A tool challenge for you folks.

Basil Exposition wrote:

jere wrote:

Cuda wrote:

SkinnyG wrote: I just use a simple metal box for runs to the wreckers. But I love keeping the wrenches clipped like this - it keeps them organized and together:

Where did you pick those up? I've never seen those before

HF has something like that wrench rings 1.79

I hate the safety pin ones. Invariably you have to take all the wrenches off to get the one you need. Maybe the rings work better for that.

I use cheap carabiners.

Ian F wrote:

BAMF wrote:

Woody wrote: I find these magnetic socket carriers to be very helpful.

That's good to know. I'm still using the old style metal socket carriers that I bought a dozen years ago. I saw that magnetic carrier a couple weeks ago and it looked useful. I'll have to grab one next time I see one.

My big problem with those is they take up a lot of room in the box. I've tried a few different socket holders (anyone want to buy some 1/4" dr Hansen trays?) and I keep going back to cheap clip rails from H-F since they take up minimal drawer space and they're cheap enough you don't care about cutting them down for small sets. I don't know if there's any perfect formula for developing your tool set. I've just bought what I needed when I needed it and/or see some interesting tool that could make a task I've done in the past easier. I have tools I bought on a whim and then put in the box for years... until that one day when that tool turned a 30 min task into a 3 min one. It's also easier to develop a compact set if you work mainly on a limited number of cars. But when you start working on a wide variety of different kinds of cars, you begin to understand my pro wrenches have some $50K worth of tools in huge boxes.

Yeah, basically anytime into the forseeable future the only thing I see working on is the '90 Miata track rat.

Starting the week after next I'll begin the quick process of putting about $3700 in coilovers/sways and brakes on the car. Then swap the 1.6s

I bought this case from a 100pc blue-point mechanics set for about $16 on ebay to store all my existing crapsman sockets and gearwrench wrenches in. MUCH better quality and easier to keep organized than the sears boxes for around the same money. As a bonus, it fits perfectly in the trunk recess of an s2000. I did have to buy a couple blue-point ratchet handles and a flex bar because the craftsman ones didn't snap into the case. You could also use Williams ratchets if you can find them cheaper than bluepoint, they are the same. I paid less than $40 total for 2 ratchet handles and a flex bar, and I could have done better if I had trolled ebay more diligently.

Next I bought a few soft sided tool bags from sears on sale to keep all the stuff I knew I'd need that didn't fit in the hard case. This basically consists of various pliers, hex keys and bits, 1/2 breaker bar and a few sockets, air compressor, and power tools. I like the soft bags for bulkier items because they don't take up the extra space that a hard box would. You can also pack 2 or 3 small soft bags in a trunk a LOT more easily than one big awkward hard box, they're much lighter and they sort of conform to fill the available space. I am typically one of the best equipped people in the autocross paddock now, and it all fits easily in the trunk of an S2000 and loads/unloads very quickly.

^That's a great idea as well! And the type of setup your talking about is essentially what I want.

As few tools as possible to do what I need to do. That I can easily transfer between the garage and the track.

Another note: I could never find any socket rails/trays that would actually keep all the sockets together in my tool bag through repeated loadings/unloadings. That's why I gave up and got the hard box for the sockets, it also makes the right socket or wrench a lot easier to find quickly when they're all laid out in front of you like that. For the small-parts stuff that doesn't fit in that box (hex keys/sockets, 1/4 driver bits, picks and punches) I use these little pouches:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Organizer-3-Pack-82010N11/203224325#.Uhzg_2TF3p4

^I've been looking on eBay and have seen a few of those Bluepoint boxes, but will all the Bluepoint tools still in it.

Seriously considering picking that up + the GearWrench 1/2" drive metric set + a set of ratcheting metric wrenches. Get a few canvas bags to keep the existing stuff I'd want, and that might be a pretty perfect scenario for me.

I have several big rolling boxes, but I am a HUGE fan of the "service cart" idea. This is what I use. It has fabulous amounts of storage, big wheels that roll in my gravel driveway, and it really works well. I usually have one big box that stays in the same place with all the specialty tools and extras, then this service cart keeps all the commonly used stuff. The top section of mine has a 1/2" piece of MDF cut to fit with magnet bars for sockets and all of my ratchets and nut drivers in it. The drawers have all the other good stuff; wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. The bottom tray I keep my pneumatic tools and some commonly used boxes of tools like my A/C manifold, bearing drivers, as well as a BFH and pry bars. I also mounted some magnet bars on the side. That way, if I'm preparing for a certain task (for instance, something with suspension) I can grab my spring compressors and ball joint tools and slap them on the side.

I am cheap and I already had all the sockets and wrenches I needed, so I bought the empty box for $16 and the necessary ratchets and flex bar for $40 instead of paying the $150+ that complete sets tend to go for. I was intending to use the box with my craftsman ratchets if they had fit in it. I like the bluepoint ratchets though, and don't regret having them.

Ratcheting driver goodness that we talked about:

Set with stubby handle: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5678/s/gearwrench-8915-15-piece-stubby-geardriver-set/

Set with T-handle: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6930/s/gearwrench-8906set-6pc-ratcheting-t-handle-screwdrive-set-ro/

Standard drive handle separate: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6933/s/gearwrench-eht890001-standard-geardriver-handle/

T-handle separate: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/7853/s/gearwrench-890006gd-t-handle-ratcheting-screwdriver/

31 piece bit set: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/9627/s/gearwrench-890004gd-31-piece-bit-box-with-adapter-ro/

I'd get one of the sets, the other two "missing" handles, and the 31 piece bit set. More versatile than a nut driver set, and you don't end up with redundant E36 M3.