USA Made Socket Organization Solutions

[SnowDrifter]

I have these. Love them
http://www.vimtools.com/store/page30.html

 

[stikman56]

Not sure what your type of use is, but I did it every day, rolled my box to the job, so these were the best for my application. They're not made in the USA though. 10 bucks for 3. They never broke, I didn't need to take the rack out and carry it around. Easy ID, it's right there in white print. Harbor Freight. I never liked the Snap-On magnetic one's you can see ,that I have in here as well.

 

[flyingtpot]

Why the tone? Everybody has to decide for themselves what something is or is not worth. They are not worth it to him but they are to you. That's great but neither of you are "right" or "wrong". That's why we live in a free market where we are all free to decide where to spend our hard earned money.

I'm very interested in this thread because I need a new rail/rack for some impacts I have coming. I'm happy with the Hansen racks but they won't fit in the drawer I plan to use. I could care less about the Plastic vs. Metal/flex no flex argument as I don't take my trays out of my tool box so that's a non-issue for me.

I was looking as Westling's 3/8" metric tray as I think it would be close to perfect for my needs and at $18 (engraved version) I think the price is reasonable. What killed it for me was the shipping cost ($12) so $30 for 1 tray shipped is a bit much for me.

No, it is not an issue of living in a 'free market'. It is the fact and reality of having 'free speech'. Also, tone can be subjective in written dialogue.

Go back and read post #19. Now that is a post with 'tone'! Plus it does not support its 'things not to like' comments. Having used the trays in heavy play with various brands of sockets it is obvious that the poster of post #19 has not done their homework.

Westling Machine is a cottage industry. I never met, spoke with or had any contact with them until purchasing their trays online. ALL of my correspondence from them has been polite and professional. The product suits my current requirements.

As Westling Machine are not a monstrous company, offering free or near free shipping on a single tray is not a wise business practice for them. Many of us are often is the same situ. I see ebay auctions go cheap only to have the shipping be outrageous. MSC is another example. I may want one $10-20 item from their sales catalog, yet the shipping and tax make it a 'no go'.

I intended to get one tray from them as a test. I then purchased several, yet still under the free shipping radar. I then purchased some additional trays which would have made for free shipping. Maybe not the most frugal shopping of mine, yet I'm satisfied with the trays.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm all about buying USA made tools, but when it came time to buy socket trays I found that I preferred the Kobalt trays over everything else. Price wasn't a factor, I simply preferred them over the HF or Hansen trays.

 

[SASORacing]

Lock a socket time saver tray, Matco and blue point seem them, about $50 on eBay. It's hangs down the best and most sturdy tray out come with like 5 rows.

 

[radrush]

Fooled around with the socket organizers today. Looks good I think.

1/4" drive shallow & deep
3/8" drive shallow

 

[ADSR]

^^ Those look great!

 

[Strouty]

Can you put mix drive sizes on the same rail?

I am 95% sure you can interchange the pegs between sizes. I remember doing this, but it was with the MAC tools branded ones. Craftsman came out with them shortly afterwards and they are almost identical.

I bought Hansens and I hated them. You could barely move a loaded one for fear of breaking the tray in half. I like to see the open end, so I could tell sizes at a glance, with the hansens all you can see is the drive size.

I just spent $230 on Westlings and I will be back for more. They are awesome, there is no comparison to any other tray on the market. As others have said, rails still have there place, but my main box will use mostly Westlings.

 

[BFHtime]

Hey strouty the black one in the center has 1/4 and 3/8 on the same rack.

 

[SASORacing]

Excellent MTSLAST / Mechanic time savers, last pic is not mine, but first two are. These are the best trays ever. Bomber, 16g powercoated, very portable. Will get some new pics soon after I put the rest of my sockets on.

Highly reccomended, they dont take 5 seconds to put back either, they are easy and just fall into place, not hard like the metal clip types that break your fingers trying to put on and take off.

 

[Strouty]

Hey strouty the black one in the center has 1/4 and 3/8 on the same rack.

WTF? I must not have put that one in the drawer!!!

Now I feel stupid.

Westlings are perfect and I am going to edit my small gripe.

 

[SASORacing]

After all that I'm not sure if they are even USA, they might be, i'll leave my post just in case...

 

['72ELCO]

Got these on eBay, great price & quality... they work great!



http://www.ebay.com/itm/301265140218?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

 

[flyingtpot]

I just spent $230 on Westlings and I will be back for more. They are awesome, there is no comparison to any other tray on the market. As others have said, rails still have there place, but my main box will use mostly Westlings.

 

[PT Doc]

what would the westling sets cost for 300 piece cm set?

 

[Strouty]

what would the westling sets cost for 300 piece cm set?

You would get the most used sockets onto the $99 setup. They also sell trays in smaller groups so you could add what you needed later as well.

 

[bob15]

To me, the Westlings are somewhat over priced for a socket rail. I prefer the VIM rails that Wright uses and are sold at Epstein's and McMaster. Why:

They (VIM rails) are cheaper (if my 1/2 drive socket sets go above 1 1/4, then what? How well do they work with 1 1/2 sockets?) Now i am buying more Westling trays which make plastic rails cheaper.

