Router bit/accessory storage...Bit systainer or sortainer???

[clisbyclark]

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated-especially those who have used both.  If the sortainer is your choice, what drawer configuration works best for you?  thanks

 

[Brice Burrell]

I did a short review of the router bit Systainer. Router Bit Systainer.

 

[Ned]

I have both.  The big advantage of the Sortainer/4 for router bits is that it's got drawers and so there's no need to take it off the bottom of the router systainer.

My Sortainer contains all the 8mm and 1/4 bits.  If you cut off the hanging tab on the top of a Festool bit package, the package can stand upright in the drawer.  The packages interlock and make neat rows.  A piece of plywood with a grid of holes takes care of the non-Festool bits.  I have a 1010, FWIW.

The smaller drawers contain the wrenches, small parts for the MFS, and the template rings.

My Router Bit Systainer contains 1/2" router bits for the table-mounted PC router.  Works fine, but the Sortainer's more convenient.

Ned

 

[Forrest Anderson]

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated-especially those who have used both.  If the sortainer is your choice, what drawer configuration works best for you?  thanks

You may know about it already, but John Lucas has a page about using the Sortainer for his router bits athttp://www.woodshopdemos.com/fes-39.htm

Forrest

 

[Tinker]

So far, I have 2 of the 4 drawer units and 1 of the 9 drawer.  At this stage, I am just filling drawers, trying to keep things pretty much grouped.  Eventually, i will get more Sortainers and as I get less and less clutter from the shop into more and more organization into Sortainers. As i fill more and more Sortainers, the groupings of tools and consumables will become more obvious.  For now, i do not even have labels on the drawers.  Once i have most logical groupings within individual drawers, I will find the most logical groupings of drawers within the Sortainers.

This will also be very simple, as the drawers, even tho they can very easilly be locked closed, can just as easilly be removed from the sortainer carcases and carried to point of use in shop, or can be swithed from sortainer to sortainer. 

So far, for me, the 4 drawer units seem to be of most use for organizing my own needs.

At this point, the first 4 drwer unit was filled with items used with my WoodRat.  That toy is the biggest spreader of sawdust and chips.  I had been keeping bits up on the wall behind the Rat.  Bolts and screws were piled behind the Rat and covered with 9 yards of dust and debris after every project it was put to use for.  All of my jigs were piled underneath and covered with dust.  I now have all of the small items not used every time stored within the Sortainer.  Wrenches and bits are still on the wall (pegboard) and the jigs are still on the floor.  BUT, I now have dust only on the jigs.  As other areas of shop become better organized, the jigs will find better places to live without becoming buried in dust and chips.

That is only one area where the sortainers have made live a whole lot easier.  Other areas are now becoming better organized at the same time.  8)

Tinker

 

[cflansbaum]

I have the Router Bit Systainer and while I do like it, I have 2 issues with it.

1.  Some of my taller bits are too tall for the space

2. The foam is pretty tight, you have to be careful you don't slice your finger on the bits when removing (I make sure that I don't force them down into the foam.  This can lead to #1

if I was to do it over again I would buy an empty systainer 2 and the foam insert separately (which I believe would work, although I haven't researched it...)

Carl

 

[mntbighker]

I'm thinking the best way to do this is to have small blocks of that cool machinable white plastic (the acronym escapes me now) at the ready. As you acquire bits, you drill the appropriate size shank hole and use the double stick foam tape to anchor them into a Sys/Sortainer. Having blocks sized for sets would also be handy for bits used together. Or, you could have a plastic block that just fits the drawer or Systainer with a bit of velcro on the bottom and a knob for lifting it out. Drill new holes as you need them or a whole bunch at the start. I like the bits to fit just so they drop in by gravity. If you need to keep them in place and your drawer is mostly filled out you can drop a plastic barrier sheet (trash bag) in above the bits and shoot that expanding foam over them. Once solidified just trim the foam flat level with the top (similar to how they use the stuff in shipping). Or use a sheet of wood with a hole in it to shoot the foam through laid on top so there is less to trim. For a Systainer I would devise a way to have the foam extend partly into the lid or plan on adding a wood spacer on top after it hardens. Great, another project to find time for ;-)

--Mark

 

[Corwin]

I was also thinking along this line...  but, I would like to have individual blocks with little handles on them such that I can simply grab the handle to place/remove the block with the desired cutter.  That way there would be less chance of getting cut from a bit when putting it in or out of its storage compartment.  One day...

Corwin

 

[mntbighker]

I was also thinking along this line...  but, I would like to have individual blocks with little handles on them such that I can simply grab the handle to place/remove the block with the desired cutter.  That way there would be less chance of getting cut from a bit when putting it in or out of its storage compartment.  One day...

Corwin

Quick and dirty off the top of my head you could epoxy a zip tie into a slot in each plastic (or wood) block. If you used a thin one it would bend out of the way for insertion and spring back for lifting. It occurs to me just now velcro is bad around saw dust though.

 

[Eli]

Maybe you could use the systainer with the colored tubs in it, just put a block of foam or wood in the bottom of each small container to hold the bits, and pull the whole container when you want to select. Some have room for only one bit, but some you could put matched pairs in. You wouldn't fit as many though.

