Pro Tip: When you're done tracing and cutting the holes out of your foam, spray a light coat or two of black plasti-dip over the top side. It covers your trace marks and makes the foam very dense and rigid like it was laser cut and made for the tool.
Greetings Mr Jeff. Just a quick tip if no one has mentioned it yet. First though, I will confess that I’ve used a tape measure for many many years now struggling to take inside width measurements. Anyway instead of folding the tape into the corner of the drawer or whatever inside measurement and trying to eyeball it, the trick is to butt the body of the tape measure to the inside of the drawer holding it in place and extend the steel rule tape out to the other end, lock the tape in place and add 2” or 2.5“ or 3” to the measurement. It varies from tape to tape but on the back or bottom of the body/housing of your tape measure there should be a number. That’s the length of your tape box thing. Give it a try! 😎 Best! Happy new year!
@Ryan Lemmons, wow that’s a great tip. I had never heard that before. At a minimum, if I can’t find that number on the tape, I can use another tape and just measure the first tapes length to get it. Best tip I’ve heard in 2020!
Could also flip your mats upside down and flip the wrench backwards so when you flip it back over the lines are on the bottom now and the tool is the way you want it.
Good tips, Jeff. You may be able to save some time for this and all future foam layouts (the process at 7:12) by making a stencil of the finger relief. Then, all you need to do is strike a chalk center line, place the stencil and trace for each shape. This would lean out your process for marking the finger reliefs down to 2 steps and also improve the repeatable accuracy of your marking. You could save even more time and improve shape cut consistency by making a punch tool of the finger cutout which would make the entire finger relief process only 2 steps (1. Strike chalk line, 2. Align and punch the relief hole). I plan to organize my tools using your method, so thank you for making the video!
Those same black thick sheets I’ve used for years as foam inserts for my work boots as long as your boots are just a little over sized you can remover you original insert trace it cut it and put under your original one it really helps and is way cheaper than any store bought insert that seems to stop working after 2 weeks 👍
@@SquidsCareTooyou can buy thin foam drawer liner inserts at harbor fright and use those for the top sheet. Another pro tip or two: - use 3M 77 spray bomb adhesive to adhere the layers together; no way I’d ever use all that time for hot glue - as far as time… wow! I wouldn’t be able to get through all that fussy cutting for two reasons: my time is two valuable; and it looks cool but I pack way more tools in a drawer that size otherwise I’d have to buy three more 56” top and bottom boxes. Wrenches for example: I have SK, Craftsman , Cougar Pro, and Pittsburgh standard SAE combo wrenches, straight and reversing ratcheting combo wrenches, and long combo wrenches, plus duplicates. They wouldn’t all fit in that drawer size but they do fit in a 38”x20” drawer on racks. If flat like that I’d run out of space fast. - third and final here is spray-glue the oem liners (only boxes not worth buying don’t have these pads in my observations) into the drawer bottoms, and use wrench racks ($10 at harbor fright) to hold wrenches, and the upright labeled trays (again $10 or $15?) for sockets. Neat, clean, and very efficient use of the space. That way a very well loaded 56” us general top and bottom will hold every mechanics tool needed to rebuild a V8, restore an old muscle car, disassemble and reassemble a Jeep YJ, or open an auto service shop. Power tools and supplies like grinders, wiring, spare small parts all go in the 13-drawer 60”x26” mechanic’s box I built from scratch that has a vise on its workbench top. That’s a lot of storage in 26” deep by 120” and too much fancy foam tool holders would cut that to 25% of the tools I have in there now. Cool project and looks very nice but I couldn’t deal with that much sprawl of my tools.
@AGNB Motorsports, it takes a long time to make, but it's a great investments into your tool collection and being able to easily find tools when you need them. Also, its great because when the job is done and you put your tools away, you can quickly see if you missed any because there is an open gap in the foam. Is it the nicest looking way to do it...not really, but for a fully custom setup, I don't know a better way. You can buy one's that are ready to be cut but they're not EXACTLY the size of your drawer AND they are super expensive. Best of luck with your tool organization.
I did this same method but used a hot knife I got on amazon for $20 and just held the tool down and traced around it with the hot knife, I also used a spray adhesive to stick the foam backing on instead of the glue gun
I've had the chance to use this table a couple of times now. It's fun to whip out in front of people:) I can see what people are talking about when they say the legs are delicate, but they're design to support a "mostly" vertical load, not be torqued from the side or pushed back into place. If you just let the table open or close on it's own and don't force anything, it works great th-cam.com/users/postUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh Once it's set up, it's pretty solid. My only gripe would probably be related to the clamps provided. They're not the highest quality. They do the job, so no big deal, but they could be better. All in all, pretty cool gadget.
Mike Squires , thanks for the suggestion. In colder climates that might work. I live in Florida where my garage can get pretty hot and over time, my experience is the spray glue will release over time when exposed to high temps. The melting point of hot glue is a higher temp. Not saying it can’t work. If you do try spray glue, I’d suggest using 3m. Cheap stuff won’t cut it long term.
@@DIYJeff I live in Tucson, AZ and it gets HOT, HOT, HOT! here!!! I've found that using the spray adhesive designed for headliners works really well in the high temperatures. I'm definitely going to try this for my tools at my shop. I have my own computer business and accessing and returning tools quickly is very important to efficiency and making more money in the finite time we have available in a day! Thanks for this. And, ignore the negative nancys commenting. No matter what you do, someone thinks they can do better, but they usually have never uploaded any wonderful videos of their own! :) Oh, and one thing I've always wondered is why someone would come up with a term for OCD and not have the letters be alphabetical!!!
We had old puzzle piece 3/4" foam mats for workout/anti fatique flooring. We have about 20 of those and about to do the same, put colored foam under and then those puzzle pieces. I might try standing my wrenches up on their side, but also labeling with a label maker too!
