Tool Organizer

[nickao]

That sure is a neat box!

 

[Walt300]

What a neat idea. Looks like it does a great !!!

Walter

 

[Peterm]

Absolutely fantastic - are you taking orders? 

Cheers, Pete

 

[Wonderwino]

Great looking and functional box!  Where did you find those drawer latches?

 

[Frank Pellow]

Frank's Tool Organizer Insert (post 1 of 2)

Yesterday and today, I built a new tool organizer to replace the one that I purchased from Festool and have used for about four years.  Mine combines the design of the one that Peterm built (see reply #29 in this thread) with the design of the original from Festool.

Like Pete's, mine is made out of leftover pieces of Baltic Birch; in my case 6mm and 10mm.

First here is a pictures showing the origninal tool organizer in use (as it was two days ago):

[attachimg=#1]

And here are the contents spread out on my workbench:

[attachimg=#2]

This is the insert sold by Festool:

[attachimg=#3]

Except for the small wooden box at the bottom right, it's all one piece.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Frank's Tool Organizer Insert (post 2 of 2)

My objective was to create a set of inserts that could hold more tools and stuff than Festool's and to have those tools and stuff better organized and more accessible.

I decided that it would be better to have trays that could be removed separately, rather than as a set (as Peterm did).   Also, I like the holes in Festool's insert, so I decided to have some -not as many, but some.

Here is the bottom tray:

[attachimg=#1]

And, here is the middle tray:

[attachimg=#2]

The middle tray handle fits over the bottom (which protrudes through a slot in the bottom of the middle tray).   At the same time, it is short enough that it does not interfere with the top tray.  The divider is removable.

Here is the top tray:

[attachimg=#3]

And, here are all three trays (plus some stuff that I stuffed down the small gaps at the sides) sitting on my workbench.

[attachimg=#4]

As you can see, I managed to get everything that was originally in the systainer plus a lot more back into the systainer.  And, everything is easy to get at.

 

[Bob Marino]

WOW Frank! Great improvement over the standard design. You packed plenty in there.

  Bob

 

[Frank Pellow]

WOW Frank! Great improvement over the standard design. You packed plenty in there.

  Bob

Thanks Bob.  Would you like to take orders?  ;D

 

[bill-e]

Frank,

That is a great implementation.  You guys are inspiring me to design something for myself.  My problem is that I am one disorganized person and because of that I will need to design something that doesn't give me the option of being sloppy.  Trays are the death of me   In no time trays are overflowing with tools and finding the needed tool results in emptying the tray in search of it.

Perhaps I need more hanging and less tray, I'll have to ponder this a bit.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

That's fantastic, Frank.  You should become "an organizational consultant."

Dave R.

 

[Peterm]

Very nice Frank - I like your combination of trays and 'hanging' space for 'drivers etc.., it's a much better balance than the original Festool insert IMO. Good idea to have the trays individually removable too - I may may do something similar in my next version, but until then I've added some nylon strapping to the upper trays as makeshift handles to make them easier to shift about individually

Anyway, good work, and a big thank you to whoever started the thread and all this inspiration!

Cheers, Pete

 

[robski]

i have always prefered open tote bags like the one shown by peterm but i am the first to admit they are heavy, and it bugged me that there is still a lot of wasted space and i find myself always having to 'dig' for what i wanted. about 3 months ago i was in travis perkins builders merchants and saw a irwin open tote bag which was cube shaped, all my hand tools stand upright so everything is in sight, i have exactly the same amount of tools in it yet it is 3 times smaller than any bag i've owned or seen, i highly recomend it and at ?25 a bargin!

 

[robski]

sorry guys didnt see page 2 of responses and missed franks systainer, screw irwin bags mine is already in the bin! frank that is a great bit of design, if you do start taking orders put me on the list!

 

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the compliments about the design  Bill, Pete, Dave, Rob, and Bob.  As is true with most good designs, mine was simply a refinement of previous designs by others.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Qwas on the TalkFestool forum suggested that one might want to make some alternate trays and fill them with task specific items.  He mentioned Electrical and Plumbing.

I followed up on his idea this morning and made a rwo additional middle trays. Right now I have filled one with Plumbing stuff and the other with Dowelmax stuff. Here is picture of all three middle trays:

[attachimg=#1]

I will also make at least two additional bottom trays (once I purchase some more little plastic boxes). But, I will keep the top tray the same for all (unless, of course, I devote a second systainer 4 to holding my stuff).__________________

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Frank,

In your photos, there appear to be ?brass? metal pieces that hold the drawer dividers in place.  What are these and where can they be purchased?  How are they installed?

I have some molded plastic drawer dividers from OutWater Plastics, but they require an 1/8 inch wide dado in the sides forming the drawer box for installation.  And Outwater has a US$25.00 minimum order policy, so purchases of small parts from them is often not practical.

Dave R.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Well spotted Dave.  I brought the dividers at Lee Valley.  Here is a link it the item in their catalogue:http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=40168&cat=3,43722,43743

They are simply hammered into place (as is shown in the explanation in the linked-to material).

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Thanks, Frank!  I missed seeing those in the LV catalog.

Dave R.

 

[JayStPeter]

Franks boxes inspired me to see if I could use some of the systainers I have around to transport tools to/from the racetrack in the back of my racecar.  One of the things I wanted to verify was that my Plano storage boxes would fit into a systainer.  It turns out it fits perfectly.  Unfortunately the systainers don't fit into the spot in the trunk I wanted them to.

But ... here's my woodworking hardware storage.  It's a cabinet I made based on a PWW article.  It uses Plano 3700 series containers.  It took me a while to get used to, but now I love this storage system.

Here's on in the bottom of a systainer.  Fits rather nicely.  I would think some spacer blocks to hold the next level up in front of and behind would make it integrate with something like Franks system nicely.  Just leave a space so you can get your hand in there to pick it up.

The Plano 3700 series come in about a zillion different heights and compartment layouts and are excellent.  Get the ones with the better latches as the cheap latches will eventually rip off from use as both the latches and hinges are molded in.  They range from a few bucks to around $10 for the biggest ones with the nice latches.  You can get some variants at the borgs, Target, and other similar stores but I've gotten most of mine online from outdoor supply places.  Plano makes fishing tackle boxes that integrate them, so that's who often sells them, but they are in the "tool" section at target.  It seems like you should get the deeper ones (around 3" deep I think), but I actually find the shallower "medium depth" (?1.5 in?) ones most convenient.  You don't have to dig so far in to get your stuff.  Plus, you'll be amazed how much they hold for the space taken.  The bigger ones are often less efficient since you have to make the compartments big enough to dig into anyway.

 

[Dan Clermont]

Very impressive Frank.

I think you should make that insert for Festool!! You've got allot of tools packed away in a small space and you've got a Systainer you can use as a step stool as well.

Dan Clermont