Some people organize their toolboxes with meticulous care, others jam tools in wherever there’s a free spot. There are many, many products on the market designed to help you organize your tools. But there’s also the DIY route, which allows you to customize your drawers to best suit your needs and style.
Check out these tool drawer organizers, designed and made by Jason, also known as 98TJ over at the Garage Journal forum. A brain injury in 2008 left Jason with memory problems, forcing him to develop better tool organizational habits.
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While there are commercial tool control systems available, they are often costly and don’t adapt well to change. Jason’s holders, on the other hand, are affordable and easy to make. They also look to be modular and adaptable.
Jason shared with us a few of the tips and tricks he used to build these holders, which we will discuss in a how-to later this week.
More details via the Garage Journal forum
We LOVE seeing DIY organizers and storage setups like this! If anyone else wants to share their setups with us, you know how to reach us.
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All photos were taken and are owned by Jason/98TJ.
Benjamen Johnson
Cool! This dovetails into what I’ve been thinking about lately. Storing tools in functional groups. For instance how many time do you just need one size chisel. Often you’ll end up going back and grabbing a second or third size. Instead have a detachable chisel holder with a set of chisels and grab that instead. That’s an obvious example and we already do the same thing with things like drill indexes.
Joe 'the Pro' Sainz
This is awesome. He did a great job.
Ben: Think tool rolls. I use a few and love them. I always seem to end up overloading them though.
Stuart
Are you talking about cold chisel or wood chisels? Wood chisels I keep in a pile in a drawer, or in the storage box they came in. But cold chisels I keep all in a bunch in small bins as shown here.
This aluminum holder design does look to be easily adaptable and should be easy to scale up to hold wood chisels. I could also envision a version that can be propped up onto a table via its own legs or an angled stand. There’s a lot of potential locked in here!
Bob A.
Great idea to use aluminum channel – that stuff is so easy work with when designing custom hardware. Soft yet strong and you can bend and shape it with a good vise.
This reminds me of the tool setups they have when working on jet engines. They have a slot for every single tool and the engineers check each others tool trays at the end of the day so nobody ever leaves a socket in the wrong place. That kind of organization would be great at home for those of us who have to dig through a pile of tools to find a tiny nail setter.
Stuart
Aircraft repair is one of the industries where tool control is absolutely necessary. Imagine leaving a socket or small wrench inside of a maintenance hatch or worse – in an engine!
But professional tool control systems, even foam liner kits you can buy online, are more expensive and less flexible than what Jason put together.
I don’t have the time at the moment, but I am very eager to see what I could come up with given the new inspiration.
Jonathan
Great info. I have installed four of the Hyloft overhead storage racks in my garage it is great I have 9.5′ ceilings. LINK
I have one of the racks installed near my work bench. Which is great for easy access and organization. A couple of my DeWALT tools have the belt hooks. ( which are awesome – for hanging everywhere – you can even hang them from wire braided wire strung between two screws for a low profile storage on the wall. ) Some of the Belt hooks have a screw divot for hanging from a single screw. A few years back – before the cordless tools added the belt hook, I bought two universal belt hooks ( HD Husky Bigg Lugg Link) Well with a 5-6# drill I did’nt use it that often except on ladders etc. Now I use them top hang my cordless saws, and heavy drills from the overhead racks.
Back to the point of my post before my digression, is that I use the Hyloft racks for storing on top and bottom. I stack boxes containers on top and hang tools below. It has freed up my drawers. You can use S-hooks from bungee cords – or buy the hooks that are used for pot racks in the kitchen. You can also use the bungee cords with balls ( Link ) I have these on a lot of my tools I use it as a safety lanyard when working at height on ladders. They also fit in the Werner ladder storage system – you can also use them for hanging your tool’s.
Stuart you have got to stop posting all these tools deals or I am going to have to get a bigger garage and buy more tool chest. HAHA just kidding – but I have been busy lately with your posted deals.
Stuart
Thanks for sharing your system with us! I’ve been curious about Hyloft ceiling storage racks for a while, but they simply won’t work with the low ceilings I have now. A lot of the things that get in my way are bulky and would free up a lot of space if I could somehow get them overhead.
As for the deals, you should see the damage I’m doing to my own credit card!
Natalie
This looks great! Am currently researching tool and shop organization and would LOVE to see the how to video that is mentioned in the article.