I found this plastic storage box at Harbor Freight and was only about $6.00. It holds my bits so I put the whole thing in a drawer. There are a lot of plans for bit holders but I have no place to put them when not in use. I thought this was useful to keep them organized. The yellow dividers are moveable and removable. The lid snaps shut and there is a carrying handle.
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whatever works for you is good, I am trying to find something that works for myself and that just gives me another idea.
I’ve been using the “Toolbox Organizer with 10 Drawers”:
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/multi-compartment-utility-box-40528.html
Started with a smaller unit:
and had to buy multiples so that I could get the tray arrangements I wanted.
Really wish that these organizers were sized to fit:
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/18-divider-storage-container-94456.html
I settled on those as the most flexible size, and have a pretty fair collection of them — the only problems are:
- there isn’t a convenient organizer for handling them in stacks — yeah, I should make one
- they don’t have a version/variant which has dividers organized from front–back as opposed to side–side — which is why I don’t — addressing that means I might as well make the whole thing myself
I got mine to fit in a tool box drawer (Craftsman Middle Tool Box) . Never buy anything at Harbor Freight without getting a 20% off coupon. You can get them from magazine ads (in most woodworking mags) or simply go to the HF site and get one on your phone. You always get 20% off one item with the coupon. I keep one in my bill fold. I do not like most things at HF but storage items are the same as any where else. The tools are of the lowest quality available. There may be rare exceptions but by in large it is junk. If you buy quality tools you will never regret your purchase.
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Yeah, I picked up a Craftsman-branded machinist chest (re-badged Kennedy 526) and have been debating putting all of my endmills in it — problem is, it’s heavy, and I’ve been shuttling around more of late. Currently it has the overflow of nicer tools from my various tool chests.
There are some gems at Harbor Freight — the No. 33 Jack Plane for instance is quite good if one is willing to take the time to inspect the casting, and then square / flatten as needed, and to sharpen the blade — there are lengthy threads on these bargains (and the things to beware) on other forums though.
I have recently purchased bits for aluminum and put them in a HF small compartment storage container and my regular carbide endmills and collets are in an old plastic case with drawers made for CD or diskette storage. Unfortunately, I find that both have compartments that waste space and could be better adapted. I see several endmill organizers in CutRocket and other places where the buts stand up but prefer to have my endmills in an horizontal position in their original case to better identify and protect them.
I’m pondering how I could include a custom drawer with better sized compartments in the new Shapeoko workstation I will design for my upcoming workshop renovations.
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