Tool, hardware, and spare parts organization

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

...Not a day goes by when I don't see that product's GIF presented in my feed on Instagram. ....

I was not exaggerating about it being every day. Here’s tonight’s offering.

[Piggy Bank]

Silicone stick dots are another option instead of weather-stripping to put between the bolt and the box. I use those in the AS to avoid cabinet knobs from dinging up the walls or corners. They are usually sold with the picture hangers and felt circles for chair legs.

[BOBHASTINGS]

Originally Posted by 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.

Tronadora,
That little dewalt folding container is a perfect size for organizing small items. I have a DeWalt tool bit set in a similar box.
I can't find the empty box anywhere! Not home Depot, not Amazon, not DeWalt. Do you have any more info to help me locate a supplier?
Cheers,
Bob

[kittmaster]

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.

Mine arrived today, nice kit, most of the pieces where still in their place....a few jarred out because I'm sure the amazon delivery person tossed it around like a rag doll....what a great find.

Thank you.

[Rg416]

Check these drool worthy self made tool kits by these professional downhill mountain bike mechanics! Custom foam in Pelican cases, arranged by most used tools. Of course we would have different tools, but it is quite inspiring!
Rich

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/01/tool...rce=feedburner

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Rg416

Check these drool worthy self made tool kits by these professional downhill mountain bike mechanics! Custom foam in Pelican cases, arranged by most used tools. Of course we would have different tools, but it is quite inspiring!
Rich

RG416 - I build custom racing bikes and a certified bike mechanic. So I am very familiar with these tools. Bike tools are highly specialized, thus expensive, sometimes just as expensive as automotive tools. So the pro wrenches protect their tools as much as they protect the bikes themselves. Those tool kits are indeed to drool for. Very pro. Thanks for posting

[Tronadora]

Originally Posted by BOBHASTINGS

Tronadora,
That little dewalt folding container is a perfect size for organizing small items. I have a DeWalt tool bit set in a similar box.
I can't find the empty box anywhere! Not home Depot, not Amazon, not DeWalt. Do you have any more info to help me locate a supplier?
Cheers,
Bob

Bob - you're right, I can't find that DeWalt box online either. I love how they are shallow bins cause I don't want to store 50 connectors I just want 5.

But WAIT. There are at least two Ebay sellers offering them for cheap and free shipping. Two links attached:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dewalt-8-88...hJ:rk:174:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dewalt-8-88...nr:rk:189:pf:0

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by kittmaster

Mine arrived today, nice kit, most of the pieces where still in their place....a few jarred out because I'm sure the amazon delivery person tossed it around like a rag doll....what a great find.

Thank you.

Joel Sell (Million Mile Sprinter) emailed me to say that the mechanics tool set he HAD been selling through his website was the same brand - Dekopro - and that he didn't have any issues with their blow-molded cases.

The only reason he is not selling them now is that the distributor he was using dropped the product from their inventory. So he has to decide whether to seek distribution himself, but that entails a certain financial risk, so he's mulling it over.

Anyway, I'll be glad to hear what Alex has to say about this case, too.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Rg416

Check these drool worthy self made tool kits by these professional downhill mountain bike mechanics! ....

Awesome article - thanks.

Question for you and Alex: how did they make those? There are snippets of phrases such as "hand cut foam pallets" and "custom cut TrekPark and trimmed GridIt boards" and "clean edges are best achieved with a little bit of heat (such as a hot knife)". But they are not saying HOW those cut-outs were actually achieved. Some of them look laser-cut, not hand-done. So we might be talking CNC (?).

Edit: I think the author might have meant TrekPak, not TrekPark

[Tronadora]

Originally Posted by Tronadora

Bob - you're right, I can't find that DeWalt box online either. I love how they are shallow bins cause I don't want to store 50 connectors I just want 5.

But WAIT. There are at least two Ebay sellers offering them for cheap and free shipping. Two links attached:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dewalt-8-88...hJ:rk:174:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dewalt-8-88...nr:rk:189:pf:0

BOB - I forgot to check the Lowes website... supposedly they have those cute yellow DeWalt boxes too !
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-6-Co...anizer/1054755

[InterBlog]

Here's a full representation of the space I'm trying to maximize. As I was drawing this just now, I was recalling one off-grid day last summer when I literally dragged Every. Single. Item. out from under the couches while searching for a particular tool. Threw every item onto the floor of the aisle because I just could not locate the tool. It was quite a disgusting sight.

