Make Your Own Custom Tool Box Foam Inserts for $3

If you've ever wanted to organize your tool drawers, foam inserts are a great way to not only accomplish this, but to also quickly see if a tool is missing and what tool it is. I'll show you step by step how to make toolbox drawer foam inserts. The drawer size I'm making is approximately 16 1/2" x 11 3/8", all for $3. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below and I'll do my best to answer them.
X-ACTO #1 Knife, Z Series With Safety Cap
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Credits:
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Song name - Molten Alloy (intro and ending)
Song name - Happy Days (plays throughout video)
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[@webbsauto9720]

Thank u the best i have seen on my way to the store now.

[@DIYJeff]

richard jacobs , glad the video was helpful for you!

[@waynehearst317]

Pro Tip: When you're done tracing and cutting the holes out of your foam, spray a light coat or two of black plasti-dip over the top side. It covers your trace marks and makes the foam very dense and rigid like it was laser cut and made for the tool.

[@DIYJeff]

@Jack Smith, thanks for the tip.

[@tonyarce5427]

You could also put the trace side down…

[@Rawthan]

You just saved me like 200 dollars, no joke. THANK YOU for this brilliant idea!

[@DIYJeff]

@R. Wolf, you're welcome. One tip since making the video is to use a hot knife instead of an exacto knife. It speeds up the cutting process by 10x.

[@krazed0451]

Spray on contact adhesive is amazing for joining foam and easier to work with than hot glue 😉

[@ender03]

You can use masking tape on the foam to draw on then cut. It helps keep away the stray lines from laying out

[@ThisIsChrisWebb]

Could also flip your mats upside down and flip the wrench backwards so when you flip it back over the lines are on the bottom now and the tool is the way you want it.

[@steventhehistorian]

Good tips, Jeff. You may be able to save some time for this and all future foam layouts (the process at 7:12) by making a stencil of the finger relief. Then, all you need to do is strike a chalk center line, place the stencil and trace for each shape. This would lean out your process for marking the finger reliefs down to 2 steps and also improve the repeatable accuracy of your marking. You could save even more time and improve shape cut consistency by making a punch tool of the finger cutout which would make the entire finger relief process only 2 steps (1. Strike chalk line, 2. Align and punch the relief hole). I plan to organize my tools using your method, so thank you for making the video!

[@eyygurke6081]

I've had the chance to use this table a couple of times now. It's fun to whip out in front of people:) I can see what people are talking about when they say the legs are delicate, but they're design to support a "mostly" vertical load, not be torqued from the side or pushed back into place. If you just let the table open or close on it's own and don't force anything, it works great kzbin.infoUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh Once it's set up, it's pretty solid. My only gripe would probably be related to the clamps provided. They're not the highest quality. They do the job, so no big deal, but they could be better. All in all, pretty cool gadget.

[@ryanlemons7831]

Greetings Mr Jeff. Just a quick tip if no one has mentioned it yet. First though, I will confess that I’ve used a tape measure for many many years now struggling to take inside width measurements. Anyway instead of folding the tape into the corner of the drawer or whatever inside measurement and trying to eyeball it, the trick is to butt the body of the tape measure to the inside of the drawer holding it in place and extend the steel rule tape out to the other end, lock the tape in place and add 2” or 2.5“ or 3” to the measurement. It varies from tape to tape but on the back or bottom of the body/housing of your tape measure there should be a number. That’s the length of your tape box thing. Give it a try! 😎 Best! Happy new year!

[@DIYJeff]

@Ryan Lemmons, wow that’s a great tip. I had never heard that before. At a minimum, if I can’t find that number on the tape, I can use another tape and just measure the first tapes length to get it. Best tip I’ve heard in 2020!

[@agnbmotorsportsallgasnobra9470]

dude i used to be in the navy. All navy aviation boxes are just like this....this is clean man, i cant wait to get my box looking like this.

[@KicknAsphlt]

Same - I didn't know toolbox shadowing was a thing until I joined.

