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1 [1] Everyday Commentary 2 3 • [2]Search 4 • [3]Best Of 5 • [4]Reviews 6 □ [5]Scoring Methodology 7 □ [6]Reviews Archive 8 • [7]Home 9 • [8]Videos 10 • [9]Start Here 11 • [10]About 12 • [11]Contact 13 14 [12][Home ] 15 16 [IMG_8439] 17 18 [13]Tool Box in a Milk Crate and Bonus 19 20 [14]July 19, 2026 [15]by Anthony Sculimbrene 21 22 As I wrote in the review of the Systematic Tools Knipex Multitool Sheath 2.0, 23 Todd Parker’s obsessive kit overviews on his Youtube page inspired me to not 24 just make a kit of my one, but make the toolbox too. This, in turn, helped 25 prompt me to finally, after years, fix my small parts storage. This article is 26 an overview of that system as the toolbox and the small parts storage work 27 together. 28 29 I love tools. I love my basement workshop where I slowly tinker on projects 30 until they are finished. I love that I can leave the basement messy and not 31 bother anyone. I love that I can make the space look exactly like what I want. 32 It doesn’t have to be pretty or color coordinated. It just has to be useful. It 33 is a purely utilitarian space. And it is wonderful. My heart rate drops every 34 time I walk down the stairs to work on a project. Even if the project isn’t 35 going so well. 36 37 Part of the joy of owning a workshop is making it your own. And I have done 38 that. I built a main bench, a miter station, a flip top tool stand, a knife 39 making bench, a workbench that serves as an outfeed table, lumber storage, 40 sheet good storage, a clamp rack and charging station. Slowly but surely I have 41 made the place my own AND incredibly flexible. I can fix or make most stuff (my 42 two previous projects were repairing an extensively damaged matted picture 43 frame and making a “Commander” tray for my son for his Magic Commander deck). I 44 do hate plumbing, but I have installed hose bibs, sinks, and performed basic 45 repairs. 46 47 But taking that fix anything mentality to other places has always been 48 difficult. I really detest the design of pretty much all of the tool boxes out 49 there and I don’t do enough on-the-road work to make investing in one of the 50 [16]modular tool packing systems, like the Milwaukee Packout system make sense. 51 So, instead, I designed my own toolbox. And it was designed around one of my 52 favorite modern storage solutions—the milk crate (which, interestingly enough, 53 was invented by one person—Geoff Milton in the 1950s). 54 55 The thought process that got me here is worth exploring. I wanted the entire 56 design to be built around, of all things, the humble milk crate. And let me be 57 clear—stealing milk crates, as the embossed text on all of them will tell you, 58 is illegal. However you source them though, true milk crates are amazing 59 containers. Don’t fall for the crappy “file folder” versions, get the 60 originals. They are incredibly durable, the right height for a bunch of things 61 (as a stool, for example, they let an average height American male reach the 62 average height American ceiling, which, coincidentally, is a broadly useful 63 test), and they are, by design, stackable. If you want TRUE unlabeled milk 64 crates, [17]here is a good source. I wasn't sure how I wanted to use the milk 65 crate in the design, but I thought that it would be useful both as a carrying 66 case and as a standing stool or a seat or a small table. And so I set out 67 brainstorming ideas on how to make the milk crate toolbox work. 68 69 One idea I originally worked on involved making a wooden “floor” for the milk 70 crate to prevent small tools and fasteners from falling through. It worked, of 71 course, but they just fell out the sides instead. Then I thought about making 72 walls to attach to the floor. That would work, but getting the milk crate in 73 and out would be difficult. I then realized a handle would help, but instead of 74 two handles on either side, I could make one in the middle and use that to 75 organize tools. I then realized that using the handle as a divider could make 76 the inside compartments useful sizes. I wanted to make sure it could hold my 77 preferred small parts storage boxes, [18]Really Useful Boxes (more on this 78 below) in various sizes. A few tweaks and it would be easy to make everything 79 fit. I could make the two compartments different sizes so that they could 80 perform different tasks. I found this approach quite useful with my asymmetric 81 miter saw station, seen here: 82 83 [IMG_8433] 84 85 The asymmetry allows for different sizes with different functions, whereas in 86 the miter saw station it allows for a more space efficient layout. Believe it 87 or not, I have regularly cut 16 foot 2x4s at that station. 