Anyway, allow me to invoke a Latin phrase and say that the hot water heater's gas line placement is annoying ad finitum (AF). Was that done simply as sloppy work, or was there a technical reason why they had to set it where they did? Like maybe a technical standard that says you have to be X inches off the side body to protect in a crash scenario? Even if true, the placement is still ridiculously bad - they could have scooted it closer to the heater and preserved more storage space utility here. More fine work from Airstream, but I cannot see going to all the trouble of re-holing the chassis and moving a copper gas line. I'm going to work with the sub-standard space that I have here. Looking at this, you can probably see why I chose to inset the hardware organizer into the U-bracket.

[InterBlog]

Hah - this IGer seized the same paradigm shift that I'm investigating - vertical storage for immediate unobstructed visibility with no waste of space.

I actually thought about sewing my own case, but I know sewing well enough to know that it would be a female dog of a project. It would be excruciatingly difficult. The Milwaukee I ordered arrives on Wednesday, and I'm hoping that they've done the sewing for me.

Edit: added photo of empty case and clarified origins. OMG, that's incredibly detailed seamster work.

[InterBlog]

This thread furnishes an example of psychological infectiousness - my thoughts are currently just as disorganized as my tools and hardware - the internal and external states are mirroring each other. If I can get one under control, the other should follow.

I forgot to mention this when I was talking about the REI shock cord. If you organize your van even slightly, you will need shock cord at some point. REI sells two sizes by the foot (look in the climbing gear section). I recommend buying some of Coghlan's mini-stretch cords (about $2 per package). Coghlan's cord material is Absolute Garbage, but here's the weird part - their hooks are really good quality. Discard their cord segments, replacing them with custom lengths of the REI shock cord to fit your application.

There may be alternate sources of those hooks, but for $2, I'm not going to worry about it.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Awesome article - thanks.

Question for you and Alex: how did they make those? There are snippets of phrases such as "hand cut foam pallets" and "custom cut TrekPark and trimmed GridIt boards" and "clean edges are best achieved with a little bit of heat (such as a hot knife)". But they are not saying HOW those cut-outs were actually achieved. Some of them look laser-cut, not hand-done. So we might be talking CNC (?).

Edit: I think the author might have meant TrekPak, not TrekPark

INTERBLOG - The foam is from KAIZEN INSERTS and are custom CNC cut to fit many specific cases. But the tool cutouts are hand cut using the KAIZEN INSERTS tools/blades. They are truly works of art. The only drawback (I prefer to call it an issue) for what you & I are trying to accomplish - these tool kits do not minimize space usage like blow molded. There needs to be a certain amount of foam in between to work. But with enough planning, it can come close to blow molded efficiency, but never as efficient. If I were to use the KAIZEN method for the 44-pc. emergency kit I posted earlier that fit in an 11"x5"x2" case, I would need a case 2x/3x the size. I packed those tools like a jigsaw puzzle so they effectively use each other as cushioning, so tight that they do not move regardless of how violently they get tossed around and never lose their place in the jigsaw. Took years of usage to come to that size.

What the KAIZEN systems do very well is protect the tools during transport through airports, rental cars, motorbikes, etc. And they also highlight/display the tools during bike races. The individual Pro Mechanic race-day collections that usually ended up together in that link runs into $2,000 - $4,000 worth of tools, excluding case and inserts. The bike races are also mini bike shows that highlight their skills and sponsors. So the cases are almost a neccesity if one wants to be considered a top-end Pro wrench. What they want is for the tools to be easily accessible when they open the tool kit. They can not afford to undo a jigsaw puzzle while servicing a bike, especially if in a follow support vehicle. On Pro road races (not MTB), it is not uncommon for mechanics to hang out of a car window to fix a bike rolling next to it at 35mph going down a twisting mountain road. Not for me - I am a terra firma mechanic

KAIZEN INSERTS How-To video on cutting their foam using their tools
https://youtu.be/Ei4LSdyJ-98

[Tronadora]

Well, hush my mouth. While I cannot find this yellow Dewalt item anywhere on the HD website, today I was at the store and there it was. Happy hunting.

[Alex AVI]

Since we are in the subject of foam inserts vs. blow molded cases and continuing with the prior example of pro bike mechanic's travel cases, I thought I would post my own version. First, this is not in the same category as those posted in the link by RG416. What I mean by that is while this tool kit is an expensive collection of tools inside an expensive Zero Halliburton case, but it is NOT a display tool kit. It is meant to transport a 110-pc. pro bike mechanic's tools in the least amount of space in a bulletproof container.

