Toolboxes?

[Newshound]

Need a replacement for my general purpose investigative toolbox: lots of small pliers and similar gadgets, up to Pozi 1 screwdrivers, small hammer, boxes of asorted small machine screws, nuts, washers, multimeter, fuses, choc blocks, soldering iron. The heavier DIY stuff lives in dedicated boxes (I tend to use the Maplin foam lined "metal briefcases" which have rounded corners and stack neatly).

Tempted by the following

(a bit small?)

(a bit big?)

(never had one with drawers before).

What do you all favour?

TIA

[A.Lee]

I got one of these a while back and find it pretty good:

The drawers are not as solid as I would like, but overall it is good, and worth the money.

The overall size may be limiting though, I fit all my pliers screwdrivers, hammer, multimeter and other bits in the top section, the drawers are then divided up, so you cannot get anything bigger than a screwdriver in them.

alan.

[John Rumm]

Its a difficult one to answer, without knowing a bit more about what sort of places you take it, and how you use it when you get there.

For example, I like my metal clad box:

it holds all my electrical tools, a selection of meters etc, and I can stand on it for an extra 10" of lift or so when reaching things "just out of reach", or sit on it for a more comfortable job wiring sockets or anything else that would otherwise involve working on your knees for. However I would not want to set it down on someone's dining table!

[The Medway Handyman]

>> (a bit small?)

>> (a bit big?)

>> (never had one with drawers before).

Tool bags meself, but bargain of the year for DIY

[ss]

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As I only DIY around the house and there is loads going on at the moment and will be for the next year or so I am going to build my own. My wife is losing the plot after 6 months of tools all over the place. So the area where the stairs go from ground to 1st floor with nothing underneath, I am going to pinch some of that and make something that fits underneath the last 4 feet where the stairs meets the floor. I will angle it to match the angle of the stairs and a double section that hinges to open and mounted on wheels. Then painted to match the walls. My alternative is to store stuff in the loft and be up and down ladders every day or store in the shed and let them rust. Now I have a bet on with my son that I can do this and put it in place and my wife wont notice it for weeks.....Game on :-)

[ARWadsworth]

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She will notice. And she will mention it the next time you have an argument:-)

[Phil Addison]

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yep, I poored over tool-boxes for ages, but coulddddn't find anything to beat my old metal 3-tier cantilever tool-box like these

I already have 3 of those I opted in the end for this use it most of the time now, its lighter and easier to lob in what I want for a particular job than the metal ones, and tho you can't see it in that pic, there are a number of useful open pockets the oter sie that take various pliers, stanley knives, etc. The fat-max has a few downsides tho. Along both sides, inside, there are loops to take tools - these are too wide for most things, so they tend to lean over or fall through. The base moulding is not flat, it has 4 raised areas at the cornenrs that make things inside tip over, s I lined the remaining base with a couple of layers of corrugated cardboard to bring it all up to the same height.

With hindsight I might go for a slightly smaller and cheaper one, but overall, the rigid tool-bag concept beats the pants off the old-fasioned carpenters canvas tool-bag.

Phil

[The Medway Handyman]

>>>>>>>> (a bit small?)

>>>>>>>> (a bit big?)

>>>>>>>> (never had one with drawers before).

> As I already have 3 of those I opted in the end for this

> I use it most of the time now, its lighter and easier to lob in what I

These are the mutts nuts, I have several;

- The Medway Handyman

[John Rumm]

have one similar to that, and its the one I have never really found the appropriate use for... It would probably be ideal if I had lots of automotive mechanics style tools, but I don't.

> I use it most of the time now, its lighter and easier to lob in what I

I bought a set like:

few years back. The bottom bit gets a fair amount of use because it will take loads of ad hoc "stuff" which you can pluck from the workshop for a particular task, and its also very useful for shifting other stuff about since you can pile other boxes and tool cases up on top and wheel them all about at the same time. (the smaller top box gets far less use since it keeps my aerial rigging kit, and is about half empty).

[Dave Liquorice]

Thats more like the price I paid in B&Q for a Stanley badged version of the FatMax. I certainly wouldn't pay =A340 for the Fatmax...

But do thse bags/totes fullfill the OPs spec for carrying boxes of screws and smaller items/tools?

[The Medway Handyman]

You can put whatever you want in them.

I prefer bags/totes because they have multiple pockets. Easier to find stuff & keep it tidy..

[Newshound]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I like tote bags too, I'll populate one for a specific job which means that hammers, screwdrives, tape measures etc. end up scattered around the house and the workshop. I like to keep all my funny little pliers and side cutters etc. in one box so that I can always find them. And having assorted nuts, washers, self tappers, crimps, cable ties, punches, cold chisels, mole grips, etc with them in one place means that one kit will very often do for TVs, washing machines, cars, CH boilers, computers, and basic electrical repairs.

I'd forgotten about Axminster, I will check them out as well.

Still dithering over what to do. I'd prefer a plastic box because metal has nasty sharp corners, but it needs to have good handles and hinges. I use the metal cantilever ones for the more mechanical car kit, and the plumbing spanners and fitings.

[The Medway Handyman]

I have 4 totes/bags in the van. One carries plumbing tools, one electrical tools, one drill drivers, bits etc & one general purpose tools.

There is a bit of overlap. Each bag for instance has a tape, a level, screwdrivers, combination pliers, junior hacksaw etc, but its easier for me to know that if I grab one bag I don't have to go back to the van.

I then have a series of organisers, one for fixings/plugs, one for screws, one for plumbing fittings, one for electrical stuff.

So, for most jobs I can walk in with one tote & one organiser & not have to go back out to the van - but not always :-)

[Dave Liquorice]

Well yes but how long will cardboard boxes of screws last knocking about in the bottom of a tote bag?