A reader (thank you Aaron!) alerted us to a new Craftsman Versastack clear-lidded small parts organizer that’s thinner than the previous version. If you’ve ever seen the older Craftsman Versastack or Dewalt TSTAK organizers, your impression was probably similar to mine: “Why are they so much thicker and waste so much more space than another company’s organizers?”
This new design (CMST17817) holds 2 large bins, 6 small bins, and 2 long bins at the sides — whereas the old design held 2 large bins and 5 small bins that were surrounded by several molded-in compartments.
Another improvement is that the new Versastack’s polycarbonate lid has a gasket, making it IP54-rated for water and dust resistance. The metal latches are also made of an anti-rust material.
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One thing you lose in the new design is the narrow label slot on the front of the lid, but you could easily add a self-adhesive label to the box itself.
Since this is a Versastack case, it has the side latches and latch points that allow it to lock together with other Craftsman Versastack (and Dewalt TSTAK) tool boxes and organizers.
Normally the price of these new Craftsman Versastack organizers is $22, but right now you can pick one up at Lowe’s or Menards for $18.
Price: $18
Buy Now via Lowes
Buy Now via Menards
The new Versastack organizer is made in the USA with global materials.
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Discussion
If you’ve ever seen the old Craftsman Versastack or Dewalt TSTAK small parts organizer, it’s a testament to wasted space. It’s much taller than it needs to be to house the bins and there are all these awkwardly-sized trays and bit holders molded into the case that try to take advantage of this wasted space.
This new organizer is 4.6″ tall (not 3.87″ like Lowe’s claims) vs the old one that measures 5.8″ tall. This may may not seem like much, but when you start stacking the cases, you can get 5 of the new cases in approximately the same space that 4 of the old ones would fit.
They added these long, shallow bins to sit on the sides of the case where the latching system intrudes into the body of the case. While they are an awkward size, they could be handy for storing long bits, blades of fasteners that won’t fit in most other organizers.
The Craftsman Versastack organizers shown in this post were purchased at retail.
David
My default purchase in this space has been the Milwaukee 48-22-8030 Stackable Jobsite Organizer. I’ve got a bunch of them which are used to sort out and store my nuts, bolts, screws, and other fasteners and similar items. (and a plan to build a really nice movable racking system for them with full extension slides)
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the Craftsman version versus the Milwaukee version. With a ~25-30 percent price difference, they Craftsman version might be a reasonable option, even if there’s a wasted space with those long narrow containers.
Annoyingly, folks kept swapping out the internal containers on the Milwaukees at my local Home Depot because they wanted all small cups, so you’d find the last organizer full of the big ones, and Home Depot wouldn’t want to order more because they still had some in stock. That should probably tell Milwaukee to make the individual containers more easily available for purchase! It’s one thing I like about Sortimo, even if their pricing for the cups is still overly costly.
Benjamen
The bins are available to purchase separately: https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/milwaukee-31-01-0501-5-bin-kit-for-packout-organizer
Yeah, I still like the Milwaukee bin system a bit better. The bins are standard from their organizers to the Packout. I’ve bought a bunch of organizers when they were cheap, and use them for fastener storage. Then when I need to go out, I grab the bins I need and put them in the Packout.
You can actually do the same thing with the TSTAK and Dewalt Deep Pro organizers, they both use the same bins. Buy a bunch of the deep pro when they are on sale for $10 and then grab the ones you need and use them in the TSTAK. Unfortunately the ToughSystem bins are incompatible.
David
I think it’s more of a missed opportunity for Home Depot! But…you’ve also reminded me that I want to add those to my order list soon.
I haven’t played with the TSTAK/Dewalt side of things much. As a homeowner and hobbyist, I’m mostly doing semi-static organization. Still good to know.
Austin Smith
Any idea if the old versastack and new versastack are compatible? I’ve got the original thick top one but want some of these newer add ins
Stuart
Should be, I don’t see why not.
Aaron
The boxes lock together just as they should. I’m not 100% sure if the cups are interchangeable but Benjamin may have played with it.
Austin Smith
Awesome… I was just worried they changed something from the first gen. I would have been a not so happy camper. Had bad luck with SBD bought into the PC 20v line and they killed it so I was forced to switch platforms. Thanks for the info
Benjamen
Yes the cups are interchangeable except for those new long bins.
Tim Long
I do like the Milwaukee 48-22-8030 as well. They are usually always $20 at big orange so I get a couple every year. Even better with the Midwest 11% Menards match as well.
I’m looking into 3D printing bit holders for the bins so I don’t need 13 different sized “kits” taking up usable space.
