Shop owner, technician, and drift racer Taylor Ray, has a rather unique tool storage setup. Where some technicians buy toolbox after toolbox to try and fit their ever-expanding tool collection, Ray has a more modular solution.
A changeable setup
After growing out of his previous Milwaukee Tool toolbox, Ray decided to take a new approach—he bought two 61” long Milwaukee toolboxes with worktops and pegboard backs as well as a variety of Milwaukee PACKOUT drawers, crates, and organizers. From there, he created a workstation for each side of his shop, Garage Built Co. The two sides mirror each other in that they both have one of the toolboxes and the same setup of PACKOUT storage. However, the setup on the less-used side of the shop holds tools Ray doesn’t use as frequently. Though both do contain the basics so tools don’t have to trek from one side of the shop to the other.
Ray notes that “The reason I wanted to do it that way is…I can just switch them easily. I’m not stuck, so it’s easier over time to tailor it to be the most efficient, useful places for everything if they’re modular and I can move them.”
Though Ray enjoys the flexibility of the PACKOUT storage, his favorite part of the setup is the pegboard backing on the toolbox. For him, it’s an area where he can place his most used tools so he doesn’t have to dig around in a drawer to find them. He also appreciates that the pegboard is on a track, so if he doesn’t want to have it up he doesn’t have to. Additionally, he finds the worktops of the toolboxes to be must-haves.
“Having worktop spaces is like the most important thing in my opinion in the shop,” Ray says. “If you don't have a place to put stuff while you're taking something apart or putting it together it makes it so difficult to stay organized.”
Ray also appreciates that the wooden worktops are reversible, so when one side gets torn up, he can just flip it over to have a nice, clean slate.
Why Milwaukee?
“I got my first Milwaukee box because it was pretty obviously the best value,” Ray explains.
He recalls that for him there really wasn’t any other option, and when his roommate wanted to get the same box, it was, unfortunately, no longer being made. They made a point to look for anything non-Milwaukee specifically to see if they could find anything better. Only after looking at all the toolboxes in his friend’s price range, they could, Ray felt that none were on par with Milwaukee. Ray has had his first Milwaukee toolbox for 16 years and has never had a problem with it.
“That kind of turned me on to just sticking with the Milwaukee boxes because I'm a big fan of point of diminishing return,” he says. “I'm always willing to spend a little more money on something for it to be nicer and better. I feel like the Milwaukee boxes are right at that point of diminishing returns. You'd have to spend a good amount more money to get something that's really better.”
Keeping it organized
For Ray organization is key. Like many technicians, he prefers to keep similar tools together so they can be easily found. For example, he likes to keep his sockets, his ratchets, and his extensions all in their own drawer, so everything that has to do with sockets is all in one place. That way he can grab everything he needs all at once.
The PACKOUT storage also offers him the ability to unclip the drawers from the wall so he can take those tools with him on the go. This is perfect for when Ray needs to throw some extra tools in his trailer on drift racing weekends. He doesn’t have to pack up his tools into another toolbox or worry about returning the tools to their proper place once he’s back home, he simply puts the organizer back on the wall.
In the future, Ray would like to add some tool storage cabinets to his setup because he knows how quickly a technician can run out of space. Overall, though he’s happy with where his setup is at now.
To view a video of Ray setting up his workstations, check out his YouTube video here.
