Sortainers anybody use em?

[bonesbr549]

I was in woodcraft on Friday to pick up my 1400 and while I was waiting, I was looking at the sortainers and they looked really cool.  Like everything else they were terribly expensive but I really liked.  Does anybody here use them(I know thats a silly question, but I want personal observations).  Thanks.

 

[nico]

Sortainer ....
I don't have them,I don't use them .... but I really like them, every time I go over to my hardware store, ..... I'm just standing there drooling
they just seem super practical to me, but why do they have to be so f....g expensive :-(

 

[PeterK]

I have purchased the 9 drawer and a couple 4 drawer. The 4 drawer units are really handy for me as I can put a tool with accessories in them. If you calculate the usable volume of the 6, 9 and 12 drawer units, they only use 50% of the box volume - not a very practical small shop item for me.
Pete

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I have two 4 drawers and one 9 Drawer.  The 4's I use one as storage for my MFT clamps and parts, one for a pin nailer and stuff.  The 9 drawer stays latched to my C-12 and I keep all sorts of screws, wire nuts, basicaly a mobile hardware store of fasteners (all GRK screws).

I use them, I like them, they work with the rest of my tools.  They are a bit expensive but, the expense is overshadowed by the fact that they are part of the overall system.  (at least that is what i tell myself)

Very durable as well.

 

[Tinker]

I have a 12 and 4 or 5 of the 4's
when i first looked at them, i thought they were too expensive.
but like a lot of the Festool toys, when they all fit together, they don't seem so costly.
I am getting back to summer mode in my shop and hope by fall to have the whole area reorganized so i can work on some larger projects.

the drawers on the sortainers are small and you need to be careful you don't load them so they hang up when you try to open them.
I don't think i could make as much drawer space that would take up as little room in my shop as what I have with the sortainers i have for much less than what they cost to buy.
Tinker

 

[aafoote]

I think the sortainers are more useful in non-workshop (chaotic) conditions the most. When you have the space for plenty of open-top carpenter toolboxes to be laying around, then the sortainers are not as important, and one sortainer could do the trick. I think one real advantage of a single sortainer is that by sticking one right in the middle of your Festool systainer stacks, you can be sure that  certain items will always be quick to find. The Festool mft guide profile has small parts associated with it, for example. If I bury these in a systainer, that's not as good for me. I want small and vital stuff to be found the fastest and easiest-even after months of not thinking about them.

It's great to have sortainers if you like to move from site to site. Someday, I imagine rolling a systainer stack onto a jig that is bolted to a handtruck, so you can run the whole stack to the truck. That would make the least number of round trips. I might have to break the stack completely down at the truck, but I still would like making fewer trips.

 

[Hoover]

I have two that I bought used for $30/ea.  They work ok, but splitting each draw with the dividers really cuts down the space and there isn't much space anyway.  For the size, they don't hold much.  Plus the thingy's that keep the draws closed don't function well as they age, so the drawers can open accidentally.  I am happy with them for the price I paid but would never pay the new price.  There are plenty of other options that are better for a lot less. 

 

[score0matic]

Sortainers are great for building kits.  to get the most out of them add a systainer on top as a primary box. here are a few of my most used kits with sortainers in them.

Plumbing kit
Sys 1 on top for tools  7 drawer sort (6 Med 2 small   I have quite a few and drawer bash as i want ;D ;D) sys3 below for 1 1/2" drain fittings and supply hoses

Screw kit
Sys 1 on top  makita 10.2 lion driver and impact + charger Utility knife and Tape measure 11 Drawer Sort(10 small 1Med) for screws and themed drawer for pencles and other little gadgets

Trim kit
Sys2 on top for trim apron and trim tools  5drawer sort (4 small 1 large) smalls for nails  large for 23 ga pin and 18 brad guns, Sys 2 on bottom for 16 ga nailer.

Elect kit
Sys1 on top for tools, 8 drawer (4med, 4small) for cat5, cable, small tools and connecters, sys2 on bottom for outlets, switches and cover plates.

I attached pics of my screw kit, i keep that kit in my truck  the rest are kept in my tool trailer and it is raining right now so i will post them later

Thanks Craig  Note apparently the rest of my pics are too large sorry

 

[jovi]

It's great to have sortainers if you like to move from site to site. Someday, I imagine rolling a systainer stack onto a jig that is bolted to a handtruck, so you can run the whole stack to the truck. That would make the least number of round trips. I might have to break the stack completely down at the truck, but I still would like making fewer trips.

Is this what you had in mind? (second picture from above)

 

[Programmergeek]

I have tehm use them for alot of non festools also great to keep things orginised, but I am thinking of pulling some of the festools out and just piutting them on a shelf, may be easer to access and take a whole lot less room.  If you bring your tools to job sites they are invaluable thought, I usally don't much. 

