Tool Sorter Organizers

[thengel]

We are developing and manufacturing a range of tool organizers. What do you think of this range of products for wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and pliers? So far sold only available on Amazon; site www.skyleapllc.com has more information and pictures. I got sorted and can find stuff a lot easier in my tool drawers. Information and pictures on our website and on Facebook Tool Sorter

 

[d.mcfarland]

The wrench one is useful with the sizes marked.

 

[monomach]

The socket, screwdriver, and plier organizers are just really bad designs. They waste too much space...especially the socket organizer. That thing is pretty much the worst ever.

The wrench organizer is one I've seen before and it's not bad, but I won't buy one that stops at small sizes like that.

Also, you're not fooling anyone. We know you work for that company.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

Same as what they said. I like the wrench tray. Would prefer to use Hansen socket trays instead of the design they did.

 

[thengel]

Not sure about bad design comment. Pliers tray takes up same space as existing racks, but is portable. Screwdriver tray holds more and different sizes than other racks and is portable. I like the low profile of thee organizers in general for shallow drawers.

 

[monomach]

Not sure about bad design comment. Pliers tray takes up same space as existing racks, but is portable. Screwdriver tray holds more and different sizes than other racks and is portable. I like the low profile of thee organizers in general for shallow drawers.

Seriously, stop acting like you don't work for this company. Before this thread, your only post on GJ was one back in August trying to talk up that terrible socket organizer.

Your pliers rack has a huge footprint and is not adjustable, meaning that precision (or any thin profile like, say Knipex Cobras) pliers have a big amount of wasted room around them.

The screwdriver tray is for laying screwdrivers out horizontally in a drawer. If you work in a shop, 99% of your drivers are being held vertically on a service cart. If you're a home DIY guy, they hang vertically from a $5 organizer on the wall.

...and that socket organizer is the worst one I've ever seen. That's a crazy amount of room to hold a few sockets.

 

[chipper]

A lot of my pliers wouldn't stand up in a shallow drawer...not interested!

 

[SASORacing]

I like metal trays like this, more bang for your buck, metal, and highly portable:

 

[creativecars]

I don't like the idea of mixing my metric and SAE sizes. This may be ok for the home owner, but I already know what size I am needing before I open the drawer.
Although the socket organizer does mix the metric/SAE, the long sockets are laying down and that will allow them to be in a shallow drawer.

 

[thengel]

Not trying to fool anybody - I make these things! And this is not a sales pitch, but an attempt to hear from tool guys what they think, So, although I don't necessarily agree with your opinion I respect what you are saying.

 

[panknuckshovel]

The wrench one is useful with the sizes marked.

Sears has it on the shelf.

http://www.sears.com/sort-a-tool-in...prdNo=2&unitNo=0001255&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

 

[thengel]

What seems to get lost in the discussion is the sizing feature of the socket organizer. The sizing studs measure the inside of a socket - this works for all brands and qualities.

Other socket sorters measure the outside diameter which is different for sockets of the same size depending on quality (= thicker walls) and brand.

 

[NitroSun]

IMO:

Socket tray is an awful waste of space
Screwdriver tray doesn't do anything that a drawer liner doesn't do.
Wrench and plier tray look pretty good.

 

[monomach]

What seems to get lost in the discussion is the sizing feature of the socket organizer. The sizing studs measure the inside of a socket - this works for all brands and qualities.

You're fixing a problem that isn't a problem. It's a huge waste of space for everyone who knows how to read.

I've never seen one use that much space to store so few sockets.

I guess you could market it to the blind, but they have no business using a box full of sockets, anyway.

 

[thengel]

Sizing of sockets may be an issue for guys like me with arms are not long enough to read without problems, or when light is not great, or when sockets are worn etc.

As to waste of space - agreed, if you store long sockets only. However, quite a large number of short sockets (>50) can be stored, and the key thing is the low profile (= shallow drawers). And before you beat me to it - sockets are not held in place like on rails. Not a problem if the tray stays in the drawer though.

We developed this organizer with the homeowner in mind and this is what I get confirmed reading your comments.

 

[creativecars]

Also, the sizes accommodate the generic sets, not a professional's set. No one here has just a small set of screwdrivers or sockets that only go up to 1".

This should be marketed towards the wife that is looking to give here husband something for his birthday, but does not do oral.

 

[bczygan]

Organizers of any kind just waste precious space.

I throw all my tools in and wedge them into any available space.

No OCD here.

 

[blown94conv]

I have the wrench organizer, but couldn't see me getting the others.

