Tag Archive for: tool storage

pliers tool sorterHey everyone. As you may know, Thursday’s have become tool review days. I have to say that I love doing tool reviews. As someone that owns a ton of tools, it is fun to share my experiences with them.

Today we are talking about the Tool Sorter Pliers Storage Tray. This is a very timely review for me. My pliers drawer was a mess. So bad that I wont even post a picture. And you know me, I share just about everything with you guys.

Tool Sorter Pliers Storage Tray Facts:

  • Up to 11 pliers can be stored in separate compartments Width of compartments from 0.6″ to 1.15″
  • Tray size of 12″ is no limit – longer tools can be stored
  • The tray is designed to accommodate various tools The 12″ long tray is open on one side, so longer tools can be stored
  • There is some issue with spring loaded pliers. That is really the only issue. But they do mention that on the Tool Sorter site
  • Oh, I never thought about it, but this would be great for storing files and chisels.

Well, what did you guys think? After the review I brought the tray to work. I gotta say that I dig it. The concern I had about angled pliers was not really an issue. My angled pliers fit perfect. If you have any questions or comments, please post them below, or use the contact me form.

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Humble Mechanic Logo

Well everyone, we are halfway though the week, and halfway through giveaway week. Before I show you what today’s giveaway is, I want to remind everyone to enter the grand prize for $150 worth of Tool Lodge tool organizers. All you have to do is post a picture of your messiest tool box draw. That picture goes on the post pinned to the top of the Facebook page.

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray

The folks at Sort-A-Tool hooked me up with a wrench rack to give away to you guys. This is an AWESOME wrench rack. I did a review a while back, you can check it out at Sort-A-Tool review.

Here is how to play today. Use the call line and call in a question. You can use the box on the right side of the site, or use this link to Send me a voice message. Call in and ask me a question about cars, tools, car repair, DIY, finding a good mechanic, and so on. I will randomly pick a winner from the callers.

I want to use these calls to do an “on air” answer show. You all have great questions, so let’s have them. Based on call volume, today may be your best chance to win.. 😉

Good luck! Be sure to enter for the grand prize, and stay tuned for Thursday and Friday’s giveaways.

Humble Mechanic Logo

I don’t normally do blog posts on Sunday, but this is a BIG week. I have 6 awesome things I want to giveaway. I will be doing 1 giveaway a day Monday-Friday 3/3/14-3/7/14. I also have one GRAND PRIZE I will be giving away on Saturday 3/8/14. Here are the details

GRAND PRIZETool Lodge Storage
Let’s talk the big prize first. A few weeks ago I reviewed the Tool Lodge tool drawer organizer. The folks at Tool Lodge are so awesome, they are giving away $150 worth of drawer organizers! Here is how to win:

  • I will be making a post on Facebook.
  • You will have to take a picture of your messiest tool box drawer.
  • Post the picture IN THE POST FOR IT.
  • The picture with the most “likes” wins
  • Share that post to up your chances to win.
  • I will stop counting “likes” at 7pm est. 3/8/14

In the case of a tie, I will pick the winner. Don’t have a tool box? Get creative 😉 Not on Facebook? Contact me and we can try and figure something out.

The rest of the prizes will be announced on the blog each day! The prizes are AWESOME! Several Snap-on packs, a Sort a Wrench and more. I will tell you how to enter each day! This is a week you don’t want to miss folks! I LOVE giving things away, and this week will be the biggest yet!

The review I did on the Tool Lodge drawer orginazer
The review I did on the Sort A Wrench

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage TrayAs a professional auto mechanic, tool storage is very important to me. At work, all of my tools are organized in a way that helps me be neat and efficient. It took me years of fine tuning my tool. I sort tools in the following way:

  • Most frequently used
  • Size order, like a set of wrenches would be
  • Type of tools, wrenches with wrenches, sockets with sockets, and so on
  • By size of the tool, this is based on the size of the drawer they are in.

I have seen tons of different types of tool organizers. Some are great, some are junk, and some are crazy expensive. When the folks at Sort-A-Tool asked me to review their Wrench Sorting Tray, I was honored. So let’s take a closer look at the Wrench Sorting Tray.

About the Wrench Tray
The tray is made from hard black plastic. It can hold up to 28 wrenches. The Wrench tray has a footprint of 13.5″ x 10″ x 1.5″ which means it will fit most tool drawers. Included with the tray are labeling stickers to help you quick identity wrench sizes. One other cool thing is these are made in the USA!

