"off location" tool carrying system?

[Photojosh]

I hope I can make sense with what I'm trying to say here.

We've got a rental house that had it's long term renters move out. Before the new guy moves in next month, we've been updating/repairing the place. The rental is 45 minutes away from where we live, so tools have been traveling back and forth with me a lot. power tools travel in their cases or wide-mouth bags if I have decided that their plastic cases are too much of a PITA.

But what I don't have is a good way for my hand tools to travel. So they get piled into more wide mouth bags or a bucket or some such thing. Unorganized and annoying. Plus it's hard to figure out if I have everything when leaving or returning.

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a tool bag that is meant to be used on the go? I'm not talking about a tool box type thing, I don't find those any more helpful than what I'm using. But more of something that had multiple pockets/pouches for tools and kept things organized.

Does that make sense?

[LarryG]

Several companies make multi-pocket tool carriers, in all manner of sizes and configurations, and at various price points. Some can be reconfigured (to an extent) with movable Velcro dividers, and/or accessory pockets and pouches that attach to the main carrier. Some are general purpose, others are tailored to a specific trade. Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and others all carry them; look around and see if you can find one you like.

There's also a similar carrier designed to fit into and around a standard five-gallon paint or drywall mud bucket. A lot of guys like those because you can put your small tools in the pockets around the outside and carry larger stuff like a cordless drill or whatever inside the bucket.

[turkeywire]

I think I understand what you are looking for. Try bucketboss on amazon. The bucketboss website is useless. I would have sent you the link but I couldn't get it to work.
Hope this helps
Carl

[Uncle Cracker]

Probably more than what you need, but I use a Platt tech's case like the one below. You can get various pocket pallets to suit the tools you want to carry. Pricey, but can't beat the utility of it.

[Uncle Cracker]

One other option you might consider is something that I think is called a "Bucket Boss" or "Bucket Buddy" or something like that. It's a canvas pocket/pouch that's made to fit an open 5-gallon bucket. I've even seen some types with plastic lids and compartments for hardware, etc. I'm pretty sure that HF sells a couple of these, and they are very affordable.

Edit: Here's one of the HF bags...

[Mr__Bill]

I am in the same position you are, only a bit further to travel. I use a case like UC pictured for all the small hand tools. Then several totes with flip flop tops for everything else. I put a label on the top of what should be in there and have one for each job type, ie: cleaning, plumbing, electrical, painting, wall repair and carpentry. Plus ones for the paint and other supplies and some for the larger tools too like the skil saw. Some tools get carried in the plastic cases if the case also holds other useful things for that tool, otherwise it's the tote for the tool.
I also have some trays with center handles, found in the home section of the store, that I use to hold stuff for a particular task that I then clean out and reload for the next.


Bill, a nice gray day of Oregon sunshine

[Shep]

What kind of tools/gadgets are you trying to carry. I'm a fellow landlord and may have an idea of what you're looking for, but will need some more details.

[Photojosh]

The multi-pocket tool carriers that Larry links to are more or less what I had in mind. The cases that Uncle Cracker posted are a bit more than I need, though I can see how they would be useful to some people.

As to the bucketboss type stuff, that was honestly the kind of thing that first came to mind when I started thinking about wanting some sort of tool carrier. But I've always been a little wary of them because they look like they would be pretty topheavy and easily knocked over. Picking up spilled tools/screws/etc has never been my idea of fun. But then again, perhaps it just depends on how you load them. And for $10 at HD, I might as well give this one a try to see if it works:

husky bucket jockey

Shep, to answer your question, the kind of tools I'm talking about are just standard hand tools for the most part. couple screwdrivers in various sizes, couple different pliers, wire stripping/crimping tools, adjustable wrenches, socket set, nail setting tool, cats paw, mini prybar, handful of various nails/screws, etc . Just a real expanded version of what someone might have in their nailbags/toolbelt. If I had space in my mythical tool carrying solution, I would probably get my makita li-ion 12v mini drill/driver set out of it's wide mouth bag and keep them more at hand in this thing as well.

Thanks for the help so far guys. I've been lurking for a while and am impressed with how much useful knowledge and discussion there is on the site.

[sd]

You've got a lot of choices for tool bags, depending on what kind of tools you need to carry and how much you want to spend. I would caution you not to get too big a bag, since it will quickly become too heavy as you add more and more tools. The Cadillac of tool bags, and priced accordingly, is the Veto Pro Pac. Custom Leathercraft makes a less costly line of bags; you should be able to find some of them at your local big box home improvement store. A lot of my former co-workers used this one. I kept my frequently-used tools in one of these.

[conwaygolfer]

Tool Bucket

I do handiman repairs and for the last 10 years I have been using one of the bucket liners from Lowes. It has numerous pockets, holes, etc. It is never top heavy. I carry probably enough hand tools to rebuild a house. It will hold and organize every tool you can think of. It will fit any 5 gal. bucket.

I used to use a regular tool box until I got tired of looking for stuff that had shifted under another tool. With the bucket thing, I always know where everything is located. Easy to carry and has a smaller "footprint" than a tool box.
Hope this helps. Buy one and you'll be glad.

Conwaygolfer

[shoottx]

One answer



One color for each kind of job.

[Shep]

Since you've got a lot of hand tools, I would try to keep everything organized in smaller tool bags. Each bag can be used for different but related tools. For example you can have one bag just with screwdrivers, one for sockets/wrenches, and one for "Demo." This demo bag will have your prybars, hammer, etc. By having separate bags you will know that you're not forgetting everything when you're driving to your rental.

Hope this helps.

[Photojosh]

Well heck, I guess for the price, the bucket thing is probably the place to start.

If that doesn't work I think the Leathercraft stuff that sd posted will be the next step.

[pelligrini]

Workers used to use wood tool totes a lot too.

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=480&offset=50

http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/091/extras/tab-and-slot-tool-tote/

[Photojosh]

Workers used to use wood tool totes a lot too.

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=480&offset=50

http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/091/...lot-tool-tote/

The idea of a wood toolbox is pretty cool. But I think it I were going to go to the effort, I'd want to make something that lived in my shop and not something I was going to beat the crap out of between the shop/truck/jobsite/etc.