[@agnbmotorsportsallgasnobra9470]

@@KicknAsphlt ahhhh, tool control, gotta love it. ATAF LMAO

[@DIYJeff]

@AGNB Motorsports, it takes a long time to make, but it's a great investments into your tool collection and being able to easily find tools when you need them. Also, its great because when the job is done and you put your tools away, you can quickly see if you missed any because there is an open gap in the foam. Is it the nicest looking way to do it...not really, but for a fully custom setup, I don't know a better way. You can buy one's that are ready to be cut but they're not EXACTLY the size of your drawer AND they are super expensive. Best of luck with your tool organization.

[@georgemacdonald5282]

Best video yet, one thing i liked was the fact tbat you get a perfectly flat bottom like the ones that are bought that are supplied with bought tools

[@jcfemt]

Pro Tip: trace OEM drawer liners for perfect fit.

[@eazy2hate]

That's what I did!! Idk why he didn't do that or atleast mention it

[@amitavmostafa9841]

How do you mean that?

[@SquidsCareToo]

Not all tool boxes come with OEM liners

[@lt3880]

is this a joke

[@fishhuntadventure]

@@SquidsCareTooyou can buy thin foam drawer liner inserts at harbor fright and use those for the top sheet. Another pro tip or two: - use 3M 77 spray bomb adhesive to adhere the layers together; no way I’d ever use all that time for hot glue - as far as time… wow! I wouldn’t be able to get through all that fussy cutting for two reasons: my time is two valuable; and it looks cool but I pack way more tools in a drawer that size otherwise I’d have to buy three more 56” top and bottom boxes. Wrenches for example: I have SK, Craftsman , Cougar Pro, and Pittsburgh standard SAE combo wrenches, straight and reversing ratcheting combo wrenches, and long combo wrenches, plus duplicates. They wouldn’t all fit in that drawer size but they do fit in a 38”x20” drawer on racks. If flat like that I’d run out of space fast. - third and final here is spray-glue the oem liners (only boxes not worth buying don’t have these pads in my observations) into the drawer bottoms, and use wrench racks ($10 at harbor fright) to hold wrenches, and the upright labeled trays (again $10 or $15?) for sockets. Neat, clean, and very efficient use of the space. That way a very well loaded 56” us general top and bottom will hold every mechanics tool needed to rebuild a V8, restore an old muscle car, disassemble and reassemble a Jeep YJ, or open an auto service shop. Power tools and supplies like grinders, wiring, spare small parts all go in the 13-drawer 60”x26” mechanic’s box I built from scratch that has a vise on its workbench top. That’s a lot of storage in 26” deep by 120” and too much fancy foam tool holders would cut that to 25% of the tools I have in there now. Cool project and looks very nice but I couldn’t deal with that much sprawl of my tools.

[@coolmusic1579]

I use a blue foam camping pad from Walmart or wherever, 2nd hand stores​ sometimes have them. They work pretty good.

[@Galgamoth]

I used a foam floor pad from the dollar store, has a diamond plate pattern on it and looks cool

[@JohnLee-ed8yi]

​@@Galgamoth Very nice tip. I was looking for the foam kit for my Milwaukee packouts, and they are ridiculously expensive. You save me bunch. Thanks

[@laurensiemens1436]

That is smart. The system is called 5S system. I did mine with BLUE for standard tools and RED for metric.

[@activeal]

Tools are literally piled to the rim in my toolbox drawers. Wish I could be this neat, but I don't have the space. But the video was interesting. Thanks.

[@guitarpro594]

You could be this neat. You just need another box. If you want to stay cheaper but retain quality I highly recommend harbor freight US General Series 3 or bigger. The 5 drawer cart is a PITA to assemble with the base being out of true without a second pair of hands it's easiet done bottom up with the top drawer assembly inverted on its head. Happy wrenching

[@triplex86]

Heat an unbent paperclip in a candle. The hot wire end slices through foam like a knife through butter - 1000% faster than a knife.

[@DIYJeff]

@Bond Street, good tip!

[@scottiemanners]

We had old puzzle piece 3/4" foam mats for workout/anti fatique flooring. We have about 20 of those and about to do the same, put colored foam under and then those puzzle pieces. I might try standing my wrenches up on their side, but also labeling with a label maker too!