That was a really good idea - thanks for sharing. I noticed you were struggling to get a clean edge when cutting @3:41, and to cut all the way through @9:00. Both are much easier using a better backing like a craft cutting board, or bread board (instead of the cardboard), or a sacrificial workbench top layer (you can sand / fill / replace the top layer or veneer). A steel straight edge helps as well to cut against, not an aluminium edge, as the X-acto knife blade is steel (high carbon steel for a sharp edge) and can cut into softer metals depending on angles and technique.
@ApprenticeGM, thanks for the tips. Since making the video, some people commented that using a hot knife is easier and I would agree. I've purchased a hot knife and it works 10x faster than the blade I was using.
Tools are literally piled to the rim in my toolbox drawers. Wish I could be this neat, but I don't have the space. But the video was interesting. Thanks.
You could be this neat. You just need another box. If you want to stay cheaper but retain quality I highly recommend harbor freight US General Series 3 or bigger. The 5 drawer cart is a PITA to assemble with the base being out of true without a second pair of hands it's easiet done bottom up with the top drawer assembly inverted on its head. Happy wrenching
Probably said a million times... but 3M Super 77 would probably be a bit faster and easier to work with for this. Also, a lot of people seem to be fixated on black foam with a color inside of it.. but wouldn't it be cheaper to just get some regular thick black foam, and then get thin pieces of the colored stuff, and glue it to the top of that, and have the "shadows" just be the dark foam instead? Seems like a lot of the toolbox foams out there are just expensive because they use more of the fancy red or blue colored stuff. For some of these projects, I could see even using those colored interlocking foam puzzle piece floor mats as suitable material, usually one side is textured, but the other is smooth, and maybe the diamond plate texture of most of those adds a cool asthetic?
You could, as an alternative, buy some of the 1/2 inch thick "anti fatigue" floor mats made for standing on. It could save you the time of gluing a whole bunch of the thinner mats together and might be cheaper in the long run. Also contact cement would work better for gluing the sheets together and you wouldn't have to rush like you do with the hot glue gun
about getting the cheap thicker foam in bigger pieces : look intoo the cheap yogamats there usually made from the same stuff and sumtimes thicker allso use a piece of plywood or a cuttingboard/matt , because cartboard is currugated it makes it harder to cut a straight line
Harbor freight sells wrench racks for like 10 bucks. Take up way less space and fit more wrenches. A small at home took collection may work with this but as a mechanic, I nearly pack every square inch of my box before I buy a bigger box. Wrench racks help a lot
Tylor Frazier, I have a friend who uses wrench racks and he also has a lot of tools so I get it. I happen to have a lot of space in my garage and 4 large tool boxes so I have plenty of room to space things out. The plus side is (not just wrenches) I can easily and quickly find any tool in a matter of seconds without having to dig through a toolbox. And, the tool is always in the exact same location, just like using a wrench rack. The pads though provide that same organization for ALL my hand tools, but you're right, it does take up more space.
Oh please, those Harbor Freight wrench racks are incredibly cheap nasty plastic. The important thing is to have your tools organized, so you can immediately find your tool and also immediately spot if one is missing. Tool manufacturers always provide lifetime warranties on their tools, because they know a tool will be lost long before it will break. Take a look at Sonic Tools foam system (sonictoolsusa.com/shop/sonic-foam-system/) as an example of the right way to store tools. They only do this because a large percentage of their market is aviation mechanics, who can't afford to forget a tool inside a plane (as it could potentially take down the plane, while flying).
Norman Klein depends on which wrench rack you choose bud... they sell a metal one that is nice and one that is a big one that holds Allen keys, 2 seats of stubbys and 2 sets of full size wrench’s. I’m a professional mechanic and I have a few harbor frieght organization things in my box including that big wrench rack
There is another video of some guys that are engineers doing this. You can go watch them or you can watch this guy and actually learn something! Great video!
a couple of remarks: Use Thicker foam, so you can put your tools upright instead of flat.. massive space saver.. Use Contact-adhesive instead of hotglue. For easy cutting.. Use a Dremel like tool, with a thin sanding drum, to cut out the openings for the tools.. makes it smoother. (i have a CNC router.. way better to cut these out, but.. i will have to make an accurate CAD drawing beforehand.. so that is less easy than just tracing.
Grab harbor freight foam floor mats, cheaper than craft store. Skip the color ones and just Rust-Oleum the drawer red or green, then put your harbor mats in
@SARSteam Railways, It definitely works. Many times I thought I had all the tools put away to look in my toolbox and see one missing and realize it's hiding under something in the garage.
OK, all the time it takes to do it… I’m going to have to take the time I was going to spend going to Disneyland, but can’t due to the pandemic, and I’ll make these mats instead. OK, realistically, I’ll buy the materials and do one drawer at a time, when I get around to it.But in the end my tool drawer be much more organized than it is now!
Love the idea, going to be doing this with mine soon in near future. Would of some 3 things differently though 1st use a cutting board made for those cardboard dulls your blade fast, 2nd would of pushed the wrenches over little further vs straight down center and 3rd would of flipped the black over after so I don't see the lines from the silver marker. Like I said though excellent video and great inspiration to other and ideas for them to do.
My only concern would be the durability of that craft foam. The 5S foam I am using is chemical resistant, which is what you are actually paying for with the good stuff
@William Mims, I've had mine now for 2 1/2 years with no issues. Granted the only thing on my tools is grease and I do wipe them down prior to putting them back, but the foam is still as good as new.
Thanks Jeff! Great tutorial and supersaver idea. I cannot get foam mats where I am (Kenya) but I know some yoga mats are made from EVA which is the same stuff as the mats - so I will get some cheap EVA-based yoga mats. Cheers!!
Hmm...nice observation. Obviously, I should have reversed the direction of the wrenches and used the marker on the back (down side) of the foam so when I turned it over there would be no lines showing. Thanks for the comment.
excellent ,just exactly what i needed, was debating if i should spend all that money ordering these foam inserts. sure glad i'm so lazy lol didn't want to walk to the computer. will be going to Michaels or perhaps just order them. thanks a bunch....
