Plastic Carrying cases for tools

[mikel]

I too toss most of em...

just the ones with little pieces like the nailers and the bisciut joiner. Rest are behind doors.

camera gear I save the boxes for resale, tools I use and toss the box and most of the cases.

...m

[Warren]

I store the cases, with instructions, in the shed so I have them when I sell the tool.

[jseklund]

Like many have said before- I answered "Keep and store the tools when not in use"- but that may change. It is actually only about 75% true. I try, but some tools just get left out from time to time. It's a bad habit and not good for the tool in my mind.

I will also say that I have noticed a strange side effect of buying nicer tools- they USUALLY have cases that are nicer and easier to restow the tool away in. For instance, my dad has a Skil circular saw- and I'll be ****ed if I don't spend 15 minutes everytime it's been used trying to figure out how it goes back in the case. I got a nice Porter Cable for christmas- and it just slides right in. Right there was worth the extra $80-100 haha.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Try to sell them. Then try to give them away. Then toss them. They take up too much room IMHO.

[MilDoc]

Stick 'em in the attic. I save them all but only keep a few tools (mainly nailers) in them. and, IMHO Bosch cases are the worst. Takes forever to get the !@#$% tool back in right!

[Pappy]

Seldom used tools like nailers, biscuit joiner, and profile sander stay in the cases. I kept one case for a Ryobi drill and the case for my Bosch router to use when I work on my Step dad's house.

[ump107]

I chose keep the cases and store the tools in them when not in use.

I haven’t established a formal shop in my new house yet so cases are important for storing my tools and keeping all their parts together, When I was in my condo the cases provided stackable storage solutions where I shared my workshop with the laundry room.
I plan on keeping all of my tools in cases when storing them once I establish my shop in the new house. I end up taking my tools to different places to do work and the case provides the tools protection while in transit and protects my vehicle from the tools.

The only thing I don’t keep in the tool cases is the bottle of oil that comes with the air nailers. It never fails that once the bottle has been opened it will leak into the case and make a mess everywhere.

[mikeinkcmo]

I pitchem. My shop is too small for the clutter and every tool has its own little space. Reminds me of keeping your clothes in suit cases till you wanna wear them.

As for the "tools" that come with NEW TOOLS I have one drawer in which they are ALL put. never have to worry, or think about where they are. Interestingly, over time quite a number of duplicates appear, especially Allen wrenches. I have another drawer for "spares" that come with the tools.

Lived out of a suit case for too many years, besides, the Luggage Handlers Institutes of America are always in need of new victims.

[ejs1097]

My shop is small and I view cases as convenient. They are easy to store lined up along side each other in my mobile tool stands. They stay clean of excess dust and are organized. That said it is a hassle to unload the tool, partially assemble (dust bags, etc). Then re-pack. Plus you then have a case taking up valuable re-estate while using the tool. But for me it's a must.

My Uncle's shop was quite large and he had a bank of drawers. Oh there must have been 40 of them (10 wide and 4 tall). Each about 12x12 maybe. Each on was labeled and had a specific tool in it. That method would be a dream with quick easy access storage, no cases, no dust, everything where it belongs. But as to my shop growing and getting space to do that, as John Wayne said in The Searchers, "That'll be the day".

[TheRic]

..... Reminds me of keeping your clothes in suit cases till you wanna wear them. .....

Both my suits, and tux stays in the garment bag it came in, until I need them.

[bthere]

I will also say that I have noticed a strange side effect of buying nicer tools- they USUALLY have cases that are nicer and easier to restow the tool away in. For instance, my dad has a Skil circular saw- and I'll be ****ed if I don't spend 15 minutes everytime it's been used trying to figure out how it goes back in the case. I got a nice Porter Cable for christmas- and it just slides right in. Right there was worth the extra $80-100 haha.

Another interesting irony is that you begin to understand how the tools goes into the case the more often you put it in the case. You can get really good at slapping the tool and accessories in a case if you do it alot. However, if you have a tool out and in use often enough to get good at putting it back in the case, you probably won't put it back the case anyway.

[Tom Miller]

I think the interesting irony is that some people use the small size of their shop as reason for keeping the cases, while others use the same reason for getting rid of them.

I fall into the latter camp. Once I finally got some dedicated shop space, I realized the cases weren't doing me any good. I either want the tool instantly accessible on a shelf right in front of me (drill/driver), or in a drawer/tub with related gear (ROS and all the sander disks, etc).

I can't even see using the cases to transport any of the tools to be used elsewhere -- too inefficient use of space. I'd rather throw multiple tools together in a single bag with a shoulder strap.

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

It just occurred to me that I may be the only person in this thread -- or maybe this entire web site -- who has actually gone out and bought additional cases, for tools I don't even own.

I was in Lowe's once and they had a shopping cart full of empty cases, yellow-tagged at a buck apiece. Rummaging through them, I discovered that most had tool-specific molded liners that made them pretty much useless for anything except the tool for which they were intended. But I did find a couple DeWalt cases (one for a jig saw, one for a finish sander, IIRC) that were mostly wide open inside, so I bought them.

Two years or so later, the smaller of the two cases is stashed somewhere under a workbench, accomplishing nothing beyond taking up space. But every time I go out to the shop, which is in an outbuilding about 150 feet from the house, I use the larger case to carry my sketch pads, cell phone, keys, and other small odds and ends that I'm likely to need for whatever I'm going to be doing that day.

I call it my, uh, my ... um ... shop purse.

[MilDoc]

LARRY! It's a shop TOTE!

[charliex]

I toss them or give them away. Thanks to HD's cull bins and their overflowing collection of cheap Melamine, I have built enough storage cabinets that they are costing me a fortune to fill up. Life is good
Chas