[@DIYJeff]

@Scottie Manners, those will work too if you have some laying around. I ended up labeling mine with a label maker too.

[@SARSteam]

I like your idea of the coloured foam on the bottom. Missing tools is immediately visible :) Cool and thanx for sharing!

[@DIYJeff]

@SARSteam Railways, It definitely works. Many times I thought I had all the tools put away to look in my toolbox and see one missing and realize it's hiding under something in the garage.

[@jimthesoundman8641]

10:55 Spraycan contact cement would be much easier. Available at any Home Depot or Lowes.

[@Twizter68]

You have to do both sides with that, so it would be in the relief cut areas.

[@armangazeryan8541]

Contact adhesive is a good idea but I would try it on a bit of foam before spraying the whole thing to make sure it doesn’t melt the foam material.

[@fishhuntadventure]

I wouldn’t do contact adhesive myself. The 3M 77 sticks very well doing ceilings with light carpeting, but the contact adhesive doesn’t last as well.

[@ApprenticeGM]

That was a really good idea - thanks for sharing. I noticed you were struggling to get a clean edge when cutting @3:41, and to cut all the way through @9:00. Both are much easier using a better backing like a craft cutting board, or bread board (instead of the cardboard), or a sacrificial workbench top layer (you can sand / fill / replace the top layer or veneer). A steel straight edge helps as well to cut against, not an aluminium edge, as the X-acto knife blade is steel (high carbon steel for a sharp edge) and can cut into softer metals depending on angles and technique.

[@DIYJeff]

@ApprenticeGM, thanks for the tips. Since making the video, some people commented that using a hot knife is easier and I would agree. I've purchased a hot knife and it works 10x faster than the blade I was using.

[@mykelhall71]

After watching the video and reading some of the suggestions in the comments, this is definitely the way I'm going to organize. Thank you!!!

[@DIYJeff]

Mykel Hall, it works really well for me and many like it, but there are definitely as many haters too. It’s really just a preference.

[@Galgamoth]

I did this same method but used a hot knife I got on amazon for $20 and just held the tool down and traced around it with the hot knife, I also used a spray adhesive to stick the foam backing on instead of the glue gun

[@warpig372]

I did something similar but I glued magnets on the edges to keep the pad from moving.

[@thepitpatrol]

There is another video of some guys that are engineers doing this. You can go watch them or you can watch this guy and actually learn something! Great video!

[@DIYJeff]

@Shane Kasper, thanks for the kind review.

[@zakartv]

Those chalk lines are looking like CSI dead bodies for the wrenches haha

[@DIYJeff]

Hmm...nice observation. Obviously, I should have reversed the direction of the wrenches and used the marker on the back (down side) of the foam so when I turned it over there would be no lines showing. Thanks for the comment.

[@muneer24]

The killer was a nut

[@ukprepper9330]

I'm in the uk was was quoted £85 for my inserts but thanks to you and your video I have sorted and made mine for £15

[@57fire]

How about using a spray glue instead of hot glue? It will give you better coverage along with some time to work with.

[@DIYJeff]

Mike Squires , thanks for the suggestion. In colder climates that might work. I live in Florida where my garage can get pretty hot and over time, my experience is the spray glue will release over time when exposed to high temps. The melting point of hot glue is a higher temp. Not saying it can’t work. If you do try spray glue, I’d suggest using 3m. Cheap stuff won’t cut it long term.

[@mbrock5532]

@@DIYJeff I live in Tucson, AZ and it gets HOT, HOT, HOT! here!!! I've found that using the spray adhesive designed for headliners works really well in the high temperatures. I'm definitely going to try this for my tools at my shop. I have my own computer business and accessing and returning tools quickly is very important to efficiency and making more money in the finite time we have available in a day! Thanks for this. And, ignore the negative nancys commenting. No matter what you do, someone thinks they can do better, but they usually have never uploaded any wonderful videos of their own! :) Oh, and one thing I've always wondered is why someone would come up with a term for OCD and not have the letters be alphabetical!!!