Farid
Thanks Benjamin. The long bins might be just what we need for my robotics team. I’ll have to check these out. Made in USA is a big plus as well.
Nathan
I do like the new version better in the comparision. I’ve not bought into any of these portable systems as I stay on the fence of if I need any of it. but I like the idea of that organizer.
If I had to pick one cost and performance alone I guess I would roll Versastack/tstack.
Are these made in USA? Thought they were imported. Anyway I can see some usefullness to that organizer. Thanks for the heads up
Stuart
Some products are made in Israel, but some or even most of the newer ones are made in the USA. ToughSystem and Tstak are mixed. We haven’t checked all of the Versastack products.
Thom
I like the thinner size!
Doug
“a testament to wasted space”… Well said, I avoided those earlier organizers, but this one looks great. Glad they are stocked at Menards as well.
Altan
Much better than the DeWALT one, they both have a useless part though, those little holes to hold screwdriver bits are too big and they don’t hold screwdriver bits in place, and another good thing is that they sell the bins separately which DeWALT does not. I am sure by time we will see Craftsman Toughsystem cases also.
Altan
Sorry, I thought you mean Craftsman selling those bins separately, now I checked the link and I see they are for Milwaukee.
Steve-O in NY
Benjamin, can you confirm that the 2 large containers can be replaced by 4 of the smaller ones?
Benjamen
Yes, they can. Don’t take my word for it: https://photos.app.goo.gl/18XNdWkmuJUwMSsn8
Frank D
I’d say that’s a successful redesign, in terms of bin space. While the initial version has some merit, and the dead spay may not be a total waste for some consumers, I think most people are into maximizing the number of removable bins, and having the ability to mix and match bins.
I know have bought extra stanleys, to then consolidate a couple of them with all tiny, medium bins & then use the left over large bin ones for some of the less common stuff that one still wants organized.
Those narrow elongated bins is something I have thought about to incorporate in one of my cases. Winter is coming. Extra time to do some 3D exploring and printing.
Altan
Do you do 3D printing yourself?!
Frank D
Yes, I picked up an inexpensive assemble it yourself model following Benjamen’s article a good number of months back.
There was a bit of a learning curve with assembly and getting going initially, due to a factory assembly issue or two, a couple gaps in the manual. Then I opted to add a print server module using raspberry pi + touch screen + octoprint for wireless printing … instead of moving micro sd cards around. Now that was a small adventure that needed line by line instructions 🙂
Following that, I have printed some things of the web (thingiverse dot com primarily), printed some of Benjamen’s things, gave some feedback, came up with a couple designs myself. Some published, some unlisted. If you search ” packout ” on thingiverse you’ll find his work. “packout slim” you will find a couple of my things.
I figured I preferred the learning curve and experience, and at home convenience, rather than trying to mail order things printed.
Plus, as one gets into trying their hand at modifying something somebody shared, or designing something from scratch, you can print it, have it in hand a short amount of time later, relative to web ordering. Can try it, fit it. tweak it … and be done before any service put a part or design in the mail.
All in all I’m still a bit of a novice, but I can design things and print them 🙂
Tinkercad is a great free tool in that regard. I just put it in metric, 1mm grid, and play with it like adding lego blocks, modifying them …
Altan
Great!
I have seen that website and his works there, I love that plastic holder for DeWALT/Craftsman Toughcase(+) he made for Jigsaw blades. I am not familiar with 3D printing and have not read about it so much. It is not my field, but I am getting interested, I will have to read more about it.
Keith
If memory serves (and it may not to be brutally honest) I really like the older model at it had the little indent below the cups, that allowed for storage of let’s say 1/4-20 nuts in the cup and the 1/4 washers underneath. Does the new model have the same design just with shallower cups?
Benjamen
Yes, the older one had cups underneath the bins. The newer design doesn’t have these.
After using all manner of parts storage, I really like removable bins rather than built in ones. The problem with built in ones is that it’s hard to grab say a handful of washers without them getting all mixed up with the stuff next to them.
TonyT
Imagine it’s Micro-Fit crimp pins & sockets instead of washers…that’s much worse. But I’m using Plano tackle boxes (3700 series) because the removable bin boxes are too expensive and the bins too big.
But maybe I could design some bins to fit the Plano boxes….
Frank D
Have a look on thingiverse and search for the brand of storage that you have.
