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Drill Bit Storage Organization? (taps, end mills, etc. too)

Lee

Lee

Guild of Calamitous Intent
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1061
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The Natural State
Anyone have any great ideas for drill bit storage?

Sure I've got some Dewalt, Irwin, and Rigid sets in their factory organizers, but I've got A LOT of loose bits, taps, and Helicoil sets. I'm tired of rummaging through the Tupperware looking for what I need.

I'm familiar with Huot's offerings, but they're a little pricey, maybe worth it? Vevor does what they do and offer a knock off version of the Huot drill bit drawer organizers for an almost reasonable-ish price. I'm not sure I want to give up workbench space to a set of drawers just for drill bits, I guess I could wall mount it.
71CElil6GeL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


I'd like to keep taps and their requisite drill bits together, so I don't have to look up what drill bit I need for a tap every time.

Looking around online, I'm thinking some fishing tackle boxes might be the way to go.

Something like this for little stuff.
71R0LsSlWuL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

I've got an old Falcon hard case for top water, buzz, and jerk baits, it would be great for longer drill bits. I don't think that box is made anymore but Plano probably has something similar.

What ya got? I know you have opinions.

ye79uhv79bmpcc5s063u4h&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif
 
I got a hot organizer at an industrial liquidation auction and use that. Before I had a small drawer metal filing cabinet and cut some thin sheet into dividers for in the drawers to put similar sizes end mills together like 1/4" smaller, 1/4-1/2", etc than another drawer for 1" and bigger stuff. I've always used the Plano style plastic organizers for my taps before I got my huot drawer setup. For my filing cabinet I found one like this at garage sale for $10 and it was like 5' tall so I cut it in half to use in 2 places. Made metal dividers like these plastic ones on my plasma table out of some 16 ga steel I had.

I sold my first mill with filing cabinet and all the end mills I had and now have a tool box with my huot cabinet on top of it and it works well. End mills just in the drawers since I don't have nearly as many as I did before.

Screenshot_20231022-234608.png
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I've been bugging my electrical supplier to fix me up with a Walter drill bit display, but he hasn't come through yet.

Only pic I could find online...

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Unless you're just using them as organizers within a bigger drawer or something tackle boxes won't hold up very long for more than just static storage if you get them even close to full. But if that's all you need...
 
TTMotorsports said:
I got a hot organizer at an industrial liquidation auction and use that. Before I had a small drawer metal filing cabinet and cut some thin sheet into dividers for in the drawers to put similar sizes end mills together like 1/4" smaller, 1/4-1/2", etc than another drawer for 1" and bigger stuff. I've always used the Plano style plastic organizers for my taps before I got my huot drawer setup. For my filing cabinet I found one like this at garage sale for $10 and it was like 5' tall so I cut it in half to use in 2 places. Made metal dividers like these plastic ones on my plasma table out of some 16 ga steel I had.

I sold my first mill with filing cabinet and all the end mills I had and now have a tool box with my huot cabinet on top of it and it works well. End mills just in the drawers since I don't have nearly as many as I did before.

Screenshot_20231022-234608.png
Screenshot_20230813-150804.png
Click to expand...
Index cabinets are great, but getting increasingly hard to find. One of the gov't offices here cleaned out there microfilm/microfiche storage a few years ago and sold hundreds of those at auction in like 40ea lots. I'm kicking myself for not getting a lot, but really had no place to store that many cabinets at the time.


I really like these Schaller bins. I have a few drawers worth and need to get more. You can usually do a drawer for about $15-20. They have a configuration app on their site that lets you put in your drawer size and then you can add bins to fill it up and make an order.
1698067237008.png




Another thing I did in my index cabinets for bulk items were these cardboard bin boxes. For things I don't constantly use an have on....like the thousands of end mills and drill bits I've collected from auction lots. I found some that were the perfect size to fit tightly in the drawers.

1698067433023.png
 
I also have 4 nice big Stanley Vidmar chests with dividers in them that I keep all my heims, spacers, misc plumbing fitting, grinding consumables etc. Life saver for organizing and easily seeing what all I have
 
I bought a set of those little Vevor drill index boxes... they are heavier built than I expected. They are for my 1/2" and under - 1/2" to 3/4" is in a drawer in a vidmar. Notice the Starrett drill tap chart on the wall behind them.

20231023_082918.jpg


3/4" to 2-1/2", in 1/64"s (missing a few still) and reamers to match are in the big cabinet. Some of them got flashed when I was moving; damn east coast humidity.

20231023_082908.jpg


I have full tap and die sets in cases, but also this is the drawer for the misc stuff. I plasma cut some divider boxes out of sheet that indexed together.

20231023_082930.jpg


Still on the list to do is build a rack fro all my random bigger sized tap handles. Rust and dirt. That damn move wrecked so much of my stuff during the 6 months it was in storage.

20231023_082958.jpg
 
TTMotorsports is a bad influence. :flipoff2:

Found the one on the right on FB Marketplace at an office furniture reseller in the town I work in.

1000002334.jpg


If I knew about the one on the left before I got there I would have planned better and got both. You could really see the doubt on the seller's face when I pulled around to the dock in my VW Golf. :laughing: The seller included measurements in the ad, I told him if his tape measure reads the same as mine it'll fit.

1000002336.jpg


I was debating going back and getting the other one, but I really screwed my back up loading this one. I'm not real sure how I'm going to manage getting it out of the car and into the garage. :homer: Getting old sucks.

