Tool Storage and Organization

[High Hood]

How to do store and organize your modeling tools? I don't really have any storage for mine, and keeping track of what I have is getting difficult.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Following this thread...

My answer? I have a small toolbox that sits on my workbench.
Then, for larger stuff there's another tool box under the layout.
Oh, and another under the layout elsewhere.
And one in the back room.
And a peg board with a bunch of stuff.

And stuff scattered around the workbench.

So I guess the answer is how do I organize things? I don't...

[JMaurer1]

I have a box on my workbench that I keep the tools I use the most in (Xacto, micro screwdrivers, tweezers, files, drills, pliers, etc.), then a 3 drawer box on wheels that holds the tools I don't use as often and any duplicate tools, then a toolbox for the NTrak group that I have a list of tools that should be in the box, then I usually have a tray or two of projects that I'm working on and I will have some tools on them...oh, and a drawer next to the couch and TV that has some screwdrivers, tweezers and styrene glue in it in case I need it to fix something, then there's the big toolbox in the garage that has all of my 'regular' tools in it but somehow my micro tools also seem to slowly end up appearing in (visiting their full sized relatives?). Then there is also some tools lying around on the NTrak modules in the garage. Then when I need to find a particular tool, I usually can't so I go buy some new ones (usually two or three sets for when I can't find those I have backups).

I guess I am using Ed's system...

[wm3798]

Having accumulated tools and supplies for nearly 4 decades, I've found that the best solution is to have a tool box available with the heavy use stuff, such as X-acto knives, small files, clamps solder, etc.  These tend to get a lot of traffic both at the workbench and on the layout, so having it portable helps.

Those plastic storage carts, you know the ones, the three or four drawer ones you can get at Staples, are handy for stowing larger things, structure parts, wiring supplies and all that.

I keep a separate bin for what I call "sticky stuff"... or the various types of adhesives one might use in a variety of projects... white glue, crazy glue, plastic cement et al.  There's another bin for paint brushes of all sizes.  I use one of those multi-drawer storage cases for various small supplies, ranging from scraps of wood or styrene, to paper clips and track nails, misc. locomotive parts etc.

And then of course, there's the entire surface of the workbench, and the entire surface of the layout, which is where almost all of it ends up in a heap anyway, despite my best intentions.

Lee

[wazzou]

This is how mine are typically stored on the workbench.












The chest with all of the thin drawers to the right is where all of the cars and locos are stored.

[bman]

These concepts are foreign to me.  Every time I've tried some sort of organization method I wind up loosing things never to be seen again.  Longest I've went is about a month.  I can't explain why but I seem to thrive on the utter chaos that is my modeling area.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I do most of my modeling at work on slow nights, or in front of the TV in the living room, so portability is important to me.

My main modeling tools are located in the very large tackle box that I can take with me. There is enough room to carry styrene and a project or two, though I usually carry these in separate boxes.

I have an additional tackle box for decaling. This includes tweezers, blades, masking tape, bottles of decal solution, a cutting board, straight edge and painters tape.

I do have a dedicated paint booth, and use a desk in the basement for larger projects. Neither would I call organized.

[orionfield]

Here's my workbench, its not to different than wazzou. Pardon the Out of the Box prototypes on there




Here are my storage drawers where I keep shells that need to painted, paints, locomotives needing DCC and so forth.



Here are my couplers and Trucks, hanging about my storage drawers.



And Finally my spray-booth stand, and speedometer/Programming Track