I have reached breaking point....for the last few years my tools have been scattered all over the garage making working on the car a nightmare and a nuisence.... It was mainly down to having nowhere to store the tools....

So I just bought myself a nice Clarke 6 drawer top box and some timber and castors to make myself a 5 drawer bottom box....

But, im unsure how best to organise the tools in the top box, I could just throw them into the drawers and let them rattle around, but it would make sence for each tool to have its own sepperate 'home' so I know whats missing and where everything is...

How does everyone else organise their tools in the drawers? (and im thinking the locost route, after buying the box im not feeling to wealthy)


Would be nice to get some thick foam and cut tool shaped slots in it, but I cant find a foam supplier that is suitably priced...

I found some plastic cutlery trays that fitted nicely into the drawers that were usefull for long thin tools like punches etc

Cheers

Fred W B

wall rack is best IMO - I know you've got a cabinet, but I prefer them.

I have a decent size tool cabinet, but a board over your work bench is the quickest and easiest i find.

You could try and get a few tool drawer organisors - however they are pre-formed to fit certain tools, if yours are different they won't fit.

I find socket set and assosiated tools together, screwdrivers and allen keys, torx keys etc all togther, spanners all together and then various random tools that don't fit are placed on slip proof mattingin the bottom drawers works for me.

nothing like getting some nice new toys in the garage is there!

No, new toys make things all exciting again....

I would have prefered a tool board, but I dont have a workbench in the garage so will have to make do with a mobile tool chest...

I could do with some non slip matting as a minimum to protect the drawers....what is best to use?

Snap On top box...

1 x screwdriver, allen key, torx key etc. drawer
1 x spanner drawer
1 x plier, cutter, file, punch, knife etc drawer
1 x socket, ratchet etc. drawer
1 x hammer, clamps etc drawer

Old filing cabinet....
1 x power tool drawer
1 x screws, nuts, bolts, fixings etc. drawer
1 x paint, thinners, grease, brake fluid etc drawer
1 x stuff drawer

Cantilever tool box...
Bike tools and bits an pieces

Large Plastic tool box...
Plumbing, wiring etc. tools and bits and pieces


Tool boxes are lined with thin foam to protect tools and paint etc.

It's not some ting you really plan it just evolves as you gain more tools and bits and pieces. Next on my list is a Snap On roll cab, but that may have to wait for a while

I looked for non slip matting but wasn't prepared to pay the crazy money Machine mart want for the proper stuff. I ended up using IKEA kitchen drawer liner material for about £3 a roll. I trimmed it an fitted and is just fine for my needs.

Cheers

quote:

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Originally posted by Dangle_kt
wall rack is best IMO - I know you've got a cabinet, but I prefer them.

I have a decent size tool cabinet, but a board over your work bench is the quickest and easiest i find.

You could try and get a few tool drawer organisors - however they are pre-formed to fit certain tools, if yours are different they won't fit.

I find socket set and assosiated tools together, screwdrivers and allen keys, torx keys etc all togther, spanners all together and then various random tools that don't fit are placed on slip proof mattingin the bottom drawers works for me.

nothing like getting some nice new toys in the garage is there!

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Top of box for sets of things like pipe cutters and brake line benders and measuring tools
First drawer spanners organised by size, allen keys
Second drawer sockets on rails all loose so can be taken out ratchets extensions etc
third drawer everything to do with air tools and all small ones
fourth drawer all electrical tools, crimps multimeter timing light, Colour tune, spare backing plates spanners etc for angle grinders
Three small drawer, one pliers two files and scrapers three vice grips and nipple clamps OOH!

I bought non slip mat from a pound store exactly the same as Halfords except price! This is good to stop tools slipping and rattling around as you open and shut drawers. I also have a pegboard that has big stuff like hammers rivet tools swagers etc.

This is OK except the car is between toolbox and bench so after a wekend I need a big tidy up to put all the tools back! sometimes has to happen in the midle of the day when I stop being able to put my hand on the tool I need next!

Caber

I've got a wall rack for all my spanners laid out sizewise then in the tool box it goes (2 layers of 3 drawers above 3* drawers)

[Colortune] [Multimeter,Solder,Soldering Iron][Crimp terminals+crimper]

[2 lots of Allen Keys][Wire cutters / pliers / wrenches][Drill bits]

[Screwdrivers, files and punches]

[Hacksaw, junior hacksaw (cutting stuff) and measuring rulers, measures and micrometers]

[Persuaders of various sizes from little tappy hammers to the big daddy 5kg hammer].

In an ideal world I'd make up a drill bit holder to keep all the bits in order of size (its a bit of a faff having to find the right one) but having them all in the same draw (as opposed to all over the shop) is 2nd best....

Rest of the stuff is all over the garage

You can get non-slip mat from camping shops or Draper do grip mat you could put in the bottom of drawers.

I just throw them in the drawers, there are FAR too many to do anything more than that. I have a 7 drawer rollcab with 9 drawer topbox, and that lot juuust holds all the small hand tools, then the bigger stuff all goes in 3 x 2 drawer 1930's filing cabinets that make up one of my workbenches.

I just split the hand tools into obvious divisions, so a drawer for spanners, a drawer for hex keys, a drawer for pliers and cutters, a drawer for 1/2" drive ratchets and bars and sockets, one for 1/4" drive and another for 3/8" drive etc etc etc.

Just stopped off on my way past the local cheapy store and they were selling off 10mm thick close foam/rubber camping mats...

So I grabbed me a pair of them for £5....will be plenty of the foam to do all the drawers...tempted to go buy some more as im sure it will be usefull for other car related things...

When I finaly finish the trolley box il stick some photos up...Might take a while to paint it though

I have garage tidy-up project that is "work in very slow progress". All the tools I use at my bench once lived in a drawer and were always being rattled around. Now they hang on pins on the board - note the outline around each one, which tells me what's missing when there's a gap!

The selection will increase to the left once I decide what I want on there...

[Edited on 6/8/07 by David Jenkins]
Rescued attachment tool-board.JPG

Yes, thats the kind of thing I want to do inside the drawers...so everything has its place....

Not sure if I can be that organised, but il try...

As a mechanic with a box full of tools, I know how important an organized toolbox is. The time, and more importanly aggrivation of looking for tools is costly.
For sockets, these things are great.


[img]http://images.canadiantire.ca/media/images/products/images/Assortments/PrimaryAssortments/Tools/ToolStorage/PartsStorage/0580609_450_CC_50325.jpg [/img]

I have 4 of them for my sockets.
Get a couple wrench racks and lay them flat in your box. The non-slip foam can be bought by the roll. The cheap stuff tends to slip and fold up so not very good. With the good stuff you can just lay most tools flat and unless they roll, they will stay there.

If you want to get a little more organized you can make your own custom shaped compartments of thin 1" flat stock. Make a border around the inside of the drawer with the stock on edge. Then bend/shape sections around your tools and tack weld them to the border.
If you want to get anal about it, do what the aircraft engine guys do and buy thick foam. Then heat up each tool and press it into the foam and mark/label each one.
Friend used to do aircraft engines and they had to do that so they could have spot checks for tools to make sure you knew where all of them were. Wouldn't want to leave that 1/4" socket in an engine .
Cheers.


You'll have to copy/paste the picture. Doesn't seem to like the url.

[Edited on 6/8/07 by C10CoryM]

I have everything hanging on the walls serounding my workbench. even Taps and dies and their drills
no room for a rolling toolchest.

taps are ordered in a purchase made wooden block, with holes in which the taps sit and in front of the taps their right size drills. all numbered offcourse

I had a few folks coming in saying "hey thats clever" so I thought I might share it with you.

grtz Thomas