[@b-miner712]

@@DIYJeff this must be the stupidest answer a ever have seen. The melting point is higher🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@youtubecritic4360]

Dude this saved me so much no joke. Great thinking

[@appa561]

heat up a piece of copper pipe held in your vise-grips... it will cut the foam as you push in through. half circles for your lift out finger holds

[@danielbeavers8701]

The music sounds like a 90' kids show like barney.

[@DIYJeff]

Daniel Beavers, I no longer use music in my videos. I agree, after listening to it after I posted it, I could have used something else.

[@erobbinstube]

Looking for foam tool organizer videos. Found this, here to give you kudos on the Road ID, keep pedaling!

[@Statikk]

for the metal pieces, heat them up really nice and hot and push them onto the foam. it will melt the foam out of the way and leave a perfect imprint

[@elnietodeanadelia]

Cool tutorial, bro. I’ll perhaps bring the tools a little closer to each other and maybe be able to fit a couple more per sheet. Nicely done! 👍🏻

[@rayrivera2541]

excellent ,just exactly what i needed, was debating if i should spend all that money ordering these foam inserts. sure glad i'm so lazy lol didn't want to walk to the computer. will be going to Michaels or perhaps just order them. thanks a bunch....

[@DIYJeff]

@Ray Rivera, you're welcome. Some tips to make the process easier...1. instead of an exacto knife use a hot knife. It's 10 times faster. 2. Check out the comments as other people had some adhesive suggestions that might be easier to work with than hot glue. I've had mine now for over a year in a hot Florida garage and have had zero issues and love my inserts!

[@watahyahknow]

about getting the cheap thicker foam in bigger pieces : look intoo the cheap yogamats there usually made from the same stuff and sumtimes thicker allso use a piece of plywood or a cuttingboard/matt , because cartboard is currugated it makes it harder to cut a straight line

[@Thesocialgarage]

Grab harbor freight foam floor mats, cheaper than craft store. Skip the color ones and just Rust-Oleum the drawer red or green, then put your harbor mats in

[@blucy10]

I have a bunch of those HF pads from an old project that didn’t pan out. Now I know what to do with them!

[@johnkimani254]

Thanks Jeff! Great tutorial and supersaver idea. I cannot get foam mats where I am (Kenya) but I know some yoga mats are made from EVA which is the same stuff as the mats - so I will get some cheap EVA-based yoga mats. Cheers!!

[@58Kym]

You could try one of those thin meditation/exercise rolls for the thicker foam. They are 1/2 inch thick, 5 foot long and cheap as chips.

[@DIYJeff]

@58Kym, great idea. The sky's the limit on what combinations of foam you could use.

[@davereichert]

Probably said a million times... but 3M Super 77 would probably be a bit faster and easier to work with for this. Also, a lot of people seem to be fixated on black foam with a color inside of it.. but wouldn't it be cheaper to just get some regular thick black foam, and then get thin pieces of the colored stuff, and glue it to the top of that, and have the "shadows" just be the dark foam instead? Seems like a lot of the toolbox foams out there are just expensive because they use more of the fancy red or blue colored stuff. For some of these projects, I could see even using those colored interlocking foam puzzle piece floor mats as suitable material, usually one side is textured, but the other is smooth, and maybe the diamond plate texture of most of those adds a cool asthetic?

[@mg8718]

1/2 thick foam rubber sold on amazon is way better. Forwrenches, cut a slot and push wrench in. Triples the amount of wrenches.

[@bhesl]

Been looking for something that’ll organize my tools in an organized fashion

[@michaellinner7772]

You could, as an alternative, buy some of the 1/2 inch thick "anti fatigue" floor mats made for standing on. It could save you the time of gluing a whole bunch of the thinner mats together and might be cheaper in the long run. Also contact cement would work better for gluing the sheets together and you wouldn't have to rush like you do with the hot glue gun

[@DIYJeff]

Michael Linner, thanks for the tips!

