Socket racks?

GrimmJeeper

GrimmJeeper

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Gardena, CA
I'm tired of my sockets rolling around in the toolbox, its driving me nuts not being able to find the size I need without digging around for 5 minutes. I recently picked up a roll-away box and I want to get something to keep my sockets somewhat organized. The only catch is the drawers are somewhat shallow, only 1.5" deep.

I saw these in the tool book at work, but I wouldn't have room to stand all the sockets up like that. the shallow ones would be fine but the deep sockets would never fit. I'm also not a fan of the metal racks that the sockets snap into, every one I've had has either fallen apart or the sockets just don't stay on it.

Anyone have some suggestions? What do you guys use to keep your sockets organized in your roll away box?
 
Can you buy those blue ones you linked to, then cut the base down the middle so they aren't "double stacked," then put the sockets on them, and lay them down on their side?

The advantage is, they are still organized by size, and by sitting on their sides with the pegs through them the will not roll around and get mixed up and will still clear your drawer.

It appears that the blue sorters are a plastic base that could be cut fairly simply.
 
I use the cheap plastic click-on rails from Sears. I like them because they are cheap, I can mix and match squaredrive sizes on one rail to keep types of bits and sockets together, and they are a LOT more durable than I expected. They stick up out of one end of the beat up duffel bag I haul my junkyard tools in, and have been snagging on random stuff since April or so. Not a single one has broken yet. I also sling them under jeeps and toss them into the bed of my MJ with very little care and fully expected them to break with this kind of treatment but they are still in one piece. I still haven't had a socket fall off a strip, either.

EDIT: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941829000P?prdNo=14&blockNo=14&blockType=G14 is a 3 piece set of em, a rail for 1/4", a rail for 3/8", and a rail for 1/2". I bought them in-store though, easier to find everything since it's all together on the rack.
 
Cottontail said:
Can you buy those blue ones you linked to, then cut the base down the middle so they aren't "double stacked," then put the sockets on them, and lay them down on their side?
Click to expand...

I thought of that, but I would worry about them rolling off the pins and putting me right back into the same problem.



thanks for the responses guys, keep the ideas coming :D
 
I have the ones Kastein linked to, and surprisingly I like them a lot. Better than the older metal ones that always bent in the tool bag, or wouldn't hold the socket tight. I bought them cause they were cheap, but they're tough. Thumbs up.
 
GrimmJeeper said:
I saw these in the tool book at work
Click to expand...

i have these is my top drawer for all my junk (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) and LOVE them, ive tried just about everything else and hated something about each of them. having thr size labled on top is wonderful too.

I HATE racks/rails where the socket "clicks" or "locks" into/onto the rack. i like being able to easily remove the socket.


How about these? I used them for a while when my old toolbox had shallow drawers.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00941374000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11
 
i too HATE those socket strips... i allmost want to beleive kastein's claims are downright lies! (no offense, im sure its mostly a personal preferance, they dont work for me!) i threw away the craftsmans i bought a year or so ago.

ive found peace of mind with a small socket set (the 99peice, from home depot, the smaller sets are angrily missing certain sizes.). it has everything i need for 99% of small jobs. and you can pull out that odd size 12mm 1/4" drive socket in seconds, without looking (looking is the worst, and what really got to me.). i do struggle to keep that set complete, but the black chrome makes it easy, and its got the common sized open end wrenches too.


i have all the other sockets (2, maybe 3 generations worth) in a tray, i'll bring that down for big jobs, or to ensure no walking back to the garage. everything is there, and convenient. the socket set resides in the top of my toolcart, but can easily be taken anywhere (including the junkyard. you can do that with the strips, but try that with stuff designed for your toolcart. it must be nice doing all your wrenching inside the garage... i dont.
 
I already have a portable socket set that can go everywhere with me, Just looking for something to keep the sockets I already have from rolling around in the drawer on my new rolling box.. what good is my fancy new toy if I'm not going to use it for its intended purpose? :D
 
Having wrenched for so long, I have probably 6-10 sockets of each size. Deap, 6pt, 12pt, etc. I have a socket rail in my tool box drawer for each size, both English and metric.
 