 

[FMC1959]

I like organizers but the problem with them is that you are often pigeon hole the user into what they hold. I like your wrench tray, but it maxes out at 18 - 3/4, too limiting. Also mixing SAE & metric is NOT good for me.

The prices are good but you are looking at a very small market. You have excluded the many pros & serious DIYers, with what has been stated above. Your average Joe homeowner either does not have a tool chest or buys wrenches that come in a case or pouch.

The socket tray really missed the boat in my opinion. Does not save space and with some standing and some lying down, looks MORE disorganized.

The screwdriver and wrench are OK, I am not sure they add anything for me. I put both on the drawer liners as I please and they don't move, works for me.

 

[gungatim]

I think you should look at how the guys on here actually organize their tools. Several threads on screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. When you see how most of us actually do it, re-design them to match. I am always looking for tool sorter/organizers but rarely buy them because they are either too expensive or too limiting. your designs are probably the worst I have seen. I lay out my screwdrivers exactly like your tray, but the tray itself has no benefit. the plier rack maybe is OK, but most of the guys make their own to fit their size/style of pliers. not being adjustable is a drawback.

edit - I'll add this: Features, Benefits, Proof. Need all 3 to make a sale.
The features you have do not equate to benefits for most folks here...

 

[bwringer]

I think the concept of grouping sockets by fastener size is very interesting.

I hadn't really considered that before, but I can see where it would be handy to have, for example, all your 14mm sockets in one place (short, medium, deep, 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive, universal, impact, etc.). If you're looking at a 14mm fastener, you can then go to the toolbox and choose your weapon(s).

Screw the haters. These organizers will work for some people and won't work for others. Many of your organizers (such as the pliers rack) could be useful for organizing other kinds of tools or objects.

Personally, I would need five times the drawer space in order to use any type of organizer. I think lots of us are in the same boat, so we're really not part of your target market anyway.


All that said, please clearly disclose that you are a vendor or manufacturer when you post your products.

 

[thengel]

Appreciate all the comments - some more, some less !
I thought my wording when posting the blog was neutral, i.e. the intention was NOT to post a sales pitch, but to get opinions of professionals. My apologies if you think this was misleading the members of this forum!

 

[black00lightning]

Most of the organizers I've come across waste too much space.

 

[crewchief888]

as a pro i see all of them as a waste of available drawer space.

even with my set up @ home, a lot of space is wasted.


"harry homeowner" may fall in love with it, but it's not for me....

 

[DennisH2014]

I will say that I can see the value in the screwdriver tray; it does keep them neatly organized and offset so they're still relatively compact. I think it would be smart of you to offer a larger one as well, professionals are going to have more screwdrivers, think of the different kind of fasteners we may encounter.

I think the wrench and socket trays are honestly terrible. I think that mixing sizes/standards in a single tray is just a terrible idea. Instead I would suggest 2 trays, one metric, the other SAE, and increase the range of sizes. The socket tray is just wasteful, and once again, I'm not a fan of the standards mixing. Even for shallow drawers it doesn't feel like the mot efficient use of space, and the hexagonal opening is totally irrelevant to me honestly. I like to be able to size the socket visually, it allows me personally to find what I need quicker, and if the tray were properly manufactured, any socket should fit properly because drive sizes (1/4", 3/8", etc) should be relatively universal.

Aside from those thoughts, allow me to offer some constructive criticism on this thread in general. First of all, these are not sold only on Amazon. I've definitely seen the wrench tray @ Sears, in person. Secondly, being somewhat deceptive regarding the nature of your interests isn't a great move when searching for professional opinion. When a company/sales person seeks my advice regarding a product, I will gladly help them and offer my feedback, provided they are up front with me about what they want and who they are, or who they're representing.

Anyways, think about what I said, and what my fellow GJ members are telling you. It seems you've sort of ignored one of the most important aspects of successful business: give the customer what THEY want, not what you want.

 

[thengel]

All points well taken. Let me clarify one thing - our products are sold exclusively on Amazon. This may change, but for now this is it. What you find at Sears is Sortatool, a slightly different older version of the wrench tray.

 

[MechanicNamedJohn]

I like the wrench/socket combo wall hangers, but there are a few things I would do differently. For starters, use a magnet also to hang it; I think these would be much better suited for the service cart. I would make it universal to hold 1/4-1/2 drives, screwdrivers, extensions, pliers, etc.

Honestly I think they have a lot of potential. I you want, send me a few sets, I'll do a review on YouTube and Instagram (35,000-75,000 people will see it.) I'll also offer my suggestions to change or tweak the existing design. I'll also show my local tool truck reps, maybe they will buy a few?

PM me if you're interested.

 

[Scottwi]

I am not a professional even though I pretend on weekends.

I like tool organizers that keep tools from moving but my tool box spends a lot of time in the trailer traveling.

I also agree that most of them take up too much space and can't be custom fit to your exact needs. Not every organizer will work for every one. You need to find the one that fits your tool box and tools. The only thing that will do it all for my purpose is custom cut foam inserts. These are the one I made for the box I keep in the truck.

I think your will work for some and I am going to check them out.

 

[dwysywd]

We are developing and manufacturing a range of tool organizers. What do you think of this range of products for wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and pliers? So far sold only available on Amazon;

Am I on a site with a bunch of morons? How is this UNCLEAR to at least 3 people in this post? "We are..." Do you just post before you read or do you not understand English?

As for the organizers, I am your average joe. I think they are great. I don't have a ton of tools. I like the organizers BC if I leave a tool lying around I can see it's missing. I have the craftsman ones now and don't like how the socket has to sit in the hole cut for OD.

Thanks for asking us our real market opinion, obviously there are some high school drop outs here that cannot read the FULL DISCLOSURE you made in your introduction and VERY FIRST sentence.

Please don't let the keyboard ninjas deter you for bringing cool ideas to the forum and asking for ideas.

Attention: morons, read the entire initial post and then reread it before you decide your "IMHO" lashes out and just ruins the read of the entire thread. Further, I believe he asked for input on the design...not if you personally felt compelled to buy them. As a business owner myself, I think how most of you responded is a poor example of the camaraderie that we all feel when we join a site. Try talking to people rather than down to them with your elite knowledge that your so much smarter than everyone!

Rant over...

Nice organizers, I think I might buy the wrench and sockets for sae and mm.



Sent from my bag phone...

 

[espyking83]

Where will they be manufactured? Plastic or metal?

I like the wrench tray. The socket tray seems a bit over complicated and a bit of an eyesore, I think you guys would be better off doing something similar to Westling. The plier rack looks nifty. Dress them up a bit and add some color. Some of us wrench turners like something that goes with our boxes.

 

[espyking83]

I'm going to be completely honest here, but there's no way Im going to pay over $10 for a tray made out of plastic. Maybe that's just me.


Just checked it out and they're USA made, so that's a definite plus. I'll be sure to check you guys out once you get up and rolling.

 

[creativecars]

Am I on a site with a bunch of morons? How is this UNCLEAR to at least 3 people in this post? "We are..." Do you just post before you read or do you not understand English?

As for the organizers, I am your average joe. I think they are great. I don't have a ton of tools. I like the organizers BC if I leave a tool lying around I can see it's missing. I have the craftsman ones now and don't like how the socket has to sit in the hole cut for OD.

Thanks for asking us our real market opinion, obviously there are some high school drop outs here that cannot read the FULL DISCLOSURE you made in your introduction and VERY FIRST sentence.

Please don't let the keyboard ninjas deter you for bringing cool ideas to the forum and asking for ideas.

Attention: morons, read the entire initial post and then reread it before you decide your "IMHO" lashes out and just ruins the read of the entire thread. Further, I believe he asked for input on the design...not if you personally felt compelled to buy them. As a business owner myself, I think how most of you responded is a poor example of the camaraderie that we all feel when we join a site. Try talking to people rather than down to them with your elite knowledge that your so much smarter than everyone!

Rant over...

Nice organizers, I think I might buy the wrench and sockets for sae and mm.



Sent from my bag phone...

No, you are NEW to a forum where there are many people who have more tools than what is offered at Walmart. It is usually not a good thing to go into a new neighborhood and call people names. Since you are the new person here you should probably read more than you type (as in to lash out).

As far as function of these organizers. For me they simply take up too much space for the organization they are supposed to help with. I have wrench sizes from 5mm through 25mm so the wrench organizer is useless, this is true for the rest of the organizers also. These should be marked to someone who can get all the tools they need from Walmart.
Many of the tool guys here have seen these gimicy things come and go and have found what works for them. These really are nothing new and less than perfect.
BTW... are you the op's girlfriend?

 

[steed andersen]

The wrench rack is the only one that looks practical. The pliers rack not very much storage and the socket tray is very wasteful of space. I know I'm looking for maximum tool storage in my box.

 

[Fedwrench]

How hard can it be to develop some type of sliding rail system that allows it to be tailored to your drawer/set size, and organizes with a small footprint?

Don't give me anything premarked with sizes either. No one uses a 20mm socket Hansen!!

I just want blue for Metric and red for SAE.

Your pliers rack looks like the one Lisle offers, your other holders resemble Facom module holders.

This one was on your website. I don't know why but it seem handy to me for a cart lid or someone using pegboard to have a wrench and a socket collocated.
http://www.skyleapllc.com/socket---wrench-racks.html


Thanks for the effort though and keep trying.

 

[justme-]

I agree the socket organizer is simply a waste of space in a drawer - If you don't know what size set you need for a task at hand (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 drive) then you should put the tools down until you can identify what tools are appropriate for what jobs. Not meaning to be insulting, but factually if you don't know what range a 1/4 drive has you're going to have problems. Plenty of socket sets have cases that work superbly from the manufacturer - metal racks like all sockets used to come in work great, and Hansen style or rail style work for most. I can't follow how needing glasses to read sizes translates to needing a molded "nut" to help return the socket to the proper space. Unless you take out several sockets of close size it's obvious where the one in your hand goes. My Kindergartener can sort by size of objects - so storage showing the using end of the socket is simpler, easier to sort, and for more compact.

Everyone makes a plier organiser these days and most seem to look like that. the molded spaces force sort order which is not necessarily what the individual wants the order to be. I would suggest making it longer (more slots) and narrower (where the vertical dividers stop stop molding - wasting plastic that could be put into more plier spaces.

Screwdriver sorter has wasted space too - drop the bit holder in the driver section and allow for a longer screwdriver to be placed there. It's not big enough to fill the drawer (wasting space in the drawer) and bigger than other methods of driver sorting.

The wrench rack is an example of a "we make one too" product. Is it patented? Is Sort a soze patented? Is someone licensed or are we going to be seeing one of you in a legal case soon? If you want to do something with this rack to make it better or different than the other guy, change the size decals - give the sae/metric like you/they do and give us all SAE and all Metric, or individual labels with multiple sizes for each SAE and Metric.

Example - I need 2 sets of sae and Metric wrenches in my box. Coworker has Bluepoint mag rack which works ok, but it not portable. Normal racks only hold one set - your set can hold 2 sets and be portable (can't throw it in a field bag but I can set the whole rack of SAE on my service cart and take it to the machine.) Now, different (standard red/blue or blk/grey) labels allowing me to note the SAE sizes in one rack would be a selling point to myself and several others I know, including another coworker who has the other guy's rack and has SAE in one half and Metric on the other.

 

[Tellingthem]

Am I on a site with a bunch of morons? How is this UNCLEAR to at least 3 people in this post? "We are..." Do you just post before you read or do you not understand English?

As for the organizers, I am your average joe. I think they are great. I don't have a ton of tools. I like the organizers BC if I leave a tool lying around I can see it's missing. I have the craftsman ones now and don't like how the socket has to sit in the hole cut for OD.

Thanks for asking us our real market opinion, obviously there are some high school drop outs here that cannot read the FULL DISCLOSURE you made in your introduction and VERY FIRST sentence.

Please don't let the keyboard ninjas deter you for bringing cool ideas to the forum and asking for ideas.

Attention: morons, read the entire initial post and then reread it before you decide your "IMHO" lashes out and just ruins the read of the entire thread. Further, I believe he asked for input on the design...not if you personally felt compelled to buy them. As a business owner myself, I think how most of you responded is a poor example of the camaraderie that we all feel when we join a site. Try talking to people rather than down to them with your elite knowledge that your so much smarter than everyone!

Rant over...

Nice organizers, I think I might buy the wrench and sockets for sae and mm.



Sent from my bag phone...

Umm before you start calling names and lecturing people maybe you should consider the fact that the OP has edited his post.

"Last edited by thengel; Yesterday at 10:43 AM."

So could it possible be that the initial post did not contain the disclosure?(which it didn't because I read it when he posted it originally.) So while you may think of everyone as a *****. Before calling names you should make sure that what you are ranting about is correct or else you may end up looking like...a *****.

 

[Airframer]

How hard can it be to develop some type of sliding rail system that allows it to be tailored to your drawer/set size, and organizes with a small footprint?

Don't give me anything premarked with sizes either. No one uses a 20mm socket Hansen!!

I just want blue for Metric and red for SAE.

Thanks for the effort though and keep trying.

This

 

[monomach]

Am I on a site with a bunch of morons? How is this UNCLEAR to at least 3 people in this post? "We are..." Do you just post before you read or do you not understand English?

As for the organizers, I am your average joe. I think they are great. I don't have a ton of tools. I like the organizers BC if I leave a tool lying around I can see it's missing. I have the craftsman ones now and don't like how the socket has to sit in the hole cut for OD.

