I just purchased a medium sized roll-about Craftsman tool storage unit and was trying to decide on a good way to keep my tools all from rolling about inside the drawers. Has anyone tried using sheets of Styrofoam, like the stuff you can buy at Hobby Lobby? Seems like a 1/2 inch sheet of that in the drawer, with appropriate cutouts for the tools, might be a good solution. Any thought about that or other suggestions?

After all these years I find that having a "cut out" drawer insert for my box is just about useless. Nice for the first month of so, then I usually wind up collecting some new tool and the insert no longer fits. I now just use the rubber drawer liner available from so many sources, keeps the tools from sliding around and quites the box, but adapts to whatever needs I have for storage. No matter what you use make sure it's not easily flamable, I made that mistake years ago with some foam rubber I had salvaged from work. Made a nice liner for my box and then forgot to close a drawer when I was grinding some metal. One spark and I had a nice little fire in my tool box and all my wrenches were covered in melted rubber. I do have a couple of plastic organizers for my wrenches and sockets though, those to help keep things in some sense of order and make it easier to recognize when I might be missing something before I close up the box.

It'll MELT at the slightest touch with petrochemicals. Don't use it!

Better is to find some rubber floormatting (rolls of th' stuff at HDespot or other supply houses) and cut that up. Sears also sells some nifty (but pricey) rolled matting just for that app.

Why not buy the little rubber mats that go over the drawer bottoms?

I use this in mine
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10696

I have pieces of sample carpeting in my wrench drawer. It's a medium pile and in a short amount of time the wrenches made thier own spots. they never move around on me. I reccomend using a dark color (mine is a medium brown) so the dirt dosent show up.
Best part is it was super cheap!
And if I ever get different wrenches, a good scrubbing with a brush will start the nesting of the tools all over.
I like it a lot better than the rubber mats that scootch all over the place.

I use the Craftsman-style foam padding. It works great. I don't like anything too grippy because it causes the tools to roll around when you close the drawer. The foam allows them to slide a tiny bit, which prevents them from tumbling around.

And every time I read the title of this post I think - what an odd way to keep warm in the winter.

All the boxes at the jet shop have foam liners with cutouts for each tool. Darn usefull for making sure all the tools get back in the box, and aren't left in the engine or plane. Works just fine in this environment, where one only needs a certain number and type of tools.

For general shop use, I find liners like that to be much less usefull. I don't want just one single #2 phillips screwdriver, I need several, and probably in different lengths. Plus that one with the hex shank that fits a 3/8" wrench. Same with the wrenches and sockets and ratchets and extensions and and and.

Yes, I like some segregation. I keep my metrics seperate from my standard, and have the various sockets on racks. But beyond that, it ends up getting in my way more than it helps me.

Styrofoam for drawers?

Styrofoam's a little rough; I prefer all-cotton.

better than steel drawers eh! Mickey

I use magnetic strips used for wall mounting. They lay in the drawers and keep thing organised and free from banging around. Cheap at Harbor Freight.

Well, that's what I ended up doing. They actually had some at the base service station so I bought a couple rolls and it seems like it will work fine.

FYI

I just bought drawer liners at Lowes...

4.99 for an equivalent of one drawer, pricey but what did your tool chest cost.

Good for the money,

Cheers,

Spend times ten for Valentine's Day gift.

Aha! I'm going to try some of those. I can't seem to break myself of occasionally flipping the drawers shut, which slides the sockets all around. Magnetic strips sound a lot easier than modifying the drawers to have socket compartments; and hopefully I can still pick out a socket with one hand (unlike the usual socket strips).

Styrofoam cutouts sound nice, but I'm way past the point where I can lay my tools out in a single layer.

I line my tool drawers with ribbed floor mat (carpet runner). It’s effective, cheap and easily available, usually by the foot off huge rolls. It usually comes in black, clear, gray and brown. I use black.

I wouldn’t use Styrofoam for an organizer. Beside a lacking chemical resistance it disintegrates from handling. Commercially produced foam organizers like in foxtrapper’s shop are much more resilient and chemical resistant. Here’s one manufacturer: FomLoc

I absolutely despise the classic stamped and formed sheet metal socket organizer rails. They’re garbage. Their “digital” grip either won’t hold a socket at all or holds it so tight you need a pry bar to remove it. And the edges are always nice and razor sharp so you can slash yourself really good as you try to grab a socket.

My current faves are the plastic rails from Ernst Manufacturing and VIM Tools. Sockets are easy to remove and replace, with the same grip every time. Both Ernst and VIM appear to OEM theirs to a number of suppliers. I’ve gotten VIM rails from Craftsman (molded in black) and Wright Tool (molded in red and blue). You can pick up extra packs of clips at Sears too.

RH makes cool aluminum socket rails.

I’d really love to get Hansen socket trays but I don’t enough extra drawer space with the depth needed to stand deep sockets upright.

Besides the VIM rails (which Sears calls “racks”), Sears has quite an assortment of organizers. Search on “socket rails,” “socket racks” or “socket trays.”

Northern Tool has a few options from Hansen and others.

Here’s an outfit called Magne Store that, not surprisingly, makes magnetic holders.



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The problem I have with the pre-made socket rails is that they never come with exactly the sizes or quantity that I need. That's why I prefer making my own.

Both Ernst and VIM make their rails in different lengths. If the shortest ones (about 8”) are too long you could conceivably cut them shorter.

Their clip spacing is adjustable and it’s easy to add/subtract clips so you can customize them to a set of sockets. You can also mix drive sizes on the same rail.

Not a perfect solution, but more space efficient and more effective overall than anything I’d be able to do myself (in my limited shop) without a lot of time and effort.


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