Posts
121
Joined
8/15/2011
Location
Trabuco Canyon, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
1/8/2016 4:34pm
After a solid ten years I decided to upgrade my tools and chest. I had a 3 drawer craftsman that I made work for a long time but the crescent tool set that lived in it was getting pretty tired. I wanted something just slightly bigger since I'm not settled down anywhere quite yet so moving big heavy tool chests isn't appealing to me haha. I like how a lot of pro mechanics seem to be able to work out of a 3 or 4 drawer box (granted I work on my/my fiance's other vehicles out of it was well). I'm curious to see other's setups - vital tools, organizational methods, box sizes, etc.
The chest cost me $70 and the tool set on sale for $150. I also designed and 3D printed some wrench holders, T handle holder, and plan on making some more small organizational stuff. I feel like it's almost a useless amount of sockets now haha.
Test fitting the new wrenches into the freshly printed tray to ensure sizing was OK. I printed these in ABS plastic.
Ready for duty.
Sockets, ratchets, T-handle Allen keys and misc attachments comprise the top of the box. Not shown is the additional T-handle set that hangs off the side from a printed wrench holder w/ magnetic attachment. The T-Handle's are probably one of my favorite tools that I can't live without after having them. Another piece I love are the two adjustable length ratchets from harbor freight. Extend for breaking loose, retract for short throw quick turning. I've had them a couple of years now and they've held up to some serious abuse. I also like how the 1/4" and 3/8" are a single, combo unit vs 3 separate ratchets.
The first drawer holds the box wrenches. You can see the 3D printed wrench trays here. The large wrench holder on the left took about 2 hours to print. I also keep spark plug wrench and feeler gauges here.
Various pliers, cutters, adjustable wrenches, vise grips, etc. all stay here in the second drawer.
Screw drivers, files, wire brushes, misc nuts and bolts stay in the third drawer.
The bottom drawer houses specialty tools and some general stuff. Torque wrenches, soft blow and hammer, tire levers, clutch holder, impact driver and other stuff live here.
Is there anything else you'd add to the above?
Let's see where everyone else reaches to keep the bikes (hopefully) running.
The chest cost me $70 and the tool set on sale for $150. I also designed and 3D printed some wrench holders, T handle holder, and plan on making some more small organizational stuff. I feel like it's almost a useless amount of sockets now haha.
Test fitting the new wrenches into the freshly printed tray to ensure sizing was OK. I printed these in ABS plastic.
Ready for duty.
Sockets, ratchets, T-handle Allen keys and misc attachments comprise the top of the box. Not shown is the additional T-handle set that hangs off the side from a printed wrench holder w/ magnetic attachment. The T-Handle's are probably one of my favorite tools that I can't live without after having them. Another piece I love are the two adjustable length ratchets from harbor freight. Extend for breaking loose, retract for short throw quick turning. I've had them a couple of years now and they've held up to some serious abuse. I also like how the 1/4" and 3/8" are a single, combo unit vs 3 separate ratchets.
The first drawer holds the box wrenches. You can see the 3D printed wrench trays here. The large wrench holder on the left took about 2 hours to print. I also keep spark plug wrench and feeler gauges here.
Various pliers, cutters, adjustable wrenches, vise grips, etc. all stay here in the second drawer.
Screw drivers, files, wire brushes, misc nuts and bolts stay in the third drawer.
The bottom drawer houses specialty tools and some general stuff. Torque wrenches, soft blow and hammer, tire levers, clutch holder, impact driver and other stuff live here.
Is there anything else you'd add to the above?
Let's see where everyone else reaches to keep the bikes (hopefully) running.
I have 2 rails, one single hex 8 thro 21 mm, and a rail double hex 10 12 13 14 17 deepwall.
That is a great question (That I'm now wondering myself). I was lured in by the variety, but in actuality how many I'll actually use is another thing. I went from a very small assortment of sockets to an over abundance. Ironically, I like a somewhat minimalist setup so time will tell what sockets stay at the ready and what gets stored away. I also very rarely use SAE anything anymore.
when we were pulling a small trailer with 2 bikes in it , i went minimalist , had a small plastic box, with a lift out lid, and only carried stuff that fitted the bike, so no 16 or 18mm sockets or spanners, two sets of spinners, 8,10 &12 , and 3 allen keys , and 3 T Bars.
If it wasnt needed i didnt take it , in the race box, just had a another small box with everything thrown in , in case we needed it to work on the camper on the way back.
Be brutal, you only need 4 pairs of pliers, lockwire, side cutters, long nose, and a regular set. And a hose clip set if your bike has them.
Thanks,
Tim
The Shop
Grab a pair of these too. Knippex pliers are one of the best if not the best out there.
And you gotta have ratchets. 36T bulldozers for smacking around, 48T go-to ratchets good for getting stolen, 60T feel good ratchets and the baller 72T stuff when you want to class it up!
P.S. Do yourself a favor and ditch that crappy Craftsman torque wrench. The only thing you'll need it for is under 30ft-lbs, just where its the least useful. Get something nice.
I have a craftsmen wrench I use for bigger stuff (That I have checked against a known accurate wrench) and I just got the small Husky wrench for smaller engine stuff. Some nice torque wrenches are definitely in my future at some point - and it seems like a lot of people recommend digital. Are both of your's dial type?
Everyone needs a set of these.
lostboy819 - I'm assuming you wrench professionally given your shop setup?
-Tim
It just takes time to amass a good arsenal. Some stuff is cheap some is really good. I lean toward quality stuff so i can pass them along to my kids and not have a bunch of broken chinese junk for them to scrap
Pit Row
Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that may end up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated.
jelly?
http://www.protorquetools.com/prod-18-1-1373-455/precision-inst-dial-to…
http://www.amazon.com/CDI-1501MRMH-4-Inch-150-Pound-Capacity/dp/B000KL4…
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