I have a number of pneumatic tools (staplers, brad driver, pinner) and drill that call came with their own plastic box. Problem is there is little consistency in the box size. 20 years ago, you could buy metal tool boxes for $10, but now all I see is the blow-molded stuff that comes with the tool.
I’d like to be able to find some boxes of the same sizes, that will hold each of these tools and an assortment of fasteners. Anyone know of sources?
I’d rather not have to make my own from wood.
Replies
I've bought a bunch of Contico Tuff Boxes. They come in different sizes, usually have a tray, latch type metal buckles, top carry handle and they are water resistant. I've also seen some copies but look for Contico, the others leak in the rain. I have a picture of my drill box. Plenty of room for a few drills plus bits and accessories. I have several, one for sanders, routers, sawzall, etc. I work out on jobsites quite a bit and just grab the boxes I'll need for that job.
http://www.contico.com/
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
http://www.pelican-case.coml
This is but one of many sources for cases. Also available in fiberglass and aluminum. A bit pricey. You might also check military surplus places. You just might end up building them after all.
http://www.hardigg.com/
http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2006072608422803&item=1-1276&catname=
Edited 7/26/2006 10:41 am ET by RickL
There's an errant "l" in your Pelican URL above. For those that get confusicated by such things, here's the correct URL:
http://www.pelican-case.comforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks!
I have a small shop and do not take my tools to a job site, but the first thing I do after purchasing a tool is throw the case away. I simply store my tools under my bench, in cabinets, or on shelves. I want them handy. When they get dusty, well, that is what my air hose for!
Edited 7/26/2006 11:12 am ET by Oldtool
Almost any storage solution you want is available at Grainger or McMaster-Carr.
If you have a business, you can get most of this stuff through Grainger and can pick it up at a branch (usually have to Will Call it) if there is one nearby. Their catalog is available online at http://www.grainger.com Storage containers start on page ~2173+ of their most recent catalog (#397)
McMaster Carr also has a lot in this area. The stuff you would want to consider is around pages 1613-1625 of their latest catalog. You can go to this link http://www.mcmaster.com/ and type "Page 1613" into the search engine to get close.
Best of luck,
Cheers,
Eric
Eric
I have made my own boxes. When I bought my dovetail jig I started making some boxes just to get some exeperience. I added some partitions, hinges, and metal corners, and then I had something. A side benifit is that I do some remodeling on the side and customers are impresses by detail of my tool storage & I end up with additional work.
Yes, I have considered that, too. I've made hundreds of boxes of various types over the years. Here are my two latest:
http://www.carrscorner.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=14&pos=0I think, by process of elimination, I'm leaning toward soft-sided cases, either the two for $20 at Lowe's (http://www.clccustomleathercraft.com/products/detail002.asp?partNo=1107) or the $5 on sale at Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32282) and buy some translucent plastic boxes to fit inside and hold the fasteners and accessories.95% of what I do is "on the road" -- in homes, offices, furniture stores, or warehouses and I need to be able to carry the tools and compressor in and out to use them. Having a nice carry handle on the thin edge is an advantage to being able to carry multiple things per trip. When I was shop bound, a clean place on a shelf worked fine.
The Festool Systainer system was designed for consistency. I think they all stack, and they offer several depths of boxes and inserts which are adaptable to various tools.
Ken
Funny you should mention that. I saw them at Woodcraft today, but at $51-55 each, they are quite a bit above my price-point.
I recently went through the exact same process and concluded that I wanted all my tools on the shelves in boxes or bins - I want the wheels and tools with the grinder, the blades and guard with the jig saw, etc. My shelves where I wanted to store them are 12" deep which works out fine for almost everything except the recip saws.
I thought it would be great if they had handles to make carrying the whole kit (my biscuit joiner with biscuits, my Kreg jig with my pocket hold screw assortment, etc.). I originally thought there would be an advantage if they could “stack” so I could carry them to the work site more easily.
Then I tried some of my ideas.
I searched pretty hard but didn't find any solution better than plastic bins from a discount store (Big Lot or whatever). But nothing really clicked. I considered the fantastic Festool Systainers (although $40/box gets expensive very quickly), I looked at tons of plastic tool boxes, I visited a store called “The Container Store,” I searched catalogs including Grainger, Reid, Norther Tools. I considered cardboard boxes from U-Line.
I concluded the best solution was to make wood boxes – simple joints glued and pinned (Norm, what have you done to me?), engineering the design so I could fit 6 in a 36” width and get a good yield out of some plywood, low front wall with a nice label area, etc.
Whew!
But I want to finish building my table saw and router combination first, get my sub panel wired, and get the DC hooked up on one of the new 220V circuits.
In the meantime I am storing the tools in assorted boxes and bins that approximate my vision and looking for any better solutions. So far it’s working pretty well, and it really is quite fantastic to find my tools, to pull out the PC air nailer and have the two boxes of nails and oil right there. I’ve got two 3’Wx7’H shelves filled with tools behind my workbech and two shelves next to my workbench filled with my desk stuff, gloves, radio, chargers, measurement stuff, etc.
PSI still haven’t worked out a good container for the hammer drill with all the various bits and accessories. I need fast access to a half dozen bits (pozi, phillips, squares, a few common drill bits [that I bought in bulk]), at-hand access for about a thousand less common bits, and space for the half dozen different boxes or bins of screws or bolts I’m using on that project. And whatever container I use needs to have a handle so I can I can move it everywhere easily – deck, shed, porch, kitchen, etc. I fear soon I will find I need to use my electric drill when I brush my teeth – I use it as part of the job for almost everything I do!
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled