Product: ToolLodge says its Tool Drawer Organizer is a customizable tool organizer and liner that does not require tracing and cutting with a razor knife, as is the case with foam organizers. Users simply arrange the tools on the liner/organizer, which is made with a tough vinyl backing and sharp fabric finish, then press or tap them in to create permanent indentations for storage. The organizers are easy to use and help technicians gain efficiency by having tools retrievable at a glance.
Review: Done by Eric Moore, co-owner of Columbus, Ohio-based DeMary Truck, and Lou Fort, lead tech at K.A.R.S., Huntingburg, Ind., at their respective shops.
“I liked the ToolLodge Tool Organizer for the visibility it provided to the tools, once it was laid out and the tools were placed,” Moore said. Organization is a key productivity driver for every technician.
Moore found the setup process for the tool organizer to be simple and easy. Fort, on the other hand, said there was “a small learning curve when it came to do the lodging of my tools.”
He eventually developed a way to use the tool organizer, employing hand pressure to make an initial indentation before relying on a small non-marking hammer to make a deeper impression and allow his tools to fit well in the organizer.
“I also quickly learned that placing tools too close together makes for a poor fit and appearance,” he added.
Fort reported that he liked having a “100-percent, user-defined tool organizer that is faster and simpler to use than the old ‘trace and cut’ foam style.” But he suggested some improvements: “have the fabric adhere better to the substrate after an impression is made,” and adding a stiffer or more ridged bottom would allow added versatility in a stackable fashion.
While noting that the ToolLodge Tool Drawer Organizer is well designed and allowed him to easily centralize his specialty brake tools, he wished it had more tool storage options and larger and deeper the organizers.
