Disclaimer: Well I realize that some of you might not consider this "tech" but any GOOD and serious mechanic will appreciate this post.

That being said.......I recently bought myself a new and larger toolbox and am having to set it up to work out of at my job. Anyone who has to work out of their box everyday and make money off of it knows that a well organized and set up box will save you alot of time and frustration. This is the method that I have come up with to avoid the INSANE costs of getting custom inserts waterjetted or other means.

Items you'll need:
1. Camping Pad (at Wal-Mart for about 6 bucks a roll)
2. Razor Blades
3. Upholstery Adhesive
4. Foam Boards


First off you need to get everything that has it's own holder or case and set it in the box drawer exactly where you would like it to go. Do ALOT of test fitting and setting up before you start to make sure it will work and fit. (In my instance this includes things such as the socket trays/ torque wrench/ and pry bars).

 

Next you will take measurements and make a foam cutout the exact size of the drawer. After that you can layout the cased or items with holders either directly on top of the foam to mark for the cut or you can take alot of measurements with them still in the drawer if you need to keep your bearings for where everything goes.



You can cut the foam with a normal pair of scissors for straight line cuts or you can use a razor blade for more complex cuts. Once you have it cut for the items with cases, test fit the large peice, you may need to do some slight trimming.

 

If everything fits well take the foam liner back out and start laying out the tools where you wanted them to sit in the available space. You can trace them out simply using a ball point pen. Then use the razor blade to cut them out. For CLEAN cuts take as many passes as needed over the outline instead of "sawing" them out. Or if you're really gung ho, a cheap ($20-30) electric fillet knife in the fishing sections cut foam like BUTTER. Also, if you want the top to look clean when you're finished layout and mark the tools on the BACKSIDE of the foam. That way you cannot see lines or bad cuts.



Now once everything is drawn, cut, and the foam piece is finished, chances are that it won't lay flat at all. My solution for this has been this: At the Wal Mart crafts section you can buy 20"x30" pieces of foam board. Take as many pieces as need be and make a "liner" for the entire drawer. Then simply take the Upholstery Adhesive and glue the foam to the foam board "liner.




Then simply pull everything out of the drawer and drop in your very own CUSTOM toolbox liner and tool organizer. This is very very time consuming, but like I said, if you're SERIOUS about working on cars or whatever the case this is a MUST and a very very cheap alternative to the other options.

 

I will post some pictures of this drawer when everything is cut and laid inside. Hope that this has helped or someone will appreciate this post.

 

nice... thanks for the write up

 

One "finished" drawer

 

Very nice.

 

bad ***! good work man

 

I really like this. I think I will try organizing mine in a similar way. What kind of holder do you use for your box-end and combination wrenches? I haven't found any way to conveniently manage them yet.

 

May I ask how wide that tray is?

 

@Slobber- This tray is 22.5" deep x 49.5" wide. It's the top drawer obviously. The Box is a Matco (4S 2Bay Rollaway) PN# 4225R-BC

 

@Mark- Wrenches are alot more tricky to be honest and organizing them is still something i've been messing with trying to figure out the best method. Basically.....i'm still saving that drawer for last haha. But there are a few options so far. Crafstman makes a pretty good holder, but it will only cover up to your basic sizes (7/8"-1/4" or 18mm-7mm) I'll try to get a picture of a way I did it for my mobile aviation box. Basically I just stacked two peices of foam, glued them together and then cut out slots to vertically hold the wrenches.

 

this is exactly what i need.
for wrenches, it's basically the same thing as doing the extensions in your other picture. maybe do two layers of foam so the wrenches can lay on the side, instead of flat?
good job though. really impressed

 

Exactly right Canadian, found a picture of when I did my wrenches for my Pelican box. It's essentially just 2 pieces of foam on top of one another. The wrenches that are in opposing direction however are smaller wrenches so the bottom layer of foam is not cut out so they don't slide down to far making them difficult to pull out. This method fit all my wrenches from 1 1/8"- 1/4" in a space of 9.5"x11.5"

 

Very 5S!

 

Now you are talking. I have that Craftsman holder, but it takes up a lot of room in the toolbox. And I have the larger wrenches and the box ends just piled next to it, and it takes me forever to find the one I want.

On the other hand, the Craftsman holder lets me see the sizes...

 

I love tidy organization, well done sir. I will definitely do something similar to this in the future

 

nice work man i gotta buy myself a small box and do this

 

Very creative. Whenever I get a real box I'll have to do this. I'm sure it makes finding the right tool so much faster, or when you are cleaning up you may realize you are missing something instead of way down the road when it's too late.

 

I like it! Pretty creative...but idk..i wish i had that much room in any of my drawers..i think you need some more tools ...or maybe i just have way too many

 

very cool.

 

looks good man. i just purchased a 4S myself. i love it.

 

I need a bigger tool box lol. I have managed to fill my $2000 stainless craftsman box with Snap On, Gear Wrench, and Matco tools. I really need the drawer mats though, tools sliding everywhere makes it a search and find mission for some things.

 

Nice clean box. Thumbs up!

 

if you don't need to take all your wrenches with you then check out Ernst's wrench organizers. i have have the space saver set and love it.
http://www.ernstmfg.com/products_wrenches_rail.php