More portable.....I don't have to worry about dumping them on the ground when working out in a field on a tractor.

Lighter.

I can also add or delete more sockets on a rail (example: I have a 1/4 drive deep and shallow SAE socket sets that would fill the Westlings, but have couple other specialty sockets that I want to store with the sets, I cannot do it with the Westlings).

If you keep your socket rails in a tool box all the time, Westlings might be the ticket. If you must bring the rails to the job, Westlings might might not be the best for you. Also, if drawer height is an issue, rails are the way to go as well.

 

[franzdom]

Westlings aren't very expensive, $10 each but that's enough pegs for 2 rails. I like them a bunch, but then again, I don't move more than one at a time, I pretty much work out of a box that doesn't have to move around.

 

[Strouty]

As I said before, rails still have a place. I actually have dedicated field sockets, that way I don't lose the good stuff. The westlings are great even if you need to transfer them to a cart. I would not want to take them outside, besides, that isn't what they are made for.

 

[1cargarage]

I have shopped around and tried many offerings (Hansen (my preferred for 'through' sockets), Mechanic's Time Savers (great concept, a bit cumbersome), Craftsman (good, not great), and Kobalt (Not US made, I know)), and IMHO the Hansen trays are the clear winner for 'through' sockets.

Advantages of the Hansen trays:

• Clear identification of system (metric vs. SAE) via gray or red plastic

• Clear identification of socket size on the top of the individual post

• Comprehensive range of socket sizes on each tray, 1/2" metric notwithstanding (26mm is omitted)

• Reasonably priced (not a bargain, but no need to break the bank)

• Efficient use of space compared to most trays in that every socket, when stored, is equidistant from the adjacent socket regardless of size

Shortcomings of the Hansen trays:

• PLASTIC! I have snapped some posts on the Hansen trays, and had to repair with JB weld (with success). I wouldn't hesitate to replace all my Hansen trays with an equivalent machined aluminum offering.

• The printed text on each post would be better if it was colored and raised / embossed. Disclaimer: I haven't worn off the lettering on any of mine, but I suspect that a harsh degreaser / solvent would do the trick.

• They lack mobility. Take this for what it is, as the Hansen trays (to my knowledge) were not designed to be packed back and forth to a job. They were designed to sit in a drawer and not be moved frequently

Now onto the Craftsman trays. I still store my 1/4" Craftsman sockets on one of these trays, and it works fine. These were offered a while back (I think I purchased mine ~10+ years ago). They are still offered by Sears here:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-103-...0965287000P?prdNo=15&blockNo=15&blockType=G15




Advantages of the Craftsman 'peg' trays:

• Modularity: The interchangeable pegs allow the user to configure the boards with varying drive sizes: 1/4", 3/8", 1/2". This is useful for organizing socket sets that span through various drive sizes (See torx set above).

• Ease of socket removal and return. The locking style has its advantages, but if the tray sits in a drawer exclusively, it's a bit overkill. The sockets easily slide on or off the round pegs and don't tip over when opening or closing a drawer.

• Pegs do not extend through sockets, which allows the user to organize bit sockets and other sockets that would not allow a post to extend all the way through.

Shortcomings of the Craftsman 'peg' trays:

• PLASTIC! The tray itself is pretty flimsy, and the center of it sags when under the lightest load, causing the sockets sitting atop to stand at an angle.

• The trays measure ~8" x 6.5", which is pretty small if you're trying to organize a lot of sockets.

• The trays are not mobile at all. The plastic tray is so flimsy that if you try to pick it up while it is loaded, you will be picking up all your sockets off the ground.

All things being equal, I'm not a big fan of these, and wouldn't buy them again.

The tray I use to organize all my 'specialty', i.e. random, sockets is the Kobalt socket tray ~$25. The rails are plastic and riveted to an ~18 ga. steel sheet. It sits in the top of my cart and I don't ever take it out, as I just roll the cart to any job. What I like about the Kobalt tray (similar to the Ernst) is the narrow clips that attach the socket to the rail that allow sockets to be snugged up against each other so that the tray's footprint can be utilized 100%.



Advantages of the Kobalt socket tray:

• Clips are narrow enough that sockets can be snugged up against each other.

• Clips are easily removed and installed so that combo drive socket sets can be organized with ease

• Friction ball 'locking' system locks the socket to the rail well enough that the tray can be inverted without sockets falling off, but not tight enough that the the operator picks up the entire tray when trying to remove one socket.

Shortcomings of the Kobalt socket tray:

• Made in China.

• Socket clips are not sold separately, so if the included number of clips does not suffice, you either have to live with it, or buy another tray just for the clips.

• Made in China

I don't have much experience with the Mechanic's Time Saver trays, but what I do not like about them is the unavoidable fact that the sockets must be spaced according to the wide locking clip which houses the 'twist lock' mechanism. See below:



You all sound pretty set on the Westling trays. I have never seen one in the flesh, but sounds like I should hop on the bandwagon.

Cheers

 

[AndrewV]

Try the magnetic mechanics time saver socket holders.
There great.

 

[thengel]

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