88 89 After deciding on the handle, the rest of the design fell in place—I would make 90 an insert that dropped into the milk crate with a friction fit. Because the 91 wooden handle carries almost all of the weight, the milk crate has never fallen 92 off the insert during transport. The friction fit is quite snug. 93 94 [IMG_8436] 95 96 Because the milk crate is quite light, the amount of friction needed to hold it 97 in place is low. This allowed me to make the actual insert out of 1/2” Baltic 98 Birch plywood, lightening the entire thing. Toolboxes tend to be exceptionally 99 dense and while this one is not as dense as others, like the traditional metal 100 tool box, it is pretty heavy. Any method of doing what Lotus calls “adding 101 lightness” was taken. Thinner plywood, lighter tools, the use of light 102 “holders”—all of it was designed to make a heavy object not so heavy. 103 104 [IMG_8437] 105 106 I quickly realized that just tossing tools in, while possible, wouldn’t be 107 ideal, especially if I wanted to make sure I brought everything I needed for a 108 given job. I looked at a few toolboxes and tool belts that did well for actual 109 tradesmen and a lot of them preferred kits that held tools in a vertical 110 orientation instead of the traditional horizontal orientation most metal 111 toolboxes used. To keep some orderliness to the entire operation, I used 112 magnets. 113 114 [IMG_8434] 115 116 I purchased three 10 pound magnets at Harbor Freight (love Harbor Freight for 117 this kind of stuff) and I also go a magnetic parts tray (I have about a half 118 dozen throughout my shop—this an a standing dust pan are the two easiest 119 upgrades to make to a shop). I put some duct tape over the magnets to soften 120 the “snap” when some lighter objects, like pliers, get put in the toolbox. I 121 also made a spot for a tape measure. All told here are the tools that stay in 122 the toolbox: 123 124 [IMG_8863] 125 126 Komelon Self Lock Evolution 16ft (I have one in my workshop and the one that I 127 got for the toolbox arrived while writing this article, hence the pictures with 128 the decent Kobalt version). 129 130 Klein Tools 11-1 Impact Screwdriver 131 132 Original Milwaukee Tools Fastback 133 134 Leatherman Charge TTi 135 136 [IMG_8864] 137 138 I also have two Velcro straps, one on the crate and one on the insert, to help 139 hold non-magnetic stuff. 140 141 [IMG_8441] 142 143 The divider happens to fit one large Really Useful Box and two smaller ones 144 with space for fingers to help pull them out. 145 146 [IMG_8443] 147 148 The divider also fit my Makita LXT tools quite well. The smaller portion of the 149 box where the magnets are also has a pen and pencil holder for marking tools. 150 Though it can hold loose stuff easily, I generally use it for the handles of 151 longer tools. 152 153 You can see that instead of cutting a dado, I used some scrap bits to create a 154 dado. I did this because I was worried that cutting a dado into half inch ply 155 would either result in a weak joint or would put too much stress on the joint 156 when pulling the insert in and out of the box. I used scraps to beef up the 157 handle the same way. I have snapped many a handle made in half in ply like this 158 and so using the scraps on the handle prevents that from happening AND makes it 159 a more of a distinctive handle. This isn’t fine furniture so I used brad nails 160 and wood glue. I have been using, beating up, and moving the toolbox for more 161 than a year and it has held up quite nicely. 162 163 I like the design a lot but if I had the tools I would probably do a few things 164 differently. The magnets are ponderously heavy. I would love to make them 165 smaller but just as strong. I tried three different sizes of magnets during the 166 build process, but none could hold a full 28 oz Estwing hammer securely. These 167 can. If there were smaller magnets this strong, that would be a huge upgrade. 168 If I had a 3d printer I would definitely insert a plate that held the Really 169 Useful Boxes securely. Heck, I might even redo the small parts storage 170 completely and use Gridfinity, then incorporate Gridfinity into this toolbox. 