Let me qualify my mechanic status - I am a certified pro bike wrench/mechanic who gets paid to build pro level bikes in a static environment. My forte is quality & never speed. It's the kind of quality required for a magazine photoshoot, the quality that a US senator or Indy500 race car driver can not get from their local bike shop. Or to troubleshoot an electronic controlled racing bike that a European UCI mechanic had messed up. I am rarely asked to temporarily fix a bike in the fastest amount of time in order to finish a race. On occasion, I will be asked to support riders in a 500 mile, 48-hr race. So I will pack my tools for travel. But those racers carry 2 or 3 spare bikes (complete). So, I usually only access tools in a very controlled table/bench environment where I can lay out all my tools on the bench. It is a separate type of need and the case reflects that.

This is my travel kit. A 110-pc kit which consists of Craftsman & Irwin consumer grade tools and Park, Proto, Campagnolo, and Sturtevant Richmont Pro grade tools.


1st layer tools, includes my Craftsman & Irwin cases. All torque wrenches reside in this bottom layer. Tools shown without padding to show position in case.


Pic shows access to 44-pc. mini-toolset in Craftsman case & 40-pc. bit-set in Irwin mini-cases without disturbing any of the surrounding tools. Tools shown without padding to show position in case.


2nd & 3rd layer tools, more frequent need. Tools shown without padding to show position inside case.


All layers, now wrapped in new/unused blue medical/surgical cotton cloth courtesy of my wife. ALL tools in lower layers are individually wrapped. Some top 3rd layer tools are not wrapped for quick access and because the tool case has soft sueded leather lining. Why the need to wrap in cotton cloth - while the tools are heavy duty and can withstand abuse, they protect from scratches, they prevent some rattling, and they double as race-day rags/towels. One can not have enough rags, SimpleGreen, and citrus degreaser for race-day. Not to mention in the AI. Plus having blue rags is the envy of any pro bike wrench, only because they can not get it anywhere. They usually have red, white, or yellow from auto/hardware stores. The PARK Tools color & CAMPAGNOLO brand colors has been always blue, so I am usually the only one in race corral with blue rags They will usually mistake me for a rep from either one.


Toolkit all closed up in 18"x13"x3.5" thick 7-lbs. Zero Halliburton aluminum case.


Total weight (tools + cases) = 32.5 lbs.

[Rg416]

Wow Alex, nice! I wish you could tune up my Madone with that kit! Thanks for all the additional info about the foam inserts and all! Cheers!
Rich

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Rg416

Wow Alex, nice! I wish you could tune up my Madone with that kit! Thanks for all the additional info about the foam inserts and all! Cheers!
Rich

RICH - If you weren't so far, I could & would. If ever in Vegas, bring it over. I love TREKs. Here's 2 of the 4 TREKs I have - both bikes have been raced for 1 season and now fully retired and collectible status - hanging wall art in my bike man cave

My first carbon racing bike - TREK OCLV 5500. The very 1st ancestor of your MADONE, circa 1994, factory custom painted in raspberry hue and fitted with CAMPAGNOLO Record gruppo. Years before TREK envisioned PROJECT ONE customs. Displayed unused in my shop for 6 yrs, then raced in 2000 (pic below).

Also have a much sought after TREK Y77 Y-Foil in gold. Last raced in 2002.

[InterBlog]

Tool porn - who knew that it was A Thing??



I don't feel nearly as OCD after reading the rest of this thread's content. The thread was born of the thought, "I have to stop tearing apart the entire van looking for stuff." I knew I had to design a better system simply in order to stop wasting valuable time, but I had no idea that people took tool and equipment storage to such lengths.

Another potential vendor: Veto Pro Pac, tool bags designed for tradespeople, not consumers. I've never seen that brand in any store - apparently they are sold through dealers.

The trades / service target market is relevant to a camper van context because what do tradespeople do? HVAC, plumbing, electrical, security, etc.? They move their tools from place to place for individual jobs. So they cannot afford to be lugging ginormous elaborate cases. They need portability and compactness.

Here's an example Veto bag - again you can see the efficient paradigm of VERTICAL STORAGE with full visibility. This bag is approx. 8" x 10" x 12", which means that if I were to use it, I'd close up the zippers and lay it on its side in my target void space and it would fit in there like a hand in a glove. It has one of those zipper-down pockets on each side - very efficient. Thirty-eight pockets, can hold 50 tools. Wow.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Tool porn - who knew that it was A Thing??


I don't feel nearly as OCD after reading the rest of this thread's content.

INTERBLOG - Oh, yeah, Tool Porn is big business. Almost as big $$ as the sleazy porn Just to give you an idea - PARK Tools (USA) is the big bicycle tool brand that says "You have arrived" when it comes to being a Pro bike wrench. Here is a footnote taken from their website:
https://www.parktool.com/category/tools

PARK TOOL® and the color BLUE are registered trademarks of Park Tool Co.

BTW - Nice tool bag the Veto Pro Pac. I have to look into that line for AI use. I like the vertical and the zippered.