The Pros

  • The hard plastic is durable and easily cleanableSort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray
  • Separations for each wrench
  • Holds a lot of wrenches
  • the spot for small wrenches is raised making it easy to get them out.
  • There are 2 parts trays built in
  • Labels for quick size identification
  • Makes great use of the space
  • It is portable with the wrenches moving
  • Almost impossible to put wrenches in the wrong spot
  • Its small enough to fit in most drawers of most tool boxes
  • It will not scratch up your wrenches

The Cons
Before I talk about the cons I just want to say all the “cons” I talk about are personal feelings. It comes only from the way I store tools. Keep in mind, they may not be an issue for you

  • If you use the labels, metric and standard wrenches are mixed together.
  • It only holds up to a 19mm wrench
  • The “sizing bar” at the top was a little strange to use for me. I asked my wife to take a look at this feature. She liked it saying “it was easy to find the right spot for the wrench”
  • There is limited flexibility in storage

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray

Final Thoughts
I really like this tray! As I said above, any “cons” I wrote about were extremely minor. Almost to the point of nit picking. I think this is one of the better wrench holders I have put my hands on. I usually try and look at a product like this from 2 sides “Is it good for a pro mechanic” and “Is it good for a home toolbox”. I think this tray is great for BOTH! You can get them from Amazon SortATool Wrench Tray, They are also coming out with a socket storage tray later this year. I am excited to see it.

Have questions about this product? Please post them in the comments below. If you have a product you would like reviewed, please use this contact me form. I will be more than happy to provide a honest review of any product.

Sort A Tool Wrench Labels SORTATOOL will get you sorted out! SORTATOOL is a tool sorting and storing product line for professionals and enthusiastic DIY mechanics. The patented wrench sorting and storing tray has been a popular product in the US for over 10 years.  A novel socket sorting & storing tray will be launched around April 2014, and additional sorting and storage solutions for all the other things in tool chests and boxes are in the pipeline.
Tool Lodge Storage

Hey everyone. I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that it is December 6th already. This year has been sort of a blur. For the blog it has been an AWESOME year. I may not say it enough, but I really do appreciate each and every one of you. You guys seriously rock.

Today I want to chat a little about tool storage and Tool Lodge Storageorganization. This is a very personal thing for a lot of people. Things get even crazier when you bring it to a professional level. Every one organizes things different. At work, I stage things in a way to get to them fast. At home, I like things nice and pretty. To be honest, my tools at home are a mess. 🙂

The folks at Tool Lodge were nice enough to send me a sample of their tool drawer organizer. They asked me to check it out, and give them my thoughts. I did that, and I figured I would share them with all of you as well. One quick thing, Tool lodge did send this to me at no charge. But as you all know, I give my honest opinion no matter what. That is how I roll.

Overall I think the product is well built. It is a foam wrapped in a felt type material. The backing is plastic and seem to be pretty supportive. You can even add magnets to the bottom. That would be good if the holder will not cover the entire drawer. Here are a few pictures of the process.

Orginize The ToolsHere is a shot of some tools set out. The most important thing seems to be laying out your tools properly. If you look to the bottom left of the picture, you can see that I punched a ratchet into the foam.

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

This is a close up of the ratchet I pressed into the foam. Pressing a tool seemed very easy to do. I was able to apply pressure by hand and set the tool so it would not move. Then I tapped the tool down into the foam. Tool Lodge recommends using a soft (rubber or plastic) mallet. I used a regular hammer and a block of wood. It worked great!

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

This is the imprint of the ratchet in the foam. You can see it does a good job of forming to the tool. You can even see the lines of the handle. If you look at the middle of the imprint, you can see an section pressed in that does not fit the ratchet shape. This is from the supplied grip tool. It lets you dent a spot to be able to grab the tool. This is one of my favorite parts about this system.

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

I also wanted to see how a box wrench would set in the system. Here you can see the tool and the indent in the foam. It does a pretty good job of setting an imprint that matches the tool.

Like I said before, I think this is a nice tool storage system. Here is my overall breakdown of the Tool Lodge.

PROS

  • Tools look VERY cool. Hey, that matters

    tool box organization

    This is what an unorganized tool drawer looks like

  • Tools will always have a set place.
  • It is easy to see if something is missing.
  • Things can not roll around in the draw
  • Tools are easy to set in the foam
  • This is a GREAT system when people share tools
  • The felt will not mar tools
  • Product is well built
  • Custom sizes to most tool box drawers
  • The grip tool is great to get tools out fast.
  • No cutting of foam.
  • It’s way better than the foam that you pluck the squares out of

Cons

  • Once the tools are set, there is no changing or adding tools
  • I am slightly concerned about long term use, the tools may not fit as tight down the road
  • I worry about what happens if you drop a tool on the foam. Light tools would be fine, but something with some weight might dent the foam.
  • The felt seems to hold some dust. This is not a big deal, just a minor.
  • I wonder about oil saturation on the foam. My tools are not always spotless when I put them away. This is a Charles thing. It probably does not apply to some folks.
  • The drawer you use it in needs to be 2 or more inches deep.
  • It is a bit pricey to outfit an entire tool box

Well that about wraps it up. I think Tool Lodge did a good job building this product. For the person looking for this type of organization, I think you will dig this! If you have any questions about Tool Lodge, please post them in the comments. I will also be setting a few more tools just to see how they form.