My tools are a garbled mess. I think I have lost half of the tools that I have purchased over my lifetime. I don't think I have a single phillips head screwdriver right now.
My tools are a garbled mess. I think I have lost half of the tools that I have purchased over my lifetime. I don't think I have a single phillips head screwdriver right now.
My wrenches and sockets live in the plastic trays they came in, that's one reason I buy Craftsman stuff because it usually includes a decent storage tray. My screwdrivers all just land back in the same drawer with no organizational thought, again I buy Craftsman because they are color coded: red for straight blade, blue for Phillips, black for Torx or etc. My Posidrivs have gray handles. Hammers and punches have their own drawer. I have one drawer with all the weird stuff: big pipe wrenches, seal puller, trim removal tool, stuff like that. My welder and plasma cutter each have their own cart and I keep the gloves, helmet, tips etc with them.
My biggest problem is that during a job I have E36 M3 scattered everywhere and I always wind up mumbling 'where the hell is my ____?' A buddy says that phrase will be carved on my headstone. 
I also have a bad habit: if I work late and I'm tired/aggravated I just rake everything into a pile and the next time I come out there it's a freakin' disaster area.
Two roller boxes. Plus a few shelves, closet organizer boxes, etc. Everything has a proper drawer. Maybe not an exact position in the drawer, but a proper drawer. I'm kinda like the Texas A&M Library. They don't want you to re-shelf your books. You take it off the shelf, look at it, put it in the reshelfing area. The reasons is that if the book is put back on the wrong shelf or the wrong spot, it's lost forever. That's the way my tools have become.
One thing I did which saved me a ton of time: whenever I strip a car or engine or whatever, I save all the nuts, bolts, brackets, alignment dowels etc and I stash them in some plastic boxes labeled 'metric bolts', 'standard bolts', etc. That saves a LOT of aggravation when hunting a nut, bolt or ??
I used to clean up, sort and put away tools daily... then it became after the job was finished... then weekly, then maybe monthly... now it's when I close the shop for the season. So now there are cardboard boxes in the house, basement and shop for collecting and sorting out tools that have been used all season long and all over the place.
Either I need to put tools away again or just buy three sets of everything.
Maroon92 wrote: My tools are a garbled mess. I think I have lost half of the tools that I have purchased over my lifetime. I don't think I have a single phillips head screwdriver right now.
HF FTW!!!!!
I'm pretty sure i have upwards of 40 phillips head screwdrivers...
I actually just made a big haul at HF the other day. Spent $135. Saved $125. 
(They let you stack coupons at mine, apparently. I had a coupon for EVERYTHING.)
I got a free 9-LED flashlight, a multimeter, and a 7-piece screwdriver set for FREE!
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: HF FTW!!!!! I'm pretty sure i have upwards of 40 phillips head screwdrivers... I actually just made a big haul at HF the other day. Spent $135. Saved $125.
Yep big sale until Jan. 2nd, hoping this big box under the tree is a welder. You go to the Castleton one or the Southern Plaza one?
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:Maroon92 wrote: My tools are a garbled mess. I think I have lost half of the tools that I have purchased over my lifetime. I don't think I have a single phillips head screwdriver right now.HF FTW!!!!! I'm pretty sure i have upwards of 40 phillips head screwdrivers... I actually just made a big haul at HF the other day. Spent $135. Saved $125.
Moving twice in two years doesn't help. Plus the fact that I have 5 project cars and a project bike split amongst four locations doesn't help either...Stuff gets left in or around those cars all the time.
Mine are organized, they are all in here. 
I figure everything will be in it's place by Christmas...of 2025. 
My professional tools are very organized by type wrenches, sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, air tools and a couple drawers for specialty and heavy duty tools then metricand standard. It helps to have a large tool box and lots of racks and rails to accomodate them all. My personal tools at home are split between peg board and my old tool box that I out grew from work. Finally my travel tool box for track days and traveling mechanic jobs is a Rlly styke box with drawers for the various types of tools but not as organized by size and metric/SAE as my other sets. I have trouble getting jobs done efficiently if I don't have the tools organized. Then again when I get into a big multi day job all bets are off as the tools get spread all over the place.
I try to keep it organized . . . I wore out Mrs. Zero dymo to help.
However, Hugo just swept through and it an absolute disaster area right now.
Toyman . . . how did you get a picture of my garage
yes
I have $5000 wrapped up in my tool box and another ~$7,500 IN the tool box... Everything goes back RIGHT WHERE IT CAME FROM or someone gets hurt ;)
BTW it is a $12,000 box retail and the tools would have been in the $20,000 range if bought new.
On more than one occasion, I've been in the middle of a project with tools all over the place and I can't find something. At this point I'll literally scream, stop, put everything away and start again.
The smaller the space, the more important it is to keep things neat and organized. Anymore, tool purchases are often a debate between how much I want/need it vs do I have a place to store it. As much as I love using my Strut-Tamer when working on coilover shocks, I curse how much room the monstrosity takes up when not in use...
If only I could keep the rest of my house as neat as my tool box...
my socket set sits in the nice organized box it came in... the latch is messed up (typical of the craftsman cases of the era)... but I know where everything is and if something is missing...
the rest of my auto hand tools are in a tool box or tool bag... not nearly orginized enough for my taste but it's portible and I can find the stuff without much issue... unless my wife "borrowed" a screwdriver or something else and then who knows where it is...
moparman76_69 wrote:92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: HF FTW!!!!! I'm pretty sure i have upwards of 40 phillips head screwdrivers... Yep big sale until Jan. 2nd, hoping this big box under the tree is a welder. You go to the Castleton one or the Southern Plaza one?Castleton, was visiting my buddy in Noblesville, and between the two of us we got $430 worth of stuff for $200. Probably going to make a run to southern plaza on Friday!
One of the best things I did as a homeowner was to buy several small toolboxes and devote each to a specific thing- electrical, plumbing, drywall, and so on. It keeps stuff ready, so when that plug quits on Christmas, or the tap starts dripping, I've got what I need handy, plus it doesn't get mixed up with automotive type stuff.
And my hand tools are as organized as I can make them with the way my brain is wired. I'm kinda the opposite of whatever anal is...
In reply to Dr. Hess:
How do you know about the reshelving system at Evans Library?
He has a certificate from there... I think it was for free parking at the union or something ;)
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