@Ray Rivera, you're welcome. Some tips to make the process easier...1. instead of an exacto knife use a hot knife. It's 10 times faster. 2. Check out the comments as other people had some adhesive suggestions that might be easier to work with than hot glue. I've had mine now for over a year in a hot Florida garage and have had zero issues and love my inserts!
Wow! That looks fantastic. Foam is outrageous. After watching multiple videos like this it does make me say to myself "I could fit so many more tools in a drawer without the foam so is the foam really worth it?" Sure you spend a little more time looking for the right one, but I would go from 10 wrenches in a drawer to 100 wrenches in a drawer.
That's where you make multi layer cutouts that lift out. Plus it's more about how you create the shapes, if you have a whole set of the same thing then you could definitely just cut out a big rectangle section for the set rather than each item. That's exactly the balance I'm trying to figure out with mine today. What needs full on cut out per item organization and what can just go into a tray
Warren, thanks to the Mandela Effect, JoAnn's Fabrics is now just Joann Fabrics. I know this first hand as I used to park in front of one on a daily basis when waiting for the bus.
Hey man good video, thumbs up, When I did mine I used a camping mat I got from Walmart. It is a light blue in color and some black kitchen drawer liner made of 1/8th of inch foam I got from Home Depot. Glued the two together with contact cement. I then cut out the outline of the tools and then contact cemented to another piece of the camping mat as an backing. So the thin black foam is on the top with two layers of the light blue under it. I did about two years ago and I live in Oklahoma and the summers here get hot, high 90s to 100's the contact cement has held up great.
scott connolyy, thanks for the idea. That could possibly work. Since making the video a few months back, I received many suggestions about using a hot knife, which would also eliminate much of the jumping around as well as making the cutting process much quicker.
@@moopmoop345 Yeah. Walmart blue camping mats and you could use the colored foam just as he did here in this video. I had some yellow drawer liner material so I went with Blue/Yellow. www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Closed-Cell-Foam-Blue-Camp-Sleeping-Pad/634956813
If you scroll through all the comments you’ll see people roast me on wasting space. You can certainly put the tools a little closer together, but if you put them too close, and the foam is thin in between tools, it will likely rip. Also, I’ve found that a hot knife works much quicker. Many have also commented that hot glue isn’t as easy, but I disagree. It may not be as easy, but after 2 years of sitting in my 115 degree garage, not one has come apart and I have a lot of them. Spray adhesive doesn’t hold up in hot humid environments. If you live up north then it may not be an issue to use a different adhesive. Some have suggested contact cement.
im doing this project and i found my craftman drawers require 3 sheets of the yellow and black each, the third sheet is to fill the gaps at the back and right side of the drawers
outdoorzone, the one caution I would give you is to make sure you have a bit of foam between each tool, if not, when you go to cut it, it will be difficult for the foam to keep it's shape and not rip if it's too thin. You could do some tests to see how close you can get the tools to each other.
Why not use a fine end mill in a dremmel to cut out tool shapes and totally agree with another commenter about using spray glue. Good thinking batman🤔😎😉
Alec Nemeth, thanks for the comments. I've also found that using a hot knife cuts through the foam like butter. But a fine end mill dremmel is certainly another option. I don't think there's any one way to do it. Sky's the limit! And certainly, a high quality spray adhesive is another option. I have to be careful in Florida with spray adhesive because my garage is 120+ degrees 10 months out of the year and I've found spray adhesive to lose it's integrity in high heat.
If you placed the mat in upside down from the way you laid it out, you wouldn't see those lines. But, I may do something similar to this in the future for my sockets.
Chris L, good observation. Yes, tracing them backwards would eliminate seeing the outline. Also, I've found that using a hot knife instead of an exacto knife is 10 times quicker when cutting.
I would like to do this, but just haven't had the time. I also see you have a Harbor Freight cart, they sell thicker foam rolls, although only grey, but it almost fits and the thickness is about 1'2 "
Joe Soliz, thanks for the tip. I think the difference would be with the Harbor Freight foam rolls is they would be more expensive. Part of the video was to show that a custom tray insert could be made for $3. But, your suggestion could work as well. Thanks for sharing.
@Snake Plissken, sorry, I'm scrolling through old comments and just saw your question. I apologize for not responding sooner. I live in Florida where my garage gets to 110 degrees easily and I've had no problems. The inserts still work like the day I made them.
@Steven Smith, you're welcome. One tip I would give you is to invest into a "hot knife" for cutting the foam instead of an exacto knife. It speeds up the process 10 fold.
Momo Mittens, true, depending on the tool. Its really just a personal individual preference on however you want to do it. "There's more than one way to skin a cat"
I already have 3 servant packed all the way with tools. With that much wasted space, I would need 12 extra to fit everything. The idea is good. But only with limited tools. Anyway, the idea is still good for some people I guess and it was done properly. But do you need a shop cart for such a few tools in it?
Julien, thanks for your comments. The shop cart is just for my most used tools that I commonly go to for automotive repair. I can wheel it over to the vehicle and not have to walk around so much. I have many other tool boxes that I'm in the process of making inserts for. It all comes down to how much storage space you have. If you have the space, this makes finding tools and putting tools away, fast and easy.
DIY Jeff, that's right, you make a point. I deffinitly spend too much time searching the right tool. I kinda cheat as I put all the tools I need on a rolling cart. but 90% of the time I forgot a couple that I have to go and grab. I guess nobody has the perfect. Thanks for sharing Jeff I appreciate good civilised people chatting on youtube, it isn't always the case. Have a good day!
Cool video, bro. Though it would have been nice if you had cut out some parts when processing the video as well, or at least speedrun through them. I don't need to watch you draw around every single wrench, then watch you cut out every single wrench. Show the first and cut or speedrun to the last. But good stuff other than that. Despite the music haha.
@yotekillerfromnd, you know the old saying, “Time is money.” You can certainly pay a couple hundred dollars for premise foam you still have to cut out, or spend a few dollars to make your own. It’s your choice. I’ve found using a hot knife speeds up the process considerably.
@@DIYJeff I absolutely get "time is money" there also is a point in life when it "costs" more to do something yourself than pay someone to have it done. I think it came out great and if I had more time I would do something similar. Unfortunately I don't have enough "free time" to do something like this. It came out great though
Nice video! Thanks for the tutorial, I will try it when I get my new box. I plan on using a hot knife though. I bought one a while ago on sale and have yet to use it. I think it would be the perfect for this.
@@DIYJeff Thank you for that tip. I have some pillows I want to make from memory foam mattress toppers that we don't use anymore. I'll get a hot knife as I've never had any luck cutting it with scissors or rotary blades either....so have avoided this project for some time.
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Thank u the best i have seen on my way to the store now.
richard jacobs , glad the video was helpful for you!
Pro Tip: When you're done tracing and cutting the holes out of your foam, spray a light coat or two of black plasti-dip over the top side. It covers your trace marks and makes the foam very dense and rigid like it was laser cut and made for the tool.
@Jack Smith, thanks for the tip.
You could also put the trace side down…
Greetings Mr Jeff. Just a quick tip if no one has mentioned it yet. First though, I will confess that I’ve used a tape measure for many many years now struggling to take inside width measurements. Anyway instead of folding the tape into the corner of the drawer or whatever inside measurement and trying to eyeball it, the trick is to butt the body of the tape measure to the inside of the drawer holding it in place and extend the steel rule tape out to the other end, lock the tape in place and add 2” or 2.5“ or 3” to the measurement.
It varies from tape to tape but on the back or bottom of the body/housing of your tape measure there should be a number. That’s the length of your tape box thing.
Give it a try! 😎
Best!
Happy new year!
@Ryan Lemmons, wow that’s a great tip. I had never heard that before. At a minimum, if I can’t find that number on the tape, I can use another tape and just measure the first tapes length to get it. Best tip I’ve heard in 2020!
Spray on contact adhesive is amazing for joining foam and easier to work with than hot glue 😉
You can use masking tape on the foam to draw on then cut. It helps keep away the stray lines from laying out
Could also flip your mats upside down and flip the wrench backwards so when you flip it back over the lines are on the bottom now and the tool is the way you want it.
Good tips, Jeff. You may be able to save some time for this and all future foam layouts (the process at 7:12) by making a stencil of the finger relief. Then, all you need to do is strike a chalk center line, place the stencil and trace for each shape. This would lean out your process for marking the finger reliefs down to 2 steps and also improve the repeatable accuracy of your marking. You could save even more time and improve shape cut consistency by making a punch tool of the finger cutout which would make the entire finger relief process only 2 steps (1. Strike chalk line, 2. Align and punch the relief hole). I plan to organize my tools using your method, so thank you for making the video!
Those same black thick sheets I’ve used for years as foam inserts for my work boots as long as your boots are just a little over sized you can remover you original insert trace it cut it and put under your original one it really helps and is way cheaper than any store bought insert that seems to stop working after 2 weeks 👍
That is smart. The system is called 5S system. I did mine with BLUE for standard tools and RED for metric.
Pro Tip: trace OEM drawer liners for perfect fit.
That's what I did!! Idk why he didn't do that or atleast mention it
How do you mean that?
Not all tool boxes come with OEM liners
is this a joke
@@SquidsCareTooyou can buy thin foam drawer liner inserts at harbor fright and use those for the top sheet.
Another pro tip or two:
- use 3M 77 spray bomb adhesive to adhere the layers together; no way I’d ever use all that time for hot glue
- as far as time… wow! I wouldn’t be able to get through all that fussy cutting for two reasons: my time is two valuable; and it looks cool but I pack way more tools in a drawer that size otherwise I’d have to buy three more 56” top and bottom boxes. Wrenches for example: I have SK, Craftsman , Cougar Pro, and Pittsburgh standard SAE combo wrenches, straight and reversing ratcheting combo wrenches, and long combo wrenches, plus duplicates. They wouldn’t all fit in that drawer size but they do fit in a 38”x20” drawer on racks. If flat like that I’d run out of space fast.
- third and final here is spray-glue the oem liners (only boxes not worth buying don’t have these pads in my observations) into the drawer bottoms, and use wrench racks ($10 at harbor fright) to hold wrenches, and the upright labeled trays (again $10 or $15?) for sockets. Neat, clean, and very efficient use of the space. That way a very well loaded 56” us general top and bottom will hold every mechanics tool needed to rebuild a V8, restore an old muscle car, disassemble and reassemble a Jeep YJ, or open an auto service shop. Power tools and supplies like grinders, wiring, spare small parts all go in the 13-drawer 60”x26” mechanic’s box I built from scratch that has a vise on its workbench top. That’s a lot of storage in 26” deep by 120” and too much fancy foam tool holders would cut that to 25% of the tools I have in there now.
Cool project and looks very nice but I couldn’t deal with that much sprawl of my tools.
Best video yet, one thing i liked was the fact tbat you get a perfectly flat bottom like the ones that are bought that are supplied with bought tools
dude i used to be in the navy. All navy aviation boxes are just like this....this is clean man, i cant wait to get my box looking like this.
Same - I didn't know toolbox shadowing was a thing until I joined.
@@KicknAsphlt ahhhh, tool control, gotta love it. ATAF LMAO
@AGNB Motorsports, it takes a long time to make, but it's a great investments into your tool collection and being able to easily find tools when you need them. Also, its great because when the job is done and you put your tools away, you can quickly see if you missed any because there is an open gap in the foam. Is it the nicest looking way to do it...not really, but for a fully custom setup, I don't know a better way. You can buy one's that are ready to be cut but they're not EXACTLY the size of your drawer AND they are super expensive. Best of luck with your tool organization.
I use a blue foam camping pad from Walmart or wherever, 2nd hand stores sometimes have them. They work pretty good.
I used a foam floor pad from the dollar store, has a diamond plate pattern on it and looks cool
@@Galgamoth Very nice tip. I was looking for the foam kit for my Milwaukee packouts, and they are ridiculously expensive. You save me bunch. Thanks
Heat an unbent paperclip in a candle. The hot wire end slices through foam like a knife through butter - 1000% faster than a knife.
@Bond Street, good tip!
I did this same method but used a hot knife I got on amazon for $20 and just held the tool down and traced around it with the hot knife, I also used a spray adhesive to stick the foam backing on instead of the glue gun
I've had the chance to use this table a couple of times now. It's fun to whip out in front of people:) I can see what people are talking about when they say the legs are delicate, but they're design to support a "mostly" vertical load, not be torqued from the side or pushed back into place. If you just let the table open or close on it's own and don't force anything, it works great th-cam.com/users/postUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh Once it's set up, it's pretty solid. My only gripe would probably be related to the clamps provided. They're not the highest quality. They do the job, so no big deal, but they could be better. All in all, pretty cool gadget.
How about using a spray glue instead of hot glue? It will give you better coverage along with some time to work with.
Mike Squires , thanks for the suggestion. In colder climates that might work. I live in Florida where my garage can get pretty hot and over time, my experience is the spray glue will release over time when exposed to high temps. The melting point of hot glue is a higher temp. Not saying it can’t work. If you do try spray glue, I’d suggest using 3m. Cheap stuff won’t cut it long term.
@@DIYJeff I live in Tucson, AZ and it gets HOT, HOT, HOT! here!!! I've found that using the spray adhesive designed for headliners works really well in the high temperatures. I'm definitely going to try this for my tools at my shop. I have my own computer business and accessing and returning tools quickly is very important to efficiency and making more money in the finite time we have available in a day! Thanks for this. And, ignore the negative nancys commenting. No matter what you do, someone thinks they can do better, but they usually have never uploaded any wonderful videos of their own! :)
Oh, and one thing I've always wondered is why someone would come up with a term for OCD and not have the letters be alphabetical!!!
@@DIYJeff this must be the stupidest answer a ever have seen. The melting point is higher🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
We had old puzzle piece 3/4" foam mats for workout/anti fatique flooring. We have about 20 of those and about to do the same, put colored foam under and then those puzzle pieces. I might try standing my wrenches up on their side, but also labeling with a label maker too!
@Scottie Manners, those will work too if you have some laying around. I ended up labeling mine with a label maker too.
You just saved me like 200 dollars, no joke. THANK YOU for this brilliant idea!
@R. Wolf, you're welcome. One tip since making the video is to use a hot knife instead of an exacto knife. It speeds up the cutting process by 10x.
for the metal pieces, heat them up really nice and hot and push them onto the foam. it will melt the foam out of the way and leave a perfect imprint
That was a really good idea - thanks for sharing. I noticed you were struggling to get a clean edge when cutting @3:41, and to cut all the way through @9:00. Both are much easier using a better backing like a craft cutting board, or bread board (instead of the cardboard), or a sacrificial workbench top layer (you can sand / fill / replace the top layer or veneer). A steel straight edge helps as well to cut against, not an aluminium edge, as the X-acto knife blade is steel (high carbon steel for a sharp edge) and can cut into softer metals depending on angles and technique.
@ApprenticeGM, thanks for the tips. Since making the video, some people commented that using a hot knife is easier and I would agree. I've purchased a hot knife and it works 10x faster than the blade I was using.
I did something similar but I glued magnets on the edges to keep the pad from moving.
Tools are literally piled to the rim in my toolbox drawers. Wish I could be this neat, but I don't have the space. But the video was interesting. Thanks.
You could be this neat. You just need another box. If you want to stay cheaper but retain quality I highly recommend harbor freight US General Series 3 or bigger.
The 5 drawer cart is a PITA to assemble with the base being out of true without a second pair of hands it's easiet done bottom up with the top drawer assembly inverted on its head.
Happy wrenching
After watching the video and reading some of the suggestions in the comments, this is definitely the way I'm going to organize. Thank you!!!
Mykel Hall, it works really well for me and many like it, but there are definitely as many haters too. It’s really just a preference.
Probably said a million times... but 3M Super 77 would probably be a bit faster and easier to work with for this. Also, a lot of people seem to be fixated on black foam with a color inside of it.. but wouldn't it be cheaper to just get some regular thick black foam, and then get thin pieces of the colored stuff, and glue it to the top of that, and have the "shadows" just be the dark foam instead? Seems like a lot of the toolbox foams out there are just expensive because they use more of the fancy red or blue colored stuff.
For some of these projects, I could see even using those colored interlocking foam puzzle piece floor mats as suitable material, usually one side is textured, but the other is smooth, and maybe the diamond plate texture of most of those adds a cool asthetic?
You could, as an alternative, buy some of the 1/2 inch thick "anti fatigue" floor mats made for standing on. It could save you the time of gluing a whole bunch of the thinner mats together and might be cheaper in the long run. Also contact cement would work better for gluing the sheets together and you wouldn't have to rush like you do with the hot glue gun
Michael Linner, thanks for the tips!
I'm in the uk was was quoted £85 for my inserts but thanks to you and your video I have sorted and made mine for £15
You could try one of those thin meditation/exercise rolls for the thicker foam. They are 1/2 inch thick, 5 foot long and cheap as chips.
