Sys3 Toolbox organization

[woodferret]

I'm having trouble organizing contents in my newer style Sys3 Toolbox with the floppy handle.

The old handle of the Sys TB never bothered me.  In fact, the separated narrow compartments helped keep things at bay for me.

What do you guys do for organization or do you just end up throwing things flat and rummage through like grand-dad's toolboxes?  The ridges on the bottom also makes custom boxes surprisingly annoying as does the overhanging lip (can't shove an insert bottom in).

/rant

 

[Paul_HKI]

First step would be a complaint about your bad experience to Festool and Tanos.  People need to voice their frustrations to them directly, as not enough are doing so.  Bad decisions will be made when people aren’t thinking about the customers they’re supposed to serve through product design and sales.

Second step, order a TB2 and get rid of the floppy handled space wasting junk catcher.  It’s beyond salvage as an efficient kind of toolbox in any sense.  Good as a waste bin or to hold power or air lines.  That’s about it.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Your not alene on that route.. a toolbox over engineered for nothing other than stacking with systainers.
They have even gone so far as making a completely new mold for a lid that cannot be
opened.
I’ve battled the lid and bottom to open.. but if I knew beforehand I wouldn’t have started
In the first place. It’s a bucket, a poor one that’s twice the price of a good tool bucket. As said the handle gets in the way no matter what. That’s why I did start modifying the lid and box
to be able to fit some sort of insert.
Photos to come later.

 

[Tinker]

It sounds like this tool box was designed by a mason. I carried my tools in one of those canvas bags with the straps to hold it closed and the floppy leather handles for 40 years. When I retired from the  mason trade, I retired that old canvas toolbag right along with my tools. I carried all of my trowels, floats, pointing tools and all but my finishing trowels and my stone tools in that bag, or two bags. They were like large duffel bags.

Tinker

 

[Coen]

Well, it has it's uses I suppose. They looked at Sortimo who has the same thing and copied it probably. They also looked at the big inefficiency of L-Boxx's inlays and thought... we can do that too; add 20mm to every box.

I think a lot of users would have to complain. When I complain at Festool NL they say they will do nothing with it, as Festool Germany 'would probably just ignore it anyway' or say that 'they had really thought well about this'...

 

[mino]

I would argue that the new ToolBox is great.

The "problem" is, it is NOT a replacement for the old Toolbox. And vice versa.

I plan to get the new toolbox in a 237 variety and use it to hold my universal power tools set - DRC, PSC, AGC - with a minimum accessories assortment. I always keep the systainer with these on top for easy access and open whenever possible.

It is the box I always take when doing something small at home, friend, etc. Using the old Toolbox did not work as the middle separation prevented fitting all 3 tools in it. So the new toolbox will replace a SYS 3 T-Loc in that role. I will probably remove the top handle from it, to not get in the way.

I have a couple of the T-Loc Toolboxes too, and those are use like "true" toolboxes, for which they are optimised.

So, I assume some will love the new ToolBox, as it will address a need that nothing else really could before. While those who get it as "a better T-Loc Toolbox" will likely not be very happy.

EDIT:

I think a lot of users would have to complain. When I complain at Festool NL they say they will do nothing with it, as Festool Germany 'would probably just ignore it anyway' or say that 'they had really thought well about this'...

I think it is still right to "complain" that the new Toolbox should not make the "old" one go away. They are simply not interchangeable.
In the same way the old Classic drawers were kept around when the new T-Loc drawers were not a replacement but a complement.

In Europe this is a non-issue. One can just get the TANOS toolboxes. But I can see this being a pain in US once the old Festool stock is sold. As always, the best argument is to buy/demand to buy the T-Loc toolboxes. The Beans are hard to argue with.

 

[Coen]

Availability of Tanos can be pretty bad. The Festool colored ones are usually way cheaper and better available.

 

[squall_line]

Availability of Tanos can be pretty bad. The Festool colored ones are usually way cheaper and better available.

In Europe, this may be the case.  In the US, there are minimal distributors for Tanos, but they're generally 10-20% cheaper than their gray-and-green brethren.

 

[Coen]

More like the Tanos is same price as here and Festool way more expensive?

 

[mino]

Availability of Tanos can be pretty bad. The Festool colored ones are usually way cheaper and better available.

In retail, you are right. But online/etail is really only about the prices being about 10% more. IMO well worth having the non-branded versions.

If no other then sys-classic.de begs to differ. Pretty much the full TANOS catalog plus some. Good prices and reasonable shipping.

Disclosure: No association with them. Just love how the guy kept the Classic systainers available in etail when they were discontinued otherwise.

 

[Coen]

Availability of Tanos can be pretty bad. The Festool colored ones are usually way cheaper and better available.

In retail, you are right. But online/etail is really only about the prices being about 10% more. IMO well worth having the non-branded versions.

If no other then sys-classic.de begs to differ. Pretty much the full TANOS catalog plus some. Good prices and reasonable shipping.

Disclosure: No association with them. Just love how the guy kept the Classic systainers available in etail when they were discontinued otherwise.

No online too. And sys-classic.de shows the same; Tanos 10-15% more expensive.

They have just about everything, but the website is kinda hideous. Lots of things are missing all description too.