 

[richard.selwyn]

I've got one - four drawer I think.  I only use it on site - filling it up with stuff before I go.  I would like more but the price is far too high here (in France) to justify.  I used it today - but the trouble is it won't take everything I need by a long shot so it is only really there for show - but I've noticed that clients are impressed.  I try to pride myself on being tidy on site - I always take a vac - and having everything in sortainers would certainly help - maybe 5 or 6 of them   

At the risk of committing Festool sacrilege, my complaint would be (apart from the price) that they are not very space efficient.  If you compare the overall volume of the unit with the actual space available in the drawers its a poor deal.  A big systainer (with or without insert) is much more efficient - but maybe I'm just moaning because i can't afford a few more.

 

[Forrest Anderson]

I have a 4- and a 12-drawer Sortainer. They came free with my new MFT1080 as part of what I consider was one of the most generous offers made by Festool in the UK.

My experience with them is similar to others people's. Here are my likes and dislikes:

Likes:
-  Easily stacked. You can latch them together or stack a standard Systainer on top. If you stack them that way, then you can get access to the Systainer and the Sortainer at the same time without unlatching them.
-  Externally, the Sortainers are very space-efficient due to their rectangular shape and stackability.
-  Additional small and medium drawers can be purchased seperately, so that a 12-drawer unit can be converted into a 6- or 9-drawer unit, or vice versa.
-  Strong. The Sortainer appears to be be very well made, and my ones show no sign of cracks or fractures, although admittedly they don't see hard use. The drawers are also well built and not made of flimsy easily cracked plastic like some organisers
-  Easily carried. The big handle on top makes them easy to carry.
-  Drawers slide well. So long as the contents don't get hung up (see below), the drawers slide well.

Dislikes:
-  Quite heavy. Even empty they weigh much more than a normal Systainer, partly because of metal strengthening. Once you add a nice collection of screws and so on, they can get pretty heavy.
-  Limited range of models. Tanos make other sizes, and it would be nice if Festool added them to the Festool range.
-  Very difficult to disassemble. Although it might not be obvious, Sortainers are modular and it would be nice if they could easily be disassembled by the customer and reassembled to make thinner or fatter units.
-  Contents can shift if the Sortainer is jostled. If the contents protrude above the level of the drawer sides, they can catch on the internal structure, making the drawer very difficult to open.
-  I find that the drawer catches are a bit difficult to grip.

Overall, I like them and I take the 12-drawer unit to jobs with me. However if I hadn't got them free with the MFT, I don't know if I'd buy them due to them being pretty expensive.

Forrest

 

[mwhafner]

I think they are great for certain situations.  I have two, the 4 drawer and the 9 drawer. 

The 4 drawer is attached to my C12 systainer.  The smaller drawers house individual bits, pencils, centering bits, countersinks, etc.  The large drawer houses a index, a set of hex bits, tape measure, etc. 

The 9 drawer is a key part of my "scribing and coping" setup for trim work.  It houses rasps, files, spring clamps, jigsaw blades, compass, etc.  It depends on the job, but I have a systainer 1 that contains my Trion.  I also have a systainer 2 that is usually attached with my Bosch Jigsaw (with coping foot) and PC571 belt sander. 

I agree other users comments.  They are expensive and can be cumbersome, but they have become integral for my setup.  When I grab those tools, I pretty much know that I have what I need.

 

[Dan Lyke]

I snuck one in on a McFeely's assortment order, and I'm now a fan. Yeah, they're expensive, but if you compare 'em to those plastic drawer thingies you pick up at OSH that have sticking drawers that crack after a while, don't slide well, and are generally light and flimsy and look at comparative lifespan, they don't end up being that much more expensive.

And if I moved 'em around a bunch, the "clip to the other systainers" feature would be gold.

 

[Steve Jones]

I purchased a 9 and a 4 (since swapping around a little I now own a 10 and a 3 drawer).

Very tough and useful cases one with all the small drawers holds screws, kreg plugs, etc and the 3 drawer holds every kind of driver and drill bit I own.

What got me sold is trying the 9 drawer first and I found I could replace three screw assortment boxes I had been dragging around, none of the small draws holds a vast stock, especially if you use the dividers to make more (smaller) sections, but I can stock some of everything to take with me on site.

I'm tempted to look into removing the top of one box and the bottom of another to see if there is some way to make one large box from them, since they're usually clipped together anyway

 

[James Watriss]

I use a 4 drawer to hold most of my router stuff from my 1400... I got tired of having to dig out a layer of dust shrouds and base inserts, just to put the tool away... let alone the fact that the wrench has to go on the very bottom, as well.

