Tool, hardware, and spare parts organization

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by kittmaster

Um Link?

PN?

I gotta get one of these......!

Thanks!

Amazon, of course. It's the best MIXED kit I've identified thus far.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723914V1..._t3_B01MQQ7WXU

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Amazon, of course. It's the best MIXED kit I've identified thus far.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723914V1..._t3_B01MQQ7WXU

Thoughts on this:

https://www.amazon.com/STANLEY-STMT7...+Hand+Tool+Kit

[OTRA15]

That Stanley set is more focused on mechanical things like socket sets, and less on all-purpose things like hacksaws etc. as illustrated in the set in Post #19. [on the laptop here, that attachment photo opens up to an easily viewed image for comparison shopping].

The Stanley set may also have some metric sockets etc.. ["MM" --> Metric?]

https://www.stanleytools.com/product...-set/stmt73795

Different strokes for different folks IMO.

[Lotus54]

I like to put spare parts and tools in different locations based on how likely I’m going to need them - plus where they will actually fit of course.
I don’t have an issue with them being ‘scattered’ at all, but that is me.
I also bring along the C3 and laptop setup on long trips- in case sometime really goes haywire. I have an iCarsoft MBII that I keep in an upper cabinet, easy to get to if a code comes on. I have had it happen- nice to check really quickly and assess if a big problem or something minor.

I also bring different stuff depending on what I’m doing. I do a lot of day trips for off-road motorcycling. That means I have to haul all my riding gear, which will likely be all muddy and wet when done. But I dont’ Need a lot of the ‘sleeping stuff’ for when we go overnight.

I do keep a multi-top screwdriver in one of the drawers under the stove top for quick access, along with a little AC plug-in gizmo to test for proper wiring etc. A voltmeter above the closet along with first aid kit and a few other goodies.
I keep the manual under the refrigerator (on top of black water tank)- although really I think I have almost everything on the iPad anyway. I could save some space/weigh by not bringing. I just need to get a couple more things on it.
I still prefer paper manuals though.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

It's hard to talk myself out of getting a blow-molded mixed tool kit and dedicating it to the van. Not a mechanics tool kit (too limited) but a mixed tool kit.

I wouldn't be able to store it in my target spaces, though. It would have to occupy prime real estate due to its size.

But the organization, my gosh - it doesn't get any better than this. What one is really paying for here is not the tools - it's the blow-molded case that was designed for them.

INTERBLOG - Yes, I have to agree. I looked closely at the tools included in that pic. It appears almost all those tools have been used at one point in or out of my AI during the course of working on it. So good sign for usability in the AI. While I have all those tools already, the way that is organized is really good. So even at the expense of duplicating tools I have already put in the AI, for me it may be worth buying this set (168) to replace all the tools I have in AI, as you say JUST for the way the molded kit/case was put together. FWIW - I can always pack all those those in a much tighter & less space consuming container (if space is really at absolute premium like in a motorcycle). BUT that molded case makes it easier to use that I would gladly give up the room for that case.

[InterBlog]

I'm not going to bite re: that big kit just yet. Too many reviews say things like this:

"Decent quality but none of the tools stay snapped in place. So you end up carrying sloshing tools around."

The whole point would be to have the tools stay in place. I'd rather pay more for a kit that delivers on that point.

It isn't just the organization. It's the fact that IF ONE IS MISSING, it can easily be spotted by its open slot - a simple visual inventory will accomplish it. This helps to prevent oopsies in which tools are accidentally left back at the bloody camp site.

Ask me if I know about such oopsies. Go ahead. Ask me.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I'm not going to bite re: that big kit just yet. Too many reviews say things like this:

INTERBLOG - Too late. Already ordered. If it doesn't hold the tools as they should, easy AMAZONian Return. I mean - I live less than 2 miles from an Amazon locker. Those things are super convenient for returns, so I am ordering from Amazon twice as much as I ever did because of the convenience

[InterBlog]

I'll be interested in hearing your take on this blow-molded case. Bated breath, in fact.



My soft-sided tool roll arrived from Amazon. It is worse than useless.

If I can't find a functional blow-molded case, then I think I'm going to group topically into a series of small bags.

Ordinarily I would never mix tools and hardware. In a stick and brick garage, that's a recipe for disaster. But the application is far narrower in a van. LB_3 has me convinced that (for instance) all electrical supplies (tools plus hardware) should be segregated and kept together. The number of scenarios in which we would need to fish out "the electrical bag" is very small, and the same things need to be IN the bag for each scenario.

The single most unwieldy group of items we have? Sockets, extensions, and ratchets. We had to re-purchase all of that stuff at Canadian Tire last summer, even though we already have a mountain of it back in the garage. The reason? Lower turbo hose blew off. And that thing cannot be reached with the front end still in place unless one has the correct ratchet extension. I never expected a brand new turbo hose to blow loose, so I wasn't carrying gear to address that.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I'll be interested in hearing your take on this blow-molded case. Bated breath, in fact.

INTERBLOG - Well, at $80, which averages to $2 per tool/item in a free tool case. Putting it in the El Chapo category, so I am not having high expectations. But I have bought inexpensive tools from Harbor Freight with single-use expectations that have held forever, so will see how this one fares.

[InterBlog]

I just did a bunch of end-of-week chores, and while en route, I dropped into our local 5.11 Tactical. I held out a slim hope that perhaps there were some MOLLE components that could be put together and adapted to tool storage.

