As your skills to handle home improvement projects grow, so do your collection of tools, one question that is bound to appear in mind is, how to set up a tool bag properly? You have come to the right place because that’s what we are about to share with you today.
No doubt, the importance of keeping things organized is indispensable in our life, but when it comes to protecting a handyman’s valuables it matters most. Moreover, when repairing an electrical or plumbing line accessing the right tool at the right time can be a lifesaving trait. And, that’s where an organized tool bag comes in.
With that being said, let’s move onto the main discussion!
How to Set Up a Tool Bag: 5 Steps Organizing Tips
It’s no brainer to say, by keeping tools organized you don’t only save a lot of hassle but you’re keeping them in good working order too. And the good thing is, setting up a tool bag is no rocket science. With the right tricks, anyone can do this within a short period of time and move with it from one place to the other.
Step 1: Utilize the Special Pockets
Most of the common hand tools like screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, chisels are smaller in size and get misplaced easily. To keep these tools separated generally every tool bag comes with internal pockets, both in smaller and bigger shapes.
Your first job will be to organize these tools in their respective pockets so that they don’t bang against each other. This also means you won’t have to go through the whole bag to find a specific tool when the time comes.
Step 2: Organize Most Used Tools
From your experience and involvement in tackling different maintenance works, you must have noticed that you need some tools more frequently than others. You can store these items in the front compartment and able to get easy access.
Accessories like goggles and snacks also need your special attention. They are fragile and should not be kept inside the main compartment with solid and strong items.
Step 3: Use Boxes & Tool Organizer
Some tool bags feature special slots for drill bits. If you’re not lucky to have these slots you can get yourself a tool organizer box and separate them from rest of the items. Additionally, you can use another box and carry your geometrical stuff there.
Step 4: Build a Pyramid of Tools
At the final stage of setting up a tool bag, you need to focus on arranging the main compartment. This involves keeping the bulkier and occasional tools like hand planes, sander, and drill machine at the bottom and the relatively smaller and lighter tools like socket sets, and batteries at the top.
This way, you can distribute weight evenly, and build a solid foundation. Following this technique, you will feel a lot more balanced and comfortable as you carry our tool bag to different jobsites.
Step 5: Keep a List of Tools Nearby
Apart from having a well-organized tool bag, it’s also important to track your tools and remember which goes where. That’s how keeping a small list of tools and count becomes useful. With this, you can arrange your tools back in the right place after work is completed.
How to Choose the Right Tool Bag?
Without a quality tool bag available at your disposal, the organization tricks that we’ve discussed so far will make little to no sense. This applies to any handy homeowner, DIYer, or industrial pros regardless of their level of expertise.
That begs the question, how to choose a tool bag that serves the best needs? While most bloggers focus on durability and suggest a lightweight option there are a lot more things to consider.
Let’s look at some of the key considerations below and see what matters most when it comes to choosing an excellent tool bag.
- Material: This is the first thing to check when shopping for a quality tool bag. With cheap material, you can save some bucks earlier, but in the long run, you will end up losing more on replacement costs. Unlike low-grade leather, thick nylon, polyester, and canvas hold up well over time and survive the rigor of sharp tools. They can handle plenty of weight as well. For a durable base, rubber is an excellent material.
- Pockets & Compartments: Depending on how many tools you’ll be carrying around your tool bag should have adequate storage and pockets both on the interior and exterior part of it. Otherwise, you’ll find your gears messed up in one place, making it difficult for you to search for the items on the go.
- Zippers and Buckles: As we walk off a job site, we don’t want our gadgets to fall out of the bag and kill the day. In order to keep everything secure and safe, the quality of zippers and buckles must be ensured. Large, nylon zippers reinforce sturdiness and whereas for buckles traditional bags with leather straps work best.
- Opening: In the middle of a project, sometimes you have to reach for tools and pull them out of the main compartment with one hand. A floppy opening will make the process cumbersome, if not impossible. A tool bag with wire or metal openings will save a lot of inconvenience for you during a one-handed movement. It will also reduce your chances of dropping a tool accidentally and damaging it.
- Size: If you need a tool bag for general catch-alls, a smaller bag (14 to 16-inch) with a lot of storage pockets will be ideal. For a seasoned pro who operates heavy tools, a larger bag (20 to 24-inch) with fewer pockets will serve the best need.
What to Keep in a Tool Bag?
You can’t complete a home improvement project without having the right tool at hand at the right moment. It will be awful though if you bring the entire arsenal with you whenever you go. That’s why you should have separate tool bags to organize different tools depending on the type of works you’ll tackle.
Having said that, let’s list down the necessary tools according to their purposes below.
Common things to keep in an all-purpose tool bag
- Screwdrivers
- Hammers
- Wrenches
- Vise-Grip Pliers
- LED Flashlight
- Blue Painters Tape
- Nails and Screws
- Wire Cutters
- Tape Measure
- Utility Blades and Holder
- Pencils
- Cordless Drills
Specialized tool bag content for an electrician
- Voltage Tester
- Duct Tape
- Machine Screw
- Spare Outlet and Switch
- Assorted wire nuts
- Outlet Plates and Switch Plates, etc.
Specialized tool bag content for a plumber
- Groove joint pliers
- Hacksaw
- Pry bar
- Basin wrench
- Pipe wrench
- Pipe cutter
- Gloves
- Closet Auger
- Plunger
- Teflon tape, etc.
Specialized tool bag content for a carpenter
- Metal Straightedge
- Torpedo Levels
- Tin Snips
- Nail Puller
- Speed Square
- Framing Square
- Wood Chisel
- Extension Cord
- Drill (3/8″ to 1/2″ chuck)
- Chalk Line, etc.
Frequently Asked Question
Q1. What is a tool bag?
Toolbag provides the best means to store items that a professional handyman uses and needs to move with to his/her job places regularly.
Q2. What are the types of tool bags?
Depending on sizes, materials and intended use tool bag is found in various categories some of which are better suited to professional uses (like rolling tool bag). However, there are two main types you’ll see in most cases which are handheld and backpack tool bag.
Wrapping Up
Coming to the end, we believe the shared tips and tricks above are of use to you regarding how to set up a tool bag. We hope, you can use the information for your own benefit and focus more on the jobs rather than having to organize your tools every now and then.
Yes, tool bags should be make by quality leather.
It will definitely to help our all tradespeople