Toolbox organizing

Blaze

Blaze

The Jeeper Reaper
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Location
Wake Forest, NC
So I bought a new toolbox for my new shop so I can have a box at my home shop and one at the new shop. At my house I don't keep my sockets and stuff in the tall box, I have a 400pc set that came with it's own little box/etc. I have tons of other sockets that I am taking to the new shop and am trying to organize them. I bought one of those "Socket-to-me" trays from Northern, which works great for the shorter sockets but the drawers are too short for the deep wells. I much prefer to have my deep wells horizontal anyway, and I hate those stupid long clip strips that you have to clip your sockets to in a row. I much prefer to have them in some sort of tray.

Anyone have any good ideas for organizing a toolbox? I am trying hard to keep this box nice and organized.
 
Get some of the magnetic sheets that lay in the drawers that help the tools stay put as you open & close. makes it easier to sub-section the drawer.
Those molded cases are more as much, if not more than the tools they come with IMO. I still use the one my Craftsman 100+ kit came with 20 years ago.

If you have a drill press, spend an afternoon making a socket "jacket" out of a 1x2, drill holes that match the sizes.
Also useful - color coded tape around teh wrenches/sockets you use most often. 19mm = black, 14mm = blue etc.
 
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The problem with magnetic trays and rails is they also collect metal filings and other stray crap sometimes not a good idea in a reasonably "blind" environment of a drawer or tray your reaching into.

You'll have to experiment what works best for you, myself I like the Matco rails plastic with square drive just like a ratchet or extension, have a set for both 1/4" and 3/8" and have had same rails for at least 10 years in a road tech environment. Just grab rail(s) and toss in tool bag and go. Never cared for the pinned trays, and magnetic lay down trays Or and rail with a handle past the socket group on the rail
 
I thought about the magnetic sheets, but I always have a ton of metal shavings and stuff that would get stuck on those and mess up my drawers really quick.

I have a couple of those socket rails like that, but I really hate them. I bought three or four of them a few years back and eventually I stopped using them and just put spare sockets on them that haven't been touched in three or four years.

I've actually even considered building my own plastic vacuum forming machine and making my own trays for my toolbox.
 
LOL , I expected that.

It's all personal preferance, I know a lot of folk that don't like those rails.

I prefer to have tools with me easily restrained so I don't have to run back and forth to the box.
You will find as you get into your new gig that you will develop habits, good or bad, but once set will allow you to make time.
That's part of the gig. Can always tell the new guy or hobbyist, everything organized neat and pretty and you have to run back and forth to get the shit you need.
I know folks look at my mess, but it really is organized chaos. The shit I use most is on top.
Working out the side of a van has its own challenges.
 
The funny thing is that I am going the opposite direction. When I started doing this almost three years ago it was complete chaos and I basically had organized piles of stuff. My biggest problem with that is I lost tools like crazy. Over the last year I have started trying to keep tabs on things by keeping them in drawers and organized and all. Now before I send a vehicle for scrap I can see what tool is not there and can be sure it isn't sitting under a pile of crap inside the Jeep body. Seems like no matter how hard I try to get everything out I inevitably have left a wrench or a couple of sockets in there. :lol:

I also normally throw all the shit I need on a tray or in a bag and take it over to where I am working and use that as my "toolbox" for that project. Then I put it all back at the end of the day. Just helps me reconcile all my tools. And I do realize some people perceive this as wasting time, but for years my friends have given me major shit about having a disastrously messy shop. Now that I have a big, nice CLEAN space I am going to try like hell to be one of those shops that people are impressed with how neat it is.

For a couple years at least. :lol:
 
Blaze said:
I also normally throw all the shit I need on a tray or in a bag and take it over to where I am working and use that as my "toolbox" for that project. Then I put it all back at the end of the day. Just helps me reconcile all my tools. And I do realize some people perceive this as wasting time, but for years my friends have given me major shit about having a disastrously messy shop.
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this sounds like me.... Lol I keep telling myself that I need to clean up afterwards, but I don't. Usually because I only get a limited time in there anyways and I'd rather be working than cleaning. It's organized chaos, I know where crap is and that's all that matters. I'll be honest though it is a lil embarrassing when someone else comes in my garage... One day I'll get it organized... BTW.. New shop looks good
 
I had an uncle that built a pegboard wall (roughly 30 feet long x 8 foot tall) with a peg for every single tool he owned. He hung up EVERYTHING and then took his paint gun and sprayed the entire wall and every single tool, wrench, socket, hammer and saw. Where each tool was placed, the wall was masked with an outline of the tool. Serves two purposes, at a glance he can tell what tool is missing and he can tell if someone had borrowed his half-painted tools.
 
ManglerYJ said:
I had an uncle that built a pegboard wall (roughly 30 feet long x 8 foot tall) with a peg for every single tool he owned. He hung up EVERYTHING and then took his paint gun and sprayed the entire wall and every single tool, wrench, socket, hammer and saw. Where each tool was placed, the wall was masked with an outline of the tool. Serves two purposes, at a glance he can tell what tool is missing and he can tell if someone had borrowed his half-painted tools.
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Google snap on mr1426

I like those. Craftsman makes them too. They are plastic and will break if you drop them often. Also the sockets will scatter like marbles if it is dropped or falls.

If you take care of them they work well and they do lay flat.
 
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