The Mick

Hey everybody,
I've been wanting to try something for a while and this weekend decided to give it a go. First off, I don't have a multi-thousand dollar toolbox like a lot of you... just a nice quality 7 drawer ball-bearing Kobalt with a small (not so nice quality) matching top box. I wanted something to keep the tools (mainly the sockets) from rolling/sliding around every time I closed the drawers. I know they sell many different items for this purpose (magnetic, plastic with movable pins, etc.), but I wanted something a little more custom. That's why we're all here, right? So, I went to Home Depot, then Lowe's to see what they had to choose from for organizing toolboxes. Not much, so I bought two sheets of 1/2" x 4' x 8' styrofoam sheathing insulation which is normally used for exterior walls between the studs and exterior siding/brick, etc. This stuff cost $9.54 per sheet. Lowe's had the light blue stuff made by Dow. For all you really tough guys out there, Home Depot sells basically the same product that's pink. I like pink, but not in my toolbox. As you can see, I went with the blue.
Anyway, I started out by measuring the interiors of my toolbox drawers. For my application, one sheet would have been enough, but I bought 2 just in case. Next, I laid out the tools on the cut out sections and traced around them with a pen. Then I used a hot-iron type of craft tool that my wife has and burned away the areas inside the lines. For the tools that are all metal, you can use a hot plate and let them melt their way into the foam. (No need to get them super hot as the foam melts with fairly low temp.) Just plan ahead if you do this. Have gloves and pliers or some other way to hold the hot items you're working with or you'll get burned and ruin your liner as well. For some items, I cut out finger holes or slots (the chisels for example). The slot gives you a place to get your fingers between to grip the tools when getting them in and out. That slot was also essential when burning the tool impression into the liner. It gave the pliers a place to go while holding the chisel. I gripped the chisels with the pliers one by one then put them into the foam to the depth I wanted. If you slip and drop the hot chisel, it'll quickly melt it's way through the foam. Here's a tip for those of you interested in this:
After heating the tool/socket/etc., give it a light spray of non-stick spray (I used a cooking spray) to prevent the foam from sticking to the tools during removal. Without it, it'll come off, but not without extra elbow grease.
I've just started this project, and doing it a little at a time, it'll take quite a while to complete, but I thought I'd post my experience here for anyone interested.
3/19/7 UPDATE!!!: Below are in progress pix and finished pix. I finished up last week, but haven't had a chance to update. I still have some room left over in a few of the drawers for expansion... the 1/2" drawer and especially the hammer/ air tools drawer. Thanks for all the great responses!!!
Take care,
Mick










Top Box - Drawer 1


Top Box - Drawer 2


Drawer 1 - Metric Wrenches


Drawer 2 - Standard Wrenches & Adjustable


Drawer 3 - Pliers, Screwdrivers, Chisels, Utility Knife & Blades


Drawer 4 - 1/4" Drive Rachet & Sockets, Nut Drivers and Hex Wrenches


Drawer 5 - 3/8" Drive Rachets (Including 3/8" Torque Wrench) & Sockets


Drawer 6 - 1/2" Drive Rachets (Including 1/2" Torque Wrench) & Sockets


Drawer 7 - Hammers, Flashlight & Pneumatic Tools


Modified by The Mick at 3:28 AM 3/19/2007

Lamchop0000

pretty neat

905_Legend

Great idea, cheap and effective way to hold the tools

hondaboy4life

damn. Looks very useful! how long did it take u tho?

b18cKoupe

good idea

WhatThaFrig

Very nice. Pretty good idea.

wpgcivic

AWSOME, Im going out to the garage to do this tonight, thank-you.

snoochtodanooch

i have thought about doing the same thing

Cool to see it work, nice box too

The Mick

Thanks for the replies fellas!

As far as how long it takes... you know the old saying ...
"If it's good and cheap, it ain't fast.

It's taking quite a while, but I'm doing it as I find the time. But once it's done, it's done.
Take care,
Mick

Howitt

theres a company that sells tool box foam just like that but you cut it with an exacto knife. might be quicker than melting it. Props for organizing

9bells

Very cool. I like it. I'll tackle this sometime soon.
Thanks

0mtber

iTrader: (2)

Cool idea until you go to grab a tool with a slightly dirty hand & it makes the foam look like ****. Black foam would have been a much better choice

standbackimapro

Here, Its the Craftsman version, Comes with tracing paper and 2 pads of foam, im using it right now...

http://www.labsafety.com/store...=true

Quickgti1.8t

on my tool box i have the slip door linings and it works very good, But it wont work for sockets or screw drivers.. But overall good job on what u did

*Boostwerks*

Hell yeah! I am definetly in need of some tool box organization.

allricedout

would be nicer if the foam was black.

stealthmode62

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allricedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">would be nicer if the foam was black.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think that was already mentioned.


It looks nice, but I'm wondering how much of a meth addiction I would have to have to have the patience for that. lol. Looks good.

standbackimapro

Craftsman has it, Aka any sears would have it. its part #65417

The Mick

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mtber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cool idea until you go to grab a tool with a slightly dirty hand & it makes the foam look like ****. Black foam would have been a much better choice </TD></TR></TABLE>
My hands don't get dirty. Seriously though, black would be the best choice. The ideal material that I found while looking into this was black "closed cell polyethylene". It's actually waterproof, easy to fabricate, and since it's black, shouldn't show dirt, grease, etc. The downside (for me anyway) is the price. At $115+ plus shipping for a sheet of 1/2"x4'x8', that was a deal breaker. I have no idea where to find this stuff locally (to avoid shipping fees).

The product standbackimapro mentioned seems like a very good option, but the size wasn't quite large enough for my application. Those foam inserts come in 1/2"x 16-1/4" x 22-1/4" and my drawers actually measure 24"x18".
If they were the correct size, I think I'd still need to buy 5 sets of them (around $90. or so after tax). So, I decided to try the cheapy route. That way if I messed up or it didn't work out, I'd only be out of $10 or so.

Again, Thanks for all your replies! Keep 'em comin'.

Another tip for those still interested...
Something else I've learned during this project... when I first started this, I was cutting the lines freehand which can be challenging. To get a straight line, now I'm using a small thin stainless 6" scale as a guide. I put the scale against the layout line, put the hot tool tip against the 6" scale and pull. Cuts like buttah and leaves the edge crisp and clean.

mrlegoman

nice!

be8teensee1

damn good idea , i think i might do this

Chronicsinners

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by be8teensee1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damn good idea , i think i might do this </TD></TR></TABLE>

agreed

essex

wow nice work

CRX EF 88

damn. i thought i was crazy about my tool box being organized. i hate when people use stuff out of mine and put it back in the wrong spot. looks good.

The Mick

Thanks again!
I updated a few pix above. Looks like my 1/2" rachets and sockets drawer has a good bit of space left over. I plan on buying a few more extension sockets and other miscellaneous items in the future, so I'll leave it that way for now. In the large bottom drawer, I may have to double or triple the thickness to accommodate the larger items like impact wrenches and other air tools.

Once I get all this done, I'll probably break out a label maker and label all the items/sizes. We'll see...