Cheap/Easy way to shadow box toolboxes/drawers?

One of the things I'm hoping to do while cleaning up and organizing my garage is to try and clean up the mess that is my rolling toolbox and the pegboards over my workbench so it's easier to find tools. Having worked around real manufacturing operations I know that shadowboxing toolboxes works well for keeping tools organized. However in looking into getting the foam made for this is looks rather unreasonably expensive- I'm not going to spend several hundred dollars just on the foam to do the shadowboxing.

Does anyone have any GRM tricks for doing this on the cheap and easy? Thanks!

You can get foam at your local fabric store. They have ends for cheap.

Of course pegboards are easy, just outline the tool with a Sharpie.

Put the tools in the drawers the way you want them, then fill with spray foam.

I'm not sure how you ever use the tools after that, but the best part is that they will stay organized!

My big project for tomorrow is to clean and organize the garage so I can service the bike. I desperately need to do this to my tool boxes. Following along for hints and advice.

For the pegboard: hang wrench rolls. Convenient because you can make it portable in an instant and of course it's really easy to grab the right wrench.

Also, socket rails. You can hang those too. Use the plastic ones in black and dark grey, one for SAE and one for metric.

Something like this?

http://www.foambymail.com/PNPCR/pick-and-pluck-charcoal-foam.html

I would need a much, MUCH larger tool box to be able to do this. And then I would need a larger garage to put that tool box in.

So I follow the "organized chaos" method. Tools go into drawers in VERY specific locations. Woe be me if a tool is placed even a few inches away in the drawer from where I'm used to seeing it - it may take me hours to find it.

I tell my friends on the rare occasion they are helping me in my garage: do NOT try to help me by putting tools away. Just place them in a pile in front of the box. Thanks.

We got the foam anti-fatigue mats from HF. They're a little thin, but doubling them works great. Trace your tool layout with a Sharpie, cut with a utility knife, and all is well. $10 for a 4-pack is about as cheap as you'll get.

EvanB wrote: Something like this? http://www.foambymail.com/PNPCR/pick-and-pluck-charcoal-foam.html

I'm not sure if that would work the best since that looks like it's much lighter foam made for packing, I'd be afraid it would not hold up to repeated use. However I will have to explore that site, it looks like it has some good potential...

I am probably going to be trying to get rid of (or at least relegate to spare bags/boxes that are kept out of the way) multiple-redundant tools (like having 4-5 3/8" ratchets...) so I'm hoping doing so will offset the lost space. If I don't have enough, I may have to look at getting a bigger tool box.

The HF anti-fatigue mats (or the rolls, which I've used before as padding when I made heavier-duty DDR pads) were something that I considered but didn't know if there was something better.

Go to garagejournal.com and search kaizen foam

sounds like a good way to make your tool collection seem more impressive than it is, what with all the extra boxes you will need to store all of them.

Once you get used to a well organized tool box you can never go back.

If all my tools disappeared and I had an insurance check to replace them I would order one of these in SAE and one in Metric

My problems are I'm always adding more tools, and the way I want them organized could vary greatly depending on what kind of project I'm working on. I'm not sure how to deal with the first problem, but I'm considering taking one of my boxes and dedicating it as a mobile box/workspace that I can toss whatever tools into I need at that moment. Hopefully it will keep me from walking across the garage multiple times fetching tools.

For cutting the hf anti fatigue mats instead of the utility knife you can use a chunk of e-cig vaping heating element wire stretched tight and hooked up to a battery charger. My brother built one that looks and works like a scroll saw out of $10 worth of wood for shadow boxing his own tool boxes and it worked remarkably well.

wae wrote: Put the tools in the drawers the way you want them, then fill with spray foam. I'm not sure how you ever use the tools after that, but the best part is that they will stay organized!

That's the funniest response so far in this thread! Maybe I need to put the wine glass down.
Nah!

wae wrote: Put the tools in the drawers the way you want them, then fill with spray foam. I'm not sure how you ever use the tools after that, but the best part is that they will stay organized!

This, except put a garbage bag over the tools first. When dry, flip the whole deal over and remove garbage bag.

Voila! It's like a custom racing seat for your tools!