[@cl3344]

Love the idea, going to be doing this with mine soon in near future. Would of some 3 things differently though 1st use a cutting board made for those cardboard dulls your blade fast, 2nd would of pushed the wrenches over little further vs straight down center and 3rd would of flipped the black over after so I don't see the lines from the silver marker. Like I said though excellent video and great inspiration to other and ideas for them to do.

[@DIYJeff]

Charles Laffey , thanks for the suggestions. All good points!

[@cl3344]

DIY Jeff no problem that's what all this is for learn and experiment still looks 10x better than my tool chest at the moment lol

[@NGENCustomsandPerformance]

Great video! I was considering buying the expensive foam until I saw this. Thanks!

[@frankkirschner]

Great idea! I'm building my new workroom, and will use your suggestions for the tool box.

[@DIYJeff]

@Frank Kirschner, invest in a hot knife. I have one now and it sped up the cutting process considerably.

[@axlent123]

OK, all the time it takes to do it… I’m going to have to take the time I was going to spend going to Disneyland, but can’t due to the pandemic, and I’ll make these mats instead. OK, realistically, I’ll buy the materials and do one drawer at a time, when I get around to it.But in the end my tool drawer be much more organized than it is now!

[@notta3d]

Wow! That looks fantastic. Foam is outrageous. After watching multiple videos like this it does make me say to myself "I could fit so many more tools in a drawer without the foam so is the foam really worth it?" Sure you spend a little more time looking for the right one, but I would go from 10 wrenches in a drawer to 100 wrenches in a drawer.

[@DIYJeff]

@notta3d, that’s a great question to ask yourself. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

[@songsteel00]

That's where you make multi layer cutouts that lift out. Plus it's more about how you create the shapes, if you have a whole set of the same thing then you could definitely just cut out a big rectangle section for the set rather than each item. That's exactly the balance I'm trying to figure out with mine today. What needs full on cut out per item organization and what can just go into a tray

[@MS-gn4gl]

awesome tutorial - Gorilla glue has been a much better option for foam glue ups as a tip for those who feel a bit rushed by the hot glue option.

[@DIYJeff]

@M S, great tip, but don't use too much since gorilla glue expands and will leave lumps in your foam.

[@outdoorzone]

I would of lined the tools along one edge to conserve space for others! Thx for sharing cool idea! Got my wheels turning for my tool cart!

[@DIYJeff]

outdoorzone, the one caution I would give you is to make sure you have a bit of foam between each tool, if not, when you go to cut it, it will be difficult for the foam to keep it's shape and not rip if it's too thin. You could do some tests to see how close you can get the tools to each other.

[@meatbyproducts]

For the top foam you can get the foam floor mats at any tool stool cheap

[@RatedRGameGuy]

Such a simple basic video, perfect for a knucklehead like me..lol 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@tylorrandomly547]

Harbor freight sells wrench racks for like 10 bucks. Take up way less space and fit more wrenches. A small at home took collection may work with this but as a mechanic, I nearly pack every square inch of my box before I buy a bigger box. Wrench racks help a lot

[@DIYJeff]

Tylor Frazier, I have a friend who uses wrench racks and he also has a lot of tools so I get it. I happen to have a lot of space in my garage and 4 large tool boxes so I have plenty of room to space things out. The plus side is (not just wrenches) I can easily and quickly find any tool in a matter of seconds without having to dig through a toolbox. And, the tool is always in the exact same location, just like using a wrench rack. The pads though provide that same organization for ALL my hand tools, but you're right, it does take up more space.

[@normanklein3155]

Oh please, those Harbor Freight wrench racks are incredibly cheap nasty plastic. The important thing is to have your tools organized, so you can immediately find your tool and also immediately spot if one is missing. Tool manufacturers always provide lifetime warranties on their tools, because they know a tool will be lost long before it will break. Take a look at Sonic Tools foam system (sonictoolsusa.com/shop/sonic-foam-system/) as an example of the right way to store tools. They only do this because a large percentage of their market is aviation mechanics, who can't afford to forget a tool inside a plane (as it could potentially take down the plane, while flying).

