3/4 drive socket storage

OK so here's a new one I think. I have a group of about 12 3/4 in. drive sockets. right now they are hanging on nails in the wall. I tried numerous suppliers for a better storage tray but found none. How about you guys how do you store your bigger sockets? I would bet the farm somewone out there has a good idea.
As always thanks for the help.

We boght a set in 1977 and they came in a big metal box, which is where they are still at.

Nails in the wall sounds good to me though.

If you want to get fancy, a 2X4 with holes drilled at the appropriate spacing and wooden dowel rods cut to length and glued in the holes to make pegs.

Gene

Working on heavy equipment for a living I've got both 3/4", 1", and #5 splined drive sockets to handle up to a 4" hex size. Since some of these sockets weight upwards of 10 pounds apiece and are so large there really is no GOOD way to keep them organized. I've been in many dealership shops over the years as well as my own and when you start dealing with the larger sockets, in the 3/4 drive range and up, most often you simply see them set on a shelf, in a deep tool box drawer, or in the origional box they were bought in. Usually when in a drawer, etc they are also stacked inside of each other just to cut down on the space requirements needed to store a full set as not doing so would take up way too much space needed for other tools.
That said the best way to store them is in an origional mfg box that has the angled tray that keeps them somewhat sorted by size. If you don't have the origional box then your best choice is to make you one that will set wherever you want to store them. Thing is this usually works only if all of the sockets are from the same mfg. Since many of them will make the wall thickness heavier or liter than others this could make a particular socket either too big or too small to fit into the spot provided for it. In this case the angled tray idea goes out the window and your right back at the idea of just setting them on a shelf or in a drawer, or hanging on a nail like you currently have them. Good luck and if you come up with some new, ingenious idea please post pics as I am always looking for a better way to store my tools.

No problem with the storage, but you will have over a period of time surface rust on the top side of the sockets. Without being in some kind of storage box you will always have rusting of the sockets.

maybe a hunk of pegboard? that has helped me combat the law of flat surfaces!

At the Case dealer where I used to work , the big sockets were a toolroom item , and they just made a tray from a piece of Channel steel, with angle brackets under it to mount on the wall. For that matter , you could just drill a hole in the side at each end and put a screw right into the wall , no bracket required. Make it longer than you need , allow room for expansion !!!

Get out your woodworking tools. Make a tapered box, cut it in half or some other percentage , add hinges and you are donw.
I have a complete woodshop and could build one in less than an hour, for less than 5 dollars.

Gordo

I was lucky. I helped my uncle clean out his garage and he gave me many things he no longer used or wanted to further store.

Among those things was an SK Wayne ¾ inch socket set, which came in it"s own toolbox. Something had been spilled on the toolbox and the paint had partially come off so I repainted it.

Thanks Uncle Floyd. R.I.P.

I bought mine with a tray at an auction it works but now I need a bigger tray.
Walt

I use, in my tool box a diaper pin wire formed out of coat hanger look something like a hunting license holder pin.

for all my open / box end wrenches.. (most common ones together) as I have several of each size.

My X FIL used to store sockets the same way

I worked on a ranch that had a pretty well set up service truck. All the socket sets were in their own Handled-trays that sat on shelves in the truck, or could be toted out to use. There were pieces of square tube steel(3/8 1/2 3/4 depending on the set) welded to the bottom of the tray to fit the wrench end of each socket. Kept things nice and tidy.

Now just gotta get my own stuff set up that well...

Ben

Mine Seldom leave the shop. They are on a narrow shelf right up close to a wider shelf. One step up from nails in the wall.

I would line them up on a piece of tag board with a straight edge so they are neat, then draw a line down each side and take the pattern to a metal shop, and have a sheet of 16 gauge bent to the trough. Then bend up the ends and fold tabs to braze or spot weld. A little red paint and tooo gooood. Jim

I had a piece of sheet metal bent into an angle, of which I drilled holes in one leg at the spacing of sockets that I wanted, then cut 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch rod into about 1/2" lenght and brazed them to the angle. I drilled holes in the back and mounted to a toolboard.

Steve,
This is what I did.
I drilled holes in these plywood boards and glued in or friction-fitted in the hard wood dowels.
Tom

<a href="http://s99.photobucket.com/albums/l281/Tom_084/?action=view&amp;current=Picturefortractorboard.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>

mine did not come in a METAL box , but my Makita recipro Saw did , and it DIED,. So i moved the sockets into the box ..........

At a sale just this last week I saw a good idea. They had taken a flat metal ammo box and just put the sockets in order in it. Then they had rolled thin flat iron into circles that where just a little bigger than the sockets. They welded those into the ammo box. Good coat of paint and its done. What I liked best was that the sockets where kept in order. My 3/4 set has an angled flat iron divider. So if you take a big socket out the others are loose and than can get mixed up.

If that's a complete set you have a very nice uncle. Those are pretty old. Gerard

Blue Point makes a good tray.

The set wasn"t a large set, perhaps 1" to 2½ or maybe 3". That was back in the "70s and I don"t remember now.

He and my aunt were absolutely great. They treated me much like the son they wished he had had. Their own son was in WWII and had to go through alcohol treatment several times.

He hid his use well and I never even knew he had a drinking problem nor of the treatment until after he had died.

I got mine when I helped a widow with some estate "issues" after her husband died (issues were with debts, not assets). She was poor as a church mouse, and asked if I could come over and get some of late husbands tools instead of money. Fine with me, and got the well-used 3/4 drive set and a couple other things.

I just got a long, flat toolbox for a few bucks from local emporium, and everything fits. Have taken to setting up toolboxes for different kinds of stuff- one for electrical, one for plumbing, one for Roto-tool and attachments, one with general mechanical tools that I take to the field or throw in the trunk of the Hudson when I take it out, etc. Have them lined up on a shelf with labels on the ends- pretty handy to grab when needed.