@58Kym, great idea. The sky's the limit on what combinations of foam you could use.
about getting the cheap thicker foam in bigger pieces : look intoo the cheap yogamats there usually made from the same stuff and sumtimes thicker
allso use a piece of plywood or a cuttingboard/matt , because cartboard is currugated it makes it harder to cut a straight line
Harbor freight sells wrench racks for like 10 bucks. Take up way less space and fit more wrenches. A small at home took collection may work with this but as a mechanic, I nearly pack every square inch of my box before I buy a bigger box. Wrench racks help a lot
Tylor Frazier, I have a friend who uses wrench racks and he also has a lot of tools so I get it. I happen to have a lot of space in my garage and 4 large tool boxes so I have plenty of room to space things out. The plus side is (not just wrenches) I can easily and quickly find any tool in a matter of seconds without having to dig through a toolbox. And, the tool is always in the exact same location, just like using a wrench rack. The pads though provide that same organization for ALL my hand tools, but you're right, it does take up more space.
Oh please, those Harbor Freight wrench racks are incredibly cheap nasty plastic. The important thing is to have your tools organized, so you can immediately find your tool and also immediately spot if one is missing. Tool manufacturers always provide lifetime warranties on their tools, because they know a tool will be lost long before it will break. Take a look at Sonic Tools foam system (sonictoolsusa.com/shop/sonic-foam-system/) as an example of the right way to store tools. They only do this because a large percentage of their market is aviation mechanics, who can't afford to forget a tool inside a plane (as it could potentially take down the plane, while flying).
Norman Klein depends on which wrench rack you choose bud... they sell a metal one that is nice and one that is a big one that holds Allen keys, 2 seats of stubbys and 2 sets of full size wrench’s. I’m a professional mechanic and I have a few harbor frieght organization things in my box including that big wrench rack
Tip. You will get a cleaner cut if you have a sheet of glass to cut on. Also it keeps the sharpness of the Blade for longer. Try It.
@Patrick Murray, thanks for the tip!
There is another video of some guys that are engineers doing this. You can go watch them or you can watch this guy and actually learn something! Great video!
@Shane Kasper, thanks for the kind review.
a couple of remarks: Use Thicker foam, so you can put your tools upright instead of flat.. massive space saver..
Use Contact-adhesive instead of hotglue.
For easy cutting.. Use a Dremel like tool, with a thin sanding drum, to cut out the openings for the tools.. makes it smoother.
(i have a CNC router.. way better to cut these out, but.. i will have to make an accurate CAD drawing beforehand.. so that is less easy than just tracing.
@Jan Binnendijk, thanks for the tips.
Grab harbor freight foam floor mats, cheaper than craft store. Skip the color ones and just Rust-Oleum the drawer red or green, then put your harbor mats in
I have a bunch of those HF pads from an old project that didn’t pan out. Now I know what to do with them!
heat up a piece of copper pipe held in your vise-grips... it will cut the foam as you push in through. half circles for your lift out finger holds
Looking for foam tool organizer videos. Found this, here to give you kudos on the Road ID, keep pedaling!
I like your idea of the coloured foam on the bottom. Missing tools is immediately visible :) Cool and thanx for sharing!
@SARSteam Railways, It definitely works. Many times I thought I had all the tools put away to look in my toolbox and see one missing and realize it's hiding under something in the garage.
OK, all the time it takes to do it… I’m going to have to take the time I was going to spend going to Disneyland, but can’t due to the pandemic, and I’ll make these mats instead.
OK, realistically, I’ll buy the materials and do one drawer at a time, when I get around to it.But in the end my tool drawer be much more organized than it is now!
Dude this saved me so much no joke. Great thinking
awesome tutorial - Gorilla glue has been a much better option for foam glue ups as a tip for those who feel a bit rushed by the hot glue option.
@M S, great tip, but don't use too much since gorilla glue expands and will leave lumps in your foam.
10:55 Spraycan contact cement would be much easier. Available at any Home Depot or Lowes.
You have to do both sides with that, so it would be in the relief cut areas.
Contact adhesive is a good idea but I would try it on a bit of foam before spraying the whole thing to make sure it doesn’t melt the foam material.
I wouldn’t do contact adhesive myself. The 3M 77 sticks very well doing ceilings with light carpeting, but the contact adhesive doesn’t last as well.
For the top foam you can get the foam floor mats at any tool stool cheap
The music sounds like a 90' kids show like barney.
Daniel Beavers, I no longer use music in my videos. I agree, after listening to it after I posted it, I could have used something else.
Love the idea, going to be doing this with mine soon in near future. Would of some 3 things differently though 1st use a cutting board made for those cardboard dulls your blade fast, 2nd would of pushed the wrenches over little further vs straight down center and 3rd would of flipped the black over after so I don't see the lines from the silver marker. Like I said though excellent video and great inspiration to other and ideas for them to do.
Charles Laffey , thanks for the suggestions. All good points!
DIY Jeff no problem that's what all this is for learn and experiment still looks 10x better than my tool chest at the moment lol
Looks great. Wonder if a hot knife will cut that black foam better or worse ?
@G. Fortin, after making the video, I used a hot knife when making additional inserts and it speeds up the process considerably.
My only concern would be the durability of that craft foam. The 5S foam I am using is chemical resistant, which is what you are actually paying for with the good stuff
Yep. Most of the cheap stuff breaks down after a while in a tool box.
@William Mims, I've had mine now for 2 1/2 years with no issues. Granted the only thing on my tools is grease and I do wipe them down prior to putting them back, but the foam is still as good as new.
Thanks Jeff! Great tutorial and supersaver idea. I cannot get foam mats where I am (Kenya) but I know some yoga mats are made from EVA which is the same stuff as the mats - so I will get some cheap EVA-based yoga mats. Cheers!!
Those chalk lines are looking like CSI dead bodies for the wrenches haha
Hmm...nice observation. Obviously, I should have reversed the direction of the wrenches and used the marker on the back (down side) of the foam so when I turned it over there would be no lines showing. Thanks for the comment.
The killer was a nut
For power tools and such, you need foam like from the box stores or amazon or glue maybe 4 of yours together.