I think the strangest one I ever needed was a deep, 12 point, impact socket (for the head bolts, we had an engine out of the jeep and no leverage.) Fortunately the head bolts were being junked because we didn't have one that met all 3 requirements, and ended up sawzalling the top of the stud off the bolt and using a standard depth 12 point impact socket.
 
In my previous tool box, I went to the kitchen store and got the snap together bins you get for setting up your knives and forks in your kitchen drawer. I snapped them togther and labeled the sizes. Since I have duplicates or more of every size, it worked out well.
 
I've recently become a big fan of the socket racks from Ernst. My brother bought me a starter set for Christmas a couple of years ago and I never really got too excited about them as it seemed the sockets would fall off the clips fairly easily. I finally decided it was time to get my tool box (somewhat) organized so I checked out the Ernst website to see what additional items they had available. I was happy to find that they had come out with a new "twist-lock" version of their clips. There are no moving parts, no levers, no springs, no ball bearings. The clip is just designed in such a way that you put the socket on them, twist 45 degrees, and they are locked in place. Here's some pics...

I use this drawer for a full selection of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive standard sockets:

100_9616.jpg


This drawer handles all the deep sockets, torx, allen, screwdriver, spark plug, and other random sockets laid over on their side:

100_9613.jpg


And this one holds the ratchets, breaker bars, spinners, and torque wrench:

100_9618.jpg


I have them color coded Red for SAE and Blue for Metric. They also make yellow, but apparently those are only available for sale on the Mac truck. There are sticker labels included so you can completely customize them to suit your needs. I personally have not used the stickers as I never seem to have much luck when combining grease, oil, and adhesives. I don't think the labels are really that necessary anyways as I just bring the whole rack with me when I crawl under the Jeep.

I went on a wheeling trip this past weekend and quickly threw each of the rails I thought I might need into a duffel bag as I was heading out the door. After a weekend of being tossed around and burried under camping gear, there was no breakage, no lost sockets, no problems. A few of the clips moved a bit on the rails but it's easy enough to move them back into position when you put them back in your tool box.

Some things I like about these Ernst socket rails:

You can mix and match sizes on the same rail
You can have as many or as few clips as you need on each rail
The rails are available in different lengths and different colors
The clips can be pushed very close together for those small 1/4 sockets
The bases that hold the rails upright can be had in a magnetic version to keep them from sliding around
Extra clips are available (extra heavy-duty ones for impact sockets as well)
Made in the USA and carry a lifetime guarantee :patriot:
And surprisingly enough, these are actually pretty cheap!

They have a bunch of other tool storage stuff as well. I have the gripper wrench organizers:

100_9619.jpg


The thing I liked about these is they sell them with any number of slots from 4-15 so you can get precisely what you need without ending up with extra slots. Probably not a huge deal, but it helps out folks like me with mild OCD. :D

Anyways, check them out. You can tell this stuff is actually designed by people that use it. Might not be as sexy as some of the other racks out there, but they are durable, easy to use, and really well thought out. They provide you with a lot of options to customize your storage solution to suit your specific needs. Their website isn't the greatest and is a little difficult to navigate. I figured out exactly what I needed by looking through a few different websites and then called them directly. Their customer service was great and shipping was fast. Can't recall the guy's name that helped me, but I was transferred to him once it was determined I needed "technical" help.
 
I like these trays for sockets they are a little pricey but keep everything in one location. I have several of them for different sets of sockets.

here is the page for the tray:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=20107670&PMT4NO=91723891

you can find them here:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRHM?cm_re=HomePage-_-SiteLogo-_-HomePage

I really find them handy you can pick them up and move them easy and the sockets all lock on with a simple twist. you don't have to pry them off like you do the rails.
hope this helps!
:compwork:
 
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