 

[poto]

The only Festool thing I've bought that I'm annoyed at having purchased was the guide rail accessory kit (492396). The only things I use regularly are the clamps. However, it occurred to me the other day that the Systainer 1 would make great router bit storage. As far as I can tell, you can't purchase the router bit insert separately (please let me know if I'm wrong on this), so I went to a craft store and got a big piece of dense styrofoam. I cut it to fit in the Systainer, and then drilled holes for my bits (the holes are not regularly spaced, but are spaced to accommodate different-sized bits). It wouldn't be difficult, I think, to cut the foam block into smaller chunks to hold bit sets - then you could take a chunk out one set at a time.

I've also been eyeing those brass bit holders at Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=56500&cat=1,46168) and thinking of making a plastic insert for the Systainer with the brass holders for the bits. Might work...

 

[Iggy1965]

I own a systainer for the router bits. I took out the foam, placed it in a larger systainer (#2) to accomodate longer bits as well and reused the #1 systainer for my tacker/nailer.

Ignard

 

[tvgordon]

Do you guys label the bits?  If so, how do you do it?  Right now I just store the bits in the plastic sleeve or box they came in because it has the size stamped on the front.  It would be nice to have them out of the packaging (I was looking at the systainer), but I would also like to know at a glance if I'm grabbing a 3/16" or 1/4" round over bit.

Tom.

 

[brandon.nickel]

I have the router bit container and have run into three issues with it:
1 - Some bits are too tall to fit in it.  Replacing the Sys1 with a Sys2 would solve that problem
2 - There aren't enough 1/2" holes.  Almost all of my bits are 1/2" shank and I've run out of space.  If I had a 1/2" brad-point bit, I think this wouldn't take long to fix.  However, I've never gotten around to buying a set of those.
3 - There isn't anywhere to put things like interchangeable bearings or shims for tongue-and-groove cutters, etc.  Same for guide bushings.

I think the ideal setup would be a Sys 2 with the foam insert from the SYS-OF plus the 4 small drawers from a Sortainer across the bottom.  In fact, a Sortainer 4 with a custom-cut foam insert might be the best combination.

 

[Tinker]

.

I've also been eyeing those brass bit holders at Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=56500&cat=1,46168) and thinking of making a plastic insert for the Systainer with the brass holders for the bits. Might work...

I like those inserts from Lee Valley and will give some thought.  For any quantity of bits, I think the price will become elevated to Festool stata.  Very fitting.  8)

I, also have the #1 systainer with foam insert.  Problem there is that it is fit only for 1/4 & 8mm shanks. 

I have tried making wood blocks for holding bits.  The problem there is that I have to drill holes large enough to allow for expansion of wood as humidity rises.  When that happens, things get a little interresting unless bits are spaced quite far apart.  John Lucas (woodshopdemos.com) shows an interresting concept of retaining bits (Festool) in the original containers; but that does not work out for 1/4" & 1/2" bits from other sources.

I am thinking another method could be using the 4 drawer sortainer large drawer for my Festool bits and using compartments in the small drawers for other bits not Festool.  Something to further compartment so those bits don't roll around in the drawers.  I have to think about problems with that arrangement.

What i do know is that as 1/4" bits get worn or otherwise messed up, I am discarding and replacing with 8mm Festool bits.  Those will be stored in conjunction with my OF 1000.  My 1/2" bits will be used only with OF 1400 and DW 625 (WoodRat)  WoodRat bits is easy.  So far, i use only 3/4" cutting bits or smaller or verticle cutting molding bits.  Very few bits used there.  i am finding more and more use for the OF 1400 so will need to figure better storage for those bits.

Tinker

 

[semenza]

Hi,

    See newest WOOD mag (March 08) page for a modular wood block idea for router bits in a drawer (like the large sortainer drawer).

Seth

 

[Jim McFarland]

Do you guys label the bits?  If so, how do you do it?  Right now I just store the bits in the plastic sleeve or box they came in because it has the size stamped on the front.  It would be nice to have them out of the packaging (I was looking at the systainer), but I would also like to know at a glance if I'm grabbing a 3/16" or 1/4" round over bit.

Tom.

Tom, this is not at all pretty, but I use a single page spreadsheet trying to show locations of various bits in the Festool insert.  I posted an earlier version of the way I use the insert (sys2 rather than sys1, etc.) in this thread.  I've since replaced the compressed polyester with pieces from the much more appropriate foam insert set (p/n 487427). 

Two tabs are in the spreadsheet:

  - JEM Modified Insert tab is just that (I drilled a lot of 3/8" holes around the perimeter for 1/2" shank bits),
  - Festool Insert tab is as it comes from Festool which you could use as a template for your bits (could be some layout mistakes -- long time since I saw the original). 

I used Excel "Merge and Center" a lot to try to orient text with actual bit layout.  Also a kludge sometimes to get text to fit in the cells (did I mention this wasn't pretty? -- the whole thing is a kludge).  I'm sure the artistic folks on the FOG can come up with something better but this is functional if not...pretty.  Obviously not too hard to tell a finger joint bit from a 1/8" RO but the layout sheet does help me put this puzzle back together if I have several bits out at once.  If I had a helper I could also tell them to get "so and so" and they might actually get the right bit.

 

[tvgordon]

Thanks Jim,
That's a good idea for labeling the bits (as long as I put the bit back where I got it).

Tom.