Color coding system for sockets and wrenches

[SZR48207]

Has anyone here developed a good way to quickly identify tools by size? I've pretty much got everything down to metric at this point so that helps, but I'm thinking of buying some different colored stickers or paint to mark everything the same.

For example, all 10mm tools will be blue, 12mm will be yellow, and so on.

I don't think stickers or tape will last very long since I always seem to make a big greasy mess with lubricants and solvents.

Not sure about which paints would last either, since enamels can get worn down by solvents, and acrylics can get worn down simply by friction.

 

[eljefino]

By the time you get really good you can spot 'em by eyeball.

 

[LotI]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
By the time you get really good you can spot 'em by eyeball.


+1.

You could try nail polish. I've used it to identify handloaded ammunition before.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
By the time you get really good you can spot 'em by eyeball.


I'm not too bad at knowing when I see a 10mm or a 13mm, but for the sake of space/cost I keep all my tools in a simple box so it's that initial fetch where I would like color coding.

 

[Claud]

Put the tools away properly after each job and you will know where they are. And you will know if someone else has used them. X3 on eyeballing them too.

 

[Leo99]

Get the color coded sockets from HF.

Or get the stickers. By the time they wear off, you'll be able to eyeball them.

 

[BigCahuna]

How bout doin this?.,,, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGtDz_rGgs8

 

[Donald]

Keep them in order. They have nice laser markings.

 

[ajchien]

I don't color code by size. But I do use spray paint to mark the OFF side of my ratcheting wrenches. Has stayed on relatively well. Brake/carb cleaner melts it off though.

 

[Silk]

Adfter so many years and lost tools, a lot of mine are different. So, the 8mm is Matco, the 10mm Heyco, the 12mm Facom, 13mm Stahwille, the 14mm SK, 17mm Britool. Sockets are mostly one brand and on rails. Screwdrivers all have different handles, pliers have different sharp ends, and I can tell hammers apart by their size.

 

[spackard]

Seems that most everyone develops an eye for sizing a nut/bolt. So, hard for experienced mechanics to justify taking time away from paying work to label their wrenches and sockets.

There are a couple of terms in aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), and trying to eliminate FOD is foreign object elimination (FOE). Long story short, getting something like

https://www.amazon.com/Hansen-Global-Metric-Socket-Storage/dp/B001C6NL52

one could argue is FOE. A quick glance at a socket tray at the end of a shift makes it easier to tell when one of your sockets is out of place.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: spackard
Seems that most everyone develops an eye for sizing a nut/bolt. So, hard for experienced mechanics to justify taking time away from paying work to label their wrenches and sockets.

There are a couple of terms in aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), and trying to eliminate FOD is foreign object elimination (FOE). Long story short, getting something like

https://www.amazon.com/Hansen-Global-Metric-Socket-Storage/dp/B001C6NL52

one could argue is FOE. A quick glance at a socket tray at the end of a shift makes it easier to tell when one of your sockets is out of place.


I've been meaning to get some of these, but I'll need doubles because I have 6 and 12 point sockets.

That's a lot of trays.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: spackard
Seems that most everyone develops an eye for sizing a nut/bolt. So, hard for experienced mechanics to justify taking time away from paying work to label their wrenches and sockets.

There are a couple of terms in aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), and trying to eliminate FOD is foreign object elimination (FOE). Long story short, getting something like

https://www.amazon.com/Hansen-Global-Metric-Socket-Storage/dp/B001C6NL52

one could argue is FOE. A quick glance at a socket tray at the end of a shift makes it easier to tell when one of your sockets is out of place.



I have those Hansens and they are really nice and my tool boxes are organized well because of them.I don't like socket rails - too hard to use. You can also get similar trays from HF and places that are 1/2 the cost and work well too.