Lee, I suspect this is a fairly religious question, but I'll answer from my
perspective anyway.
First, the top compartment will end up being more or less a junk collection
from time to time, so just partition it so you can find anything important
among the junk. Mine is not nearly so nice as yours, but it was cheap at a
garage sale. It has a top compartment where I keep the tray out of another
toolbox with frequently used pliers, socket extensions and things like that.
There is an open "compartment" below that which has a carrier with my 1/2"
drive SAE sockets and a few similar things. 3/8 and 1/4 drive SAE sockets
are in those orange magnetic carriers stuck to the side so they don't take
up drawer space. Then there are three thin drawers below that. The top one
has SAE wrenches in one of those black plastic carriers in the center, with
hex keys, ignition wrenches, flare wrenches, and odd-size other stuff around
them. The next drawer has a similar arrangement for metric wrenches. The
third has metric sockets and tap and die sets (the good one, a ~40 year old
New Britain set that was my Dads, and a cheapo one I got before he gave that
to me). Then there are two deeper drawers. The top one is sort of a catch
all - whatever won't fit elsewhere, including air ratchets, misc special
tools, whatever. The bottom one is the bigger air tools - impact wrench +
sockets, die grinder, air chisel. Then there is a lower compartment that has
less frequently used stuff like compression tester, dwell meter, paint spray
gun, and an old tackle box that has all the auto electrical tools and
pieces. Oh, and there are three smaller shallow drawers near the top. One
has 1/4" drive handles and stuff, one has drill bits, and the middle one has
crimping tool and lots of various fittings. Of course tons of other stuff
doesn't fit, and I need a bigger chest but this one has served me well for
having cost $25. No ball bearing slides but grease now and then helps.
The basic theme is that the stuff I use frequently (mostly large SAE
sockets, the only metric thing is the wife's Karmann Ghia which thankfully
is mostly "done") are near the top and easily accessible. Mine is packed
tightly because it is a relatively small chest but that hasn't been a
problem. Still it would be nicer if things fit more than one way.
Enjoy!
Tw
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Daniels" <DANIELS@alchem.chem.tamu.edu>
To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Cc: <DANIELS@alchem.chem.tamu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 1999 10:31 AM
Subject: My First Real Tool Box! - Organization?
> MY QUESTION: How does one go about organizing your tools? Suggestions for
> what best goes in the shallow drawers vs. the deeper ones? How do I keep
> that very top compartment (with the lid) from becoming a junk
collection?!?
> Should I sort them by field, i.e. metal working, woodworking, electrical
> tools?
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