Replies

1. 
   VTNorm | May 18, 2007 04:12am | #1

   I work out of a van also...all of my hand tools go into a http://www.amazon.com/VETO-PRO-PAC-XL-1-Extra-Large/dp/B00009K77K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1674391-9325736?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1179450681&sr=8-1 Veto Pro Pac.

   I've spent a fortune on bags and tool storage do-dads not wanting to drop $100+ on a Veto...wish I had dropped that $100 a long time ago.

   Buy one, you won't regret it.

   -Norm

2. 
   SBerruezo | May 18, 2007 04:28am | #2

   I have this thing
   http://www.amazon.com/BucketBoss-Extreme-01064-Bucket-Organizer/dp/B0001LQY26/ref=pd_bbs_sr_9/102-7293834-2014545?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1179451610&sr=8-9

   And numerous tool boxes and a couple of bags. Bucket never collapses, and I can sit on it when I don't have pry bars poking out.

    

3. 
   mike_maines | May 18, 2007 04:32am | #3

   I have the Veto Pro XL.  Expensive but worth it. 

4. 
   andybuildz | May 18, 2007 04:45am | #4

   Years ago I bought Duluth's large gatemouth with wheels and a telescopic handle. Surprisingly the handle is still in perfect condition. I thought for sure it would get bent at some point. I think the thing only cost me about $60 + - or so.

   Only problem is the same one you have...that the bags sides kinda collapse when all the pockets are filled while the bag is open, but just recently I discovered if I keep my 24" Stablia along one side up against the pockets it totally keeps the side up...maybe I should buy another 24" Stabila for the other side...lol.

   I think I'll cut a 1x4 and sneak that in. Seems to work well that way.

   I love having the canvas bag on wheels with that telescopic handle.

   Even came with a shoulder strap that I never use. I don't see it in their website anymore. I musta been the only one that liked it.

    

   "Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit."
   Abbie Hoffman

   http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM                                 

    
1. 
   GregGibson | May 18, 2007 02:08pm | #6

   For the collapsing bag deal, I cut two lengths of 3" PVC pipe, maybe 8" long.  Set them in the middle part, they hold all sorts of cutters, screwdrivers, snips, etc.  They help keep the bag open.  I've used cut-down 1 quart motor oil bottles for the small places.

   Greg

5. 
   zak | May 18, 2007 05:21am | #5

   I've got small tools storage containers- one is a plywood tool box/bench, perfect height for standing on to trim out doors and windows, with a tray and a small drawer.  That goes everywhere.  I also use a large camera bag- lots of pockets and dividers, I spent $4 on it in a thrift store.  Enough for me.

   zak

   "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

   "so it goes"

    

6. 
   toolbear | May 21, 2007 05:39am | #7

   Anybody out there have a small tool storage method or a product that they like and find effective?

   @@@

   I use everything from Rubbermaid Roughneck totes to 5g buckets with organizers.

   What I have found useful for assorted hand tools and such is the open top Husky tool tote. It does not collapse.

   I have one set up for mechanicals and another for plumbing. They can carry a lot. Just try lifting mine. For something smaller, they offer an electrician's square tote.

   Trim, framing and finish electrical are in 5g buckets with organizer lids. Rough electrical is in a tote with the bags on top. Small tools are in zipper organizers.

   BTW - WalMart (paint department here) carries a series of colored zip bags for organizing stuff. I scored red, blue, tan, yellow. Another good organizer is the Husky.

   I use the Husky zip up tool bags for power tools. Each tool gets a bag with all the accessories. Bought a bunch of the Huskies on sale during Christmas.

   One has the 4.5 grinder with media. Another has the 0.5" RA drill with ship augers, self feed bits, etc. Another has one of the drywall guns, bits, ammo, etc. The largest one has the LION impact driver, drill/driver and sawsall plus extensive bits and drills and such. This gets used every day. In the van - another bag of LION tools - circ saw, grinder, flashlight and a Bosch jig saw.

   The ToolBear

   "Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.

1. 
   rez | May 21, 2007 06:03am | #8

   dang, that sounds awfully familiar! I tried the open Husky and after a while went and got another to share the load.

   Found some hardplastic rectangular totes with hinged tops that overlap in the middle. They stack well. Got a yardsale heavyduty canvas type satchel made for carrying two bowlingballs that houses the sidewinder.

   You use the tie-on aprons with the pockets inside and out for your 5gal buckets?Near the end of March, 1845, I borrowed an axe and went down to the woods by Walden Pond, nearest to where I intended to build my house, and began to cut down some tall, arrowy white pines, still in their youth, for timber. It is difficult to begin without borrowing, but perhaps it is the most generous course thus to permit your fellow-men to have an interest in your enterprise.    -Thoreau's Walden

1. 
   toolbear | May 22, 2007 04:41am | #9

   You use the tie-on aprons with the pockets inside and out for your 5gal buckets?@@@Yes, every bucket has an organizer. Now, to remember what I put where. I rummage by trade and that usually works. Another thing that works well is the Stanley 48 organizer - two fold down parts trays are the sides and there are six drawers in the center column. It's like a small, fat suitcase. I have one in the van for misc. fasteners - screws, nails, elec. fittings, stuff I usually need. Another is for plastic - PVC on one side, P40 conduit on the other. A third is for EMT - 1/2 and 3/4 fittings. The fourth is for copper plumbing, 1/2, 3/4.Just grab the right suitcase and most everything you need is there.The ToolBear

   "Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.