Bought a Tool Chest today - thoughts needed.

[JPSmit]

Craftsman chest - for the top of my rolling cart. I have been looking for some time as I need to organize my tools a little better. Got a very good deal($50)

It looks like this except that it has three drawers (all full length) + the opening top.

I bought it primarily for wrenches and sockets. Currently I have one drawer for all my sockets. One drawer for all my SAE wrenches and a section of a drawer for my Metric wrenches. I want a drawer for each set of wrenches (SAE and Metric) and one drawer for all sockets is fine.

Here is my question, based on your experience am I better to use the drawer for sockets or the opening lid? For you who have this setup, does the lid stay open? what do you keep there? Part of me thinks - keep the open top for safety glasses, lube, thread locker etc. etc. and the other three drawers for the sockets and wrenches. Another part thinks use the top for sockets, next two for wrenches and the last drawer for pliers etc.

Perhaps this is a silly question but I really don't want to sort everything more than once and I suspect that common storage habits emerge.

any thoughts?

 

[PC]

Congrats on thew new tool chest! A home for your tools is a beautiful thing.

I don't think I can tell you which way of storing sockets is better, tool storage is an awfully personal thing.

If you like to keep your sockets on strips and carry the strips to your car when you work, laying them flat in the drawers may take up less space.

If you like to grab just the sockets you need, vertical storage is nice.

You can store those in the top, under the lid or in deep drawers.

But if the rollaway your chest sits on is tall and sets the chest above eye level, it can a pain to rummage around for sockets.

You'll have to see what works best for you.

If you do go with the strips, do yourself a favor and avoid the stamped sheetmetal style. They're crude, sloppy and sharp. The plastic ones from companies like Ernst Mfg. or VIM Tools are much more precise.

Good luck. And have fun with it.


pc

 

[JPSmit]

I do have (and use) the strips - and, good tip about eye level, I don't think it will be.

 

[Banjo]

I've been a pro wrench for over 15 years. I now use the socket organizers that PC has pictured. I love them. easy to read and you don't have to use both hands to get the socket free like the old spring clip strips, and they don't magnetize your sockets like the strip magnets do (used those for several years).
As long as I was not working somewhere where my box needed to be locked up at night, I always left the top open. Sockets, ratchets, extensions, and assorted ratchet accessories, (Adapters, wobbles and the like) all live in the top of my box. You'll find the top will still shut, even with those upright organizers.
Just my personal system, but it has worked well for me.

 

[3798j]

+3 on the Hansen socket organizers. They're a joy to have and use. Have heard Harbor Freight has a cheaper copy available.

 

[elrey]

I too leave the lid up. :blush: It gives me a place to hang my hearing and eye protection in plain sight so I am more likely to use them. [ Safety glasses, magnifying glasses, face shield, ear muffs etc.] If you can see them you are more likely to use them. Also any free horizontal surface collects stuff and its a pain to clear the top in order to access the stuff underneath. I have also grown fond of the Hansen style upright socket storage units. Too bad they are only made in plastic. I stick my magnetic trays on the side of the box. [you know the round and rectangular stainless dishes.] I flip one of the u shaped side handles up and slide my cross shaped lug wrench in the u. Enjoy your new purchase. :thumbsup: ... I just noticed no flip up handles on your box, :frown: and no cross bars in the lid for both paper goods storage and to hang stuff from! :frown: ...Oh, if you are going to place this on a cart or at the back of a bench- keep stuff that you use rarely [Tap and die sets etc.] in the bottom drawer as most all tools placed in front of the box will interfere with the opening of the drawer. You may find it helpful to place the box on a simple pedestal of some sort to avoid this problem. [I'd peel that ghastly "Ball bearing" sticker off first thing.] Gently warm the sticker with a hair dryer or a heat gun and it should peel right off.

 

[Jerry]

Hey Jay, do you like Red Cars? Love that picture of all of them in front of your garage.


Back to tools. I need to get some wrench orgainzers. I have a drawer of metric, one for Standard and one for anything larger than 3/4. But with all the ratchet wrenches, and curved wrenchs for tight spots, the drawers are quite messy. Are there little holders that you use for these also?

Jerry

 

[elrey]

There are a host of organizers out there. I use toothed bars for my end wrenches and one can use plain partition bars to separate the unwieldy stuff.

 

[Banjo]

My wrench organizers are a couple of medium pile carpet samples cut to fit the drawer. A day or so of the wrench sitting on it, and there is a perfect shaped spot for the wrench. They don't move around, and it's infinitely adjustable if you get new/ different wrenches.
Just pick a color that doesn't show the dirt too much. I tend to wipe down my wrenches before they go back in the drawer, so there's another item that has lasted 15 years in my box. I've never even though of getting a different setup. I like the way that works so much.
I bought a used top box off a friend, and it has the foam strips that the wrenches slid into. I'm not thrilled with it. I've been meaning to find a few more pieces of carpet.

 

[PC]

I've been dreaming about going totally to the Hansens for socket storage, but I don't have enough deep drawer space to spare :frown: and my top chest is above eye level.

So I have a mix of both, some standard sockets are vertical, some on strips and all deep sockets on strips.

A number of years back, I got sick and tired of the stamped steel strips. Sometimes the you have to wrestle with them because they're too tight. Sometimes they're so loose the sockets fall off. When you try to bend them a little to fix them they often break. There's never a good way to grip them when you need to wrestle, all the sharp edges and pointy corners. The plastic ones are great, precise and consistent.

Funny thing was, when I went to switch over my Craftsman metric deep sockets the 18mm socket wouldn't fit. That seemed really odd because the VIM strips' studs are shaped exactly like a wrench's drive stud.

Turns out that particular socket was malformed at the factory. It didn't fit on a wrench either. But I hadn't <span style="font-style: italic">ever </span>needed an 18mm deep socket since I bought them a couple decades earlier. And the crummy steel strip was a different shape so it went unnoticed.



pc.

 

[DNK]

JP- Good Presidents Day find.
I'd go the top route if I could on mine, But... have a cabinet over top so can't even open it if I had it.
If you run out of room ,remember not to long ago I got this side extension from Harbor....

 

[TR3driver]

Minority view I guess; I've tried several types of socket organizers and they don't work any better for me than just laying the sockets in the drawer in order, or in some cases leaving them in their original box. Part of the problem is that I tend to not have clearly defined "sets" but rather a lot of specials like 8-point and swivel mixed in plus a few sizes outside the normal range; and of course multiple sets (shallow, deep, 6-point, impact, etc) in any given size (1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4) and category (SAE, metric, Whitworth).

 

[DougF]

I bought magnetic socket organizers that stick to the side of the tool box. All of my sockets are out of the box, allowing for more space for other tools.

 

[DrEntropy]

Wrench drawer here has the stick down plastic racks, sockets are on the metal rails.

 

[JPSmit]

So, got the chest unpacked and it actually was a four drawer (+ top) chest - who knew. Top drawer SAE sockets + all the ratchets etc., second drawer metric wrenches and sockets, third & fourth drawers SAE wrenches. Old top drawer screwdrivers, old second drawer pliers etc. Opening top is (for now) safety glasses,various sealants etc, ear plugs, and manuals. Thanks all for your input!

 

[elrey]

I still have plenty of different socket types on individual snap in metal racks. I cut the rack to fit the amount of sockets then round the ends to a curve on the grinder and soften the edges. Makes them more pleasant to use. I too use the stick down toothed plastic wrench racks. That way I can see where they are immediately and also know if any have not been put back. Hard to believe the amount of tools one acquires. Then when you think you have enough... you find more and different are required. Enjoy outgrowing the new box.

 

[DNK]

Well, you know how we like pics!