[@tylorrandomly547]

Norman Klein depends on which wrench rack you choose bud... they sell a metal one that is nice and one that is a big one that holds Allen keys, 2 seats of stubbys and 2 sets of full size wrench’s. I’m a professional mechanic and I have a few harbor frieght organization things in my box including that big wrench rack

[@patrickmurray8483]

Tip. You will get a cleaner cut if you have a sheet of glass to cut on. Also it keeps the sharpness of the Blade for longer. Try It.

[@DIYJeff]

@Patrick Murray, thanks for the tip!

[@elmerkilred159]

Jeff, you're the best. Subscribed!

[@jcoul1sc]

Nice. Its expensive here in UK, I'm just using non-slip mats.

[@JanBinnendijk]

a couple of remarks: Use Thicker foam, so you can put your tools upright instead of flat.. massive space saver.. Use Contact-adhesive instead of hotglue. For easy cutting.. Use a Dremel like tool, with a thin sanding drum, to cut out the openings for the tools.. makes it smoother. (i have a CNC router.. way better to cut these out, but.. i will have to make an accurate CAD drawing beforehand.. so that is less easy than just tracing.

[@DIYJeff]

@Jan Binnendijk, thanks for the tips.

[@DanG-ug1ed]

You can use an apple correr to cut the finger holes. It's faster and more uniform.

[@DIYJeff]

@Dan G, thanks for the tip!

[@marcelogoncalves415]

bom e barato do jeito que gostamos no Brasil 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@annagraham6204]

Organize in a really organized fashion.

[@nodent]

I cant justify the realist-ate of a whole drawer to only hold 9 pieces of tools is not the wild.

[@georgeryan9139]

For power tools and such, you need foam like from the box stores or amazon or glue maybe 4 of yours together.

[@DIYJeff]

@George Ryan, very true. Power tools would need a much thicker foam to keep them from moving when you open and close the drawer.

[@TheSkinnysmith]

Thanks for this idea dude!!! Just saved me a ton of $$$$$

[@DIYJeff]

@Steven Smith, you're welcome. One tip I would give you is to invest into a "hot knife" for cutting the foam instead of an exacto knife. It speeds up the process 10 fold.

[@scottconnolly6347]

I'm thinking that a self healing Cutting pad will work better. No jumping around on the corrugated cardboard .

[@DIYJeff]

scott connolyy, thanks for the idea. That could possibly work. Since making the video a few months back, I received many suggestions about using a hot knife, which would also eliminate much of the jumping around as well as making the cutting process much quicker.

[@davedeanovic2908]

Cool ! Real nice mod . Thanks for sharing

[@Twizter68]

My only concern would be the durability of that craft foam. The 5S foam I am using is chemical resistant, which is what you are actually paying for with the good stuff

[@TheDustyShed]

Yep. Most of the cheap stuff breaks down after a while in a tool box.

[@DIYJeff]

@William Mims, I've had mine now for 2 1/2 years with no issues. Granted the only thing on my tools is grease and I do wipe them down prior to putting them back, but the foam is still as good as new.

[@g.fortin3228]

Looks great. Wonder if a hot knife will cut that black foam better or worse ?

[@DIYJeff]

@G. Fortin, after making the video, I used a hot knife when making additional inserts and it speeds up the process considerably.

[@dugmorebusinessservices9619]

Nicely done Jeff. Thanks for sharing!

[@DIYJeff]

@Dugmore Business Services, you're welcome! Hopefully it was helpful for you.

[@mowburnt]

Yoga mats are great too. About 3usd for 1.5m x 0.8m :-)

[@alecj9227]

mowburnt man wow great idea. Thank you so much

[@marcqusg2618]

Nice video! Thanks for the tutorial, I will try it when I get my new box. I plan on using a hot knife though. I bought one a while ago on sale and have yet to use it. I think it would be the perfect for this.

[@DIYJeff]

Marcqus G, definitely use a hot knife. After making the video I switched to using a hot knife and it sped up the process 10x.

[@mscdman]

This is a great idea if you have 7 years spare time and a wicked case of OCD

[@DougAlesUSA]

LOL

[@jermaineishere]

LMAOOOO, I’m on my 3 weeks, you never lied!!

