Tool Storage
- Greg Harper
- Sep 3, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2019
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For any hobbyist or professional, it is important to keep your tools and materials organized. And it's not always easy. These TSTAK units from Dewalt are great for work around the house, in the shop or out in the field. Dewalt offers numerous variations of these units that can be configured and snapped together and wheeled from job to job. They are also useful even if you just keep them in the shop. The Clear Lid Organizer (pictured Left) is really useful for carrying a large assortment of fasteners, hardware or whatever little bits and pieces you use in your daily work. There are two large and 5 medium size removable compartments, and additional storage below each compartment, as well as spaces around the perimeter for storing small driver bits or similarly small accessory items.
If your primary use is at home, you can also look at the "Tough System" brand from Dewalt. It has similar options but also includes a storage rack system. The stacking latch mechanism is simple, low profile and robust, the lid latches are simple and durable and there are many options to chose from. See below for some units I've used, as well as other offerings from Dewalt.
These cases are made with black/yellow polypropylene and the clear parts are made from polycarbonate. The latches appear to be zinc plated steel and are easy to open and close. So far the only minor frustration I have experience is when stacking the units to latch them together it can be a bit finicky to get them properly aligned. They do eventually engage on little tables but it requires shifting them around a bit sometime before they align.
I own a couple stacks now and they go with me to every job. And while I'm at home in the shop I leave them stacked up for storage or lay them out when I want access to the tools inside. Below is one of my sets with my most commonly used tools.
The drawer units are really nicely built. They allow you to keep the units stacked up and still access the contents. There is a single deep drawer unit or a shallower 2-drawer unit. Both units come with heavy-duty ball bearing slides and what Dewalt or Amazon don't mention is the really nice one-touch easy pull drawer releases. As you squeeze the handle it automatically releases to latch so the drawer opens. The drawer latches closed automatically when you push the drawer closed.
The best place to start building your set is with a base unit. Having the stack on wheels makes it easy to move around the house or the job site. There are three option (Pictured below). The 4-wheeled cart, the deep box on wheels and the TSTAK Trolley.
SPECIFICATIONS
HEIGHT 7.02"
LENGTH 18.915"
WEIGHT 7.128 LBS
WEIGHT CAPACITY 210 LBS
WIDTH 16.96"
SPECIFICATIONS
COLOR BLACK
HEIGHT 39"
OVERALL LENGTH 20-1/8"
WIDTH 17"
One issue I had with the deep box is that it comes with a small sliding tool tray that sits at the top of the box, but the fit was a little loose and with the lid open it was prone to slipping off and falling into the box. I don't use the tray anyways as I usually fill up the box with my larger tools for the job, but if it really bothered me I would have returned it and tried a new one.
SPECIFICATIONS
HEIGHT 22"
LOAD CAPACITY 220 LBS ON FLAT SURFACES 110 LBS ON STAIRS
OVERALL LENGTH 17-1/4" WIDTH 41"
So far my experience has been good with this product line. What I would really like to see is some smaller units, like half the size, for holding small tools, driver/drill bits etc... Milwaukee's Packout System has this option and had it been available earlier it might have swayed me to check them out, however it is significantly more expensive and I can't say whether it's worth the extra cost. Overall I'm really happy with these Dewalt TSTAK units and I've purchased several more since the first units I bought. One final word of warning; there are similar looking organizers from Dewalt and Stanley that look very similar but they are not interchangeable. Be sure you are buying the TSTAK Models if you want them to all work together. Or if you decide to go with the Dewalt Tough System then stick with that platform. Go check them out!
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