Like;https://www.sys-classic.de/Festool/Saegen-mit-Handkreissaegen/Handkreissaegen/Handkreissaege-HK-85/::12726.html?MODsid=asri4vpjl8jqupfg0dqjlcljo5

Apparently, if you google the number, you will get a HK 85 EB Plus-FS in Sys3. But no way you would know by just looking at that page [huh]

 

[mino]

Yeah, the web is bad. Always was.
It was a one guy operation some years ago, not sure how still. It was not even a company but individual business (on name).

They added the Festool/Auer/Schneider etc. catalogs only recently. Not sure why, probably for some dedicated customers who asked for it.

Yeah, 10% or so more expensive these days after - the Festool systainers price drop/sale. I believe that is fair, given you do not get to provide the Festool advertisement whereever one goes ... IMO it was strange a couple years back when Iw as getting the unbranded Tanos boxes cheaper than the Festool ones. Marketing merchendise should be cheaper compared to the same stuff unbranded.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Adding some photos.

I used a flush cutting Knipex pliers (Yes, pronounced with the K and not K-Nipex  [big grin])
a Dremel, chisel and the unbeatable; mend it with a hammer!

There’s a lot in the works at the rear of lid the structural pattern that had to be removed..
First off was the plastic rivets up front (off course also the T-lock, but that’s obviously not hard)
The rivets I ended up cutting in half, before they let go. (I should just have given up then..)

That’s the point I thought it would open.. but no. Popping out the rear rivets was as any other SYS, quite easy. Next a Ballade of filing, cutting, test opening over and over again. The middle hinge needed work too, so was the cut outs in the rear corner hinge area for the tub.

It really helped letting that days frustration out onto this design.. cause why couldn’t they just mould it in one piece?

Nonetheless, it opens now. Next is juggling some IKEA toolbox I found as a base made in plywood which costed a fraction of this SYS Foolbox, but has an overall much nicer appearance. I’ll get the vital parts of this IKEA thingy to work with the SYS3 “Foolbox”. Work in progress, but I won’t spend too much time on it..  [blink]

View attachment 1 View attachment 2 View attachment 3 View attachment 4 View attachment 5 View attachment 6

And yes, the handle doesn’t really pop off easy either, it seems to be very well secured with another plastic rivet:
View attachment 7

 

[simnick]

Wait, so that lid is separate, but not easily hinged? How crazy.
It should either be one piece, or openable, so that you could put in an insert. Sound like several parts need to be violently removed to make it open?

 

[squall_line]

Wait, so that lid is separate, but not easily hinged? How crazy.
It should either be one piece, or openable, so that you could put in an insert. Sound like several parts need to be violently removed to make it open?

From a development/parts standpoint, making it a separate piece that mates to a normal Sys3 base is the most efficient production method.

Putting a fake T-Loc on it as if it were able to be opened is either an oversight or the result of someone changing something at the last minute to say "no, this shouldn't be able to be opened."

When the top is fixed in place but you still need a latch, just use the same latch they use on the Sys-IV Sort and/or the Sys-RB Roll Board; that one-way flip-up latch; a T-Loc is vestigial if the lid is fixed in place.

 

[mino]

The most expensive on manufacturing plastic parts are the molds. And a special category are molds which cannot be "pulled out".

The separate top mold allows two things in this case:

It allows the box to even be manufactured at a reasonable cost. If the toolbox was to be a single-piece with the new design, it would be extremely expensive - think $1M and more - to build the custom manufacturing equipment need to precisely mold such a shape.

Secondly, having the top separate mold also allows a single mold for multiple heights, providing the flexibility needed at lower cost again.

From the design the multiple pieces are clearly designed to allow manufacturability while it is not expected for the "lid" to be separated after it is put together. Similar like with the drawer boxes.

Putting a fake T-Loc on it as if it were able to be opened is either an oversight or the result of someone changing something at the last minute to say "no, this shouldn't be able to be opened."

When the top is fixed in place but you still need a latch, just use the same latch they use on the Sys-IV Sort and/or the Sys-RB Roll Board; that one-way flip-up latch; a T-Loc is vestigial if the lid is fixed in place.

Have to disagree here. I hate the special lock on the Sort. It is trickier compared to a T-Loc which I can just grab by hand without thinking or looking. IMO it is good they are restricting the non-standard catches only where there is no other way.
The same argument from me why it is good the CTs use the standard latch as well.

 

[FestitaMakool]

[poke]  [wink]

[attachimg=1]

 

[Tinker]

[member=71478]FestitaMakool[/member],
That was a good laugh. I laugh every time I look at it.
Tinker

 

[woodferret]

I totally agree with the 'engineer' design   As far as Tanos TB availability is concerned, Makita sells it in teal.

 

[FestitaMakool]

This drawing, yes it so describing [big grin]
The first time I saw it I laughed too, it still makes me smile. With a broad experience in my career this is easily recognisable.

Now, not the quickest task to do do.. but I finished a preliminary template for the SYS3 M today.
Mind you, there are differences in the interior of the SYS3 M, I’ve only checked two, for now.
This below is for the SYS3 toolbox M. I was thinking there’s a chance I could use the ends for the SYS3 XL.. but not without alternations. Small alternations needed in the corners of the SYS3 337 too..

[attachimg=1]