Have any good ideas for tool storage. I have some plastic wrench holders and cheap socket holders. They are not cutting it and I like to up the neatness of my wrenches and sockets.

Any other organizational ideas welcome.

 

If you have the room, those large rolling tool chests are wonderful. They also make you look like you know what you’re doing.

 

Plenty of drawers! I like to keep metric sockets in one drawer (SAE's in another, Metric wrenches and SAE in different drawers ....pliers in a certain drawer ...hammers in another, and so on.

Weather its a tool box, tool chest ....or nice under-bench type cabinet organizers. Different guys have different 'likes'. I have under-bench cabinets which I like a lot. Most of what I do is near the bench, so just reach down under and pull out the drawer of what I need. No walking over to the tool chest to get tools. But some guys like that too. Depends what you like.

A guy could buy two or three H/F (or home center) lower tool chest-bottoms on wheels if you found a good sale price, ditch the wheels and mount next to each other as a base under your bench top. That might be a cheaper way to get lots of drawers below the bench.

Perhaps do a google search to see what's available and/or right for you. Let us know what you settle on.

 

Haha..
ya. Have a few larger boxes…love the USA made stuff..
i found that i try to organize all the drawers and wind up pulling a bunch to find what i need..
i really like the lisle magnetic laydown sockets..they fit in smaller drawers.
i really like the usa made plastic wrench holders that lay in slots..carry either to to what you are working on.. i gave up on wrenches in drawers.

and combine with that good value harbor freight cabinet..i use for most used tools and place to set stuff per project.
each drawer has 1/4 3/8 1/2 and wrenches top..
it is my 80% go to before digging out into larger boxes for more specialized tools.
and if short on space as i am and fitting 2 cars in standard 2 car garage, there was an idea for shelves a guy gave to get off ground containers for other junk..
the key is keep off floor and do not block width for car doors..for me anyway.

 

Now, I am jealous.

 

For my wrenches that have no fitted trays I make these.
This is a stubby set of metric wrenches...
Works for longer wrenches as well.
It is just a length of coat hanger that I bend a complete loop in the middle that serves as spring to keep the hook latched.
Lengths vary depending on the stack of your wrenches...

One drawer with fitted trays...

Now the cool stuff is Kaizen Foam...
Guys are using it to organizer there tool boxes, sockets, wrenches, anything you can trace around...
It comes in 7/8"
1 1/8"
2 1/4" thick 2' X 4' sheets.
The foam is layered in approximately 1/4" sheets, you just trace around the item and cut at that depth.
Pull out the cutout and insert the item.
Cutting on the inside of the traced line makes a nice firm fit...
I recently built a box for my TSO parallel guide rails and track square carpentry tools using the Kaizen foam...
Foam cutout.

Tools Installed:

The small wood box is for my small parts...

 

It doesn't always look like this.

 

Kaizen foam is definitely all the rage now. It makes sense and is well-proven in aviation where tool control is paramount. If you want to mix a bit of portability, there are several options for tool holders that will fit in your toolbox like Olsa Tools socket holders.

 

 

 

I prefer to see where everything is.

I can tell at a glance if anything is missing. Generally.

My new garage addition. Always forgetting what drawer the tool I want is in.

 

These are all great, and my husband has his tools, sockets etc. organized in those types of boxes, drawers and Craftsman cabinets. Bolts and nuts are best organized by size, in small drawers.

In addition, for the couple of tools I use all of the time (not just for my car, but scissors, gardening shears, etc,), I have a duplicate set just for me, and they are kept on magnets on the shop wall. That way I don’t need to go rummaging through his carefully organized tools. I also have my own set of tools.

My paternal grandfather was a tool and die maker in a factory, and he had an impressive set of tools in his basement workshop. He also kept a couple of old metal Sucrets lozenge boxes (remember those?) for some smaller items. When he died over 30 years ago, he was on the other side of the country, and I couldn’t bring so many heavy tools home. I brought some smaller, precision-oriented ones home versus the big hammers and wrenches. I still have them, and use his dial caliper.

 

Me, 5 Snap-on tool boxes. 3 at work, 2 at home. As stated above SAE tools always in different drawers to metric. Even Allen wrenches. All wrenches in holders. All sockets in clips. If one is missing. There is a empty slot and I'm looking!

 

I have one of those boxes.

But the inside of the draws is a mess

 

I like the idea of trays. They always (for me) kept me more organized.

 

I have no words. Wow! A TV in the garage too!

 

Any type of meaningful tool organization is going to come down to drawer space or how many drawers do you have. Example, my wrench drawer is full and if I was to make it all nice and pretty I would need 2-3 drawers to make that happen. Same for my sockets and screwdrivers. After 45 years of tool collecting (I'm a tool *****) I have one Craftsman 41" chest and two Craftsman 36" chest boxes that are all full and a 48" stand up locker that is full. I did go to Harbor Freight and buy their magnetic socket rails and that cleaned up the socket drawer.

I have looked into doing a complete makeover with new toolboxes. The Snap On and MAC brand is overpriced IMO for the average guy unless you find a killer deal, same for the Tool Vault boxes (haven't put hands on one). If someone had money to throw at this problem a wall bank of Lista tool cabinets would be a nice addition to any garage.

I did some deep dive research on the Harbor Freight Series 2, Series 3 & ICON line of toolboxes and IMO the Series 2 bottom box is the same as the Series 3. The Series 3 gives you the option of a Hutch and better side lockers but if you already have a workbench the Hutch is of no value. Side by side from a quality build standpoint there is no difference between the Series 2 & 3 quality and my current Craftsman boxes.

The ICON line is on par with your more expensive toolbox brands and when comparing the Series 3 to the ICON the ICON is way more robust and solid feeling. If I was buying new and looking to revamp my garage I would not hesitate to buy the ICON brand. It's a very nice solid toolbox for the money.

The best Harbor Freight deal IMO for bang for your buck is their tool cart. The 30" 5 drawer mechanics cart is well built and will hold a lot of tools for $270.

 

I was also thinking about getting one of those biometric pistol gun safes to store 10mm sockets.

 

My Craftsman top and bottom boxes have served me well for 40 yrs. Tools are separated into SAE, metric, pliers/cutters, screwdrivers, hammers, air/pneumatic, electrical, diagnostic, manuals, etc.

 

Take a look at the Garage Journal site for a wealth of ideas. My late father was also a tool and die maker. He was so organized that you could blindfold him and ask him to get a tool like a socket, he would find it and ask if you wanted a six or twelve point. I do miss him. Jerry