Maybe I'll just reverse really fast and then slam on the brakes. :idea:

The other one is like side by side parts tray drawers. They both open together like a drawer but each side is removable independent of the other one.
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
I have have a few Hout drill bit and endmill drawers work great for what they do. No need to put extra drill it’s with taps, just buy a poster to hang on the wall. No sense have drills spread everywhere around the shop.
IMG_8755.jpeg
Click to expand...
That's a darn handy chart! It's not like I'm the first person to ever use one of those charts, but I'm pretty sure I'm the one that introduced A LOT of folks to them at the old board. I remember sharing a link and a lot of folks never seeing them before. There's an old oil stained one on the wall of my grandpa's old machine shop still from the late '60s or early '70s. I've got that Starrett chart, or one real close to it from early '00s, I've got a desk reference chart promo swag from some vendor that's printed on thin plastic sheet, and even a similar chart on a mouse pad. I've got plenty of references, and a smart phone in my pocket. I'm not strowing bits around, I just have enough to justify keeping the loose taps with their own drill bit, especially on the <3/8" stuff.
bgaidan said:
If you don't go back and get that other one...
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I put the word out amongst my cronies and dad, if one of them don't snag it. I'll probably get it.

Twankie said:
PXL_20231023_172632269.jpg
Click to expand...
Plano, Flambeau, Harbor Freight, Stanley?
 
FYI - you can still get those Starrett dril & tap charts - both the posters and the pocket cards along with some other goodies free from Starrett. I got a few of them a couple weeks ago.
 
Lee said:
Plano, Flambeau, Harbor Freight, Stanley?
Click to expand...
This one is just generic harbor freight.

Wright the drill size next to the tap size so you don't have to look at a drill chart Everytime.
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
No need to put extra drill it’s with taps, just buy a poster to hang on the wall. No sense have drills spread everywhere around the shop.
Click to expand...

For the stuff up to 1/2" I still like the dril/tap index's, reload them as needed. They are just too handy


bgaidan said:
FYI - you can still get those Starrett dril & tap charts - both the posters and the pocket cards along with some other goodies free from Starrett. I got a few of them a couple weeks ago.
Click to expand...

Good to know, mine are getting a lil used up:laughing:
 
TTMotorsports said:
I got a hot organizer at an industrial liquidation auction and use that. Before I had a small drawer metal filing cabinet and cut some thin sheet into dividers for in the drawers to put similar sizes end mills together like 1/4" smaller, 1/4-1/2", etc than another drawer for 1" and bigger stuff. I've always used the Plano style plastic organizers for my taps before I got my huot drawer setup. For my filing cabinet I found one like this at garage sale for $10 and it was like 5' tall so I cut it in half to use in 2 places. Made metal dividers like these plastic ones on my plasma table out of some 16 ga steel I had.

I sold my first mill with filing cabinet and all the end mills I had and now have a tool box with my huot cabinet on top of it and it works well. End mills just in the drawers since I don't have nearly as many as I did before.

Screenshot_20230813-150804.png
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea, TTMotorsports!

I've been sitting on these card files for a year and a half, tying to figure out why I bought them. Drills, endmills, and lathe carbides it is!

:beer:

CardFiles.jpg


Lee said:
You could really see the doubt on the seller's face when I pulled around to the dock in my VW Golf. :laughing: The seller included measurements in the ad, I told him if his tape measure reads the same as mine it'll fit.

1000002336.jpg
Click to expand...

I've picked up more than one set of surplus 37s in my wife's Legacy. No one ever believes they'll fit. :laughing:
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
I have have a few Hout drill bit and endmill drawers work great for what they do. No need to put extra drill it’s with taps, just buy a poster to hang on the wall. No sense have drills spread everywhere around the shop.
IMG_8755.jpeg
Click to expand...
Couple taps sets I have have the drill size stamped/etched on the taps. Always found it handy.
 
I printed a drill bit size chart for taps and keep that in the tap drawer as well. I also have a lot of each size drill bits so common taps for me are 1/4-20, 3/8-16/24 so I keep a few of the drill bits for those taps in with the taps. So I can grab a tap and drill bit at once easily.
 
subybaja said:
Thanks for the idea, TTMotorsports!

I've been sitting on these card files for a year and a half, tying to figure out why I bought them. Drills, endmills, and lathe carbides it is!

:beer:

CardFiles.jpg




I've picked up more than one set of surplus 37s in my wife's Legacy. No one ever believes they'll fit. :laughing:
Click to expand...
I stuffed a complete 454, like from flexplate to fan in the back of a 90s Mazda 323 🤣
 
I really hurt myself with this stupid thing last night. I guess I hurt myself loading it and then really aggravated it attempting to unload it. :homer: At one point last night I wasn't real sure how I was going to make it up the driveway and into the house or whether I was going to spend the rest of my life laying in the driveway.

Some (probably expired) leftover, Toradol, heating pad, and some bulging/herniated disc torture exercises and stretches got me feeling froggy enough again this afternoon.

I came at it with a different approach though.

The handles and latches are at least strong enough to support its own weight.

1000002347.jpg
 
bgaidan said:
FYI - you can still get those Starrett dril & tap charts - both the posters and the pocket cards along with some other goodies free from Starrett. I got a few of them a couple weeks ago.
Click to expand...
how do I get one. I've got a new shop with some wall space.
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
no matter what I do, it always seems to default to looking like this
1698178753112.png


with one of these next to it
1698178786912.png


:laughing:
Click to expand...

I have a few drill gauges. I have a couple boxes like that BUT i have them separted kinda like 1/4" smaller 1/4" to 1/2" and all bigger than 1/2" except the 32nd ones since those are usually for wheel studs those are in another box because it says on those bits what the size is.
 
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