what do you all do with your wrenches ?

[fun4now]

i have like 6 or 8 sets between metric and SAE. they take up like 3 drawers if i keep them in the holder they came in, fill a drawer and cant find the ones i need if i just throw them all in there loose ??
seems like there must be a decent way to store and still be able to use them ?? you always need 2, so you have to have at-least 2 sets with you when you work on anything. so dose any one have great way to keep and use all these sets ?? i can fill a hole tol box with them ( and have )

[fun4now]

oh, ya, and i almost forgot. i also started collecting sets of the ones with the built in ratchet end. are those cool or what !! i gotta get more but that huge plastic holder they come in is no way to keep them ??

[welderdude402]

how about spacers in the drawer as to have a compartment for each size wrench or just get some pegboard?

[Smyrna5]

Like Fun4now, I have way too many sets to get em all in my tool boxes. Finally, I started putting the extras in those big Home Depot plastic buckets. I sort them by screwdrivers, open end and box end wrenches, and 3/8 and 1/2 drive sockets. I keep my 1/4 drive stuff in another toolbox. I find it is easier to just dump the whole bucket on the floor and find what I need then throw em back in when I am done. Works for me.

[On fire most of the time]

Lets see here...you have a welder, you like building stuff...and it would be a complete waste of time and money, because it could be done better and quicker with wood...but build yourself a tool board!

In all seriousness though, that would be my suggestion so that you can still use them...if you dont care about ease of finding the blasted things, then yes, a bucket would be awesome.

Besides a board makes finding that "dammit" wrench much easier to find and throw across the shop. The upside is that you have 4 or 5 more right behind it if you still feel like yelling dammit!

As a mechanic first, and welder second, i have far more tools than welding equipment, and there is a company that I will live and die by, for storing sockets and wrenches...Mechanics time savers. Might not be feasible for you, but its worth a look.

[fun4now]

Mechanics time savers
what is this ??
I'm not big bucket kind of guy, thats why I'm asking for a better way to store and still be able to use.
part of the problem is i generally keep my tools in the small shop and work on the car/truck in the driveway or large shop. way too many big bulky plastic holders ?? i just thought you guys that work on cars all the time must have a better option ?? i suppose you all have huge multi drawer tool chests to keep all this stuff nice and neat in right ??
i had them hanging on a peg board in there plastic holders for a wile, just hoped there was a better way? perhaps this Mechanics time savers is the answer to my problem ??

[davedarragh]

Mechanics time savers
what is this ??
I'm not big bucket kind of guy, thats why I'm asking for a better way to store and still be able to use.
part of the problem is i generally keep my tools in the small shop and work on the car/truck in the driveway or large shop. way too many big bulky plastic holders ?? i just thought you guys that work on cars all the time must have a better option ?? i suppose you all have huge multi drawer tool chests to keep all this stuff nice and neat in right ??
i had them hanging on a peg board in there plastic holders for a wile, just hoped there was a better way? perhaps this Mechanics time savers is the answer to my problem ??

Sounds like you need one of those "big, multi-drawer tool chests!"

Or, a whole bunch of little ones!

I, uh, guess, uh, you could weld them all together? Nah, be too heavy and clumsy.

Dave

[fun4now]

possibly i do, but no way to make it stable enough to pull threw the yard without making it 4 ft wide and 6 ft deep. i have a lot more yard then drive way, so i cant just drag a big tool box around the drive way or even in the large shop as it still has a dirt floor. yea i know i should be more worried about getting a real floor than what to do with my wrenches, but no $$ for a floor right now.
i like the packets they come in for only one reason, i know at a glance if any are missing. this makes clean up fast and i know if i missed one that got kicked into the grass or behind the bikes, so i can get it now instead of finding it 4 months later after its turned to rust.
last summer when i did spring cleaning i gave my brother about 30 wrenches and about 40 sockets that had no clear home, you know the loose stuff that piles up in the top of the tool box as it has no holder to give it a clear home. these were ones that have lost there holder due to a failed attempt to come up with a new storage system that drove me nuts and clearly did not work.
needless to say he was a happy camper as it really upgraded his tool box. which i might add is for the most part a few buckets filled full of whatever he has, (see above post, they would work well together)

so now i have a drawer full of screw driver ( still can never find a Philip's when i need it, only strait slots ???? or vice versa. LOL
a drawer full of 1/2" drives and breaker bars, extensions and a few ratchets. ( all 1/2" drive stuff, and all loose so they rarely get used. i have a set of metric and SAE 1/2" impact deep well sockets that are in nice little plastic tray type holder, they are always the first stop for 1/2" need.
then a drawer full of pliers, cutters, vice grips, and all that kind of stuff.
then there are 3 small drawer. 1) holds Allen wrench sets, the fold out sets again in met. and SAE. 2) has my impact driver for screws ( the one ya whack with a hammer) its different tips, and some craftsmen screw out bad screw removers. ( not really impressed with them) 3) holds a hand full of 1/8" drive sockets and pop in screw driver tips of all sizes and type for my cordless drill.
this leaves only the top left that gets miscellaneous stuff like air hose fittings and tubes of gasket goo in various types, lock tight,craftsmen rounded off nut remover sockets ( better than the screw version), and at one point it also held the many sets of wrenches, but they piled up so the lid would not close and made you have to take them all out to get to the goo or anything else in the top of the box. not a good solution. and i still have to drag them all out t the work point ??

so if any one has a good plan i would shore love to hear about it.

i have 2 really cool socket set i got from wally world a few years back that take care of most all my socket needs. they are 120+ piece sets with nothing but sockets in them, what a great idea. no surprise they stooped making them, or i would have 3 or 5 sets.LOL but they are easy to use and take with you. its like a Little briefcase with metric and SAE in standard and deep well 1/8" & 3/8" drive, both ratchets and a screw driver type for 1/8", extensions and swivels, even resizes to use the 1/8" ratchet with 3/8" sockets and vice versa. great kits, need some thing like that for the wrenches and i would be set.

wow! turned into a book. sorry its just spring cleaning time and i want to find a good solution now so i can start the summer off right.

[enlpck]

If you're dragging the mess around the yard, try a radio flyer wagon. Mount angled slats for the plastic wrench holders (holds them in place and makes them visible), socket racks for the sockets, small trays for loose parts and other tools, etc.

[cooliepop]

Hey I use mine to tighten and loosen nuts and bolts