@George Ryan, very true. Power tools would need a much thicker foam to keep them from moving when you open and close the drawer.
1/2 thick foam rubber sold on amazon is way better. Forwrenches, cut a slot and push wrench in. Triples the amount of wrenches.
Been looking for something that’ll organize my tools in an organized fashion
excellent ,just exactly what i needed, was debating if i should spend all that money ordering these foam inserts. sure glad i'm so lazy lol didn't want to walk to the computer. will be going to Michaels or perhaps just order them. thanks a bunch....
@Ray Rivera, you're welcome. Some tips to make the process easier...1. instead of an exacto knife use a hot knife. It's 10 times faster. 2. Check out the comments as other people had some adhesive suggestions that might be easier to work with than hot glue. I've had mine now for over a year in a hot Florida garage and have had zero issues and love my inserts!
Nice. Its expensive here in UK, I'm just using non-slip mats.
Cool tutorial, bro. I’ll perhaps bring the tools a little closer to each other and maybe be able to fit a couple more per sheet. Nicely done! 👍🏻
Wow! That looks fantastic. Foam is outrageous. After watching multiple videos like this it does make me say to myself "I could fit so many more tools in a drawer without the foam so is the foam really worth it?" Sure you spend a little more time looking for the right one, but I would go from 10 wrenches in a drawer to 100 wrenches in a drawer.
@notta3d, that’s a great question to ask yourself. It’s all a matter of personal preference.
That's where you make multi layer cutouts that lift out. Plus it's more about how you create the shapes, if you have a whole set of the same thing then you could definitely just cut out a big rectangle section for the set rather than each item. That's exactly the balance I'm trying to figure out with mine today. What needs full on cut out per item organization and what can just go into a tray
Great video!!!😎
@Kevin Vezina, thank you.
You can use an apple correr to cut the finger holes. It's faster and more uniform.
@Dan G, thanks for the tip!
Only suggestion I have is run the tools along the edge of the foam leaving room for other tools/wrenches
Great idea wonder if it will work with sewing box
Sherryann, the concept works in many applications. As long as you have trays in your box to provide a hard surface it should work.
Try looking for the big black foam sheets at JoAnn's Fabrics. Look for Costume foam.
Warren Smith , thanks for the tip!
Warren, thanks to the Mandela Effect, JoAnn's Fabrics is now just Joann Fabrics. I know this first hand as I used to park in front of one on a daily basis when waiting for the bus.
Hey man good video, thumbs up, When I did mine I used a camping mat I got from Walmart. It is a light blue in color and some black kitchen drawer liner made of 1/8th of inch foam I got from Home Depot. Glued the two together with contact cement. I then cut out the outline of the tools and then contact cemented to another piece of the camping mat as an backing. So the thin black foam is on the top with two layers of the light blue under it. I did about two years ago and I live in Oklahoma and the summers here get hot, high 90s to 100's the contact cement has held up great.
Ad McPrice, thanks for sharing your experience. The great thing about DIY is that there are multiple ways to achieve your desired result.
I'm thinking that a self healing Cutting pad will work better. No jumping around on the corrugated cardboard .
scott connolyy, thanks for the idea. That could possibly work. Since making the video a few months back, I received many suggestions about using a hot knife, which would also eliminate much of the jumping around as well as making the cutting process much quicker.
i use yoga mats they are cheep and they are thick
danoh's toolbox, that's a great idea too. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea
This is exactly the tip I was hoping to find. Cheers
@@moopmoop345 Yeah. Walmart blue camping mats and you could use the colored foam just as he did here in this video. I had some yellow drawer liner material so I went with Blue/Yellow. www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Closed-Cell-Foam-Blue-Camp-Sleeping-Pad/634956813
Good tip. Thanks.
I’m about to have my mechanics do this for our shop. We keep losing tools and rags in machinery.
If you scroll through all the comments you’ll see people roast me on wasting space. You can certainly put the tools a little closer together, but if you put them too close, and the foam is thin in between tools, it will likely rip. Also, I’ve found that a hot knife works much quicker. Many have also commented that hot glue isn’t as easy, but I disagree. It may not be as easy, but after 2 years of sitting in my 115 degree garage, not one has come apart and I have a lot of them. Spray adhesive doesn’t hold up in hot humid environments. If you live up north then it may not be an issue to use a different adhesive. Some have suggested contact cement.
im doing this project and i found my craftman drawers require 3 sheets of the yellow and black each, the third sheet is to fill the gaps at the back and right side of the drawers
correction 3 of the black and 2 yellow
Yoga mats are great too. About 3usd for 1.5m x 0.8m :-)
mowburnt man wow great idea. Thank you so much
I would of lined the tools along one edge to conserve space for others! Thx for sharing cool idea! Got my wheels turning for my tool cart!
outdoorzone, the one caution I would give you is to make sure you have a bit of foam between each tool, if not, when you go to cut it, it will be difficult for the foam to keep it's shape and not rip if it's too thin. You could do some tests to see how close you can get the tools to each other.
Why not use a fine end mill in a dremmel to cut out tool shapes and totally agree with another commenter about using spray glue. Good thinking batman🤔😎😉
Alec Nemeth, thanks for the comments. I've also found that using a hot knife cuts through the foam like butter. But a fine end mill dremmel is certainly another option. I don't think there's any one way to do it. Sky's the limit! And certainly, a high quality spray adhesive is another option. I have to be careful in Florida with spray adhesive because my garage is 120+ degrees 10 months out of the year and I've found spray adhesive to lose it's integrity in high heat.
Great idea! I'm building my new workroom, and will use your suggestions for the tool box.
@Frank Kirschner, invest in a hot knife. I have one now and it sped up the cutting process considerably.
Nice idea ... however it seems a waste of space given the cost of tool drawer space - but nice idea for those pesky little tools one always misplaces!
If you placed the mat in upside down from the way you laid it out, you wouldn't see those lines. But, I may do something similar to this in the future for my sockets.