Thanks for asking us our real market opinion, obviously there are some high school drop outs here that cannot read the FULL DISCLOSURE you made in your introduction and VERY FIRST sentence.

Please don't let the keyboard ninjas deter you for bringing cool ideas to the forum and asking for ideas.

Attention: morons, read the entire initial post and then reread it before you decide your "IMHO" lashes out and just ruins the read of the entire thread. Further, I believe he asked for input on the design...not if you personally felt compelled to buy them. As a business owner myself, I think how most of you responded is a poor example of the camaraderie that we all feel when we join a site. Try talking to people rather than down to them with your elite knowledge that your so much smarter than everyone!

Rant over...

Nice organizers, I think I might buy the wrench and sockets for sae and mm.



Sent from my bag phone...

Welcome to the party. It's too bad that you showed up way too late, after he edited the first post to stop pretending that he was just a guy.

His post before he edited it was basically "Hey, look at these awesome organizers I found on Amazon. Would you guys buy these?"

If you go back to his only other post on this forum a couple months ago, you get this:

Found a different storage approach - a tray that sorts and stores sockets in a tray that fits in shallow drawers. I find it useful to quickly measure socket size without squinting and twisting and tuning the socket. And it holds quite a large number of sockets. Different and pretty neat. And it is made in the US.
Check out Get Sorted socket organizer on Amazon or their website www.skyleapllc.com

That's his other example of "Oh, wow. I looooove this socket organizer I got. Go look at their (as in...not "my") website and give them money!"

This is clearly a manufacturer who went about trying to increase his online presence the dishonest way. He could have built up a lot of goodwill if he'd come on before they made the horrible designs and been honest. He should have just showed up, said "I want to make toolbox organizers. What do you guys want them to do that other manufacturers aren't giving you?"

 

[cheechi]

The wrench rack is the only one that looks practical. The pliers rack not very much storage and the socket tray is very wasteful of space. I know I'm looking for maximum tool storage in my box.

This is basically what I thought when I first looked at them. Saw them on amazon a while back, decided not worth my money.

I don't like the Sears wrench rack at all. You can't just lift it up out of the tray and work you have to swing it out to whatever angle and then go. If I spend money on tool organization I definitely don't want to deal with having to work slower. No this isn't the same but it's similar. Why don't you make one with sizes up to 1-1/4 / 32mm at least? They stand up on their own in my shallow drawers and probably most others, if you were to have your wrenches that way you might be able to get more in one drawer. You sacrifice some visibility (for those that can't 'see' the sizes or like me I work in metric so when I need an SAE size) for more capacity. But making them rectangular trays ruins it. How can I fit 2 sets of wrenches from 6-32 and from 1/4-1-1-4 wiht that much wasted space in the tray?

Look at the wrench-it-to-me and how its designed to use a full 26" drawer. Now add your design to that concept. 2 sets of wrenches, lined up your way, on a whole drawer tray, with flat space in between for storing whatever fits. Make that, for a reasonable price, and come back when you're ready to sell it for a reasonable price.

I think the concept of grouping sockets by fastener size is very interesting.

I hadn't really considered that before, but I can see where it would be handy to have, for example, all your 14mm sockets in one place (short, medium, deep, 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive, universal, impact, etc.). If you're looking at a 14mm fastener, you can then go to the toolbox and choose your weapon(s).

This is something easy to do with the tray type organizers, like the Matco pictured above. Not a terrible idea but not something that needs this particular design to accomplish it.

Who wants to put all their sockets in a shallow drawer anyway? Just because you could fit many of them in it doesn't mean its a good idea. And just to be fair I will tell you all my 1/4" sockets are in a shallow drawer. In an organizer. For me, when I need a 1/4" it's all I'm working with, and when I'm working with anything else I don't need my 1/4" stuff in the way 95% of the time it works like that.

You're fixing a problem that isn't a problem.

sums it up quite nicely.

I just want blue for Metric and red for SAE.

Who came up with that anyway? Was that Hansen?

 

[G60ING]

I like metal trays like this, more bang for your buck, metal, and highly portable:

I like that, thanks for posting.


I'm little OCD about my tool organization after being in the military on the flight line where a lost tool shuts down the flight line. I recently just replaced my tool box shown below and now that I have larger drawers I'm in a bind of how to build what I want without doing what I'd did below which takes days.

My drawers are now larger and instead of having a 1/4" drawer, 1/2" drawer and separate drawer for 3/8" metric/sae sockets and wrenches (1 drawer for metric) I plan to have a metric drawer for all sizes. The problem resides in finding something flexible to handle all of the sizes I have.

Old setup: