Learn Me Tool Chest Organization

I've found that the HF socket trays are better than the Hansen trays.

The Hansen trays hold the socket with the square drive end up.

The HF trays hold them with the hex end showing.

I usually grab a socket by eyeball faster than looking for the size. The HF trays just work better for that.

Plus, they're a lot cheaper.

In reply to Trans_Maro:

The Hansen trays are specific to size of the socket though, so if you put the smaller socket back on the post, it won't fit.

I do like that, because my sockets are hard to read but the Hansen tray is easy.

In reply to Trans_Maro:

They're arranged in order of size, and they're all labeled via the post sticking through the middle. I don't doubt that you can eyeball the size, but there's no way I'd be faster without my Hansen trays. If I had a gripe about them, they do take up a lot or real estate in the drawer, and you need a deep drawer for them to fit.

I used the clip on socket rails for a long time, tried a lot of different styles and brands, they all suck. Hansen trays are so much better.

HF tray has a tab in front of the socket with the size on it.

You're welcome to use whatever you want but I've had both and the Hansen trays don't work as well for me.

I tried to divide my metrics from my SAE- no luck. There is just too much crossover on many vehicles (Ford trucks seem to be put together with whatever bolts they found on the floor).

Mine are color coded. Metrics are blue, SAE are red.

I do all my work out of one of these:

Top drawer screwdrivers, next one wrenches, next one 3/8" drive, then bottom is 1/2" drive. All metric, everything else goes in the top and power tools live on a shelf. On the rare occasion that I own a vehicle with a significant number of SAE fasteners, it carries its' own tool kit. No organizer thingies in the drawers, I've tried it and I just break them- I'm usually in too much of a hurry anyway so tools get thrown into the drawers rather than placed in any sort of order.

So, I guess I've got nothing other than a feeling that those of you with the huge tool chests are far more patient than I am.

I'm a bit of a slob, and no quantity of Garage Journal style organizational tips and tricks is gonna change that.

So, the best organizational idea I ever came up with is this:

It's kinda like JG's cart, with no drawers. It let's me embrace the slob.

I keep it close, and toss all the tools, parts, bolts, etc for my current project in it. When I'm done with the project, I put everything away. It helps me not cross-pollinate my projects and their parts and hardware.

No matter how high the crap gets in my shop, my current project is always in one place.

I keep my race scales on the bottom shelf, because I weigh everything I do, and that way they don't get buried, or separated from their power cords, etc.

I also keep rags. zip ties, and duct tape on that bottom shelf, because you always need rags, zip ties, and duct tape.

I know more than a few professional mechanics who believe that sae sockets aren't needed. There is almost always a metric one that fits, especially 6 point sockets. They keep a cheap sae set squirreled away somewhere in case, but their nice set is only metric.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: So, I guess I've got nothing other than a feeling that those of you with the huge tool chests are far more patient than I am.

Quite the contrary. I have a large chest with a fair amount of organization because I am far too impatient and slovenly to do it any other way. I can find the tool I need instantly. I can glance into a drawer from 20 feet away and know whether the wrench or socket I need is already out or ready to selected. I also have not lost a tool in 7 years, not even a 10mm socket! When I am cleaning up after a job a cursory glance tells me if something is still sitting in an engine bay drip rail or has rolled under a car.

I used to be a "pile of wrenches in a drawer" guy. When I converted to shadowed foam another millwright told me what a waste of time and effort it was. When we would have to gather a handful of tools to carry to the other side of the mill, I would be ready to go in seconds whereas he needed 5 minutes to sift through his drawer. After the job it took me only a few extra moments to return mine to their proper places as opposed to him dumping his back and shaking the drawer until it settled enough to close.

At this point I have a significant investment in my chest and contents. I take care of them and they take care of me. Also it is laid out so well any person can walk up and know where anything is or needs to be returned.

My only bit of advice here, is don't be afraid to revise whatever system you come up with. I got a rolling toolbox back in 2002ish and today the drawers have in them pretty much the same types of tools that I originally put in them. Pliers - top drawer, then screwdrivers, etc.

I changed a drawer or two, but when I think about it, I could re-arrange a little bit to make it better, but inertia must keep me from doing it I suppose. I agree that it is the best way to find the tool you need. I use a cart or a tool bag when I am doing a project and when done I put the tools back where they go. My father-in-law is the type that will go into town to buy a tool that he already has 5 of because it is faster than trying to figure out where it is. Much easier to have a place for stuff.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: I do all my work out of one of these:

I have the exact same box that I use as my portable to take racing. The drawers are too small for the traditional wrench organizers, so I cut apart some coat hangers and coiled the wires around a broom handle to create something that looked like a spring. That way I was able to get three sets of various size wrenches and a set of gear wrenches into one drawer, along with a couple of adjustable open end wrenches. I'll upload a pic as soon as I have one.

Cheap, easy, indestructible and take up very little space. Also makes it easy to pull out a set of wrenches and take them to where you need them. Some people use thick copper wire left over from house wiring projects.

My RN wife taught me some years ago that laying the tools out on a table was far more efficient that pulling them out of the box and throwing them back in. So, especially when wrenching trackside, I'll pull out my most commonly used wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, etc. and lay them out. At home I have a cart like SVrex's that I'll put them on along with the parts I'm installing.

I also label the drawers on my trackside box and my big box at home. I tried some Sears labels that clipped onto the drawer edge, but they kept getting knocked off. So now I use a label maker I bought at Wally World.

In reply to SVreX:

We had 2 of those exact carts for maintenance at the hotel I worked at. I took one to 2 sets of apartment buildings, and keep one in my garage while my friend has 2 or 3 in his. Anywhere with smooth floors, especially alarm or maintenance work, these things are a god send.

I need to find or design one for offroad use. My gravel driveway and gravel car port don't make carrying things on a cart easy. It's really really frustrating actually. I've been reorganizing and cleaning my garage just trying to find tools and make storage space, slowly, for the better part of 10 years since we got the 3 piece craftsman rolling shelf set. Unfortunately, that has fallen into the "dump and shake" organization method, and makes things harder rather than easier.

A label maker can be your best friend here as well. I'll take pictures next time I'm over, but in my friends hoarder household, IF you can get to the tool chests, ALL drawers are labeled with contents, the socket bars are labeled on the handle like "6pt shallow 3/8 metric" which makes finding at least the set easy as hell, just go crazy labeling it will only make life easier down the road. Just have to remember to put things away when you're done, and as long as you can find a path to the tools, it's easy.

I actually like socket rails. My reasoning is that I suck at eyeballing the size of a bolt head, so I just take the whole rail out of the drawer over to my project. It also helps if I'm using more than one socket on a project, which seems to happen a lot when I tinker on my Mustang's suspension.

Here is an example of the "spring" idea. Not my box, though.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

I am going to steal that idea

JG Pasterjak wrote: One of the best things I did in my shop was to get a compact tool cart. The reality is I use 10% of my tools 90% of the time, and going back to the big boxes for something just seemed needlessly convoluted. Having the small cart lets me roll it right up next to me under the car where I have pretty much everything I need right at hand. I got this one for $120 with a coupon. It's definitely at the high end of the HF quality scale.

FWIW, got a flyer from HF today that has these at $107 with a "super coupon."

I subscribe to the SVREX rolling cart mailing list even though I don't have enough room in my garage to roll one around. Also, I don't possess one.

Thanks all good info for my next redo of my tool chest. My biggest failure is the time taken searching for sockets. The Hansen trays look like a nice solution for that. I may get two sets and have the additional ones some kind of JOB TRAY/CART/BOX that you keep the current job on.