[@kevinvezina6535]

Great video!!!😎

[@DIYJeff]

@Kevin Vezina, thank you.

[@warrensmith2902]

Try looking for the big black foam sheets at JoAnn's Fabrics. Look for Costume foam.

[@DIYJeff]

Warren Smith , thanks for the tip!

[@daviddeane3163]

Warren, thanks to the Mandela Effect, JoAnn's Fabrics is now just Joann Fabrics. I know this first hand as I used to park in front of one on a daily basis when waiting for the bus.

[@MetalMayhem1978]

Bro that’s awesome! Good job!

[@DIYJeff]

@Steve James, thanks! I did find the process is even faster with a hot knife instead of a blade.

[@ImSafeonSite]

Thanks Jeff I've been needing this for a while

[@DIYJeff]

Chris Atkinson, I've been really pleased with mine. I live in Florida and my garage gets super hot, and the glue has held up well. It makes finding tools so much easier.

[@artygeezy80082]

Great idea and great savings! Thanks!!

[@duanem3658]

Thanks Jeff. I like it up here in Maryland!

[@wagon9082]

Good Video

[@admcprice4419]

Hey man good video, thumbs up, When I did mine I used a camping mat I got from Walmart. It is a light blue in color and some black kitchen drawer liner made of 1/8th of inch foam I got from Home Depot. Glued the two together with contact cement. I then cut out the outline of the tools and then contact cemented to another piece of the camping mat as an backing. So the thin black foam is on the top with two layers of the light blue under it. I did about two years ago and I live in Oklahoma and the summers here get hot, high 90s to 100's the contact cement has held up great.

[@DIYJeff]

Ad McPrice, thanks for sharing your experience. The great thing about DIY is that there are multiple ways to achieve your desired result.

[@Crushwokery]

Why not use a fine end mill in a dremmel to cut out tool shapes and totally agree with another commenter about using spray glue. Good thinking batman🤔😎😉

[@DIYJeff]

Alec Nemeth, thanks for the comments. I've also found that using a hot knife cuts through the foam like butter. But a fine end mill dremmel is certainly another option. I don't think there's any one way to do it. Sky's the limit! And certainly, a high quality spray adhesive is another option. I have to be careful in Florida with spray adhesive because my garage is 120+ degrees 10 months out of the year and I've found spray adhesive to lose it's integrity in high heat.

[@KenUngaro]

Great job Jeff

[@DIYJeff]

Ken U, thank you!

[@samanth7777]

Great idea wonder if it will work with sewing box

[@DIYJeff]

Sherryann, the concept works in many applications. As long as you have trays in your box to provide a hard surface it should work.

[@Booki89]

Love this!

[@thebackwoodsmechanic5029]

Not to bad, if you can DIY you save money every time

[@DIYJeff]

The Backwoods Mechanic, you're absolutely correct!

[@sjulier]

Excellent video. Many thanks.

[@danr97123]

great video! excellent quality. hope you advertise your channel so folks can find you among the others.

[@DIYJeff]

danr97123 , thanks for the comment. Not sure what you mean by advertise?

[@danr97123]

its not easy but, maybe DIY forums on this subject? i linked one of your videos from my channel too.

[@inactive67]

Only suggestion I have is run the tools along the edge of the foam leaving room for other tools/wrenches

[@kathleengreene9605]

Spray adhesive is easier than hot glue

[@DIYJeff]

@Kathleen Greene, in my experience, spray glue dues not hold up to our hit Florida summers where garage temps can be up in the 130’s.

[@roberthance1187]

Looks nice, but the layout is kinda like showcasing rather than organizing to me... I can't justify 11 combination wrenches consuming an entire drawer. Need thicker foam so the grooves are more like slots and line them up on their sides rather than laying flat. For tutorial purposes it's great, but seems to lead to a lot of these tool chest tours where somebody will have a massive mechanic's tool chest, and only manage to fit a small hand bag worth of tools in it. The spacing between the tools is so far, that you might as well just spread out your tools til you find the one you want. As I see it, if you have 11 small combo wrenches in an entire drawer, and still have room in the box to put the metric set in an entire other drawer, then the amount of tools you have should be easy enough to keep track of without all that effort. I'm not knocking on the poster, he could have toolchests packed to the limit for all I know. But I just find this particular application and layout a little silly in a number of ways.