171 If there were a material that was strong enough but lighter than half inch 172 Baltic Birch ply, I would swap that out too. 173 174 I really like the milk crate insert design. It essentially doubles my carrying 175 capacity (I can carry the insert and crate separately and fill each). It also 176 provides a nice stool or seat for work up high or detail work. Its not pretty, 177 but I have found the toolbox design very, very useful. The plywood for both the 178 toolbox and the small parts storage was scrap from a larger sheet, which was 179 $96. That was the only real cost. 180 181 Bonus: Small Parts Storage 182 183 [IMG_8440] 184 185 Small parts storage is a daunting task in a workshop. There is a tendency, at 186 least for me, to save everything. I have a bolt jar with fasteners from 187 projects long completed and some even destroyed (poor Ikea bookcase, you lasted 188 about ten minutes). I also hate having to make trips to the hardware store for 189 4 or 8 fasteners. I try to keep a lot of the standard stuff on hand. I used to 190 use those gray plastic bins that can be wall mounted. They are okay. But they 191 are not easy to take with you. When you do take stuff on the move, stuff spills 192 outs or the the boxes get mushed. I use the Really Useful Boxes for battery 193 storage for my lights and I love them. 194 195 [IMG_8442] 196 197 They are relatively cheap, easily stackable, and have lids. Importantly for me, 198 the lids don’t have a folded plastic hinge which will break over time. All of 199 these features made them ideal for small parts storage, but I didn’t just want 200 fifty of them laying around. Using some scrap plywood, I built this small parts 201 storage unit around two different sizes of Really Useful Boxes. A label maker 202 later and the entire small parts storage solution was complete. I have some 203 spare room for extra stuff too. If you were an eagle eye you can see that I 204 also have some Lewis Bins (which are equally nice) under the mitre saw wing. 205 Those are for larger things, usually all related to one task—I have dado stack 206 in my Lewis Bins and an engraving kit. Between these two storage solutions most 207 of my stuff has a home and there are no drawers to lose stuff in. 208 209 Amazon Links 210 211 [19]Klein 11 in 1 5/16 impact driver 212 213 [20]Milwaukee Fastback 214 215 [21]Komelon Self Lock Evolution 16ft 216 217 [22]Really Useful Boxes 218 219 [23]Real Milke Crate 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 [24]July 19, 2026 /[25]Anthony Sculimbrene 227 10 Likes 228 Share 229 230 • [26]Newer 231 • [27]Older 232 233 Comments (0) 234 235 Newest First [28][Newest First] 236 [29][ ] 237 Preview Post Comment… 238 [30] 239 240 References: 241 242 [1] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/ 243 [2] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/new-page 244 [3] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/best-of 245 [4] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/6/3/tool-box-in-a-milk-crate-and-bonus# 246 [5] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/scoring-methodology 247 [6] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/reviews-archive 248 [7] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/ 249 [8] https://www.youtube.com/user/EverydayCommentary 250 [9] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/start-here 251 [10] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/about 252 [11] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/contact 253 [13] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/6/3/tool-box-in-a-milk-crate-and-bonus 254 [14] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/6/3/tool-box-in-a-milk-crate-and-bonus 255 [15] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/?author=520ad9a1e4b01247d7102699 256 [16] https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2025/08/20/tool-test-tool-storage-systems 257 [17] https://www.containerstore.com/s/storage/storage-bags-totes/authentic-milk-crate/12d?productId=11018454 258 [18] https://www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/usa/html/onlineshop/fullrange_rub.php#gsc.tab=0 259 [19] https://amzn.to/4yvyUFs 260 [20] https://amzn.to/4ppvPm4 261 [21] https://amzn.to/3Tso5DX 262 [22] https://amzn.to/3Rnq3or 263 [23] https://amzn.to/4vBMch2 264 [24] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/6/3/tool-box-in-a-milk-crate-and-bonus 265 [25] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/?author=520ad9a1e4b01247d7102699 266 [26] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/7/20/light-and-saber-pairs 267 [27] https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2026/6/30/quick-hits-three-multitools 268 [30] http://instagram.com/everydaycommentary