When do you decide your box is "full"

[IsaacJ]

How do you guys decide that your tool box is full?
Is it when you have to start piling tools on top of others to make room?
Is it when all of your tools are starting to touch?
Is it just when it becomes too full to be able to organize like you want?

I went through this dilemma a little while ago. My tool box was getting full, I had to consolidate my less used tools to the "junk" drawer where they were just crammed in however they would fit. I temporarily solved the problem with a HF side cabinet. but that definitely isn't a lasting solution.
I guess you could say i'm **** about organization, but when it comes down to it, if I need to spend a few minutes digging through my "junk" drawer just to get that one tool that i need, that is time that i am losing.
So what do you guys say? What is your criteria for needing a new box?

 

[Scimmia]

When I can't close drawers.

 

[MG11068]

When I don't have enough room to properly organize everything.

 

[wrenchr]

Just like when it is time for a new women, when you can't get in the drawers!!!!

 

[Pantagruel]

Just like when it is time for a new women, when you can't get in the drawers!!!!

should definitely get a new box in both situations.

 

[jakemac]

Whenever I see the next vintage box that "I gots ta have" !

 

[Askme42]

I don't know all I have is the red 5 drawer HF cart. The bottom drawer is loaded 2-3 high with pliers and vise grips. I thought it would really bother me but I'm getting by ok so far.

 

[Ruger_556]

I got tools stacked 3 and 4 deep in some drawers and others that will only close if they're layed out "just so" in the drawer... I consider that to be full

 

[wagzilla]

when you start loosing tools and you not sure where it is.

James

 

[toolmutt]

The term "full" implies that you have too many tools. This concept should be forbidden on this forum! Rather, the box is simply too small, requiring a new, bigger box!

 

[bobcatdan]

When the slides shear off from too much weight in the drawer, I will know it is time. I easily have a triple bay amount of tools wedged into a double. Where there is will, there is always room.

 

[beatcad]

that's a tough call.
i'm in kinda the same boat now.
not counting boxes for machinist or vintage or specialty tools i have 4 as my main box. 2 bottoms and 2 tops. my stuff is crammed together but still organized.
i really want to consolidate and just get one big box.

i guess my point is i've always bought another box(new or used) when my box was full. now i'm thinking i shouldve just bought a bigger box to start with
i got a line on a bigger box right now if twertsy doesnt change his mind

although..there are pix in the tool box and vintage tool box threads where guys have a row of cool old stacks and i dig it. i only have so much room in my 24x24 garage.

if you're talking about a box at work i guess it depends on how much space ya got and how much ya spend.

 

[Moose364]

The term "full" implies that you have too many tools. This concept should be forbidden on this forum! Rather, the box is simply too small, requiring a new, bigger box!

Agree 100%

 

[beatcad]

Whenever I see the next vintage box that "I gots ta have" !

true
but dammit they take up a lotta space.
i dont need it, but if i see another "old" box at a bargain basement price i will grab it

 

[rockinacummins]

I have drawers piled so deep I have to poke things down as I try to close it.
I also have drawers that are only stacked two deep that look very unorganized.
My main use drawers I try to keep single level.

So when my box is "full" or "too small" is ususally when things begin to remain laying on top of the box or on the table or on the stool or on the floor for extended periods of time.

 

[Steevo]

When it looks like this?:

That was pretty much my tipping point. It was getting easier to find tools by leaving them out, so I didn't have to dig through the piles.

 

[AndrewV]

When I need to get more organizers.

 

[bobcatdan]

Steevo has plenty of room, I can still see the bottom of the drawers. Only when you have long forgotten what color your drawer liners are, is a box truly full.

 

[shockwave]

When there is no empty spots and you cannot rearrange anymore and pile tools on top with no home at all

 

[jakemac]

true
but dammit they take up a lotta space.
i dont need it, but if i see another "old" box at a bargain basement price i will grab it

Ahh, now you're talking about "When do you decide your house is too small".

(I bought a new house with a bigger shop space 5 years ago, now I need something with a barn. )

 

[jim1987]

The box is "full" when the draws sag. I've got a long ways. Even if my drawers are pretty packed.

 

[IsaacJ]

I was thinking more in a shop enviroment. When i'm working, I want all my tools to be accessible and easy to find. When I'm at home(don't have a house or garage....yet.), it's not so much an issue, because then I could hang tools on the walls, put them on shelves, etc. When it's not so important they be locked up.

 

[Conductor562]

If you have a Craftsman box made in the last decade or so, it's when the drawer starts rubbing the one below it.

In a 1/2" drive drawer, this will happen before the drawer is visibly full. In a 3/4" drive drawer..........well, God help you if you have store very many in the *************.

 

[Buster21]

I'm on my fourth box. The last one being the HF 44". And if I don't put away my 3/8" ratchets like a puzzle I can't close the drawer.

 

[L.Cheapo]

For me, it was a matter of time. I'm not a pro tech, but I still have only a limited amount of time to work on my vehicles. When I realized I was spending a significant amount of that time looking for or moving tools to get to other tools, it was time to start shopping for a new box.

 

[dnschmidt]

The box is too full when **** starts falling out of it. How tough was that?

 

[jvitez]

When I can't close the top lid and can't pile anything more on the side locker because it'll just fall off.

 

[stikman56]

Mine's full now, both at home and work. Don't feel I need a whole lot more tools at this point, so it's OK.

 

[90zcar]

If people would take half the **** out of their cheap plastic cases they will find all the room in the world


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[sberry]

I strip some out. I can lose a little time looking for one off items, what I don't want to do is sift thru it for something I use every day or accumulate some duplication that may be obsolete.

 

[theoldwizard1]

When you have to buy a middle box, like I need to !

I might have to leave a hunk of 4x6 on the floor in front of the bottom so I can see into the top where all my ratchets, sockets and drive extensions are.

 

[panknuckshovel]

When it looks like this?:

That was pretty much my tipping point. It was getting easier to find tools by leaving them out, so I didn't have to dig through the piles.

I had something very similar to this. Box was overstuffed, no real way to close it, lock it or do a real quick visual on what is missing. Because of this setup I got to see a very nice screwdriver being used to bust up ice by the wife. New box that night.

 

[Hephaestus29]

Only "she" can decide when the box is full.

 

[fm2176]

It depends, really. My old 26" Mac boxes (bottom, middle, top) are fairly organized with plenty of space left in them...thanks in no small part to a burglar who cleared out the air tools and some of the specialty tools. Those have spent the last two years in storage and are full enough until I PCS. A Craftsman 26" cab I gave my dad years ago is plenty full with his tools, though space remains for much more if/when I mingle them with my own (he passed last year). Another C-Man cab is loaded down with stuff here at the house, with a Kobalt chest on top that won't close. Guess I'm nostalgic; have barely looked at the tools that used to make me money since some were stolen, and can't consider my dad's tools my own quite yet.

 

[cheechi]

In my old garage I got a new box whenever I needed to get things off one of the few flat surfaces.

 

[crewchief888]

When I don't have enough room to properly organize everything.

pretty much how i see it too....


if i ever have to have all my tools in one place, i'm SOL.