[@DIYJeff]

@Robert Hance, that's the great thing about KZbin. Every application isn't for everyone. I have 5 large tool chests and have done the foam inserts on all of them. I do have a bunch of tools, but by neatly laying them out in an organized way makes finding them and putting them away quickly. With making the foam inserts by hand, you can't get the tools much closer together without the foam being flimsy and ripping. Thus, the need to space them out. I'm certainly not advocating that everyone should do it. Just a DIY option if you want to .

[@danohstoolbox]

i use yoga mats they are cheep and they are thick

[@DIYJeff]

danoh's toolbox, that's a great idea too. Thanks for sharing!

[@MaroLuva]

Great idea

[@moopmoop345]

This is exactly the tip I was hoping to find. Cheers

[@joelduprey]

@@moopmoop345 Yeah. Walmart blue camping mats and you could use the colored foam just as he did here in this video. I had some yellow drawer liner material so I went with Blue/Yellow. www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Closed-Cell-Foam-Blue-Camp-Sleeping-Pad/634956813

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Good tip. Thanks.

[@MrAk474life]

I’d flip the foam but nice

[@doalex2085]

Bad Ass ; nicely executed!!!

[@DIYJeff]

@Do Alex, thanks!

[@thesavo]

This seems so much more economical vs kaizen foam.

[@garystilson8333]

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! ♡

[@DIYJeff]

Gary Stilson, thanks!

[@twilliams6999]

How crap did he expect it to turn out if that looks better than expected? 🤣

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

If you placed the mat in upside down from the way you laid it out, you wouldn't see those lines. But, I may do something similar to this in the future for my sockets.

[@DIYJeff]

Chris L, good observation. Yes, tracing them backwards would eliminate seeing the outline. Also, I've found that using a hot knife instead of an exacto knife is 10 times quicker when cutting.

[@TomMakeHere]

Looks good I need to sort out my tools

[@DIYJeff]

I think 99.9% of all of us have tool sorting wishes.

[@dcbichos8005]

Obrigado pela dica

[@DIYJeff]

@Dcbichos, de nada

[@RichardT2112]

Nice idea ... however it seems a waste of space given the cost of tool drawer space - but nice idea for those pesky little tools one always misplaces!

[@shanekasper4587]

Nice job

[@yotekillerfromnd]

One day I hope to have this much free time.

[@DIYJeff]

@yotekillerfromnd, you know the old saying, “Time is money.” You can certainly pay a couple hundred dollars for premise foam you still have to cut out, or spend a few dollars to make your own. It’s your choice. I’ve found using a hot knife speeds up the process considerably.

[@yotekillerfromnd]

@@DIYJeff I absolutely get "time is money" there also is a point in life when it "costs" more to do something yourself than pay someone to have it done. I think it came out great and if I had more time I would do something similar. Unfortunately I don't have enough "free time" to do something like this. It came out great though

[@SOLIZ49erFAITHFUL]

I would like to do this, but just haven't had the time. I also see you have a Harbor Freight cart, they sell thicker foam rolls, although only grey, but it almost fits and the thickness is about 1'2 "

[@DIYJeff]

Joe Soliz, thanks for the tip. I think the difference would be with the Harbor Freight foam rolls is they would be more expensive. Part of the video was to show that a custom tray insert could be made for $3. But, your suggestion could work as well. Thanks for sharing.

[@denisl2760]

@@DIYJeff Idk looks a little flimsy to me. I don't see that holding up to well to constant use. How did these things hold up for you so far?

[@DIYJeff]

@Snake Plissken, sorry, I'm scrolling through old comments and just saw your question. I apologize for not responding sooner. I live in Florida where my garage gets to 110 degrees easily and I've had no problems. The inserts still work like the day I made them.