Not really. Their stuff is built on a whole different paradigm that doesn't really translate. A shame, because the quality is there.

[Tronadora]

I happen to love tool rolls. I don't want to pull out something that has everything in it when I only need 20% of it 80% of the time.

I bought two tool rolls... one is shown here:
https://amzn.to/2LYiIG5
I selected just the tools I wanted to have handy and I place that tool roll in the driver's door for easy access. I even arranged the tools to some degree so that I don't need to unroll the whole thing to get to my most commonly needed items.

The other tool roll is for my combination wrenches, which I've only needed to get to once or twice in the past eight months/17k miles (no pic attached) and so it is stored in my large tote in the rear "garage" area.

Another advantage to using a tool roll is that is one less group of items I don't have to hear rattling and banging around 1000s of times on the road.

[Alex AVI]

This is not an AI toolkit. It is a very specialized tool kit I put together that fits in an 11"×5"×2" Craftsman plastic case. It is a 44-pc kit that can rebuild most of my road racing bikes with the exception of the hydraulic disc brake equipped bikes. Torque wrenches housed in similar but separate case. This kit stays permanent in the AI for race day. It is not meant for day-to-day use because the tools fit like a jigsaw puzzle. Requires too much work to put back together everyday, but a bike-saver on race day

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Tronadora

I happen to love tool rolls. ....

Interesting that you put it in the driver's door slot. That slot is on my list to be optimized. I've tried placing various items there, but nothing really seems to gel for efficiency.

We typically use the slot under the curb side couch, rear-most void space, for tools. This is because we have the hitch carrier we made, which furnishes a working surface right there at the back door. The Yeti doubles as a workbench, so it's convenient to have the tools stored adjacent to it.

Of course, that's at the opposite end as the engine. It might work to keep certain "engine only" items in the door...

[InterBlog]

Now here is an interesting option. You may ask, "What's the difference between that and any other unwieldy lump of a tool bag?"

Answer: This one stores the tools VERTICALLY. As soon as you pull it out, you can see everything at once. You don't have to dump out or excavate horizontal layers of tools piled on top of each other and concealing what's underneath.

I'm trying to optimize the efficiency of a [13" x 13" x 9" high] under-couch void space. This is essentially 11" x 11" (I think) x [semi-rigid handle that could be folded over to 9" maybe]. There are very few hand tools taller than 9 inches. Hammer most notably.

[InterBlog]

Missed my edit window on the Milwaukee.

The online realm is a blessing and a curse. I'd like to get rid of my existing $5 tool bag and check this upgrade task off my list. It's Saturday morning and I'd like to drive our Interstate up to Pasadena, Galena Park, or wherever the hell I need to go, to see this tool product in a brick-and-mortar, take it out to the Interstate, see how it fits under the couch, determine whether or not it meets the need, and if so, pay for it and be done.

But nope. Almost seven million people here in America's industrial engine room - we are quite literally THE city that powers THE greatest nation on earth (40% of petrochemical capacity in the Houston metro) - and the product is not located in any local brick and mortar. One would think that there'd be critical mass of a sales market for all manner of tool products in the geographic area that contains four of the nation's top five largest petrochemical refineries within a few hours of us, plus the hundreds of thousands of industrial workers who support those industries. Hundreds of thousands - if that's not sufficient demand base, what is?? But nnnnnope. I have to order it online and wait four days to get it from Home Depot.

Rant concluded.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Now here is an interesting option. You may ask, "What's the difference between that and any other unwieldy lump of a tool bag?"

I tried a similar, lower cost, bag with very poor results. It is in the garage now, waiting for my wife to take it to the Pets Alive thrift shop. Not enough tools of suitable length and any shorter items just disappeared out of sight.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

. . .
This one stores the tools VERTICALLY. As soon as you pull it out, you can see everything at once.
. . .

Very similar to the old canvas rigger's bag we have used for decades, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Harbor-Freigh...err+bag+canvas



This solution may not work for all . . .

The Wooden Boat Store has lots of similar canvas bags and tool rolls FYI:

https://www.woodenboatstore.com/prod...ons_bags_rolls
https://www.woodenboatstore.com/cate...ons_bags_rolls

Canvas is great -- can be washed and dried.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Peter

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

I tried a similar, lower cost, bag with very poor results. It is in the garage now, waiting for my wife to take it to the Pets Alive thrift shop. Not enough tools of suitable length and any shorter items just disappeared out of sight.

The operative phrase might be "lower cost". I looked at other versions that I might be able to get locally, but they had far fewer interior pockets for keeping individual tools upright and visible.

I also looked at versions similar to the canvas bag. The problem with most of those is that they are not rigid enough to keep their shape. If they start slumping over, they are no better than my existing lump of a bag for which I really did pay just $5.

Harbor Freight has a cheaper version of the Milwaukee upright in stock. They are just a few miles from here, so I might run out and examine it for comparison's sake.

[InterBlog]

Harbor Freight version = worthless. I don’t need to replace a $5 hole with a $12 hole.

[Tronadora]

I usually hate small parts bins because they are not durable and the little dividers don't work at fully sealing the compartments. However, I've enjoyed using this little Dewalt folding container with its locking lids from HD. The black dividers utilize four ribs to keep them snug and secure.

I especially like that it is completely invisible when I stash it in the space to the rear of the magazine rack. It can always be reached without unpacking anything.