What is the best way to organize about 100 sockets (1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drives) in the 20" toolbox I carry in my car?
(The Lisle plastic trays take up so much room in my toolbox that there's little room for my other tools).
By far the best I've had was built into a small Craftsman toolbox. A short and thin metal rail at the bottom of the box, making a tapered slot from one end to the other. Wouldn't be hard to make one for any box, or 2 or 3 rails if you need them. The sockets just drop in, and don't fall out unless you tip the box over. That one rail held my common 1/2 and 3/8. Kept my 1/4 in the formed plastic box the set came in. Without that or a plastic case where each socket is held in its own hole, I'd just dump them loose in the box. It's not hard to grab the socket you need, for me anyway. You might try stacking them on dowels with a stop on one end. Lay them down in the box. I'd try that out if I had more ambition. But I'd do the tapered slots first.
+1 on this idea.. I did the same thing using fiberboard and just glued them in place 20 years ago they it's still holding.
1- Hit HF and buy some of the socket rails with clips. 2 - Cut some strips of sheet metal/tempered hardboard/stiff plastic and rivet/glue/weld them into the box at an angle from side-side so they hold the sockets.
Do the HF ones work any better than the ones I bought from Sears lo these many years ago? I went to the Lisle trays within a year or two as all the little clips had lost their spring tension and my sockets would fall off. You have to be a little careful with the Lisle trays as I wish the magnets were stronger but at least they don't get dramatically weaker over time. (but the OP apparently is looking for something different than those.)
Now what I have seen some guys using is little rails with long fingers that you just slide the sockets over, intended for use in a drawer of a roll cabinet. But if you have a dedicated socket box maybe you could just glue or rivet them to the bottom of the box?
nate
The nicer sears ones have handles. The HF ones are like the cheap sears rails. I have the nice sears, one or two cheap sears (I wanted extra clips for the nice rails and that was the cheapest route at the time, I later used the remaining clips and rail as intended), and a couple HF rails. The cheaper ones are for old misc sockets I inherited. All the stuff I use frequently is on the nice sears rails.
alphabetically, duh!
no, seriously, the rails w/clips
GW
I have a bunch of old sockets strung on a wire. I am not neat and tidy.
The ones I gave away are working OK so far. They went to my FIL who was using a shoe string to hold the sockets and end wrenches. I gave him one of my older craftsman boxes along with some spare tools and misc. Keeps his son from wandering into my shop to borrow tools..... So they work just fine to me !!
Looking in my latest Harbor Freight snail mail flyer,3 Piece Socket Tray/Organizers $7.99 Check out your local area pawn shops. You can find them dirt cheap.
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