organizing the mess

[mikecwik]

too many of us have problems in this area but there is not a lot of talk on it.

a few years back i asked a friend if he kept the cases his tooling came in and he said yes. i told him i was thinking of getting rid of mine and he said "oh you're one of those guys." so i kept them and am now back to either getting rid of them or coming up with a better use for them.

if your batteries are dead every time you use your cordless stuff do say so in your reply vs the guy that charges almost daily.

if i have a tool i use 5 times a year i dont mind it being in a case but i have several that daily i have to lean over and pick up off the floor, hope that there is space on the bench to open it and if not its done on the floor. then you put it away at night.

it does take quite a bit of time packing and unpacking.

do you keep yours or toss em?

[EdK]

(04-08-2012, 05:22 PM)mikecwik Wrote: do you keep yours or toss em?

That depends. If it's a delicate item, like a caliper that did not come with a storage case, then I usually keep the original packing box and store it in that. I have two batteries for all of my cordless power tools and always keep one charged. The cordless power tools all came with wither a metal or plastic storage case so I store the tools in them.

Ed

[mikecwik]

i guess i should have been more specific. i can see a guy that works on the road wanting to keep the cases and with some things it is obvious that the case is kept like protective eye ware, measuring tools , gage blocks, cutting tools etc.

i was thinking more towards cordless/air tooling i have angle grinders with cases then there is the drill dr. in its poor case(not sure why i have not tossed that out) then i have a huge set of snap ring pliers in case

[Mayhem]

For me it is generally about keeping multiple components together, so they are less likely to get lost. So things like pullers, bearing and seal drifts, hole saws, driver bits, tap and die sets and the like, I will keep them in the cases they come in. Very handy to spot a missing item this way.

A lot of my power and air tools came in cardboard boxes. In this case, I either flip the lid over (if a 2 piece box) or cut if off (if it a flap type one) and they then sit in the storage drawer. Currently, I have several 4" angle grinders that live in one drawer of a filing cabinet. Each drops back into its own box and the wrenches/allen keys and spares live in those boxes. Similar for my air tools.

If it is a nice fitted case, I generally keep them stored in them as they often take up less room when stored on a shelf (think books on a shelf). In fact, I could better use the hight in a filing cabinet draw to store them in. It also makes it easier to take them to a job.

One exception is chargers, which I generally mount on a wall or on top of the storage cabinets. I don't see any point in packing these up and unpacking them each time I need to charge the battery.

So in short, it really depends on the tool and the box (and probably on how I feel at the time).

[Highpower]

Items that get used every day are stored in drawers in the tool chest / roll cab and the cases get binned. Those big blow molded plastic cases take up too much real estate. The ones that sit for weeks / months / years at a time stay in cases on a shelf somewhere for that very reason.

I've got one of those huge snap ring pliers sets as well, and the case has been opened and closed so many times there is about 1/4 of the "hinge" remaining holding it together. When the lid finally falls off (the latch fell off years ago...) that case goes in the bin as well, and all the pliers find another drawer.

[krv3000]

HI just sum of my storige the wooden draws wher my dad's the metel toolbox came from colige the large set of draws came from a boot sale it needed new wheels and a repant but got it for a £5 and a proper staret toolbox not picherd form a bootsale it had needel work things in i got that for a £5 to right pics

[EdK]

(04-09-2012, 04:13 PM)krv3000 Wrote: HI just sum of my storige the wooden draws wher my dad's the metel toolbox came from colige the large set of draws came from a boot sale it needed new wheels and a repant but got it for a £5 and a proper staret toolbox not picherd form a bootsale it had needel work things in i got that for a £5 to right pics

Wow! Very nicely organized.

Ed

[ETC57]

I just need to buckle down and start building my new work surfaces and get rid of the old junk!! Right now I have tons of poorly organised and wasted space!!
I must admit seeing some of the shops of other members is quite inspiring!!!

Thank's to all for your inspiration, I can do this yes I can!!!!

Jerry.

[EdK]

(04-09-2012, 05:26 PM)ETC57 Wrote: I just need to buckle down and start building my new work surfaces and get rid of the old junk!! Right now I have tons of poorly organised and wasted space!!
I must admit seeing some of the shops of other members is quite inspiring!!!

Thank's to all for your inspiration, I can do this yes I can!!!!

Jerry.

to all of the above.

Ed

[lazylathe]

Hey Bob,

What is in the box marked " Bob's Keep Off"??
Is that your "special" box???

Great storage though!!!
Those sets of small drawers are hard to find here and when you do they are really expensive...

I am still on the lookout for one from an old library!
Remember the old reference card ones??

Andrew