in having 14 3/8" ratchets all in one drawer of a tool box? Spread the love, man! If I need a ratchet, it seems more plausible to me to just go to the wall and get one.

BTW, I plan to arrange the shop so that there is a "clean" workbench at one end and a "dirty" workbench at the other. And in the other opposite corners, there is a 8 X 5 bathroom and a 12 X 8 office, opposite shelving units that are 20 feet long, 20" deep and 10' high.

The real ***** has been pulling wire for everything; 6 circuits for 120v outlets, 3 220v outlets (welder), multiple light circuits, and hard wired 220v air compressor and point of use water heater. Air plumbing has already been distributed around the shop, inside and out, using a "halo" system of 3/4" pipe with 1/2" drops.

Back to the topic at hand, I see the need for some tool storage in a protected environment, but for the most used tools, I'm leaning towards wall storage.

Again, input is appreciated.

Thanks.

Greg

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

You said security isn't an issue, so that is out.

Gramps had a user stupidity rule. He used a lot of home built, military style foot lockers (as well as some homemade tool boxes). He would hang common stuff, or loaner stuff that people could grab and use. He would lock up his best tools, or ones he didn't want others to use. Then he would pull out what he thought he needed, and put them in a portable chest/box, to go where needed.

Imagine the wife using a good screwdriver as a can opener, and paint stirrer.

 

[MarkH]

Just like tools, you may actually need multiple types of storage.

Farming we use in the shops and they are close to hanger sizes to fit combines etc in.

Roll around job carts that you stock and take to the machine for the job on hand.

These are stocked from both tool boxes and wall pegs. Each for what works best. Sockets ratchets wrenches fit will in boxes. Clamps, screwdrivers, pullers work best on the wall. So wall pegs for these are located as close to the boxes as possible. The rest of the wall is used for parts storage.

The exception for this is the work benches. These do have a couple drawers built in for sockets and the rest of the most common wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, etc hang on the wall right in front of you. The most common tools are duplicated there for speed and not having to go looking for them. A different brand or color to denote where they belong.