Chris L, good observation. Yes, tracing them backwards would eliminate seeing the outline. Also, I've found that using a hot knife instead of an exacto knife is 10 times quicker when cutting.
I was thinking that a couple small pieces of double sided tape to hold all those wrenches in place while you outline them
@banbadtvads, that's the great thing about DIY. You can change it to fit your needs or for what you find easier.
I would like to do this, but just haven't had the time. I also see you have a Harbor Freight cart, they sell thicker foam rolls, although only grey, but it almost fits and the thickness is about 1'2 "
Joe Soliz, thanks for the tip. I think the difference would be with the Harbor Freight foam rolls is they would be more expensive. Part of the video was to show that a custom tray insert could be made for $3. But, your suggestion could work as well. Thanks for sharing.
@@DIYJeff Idk looks a little flimsy to me. I don't see that holding up to well to constant use. How did these things hold up for you so far?
@Snake Plissken, sorry, I'm scrolling through old comments and just saw your question. I apologize for not responding sooner. I live in Florida where my garage gets to 110 degrees easily and I've had no problems. The inserts still work like the day I made them.
Not to bad, if you can DIY you save money every time
The Backwoods Mechanic, you're absolutely correct!
Thanks for this idea dude!!! Just saved me a ton of $$$$$
@Steven Smith, you're welcome. One tip I would give you is to invest into a "hot knife" for cutting the foam instead of an exacto knife. It speeds up the process 10 fold.
This is a great idea if you have 7 years spare time and a wicked case of OCD
LOL
LMAOOOO, I’m on my 3 weeks, you never lied!!
Jeff, you're the best.
Subscribed!
Great video! I was considering buying the expensive foam until I saw this. Thanks!
Cool ! Real nice mod . Thanks for sharing
Such a simple basic video, perfect for a knucklehead like me..lol 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
This was great ! Thank you
You’re welcome
Bro that’s awesome! Good job!
@Steve James, thanks! I did find the process is even faster with a hot knife instead of a blade.
Great idea and great savings! Thanks!!
Not that the finger relief wasn't a good idea... but don't spanners come with finger reliefs already?
Like, in the form of either end?
Momo Mittens, true, depending on the tool. Its really just a personal individual preference on however you want to do it. "There's more than one way to skin a cat"
Great job Jeff
Ken U, thank you!
I already have 3 servant packed all the way with tools. With that much wasted space, I would need 12 extra to fit everything. The idea is good. But only with limited tools. Anyway, the idea is still good for some people I guess and it was done properly. But do you need a shop cart for such a few tools in it?
Julien, thanks for your comments. The shop cart is just for my most used tools that I commonly go to for automotive repair. I can wheel it over to the vehicle and not have to walk around so much. I have many other tool boxes that I'm in the process of making inserts for. It all comes down to how much storage space you have. If you have the space, this makes finding tools and putting tools away, fast and easy.
DIY Jeff, that's right, you make a point. I deffinitly spend too much time searching the right tool. I kinda cheat as I put all the tools I need on a rolling cart. but 90% of the time I forgot a couple that I have to go and grab. I guess nobody has the perfect. Thanks for sharing Jeff I appreciate good civilised people chatting on youtube, it isn't always the case. Have a good day!
Nicely done Jeff. Thanks for sharing!
@Dugmore Business Services, you're welcome! Hopefully it was helpful for you.
Love this!
bom e barato do jeito que gostamos no Brasil 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Sim, eu também gosto de barato!
Cool video, bro. Though it would have been nice if you had cut out some parts when processing the video as well, or at least speedrun through them. I don't need to watch you draw around every single wrench, then watch you cut out every single wrench. Show the first and cut or speedrun to the last. But good stuff other than that. Despite the music haha.
Excellent video. Many thanks.
One day I hope to have this much free time.
@yotekillerfromnd, you know the old saying, “Time is money.” You can certainly pay a couple hundred dollars for premise foam you still have to cut out, or spend a few dollars to make your own. It’s your choice. I’ve found using a hot knife speeds up the process considerably.
@@DIYJeff I absolutely get "time is money" there also is a point in life when it "costs" more to do something yourself than pay someone to have it done. I think it came out great and if I had more time I would do something similar. Unfortunately I don't have enough "free time" to do something like this. It came out great though
I cant justify the realist-ate of a whole drawer to only hold 9 pieces of tools is not the wild.
Nice video! Thanks for the tutorial, I will try it when I get my new box. I plan on using a hot knife though. I bought one a while ago on sale and have yet to use it. I think it would be the perfect for this.
Marcqus G, definitely use a hot knife. After making the video I switched to using a hot knife and it sped up the process 10x.
Organize in a really organized fashion.
what if something is a lot higher, is that foam deep enough for like a tape measure?
It would keep a tape measure in place because it has a relatively flat surface, but if you had a thick rounded tool you would need a thicker foam.
Nice job Jeff. I like it. Now We have the confidence to do ours
Easthood Racing, thanks. I suggest using a hot knife though. It will make the cutting process much faster and cleaner looking too.
Thank you! I'll be using this for my house tools as well as sewing tools and sewing machine presser feet.
Ann, Blachly, I've found that using a hot knife is a much quicker way of cutting the foam.
@@DIYJeff Thank you for that tip. I have some pillows I want to make from memory foam mattress toppers that we don't use anymore. I'll get a hot knife as I've never had any luck cutting it with scissors or rotary blades either....so have avoided this project for some time.
Nice job
great video! excellent quality. hope you advertise your channel so folks can find you among the others.
danr97123 , thanks for the comment. Not sure what you mean by advertise?
its not easy but, maybe DIY forums on this subject? i linked one of your videos from my channel too.
When you measured the drawer at the start, why didn't you just remove the black liner that was there and measure that ?
@Ruski Ryan, I certainly could have done that, but most drawers don't have a liner so I was showing the process as if it wasn't there.