From time to time, as workload varies, I'll take smaller calls for small handyman type stuff... little things always need fixing, and usually they're not a full sized job, and they're not going to take more than half an hour. I also use another 4 drawer on the bottom of my C12, which I use for those smaller handyman type house calls. Between that and the drill case, I can bring a few small odds and ends of socket wrenches, leatherman, screws, bits, and whatever else... it's become a good gauge for whether or not the job is a "serious" job that requires an estimate, or if it's just a simple house call. If it's too big to fix with whatever I have in the drill case and the sortainer, it's a serious job, and I let the client know that it's going to require a "serious" visit, to be paid accordingly.

 

[Daniel_n]

I have a 4- and a 12-drawer Sortainer. They came free with my new MFT1080 as part of what I consider was one of the most generous offers made by Festool in the UK.

My experience with them is similar to others people's. Here are my likes and dislikes:

Likes:
-  Easily stacked. You can latch them together or stack a standard Systainer on top. If you stack them that way, then you can get access to the Systainer and the Sortainer at the same time without unlatching them.
-  Externally, the Sortainers are very space-efficient due to their rectangular shape and stackability.
-  Additional small and medium drawers can be purchased seperately, so that a 12-drawer unit can be converted into a 6- or 9-drawer unit, or vice versa.
-  Strong. The Sortainer appears to be be very well made, and my ones show no sign of cracks or fractures, although admittedly they don't see hard use. The drawers are also well built and no made of flimsy easily cracked plastic like some organisers
-  Easily carried. The big handle on top makes them easy to carry.
-  Drawers slide well. So long as the contents don't get hung up (see below) the drawers slide well.

Dislikes:
-  Quite heavy. Even empty they weigh much more than a normal Systainer, partly because of metal strengthening. Once you add a nice collection of screws and so on, they can get pretty heavy.
-  Limited range of models. Tanos make other sizes, and it would be nice if Festool added them to the Festool range.
-  Very difficult to disassemble. Although it might not be obvious, Sortainers are modular and it would be nice of they could easily be disassembled by the customer and reassembled to make thinner or fatter units.
-  Contents can shift of the Sortainer is jostled. If the contents protrude above the level of the drawer sides, they can catch on the internal structure, making the drawer very difficult to open.
-  I find that the drawer catches are a bit difficult to grip.

Overall, I like them and I take the 12-drawer unit to jobs with me. However if I hadn't got them free with the MFT, I don't know if I'd buy them due to them being pretty expensive.

Forrest

I have had the 4,6,9 and 12-drawer systainers for about a year, and I agree with everything you have have to say about them. Especially the problem with drawers that are hard to open because some small object (screw, drill bit or whatever) is jammed between the drawer and the sortainer unit itself.

I use each sortainer in combination with a systainer, with the sortainer on top with the power tool (router, C12 or whatever) and the sortainer latched on permanently underneat with all the accessories.

 

[Hoover]

I just remembered this storage system.  On another forum people had very good things to say about the customer service and a follow up post about the use, quality and how durable they are in the cold was very good.  They look like a really good system and at a great price.  The inventor/owner was in a business where he needed something and could not find it so it invented it.  Here's the post on the other board  http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43462&highlight=fred

http://www.pdysystems.com/tool_buy.php

 

[score0matic]

Interesting,

It looks like a good product.  

Had i not bought into the Systainer concept. I would give it a try.

  I realize it is a large investment for just a bunch of plastic.  But i have let my apprentice go out on his own last fall and have not brought anyone else on full time so i need to be more efficient with my time on tasks.

The select, stack, lock, transport, and store system makes a lot of sense, Better, Faster,Smarter may cost alot of money once,  but it  saves money everyday.

the key to making it work for me is that almost everything is kitted,  only my Hilti 805 breaker, Sawzall, Jambsaw, and bulldog are not.

Making Organized kits  for specific tasks and storing them in a logical order provides a Huge  time savings.  when i get to a site I look at the task then go to the trailer,  pick the cases i need,  lock them together and I'm on my way.  When i am finished with a task I put my tools away and they are ready for the next time i need them.  The system saves me 3-4 hours $$$ a week in looking for tools or parts, and cleanup.  Factor in the savings in not losing/ misplacing or running after tools. 

Add in the cool factor with both clients and other trades and it is a wining combination. ;D

Craig

now that spring is here i will take a Sunday afternoon and post pics of the set up

 

[Steveo48]

You're right, they are terribly expensive and I'd never spend the money on them *except* I did buy one with McFeely's screw assortment.  It was a good deal and I use A LOT of screws, so it worked with me.

I'd never spend that kind of money on an empty sortainer though.