I have made my own “ sortimo “ rack out of two dozen shallow and deep stanley units. Since then I have trialed Ridgid and Milwaukee Packout … and had the same issue with the size of the cups. Read the toolguyd article from Benjamin about printing your own, where he made nesting cups, replacement cups, etc … and I came up with a locking divider that splits a cup three, four or five ways. So now my primary packouts have 56 slots. 🙂 Just takes a bit of printing time and some filament. The versatility has been worth every penny from the printer and filament spool cost.
FrankvL
Use Plano too: two Plano series 3600 boxes fit side by side in a TStak box.
Altan
Exactly, plus the built in ones are very small and if you use it for big parts/fittings/etc. most of the space is wasted.
The What?
Speaking of craftsman, Lowes made it known this week that they are supposedly “going pro” and that every store is getting a pro desk and a parking lot loader for contractors. I just saw it on tools in action. I personally don’t think it’s going to have much of an impact because Lowes is currently lacking the competent personnel to make it work. They don’t even have personnel trained to handle phone sales let alone staff who are competent and qualified to handle getting orders pulled in a timely manner when builders show up or call in to place an order. This has disaster written all over it for now and it obviously shows how far behind the 8ball Lowes really is. But they at least now have a ceo whose got the balls to make it or break it. To get it done he’s gonna have to get rid of the idiots first and foremost (there’s a lot of them) starting with regional management and district management so they can hire competent store managers who know what the hell they’re doing. Once the right personnel have been placed correctly at the upper management level then they can weed out the store managers and employees. Every single district and store needs it done at some capacity. Especially here in Georgia. When customer service staff doesn’t even know how to handle a phone sale or online pick up orders, then management is to blame for their incompetence and lack of training. This is a problem that occurs quite often when I go to Lowes which is why I don’t go to Lowes unless I absolutely have to. Heads need to roll across the board in order to make it work and it starts with the regional and district management positions and it ends with the store managers and the idiots they hire who don’t have a clue on how to train their staff. And if they hope to gain some commercial contracting clientele then they need to redesign their stores to handle the business starting with more self checkout stations than HD has and more phone sale stations staffed with properly trained individuals who know how to get the transactions done quickly so the subs can get back to work as well as a pro desk staffed with the right people who are experienced in dealing with builders and general contractors. They’ve got a long way to go to get to that point and it’s going to take some remodeling in order to incorporate those things into the stores. Currently, it’s a fkn nightmare to do a phone sale at Lowes and I’m not sure if any of the stores have even one self checkout register. This has been the scorn of Lowes since the beginning and they finally have a ceo willing to take the next steps in the right direction but it’s not going to happen overnight and it sure as hell ain’t gonna work by keeping employment vacancies filled with the current staff of idiots. They need an enema. Speaking of toolboxes, I went shopping yesterday for a new one and I checked out everything that was available at both HD and Lowes and I still don’t see any benefits to the modular toolbox system. I settled on a normal Dewalt toolbox. It was $40. I first got one of those new husky bags that had a bunch of pockets and when I started loading it up I quickly realized that it was going to be a real pain in the ass to load my hand tools in each pocket and at the end of a hard day’s work. Plus it wasn’t worth the $70 that I paid for it so I took it back. I don’t know about the rest of you, but at the end of the day I want to just load my shit up and go. I don’t want to take the time to place each tool in some individual pockets or compartment in a separate box that I have to move on and off to find where to put it. There’s better things to do. And if I need small parts like screws or nuts and bolts or any sort of parts, I ascertain the job and I procure what I need accordingly. I typically leave those parts on the job until I’m done so I can return them and get my money back. And if I have extra parts left over that are pertinent to the job, I’ll bring them. But I don’t need a stackable modular box to carry them or my tools. What I don’t get is why they don’t make a modular toolbox big enough to hold several power tools but they charge an arm and a leg for some shitty small boxes that can stack on top of each other that you can barely fit a drill into. It’s fkn stupid. I remember that my brother bought some of that crap when it first came out, and he’s a real organization freak, but he even realized that it was a waste of money because none of the boxes were big enough to hold all of his basic punchout tools. He took it all back and got a toolbox that he could fit all of his shit in. Unless you do the same thing day in day out and the amount of tools & parts you use never changes, then this entire system of modular boxes are completely useless.
Paul
Is it possible to purchase the 3D-printed dividers for this product? Have been looking everywhere for something similar but yours is exactly what I want
Jim
I would like them too but considering he hasn’t replied to you in 7 months probably not an option….
Stuart
Ben doesn’t sell anything, but there are a couple of vendors listed in this post – https://toolguyd.com/3d-printed-tool-storage-accessories/ who specialize in 3D printed tool box accessories.