Tool box organization - how did you do it?

[dwilson]

I just purchased a 16 drawer Craftsman tool box full of Craftsman tools, but it is NOT well organized.

What do you all do to keep your tool box clean and organized?


Duane

[FresnoR]

Although I only just started on the empennage last week, I have one of those roll-around Craftsman tool chest that I keep only Aircraft Tools in. Within that I put in dividers and separate the drilling bits, dimpling dyes, etc; Basically a different section for different aspects of construction. The rest of the typical mechanics tools are in my stationary tool chest and pegboard wall.

Now ask me again in 6 months when i'm deep into the build and they'll probably be completely disorganized into a big pile of confunsion, but we'll see...

[WingsOnWheels]

My lovely wife bought me a 41" wide 6' tall stainless Steel roll-away for Chrismas last year. Even with all that space it is already full. I used my lable maker to lable the drawers. For basic hand tools, I have a drawer for each major type: SAE Wrenches, Metrics, 1/4 sockets, 3/8 drive, 1/2 drive, screwdrivers, ect. For speciality tools I broke it our by job type. In one large drawer I have my drill, most-used bits, rivet gun, and bucking bars. In another drawer I have all dimpling, squeezing, pop-rivet tools. Another is All drill bits, holes saws, step drills. Another drawer is for metal shaping, files, shears, sandpaper, deburr wheels ect. You get the general idea.

Having good tool storage is the most important thing. Buy or build a large tool chest / cabinet - you won't regret it.

[Mike S]

I also have a second tool box just for aviation stuff, bought a 3 shelf rolling service cart at Sams club to put it on. I store the bigger stuff on the lower shelfs----pneumatic squeezer, dead blow hammer, etc.

Normal shop tools are on the pegboard, or in the other tool kit.

As above, sorted by type and metric or SAE.

Now, if the tool fairy would only come and put them all away for me........

[dwilson]

What do you use for organization within each drawer.

I hear drawer dividers and will look into that.

What about foam drawer liners that you can cut out to fit each tool so it doesn't slide around and you know when something is missing? I saw that somewhere, and don't know where to go to get the stuff.

Anybody know of a better solution?

Thanks

Duane

[TOAD]

At a prior job we needed to keep everything in its exact place so we cut foam shapes for each tool. This way we knew immediately if we were missing some tool and exactly where it was lost from. It works well to have sheets of foam and to build slide out shelves for types of tools. Looks very impressive and I will make some more as soon as I have time.

Myself I just never put the tools back until I can not find enough to get anything done. I then spend a whole day putting everything in its place. I do have a place for each tool on pegboards, a large roll around tool chest, wood working tools chest etc. In fact my wife is accusing me of building a plane just so I could buy more tools. This is of course not true.

Spontaneous propagation
It is a fact that if you leave two tools together in the shop for a period of time there will be more when you return. I have seen it happen on several occasions. I am still trying to convince my wife this is how it works, but I am not sure she is totally convinced yet.

[TOAD]

Sorry -
Take a foam sheet and trace the tool with a marker. Cut out the shape with a hot knife or dremmel router. The tool fits snug in the cutout in the foam sheet and the sheet is mounted on a flat board or in a drawer in the tool box.

If you layer these on plywood racks you can stack several deep if you have limited space. We also cut a slotted rack and had a rack for each type of job but this requires duplicate tools for tasks. That is more industrial that I need. I organize by type of tool. Screwdrivers, Wrenches, Electrical stuff, Plumbing, etc.

This is how - I didn't say I do all this. Just enough so that I can keep working.

Gotta run I need to clean up the hangar now.

[stewart smith]

I work for a military contractor and they supply all tools. We have tool boxes with foam the has cut outs that fit the tool. I like this system extremely well. You know where a tool is and at the end of the day a quick look will tell you of missing tools. This system is called " Shadowing"
Your mind will develope a memory and will take you right to the tool.

[OceanBob]

I have the normal 2 rolling tool boxes full of socket sets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc...all in drawers and available for general wrenching of my cars, motorcycles and dutys around the house.

BUT..I don't like pulling drawers searching for tools. In the Aircraft Factory (my garage) I have all the specialized sheetmetal and aircraft tools in plastic bins that are easy to access.

I can find what I need in a second. I can move whatever I need to my rolling carts bottom shelf for the days activity. I can put a lid on each bin if I am away for a couple of weeks. These Bins are one dollar each at Aircraft Home Depot. Drills/bucking bars/rivet guns/back-riveting/counter-sinking/clamps/cleacos/Angle drilling..whatever. This is one of two shelves.
Notice the Special Box for the Tungsten bars.... (I've never told the Admiral how much $ those were)....shhsh...At least several pairs of shoes worth

[flion]

One of the big problems I had was overcrowding, especially as I acquired all the special tools needed to do avionics and firewall forward tasks. My approach became multilevel and I don't have pictures of everything but here's what I did:

I got a heavy dresser (you'll see it in the picture below) which I turned into my bench top. It has my vice and holds a small drill press, grinder, and stretcher/shrinker. It's drawers are large enough to hold larger tools and items.

I have a craftsman rollaround set which has the organizer trays (sorry, I don't have the model). The lower part holds larger tools, the upper box has a drawer for files, one for odd sockets, and one for miscellaneous drill bits (long ones, reamers, wood bits, you name it). The organizer holds step bits, driver bits, countersink and bits, punches, and so on. The tray in the upper box holds all those little tools, templates, widgets, etc. that I made myself specifically for the RV.

I try to buy tool sets that have their own holders, so I have drill bits in their own holder, a craftsman socket set in it's own carrier, a nut driver set in its own case, die sets, and so on. These are all laid out on steel shelving that has been made in two sections so that it's not quite a waist high table but works well for access to tools. For building, I get university surplus folding tables (where I also got the dresser) so the shelving is strictly parts storage and tool layout.

That still leaves a number of tools I like to have to hand, so I built the A-frame in the picture, covered it with peg board on one side and particle board on the other. I used the particle board to pin up plans sheets but I don't need that for the -10, so I'm thinking of replacing it with peg board on the other side and hanging more tools from it. It's on wheels and I find that the frame between the sheets is a handy place to hang the larger clamps from.



While I was at the University Surplus, I also snagged a 4-drawer file and an old metal desk. The former is handy for keeping documents relating to the project and the latter is great for reading plans, filling out logbooks, etc. - all the paper tasks that a project floats on. It's not a bad place to do electrical work, either, though I just got a bargain on a task station (University Surplus again. Surprised?) Oh, and when I built my avionics kit up, I got one of those tackle boxes with pull out covered trays for lures and a main box above the pullouts. The trays hold sorted components and the main box holds the crimpers, cutters, picks, strippers, and such. If I tried to fit all this stuff into a single rolling tool box, forget organization; how would I keep the thing from exploding?